1 A theoretical foundation such as the
text is necessary as
a background to make these exercises meaningful. Yet it is the exercises
which
will make the goal possible. An untrained mind can accomplish nothing.
It is
the purpose of these exercises to train the mind to think along the
lines which
the course sets forth.
2 The exercises are very simple. They
do not require more
than a few minutes, and it does not matter where or when you do them.
They need
no preparation. They are numbered, running from 1 to 365. The training
period
is one year. Do not undertake more than one exercise a day.
3 The purpose of these exercises is to
train the mind to a
different perception of everything in the world. The workbook is divided
into
two sections, the first dealing with the undoing of what you see now and
the
second with the restoration of sight. It is recommended that each
exercise be
repeated several times a day, preferably in a different place each time
and, if
possible, in every situation in which you spend any long period of time.
The
purpose is to train the mind to generalize the lessons, so that you will
understand that each of them is as applicable to one situation as it is
to
another.
4 Unless specified to the contrary,
the exercise should be
practiced with the eyes open, since the aim is to learn how to see. The
only
rule that should be followed throughout is to practice the exercises
with great
specificity. Each one applies to every situation in which you find
yourself and
to everything you see in it. Each day's exercises are planned around one
central idea, the exercises themselves consisting of applying that idea
to as
many specifics as possible. Be sure that you do not decide that there
are some
things you see to which the idea for the day is inapplicable. The aim of
the
exercises will always be to increase the application of the idea to
everything.
This will not require effort. Only be sure that you make no exceptions
in
applying the idea.
5 Some of the ideas you will find hard
to believe, and
others will seem quite startling. It does not matter. You are merely
asked to
apply them to what you see. You are not asked to judge them, nor even to
believe them. You are asked only to use them. It is their use which will
give
them meaning to you, and show you they are true. Remember only this—you
need
not believe them, you need not accept them, and you need not welcome
them. Some
of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter nor decrease
their
efficacy. But allow yourself to make no exceptions in applying the ideas
the
exercises contain. Whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use
them.
Nothing more than this is required.
1 Now look slowly around you, and
practice applying this
idea very specifically to whatever you see:
3 Then look farther away from your
immediate area, and apply
the idea to a wider range:
5 Notice that these statements are not
arranged in any
order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to
which
they are applied. That is the purpose of the exercise. The statement is
merely
applied to anything you see. As you practice applying the idea for the
day, use
it totally indiscriminately. Do not attempt to apply it to everything
you see,
for these exercises should not become ritualistic. Only be sure that
nothing
you see is specifically excluded. One thing is like another as far as
the
application of the idea is concerned.
1 The exercises with this idea are the
same as those for the
first one. Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the idea
to
whatever your glance rests on. Then increase the range outward. Turn
your head
so that you include whatever is to either side. If possible, turn around
and
apply the idea to what was behind you. Remain as indiscriminate as
possible in
selecting subjects for its application, do not concentrate on anything
in
particular, and do not attempt to include everything in an area or you
will
introduce strain. Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you,
trying to
avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative
importance to
you.
2 Take the subjects simply as you see
them. Try to apply the
exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an arm
or an
apple. The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely
that your
eyes have lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything particular,
but be
sure that nothing is specifically excluded.
1 Apply this idea in the same way as
the previous ones,
without making distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a
proper
subject for applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the
suitability
of anything for the application of the idea. These are not exercises in
judgment. Anything is suitable if you see it. Some of the things you see
may
have emotionally-charged meaning for you. Try to lay such feelings
aside, and
merely use these things exactly as you would anything else.
2 The point of the exercises is to
help you clear your mind
of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you
now, and
to realize how little you really understand about them. It is therefore
essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment,
in
selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be applied. For
this
purpose one thing is like another—equally suitable and therefore equally
useful.
1 Unlike the preceding ones, these
exercises do not begin
with the idea for the day. In these practice periods, begin with noting
the
thoughts that are crossing your mind for about a minute. Then apply the
idea to
them. If you are already aware of unhappy thoughts, use them as subjects
for
the idea. Do not, however, select only the thoughts you think are
"bad." You will find, if you train yourself to look at your thoughts,
that they represent such a mixture that, in a sense, none of them can be
called
"good" or "bad." This is why they do not mean anything.
2 In selecting the subjects for the
application of today's
idea, the usual specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use
"good" thoughts as well as "bad." None of them represents
your real thoughts, which are being covered up by them. The "good"
ones of which you are aware are but shadows of what lies beyond, and
shadows
make sight difficult. The "bad" ones are blocks to sight and make
seeing impossible. You do not want either.
3 This is a major exercise and will be
repeated from time to
time in somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in the
first
steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful.
It is
a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the
meaningless as
outside you and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of
training your
mind to recognize what is the same and what is different. In using your
thoughts for application of the idea for today, identify each thought by
the
central figure or event it contains. For example:
5You can also use the idea for a
particular thought which
you recognize as harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a
substitute for
the more random procedures to be followed for the exercises. Do not,
however,
examine your mind for more than a minute or so. You are too
inexperienced as
yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied. Further,
since these
exercises are the first of their kind, you may find the suspension of
judgment
in connection with thoughts particularly difficult. Do not repeat these
exercises more than three or four times during the day. We will return
to them
later.
1 This idea, like the preceding one,
can be used with any
person, situation, or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it
specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using
the
description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The
upset
may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred,
jealousy, or
any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This
is not
true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form
becomes a
proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to
each of
them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all
the
same.
2 When using the idea for today for a
specific perceived
cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which
you see the
upset and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:
4 But again, this should not be
substituted for practice
periods in which you first search your mind for "sources" of upset in
which you believe and forms of upset which you think result.
5 In these exercises, more than in the
preceding ones, you
may find it hard to be indiscriminate and to avoid giving greater weight
to
some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises
with the
statement:
7 Then examine your mind for whatever
is distressing you,
regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.
8 You may also find yourself less
willing to apply today's
idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs,
think
first of this:
10 Then search your mind for no more
than a minute or so, and
try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing
you,
regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea
for today
to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you
perceive
it and of the feelings as you experience it. Further examples are:
12 Three or four times during the day
are enough.
1 The exercises with this idea are
very similar to the
preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset
(anger, fear,
worry, depression, and so on) and the perceived source very specifically
for
any application of the idea. For example:
3Today's idea is useful for
application to anything that
seems to upset you and can profitably be used throughout the day for
that
purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required
should
be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the
application
of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.
4 Again, if you resist applying the
idea to some upsetting
thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated
in the
previous lesson:
6And:
1 This idea is particularly difficult
to believe at first.
Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.
2 It is the reason why nothing that
you see means anything.
3 It is the reason why you have given
everything you see all
the meaning that it has for you.
4 It is the reason why you do not
understand anything you
see.
5 It is the reason why your thoughts
do not mean anything
and why they are like the things you see.
6 It is the reason why you are never
upset for the reason
you think.
7 It is the reason why you are upset
because you see
something that is not there.
8 Old ideas about time are very
difficult to change because
everything you believe is rooted in time and depends on your not
learning these
new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about
time.
This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first.
Look at
a cup, for example.
9 Do you see a cup, or are you merely
reviewing your past
experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup,
feeling
the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast, and so on? Are not
your
aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else
would
you know whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? What
do you
know about this cup except what you learned in the past? You would have
no idea
what this cup is except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see
it?
10 Look about you. This is equally true
of whatever you look
at. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to
whatever catches your eye. For example:
12 Do not linger over any one thing in
particular, but
remember to omit nothing specifically. Glance briefly at each subject,
and then
move on to the next.
1 This idea is, of course, the reason
why you see only the
past. No one really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts projected
outward.
The mind's preoccupation with the past is the cause of the total
misconception
about time from which your seeing suffers. Your mind cannot grasp the
present,
which is the only time there is. It therefore cannot understand time and
cannot, in fact, understand anything.
2 The only wholly true thought one can
hold about the past
is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think
about
illusions. Very few minds have realized what is actually entailed in
picturing
the past or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when
it does
this because it is not really thinking about anything.
3 The purpose of the exercises for
today is to begin to
train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all.
While
thoughtless "ideas" preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked.
Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing
that it
is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to
vision.
4 The exercises for today should be
done with eyes closed.
This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to
recognize
that, no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not
seeing
anything. With as little investment as possible, search your mind for
the usual
minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there. Name each one
by the
central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce
the
practice period by saying:
6
Then name each of your thoughts specifically. For example:
8
and so on, concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:
10 This can be done four or five times
during the day, unless
you find it irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four times
are
sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your
irritation, or
any emotion which the idea may induce, in the mind searching itself.
1 This idea obviously follows from the
two preceding ones.
But while you may be able to accept it intellectually, it is unlikely
that it
will mean anything to you as yet. However, understanding is not
necessary at
this point. In fact, the recognition that you do not understand is a
prerequisite for undoing your false ideas. These exercises are concerned
with
practice, not with understanding. You do not need to practice what you
really
understand. It would indeed be circular to aim at understanding and
assume that
you have it already.
2 It is difficult for the untrained
mind to believe that
what seems to be pictured before it is not there. This idea can be quite
disturbing and may meet with active resistance in any number of forms.
Yet that
does not preclude applying it. No more than that is required for these
or any
other exercises. Each little step will clear a little of the darkness
away, and
understanding will finally come to lighten every corner of the mind
which has
been cleared of the debris that darkens it.
3 These exercises, for which three or
four practice periods
are sufficient, involve looking about you and applying the idea for the
day to
whatever you see, remembering the need for its indiscriminate
application and
the essential rule of excluding nothing. For example:
5 Begin with things that are nearest
you, and then extend
the range:
7 It is emphasized again that while
complete inclusion
should not be attempted, specific exclusion must be avoided. Be sure you
are
honest in making this distinction. You may be tempted to obscure it.
1 This idea applies to all the
thoughts of which you are
aware or become aware in the practice periods. The reason the idea is
applicable to all of them is that they are not your real thoughts. We
have made
this distinction before and will again. You have no basis for comparison
as
yet. When you do, you will have no doubt that what you once believed
were your
thoughts did not mean anything.
2 This is the second time we have used
this kind of idea.
The form is only slightly different. This time the idea is introduced
with
"My thoughts" instead of "These thoughts" and no link is made
overtly with the things around you. The emphasis is now on the lack of
reality
of what you think you think.
3 This aspect of the correction
process began with the idea
that the thoughts of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather
than
within, and then stressed their past rather than their present status.
Now we
are emphasizing that the presence of these "thoughts" means that you
are not thinking. This is merely another way of repeating our earlier
statement
that your mind is really a blank. To recognize this is to recognize
nothingness
when you think you see it. As such, it is the prerequisite for vision.
4 Close your eyes for these exercises
and introduce them by
repeating the idea for today quite slowly to yourself. Then add:
6 The exercises consist, as before, in
searching your mind
for all the thoughts which are available to you, without selection or
judgment.
Try to avoid classification of any kind. In fact, if you find it helpful
to do
so, you might imagine that you are watching an oddly assorted procession
going
by, which has little if any personal meaning to you. As each one crosses
your
mind, say:
8 Today's idea can obviously serve for
any thought that
distresses you at any time. In addition, five practice periods are
recommended,
each involving no more than a minute or so of mind searching. It is not
recommended that this time period be extended, and it should be reduced
to half
a minute or even less if you experience discomfort. Remember, however,
to
repeat the idea slowly before applying it specifically, and also to add:
1 This is the first idea we have had
which is related to a
major phase of the correction process—the reversal of the thinking of
the
world. It seems as if the world determines what you perceive. Today's
idea
introduces the concept that your thoughts determine the world you see.
Be glad
indeed to practice the idea in this initial form, for in this idea is
your
release made sure. The key to forgiveness lies in it.
2 The practice periods for today's
idea are to be undertaken
somewhat differently from the previous ones. Begin with eyes closed, and
repeat
the idea slowly to yourself. Then open your eyes and look about, near or
far,
up or down—anywhere. During the minute or so to be spent in using the
idea,
merely repeat it to yourself, being sure to do so without haste and with
no
sense of urgency or effort.
3 To do these exercises for maximum
benefit, the eyes should
move from one thing to another fairly rapidly since they should not
linger on
anything in particular. The words, however, should be used in an
unhurried,
even leisurely fashion. The introduction to this idea should be
practiced as
casually as possible. It contains the foundation for the peace,
relaxation, and
freedom from worry that we are trying to achieve. On concluding the
exercises,
close your eyes and repeat the idea once more, slowly, to yourself.
4 Three practice periods today will
probably be sufficient.
However, if there is little or no uneasiness and an inclination to do
more, as
many as five may be undertaken. More than this is not recommended.
1 The importance of this idea lies in
the fact that it
contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. You think that
what
upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world,
or an
insane world. All these attributes are given it by you. The world is
meaningless in itself.
2 These exercises are done with eyes
open. Look around you,
this time quite slowly. Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting
of your
glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time
interval. Do
not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter,
but try,
instead, to keep a measured, even tempo throughout. What you see does
not
matter. You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests
on equal
attention and equal time. This is a beginning step in learning to give
them all
equal value.
3 As you look about you, say to
yourself:
5 and so on, using whatever
descriptive terms happen to
occur to you. If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to
you,
include them. For example, you might think of a "good world," or a
"satisfying world." If such terms occur to you, use them along with
the rest. You may not yet understand why these "nice" adjectives
belong in these exercises, but remember that a "good world" implies a
"bad" one, and a "satisfying world" implies an
"unsatisfying" one. All terms which cross your mind are suitable
subjects for today's exercises. Their seeming quality does not matter.
6 Be sure that you do not alter the
time intervals between
applying today's idea to what you think is pleasant and what you think
is
unpleasant. For the purposes of these exercises, there is no difference
between
them. At the end of the practice period, add:
8 What is meaningless is neither good
nor bad. Why, then,
should a meaningless world upset you? If you could accept the world as
meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make
you
indescribably happy. But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to
write
upon it what you would have it be. It is this you see in it. It is this
that is
meaningless in truth. Beneath your words is written the Word of God. The
truth
upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His.
That is
the ultimate purpose of these exercises.
9 Three or four times are enough for
practicing the idea for
today. Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute. You may find
even this
too long. Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of
strain.
1 Today's idea is really another form
of the preceding one,
except that it is more specific as to the emotion aroused. Actually, a
meaningless world is impossible. Nothing without meaning exists.
However, it
does not follow that you will not think you perceive something that has
no
meaning. On the contrary, you will be particularly likely to think you
do
perceive it.
2 Recognition of meaninglessness
arouses intense anxiety in
all the separated ones. It represents a situation in which God and the
ego
"challenge" each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the
empty space which meaninglessness provides. The ego rushes in
frantically to
establish its own "ideas" there, fearful that the void may otherwise
be used to demonstrate its own unreality. And on this alone it is
correct.
3 It is essential, therefore, that you
learn to recognize
the meaningless and accept it without fear. If you are fearful, it is
certain
that you will endow the world with attributes which it does not possess
and
crowd it with images that do not exist. To the ego, illusions are safety
devices, as they must also be to you who equate yourself with the ego.
4 The exercises for today, which
should be done about three
or four times for not more than a minute or so at most each time, are to
be
practiced in a somewhat different way from the preceding ones. With eyes
closed, repeat today's idea to yourself. Then open your eyes and look
about you
slowly, saying:
6 Repeat this statement to yourself as
you look about. Then
close your eyes and conclude with:
8 You may find it difficult to avoid
resistance in one form
or another to this concluding statement. Whatever form such resistance
may
take, remind yourself that you are really afraid of such a thought
because of
the "vengeance" of the "enemy." You are not expected to
believe the statement at this point and will probably try to dismiss it
as
preposterous. Note carefully, however, any signs of overt or covert fear
which
it may arouse. This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause
and
effect relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in
recognizing.
Do not dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even to think of
it
except during the exercise periods. That will suffice at present.
1 The idea for today is, of course,
the reason why a meaningless
world is impossible. What God did not create does not exist. And
everything
that does exist exists as He created it. The world you see has nothing
to do
with reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist.
2 The exercises for today are to be
practiced with eyes
closed throughout. The mind searching period should be short, a minute
at most.
Do not have more than three practice periods with today's idea unless
you find
them comfortable. If you do, it will be because you really understand
what they
are for.
3 The idea for today is another step
in learning to let go
the thoughts which you have written on the world, and see the Word of
God in
their place. The early steps in this exchange, which can truly be called
salvation, can be quite difficult and even quite painful. Some of them
will
lead you directly into fear. You will not be left there. You will go far
beyond
it. Our direction is toward perfect safety and perfect peace.
4 With eyes closed, think of all the
horrors in the world
that cross your mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then deny
its
reality. God did not create it, and so it is not real. Say, for example:
6 Suitable subjects for the
application of today's idea also
include anything you are afraid might happen to you or to anyone about
whom you
are concerned. In each case, name the "disaster" quite specifically.
Do not use general terms. For example, do not say, "God did not create
illness," but, "God did not create cancer," or heart attacks, or
whatever may arouse fear in you.
7 This is your personal repertory of
horrors at which you
are looking. These things are part of the world you see. Some of them
are
shared illusions, and others are part of your personal hell. It does not
matter. What God did not create can only be in your own mind apart from
His.
Therefore, it has no meaning. In recognition of this fact, conclude the
practice periods by repeating today's idea:
9 The idea for today can, of course,
be applied to anything
that disturbs you during the day, aside from the practice periods. Be
very specific
in applying it. Say:
1 It is because the thoughts you think
you think appear as
images that you do not recognize them as nothing. You think you think
them, and
so you think you see them. This is how your "seeing" was made. This
is the function you have given your body's eyes. It is not seeing. It is
image-making.
It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.
2 This introductory idea to the
process of image-making
which you call seeing will not have much meaning for you. You will begin
to
understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same
familiar
objects which you see now. That is the beginning of real vision. You can
be
certain that real vision will come quickly when this has occurred.
3 As we go along, you may have many
"light
episodes." They may take many different forms, some of them quite
unexpected. Do not be afraid of them. They are signs that you are
opening your
eyes at last. They will not persist, because they merely symbolize true
perception, and they are not related to knowledge. These exercises will
not
reveal knowledge to you. But they will prepare the way to it.
4 In practicing the idea for today,
repeat it first to
yourself, and then apply it to whatever you see around you, using its
name and
letting your eyes rest on it as you say:
6 It is not necessary to include a
large number of specific
subjects for the application of today's idea. It is necessary, however,
to
continue to look at each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself.
The
idea should be repeated quite slowly each time.
7 Although you will obviously not be
able to apply the idea
to very many things during the minute or so of practice that is
recommended,
try to make the selection as random as possible. Less than a minute will
do for
the practice periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. Do not have more than
three
application periods for today's idea unless you feel completely
comfortable
with it, and do not exceed four.
1 The idea for today is a beginning
step in dispelling the
belief that your thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the
result of
your thoughts. There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big
or
little, powerful or weak. They are merely true or false. Those which are
true
create their own likeness. Those which are false make theirs.
2 There is no more self-contradictory
concept than that of
"idle thoughts." What gives rise to the perception of a whole world
can hardly be called idle. Every thought you have contributes to truth
or to
illusion; either it extends the truth or it multiplies illusions. You
can
indeed multiply nothing, but you will not extend it by doing so.
3 In addition to never being idle,
salvation requires that
you recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war,
either
love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought
is
impossible. There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as
unimportant,
trivial, and not worth bothering about that it is essential you
recognize them
all as equally destructive but equally unreal. We will practice this
idea in
many forms before you really understand it.
4 In applying the idea for today,
search your mind for a
minute or so, with eyes closed, and actively seek not to overlook any
"little" thought which tends to elude the search. This is quite
difficult until you get used to it. You will find that it is still hard
for you
not to make artificial distinctions. Every thought that occurs to you,
regardless
of the quality which you assign to it, is a suitable subject for
applying
today's idea.
5 In the practice periods, first
repeat the idea, and then
as each one crosses your mind, hold it in awareness while you tell
yourself:
7 As usual, use today's idea whenever
you are aware of a
particular thought which arouses uneasiness. The following form is
suggested
for this purpose:
9 Four or five practice periods are
recommended if you find
them relatively effortless. If strain is experienced, three will be
enough. The
length of the exercise period should also be reduced if there is
discomfort.
1 This idea is another step in the
direction of identifying
cause and effect as it really operates. You see no neutral things
because you
have no neutral thoughts. It is always the thought that comes first,
despite
the temptation to believe that it is really the other way around. This
is not
the way the world thinks, but you must learn that it is the way you
think. If
it were not so, perception would have no cause and would itself be the
cause of
reality. In view of its highly variable nature, this is hardly likely.
2 In applying today's idea, say to
yourself, with eyes open:
4 Then look about you, resting your
glance on each thing
that catches your eye long enough to say:
6 For example, you might say:
8 As usual, it is essential to make no
distinction between
what you believe to be animate or inanimate, pleasant or unpleasant.
Regardless
of what you may believe, you do not see anything which is really alive
and
really joyous. That is because you are unaware as yet of any thoughts
which are
really true and therefore really happy.
9 Three or four specific practice
periods are recommended
and no less than three are required for maximum benefit even if you
experience
resistance. However, if you do, the length of the practice period may be
reduced to less than the minute or so which is otherwise recommended.
1 The idea for today is another step
in learning that the
thoughts which give rise to what you see are never neutral or
unimportant. It
also emphasizes the idea that minds are joined, which will be given
increasing
stress later.
2 Today's idea does not refer to what
you see as much as to
how you see it. Therefore, the exercises for today will emphasize this
aspect
of your perception. The three or four practice periods which are
recommended
should be done as follows:
3 Selecting subjects for the
application of the idea
randomly, look at each one long enough to say:
5 Conclude the practice period by
repeating the more general
statement:
7 A minute or so or even less will be
sufficient.
1 The idea for today is obviously the
reason why your seeing
does not affect you alone. You will notice that at times the ideas
related to
thinking precede those related to perceiving, while at other times the
order is
reversed. The reason is that the order does not actually matter.
Thinking and
its results are really simultaneous, for cause and effect are never
separate.
2 Today we are again emphasizing the
fact that minds are
joined. This is rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to
carry
with it an enormous sense of responsibility and may even be regarded as
an
"invasion of privacy." Yet it is a fact that there are no private
thoughts. Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet
understand
that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. And salvation must
be
possible because it is the Will of God.
3 The minute or so of mind searching
which today's exercises
require are to be undertaken with eyes closed. The idea is to be
repeated
first, and then the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts
it
contains at that time. As you consider each one, name it in terms of the
central person or theme it contains and, holding it in your mind as you
do so,
say:
5 The requirement of as much
indiscriminateness as possible
in selecting subjects for the practice period should be quite familiar
to you
by now and will no longer be repeated each day, although it will
occasionally
be included as a reminder. Do not forget, however, that random selection
of
subjects for all practice periods remains essential throughout. Lack of
order
in this connection will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order
in
miracles meaningful to you.
6 Apart from the "as needed"
application of
today's idea, at least three practice periods are required, shortening
the
length of time involved if necessary. Do not attempt more than four.
1 We have been quite casual about our
practice periods thus
far. There has been virtually no attempt to direct the time for
undertaking
them, minimal effort has been required, and not even active cooperation
and
interest have been asked. This casual approach has been intentional and
very
carefully planned. We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of
the
reversal of your thinking. The salvation of the world depends on it. Yet
you
will not see if you regard yourself as being coerced and if you give in
to
resentment and opposition.
2 This is our first attempt to
introduce structure. Do not
misconstrue it as an effort to exert force or pressure. You want
salvation. You
want to be happy. You want peace. You do not have them now because your
mind is
totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and
sorrow,
pleasure and pain, love and fear. You are now learning how to tell them
apart.
And great indeed will be your reward.
3 Your decision to see is all that
vision requires. What you
want is yours. Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for
a sign
that our goal is of little worth. Can the salvation of the world be a
trivial
purpose? And can the world be saved if you are not? God has one Son, and
he is
the resurrection and the life. His will is done because all power is
given him
in Heaven and on earth. In your determination to see is vision given
you.
4 The exercises for today consist in
reminding yourselves
throughout the day that you want to see. Today's idea also tacitly
implies the
recognition that you do not see now. Therefore, as you repeat the idea,
you are
stating that you are determined to change your present state for a
better one,
and one you really want.
5 Repeat today's idea slowly and
positively at least twice
an hour today, attempting to do so every half hour. Do not be distressed
if you
forget to do so, but make a real effort to remember. The extra
repetitions
should be applied to any situation, person, or event which upsets you.
You can
see them differently, and you will. What you desire, you will see. Such
is the
real law of cause and effect as it operates in the world.
1 The idea for today is obviously a
continuation and
extension of the preceding one. This time, however, specific mind
searching
periods are necessary in addition to applying the idea to particular
situations
as they arise. Five practice periods are urged, allowing a full minute
for
each.
2 In the practice periods, begin by
repeating the idea to
yourself. Then close your eyes and search your mind carefully for
situations
past, present or anticipated, which arouse anger in you. The anger may
take the
form of any reaction ranging from mild irritation to rage. The degree of
the
emotion you experience does not matter. You will become increasingly
aware that
a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing but a veil drawn over intense
fury.
3 Try, therefore, not to let the
"little" thoughts
of anger escape you in the practice periods. Remember that you do not
really
recognize what arouses anger in you, and nothing that you believe in
this
connection means anything. You will probably be tempted to dwell more on
some
situations than on others on the fallacious grounds that they are more
"obvious."
This is not so. It is merely an example of the belief that some forms of
attack
are more justified than others.
4 As you search your mind for all the
forms in which attack
thoughts present themselves, hold each one in mind and tell yourself:
6 Try to be as specific as possible.
You may, for example,
focus your anger on a particular attribute of a particular person,
believing that
the anger is limited to this aspect. If your perception of the person is
suffering from this form of distortion, say:
1 Today's idea accurately describes
the way anyone who holds
attack thoughts in his mind must see the world. Having projected his
anger onto
the world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him. His own attack is
thus
perceived as self defense. This becomes an increasingly vicious circle
until he
is willing to change how he sees. Otherwise, thoughts of attack and
counter-attack will preoccupy him and people his entire world. What
peace of
mind is possible to him then?
2 It is from this savage fantasy that
you want to escape. Is
it not joyous news to hear that it is not real? Is it not a happy
discovery to
find that you can escape? You made what you would destroy—everything
that you
hate and would attack and kill. All that you fear does not exist.
3 Look at the world about you at least
five times today, for
at least a minute each time. As your eyes move slowly from one object to
another, from one body to another, say to yourself:
5 At the end of each practice period,
ask yourself:
7 The answer is surely obvious.
1 The idea for today contains the only
way out of fear that
will ever succeed. Nothing else will work; everything else is
meaningless. But
this way cannot fail. Every thought you have makes up some segment of
the world
you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work if your
perception
of the world is to be changed.
2 If the cause of the world you see is
attack thoughts, you
must learn that it is these thoughts which you do not want. There is no
point
in lamenting the world. There is no point in trying to change the world.
It is
incapable of change because it is merely an effect. But there is indeed
a point
in changing your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the
cause. The
effects will change automatically.
3 The world you see is a vengeful
world, and everything in
it is a symbol of vengeance. Each of your perceptions of "external
reality" is a pictorial representation of your own attack thoughts. One
can well ask if this can be called seeing. Is not fantasy a better word
for such
a process and hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?
4 You see the world which you have
made, but you do not see
yourself as the image-maker. You cannot be saved from the world, but you
can
escape from its cause. This is what salvation means, for where is the
world you
see when its cause is gone? Vision already holds a replacement for
everything
you think you see now. Loveliness can light your images and so transform
them
that you will love them even though they were made of hate. For you will
not be
making them alone.
5 The idea for today introduces the
thought that you are not
trapped in the world you see, because its cause can be changed. This
change
requires, first, that the cause be identified and then let go, so that
it can
be replaced. The first two steps in this process require your
cooperation. The
final one does not. Your images have already been replaced. By taking
the first
two steps, you will see that this is so.
6 Besides using it throughout the day
as the need arises,
five practice periods are required in applying today's idea. As you look
about
you, repeat the idea slowly to yourself and then close your eyes and
devote
about a minute to searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as
occur to
you. As each one crosses your mind say:
8 Hold each attack thought in mind as
you say this, and then
dismiss that thought and go on to the next.
9 In the practice periods, be sure to
include both your
thoughts of attacking and of being attacked. Their effects are exactly
the same
because they are exactly the same. You do not yet recognize this, and
you are
asked at this time only to treat them as the same in today's practice
periods.
We are still at the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see.
When
you finally realize that thoughts of attack and of being attacked are
not
different, you will be ready to let the cause go.
1 In no situation which arises do you
realize the outcome
that would make you happy. Therefore you have no guide to appropriate
action,
and no way of judging the results. What you do is determined by your
perception
of the situation, and that perception is wrong. It is inevitable, then,
that
you will not serve your own best interests. Yet they are your only goal
in any
situation which is correctly perceived. Otherwise, you will not
recognize what
they are.
2 If you realized that you do not
perceive your own best
interests, you could be taught what they are. But in the presence of
your
conviction that you do know what they are, you cannot learn. The idea
for today
is a step toward opening your mind so that learning can begin.
3 The exercises for today require much
more honesty than you
are accustomed to using. A few subjects, honestly and carefully
considered in
each of the five practice periods which should be undertaken today, will
be
more helpful than a more cursory examination of a large number. Two
minutes are
suggested for each of the mind searching periods which the exercises
involve.
4 The practice periods begin with
repeating today's idea,
followed by searching the mind with closed eyes for unresolved
situations about
which you are currently concerned. The emphasis should be on uncovering
the outcome
you want. You will quickly realize that you have a number of goals in
mind as
part of the desired outcome and also that these goals are on different
levels
and often conflict.
5 Name each situation that occurs to
you, and enumerate
carefully as many goals as possible that you would like to be met in its
resolution. The form of each application should be roughly as follows:
7
and so on. Try to cover as many different kinds of outcome as may
honestly
occur to you, even if some of them do not appear to you to be directly
related
to the situation or even to be inherent in it at all.
8 If these exercises are done
properly, you will quickly
recognize that you are making a large number of demands of the situation
which
have nothing to do with it. You will also recognize that many of your
goals are
contradictory, that you have no unified outcome in mind, and that you
must
experience disappointment in connection with some of your goals however
the
situation turns out.
9 After covering the list of as many
hoped-for goals as
possible for each unresolved situation that crosses your mind, say to
yourself:
11
and go on to the next.
1 Purpose is meaning. Today's idea
explains why nothing you
see means anything. You do not know what it is for. Therefore it is
meaningless
to you. Everything is for your own best interests. That is what it is
for; that
is its purpose; that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that
your
goals become unified. It is in recognizing this that what you see is
given
meaning.
2 You perceive the world and
everything in it as meaningful
in terms of ego goals. These goals have nothing to do with your own best
interests because the ego is not you. This false identification makes
you
incapable of understanding what anything is for. As a result, you are
bound to
misuse it. When you believe this, you will try to withdraw the goals you
have
assigned to the world instead of attempting to reinforce them.
3 Another way of describing the goals
you now perceive as
valuable is to say that they are all concerned with "personal"
interests. Since you have no personal interests, your goals are really
concerned with nothing. In cherishing them, therefore, you have no goals
at
all. And thus you do not know what anything is for.
4 Before you can make any sense out of
the exercises for
today, one more thought is necessary. At the most superficial levels,
you do
recognize purpose. Yet purpose cannot be understood at these levels. For
example, you do understand that a telephone is for the purpose of
talking to
someone who is not physically in your immediate vicinity. What you do
not
understand is what you want to reach him for. And it is this that makes
your
contact with him meaningful or not.
5 It is crucial to your learning to be
willing to give up
the goals you have established for everything. The recognition that they
are
meaningless, rather than "good" or "bad," is the only way
to accomplish this. The idea for today is a step in this direction.
6 Six practice periods, each of two
minutes duration, are
required. Each practice period should begin with a slow repetition of
the idea
for today followed by looking about you and letting your glance rest on
whatever happens to catch your eye, near or far, "important" or
"unimportant," "human" or "unhuman." With your
eyes resting on each subject you so select, say, for example:
8 Say this quite slowly, without
shifting your eyes until
you have completed the statement. Then move on to the next subject, and
apply
today's idea as before.
1 It is surely obvious that if you can
be attacked, you are
not invulnerable. You see attack as a real threat. That is because you
believe
that you can really attack. And what would have effects through you must
also
have effects on you. It is this law that will ultimately save you. But
you are
misusing it now. You must therefore learn how it can be used for your
own best
interests rather than against them.
2 Because your attack thoughts will be
projected, you will
fear attack. And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not
invulnerable. Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own
mind,
which is where the attack thoughts are. Attack thoughts and
invulnerability
cannot be accepted together. They contradict each other.
3 The idea for today introduces the
thought that you always
attack yourself. If attack thoughts must entail the belief that you are
vulnerable, their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes. Thus they
have
attacked your perception of yourself. And because you believe in them,
you can
no longer believe in yourself. A false image of yourself has come to
take the
place of what you are.
4 Practice with today's idea will help
you to understand
that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own
thoughts.
Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. Nothing except your
thoughts can
make you think you are vulnerable. And nothing except your thoughts can
prove
to you this is not so.
5 Six practice periods are required in
applying today's
idea. A full two minutes should be attempted for each of them, although
the
time may be reduced to a minute if the discomfort is too great. Do not
reduce
it further.
6 The practice period should begin
with repeating the idea
for today, then closing your eyes and reviewing the unresolved
situations whose
outcomes are causing you concern. The concern may take the form of
depression,
worry, anger, a sense of imposition, fear, foreboding, or preoccupation.
Any
problem as yet unsettled which tends to recur in your thoughts during
the day
is a suitable subject. You will not be able to use very many for any one
practice period, because a longer time than usual should be spent with
each
one. Today's idea should be applied as follows:
7 First, name the situation:
9 Then go over every possible outcome
which has occurred to
you in that connection and which has caused you concern, referring to
each one
quite specifically, saying:
11 If you are doing the exercises
properly, you should have
some five or six distressing possibilities available for each situation
you use
and quite possibly more. It is much more helpful to cover a few
situations
thoroughly than to touch on a larger number.
12 As the list of anticipated outcomes
for each situation
continues, you will probably find some of them, especially those which
occur to
you toward the end, less acceptable to you. Try, however, to treat them
all
alike to whatever extent you can.
13 After you have named each outcome of
which you are afraid,
tell yourself:
15 Conclude each practice period by
repeating today's idea
once more.
1 Today's idea expresses something
stronger than mere
determination. It gives vision priority among your desires. You may feel
hesitant about using the idea on the ground that you are not sure you
really
mean it. This does not matter. The purpose of today's exercises is to
bring the
time when the idea will be wholly true a little nearer.
2 There may be a great temptation to
believe that some sort
of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above
all else.
If you become uneasy about the lack of reservation involved, add:
4 If fear of loss still persists, add
further:
6 The idea for today needs many
repetitions for maximum
benefit. It should be used at least every half hour, and more often if
possible. You might try for every 15 or 20 minutes. It is recommended
that you
set a definite time interval for using the idea when you wake or shortly
afterwards and attempt to adhere to it throughout the day. It will not
be
difficult to do this, even if you are engaged in conversation or
otherwise
occupied at the time. You can still repeat one short sentence to
yourself
without disturbing anything that is going on.
7 The real question is how often will
you remember? How much
do you want today's idea to be true? Answer one of these questions, and
you
have answered the other. You will probably miss several applications and
perhaps quite a number. Do not be disturbed by this, but do try to keep
on your
schedule from then on. If only once during the day you feel that you
were
perfectly sincere while you were repeating today's idea, you can be sure
that
you have saved yourself many years of effort.
1 Today we are really giving specific
application to the
idea for yesterday. In these practice periods, you will be making a
series of
definite commitments. The question of whether you will keep them in the
future
is not our concern here. If you are willing at least to make them now,
you have
started on the way to keeping them. And we are still at the beginning.
2 You may wonder why it is important
to say, for example,
"Above all else I want to see this table differently." In itself it
is not important at all. Yet what is by itself? And what does "in
itself" mean? You see a lot of separate things about you, which really
means you are not seeing at all. You either see or not. When you have
seen one
thing differently, you will see all things differently. The light you
will see
in any one of them is the same light you will see in them all.
3 When you say, "Above all else I want
to see this
table differently," you are making a commitment to withdraw your
preconceived ideas about the table and open your mind to what it is and
what it
is for. You are not defining it in past terms. You are asking what it
is,
rather than telling it what it is. You are not binding its meaning to
your tiny
experience of tables, nor are you limiting its purpose to your little
personal
thoughts.
4 You will not question what we have
already defined. And
the purpose of these exercises is to ask questions and receive the
answers. In
saying, "Above all else I want to see this table differently," you
are committing yourself to seeing. It is not an exclusive commitment. It
is a
commitment which applies to the table just as much as to anything else,
neither
more nor less.
5 You could, in fact, gain vision from
just that table if
you could withdraw all your own ideas from it and look upon it with a
completely open mind. It has something to show you—something beautiful
and
clean and of infinite value, full of happiness and hope. Hidden under
all your
ideas about it is its real purpose, the purpose it shares with all the
universe.
6 In using the table as a subject for
applying the idea for
today, you are therefore really asking to see the purpose of the
universe. You
will be making this same request of each subject which you use in the
practice
periods. And you are making a commitment to each of them to let their
purpose
be revealed to you instead of placing your own judgment upon them.
7 We will have six two minute practice
periods today in
which the idea for the day is stated first and then applied to whatever
you see
in looking about you. Not only should the subjects be chosen randomly,
but each
one should be accorded equal sincerity as today's idea is applied to it
in an
attempt to acknowledge the equal value of them all in their contribution
to
your seeing.
8 As usual, the applications should
include the name of the
subject which your eyes happen to light on, and you should rest your
eyes on it
while saying:
10 Each application should be made
quite slowly and as
thoughtfully as possible. There is no hurry.
1 The idea for today explains why you
can see all purpose in
anything. It explains why nothing is separate, by itself or in itself.
And it
explains why nothing you see means anything. In fact, it explains every
idea we
have used thus far and all subsequent ones as well. Today's idea is the
whole
basis for vision.
2 You will probably find this idea
very difficult to grasp
at this point. You may find it silly, irreverent, senseless, funny, and
even
objectionable. Certainly God is not in a table, for example, as you see
it. Yet
we emphasized yesterday that a table shares the purpose of the universe.
And
what shares the purpose of the universe shares the purpose of its
Creator.
3 Try then today to begin to learn how
to look on all things
with love, appreciation, and open-mindedness. You do not see them now.
Would
you know what is in them? Nothing is as it appears to you. Its holy
purpose
stands beyond your little range. When vision has shown you the holiness
that
lights up the world, you will understand today's idea perfectly. And you
will
not understand how you could ever have found it difficult.
4 Our six two-minute practice periods
for today should
follow a now familiar pattern: begin with repeating the idea to
yourself, and
then apply it to randomly chosen subjects about you, naming each one
specifically. Try to avoid the tendency toward self-directed selection,
which
may be particularly tempting in connection with today's idea because of
its
wholly alien nature. Remember that any order you impose is equally alien
to
reality.
5 Your list of subjects should
therefore be as free of
self-selection as possible. For example, a suitable list might include:
7 In addition to the assigned practice
periods, repeat the
idea for today at least once an hour, looking slowly about you as you
say the
words unhurriedly to yourself. At least once or twice you should
experience a
sense of restfulness as you do this.
1 The idea for today is the
springboard for vision. From
this idea will the world open up before you, and you will look upon it
and see
in it what you have never seen before. Nor will what you saw before be
even
faintly visible to you.
2 Today we are trying to use the new
kind of projection. We
are not attempting to get rid of what we do not like by seeing it
outside. Instead,
we are trying to see in the world what is in our minds, and what we want
to
recognize is there. Thus we are trying to join with what we see, rather
than
keeping it apart from us. That is the fundamental difference between
vision and
the way you see.
3 Today's idea should be applied as
often as possible
throughout the day. Whenever you have a moment or so, repeat it to
yourself
slowly, looking about you and trying to realize that the idea applies to
everything you do see now or could see now if it were within the range
of your
sight.
4 Real vision is not limited to
concepts such as
"near" and "far." To help you begin to get used to this
idea, try to think of things beyond your present range as well as those
you can
actually see, as you apply today's idea. Real vision is not only
unlimited by
space and distance, but it does not depend on the body's eyes at all.
The mind
is its only source.
5 To aid in helping you to become more
accustomed to this
idea as well, devote several practice periods to applying today's idea
with
your eyes closed, using whatever subjects come to mind and looking
within
rather than without. Today's idea applies equally to both.
1 Today's idea is the introduction to
your declaration of
release. Again, the idea should be applied to both the world you see
without
and the world you see within. In applying the idea, we will use a form
of
practice which will be used more and more, with changes as indicated.
Generally
speaking, the form includes two aspects, one in which you apply the idea
on a
more sustained basis, and the other consisting of frequent applications
of the
idea throughout the day.
2 Two longer periods of practice with
the idea for today are
needed, one in the morning and one at night. Three to five minutes for
each of
them are recommended. During that time, look about you slowly while
repeating
the idea two or three times. Then close your eyes and apply the same
idea to
your inner world. You will escape from both together, for the inner is
the
cause of the outer.
3 As you survey your inner world,
merely let whatever
thoughts cross your mind come into your awareness, each to be considered
for a
moment and then replaced by the next. Try not to establish any thought
of
hierarchy among them. Watch them come and go as dispassionately as
possible. Do
not dwell on any one in particular, but try to let the stream move on
evenly
and calmly, without any special investment on your part. As you sit and
quietly
watch your thoughts, repeat today's idea to yourself as often as you
care to,
but with no sense of hurry.
4 In addition, repeat the idea for
today as often as
possible during the day. Remind yourself that you are making a
declaration of
independence in the name of your own freedom. And in your freedom lies
the
freedom of the world.
5 The idea for today is a particularly
useful one to use as
a response to any form of temptation. It is a declaration that you will
not
yield to it and put yourself in bondage.
1 Today we are continuing to develop
the theme of cause and
effect. You are not the victim of the world you see because you invented
it.
You can give it up as easily as you made it up. You will see it or not
see it,
as you wish. While you want it, you will see it; when you no longer want
it, it
will not be there for you to see.
2 The idea for today, like the
preceding ones, applies to
your inner and outer worlds, which are actually the same. However, since
you
see them as different, the practice periods for today will again include
two
phases, one involving the world you see outside you and the other the
world you
see in your mind. In today's exercises, try to introduce the thought
that both
are in your own imagination.
3 Again we will begin the practice
periods for the morning
and evening by repeating the idea for today two or three times while
looking
around at the world you see as outside yourself. Then close your eyes
and look
around your inner world. Try to treat them both as equally as possible.
Repeat
the idea for today unhurriedly as often as you wish as you watch the
images
your imagination presents to your awareness.
4 For the two longer practice periods,
three to five minutes
are recommended, with not less than three required. More than five can
be
utilized if you find the exercises restful. To facilitate this, select a
time
when few distractions are anticipated and when you yourself feel
reasonably
ready.
5 These exercises are also to be
continued during the day as
often as possible. The shorter applications consist of repeating the
idea
slowly as you survey either your inner or outer world. It does not
matter which
you choose.
6 The idea for today should also be
applied immediately to
any situation which may distress you. Apply the idea by telling
yourself:
1 Today's idea is an attempt to
recognize that you can shift
your perception of the world in both its outer and inner aspects. A full
five
minutes should be devoted to the morning and evening application.
2 In these practice periods, the idea
should be repeated as
often as you find profitable, though unhurried applications are
essential.
Alternate between surveying your outer and inner perceptions, but
without an
abrupt sense of shifting. Merely glance casually around the world you
perceive
as outside yourself, then close your eyes and survey your inner thoughts
with
equal casualness. Try to remain equally uninvolved in both and to
maintain this
detachment as you repeat the idea throughout the day.
3 The shorter exercise periods should
be as frequent as
possible. Specific applications of today's idea should also be made
immediately
when any situation arises which tempts you to become disturbed. For
these
applications, say:
5 Remember to apply today's idea the
instant you are aware
of distress. It may be necessary to take a minute or so to sit quietly
and
repeat the idea to yourself several times. Closing your eyes will
probably help
in this form of application.
1 The idea for today begins to
describe the conditions that
prevail in the other way of seeing. Peace of mind is clearly an internal
matter. It must begin with your own thoughts and then extend outward. It
is
from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.
2 Three longer practice periods are
required for today's
exercises. One in the morning and one in the evening are advised, with
an
additional one to be undertaken at any time in between which seems most
conducive to readiness. All applications should be done with your eyes
closed.
It is your inner world to which the applications of today's idea should
be made.
3 Some five minutes of mind searching
are required for each
of the longer practice periods. Search your mind for fear thoughts,
anxiety
provoking situations, "offending" personalities or events, or
anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts. Note them
all
casually, repeating the idea for today slowly as you watch them arise in
your
mind, and let each one go, to be replaced by the next.
4 If you begin to experience
difficulty in thinking of
specific subjects, continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an
unhurried
manner, without applying it to anything in particular. Be sure, however,
not to
make any specific exclusions.
5 The shorter applications are to be
frequent and made
whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way. The
purpose is
to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. If a specific
form of
temptation arises in your awareness, the exercise should take this form:
7 If the inroads on your peace of mind
take the form of more
generalized adverse emotions, such as depression, anxiety, or worry, use
the
idea in its original form. If you find you need more than one
application of
today's idea to help you change your mind in any specific context, try
to take
several minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel
some sense
of relief. It will help you if you tell yourself specifically:
1 Today's idea does not describe the
way you see yourself
now. It does, however, describe what vision will show you. It is
difficult for
anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this of himself. Yet
the
reason he thinks he is in this world is because he does not believe it.
2 You will believe that you are part
of where you think you
are. That is because you surround yourself with the environment you
want. And
you want it to protect the image of yourself that you have made. The
image is
part of it. What you see while you believe you are in it is seen through
the
eyes of the image. This is not vision. Images cannot see.
3 The idea for today presents a very
different view of
yourself. By establishing your Source, it establishes your identity, and
it
describes you as you must really be in truth. We will use a somewhat
different
kind of application for today's idea, because the emphasis for today is
on the
perceiver rather than on what he perceives.
4 For each of the three five-minute
practice periods today,
begin by repeating today's idea to yourself and then close your eyes and
search
your mind for the various kinds of descriptive terms in which you see
yourself.
Include all of the ego-based attributes which you ascribe to yourself,
positive
or negative, desirable or undesirable, grandiose or debased. All of them
are
equally unreal, because you do not look upon yourself through the eyes
of
holiness.
5 In the earlier part of the mind
searching period, you will
probably emphasize what you consider to be the more negative aspects of
your
perception of yourself. Toward the latter part of the exercise period,
however,
more self-inflating descriptive terms may well cross your mind. Try to
recognize that the direction of your fantasies about yourself does not
matter.
Illusions have no direction in reality. They are merely not true.
6 A suitable unselected list for
applying the idea for today
might be as follows:
8 You should not think of these terms
in an abstract way.
They will occur to you as various situations, personalities and events
in which
you figure cross your mind. Pick up any specific situation that occurs
to you,
identify the descriptive term or terms which you feel are applicable to
your
reactions to that situation, and use them in applying today's idea.
After you
have named each one, add:
10 During the longer exercise periods,
there will probably be
intervals in which nothing specific occurs to you. Do not strain to
think up
specific things to fill the interval, but merely relax and repeat
today's idea
slowly until something occurs to you. Although nothing that does occur
should
be omitted from the exercises, nothing should be "dug out" with
effort. Neither force nor discrimination should be used.
11 As often as possible during the day,
pick up a specific
attribute or attributes you are ascribing to yourself at the time and
apply the
idea for today to them, adding the idea to each of them in the form
stated
above. If nothing particular occurs to you, merely repeat the idea to
yourself
with closed eyes.
1 Today's idea extends the idea for
yesterday from the
perceiver to the perceived. You are holy because your mind is part of
God's.
And because you are holy, your sight must be holy as well. "Sinless"
means without sin. You cannot be without sin a little. You are sinless
or not.
If your mind is part of God's, you must be sinless or a part of His Mind
would
be sinful. Your sight is related to His holiness, not to your ego and
therefore
not to your body.
2 Four three- to five-minute practice
periods are required
for today. Try to distribute them fairly evenly, and make the shorter
applications frequently to protect your protection throughout the day.
The
longer practice periods should take this form:
3 First, close your eyes and repeat
the idea for today
several times slowly. Then open your eyes and look quite slowly about
you,
applying the idea specifically to whatever you note in your casual
survey. Say,
for example:
5 Several times during these practice
periods, close your
eyes and repeat the idea to yourself. Then open your eyes and continue
as
before.
6 For the shorter exercise periods,
close your eyes and
repeat the idea; look about you as you repeat it again; and conclude
with one
more repetition with your eyes closed. All applications should, of
course, be
made quite slowly, as effortlessly and unhurriedly as possible.
1 This idea contains the first
glimmerings of your true
function in the world or why you are here. Your purpose is to see the
world
through your own holiness. Thus are you and the world blessed together.
No one
loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your
holy
vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his
full
due. And he is entitled to everything because it is his birthright as a
Son of
God.
2 There is no other way in which the
idea of sacrifice can
be removed from the world's thinking. Any other way of seeing will
inevitably
demand payment of someone or something. As a result, the perceiver will
lose.
Nor will he have any idea why he is losing. Yet is his wholeness
restored to
his awareness through your vision. Your holiness blesses him by asking
nothing
of him. Those who see themselves as whole make no demands.
3 Your holiness is the salvation of
the world. It lets you
teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by
telling
it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness
are all
things blessed, along with you.
4 Today's four longer exercise
periods, each to involve
three to five minutes of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea
for
today followed by a minute or so of looking about you as you apply the
idea to
whatever you see:
6 Then close your eyes and apply the
idea to any person who
occurs to you, using his name and saying:
8 You may continue the practice period
with your eyes
closed; you may open your eyes again and apply the idea for today to
your outer
world if you so desire; you may alternate between applying it to what
you see
around you and to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any
combination of these two phases of application which you prefer. The
practice
period should conclude with a repetition of the idea made with your eyes
closed
and another following immediately with your eyes open.
9 The shorter exercises consist of
repeating the idea as
often as you can. It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to
anyone you
meet, using his name as you do so. It is essential to use the idea if
anyone
seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of
your
holiness immediately that you may learn to keep it in your own
awareness.
1 Your holiness reverses all the laws
of the world. It is
beyond every restriction of time, space, distance, and limits of any
kind. Your
holiness is totally unlimited in its power because it establishes you as
a Son
of God, at one with the Mind of his Creator. Through your holiness, the
power
of God is made manifest. Through your holiness the power of God is made
available. And there is nothing the power of God cannot do.
2 Your holiness, then, can remove all
pain, can end all
sorrow, and can solve all problems. It can do so in connection with
yourself
and with anyone else. It is equal in its power to help anyone because it
is
equal in its power to save anyone. If you are holy, so is everything God
created. You are holy because all things He created are holy. And all
things He
created are holy because you are.
3 In today's exercises, we will apply
the power of your
holiness to all problems, difficulties, or suffering in any form that
you
happen to think of in yourself or someone else. We will make no
distinctions
because there are no distinctions.
4 In the four longer practice periods,
each preferably to
last a full five minutes, repeat the idea for today, close your eyes,
and then
search your mind for any sense of loss or unhappiness of any kind as you
see
it. Try to make as little distinction as possible between a situation
that is
difficult for you and one that is difficult for someone else. Identify
the
situation specifically and also the name of the person concerned. Use
this form
in applying the idea for today:
6 From time to time you may want to
vary this procedure and
add some relevant thoughts of your own. You might like, for example, to
include
thoughts such as:
8 Introduce whatever variations appeal
to you, but keep the
exercises focused on the theme "There is nothing my holiness cannot do."
The purpose of today's exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense
that you
have dominion over all things because of what you are.
9 In the frequent shorter
applications, apply the idea in
its original form unless a specific problem concerning you or someone
else
arises or comes to mind. In that event, use the more specific form of
application.
1 If guilt is hell, what is its
opposite? Like the text for
which this workbook was written, the ideas which are used for the
exercises are
very simple, very clear, and totally unambiguous. We are not concerned
with
intellectual feats nor logical toys. We are dealing only in the very
obvious,
which has been overlooked in the clouds of complexity in which you think
you
think.
2 If guilt is hell, what is its
opposite? This is not
difficult, surely. The hesitation you may feel in answering is not due
to the
ambiguity of the question. But do you believe that guilt is hell? If you
did,
you would see at once how direct and simple the text is, and you would
not need
a workbook at all. No one needs practice to gain what is already his.
3 We have already said that your
holiness is the salvation
of the world. What about your own salvation? You cannot give what you do
not
have. A savior must be saved. How else can he teach salvation? Today's
exercises will apply to you alone, recognizing that your salvation is
crucial
to the salvation of the world. As you apply the exercises to your own
world,
the whole world stands to benefit.
4 Your holiness is the answer to every
question that was
ever asked, is being asked now, or will be asked in the future. Your
holiness
means the end of guilt and therefore the end of hell. Your holiness is
the
salvation of the world and your own. How could you to whom your holiness
belongs be excluded from it? God does not know unholiness. Can it be He
does
not know His Son?
5 A full five minutes are urged for
the four longer practice
periods for today. Longer and more frequent practice sessions are
encouraged.
If you want to exceed the minimum requirements, more rather than longer
sessions are recommended, although both are encouraged.
6 Begin the practice periods as usual
by repeating today's
idea to yourself. Then with closed eyes search out your unloving
thoughts in
whatever form they appear—uneasiness, depression, anger, fear, worry,
attack,
insecurity, and so on. Whatever form they take, they are unloving and
therefore
fearful. And so it is from them that you need to be saved.
7 Specific situations, events, or
personalities you
associate with unloving thoughts of any kind are suitable subjects for
today's
exercises. It is imperative for your own salvation that you see them
differently. And it is your blessing on them that will save you and give
you
vision.
8 Slowly, without conscious selection
and without undue
emphasis on any one in particular, search your mind for every thought
that
stands between you and your salvation. Apply the idea for today to each
one of
them in this way:
10 You may find these sessions easier
if you intersperse the
applications with several short periods during which you merely repeat
today's
idea to yourself slowly a few times. You may also find it helpful to
include a
few short intervals in which you just relax and do not seem to be
thinking of
anything. Sustained concentration is very difficult at first. It will
become
much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less distractible.
11 Meanwhile, you should feel free to
introduce variety into
your practice periods in whatever form appeals to you. Do not, however,
change
the idea itself in varying the method of applying it. However you elect
to use
it, the idea should be stated so that its meaning remains that your
holiness is
your salvation.
12 End each practice period by
repeating the idea in its
original form once more, and adding:
14 In the shorter applications, which
should be made some
three or four times an hour and more if possible, you may ask yourself
this
question, repeat today's idea, or preferably both. If temptations arise,
a
particularly helpful form of the idea is:
1 Today we will begin to assert some
of the happy things to
which you are entitled, being what you are. No long practice periods are
required today, but very frequent short ones are necessary. Once every
ten
minutes would be highly desirable, and you are urged to attempt this
schedule
and to adhere to it whenever possible. If you forget, try again. If
there are
long interruptions, try again. Whenever you remember, try again.
2 You need not close your eyes for the
exercise periods,
although you will probably find it more helpful if you do. However, you
may be
in a number of situations during the day when closing your eyes would
not be
appropriate. Do not miss a practice period because of this. You can
practice
quite well under almost any circumstance, if you really want to.
3 Today's exercises take little time
and no effort. Repeat
today's idea, and then add several of the attributes which you associate
with
being a Son of God, applying them to yourself. One practice period
might, for
example, consist of the following:
5 Another might be something as
follows:
7 If only a brief period is available,
merely telling
yourself that you are blessed as a Son of God will do.
1 Today's idea will eventually
overcome completely the sense
of loneliness and abandonment which all the separated ones experience.
Depression
is an inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety, worry, a
deep sense
of helplessness, misery, suffering, and intense fear of loss. The
separated
ones have invented many "cures" for what they believe to be the
"ills of the world." But the one thing they do not do is to question
the reality of the problem. Yet its effects cannot be cured because the
problem
is not real.
2 The idea for today has the power to
end all this
foolishness forever. And foolishness it is, despite the serious and
tragic
forms it may take. Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready
to
radiate through you and out into the whole world. It will cure all
sorrow and
pain and fear and loss because it will heal the mind that thought these
things
were real and suffered out of its allegiance to them.
3 You can never be deprived of your
perfect holiness,
because its Source goes with you wherever you go. You can never suffer,
because
the Source of all joy goes with you wherever you go. You can never be
alone,
because the Source of all life goes with you wherever you go. Nothing
can
destroy your peace of mind, because God goes with you wherever you go.
4 We understand that you do not
believe all this. How could
you, when the truth is hidden deep within under a heavy cloud of insane
thoughts, dense and obscuring, yet representing all you see? Today we
will make
our first real attempt to get past this dark and heavy cloud and to go
through
it to the light beyond.
5 There will be only one long practice
period today. In the
morning, as soon as you get up if possible, sit quietly for some three
to five
minutes with your eyes closed. At the beginning of the practice period,
repeat
today's idea very slowly. Then make no effort to think of anything. Try
instead
to get a sense of turning inward, past all the idle thoughts of the
world. Try
to enter very deeply into your own mind, keeping it clear of any
thoughts that
might divert your attention.
6 From time to time, you may repeat
today's idea if you find
it helpful. But most of all, try to sink down and inward, away from the
world
and all the foolish thoughts of the world. You are trying to reach past
all
these things. You are trying to leave appearances and approach reality.
7 It is quite possible to reach God.
In fact it is very easy
because it is the most natural thing in the world. You might even say it
is the
only natural thing in the world. The way will open if you believe that
it is
possible. This exercise can bring very startling results even the first
time it
is attempted. And sooner or later, it is always successful. We will go
into
more detail in connection with this kind of practice as we go along. But
it
will never fail completely, and instant success is possible.
8 Throughout the day, use today's idea
often, repeating it
very slowly and preferably with eyes closed. Think of what you are
saying; what
the words mean. Concentrate on the holiness which they imply about you;
on the
unfailing companionship which is yours; on the complete protection that
surrounds you.
9 You can indeed afford to laugh at
fear thoughts,
remembering that God goes with you wherever you go.
1 The idea for today combines two very
powerful thoughts,
both of major importance. It also sets forth a cause and effect
relationship
which explains why you cannot fail in your efforts to achieve the goal
of the
course. You will see because it is the Will of God. It is His strength,
not
your own, that gives you power. And it is His gift to you, rather than
your own,
which offers vision to you.
2 God is indeed your strength. And
what He gives is truly
given. This means that you can receive it any time and anywhere,
wherever you
are and in whatever circumstances you find yourself. Your passage
through time
and space is not random. You cannot but be in the right place at the
right
time. Such is the strength of God. Such are His gifts.
3 We will have two three- to
five-minute longer exercise
periods today, one as soon as possible after you wake and another as
close as possible
to the time you go to sleep. It is better, however, to wait until you
can sit
quietly by yourself at a time when you feel ready than it is to be
concerned
with the time as such.
4 Begin the practice period by
repeating the idea for today
slowly with eyes open, looking about you. Then close your eyes and
repeat the
idea again, quite slowly. After this, try to think of nothing except
thoughts
which occur to you in relation to today's idea. You might think, for
example:
6 Whatever thought that is clearly
related to the idea
itself is suitable. You may, in fact, be astonished at the amount of
course-related understanding some of your own thoughts contain. Let them
come
without censoring unless you realize your mind is merely wandering and
you have
let obviously irrelevant thoughts intrude. You may also reach a point
where no
thoughts at all seem to come to mind. If such interferences occur, open
your
eyes and repeat the thought once more while looking slowly about; close
your
eyes, repeat the idea once more, and then continue to look for related
thoughts
in your mind.
7 Remember, though, that active
searching is not appropriate
for today's exercises. Try merely to step back and let the thoughts
come. If
you find this difficult, it is better to spend the practice period
alternating
between slow repetitions of the idea with eyes open, then closed, then
open,
and so on, than it is to strain in order to find suitable thoughts.
8 There is no limit on the number of
short practice periods
which would be most beneficial. The idea for the day is a beginning step
in
bringing thoughts together and teaching you that what you are studying
is a
unified thought system in which nothing is lacking that is needed, and
nothing
is included that is contradictory or irrelevant.
9 The more often you repeat the idea
during the day, the
more often you will be reminding yourself that the goal of the course is
important to you, and that you have not forgotten it.
1 Perception is not an attribute of
God. His is the realm of
knowledge. Yet He has created the Holy Spirit as the Mediator between
perception and knowledge. Without this link with God, perception would
have
replaced knowledge forever in your minds. With this link with God,
perception
will become so changed and purified that it will lead to knowledge. That
is its
function as the Holy Spirit sees it. Therefore, that is its function in
truth.
2 In God you cannot see. Perception
has no function in God
and does not exist. Yet in salvation, which is the undoing of what never
was,
perception has a mighty purpose. Made by the Son of God for an unholy
purpose,
it must become the means for the restoration of his holiness to his
awareness.
Perception has no meaning. Yet does the Holy Spirit give it a meaning
very
close to God's. Healed perception becomes the means by which the Son of
God
forgives his brother and thus forgives himself.
3 You cannot see apart from God
because you cannot be apart
from God. Whatever you do, you do in Him because whatever you think, you
think
with His Mind. If vision is real, and it is real to the extent to which
it
shares the Holy Spirit's purpose, then you cannot see apart from God.
4 Three five-minute practice periods
are required today, one
as early as possible and another as late as possible. The third may be
undertaken at the most convenient and suitable time which circumstances
and
readiness permit.
5 At the beginning of these practice
periods, repeat the
idea to yourself with eyes open. Then glance around you for a short
time,
applying the idea specifically to what you see. Four or five subjects
for this
phase of the exercises are sufficient. You might say, for example:
7 Although this part of the exercise
period should be
relatively short, be sure that you select the subjects for this phase
indiscriminately, without self-directed inclusion or exclusion.
8 For the second and longer phase of
the exercise period,
close your eyes, repeat today's idea again, and then let whatever
relevant
thoughts occur to you add to the idea in your own personal way. Thoughts
such
as:
10 Any thought related more or less
directly to today's idea
is suitable. The thoughts need not bear an obvious relationship to the
idea,
but they should not be in opposition to it.
11 If you should find your mind
wandering, if you begin to be
aware of thoughts which are clearly out of accord with today's idea, or
if you
seem to be unable to think of anything, open your eyes, repeat the first
phase,
and then try the second phase again. Do not allow any protracted period
to
occur in which you become preoccupied with irrelevant thoughts. Return
to the
first phase of the exercises as often as necessary to prevent this.
12 In applying today's idea in the
shorter practice periods,
the form may vary according to the circumstances and situations in which
you
find yourself during the day. When you are with someone else, for
example, try to
remember to tell him silently,
14 This form is equally applicable to
strangers and to those
you know well. Try, in fact, not to make distinctions of this kind at
all.
15 The idea should also be applied
throughout the day to
various situations and events which may occur, particularly to those
which
distress you in any way. For this kind of application, use this form:
17 If no particular subject presents
itself to your
awareness, merely repeat the idea in its original form.
18 Try today not to allow long periods
of time to slip by
without remembering today's idea and thus remembering your function.
1 Today we are continuing with the
idea for yesterday,
adding another dimension to it. You cannot see in darkness, and you
cannot make
light. You can make darkness and then think you see in it, but light
reflects
life and is therefore an aspect of creation. Creation and darkness
cannot
coexist, but light and life must go together, being but different
aspects of
creation.
2 In order to see, one must recognize
that light is within,
not without. You do not see outside yourself, nor is the equipment for
seeing
outside you. An essential part of this equipment is the light that makes
seeing
possible. It is with you always, making vision possible in every
circumstance.
3 Today we are going to attempt to
reach that light. For
that purpose, we will use a form of practice which has been suggested
once
before and which we will utilize increasingly. It is a particularly
difficult
form for the undisciplined mind because it represents a major goal of
mind
training. It embodies precisely what the untrained mind lacks. Yet the
training
must be accomplished if you are to see.
4 Have at least three practice periods
today, each lasting
three to five minutes. A longer time is highly recommended, but only if
you
find the time merely slipping by with little or no sense of strain. The
form of
exercise we will use today is the most natural and easy one in the world
for
the trained mind, just as it seems to be the most unnatural and
difficult for
the untrained mind.
5 Your mind is no longer wholly
untrained. You are quite
ready to learn the form of exercise we will use today, but you may find
that
you will encounter strong resistance. The reason is very simple. While
you
practice in this form, you leave behind everything that you now believe
and all
the thoughts which you have made up. Properly speaking, this is the
release
from hell. Perceived through the ego's eyes, it is loss of identity and
a
descent into hell.
6 If you can stand aside from the ego
ever so little, you
will have no difficulty in recognizing that its opposition and fears are
meaningless. You might find it helpful to remind yourself from time to
time
that to reach light is to escape from darkness, whatever you may believe
to the
contrary. God is the Light in which you see. You are attempting to reach
Him.
7 Begin the practice period by
repeating today's idea with
your eyes open and close them slowly, repeating the idea several times
more.
Then try to sink into your mind, letting go every kind of interference
and
intrusion by quietly sinking past them. Your mind cannot be stopped in
this
unless you choose to stop it. It is merely taking its natural course.
Try to
observe your passing thoughts without involvement and slip quietly by
them.
8 While no particular form of approach
is advocated, what is
needful is a sense of the importance of what you are doing, its
inestimable
value to you, and an awareness that you are attempting something very
holy.
Salvation is your happiest accomplishment. It is also the only one that
has any
meaning because it is the only one that has any use to you at all.
9 If resistance rises in any form,
pause long enough to
repeat today's idea, keeping your eyes closed unless you are aware of
fear. In
that case, you will probably find it more reassuring to open your eyes
briefly.
Try, however, to return to the exercises as soon as possible.
10 If you are doing the exercises
correctly, you should
experience some sense of relaxation and even a feeling that you are
approaching
if not actually entering into light. Try to think of light, formless and
without limit, as you pass by the thoughts of this world. And do not
forget
that they cannot hold you to the world unless you give them the power to
do so.
11 Throughout the day, repeat the idea
often with eyes open
or closed as seems better to you at the time. Do not forget. Above all,
be
determined not to forget today.
1 Today's idea holds the key to what
your real thoughts are.
They are nothing that you think you think, just as nothing that you
think you
see is related to vision in any way. There is no relationship between
what is
real and what you think is real. Nothing that you think are your real
thoughts
resemble your real thoughts in any respect. Nothing that you think you
see
bears any resemblance to what vision will show you.
2 You think with the Mind of God.
Therefore you share your
thoughts with Him, as He shares His with you. They are the same thoughts
because they are thought by the same Mind. To share is to make alike or
to make
one. Nor do the thoughts you think with the Mind of God leave your mind,
because thoughts do not leave their source. Therefore your thoughts are
in the
Mind of God, as you are. They are in your mind as well, where He is. As
you are
part of His Mind, so are your thoughts part of His Thoughts.
3 Where, then, are your real thoughts?
Today we will attempt
to reach them. We will have to look for them in your mind because that
is where
they are. They must still be there because they cannot have left. What
is
thought by the Mind of God is eternal, being part of creation.
4 Our three five-minute practice
periods for today will take
the same general form that we used in applying yesterday's idea. We will
attempt to leave the unreal and seek for the real. We will deny the
world in
favor of truth. We will not let the thoughts of the world hold us back,
and we
will not let the beliefs of the world tell us that what God would have
us do is
impossible.
5 Instead, we will try to recognize
that only what God would
have us do is possible. We will also try to understand that only what
God would
have us do is what we want to do. And we will also try to remember that
we
cannot fail in doing what He would have us do. There is every reason to
feel
confident that you will succeed today. It is the Will of God.
6 Begin the exercises for today by
repeating the idea to
yourself, closing your eyes as you do so. Spend a fairly short period in
thinking a few relevant thoughts of your own, keeping the idea in mind
as you
do so. After you have added some four or five thoughts of your
own,
repeat the idea again, and tell yourself gently:
8 Then try to go past all the unreal
thoughts that cover the
truth in your mind, and reach to the eternal.
9 Under all the senseless thoughts and
mad ideas with which
you have cluttered up your mind are the thoughts which you thought with
God in
the beginning. They are there in your mind now, completely unchanged.
They will
always be in your mind, exactly as they always were.
10 Everything that you have thought
since then will change,
but the foundation on which they rest is wholly changeless. It is this
foundation toward which the exercises for today are directed. Here is
your mind
joined with the Mind of God. Here are your thoughts one with His.
11 For this kind of practice, only one
thing is
necessary—approach it as you would an altar dedicated in Heaven itself
to God
the Father and God the Son. For such is the place you are trying to
reach. You
will probably be unable as yet to realize how high you are trying to go.
Yet
even with the little understanding you have already gained, you should
be able
to remind yourself that this is no idle game but an exercise in holiness
and an
attempt to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.
12 In using the shorter form for
applying today's idea, try
to remember how important it is to you to understand the holiness of the
mind
that thinks with God. Take a minute or two as you repeat the idea
throughout
the day to appreciate your mind's holiness. Stand aside, however
briefly, from
all thoughts that are unworthy of Him Whose host you are. And thank Him
for the
thoughts He is thinking with you.
1 God does not forgive because He has
never condemned. And
there must be condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness
is the
great need of this world, but that is because it is a world of
illusions. Those
who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those
who
withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them. As you condemn only
yourself, so do you forgive only yourself.
2 Although God does not forgive, His
Love is nevertheless
the basis of forgiveness. Fear condemns, and love forgives. Forgiveness
thus
undoes what fear has produced, returning the mind to the awareness of
God. For
this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation. It is the means
by
which illusions disappear.
3 Today's exercises require at least
three full five-minute
practice periods and as many shorter applications as possible. Begin the
practice periods by repeating today's idea to yourself, as usual. Close
your
eyes as you do so and spend a minute or two in searching your mind for
those
whom you have not forgiven. It does not matter "how much" you have
not forgiven. You have forgiven them entirely or not at all.
4 If you are doing the exercises well,
you should have no
difficulty in finding a number of people you have not forgiven. It is a
safe
rule that anyone you do not like is a suitable subject. Mention each one
by
name and say:
6 The purpose of the first phase of
today's practice is to
put you in the best position to forgive yourself. After you have applied
the
idea for today to all those who have come to mind, tell yourself,
8 Then devote the remainder of the
practice period to
offering related ideas such as:
10 The form of the applications may
vary considerably, but
the central idea should not be lost sight of. You might say, for
example:
12 The practice period should end,
however, with a repetition
of today's idea as originally stated.
13 The shorter applications may consist
either of a
repetition of the idea for today in the original or in a related form,
or in
more specific applications if needed. They will be needed at any time
during
the day when you become aware of any kind of negative reaction to
anyone,
present or not. In this event, tell him silently,
1 If you are trusting your own
strength, you have every
reason to be apprehensive, anxious, and fearful. What can you predict or
control? What is there in you that can be counted on? What would give
you the ability
to be aware of all the facets of any problem and to resolve them in such
a way
that only good can come of it? What is there in you that gives you the
recognition of the right solution and the guarantee that it will be
accomplished?
2 Of yourself, you can do none of
these things. To believe
that you can is to put your trust where trust is unwarranted and to
justify
fear, anxiety, depression, anger, and sorrow. Who can put his faith in
weakness
and feel safe? Yet who can put his faith in strength and feel weak?
3 God is your safety in every
circumstance. His Voice speaks
for Him in all situations and in every aspect of all situations, telling
you
exactly what to do to call upon His strength and His protection. There
are no
exceptions because God has no exceptions. And the Voice Which speaks for
Him
thinks as He does.
4 Today we will try to reach past your
own weakness to the
Source of real strength. Four five-minute practice periods are necessary
today,
and longer and more frequent ones are urged. Close your eyes and begin
as usual
by repeating today's idea. Then spend a minute or two in searching for
situations in your life which you have invested with fear, dismissing
each one
by telling yourself,
6 Now try to slip past all concerns
related to your own
sense of inadequacy. It is obvious that any situation that causes you
concern
is associated with feelings of inadequacy, since otherwise you would
believe
that you could deal with the situation successfully. It is not by
trusting
yourself that you will gain confidence. But the strength of God in you
is
successful in all things.
7 The recognition of your own frailty
is a necessary step in
the correction of your errors, but it is hardly a sufficient one in
giving you
the confidence which you need and to which you are entitled. You must
also gain
an awareness that your confidence in your real strength is fully
justified in
every respect and in all circumstances.
8 In the latter phase of the practice
period, try to reach down
into your mind to a place of real safety. You will recognize that you
have
reached it if you feel a deep peace, however briefly. Let go all the
trivial
things that churn and bubble on the surface of your mind, and reach down
and
below them to the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a place in you where there
is
perfect peace. There is a place in you where nothing is impossible.
There is a
place in you where the strength of God abides.
9 Repeat the idea for today often. Use
it as your answer to
any disturbance. Remember that peace is your right because you are
giving your
trust to the strength of God.
1 The idea for today simply states a
fact. It is not a fact
to those who believe in illusions, but illusions are not facts. In truth
there
is nothing to fear. It is very easy to recognize this. But it is very
difficult
to recognize for those who want illusions to be true.
2 Today's practice periods will be
very short, very simple,
and very frequent. Merely repeat the idea as often as possible. You can
use it
with your eyes open at any time and in any situation. It is strongly
recommended, however, that you take a minute or so whenever possible to
close
your eyes and repeat the idea slowly to yourself several times. It is
particularly
important that you use the idea immediately should anything disturb your
peace
of mind.
3 The presence of fear is a sure sign
that you are trusting
in your own strength. The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows
that
somewhere in your mind, not necessarily in a place which you recognize
as yet,
you have remembered God and let His strength take the place of yours.
The
instant you are willing to do this there is indeed nothing to fear.
1 It is quite possible to listen to
God's Voice all through
the day without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The
part of
your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God,
whether
you are aware of it or not. It is the other part of your mind that
functions in
the world and obeys the world's laws. It is this part which is
constantly
distracted, disorganized, and highly uncertain.
2 The part that is listening to the
Voice of God is calm,
always at rest, and wholly certain. It is really the only part there is.
The
other part is a wild illusion, frantic and distraught, but without
reality of
any kind. Try today not to listen to it. Try to identify with the part
of your
mind where stillness and peace reign forever. Try to hear God's Voice
call to
you lovingly, reminding you that your Creator has not forgotten His Son.
3 We will need at least four
five-minute practice periods
today and more if possible. We will try actually to hear the Voice
reminding
you of God and of your Self. We will approach this happiest and holiest
of
thoughts with confidence, knowing that in doing so we are joining our
will with
the Will of God. He wants you to hear His Voice. He gave It to you to be
heard.
4 Listen in deep silence. Be very
still, and open your mind.
Go past all the raucous shrieks and sick imaginings that cover your real
thoughts and obscure your eternal link with God. Sink deep into the
peace that
waits for you beyond the frantic, riotous thoughts and sounds and sights
of
this insane world. You do not live there. We are trying to reach your
real
home. We are trying to reach the place where you are truly welcome. We
are
trying to reach God.
5 Do not forget to repeat today's idea
very frequently. Do
so with your eyes open when necessary, but closed when possible. And be
sure
that you sit quietly and repeat the idea for today slowly whenever you
can,
closing your eyes on the world and realizing that you are inviting God's
Voice
to speak to you.
1 Here is the answer to every problem
that confronts you
today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you
are
sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most
trivial and
insane symbols—pills, money, "protective" clothing,
"influence," "prestige," being liked, knowing the
"right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness which you
endow with magical powers. All these things are your replacements for
the Love
of God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body identification.
They
are songs of praise to the ego.
2 Do not put your faith in the
worthless. It will not
sustain you. Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances.
It
will lift you out of every trial and raise you high above all the
perceived
dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It
will
transport you into a state of mind which nothing can threaten, nothing
can
disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son
of God.
3 Put not your faith in illusions.
They will fail you. Put
all your faith in the Love of God within you, eternal, changeless and
forever
unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through
the Love
of God in you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort
and in
sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of
release
from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about
yourself.
4 For ten minutes twice today, morning
and evening, let the
idea for today sink deep into your consciousness. Repeat it, think about
it,
let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow
peace to
flow over you like a blanket of protection and surety. Let no idle and
foolish
thoughts enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the
Kingdom
of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you
forever.
R1:1 Beginning with today, we will have a
series of review
periods. Each of them will cover five of the ideas already presented,
starting
with the first and ending with the fiftieth. There will be a few short
comments
after each of the ideas which you should consider in your review. In the
practice periods, the exercises should be done as follows:
2 Begin the day by reading the five
ideas, with the comments
included. Thereafter, it is not necessary to follow any particular order
in
considering them, though each one should be practiced at least once.
Devote two
minutes or more to each practice period, thinking about the idea and the
related comments. Do this as often as possible during the day. If any
one of
the five ideas appeals to you more than the others, concentrate on that
one. At
the end of the day, however, be sure to review all of them once more.
3 It is not necessary to cover the
comments that follow each
idea literally or thoroughly in the practice periods. Rather, try merely
to
emphasize the central point and think about it as part of your review of
the
idea to which it relates.
4 The review exercises should be done
with your eyes closed
and when you are alone in a quiet place if possible. This is emphasized
particularly for reviews at your stage of learning. It will be
necessary,
however, that you learn to require no special settings in which to apply
what
you have learned. You will need it most in situations which appear to be
upsetting, rather than in those which already seem to be calm and quiet.
5 The purpose of your learning is to
enable you to bring the
quiet with you and to heal distress and turmoil. This is not done by
avoiding
them and seeking a haven of isolation for yourself. You will yet learn
that
peace is part of you and requires only that you be there to embrace any
situation in which you are. And finally you will learn that there is no
limit
to where you are, so that your peace is everywhere, as you are.
6 You will note that for review
purposes the ideas are not
always given in quite their original form of statement. Use them as they
are
given here. It is not necessary to return to the original statements nor
to
apply the ideas as was suggested then. We are now emphasizing the
relationships
among the first fifty of the ideas we have covered and the cohesiveness
of the
thought system to which they are leading you.
1 The review for today covers the
following ideas:
[1] Nothing I see means anything.
2
The reason this is so is that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning.
It is
necessary that I recognize this, that I may learn to see. What I think I
see
now is taking the place of vision. I must let it go by realizing that it
has no
meaning so that vision may take its place.
[2] I have given what I see all the
meaning it has for me.
3
I
have judged everything I look upon. And it is this and only this that I
see.
This is not vision. It is merely an illusion of reality, because my
judgments
have been made quite apart from reality. I am willing to recognize the
lack of
validity in my judgments because I want to see. My judgments have hurt
me, and
I do not want to see according to them.
[3] I do not understand anything I
see.
4
How could I understand what I see when I have judged it amiss? What I
see is
the projection of my own errors of thought. I do not understand what I
see
because it is not understandable. There is no sense in trying to
understand it.
But there is every reason to let it go and make room for what can be
seen and
understood and loved. I can exchange what I see now for this merely by
being
willing to do so. Is not this a better choice than the one I made
before?
[4] These thoughts do not mean
anything.
5
The thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything because I am
trying to
think without God. What I call "my" thoughts are not my real
thoughts. My real thoughts are the thoughts I think with God. I am not
aware of
them because I have made "my" thoughts to take their place. I am
willing to recognize that "my" thoughts do not mean anything and to
let them go. I choose to have them be replaced by what they were
intended to
replace. "My" thoughts are meaningless, but all creation lies in the
thoughts I think with God.
[5] I am never upset for the reason I
think.
6
I
am never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to
justify
"my" thoughts. I am constantly trying to make them true. I make all
things my "enemies" so that my anger is justified and my attacks are
warranted. I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see
by
assigning this role to it. I have done this to defend a thought system
which
has hurt me and which I no longer want. I am willing to let it go.
1 Today's review covers these ideas:
[6] I am upset because I see what is
not there.
2
Reality is never frightening. It is impossible that it could upset me.
Reality
brings only perfect peace. When I am upset, it is always because I have
replaced reality with illusions which I made up. The illusions are
upsetting
because I have given them reality and thus regard reality as an
illusion.
Nothing in God's creation is affected in any way by this confusion of
mine. I
am always upset by nothing.
[7] I see only the past.
3
As I look about, I condemn the world I look upon. I call this seeing. I
hold
the past against everyone and everything, making them my "enemies."
When I have forgiven myself and remembered who I am, I will bless
everyone and
everything I see. There will be no past and therefore no "enemies."
And I will look with love on all that I failed to see before.
[8] My mind is preoccupied with past
thoughts.
4
I
see only my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past.
What, then,
can I see as it is? Let me remember that I look on the past to prevent
the
present from dawning on my mind. Let me understand that I am trying to
use time
against God. Let me learn to give the past away, realizing that in so
doing I
am giving up nothing.
[9] I see nothing as it is now.
5
If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing.
I can
see only what is now. The choice is not whether to see the past or the
present:
it is merely whether to see or not. What I have chosen to see has cost
me
vision. Now I would choose again that I may see.
[10] My thoughts do not mean
anything.
6
I
have no private thoughts. Yet it is only private thoughts of which I am
aware.
What can these thoughts mean? They do not exist, and so they mean
nothing. Yet
my mind is part of creation and part of its Creator. Would I not rather
join
the thinking of the universe than to obscure all that is really mine
with my
pitiful and meaningless "private" thoughts?
1 Today we will review the following:
[11] My meaningless thoughts are
showing me a meaningless
world.
2
Since the thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world
which
pictures them can have no meaning. What is producing this world is
insane, and
so is what it produces. Reality is not insane, and I have real thoughts
as well
as insane ones. I can therefore see a real world if I look to my real
thoughts
as my guide for seeing.
[12] I am upset because I see a
meaningless world.
3
Insane thoughts are upsetting. They produce a world in which there is no
order
anywhere. Only chaos rules a world which represents chaotic thinking,
and chaos
has no laws. I cannot live in peace in such a world. I am grateful that
this
world is not real and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to
value
it. And I do not choose to value what is totally insane and has no
meaning.
[13] A meaningless world engenders
fear.
4
The totally insane engenders fear because it is completely undependable
and
offers no grounds for trust. Nothing in madness is dependable. It holds
out no
safety and no hope. But such a world is not real. I have given it the
illusion
of reality, and have suffered from my belief in it. Now I choose to
withdraw
this belief and place my trust in reality. In choosing this, I will
escape all
the effects of the world of fear because I am acknowledging that it does
not
exist.
[14] God did not create a meaningless
world.
5
How can a meaningless world exist if God did not create it? He is the
Source of
all meaning, and everything that is real is in His Mind. It is in my
mind too
because He created it with me. Why should I continue to suffer from the
effects
of my own insane thoughts when the perfection of creation is my home?
Let me
remember the power of my decision and recognize where I really abide.
[15] My thoughts are images which I
have made.
6
Whatever I see reflects my thoughts. It is my thoughts which tell me
where I am
and what I am. The fact that I see a world in which there is suffering
and loss
and death shows me that I am seeing only the representation of my insane
thoughts and am not allowing my real thoughts to cast their beneficent
light on
what I see. Yet God's way is sure. The images I have made cannot prevail
against Him because it is not my will that they do so. My will is His,
and I
will place no other gods before Him.
1 These are the review ideas for
today:
[16] I have no neutral
thoughts.
2
Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power. They
will
either make a false world or lead me to the real one. But thoughts
cannot be
without effects. As the world I see arises from my thinking errors, so
will the
real world rise before my eyes as I let my errors be corrected. My
thoughts
cannot be neither true nor false. They must be one or the other. What I
see
shows me which they are.
[17] I see no neutral things.
3
What I see witnesses to what I think. If I did not think, I would not
exist,
because life is thought. Let me look on the world I see as the
representation
of my own state of mind. I know that my state of mind can change. And so
I also
know the world I see can change as well.
[18] I am not alone in experiencing
the effects of my
seeing.
4
If I have no private thoughts, I cannot see a private world. Even the
mad idea
of separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the
world I
see. Yet that sharing was a sharing of nothing. I can also call upon my
real
thoughts, which share everything with everybody. As my thoughts of
separation
call to the separation thoughts of others, so my real thoughts awaken
the real
thoughts in them. And the world my real thoughts show me will dawn on
their
sight as well as mine.
[19] I am not alone in
experiencing the effects of my
thoughts.
5
I
am alone in nothing. Everything I think or say or do touches all the
universe.
A Son of God cannot think or speak or act in vain. He cannot be alone in
anything. It is therefore in my power to change every mind along with
mine, for
mine is the power of God.
[20] I am determined to see.
6
Recognizing the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see. I
would
look upon the witnesses that show me the thinking of the world has been
changed. I would behold the proof that what has been done through me has
enabled love to replace fear, laughter to replace weeping, and abundance
to
replace loss. I would look upon the real world, and let it teach me that
my
will and the Will of God are one.
1 Today's review includes the
following:
[21] I am determined to see things
differently.
2
What I see now are but signs of disease, disaster, and death. This
cannot be
what God created for His beloved Son. The very fact that I see such
things is
proof that I do not understand God. Therefore I also do not understand
His Son.
What I see tells me that I do not know who I am. I am determined to see
the
witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those that show me an illusion
of
myself.
[22] What I see is a form of
vengeance.
3
The world I see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts. It is a
picture of attack on everything and by everything. It is anything but a
reflection of the Love of God and the love of His Son. It is my own
attack
thoughts which give rise to this picture. My loving thoughts will save
me from
this perception of the world and give me the peace God intended me to
have.
[23] I can escape from the world by
giving up attack
thoughts.
4
Herein lies my salvation, and nowhere else. Without attack thoughts I
could not
see a world of attack. As forgiveness allows love to return to my
awareness, I
will see a world of peace and safety and joy. And it is this that I
choose to
see, in place of what I look on now.
[24] I do not perceive my own best
interests.
5
How could I recognize my own best interests when I do not know who I am?
What I
think are my best interests would merely bind me closer to the world of
illusions. I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me to find out
what
my own best interests are, recognizing that I cannot perceive them by
myself.
[25] I do not know what anything is
for.
6
To me, the purpose of everything is to prove that my illusions about
myself are
real. It is for that purpose that I attempt to use everyone and
everything. It
is this that I believe the world is for. Therefore I do not recognize
its real
purpose. The purpose I have given the world has led to a frightening
picture of
it. Let me open my mind to its real purpose by withdrawing the one I
have given
it, and learning the truth about it.
1 Our review for today covers the
following:
[26] My attack thoughts are attacking
my invulnerability.
2
How can I know who I am when I see myself as under constant attack?
Pain,
illness, loss, age, and death seem to threaten me. All my hopes and
wishes and
plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot control. Yet perfect
security and complete fulfilment are my inheritance. I have tried to
give my
inheritance away in exchange for the world I see. But God has kept my
inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what it is.
[27] Above all else I want to see.
3
Recognizing that what I see reflects what I think I am, I realize that
vision
is my greatest need. The world I see attests to the fearful nature of
the
self-image I have made. If I would remember who I am, it is essential
that I
let this image of myself go. As it is replaced by truth, vision will
surely be
given me. And with this vision, I will look upon the world and upon
myself with
charity and love.
[28] Above all else I want to see
differently.
4
The world I see holds my fearful self-image in place, and guarantees its
continuance. While I see the world as I see it now, truth cannot enter
my
awareness. I would let the door behind this world be opened for me that
I may
look past it to the world that reflects the Love of God.
[29] God is in everything I see.
5
Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged. Behind
every veil
I have drawn across the face of love, its light remains undimmed. Beyond
all my
insane wishes is my will united with the Will of my Father. God is still
everywhere and in everything forever. And we who are part of Him will
yet look
past all appearances and recognize the truth beyond them all.
[30] God is in everything I see
because God is in my mind.
6
In my own mind, behind all my insane thoughts of separation and attack,
is the
knowledge that all is one forever. I have not lost the knowledge of who
I am
because I have forgotten it. It has been kept for me in the Mind of God,
Who
has not left His Thoughts. And I, who am among them, am one with them
and one
with Him.
1 Today let us review these ideas:
[31] I am not the victim of the world
I see.
2
How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so
choose? My chains are loosened. I can drop them off merely by desiring
to do
so. The prison door is open. I can leave it simply by walking out.
Nothing
holds me in this world. Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. I
would give
up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last.
[32] I have invented the world I see.
3
I
made up the prison in which I see myself. All I need do is recognize
this, and
I am free. I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to
imprison the
Son of God. I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer
want. The
Son of God must be forever free. He is as God created him, and not what
I would
make of him. He is where God would have him be, and not where I thought
to hold
him prisoner.
[33] There is another way of looking
at the world.
4
Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there
must be
another way of looking at it. I see everything upside down, and my
thoughts are
the opposite of truth. I see the world as a prison for God's Son. It
must be,
then, that the world is really a place where he can be set free. I would
look
upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God
finds his
freedom.
[34] I could see peace instead of
this.
5
When I see the world as a place of freedom, I will realize that it
reflects the
laws of God instead of the rules which I made up for it to obey. I will
understand that peace, not war, abides in it. And I will perceive that
peace
also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.
[35] My mind is part of God's. I am
very holy.
6
As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to
understand that
this peace comes from deep within myself. The world I look upon has
taken on
the light of my forgiveness and shines forgiveness back at me. In this
light, I
begin to see what my illusions about myself had kept hidden. I begin to
understand the holiness of all living things including myself, and their
oneness with me.
1 These ideas are for review today:
[36] My holiness envelops everything
I see.
2
From my holiness does the perception of the real world come. Having
forgiven, I
no longer see myself as guilty. I can accept the innocence that is the
truth
about me. Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is
all I
see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself.
[37] My holiness blesses the world.
3
The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. Everyone and
everything
I see in its light shares in the joy it brings to me. There is nothing
that is
apart from this joy because there is nothing that does not share my
holiness.
As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of the world shine
forth for
everyone to see.
[38] There is nothing my holiness
cannot do.
4
My holiness is unlimited in its power to heal because it is unlimited in
its
power to save. What is there to be saved from except illusions? And what
are
all illusions except false ideas about myself? My holiness undoes them
all by
asserting the truth about me. In the presence of my holiness, which I
share
with God Himself, all idols vanish.
[39] My holiness is my salvation.
5
Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing my holiness is
recognizing my salvation. It is also recognizing the salvation of the
world.
Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid. And
because I am
unafraid, everyone must share in my understanding, which is the gift of
God to
me and to the world.
[40] I am blessed as a Son of God.
6
Herein lies my claim to all good and only good. I am blessed as a Son of
God.
All good things are mine because God intended them for me. I cannot
suffer any
loss or deprivation or pain because of who I am. My Father supports me,
protects me, and directs me in all things. His care for me is infinite
and is
with me forever. I am eternally blessed as His Son.
1 The following ideas are for review
today:
[41] God goes with me wherever I go.
2
How can I be alone when God always goes with me? How can I be doubtful
and
unsure of myself when perfect certainty abides in Him? How can I be
disturbed
by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace? How can I suffer when
love
and joy surround me through Him? Let me not cherish illusions about
myself. I
am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go.
[42] God is my strength. Vision is
His gift.
3
Let me not look to my own eyes to see today. Let me be willing to
exchange my
pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. Christ's
vision
is His gift, and He has given it to me. Let me call upon this gift
today, so
that this day may help me to understand eternity.
[43] God is my Source. I cannot see
apart from Him.
4
I
can see what God wants me to see. I cannot see anything else. Beyond His
Will
lie only illusions. It is these I choose when I think I can see apart
from Him.
It is these I choose when I try to see through the body's eyes. Yet the
vision
of Christ has been given me to replace them. It is through this vision
that I
choose to see.
[44] God is the Light in which I see.
5
I
cannot see in darkness. God is the only Light. Therefore if I am to see,
it
must be through Him. I have tried to define what seeing is, and I have
been
wrong. Now it is given me to understand that God is the Light in which I
see.
Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me.
[45] God is the Mind with which I
think.
6
I
have no thoughts I do not share with God. I have no thoughts apart from
Him
because I have no mind apart from His. As part of His Mind, my thoughts
are His
and His Thoughts are mine.
1 These ideas are for today's review:
[46] God is the Love in which I
forgive.
2
God does not forgive because He has never condemned. The blameless
cannot
blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to
forgive. Yet
forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. It is
the
reflection of God's Love on earth. It will bring me near enough to
Heaven that
the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me to my home.
[47] God is the Strength in which I
trust.
3
It is not my own strength through which I forgive. It is through the
strength
of God in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. As I begin to see, I
recognize His reflection on earth. I forgive all things because I feel
the
stirring of His strength in me. And I begin to remember the Love I chose
to
forget, but Which has not forgotten me.
[48] There is nothing to fear.
4
How safe the world will look to me when I can see it! It will not look
anything
like what I imagine I see now. Everyone and everything I see will lean
toward
me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend. What
could
there be to fear in a world which I have forgiven and which has forgiven
me?
[49] God's Voice speaks to me all
through the day.
5
There is not a moment in which God's Voice ceases to call on my
forgiveness to
save me. There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my
thoughts,
guide my actions, and lead my feet. I am walking steadily on toward
truth.
There is nowhere else I can go because God's Voice is the only voice and
the
only guide that has been given to His Son.
[50] I am sustained by the Love of
God.
6
As I listen to God's Voice, I am sustained by His Love. As I open my
eyes, His
Love lights up the world for me to see. As I forgive, His Love reminds
me that
His Son is sinless. And as I look upon the world with the vision He has
given
me, I remember that I am His Son.
1 Who is the light of the world except
God's Son? This,
then, is merely a statement of the truth about yourself. It is the
opposite of
a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. It does not
describe
the self-concept you have made. It does not refer to any of the
characteristics
with which you have endowed your idols. It refers to you as you were
created by
God. It simply states the truth.
2 To the ego, today's idea is the
epitome of
self-glorification. But the ego does not understand humility, mistaking
it for
self-debasement. Humility consists of accepting your role in salvation
and in
taking no other. It is not humility to insist that you cannot be the
light of
the world if that is the function God assigned to you. It is only
arrogance
that would assert this function cannot be for you, and arrogance is
always of
the ego.
3 True humility requires that you
accept today's idea
because it is God's Voice Which tells you it is true. This is a
beginning step
in accepting your real function on earth. It is a giant stride toward
taking
your rightful place in salvation. It is a positive assertion of your
right to
be saved and an acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save
others.
4 You will want to think about this
idea as often as
possible today. It is the perfect answer to all illusions and therefore
to all
temptation. It brings all the images you have made about yourself to the
truth
and helps you depart in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose.
5 As many practice periods as possible
should be undertaken
today, although each one need not exceed a minute or two. They should
begin
with telling yourself:
7 Then think about these statements
for a short while,
preferably with your eyes closed if the situation permits. Let a few
related
thoughts come to you, and repeat the idea to yourself if your mind
wanders away
from the central thought.
8 Be sure both to begin and end the
day with a practice
period. Thus you will awaken with an acknowledgment of the truth about
yourself, reinforce it throughout the day, and turn to sleep as you
reaffirm
your function and your only purpose here. These two practice periods may
be
longer than the rest if you find them helpful and want to extend them.
9 Today's idea goes far beyond the
ego's petty views of what
you are and what your purpose is. As a bringer of salvation, this is
obviously
necessary. This is the first of a number of giant steps we will take in
the
next few weeks. Try today to begin to build a firm foundation for these
advances.
10 You are the light of the world. God
has built His plan for
the salvation of His Son on you.
1 It is your forgiveness that will
bring the world of
darkness to the light. It is your forgiveness that lets you recognize
the light
in which you see. Forgiveness is the demonstration that you are the
light of
the world. Through your forgiveness does the truth about yourself return
to
your memory. Therefore in your forgiveness lies your salvation.
2 Illusions about yourself and the
world are one. That is
why all forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Your goal is to find out who
you
are, having denied your identity by attacking creation and its Creator.
Now you
are learning how to remember the truth. For this, attack must be
replaced by
forgiveness so that thoughts of life may replace thoughts of death.
3 Remember that in every attack you
call upon your own
weakness, while every time you forgive you call upon the strength of
Christ in
you. Do you not then begin to understand what forgiveness will do for
you? It
will remove all sense of weakness, strain, and fatigue from your mind.
It will
take away all fear and guilt and pain. It will restore the
invulnerability and
power God gave His Son to your awareness.
4 Let us be glad to begin and end this
day by practicing
today's idea and to use it as frequently as possible throughout the day.
It
will help to make the day as happy for you as God wants you to be. And
it will
help those around you as well as those who seem to be far away in space
and
time to share this happiness with you.
5 As often as you can, closing your
eyes if possible, say to
yourself:
7 Then devote a minute or two to
considering your function
and the happiness and release it will bring you.
8 Let related thoughts come freely,
for your heart will
recognize these words, and in your mind is the awareness that they are
true.
Should your attention wander, repeat the idea and add:
1 How holy are you who have the power
to bring peace to
every mind! How blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means for
letting this be done through you! What purpose could you have that would
bring
you greater happiness?
2 You are indeed the light of the
world with such a
function. The Son of God looks to you for his redemption. It is yours to
give
him, for it belongs to you. Accept no trivial purpose or meaningless
desire in
its place, or you will forget your function and leave the Son of God in
hell.
This is no idle request that is being asked of you. You are asked to
accept
salvation that it may be yours to give.
3 Recognizing the importance of this
function, we will be
happy to remember it very often today. We will begin the day by
acknowledging
it and close the day with the thought of it in our awareness. And
throughout
the day, we will repeat this as often as we can:
5 You will probably find it easier to
let the related
thoughts come to you in the minute or two which you should devote to
considering this if you can close your eyes. Do not, however, wait for
such an
opportunity. No chance should be lost for reinforcing today's idea.
6 Remember that God's Son looks to you
for his salvation.
And who but your Self must be His Son?
1 Today's idea is merely another way
of saying, "Let me
not wander into temptation." The purpose of the world you see is to
obscure your function of forgiveness and provide you with a
justification for
forgetting it. It is the temptation to abandon God and His Son, taking
on a physical
appearance. It is this which the body's eyes look upon.
2 Nothing the body's eyes seem to see
can be anything but a
form of temptation, since this was the purpose of the body itself. Yet
we have
learned that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions you
have
made, and therefore He sees another purpose in them. To the Holy Spirit,
the
world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think of
as your
sins. In this perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes
the
spiritual recognition of salvation.
3 To review our last few lessons, your
function here is to
be the light of the world, a function given you by God. It is only the
arrogance of the ego that leads you to question this and only the fear
of the
ego that induces you to regard yourself as unworthy of the task assigned
to you
by God Himself.
4 The world's salvation awaits your
forgiveness, because
through it does the Son of God escape from all illusions and thus from
all
temptation. The Son of God is you. Only by fulfilling the function given
you by
God will you be happy. That is because your function is to be happy by
using
the means by which happiness becomes inevitable.
5 There is no other way. Therefore
every time you choose
whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really choosing whether
to be
happy or not. Let us remember this today. Let us remind ourselves of it
in the
morning and again at night and all through the day as well.
6 Prepare yourself in advance for all
the decisions you will
make today by remembering that they are all really very simple. Each one
will
lead to happiness or unhappiness. Can such a simple decision really be
difficult to make? Let not the form of the decision deceive you.
Complexity of
form does not imply complexity of content. It is impossible that any
decision
on earth can have a content different from just this one simple choice.
That is
the only choice the Holy Spirit sees. Therefore it is the only choice
there is.
7 Today, then, let us practice with
these thoughts:
9 At least once devote ten or 15
minutes to reflecting on
this with closed eyes. Related thoughts will come to help you if you
remember
the crucial importance of your function to you and to the world.
10 In the frequent applications of
today's idea to be made
throughout the day, devote several minutes to reviewing these thoughts
and then
to thinking about them and about nothing else. This will be difficult at
first,
particularly since you are not proficient in the mind discipline which
it
requires. You may need to repeat "Let me not forget my function"
quite often, to help you concentrate.
11 Two forms of shorter practice
periods are required. At
times, do the exercises with your eyes closed, trying to concentrate on
the
thoughts you are applying. At other times keep your eyes open after
reviewing
the thoughts and look slowly and unselectively about you, telling
yourself:
1 The idea for today reaffirms your
commitment to salvation.
It also reminds you that you have no function other than this. Both of
these
thoughts are obviously necessary for a total commitment. Salvation
cannot be
the only purpose you hold while you still cherish others. The full
acceptance
of salvation as your only function necessarily entails two phases; the
recognition of salvation as your function, and the relinquishment of all
the
other goals you have invented for yourself. This is the only way in
which you
can take your rightful place among the saviors of the world. This is the
only
way in which you can say and mean, "My only function is the one God gave
me." This is the only way in which you can find peace of mind.
2 Today and for a number of days to
follow, set aside ten to
15 minutes for a more sustained practice period in which you try to
understand
and accept what today's idea really means. It offers you escape from all
your
perceived difficulties. It places the key to the door of peace, which
you have
closed upon yourself, in your own hands. It gives you the answer to all
the
searching you have done since time began.
3 Try, if possible, to undertake the
daily extended practice
periods at approximately the same time each day. Try, also, to determine
this
time today in advance and then adhere to it as closely as possible.
4 The purpose of this is to arrange
your day so that you
have set apart the time for God, as well as for all the trivial purposes
and
goals you will pursue. This is part of the long range disciplinary
training
which your mind needs, so that the Holy Spirit can use it consistently
for the
purpose He shares with you.
5 For this longer practice period,
begin by reviewing the
idea for today. Then close your eyes, repeat the idea to yourself once
again,
and watch your mind carefully to catch whatever thoughts cross it.
6 At first, make no attempt to
concentrate only on thoughts
related to the idea for today. Rather, try to uncover each thought that
arises
to interfere with it. Note each one as it comes to you with as little
involvement or concern as possible, dismissing each one by telling
yourself:
8 After a while, interfering thoughts
will become harder to
find. Try, however, to continue a minute or so longer, attempting to
catch a
few of the idle thoughts which escaped your attention before, but do not
strain
or make undue effort in doing this. Then tell yourself:
10 You need not use these exact words,
but try to get a sense
of being willing to have your illusions of purpose be replaced by truth.
11 Finally, repeat the idea for today
once more and devote
the rest of the practice period to trying to focus on its importance to
you,
the relief its acceptance will bring you by resolving your conflicts
once and
for all, and the extent to which you really want salvation in spite of
your own
foolish ideas to the contrary.
12 In the shorter practice periods,
which should be
undertaken at least once an hour, use this form in applying today's
idea:
14 Sometimes close your eyes as you
practice, and sometimes
keep them open and look about you. It is what you see now that will be
totally
changed when you accept today's idea completely.
1 You have surely noticed an emphasis
throughout our recent
lessons on the connection between fulfilling your function and achieving
happiness. This is because you do not really see the connection. Yet
there is
more than just a connection between them; they are the same. Their forms
are
different, but their content is completely one.
2 The ego does constant battle with
the Holy Spirit on the
fundamental question of what your function is. So does it do constant
battle
with the Holy Spirit about what your happiness is. It is not a two-way
battle.
The ego attacks and the Holy Spirit does not respond. He knows what your
function is. He knows that it is your happiness.
3 Today we will try to go past this
wholly meaningless
battle and arrive at the truth about your function. We will not engage
in ceaseless
arguments about what it is. We will not become hopelessly involved in
defining
happiness and determining the means for achieving it. We will not
indulge the
ego by listening to its attacks on truth. We will merely be glad that we
can
find out what truth is.
4 Our longer practice period today has
as its purpose your
acceptance of the fact that not only is there a very real connection
between
the function God gave you and your happiness, but that they are actually
identical. God gives you only happiness. Therefore the function He gave
you
must be happiness, even if it appears to be different. Today's exercises
are an
attempt to go beyond these differences in appearance, and recognize a
common
content where it exists in truth.
5 Begin the ten- to 15-minute practice
period by reviewing
these thoughts:
7 Try to see the logic in this
sequence, even if you do not
yet accept the conclusion. It is only if the first two thoughts are
wrong that
the conclusion could be false. Let us, then, think about the premises
for a
while, as we are practicing.
8 The first premise is that God gives
you only happiness.
This could be false, of course, but in order to be false it is necessary
to
define God as something He is not. Love cannot give evil, and what is
not
happiness is evil. God cannot give what He does not have, and He cannot
have
what He is not. Unless God gives you only happiness, He must be evil.
And it is
this definition of Him which you are believing if you do not accept the
first
premise.
9 The second premise is that God has
given you your
function. We have seen that there are only two parts of your mind. One
is ruled
by the ego and is made up of illusions. The other is the home of the
Holy
Spirit, where truth abides. There are no other guides but these to
choose
between and no other outcomes possible as a result of your choice but
the fear
which the ego always engenders and the love which the Holy Spirit always
offers
to replace it.
10 Thus it must be that your function
is established by God
through His Voice or is made by the ego which you have made to replace
Him.
Which is true? Unless God gave your function to you, it must be the gift
of the
ego. Does the ego really have gifts to give, being itself an illusion
and
offering only the illusion of gifts?
11 Think about this during the longer
practice period today.
Think also about the many forms which the illusion of your function has
taken
in your mind and the many ways in which you try to find salvation under
the
ego's guidance. Did you find it? Were you happy? Did they bring you
peace?
12 We need great honesty today.
Remember the outcomes fairly,
and consider also whether it was ever reasonable to expect happiness
from
anything the ego has ever proposed. Yet the ego is the only alternative
to the
Holy Spirit's Voice. You will listen to madness or hear the truth. Try
to make
this choice as you think about the premises on which our conclusion
rests. We
can share in this conclusion, but in no other. For God Himself shares it
with
us.
13 Today's idea is another giant stride
in the perception of
the same as the same and the different as different. On one side stand
all
illusions. All truth stands on the other. Let us try today to realize
that only
the truth is true.
14 In the shorter practice periods,
which would be most
helpful today if undertaken twice an hour, this form of the application
is
suggested:
16 It will not take more than a minute,
and probably less, to
repeat these words slowly and think about them a little as you say them.
1 Today's idea is a complete and
accurate statement of what
you are. This is why you are the light of the world. This is why God
appointed
you as the world's savior. This is why the Son of God looks to you for
his
salvation. He is saved by what you are.
2 We will make every effort today to
reach this truth about
you and to realize fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth. In
the
longer practice period, we will think about your reality and its wholly
unchanged and unchangeable nature. We will begin by repeating this truth
about
you and then spend a few minutes adding some relevant thoughts, such as:
4 Any attribute which is in accord
with God as He defines
Himself is appropriate for use. We are trying today to undo your
definition of
God and replace it with His own. We are also trying to emphasize that
you are
part of His definition of Himself.
5 After you have gone over several
such related thoughts,
try to let all thoughts drop away for a brief preparatory interval, and
then
try to reach past all your images and preconceptions about yourself to
the
truth in you. If Love created you like Itself, this Self must be in you.
And
somewhere in your mind, It is there for you to find.
6 You may find it necessary to repeat
the idea for today
from time to time to replace distracting thoughts. You may also find
that this
is not sufficient and that you need to continue adding other thoughts
related
to the truth about yourself. Yet perhaps you will succeed in going past
that
and through the interval of thoughtlessness to the awareness of a
blazing light
in which you recognize yourself as Love created you. Be confident that
you will
do much today to bring that awareness nearer, whether you feel you have
succeeded or not.
7 It will be particularly helpful
today to practice the idea
for today as often as you can. You need to hear the truth about yourself
as
frequently as possible because your mind is so preoccupied with false
self-images. Four or five times an hour, and perhaps even more, it would
be
most beneficial to remind yourself that Love created you like Itself.
Hear the
truth about yourself in this.
8 Try to realize in the shorter
practice periods that this
is not your tiny solitary voice that tells you this. This is the Voice
for God
reminding you of your Father and of your Self. This is the Voice of
truth
replacing everything that the ego tells you about yourself with the
simple
truth about the Son of God. You were created by Love like Itself.
1 You who were created by Love like
Itself can hold no
grievances and know your Self. To hold a grievance is to forget who you
are. To
hold a grievance is to see yourself as a body. It is the decision to let
the
ego rule your mind and to condemn the body to death.
2 Perhaps you do not yet fully realize
just what holding
grievances does to your awareness. It seems to split you off from your
Source
and make you unlike Him. It makes you believe that He is like what you
think
you have become, for no one can conceive of his Creator as unlike
himself.
3 Shut off from your Self, Who remains
aware of His likeness
to His Creator, your Self seems to sleep, while the part of your mind
that
weaves illusions in its sleep appears to be awake. Can all this arise
from
holding grievances? Oh, yes! For he who holds grievances denies he was
created
by Love, and his Creator has become fearful to him in his dream of hate.
Who
can dream of hatred and not fear God?
4 It is as sure that those who hold
grievances will redefine
God in their own image as it is certain that God created them like
Himself and
defined them as part of Him. It is as sure that those who hold
grievances will
suffer guilt as it is certain that those who forgive will find peace. It
is as
sure that those who hold grievances will forget who they are as it is
certain
that those who forgive will remember. Would you not be willing to
relinquish
your grievances if you believed all this were so?
5 Perhaps you do not think you can let
all your grievances go.
That, however, is simply a question of motivation. Today we will try to
find
out how you would feel without them. If you succeed even by ever so
little,
there will never be a problem in motivation ever again.
6 Begin today's extended practice
period by searching your
mind for those against whom you hold what you regard as major
grievances. Some
of these will be quite easy to find. Then think of the seemingly minor
grievances you hold against those you like and even think you love. It
will
quickly become apparent that there is no one against whom you do not
cherish
grievances of some sort. This has left you alone in all the universe in
your
perception of yourself.
7 Determine now to see all these
people as friends. Say to
them all collectively, thinking of each one in turn as you do so:
9 Spend the remainder of the practice
period trying to think
of yourself as completely at peace with everyone and everything, safe in
a
world which protects you and loves you and which you love in return. Try
to
feel safety surrounding you, hovering over you, and holding you up. Try
to
believe, however briefly, that nothing can harm you in any way. At the
end of
the practice period tell yourself:
11 The short practice periods should
include a quick
application of today's idea in this form, whenever any thought of
grievance
arises against anyone, physically present or not:
13 In addition, repeat the idea several
times an hour in this
form:
1 No one can look upon what your
grievances conceal. Because
your grievances are hiding the light of the world in you, everyone
stands in
darkness, and you beside him. But as the veil of your grievances is
lifted, you
are released with him. Share your salvation now with him who stood
beside you
when you were in hell. He is your brother in the light of the world
which saves
you both.
2 Today let us make another real
attempt to reach the light
in you. Before we undertake this in our more extended practice period,
let us
devote several minutes in thinking about what we are trying to do. We
are
literally attempting to get in touch with the salvation of the world. We
are
trying to see past the veil of darkness that keeps it concealed. We are
trying
to let the veil be lifted and see the tears of God's Son disappear in
the
sunlight.
3 Let us begin our longer practice
period today with the
full realization of all this and real determination to reach what is
dearer to
us than all else. Salvation is our only need. There is no other purpose
here
and no other function to fulfill. Learning salvation is our only goal.
Let us
end the ancient search today by finding the light in us and holding it
up for
everyone who searches with us to look upon and rejoice.
4 Very quietly now, with your eyes
closed, try to let go of
all the content which generally occupies your consciousness. Think of
your mind
as a vast round area, surrounded by a layer of heavy dark clouds. You
can see
only the clouds because you seem to be standing outside the whole area,
and
quite apart from it.
5 From where you stand, you can see no
reason to believe
there is a brilliant light hidden by the clouds. The clouds seem to be
the only
reality. They seem to be all there is to see. Therefore you do not
attempt to
go through them and past them, which is the only way in which you would
be
really convinced of their lack of substance. We will make this attempt
today.
6 After you have thought about the
importance of what you
are trying to do for yourself and the world, try to settle down in
perfect
stillness, remembering only how much you want to reach the light in you
today—now. Determine to go past the clouds. Reach out and touch them in
your mind;
brush them aside with your hand; feel them resting on your cheeks and
forehead
and eyelids as you go through them. Go on; clouds cannot stop you.
7 If you are doing the exercises
properly, you will begin to
feel a sense of being lifted up and carried ahead. Your little effort
and small
determination call on the power of the universe to help you, and God
Himself
will raise you from darkness into light. You are in accord with His
Will. You
cannot fail because your will is His.
8 Have confidence in your Father
today. And be certain that
He has heard you and has answered you. You may not recognize His answer
yet,
but you can indeed be sure that it is given you, and you will yet
receive it.
Try, as you attempt to go through the clouds to the light, to hold this
confidence in your mind. Try to remember that you are at last joining
your will
to God's. Try to keep the thought clearly in mind that what you
undertake with
God must succeed. Then let the power of God work in you and through you,
that
His Will and yours may be done.
9 In the shorter practice periods,
which you will want to do
as often as possible in view of the importance of today's idea to you
and your
happiness, remind yourself that your grievances are hiding the light of
the
world from your awareness. Remind yourself also that you are not
searching for
it alone and that you do know where to look for it. Say, then:
11 Also, be sure to tell yourself:
13
if you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today.
1 All temptation is nothing more than
some form of the basic
temptation not to believe the idea for today. Salvation seems to come
from
anywhere except from you. So, too, does the source of guilt. You see
neither
guilt nor salvation as in your own mind and nowhere else. When you
realize that
all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you must also realize
that guilt
and salvation must be in the same place. Understanding this, you are
saved.
2 The seeming "cost" of accepting
today's idea is
this: it means that nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing
outside
yourself can give you peace. But it also means that nothing outside
yourself
can hurt you or disturb your peace or upset you in any way.
3 Today's idea places you in charge of
the universe, where
you belong because of who you are. This is not a role which can be
partially
accepted. And you must surely begin to see that accepting it is
salvation. It
may not, however, be clear to you why the recognition that guilt is in
your own
mind entails the realization that salvation is there as well.
4 God would not have put the remedy
for sickness where it
cannot help. That is the way your mind has worked, but hardly His. He
wants you
to be healed, and so He has kept the Source of healing where the need
for healing
lies. You have tried to do just the opposite, making every attempt,
however
distorted and fantastic it might be, to separate healing from the
sickness for
which it was intended and thus keep the sickness.
5 Your purpose was to ensure that
healing did not occur;
God's purpose was to ensure that it did. Today we practice realizing
that God's
Will and ours are really the same in this.
6 God wants us to be healed, and we do
not really want to be
sick because it makes us unhappy. Therefore, in accepting the idea for
today,
we are in agreement with God. He does not want us to be sick. Neither do
we. He
wants us to be healed. So do we.
7 We are ready for two longer practice
periods today, each
of which should last some ten to 15 minutes. We will, however, still let
you
decide when to undertake them. We will follow this practice for a number
of
lessons, and it would again be well to decide in advance when would be a
good
time to lay aside for each of them and adhere to your own decision as
closely
as possible.
8 Begin these practice periods by
repeating the idea for
today, adding a statement signifying your recognition that salvation
comes from
nothing outside of you. You might put it this way:
10 Then devote a few minutes with your
eyes closed to
reviewing some of the external places where you have looked for
salvation in
the past—in other people, in possessions, in various situations and
events, and
in self-concepts which you sought to make real. Recognize that it was
not
there. Tell yourself:
12 Now we will try again to reach the
light in you, which is
where your salvation is. You cannot find it in the clouds that surround
the
light, and it is in them you have been looking for it. It is not there.
It is
past the clouds and in the light beyond. Remember that you will have to
go
through the clouds before you can reach the light. But remember also
that you
have never found anything in the cloud patterns you imagined that
endured or
that you wanted.
13 Since all illusions of salvation
have failed you, surely
you do not want to remain in the clouds looking vainly for idols there
when you
could so easily walk on into the light of real salvation. Try to pass
the
clouds by whatever means appeals to you. If it helps you, think of me
holding
your hand and leading you. And I assure you this will be no idle
fantasy.
14 For the short and frequent practice
periods today, remind
yourself that your salvation comes from you and nothing but your own
thoughts
can hamper your progress. You are free from all external interference.
You are
in charge of your salvation. You are in charge of the salvation of the
world.
Say, then:
1 You may not realize that the ego has
set up a plan for
salvation in opposition to God's. It is this plan in which you believe.
Since
it is the opposite of God's, you also believe that to accept God's plan
in
place of the ego's is to be damned. This sounds preposterous, of course.
Yet
after we have considered just what the ego's plan is, perhaps you will
realize
that, however preposterous it may be, you do believe it.
2 The ego's plan for salvation centers
around holding
grievances. It maintains that if someone else spoke or acted
differently, if
some external circumstance or event were changed, you would be saved.
Thus the
source of salvation is constantly perceived as outside yourself.
3 Each grievance you hold is a
declaration and an assertion
in which you believe that says, "If this were different, I would be
saved." The change of mind that is necessary for salvation is thus
demanded of everyone and everything except yourself.
4 The role assigned to your own mind
in this plan, then, is
simply to determine what other than itself must change if you are to be
saved.
According to this insane plan, any perceived source of salvation is
acceptable,
provided that it will not work. This ensures that the fruitless search
will
continue, for the illusion persists that, although this hope has always
failed,
there are still grounds for hope in other places and in other things.
Another
person will yet serve better; another situation will yet offer success.
5 Such is the ego's plan for your
salvation. Surely you can
see how it is in strict accord with the ego's basic doctrine, "Seek but
do
not find." For what could more surely guarantee that you will not find
salvation than to channelize all your efforts in searching for it where
it is
not?
6 God's plan for salvation works
simply because, by
following His direction, you seek for salvation where it is. But if you
are to
succeed, as God promises you will, you must be willing to seek there
only.
Otherwise your purpose is divided, and you will attempt to follow two
plans for
salvation which are diametrically opposed in all ways. The result can
only
bring confusion, misery, and a deep sense of failure and despair.
7 How can you escape all this? Very
simply. The idea for
today is the answer. Only God's plan for salvation will work. There can
be no
real conflict about this, because there is no possible alternative to
God's
plan that will save you. His is the only plan that is certain in its
outcome.
His is the only plan that must succeed.
8 Let us practice recognizing this
certainty today. And let
us rejoice that there is an answer to what seems to be a conflict with
no
resolution possible. All things are possible to God. Salvation must be
yours
because of His plan, which cannot fail.
9 Begin the two longer practice
periods for today by
thinking about today's idea and realizing that it contains two parts,
each making
equal contribution to the whole. God's plan for your salvation will
work, and
other plans will not. Do not allow yourself to become depressed or angry
at the
second part; it is inherent in the first. And in the first is your full
release
from all your own insane attempts and mad proposals to free yourself.
They have
led to depression and anger. But God's plan will succeed. It will lead
to
release and joy.
10 Remembering this, let us devote the
remainder of the
extended practice periods to asking God to reveal His plan to us. Ask
Him very
specifically:
12 Give Him full charge of the rest of
the practice period,
and let Him tell you what needs to be done by you in His plan for your
salvation. He will answer you in proportion to your willingness to hear
His
Voice. Refuse not to hear. The very fact that you are doing the
exercises
proves that you have some willingness to listen. This is enough to
establish
your claim to God's answer.
13 In the shorter practice periods tell
yourself often that
God's plan for salvation, and only His, will work. Be alert to all
temptation
to hold grievances today, and respond to them with this form of today's
idea:
15 Try to remember the idea for today
some six or seven times
an hour. There could be no better way to spend a half-minute or less
than to
remember the Source of your salvation, and to see It where It is.
1 While we have recognized that the
ego's plan for salvation
is the opposite of God's, we have not yet emphasized that it is an
active
attack on His plan and a deliberate attempt to destroy it. In the
attack, God
is assigned the attributes which are actually associated with the ego,
while
the ego appears to take on the attributes of God.
2 The ego's fundamental wish is to
replace God. In fact, the
ego is the physical embodiment of this wish. For it is this wish which
seems to
surround the mind with a body, keeping it separate and alone and unable
to
reach other minds except through the body which was made to imprison it.
The
limit on communication cannot be the best means to expand communication.
Yet
the ego would have you believe that it is.
3 Although the attempt to keep the
limitations which a body
would impose is obvious here, it is perhaps not so apparent why holding
grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation. But let us consider
the
kinds of things which you are apt to hold grievances for. Are they not
always
associated with something a body does? A person says something we do not
like;
he does something that displeases us, he "betrays" his hostile
thoughts in his behavior.
4 We are not dealing here with what
the person is. On the
contrary, we are exclusively concerned with what he does in a body. We
are
doing more than failing to help in freeing him from its limitations. We
are
actively trying to hold him to it by confusing it with him and judging
them as
one. Herein is God attacked, for if His Son is only a body, so must He
be as
well. A creator wholly unlike his creation is inconceivable.
5If God is a body, what must His plan
for salvation be? What
could it be but death? In trying to present Himself as the Author of
life and
not of death, He is a liar and a deceiver, full of false promises and
offering
illusions in place of truth.
6 The body's apparent reality makes
this view of God quite
convincing. In fact, if the body were real, it would be difficult indeed
to
escape this conclusion. And every grievance that you hold insists that
the body
is real. It overlooks entirely what your brother is. It reinforces your
belief
that he is a body and condemns him for it. And it asserts that his
salvation
must be death, projecting this attack onto God and holding Him
responsible for
it.
7 To this carefully prepared arena,
where angry animals seek
for prey and mercy cannot enter, the ego comes to save you. God made you
a
body. Very well. Let us accept this and be glad. As a body, do not let
yourself
be deprived of what the body offers. Take the little you can get. God
gave you
nothing. The body is your only savior. It is the death of God and your
salvation.
8 This is the universal belief of the
world you see. Some
hate the body and try to hurt and humiliate it. Others love the body and
try to
glorify and exalt it. But while it stands at the center of your concept
of
yourself, you are attacking God's plan for salvation and holding your
grievances against Him and His creation that you may not hear the Voice
of
truth and welcome it as Friend. Your chosen savior takes His place
instead. It
is your friend; He is your enemy.
9 We will try today to stop these
senseless attacks on
salvation. We will try to welcome it instead. Your upside-down
perception has
been ruinous to your peace of mind. You have seen yourself in a body and
the
truth outside you, locked away from your awareness by the body's
limitations.
Now we are going to try to see this differently.
10 The light of truth is in us, where
it was placed by God.
It is the body that is outside us and is not our concern. To be without
a body
is to be in our natural state. To recognize the light of truth in us is
to recognize
ourselves as we are. To see our Self as separate from the body is to end
the
attack on God's plan for salvation and to accept it instead. And
wherever His
plan is accepted, it is accomplished already.
11 Our goal in the longer practice
periods today is to become
aware that God's plan for salvation has already been accomplished in us.
To
achieve this goal, we must replace attack with acceptance. As long as we
attack
it, we cannot understand what God's plan for us is. We are therefore
attacking
what we do not recognize. Now we are going to try to lay judgment aside
and ask
what God's plan for us is:
13 Then we will wait in quiet for His
answer.
14 We have attacked God's plan for
salvation without waiting
to hear what it is. We have shouted our grievances so loudly that we
have not
listened to His Voice. We have used our grievances to close our eyes and
stop
our ears. Now we would see and hear and learn. "What is salvation,
Father?"
Ask and you will be answered. Seek and you will find.
15 We are no longer asking the ego what
salvation is and
where to find it. We are asking it of truth. Be certain, then, that the
answer
will be true because of Whom you ask. Whenever you feel your confidence
wane
and your hope of success flicker and go out, repeat your question and
your
request, remembering that you are asking them of the infinite Creator of
infinity, Who created you like Himself:
17 He will answer. Be determined to
hear.
18 One or perhaps two shorter practice
periods an hour will
be enough for today since they will be somewhat longer than usual. These
exercises begin with this:
20 Then wait a minute or so in silence,
preferably with your
eyes closed, and listen for His answer.
1 Today we are considering the will
you share with God. This
is not the same as the ego's idle wishes, out of which darkness and
nothingness
arise. The will you share with God has all the power of creation in it.
The
ego's idle wishes are unshared and therefore have no power at all. Its
wishes
are not idle in the sense that they cannot make a world of illusions in
which
your belief can be very strong. But they are idle indeed in terms of
creation.
They make nothing that is real.
2 Idle wishes and grievances are
partners or co-makers in
picturing the world you see. The wishes of the ego gave rise to it, and
the
ego's need for grievances, which are necessary to maintain it, peoples
it with
figures that seem to attack you and call for "righteous" judgment.
They become the middlemen the ego employs to traffic in grievances and
stand
between your awareness and your brothers' reality. Beholding them, you
do not
know your brothers nor your Self.
3 Your will is lost to you in this
strange bartering, in
which guilt is traded back and forth and grievances increase with each
exchange. Can such a world have been created by the will the Son of God
shares
with his Father? Did God create disaster for His Son? Creation is the
Will of
Both together. Would God create a world that kills Himself?
4 Today we will try once more to reach
the world that is in
accordance with your will. The light is in it because it does not oppose
the
Will of God. It is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines on it.
Darkness
has vanished; the ego's idle wishes have been withdrawn.
5 Yet the light which shines upon this
world reflects your
will, and so it must be in you that we will look for it. Your picture of
the
world can only mirror what is within. The source of neither light nor
darkness
can be found without. Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a
darkened world. Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and
lets
you look upon a world of light.
6 We have repeatedly emphasized that
the barrier of
grievances is easily passed and cannot stand between you and your
salvation.
The reason is very simple. Do you really want to be in hell? Do you
really want
to weep and suffer and die? Forget the ego's arguments which seek to
prove all
this is really Heaven. You know it is not so. You cannot want this for
yourself.
There is a point beyond which illusions cannot go.
7 Suffering is not happiness, and it
is happiness you really
want. Such is your will in truth. And so salvation is your will as well.
You
want to succeed in what we are trying to do today. We undertake it with
your
blessing and your glad accord.
8 We will succeed today if you
remember that you will
salvation for yourself. You will to accept God's plan because you share
in it.
You have no will that can really oppose it, and you do not want to do
so. Salvation
is for you. Above all else you want the freedom to remember who you
really are.
9 Today it is the ego which stands
powerless before your
will. Your will is free, and nothing can prevail against it. Therefore
we
undertake the exercises for today in happy confidence, certain that we
will
find what it is your will to find and remember what it is your will to
remember. No idle wishes can detain us nor deceive us with an illusion
of
strength. Today let your will be done. And end forever the insane belief
that
it is hell in place of Heaven that you choose.
10 We will begin our longer practice
periods with the
recognition that God's plan for salvation, and only His, is wholly in
accord
with your will. It is not the purpose of an alien power, thrust upon you
unwillingly. It is the one purpose here on which you and your Father are
in
perfect accord.
11 You will succeed today, the time
appointed for the release
of the Son of God from hell and from all idle wishes. His will is now
restored
to his awareness. He is willing this very day to look upon the light in
him and
be saved.
12 After reminding yourself of this and
determining to keep
your will clearly in mind, tell yourself with gentle firmness and quiet
certainty:
14 Then let your will assert itself,
joined with the power of
God and united with your Self. Put the rest of the practice period under
Their
guidance. Join with Them as They lead the way.
15 In the shorter practice periods,
again make a declaration
of what you really want. Say:
17 This should be repeated several
times an hour. It is most
important, however, to apply today's idea in this form immediately you
are tempted
to hold a grievance of any kind. This will help you let your grievances
go
instead of cherishing them and hiding them in the darkness.
1 The idea for today can be regarded
as the central thought
toward which all our exercises are directed. God's is the only will.
When you
have recognized this, you have recognized that your will is His. The
belief
that conflict is possible has gone. Peace has replaced the strange idea
that
you are torn by conflicting goals. As an expression of the Will of God,
you
have no goal but His.
2 There is great peace in today's
idea. And the exercises
for today are directed towards finding it. The idea itself is wholly
true.
Therefore it cannot give rise to illusions. Without illusions, conflict
is
impossible. Let us try to recognize this today and experience the peace
this
recognition brings.
3 Begin the longer practice periods by
repeating these
thoughts several times, slowly and with firm determination to understand
what
they mean and to hold them in mind:
5 Then spend several minutes in adding
some related
thoughts, such as:
7 During this introductory phase, be
sure to deal quickly
with any conflict thoughts that may cross your mind. Tell yourself
immediately:
9 If there is one conflict area which
seems particularly
difficult to resolve, single it out for special consideration. Think
about it
briefly but very specifically, identify the particular person or persons
and
the situation or situations involved, and tell yourself:
11 After you have cleared your mind in
this way, close your
eyes and try to experience the peace to which your reality entitles you.
Sink
into it, and feel it closing around you. There may be some temptation to
mistake these attempts for withdrawal, but the difference is easily
detected.
If you are succeeding, you will feel a deep sense of joy and an
increased
alertness rather than a feeling of drowsiness and enervation. Joy
characterizes
peace. By this experience will you recognize that you have reached it.
12 If you feel yourself slipping off
into withdrawal, quickly
repeat the idea for today and try again. Do this as often as necessary.
There
is definite gain in refusing to allow retreat into withdrawal, even if
you do
not experience the peace you seek.
13 In the shorter periods, which should
be undertaken at
regular and predetermined intervals today, say to yourself:
15 Then try to find what you are
seeking. A minute or two
every half-hour, with eyes closed if possible, would be well spent on
this
today.
1 The light has come. You are healed
and you can heal. The
light has come. You are saved, and you can save. You are at peace, and
you
bring peace with you wherever you go. Darkness and turmoil and death
have
disappeared. The light has come.
2 Today we celebrate the happy ending
to your long dream of
disaster. There are no dark dreams now. The light has come. Today the
time of
light begins for you and everyone. It is a new era in which a new world
is
born. The old one has left no trace upon it in its passing. Today we see
a
different world because the light has come.
3 Our exercises for today will be
happy ones in which we
offer thanks for the passing of the old and the beginning of the new. No
shadows from the past remain to darken our sight and hide the world
forgiveness
offers us. Today we will accept the new world as what we want to see. We
will
be given what we desire. We will to see the light; the light has come.
4 Our longer practice periods will be
devoted to looking at
the world which our forgiveness shows us. This is what we want to see,
and only
this. Our single purpose makes our goal inevitable. Today the real world
rises
before us in gladness, to be seen at last. Sight is given us, now that
the
light has come.
5 We do not see the ego's shadow on
the world today. We see
the light, and in it we see Heaven's reflection lie across the world.
Begin the
longer practice periods by telling yourself the glad tidings of your
release:
7 Dwell not upon the past today. Keep
a completely open
mind, washed of all past ideas and clean of every concept you have made.
You
have forgiven the world today. You can look upon it now as if you never
saw it
before. You do not know yet what it looks like. You merely wait to have
it
shown to you. While you wait, repeat several times slowly and in
complete
patience:
9 Realize that your forgiveness
entitles you to vision.
Understand that the Holy Spirit never fails to give the gift of sight to
the
forgiving. Believe He will not fail you now. You have forgiven the
world. He
will be with you as you watch and wait. He will show you what true
vision sees.
It is His Will, and you have joined with Him. Wait patiently for Him. He
will
be there. The light has come. You have forgiven the world.
10 Tell Him you know you cannot fail
because you trust in
Him. Tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He
promised
you. From this time forth you will see differently. Today the light has
come.
And you will see the world that has been promised you since time began,
and in which
is the end of time ensured.
11 The shorter practice periods, too,
will be joyful
reminders of your release. Remind yourself every quarter of an hour or
so that
today is a time for special celebration. Give thanks for mercy and the
Love of
God. Rejoice in the power of forgiveness to heal your sight completely.
Be
confident that on this day there is a new beginning. Without the
darkness of
the past upon your eyes, you cannot fail to see today. And what you see
will be
so welcome that you will gladly extend today forever. Say, then:
13 Should you be tempted, say to anyone
who seems to pull you
back to darkness:
15 We dedicate this day to the serenity
in which God would
have you be. Keep it in your awareness of yourself and see it everywhere
today,
as we celebrate the beginning of your vision and the sight of the real
world
which has come to replace the unforgiven world you thought was real.
1 We have observed before how many
senseless things have
seemed to you to be salvation. Each has imprisoned you with laws as
senseless
as itself. You are not bound by them. Yet to understand that this is so,
you
must first realize salvation lies not there. While you would seek for it
in
things that have no meaning, you bind yourself to laws that make no
sense. Thus
do you seek to prove salvation is where it is not.
2 Today we will be glad you cannot
prove it. For if you
could, you would forever seek where it is not and never find it. The
idea for
today tells you once again how simple is salvation. Look for it where it
waits
for you, and there it will be found. Look nowhere else, for it is
nowhere else.
3 Think of the freedom in the
recognition that you are not
bound by all the strange and twisted laws which you have set up to save
you.
You really think that you would starve unless you have stacks of green
paper
strips and piles of metal discs. You really think a small round pellet
or some
fluid pushed into your veins through a sharpened needle will ward off
death.
You really think you are alone unless another body is with you.
4 It is insanity that thinks these
things. You call them
laws, and put them under different names in a long catalogue of rituals
that
have no use and serve no purpose. You think you must obey the "laws"
of medicine, of economics, and of health. Protect the body, and you will
be
saved.
5 These are not laws, but madness. The
body is endangered by
the mind that hurts itself. The body suffers that the mind will fail to
see it
is the victim of itself. The body's suffering is a mask the mind holds
up to
hide what really suffers. It would not understand it is its own enemy,
that it
attacks itself and wants to die. It is from this your "laws" would
save the body. It is for this you think you are a body.
6 There are no laws except the laws of
God. This needs
repeating over and over until you realize that it applies to everything
that
you have made in opposition to His Will. Your magic has no meaning. What
it is
meant to save does not exist. Only what it is meant to hide will save
you.
7 The laws of God can never be
replaced. We will devote
today to rejoicing that this is so. It is no longer a truth which we
would
hide. We realize instead it is a truth which keeps us free forever.
Magic
imprisons, but the laws of God set free. The light has come because
there are
no laws but His.
8 We will begin the longer practice
period today with a
short review of the different kinds of "laws" we have believed we
must obey. These would include, for example, the laws of nutrition, of
immunization, of medication, and of the body's protection in innumerable
ways.
Think further—you believe in the laws of friendship, of "good"
relationships, and reciprocity.
9 Perhaps you even think that there
are laws which set forth
what is God's and what is yours. Many "religions" have been based on
this. They would not save, but damn in Heaven's name. Yet they are no
more
strange than other "laws" you hold must be obeyed to make you safe.
10 There are no laws but God's. Dismiss
all foolish magical
beliefs today, and hold your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice
that
speaks the truth to you. You will be listening to One Who says there is
no loss
under the laws of God. Payment is neither given nor received. Exchange
cannot
be made, there are no substitutes, and nothing is replaced by something
else.
God's laws forever give and never take.
11 Hear Him Who tells you this, and
realize how foolish are
the laws you thought upheld the world you thought you saw. Then listen
further.
He will tell you more. About the Love your Father has for you. About the
endless joy He offers you. About His yearning for His only Son, created
as His
channel for creation; denied to Him by his belief in hell.
12 Let us today open God's channels to
Him and let His Will
extend through us to Him. Thus is creation endlessly increased. His
Voice will
speak of this to us, as well as of the joys of Heaven which His laws
keep
limitless forever. We will repeat today's idea until we have listened
and
understood there are no laws but God's. Then we will tell ourselves, as
a
dedication with which the practice period concludes:
14 We will repeat this dedication as
often as possible
today—at least four or five times an hour, as well as in response to any
temptation to experience ourselves as subject to other laws throughout
the day.
It is our statement of freedom from all danger and all tyranny. It is
our
acknowledgment that God is our Father, and that His Son is saved.
1 You are entitled to miracles because
of what you are. You
will receive miracles because of what God is. And you will offer
miracles
because you are one with God. Again, how simple is salvation! It is
merely a
statement of your true identity. It is this that we will celebrate
today.
2 Your claim to miracles does not lie
in your illusions
about yourself. It does not depend on any magical powers you have
ascribed to
yourself nor on any of the rituals you have devised. It is inherent in
the
truth of what you are. It is implicit in what God your Father is. It was
ensured in your creation and guaranteed by the laws of God.
3 Today we will claim the miracles
which are your right
since they belong to you. You have been promised full release from the
world
you made. You have been assured that the Kingdom of God is within you
and can
never be lost. We ask no more than what belongs to us in truth. Today,
however,
we will also make sure that we will not content ourselves with less.
4 Begin the longer practice periods by
telling yourself
quite confidently that you are entitled to miracles. Closing your eyes,
remind
yourself that you are asking only for what is rightfully yours. Remind
yourself
also that miracles are never taken from one and given to another and
that in
asking for your rights you are upholding the rights of everyone.
Miracles do
not obey the laws of this world. They merely follow from the laws of
God.
5 After this brief introductory phase,
wait quietly for the
assurance that your request is granted. You have asked for the salvation
of the
world and for your own. You have requested that you be given the means
by which
this is accomplished. You cannot fail to be assured in this. You are but
asking
that the Will of God be done. In doing this, you do not really ask for
anything. You state a fact that cannot be denied.
6 The Holy Spirit cannot but assure
you that your request is
granted. The fact that you accepted must be so. There is no room for
doubt and
uncertainty today. We are asking a real question at last. The answer is
a
simple statement of a simple fact. You will receive the assurance that
you
seek.
7 Our shorter practice periods will be
frequent and will
also be devoted to a reminder of a simple fact. Tell yourself often
today:
9 Ask for them whenever a situation
arises in which they are
called for. You will recognize these situations; you are not relying on
yourself to find them, you are therefore fully entitled to receive them
whenever you ask.
10 Remember, too, not to be satisfied
with less than the
perfect answer. Be quick to tell yourself, should you be tempted:
1 Perhaps it is not yet quite clear to
you that each
decision that you make is one between a grievance and a miracle. Each
grievance
stands like a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal.
And as
you raise it up before your eyes, you will not see the miracle beyond.
Yet all
the while it waits for you in light, but you behold your grievances
instead.
2 Today we go beyond the grievances to
look upon the miracle
instead. We will reverse the way you see by not allowing sight to stop
before
it sees. We will not wait before the shield of hate, but lay it down and
gently
lift our eyes in silence to behold the Son of God.
3 He waits for you behind your
grievances, and as you lay
them down he will appear in shining light where each one stood before.
For
every grievance is a block to sight, and as it lifts, you see the Son of
God
where he has always been. He stands in light, but you were in the dark.
Each grievance
made the darkness deeper, and you could not see.
4 Today we will attempt to see God's
Son. We will not let
ourselves be blind to him; we will not look upon our grievances. So is
the
seeing of the world reversed, as we look out toward truth, away from
fear.
5 We will select one person you have
used as target for your
grievances and lay the grievances aside and look at him. Someone perhaps
you
fear and even hate; someone you think you love who angers you; someone
you call
a friend, but whom you see as difficult at times or hard to
please—demanding,
irritating, or untrue to the ideal he should accept as his according to
the
role you set for him.
6 You know the one to choose; his name
has crossed your mind
already. He will be the one of whom we ask God's Son be shown to us.
Through
seeing him behind the grievances that we have held against him, you will
learn
that what lay hidden while you saw him not is there in everyone and can
be
seen. He who was enemy is more than friend when he is freed to take the
holy
role the Holy Spirit has assigned to him. Let him be savior unto you
today.
Such is his role in God your Father's plan.
7 Our longer practice periods today
will see him in this
role. We will attempt to hold him in our mind, first as you now consider
him.
We will review his faults, the difficulties you have had with him, the
pain he
caused you, his neglect, and all the little and the larger hurts he
gave. We
will regard his body with its flaws and better points as well, and we
will
think of his mistakes and even of his "sins."
8 Then let us ask of Him Who knows
this Son of God in his
reality and truth that we may look on him a different way and see our
savior
shining in the light of true forgiveness given unto us. We ask Him in
the Holy
Name of God and of His Son, as holy as Himself:
10 The body's eyes are closed, and as
you think of him who
grieved you, let your mind be shown the light in him beyond your
grievances.
What you have asked for cannot be denied. Your savior has been waiting
long for
this. He would be free and make his freedom yours. The Holy Spirit leans
from
him to you, seeing no separation in God's Son. And what you see through
Him
will free you both.
11 Be very quiet now and look upon your
shining savior. No
dark grievances obscure the sight of him. You have allowed the Holy
Spirit to
express through him the role God gave Him that you might be saved. God
thanks
you for these quiet times today in which you laid your images aside and
looked
upon the miracle of love the Holy Spirit showed you in their place. The
world
and Heaven join in thanking you, for not one Thought of God but must
rejoice as
you are saved and all the world with you.
12 We will remember this throughout the
day and take the role
assigned to us as part of God's salvation plan, and not our own.
Temptation
falls away when we allow each one we meet to save us and refuse to hide
his
light behind our grievances. To everyone you meet and to the ones you
think of
or remember from the past, allow the role of savior to be given that you
may
share it with them. For you both, and all the sightless ones as well, we
pray:
1 A problem cannot be solved if you do
not know what it is.
Even if it is really solved already, you will still have the problem
because
you cannot recognize that it has been solved. This is the situation of
the
world. The problem of separation, which is really the only problem, has
already
been solved. But the solution is not recognized because the problem is
not
recognized.
2 Everyone in this world seems to have
his own special
problems. Yet they are all the same and must be recognized as one if the
one
solution which solves them all is to be accepted. Who can see that a
problem
has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else? Even if he
is given
the answer, he cannot see its relevance.
3 That is the position in which you
find yourself now. You
have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is.
A long
series of different problems seems to confront you, and as one is
settled the
next one and the next arise. There seems to be no end to them. There is
no time
in which you feel completely free of problems and at peace.
4 The temptation to regard problems as
many is the
temptation to keep the problem of separation unsolved. The world seems
to present
you with a vast number of problems, each requiring a different answer.
This
perception places you in a position in which your problem solving must
be
inadequate and failure must be inevitable.
5 No one could solve all the problems
the world appears to
hold. They seem to be on so many levels, in such varying forms, and with
such
varied content that they confront you with an impossible situation.
Dismay and
depression are inevitable as you regard them. Some spring up
unexpectedly, just
as you think you have resolved the previous ones. Others remain unsolved
under
a cloud of denial and rise to haunt you from time to time, only to be
hidden
again but still unsolved.
6 All this complexity is but a
desperate attempt not to
recognize the problem and therefore not to let it be resolved. If you
could
recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what form it
takes,
you could accept the answer because you would see its relevance.
Perceiving the
underlying constancy in all the problems which confront you, you would
understand that you have the means to solve them all. And you would use
the
means because you recognize the problem.
7 In our longer practice periods
today, we will ask what the
problem is and what is the answer to it. We will not assume that we
already
know. We will try to free our minds of all the many different kinds of
problems
that we think we have. We will try to realize that we have only one
problem,
which we have failed to recognize. We will ask what it is and wait for
the
answer. We will be told. Then we will ask for the solution to it. And we
will
be told.
8 Our exercises for today will be
successful to the extent
to which we do not insist on defining the problem. Perhaps we will not
succeed
in letting all our preconceived notions go, but that is not necessary.
All that
is necessary is to entertain some doubt about the reality of our version
of
what our problems are. We are trying to recognize that we have been
given the
answer by recognizing the problem, so that the problem and the answer
can be
brought together, and we can be at peace.
9 The shorter practice periods for
today will not be set by
time but by need. You will see many problems today, each one calling for
an
answer. Our efforts will be directed toward recognizing that there is
only one
problem and one answer. In this recognition are all problems resolved.
In this
recognition there is peace.
10 Be not deceived by the form of
problems today. Whenever
any difficulty seems to rise, tell yourself quickly:
12 Then try to suspend all judgment
about what the problem
is. If possible, close your eyes for a moment and ask what it is. You
will be
heard and you will be answered.
1 If you are willing to recognize your
problems, you will
recognize that you have no problems. Your one central problem has been
answered, and you have no other. Therefore you must be at peace.
Salvation does
depend on recognizing this one problem and understanding that it has
been
solved. One problem—one solution. Salvation is accomplished. Freedom
from
conflict has been given you. Accept that fact, and you are ready to take
your
rightful place in God's plan for salvation.
2 Your only problem has been solved!
Repeat this over and
over to yourself today with gratitude and conviction. You have
recognized your
only problem, opening the way for the Holy Spirit to give you God's
answer. You
have laid deception aside and seen the light of truth. You have accepted
salvation for yourself by bringing the problem to the answer. And you
can
recognize the answer because the problem has been identified.
3 You are entitled to peace today. A
problem that has been
resolved cannot trouble you. Only be certain you do not forget that all
problems are the same. Their many forms will not deceive you while you
remember
this. One problem—one solution. Accept the peace this simple statement
brings.
4 In our longer practice periods
today, we will claim the
peace that must be ours when the problem and the answer have been
brought
together. The problem must be gone because God's answer cannot fail.
Having
recognized one, you have recognized the other. The solution is inherent
in the
problem. You are answered and have accepted the answer. You are saved.
5 Now let the peace that your
acceptance brings be given
you. Close your eyes and receive your reward. Recognize that your
problems have
been solved. Recognize that you are out of conflict, free, and at peace.
Above
all, remember that you have one problem and that the problem has one
solution.
It is in this that the simplicity of salvation lies. It is because of
this that
it is guaranteed to work.
6 Assure yourself often today that
your problems have been
solved. Repeat the idea with deep conviction as frequently as possible.
And be
particularly sure to remember to apply the idea for today to any
specific
problem that may arise. Say quickly:
8 Let us be determined not to collect
grievances today. Let
us be determined to be free of problems that do not exist. The means is
simple
honesty. Do not deceive yourself about what the problem is, and you must
recognize it has been solved.
R2:1 We are now ready for another review.
We will begin where
our last review left off and cover two ideas each day. The earlier part
of each
day will be devoted to one of these ideas, and the latter part of the
day to
the other. We will have one longer exercise period and frequent shorter
ones in
which we practice each of them.
2 The longer practice periods will
follow this general form:
take about 15 minutes for each of them, and begin by thinking about the
idea
and the comments which are included in the assignments. Devote about
three or
four minutes to reading them over slowly, several times if you wish, and
then
close your eyes and listen. Repeat the first phase if you find your mind
wandering, but try to spend the major part of the practice period
listening
quietly but attentively.
3 There is a message waiting for you.
Be confident that you
will receive it. Remember that it belongs to you and that you want it.
Do not
allow your intent to waver in the face of distracting thoughts. Realize
that,
whatever form they take, they have no meaning and no power. Replace them
with
your determination to succeed. Do not forget that your will has power
over all
fantasies and dreams. Trust it to see you through and carry you beyond
them
all.
4 Regard these practice periods as
dedications to the way,
the truth, and the life. Refuse to be side-tracked into detours,
illusions, and
thoughts of death. You are dedicated to salvation. Be determined each
day not
to leave your function unfulfilled.
5 Reaffirm your determination in the
shorter practice
periods as well, using the original form of the idea for general
application
and a more specific form when needed. Some specific forms will be
included in
the comments. These, however, are merely suggestions. It is not the
particular
words you use that matter.
1
Our ideas for review today are:
[61] I am the light of the world.
2
How holy am I, who have been given the function of lighting up the
world! Let
me be still before my holiness. In its calm light, let all my conflicts
disappear. In its peace, let me remember who I am.
3
Some specific forms for applying the idea when specific difficulties
seem to
arise might be:
[62] Forgiveness is my function as
the light of the world.
5
It is through accepting my function that I will see the light in me. And
in
this light will my function stand clear and perfectly unambiguous before
my
sight. My acceptance does not depend on my recognizing what my function
is, for
I do not yet understand forgiveness. Yet I will trust that in the light
I will
see it as it is.
6
Specific forms for using the idea might include:
1 We will review these ideas today:
[63] The light of the world brings
peace to every mind
through my forgiveness.
2
My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world finds
expression
through me. My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the
light of
the world in me. My forgiveness is the means by which the world is
healed,
together with myself. Let me, then, forgive the world that it may be
healed along
with me.
3 Suggestions for specific forms for
applying this idea are:
[64] Let me not forget my function.
5
I
would not forget my function because I would remember my Self. I cannot
fulfill
my function by forgetting. And unless I fulfill my function, I will not
experience the joy that God intends for me.
6
Suitable specific forms of this idea include:
1
Today let us review these ideas:
[65] My only function is the one God
gave me.
2
I
have no function but the one God gave me. This recognition releases me
from all
conflict because it means I cannot have conflicting goals. With one
purpose
only, I am always certain what to do, what to say, and what to think.
All doubt
must disappear as I acknowledge that my only function is the one God
gave me.
3
More specific applications of this idea might take these forms:
[66] My happiness and my function are
one.
5
All things that come from God are one. They come from Oneness and must
be
received as one. Fulfilling my function is my happiness because both
come from
the same Source. And I must learn to recognize what makes me happy if I
would
find happiness.
6
Some useful forms for specific applications of this idea are:
1 These are the ideas for today's
review:
[67] Love created me like Itself.
2
I
am in the likeness of my Creator. I cannot suffer, I cannot experience
loss,
and I cannot die. I am not a body. I would recognize my reality today. I
will
worship no idols nor raise my own self-concepts to replace my Self. I am
in the
likeness of my Creator. Love created me like Itself.
3
You might find these specific forms helpful in applying the idea:
[68] Love holds no grievances.
5
Grievances are completely alien to love. Grievances attack love and keep
its
light obscure. If I hold grievances I am attacking love and therefore
attacking
my Self. My Self thus becomes alien to me. I am determined not to attack
my
Self today, so that I can remember who I am.
6
These specific forms for applying this idea would be helpful:
1 Today's review will cover these
ideas:
[69] My grievances hide the light of
the world in me.
2
My grievances show me what is not there and hide from me what I would
see.
Recognizing this, what do I want my grievances for? They keep me in
darkness
and hide the light. Grievances and light cannot go together, but light
and
vision must be joined for me to see. To see, I must lay grievances
aside. I
want to see, and this will be the means by which I will succeed.
3
Specific applications of this idea might be made in these forms:
[70] My salvation comes from me.
5
Today I will recognize where my salvation is. It is in me because its
Source is
there. It has not left its Source, and so it cannot have left my mind. I
will
not look for it outside myself. It is not found outside and then brought
in.
But from within me it will reach beyond, and everything I see will but
reflect
the light that shines in me and in itself.
6
These forms of the idea are suitable for more specific application:
1 These ideas are for review today:
[71] Only God's plan for salvation
will work.
2
It is senseless for me to search wildly about for salvation. I have seen
it in
many people and in many things, but when I reached for it, it was not
there. I
was mistaken about where it is. I was mistaken about what it is. I will
undertake no more idle seeking. Only God's plan for salvation will work.
And I
will rejoice because His plan can never fail.
3
These are some suggested forms for applying this idea specifically:
[72] Holding grievances is an attack
on God's plan for salvation.
5
Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God's plan for salvation
will
not work. Yet only His plan will work. By holding grievances, I am
therefore
excluding my only hope of salvation from my awareness. I would no longer
defeat
my own best interests in this insane way. I would accept God's plan for
salvation and be happy.
6
Specific applications of this idea might be in these forms:
1 Our review today will cover these
ideas:
[73] I will there be light.
2
I
will use the power of my will today. It is not my will to grope about in
darkness, fearful of shadows and afraid of things unseen and unreal.
Light
shall be my guide today. I will follow it where it leads me, and I will
look
only on what it shows me. This day I will experience the peace of true
perception.
3
These forms of this idea would be helpful for specific application:
[74] There is no will but God's.
5
I
am safe today because there is no will but God's. I can become afraid
only when
I believe that there is another will. I try to attack only when I am
afraid,
and only when I try to attack can I believe that my eternal safety is
threatened. Today I will recognize that all this has not occurred. I am
safe
because there is no will but God's.
6
These are some useful forms of this idea for specific applications:
1 Today we will review these ideas:
[75] The light has come.
2
In choosing salvation rather than attack, I merely choose to recognize
what is
already here. Salvation is a decision made already. Attack and
grievances are
not there to choose. That is why I always choose between truth and
illusion,
between what is there and what is not. The light has come. I can but
choose the
light, for it has no alternative. It has replaced the darkness, and the
dark is
gone.
3
These would prove useful forms for specific applications of this idea:
[76] I am under no laws but God's.
5
Here is the perfect statement of my freedom. I am under no laws but
God's. I am
constantly tempted to make up other laws and give them power over me. I
suffer
only because of my belief in them. They have no real effect on me at
all. I am
perfectly free of the effects of all laws save God's. And His are the
laws of
freedom.
6
For specific forms in applying this idea, these would be useful:
1 These are our review ideas for
today:
[77]
I am entitled
to miracles.
2
I
am entitled to miracles because I am under no laws but God's. His laws
release
me from all grievances and replace them with miracles. And I would
accept the
miracles in place of the grievances, which are but illusions that hide
the
miracles beyond. Now I would accept only what the laws of God entitle me
to
have that I may use it on behalf of the function He has given me.
3
You might use these suggestions for specific applications of this idea:
[78] Let miracles replace all
grievances.
5
By this idea do I unite my will with the Holy Spirit's and perceive them
as
one. By this idea do I accept my release from hell. By this idea do I
express
my willingness to have all my illusions be replaced with truth according
to
God's plan for my salvation. I would make no exceptions and no
substitutes. I
want all of Heaven and only Heaven, as God wills me to have.
6
Useful specific forms for applying this idea would be:
1
For this review we will use these ideas:
[79] Let me recognize the problem so
it can be solved.
2
Let me realize today that the problem is always some form of grievance
which I
would cherish. Let me also understand that the solution is always a
miracle
with which I let the grievance be replaced. Today I would remember the
simplicity of salvation by reinforcing the lesson that there is one
problem and
one solution. The problem is a grievance; the solution is a miracle. And
I
invite the solution to come to me through my forgiveness of the
grievance and
my welcome of the miracle which takes its place.
3
Specific applications of this idea might be in these forms:
[80] Let me recognize my problems
have been solved.
5
I
seem to have problems only because I am misusing time. I believe that
the
problem comes first, and time must elapse before it can be worked out. I
do not
see the problem and the answer as simultaneous in their occurrence. That
is
because I do not yet realize that God has placed the answer together
with the
problem, so that they cannot be separated by time. The Holy Spirit will
teach
me this if I will let Him. And I will understand it is impossible that I
could
have a problem which has not been solved already.
6
These forms of the idea will be useful for specific applications:
1 It is important to remember that
miracles and vision
necessarily go together. This needs repeating and frequent repeating. It
is a
central idea in your new thought system and the perception which it
produces.
The miracle is always there. Its presence is not caused by your vision;
its
absence is not the result of your failure to see. It is only your
awareness of
miracles that is affected. You will see it in the light; you will not
see it in
the dark.
2 To you, then, light is crucial.
While you remain in
darkness, the miracle remains unseen. Thus you are convinced it is not
there.
This follows from the premises from which the darkness comes. Denial of
light
leads to failure to perceive it. Failure to perceive light is to
perceive
darkness. The light is useless to you then, even though it is there. You
cannot
use it because its presence is unknown to you. And the seeming reality
of the
darkness makes the idea of light meaningless.
3 To be told that what you do not see
is there sounds like
insanity. It is very difficult to become convinced that it is insanity
not to
see what is there and to see what is not there instead. You do not doubt
that
the body's eyes can see. You do not doubt the images they show you are
reality.
Your faith lies in the darkness, not the light.
4 How can this be reversed? For you it
is impossible, but
you are not alone in this. Your efforts, however little they may be,
have
strong support. Did you but realize how great this strength, your doubts
would
vanish. Today we will devote ourselves to the attempt to let you feel
this
strength. When you have felt the strength in you which makes all
miracles
within your easy reach, you will not doubt. The miracles your sense of
weakness
hides will leap into awareness as you feel the strength in you.
5 Three times today, set aside about
ten minutes for a quiet
time in which you try to leave your weakness behind. This is
accomplished very
simply, as you instruct yourself that you are not a body. Faith goes to
what
you want, and you instruct your mind accordingly. Your will remains your
teacher, and your will has all the strength to do what it desires. You
can
escape the body if you choose. You can experience the strength in you.
6 Begin the longer practice periods
with this statement of
true cause and effect relationships:
8 The question with which this
statement ends is needed for
our exercises today. What you think you are is a belief to be undone.
But what
you really are must be revealed to you. The belief you are a body calls
for
correction, being a mistake. The truth of what you are calls on the
strength in
you to bring to your awareness what the mistake concealed.
9 If you are not a body, what are you?
You need to be aware
of what the Holy Spirit uses to replace the image of a body in your
mind. You
need to feel something to put your faith in, as you lift it from the
body. You
need a real experience of something else, something more solid and more
sure,
more worthy of your faith, and really there.
10 If you are not a body, what are you?
Ask this in honesty,
and then devote several minutes to allowing your mistaken thoughts about
your
attributes to be corrected, and their opposites to take their place.
Say, for
example:
12 In the second phase of the exercise
period, try to
experience these truths about yourself. Concentrate particularly on the
experience of strength. Remember that all sense of weakness is
associated with
the belief you are a body, a belief that is mistaken and deserves no
faith. Try
to remove your faith from it, if only for a moment. You will become
accustomed
to keeping faith with the more worthy in you as we go along.
13 Relax for the rest of the practice
period, confident that
your efforts, however meager, are fully supported by the strength of God
and
all His Thoughts. It is from Them your strength will come. It is through
Their
strong support that you will feel the strength in you. They are united
with you
in this practice period in which you share a purpose like Their own.
Theirs is
the light in which you will see miracles because Their strength is
yours. Their
strength becomes your eyes that you may see.
14 Five or six times an hour at
reasonably regular intervals
remind yourself that miracles are seen in light. Also, be sure to meet
temptation with today's idea. This form would be helpful for this
special
purpose:
1 The idea for today is an extension
of the previous one.
You do not think of light in terms of strength and darkness in terms of
weakness. That is because your idea of what seeing means is tied up with
the
body and its eyes and brain. This is why you believe that you can change
what
you see by keeping little bits of glass or other clear material before
your
eyes held in a frame or placed against the eye.
2 These are among the many magical
beliefs that come from
the conviction you are a body and the body's eyes can see. You also
believe the
body's brain can think. If you but understood the nature of thought, you
could
but laugh at this insane idea. It is as if you thought you held the
match that
lights the sun and gives it all its warmth or that you had the universe
imprisoned in your hand, securely bound until you let it go. Yet this is
no
more foolish than to believe the body's eyes can see, the brain can
think.
3 It is God's strength in you that is
the light in which you
see, as it is His Mind with which you think. His strength denies your
weakness.
It is your weakness that sees through the body's eyes, peering about in
darkness to behold the likeness of itself—the small, the weak, the
sickly and
the dying, those in need, the helpless and afraid, the sad, the poor,
the
starving, and the joyless. These are seen through eyes which cannot see
and
cannot bless.
4 Strength overlooks these things by
seeing past
appearances. It keeps its steady gaze upon the light that lies beyond
them. It
unites with light, of which it is a part. It sees itself. It brings the
light
in which your Self appears. In darkness you perceive a self that is not
there.
5 Strength is the truth about you;
weakness is an idol
falsely worshipped, and adored that strength may be dispelled and
darkness rule
where God appointed that there should be light. Strength comes from
truth and
shines with light its Source has given it; weakness reflects the
darkness of
its maker. It is sick and looks on sickness, which is like itself.
6 Truth is a savior and can only will
for happiness and
peace for everyone. It gives its strength to everyone who asks, in
limitless
supply. It sees that lack in anyone would be a lack in all, and so it
gives its
light that all may see and benefit as one. Its strength is shared that
it may
bring to all the miracle in which they will unite in purpose and
forgiveness
and in love.
7 Weakness, which looks in darkness,
cannot see a purpose in
forgiveness and in love. It sees all others different from itself and
nothing
in the world that it would share. It judges and condemns but does not
love. In
darkness it remains to hide itself and dreams that it is strong and
conquering,
a victor over limitations that but grow in darkness to enormous size. It
fears
and it attacks and hates itself, and darkness covers everything it sees,
leaving its dreams as fearful as itself. No miracles are here, but only
hate.
It separates itself from what it sees, while light and strength perceive
themselves as one.
8 The light of strength is not the
light you see. It does
not change and flicker and go out. It does not shift from night to day
and back
to darkness till the morning comes again. The light of strength is
constant,
sure as love, forever glad to give itself away because it cannot give
but to
itself. No one can ask in vain to share its sight, and none who enters
its
abode can leave without a miracle before his eyes and strength and light
abiding in his heart.
9 The strength in you will offer you
the light and guide your
seeing, so you do not dwell on idle shadows that the body's eyes provide
for
self-deception. Strength and light unite in you, and where they meet,
your Self
stands ready to embrace you as Its own. Such is the meeting place we try
today
to find and rest in, for the peace of God is where your Self, His Son,
is
waiting now to meet itself again and be as one.
10 Let us give 20 minutes twice today
to join this meeting.
Let yourself be brought unto your Self. Its strength will be the light
in which
the gift of sight is given you. Leave, then, the dark a little while
today, and
we will practice seeing in the light, closing the body's eyes and asking
truth
to show us how to find the meeting place of self and Self, where light
and
strength are one.
11 After the morning meeting, we will
use the day in
preparation for the time at night when we will meet again in hope and
trust.
Let us repeat as often as we can the idea for today and recognize that
we are
being introduced to sight and led away from darkness to the light, where
only
miracles can be perceived.
1 You think you are the home of evil,
darkness, and sin. You
think if anyone could see the truth about you he would be repelled,
recoiling
from you as if from a poisonous snake. You think if what is true about
you were
revealed to you, you would be struck with horror so intense that you
would rush
to death by your own hand, living on after seeing this being impossible.
2 These are beliefs so firmly fixed
that it is difficult to
help you see that they are based on nothing. That you have made mistakes
is
obvious. That you have sought salvation in strange ways—have been
deceived,
deceiving, and afraid of foolish fantasies and savage dreams and have
bowed
down to idols made of dust—all this is true by what you now believe.
3 Today we question this, not from the
point of view of what
you think, but from a very different reference point from which such
idle
thoughts are meaningless. These thoughts are not according to God's
Will. These
weird beliefs He does not share with you. This is enough to prove that
they are
wrong, but you do not perceive that this is so.
4 Why would you not be overjoyed to be
assured that all the
evil that you think you did was never done, that all your "sins" are
nothing, that you are as pure and holy as you were created, and that
light and
joy and peace abide in you? Your image of yourself cannot withstand the
Will of
God. You think that this is death, but it is life. You think you are
destroyed,
but you are saved.
5 The self you made is not the Son of
God. Therefore, this
self does not exist at all. And anything it seems to do and think means
nothing. It is neither bad nor good. It is unreal and nothing more than
that.
It does not battle with the Son of God. It does not hurt him nor attack
his
peace. It has not changed creation nor reduced eternal sinlessness to
sin and
love to hate. What power can this self you made possess when it would
contradict the Will of God?
6 Your sinlessness is guaranteed by
God. Over and over this
must be repeated until it is accepted. It is true. Your sinlessness is
guaranteed by God. Nothing can touch it nor can change what God created
as
eternal. The self you made, evil and full of sin, is meaningless. Your
sinlessness is guaranteed by God, and light and joy and peace abide in
you.
7 Salvation requires the acceptance of
but one thought—you
are as God created you, not what you made of yourself. Whatever evil you
may
think you did, you are as God created you. Whatever mistakes you made,
the
truth about you is unchanged. Creation is eternal and unalterable. Your
sinlessness is guaranteed by God. You are and will forever be exactly as
you
were created. Light and joy and peace abide in you because God put them
there.
8 In our longer exercise periods
today, which would be most
profitable if done for the first five minutes of every waking hour, we
will
begin by stating the truth about our creation:
10 Then put away your foolish
self-images and spend the rest
of the practice period in trying to experience what God has given you in
place
of what you have decreed for yourself.
11 You are what God created or what you
made. One Self is
true; the other is not there. Try to experience the unity of your One
Self. Try
to appreciate its holiness and the love from which it was created. Try
not to
interfere with the Self which God created as you by hiding its majesty
behind
the tiny idols of evil and sinfulness you have made to replace it. Let
it come
into its own. Here you are. This is you. And light and joy and peace
abide in
you because this is so.
12 You may not be willing or even able
to use the first five
minutes of each hour for these exercises. Try, however, to do so when
you can.
At least remember to repeat these thoughts each hour:
14 Then try to devote at least a minute
or so to closing your
eyes and realizing that this is a statement of the truth about you.
15 If a situation arises that seems to
be disturbing, quickly
dispel the illusion of fear by repeating these thoughts again. Should
you be
tempted to become angry with someone, tell him silently:
17 You can do much for the world's
salvation today. You can
do much today to bring you closer to the part in salvation which God has
assigned to you. And you can do much today to bring the conviction to
your mind
that the idea for the day is true indeed.
1 Today we continue with the one idea
which brings complete
salvation; the one statement which makes all forms of temptation
powerless; the
one thought which renders the ego silent and entirely undone. You are as
God
created you. The sounds of this world are still, the sights of this
world
disappear, and all the thoughts that this world ever held are wiped away
forever by this one idea. Here is salvation accomplished. Here is sanity
restored.
2 True light is strength, and strength
is sinlessness. If
you remain as God created you, you must be strong and light must be in
you. He
Who ensured your sinlessness must be the guarantee of strength and light
as
well. You are as God created you. Darkness cannot obscure the glory of
the Son
of God. You stand in light, strong in the sinlessness in which you were
created
and in which you will remain throughout eternity.
3 Today we will again devote the first
five minutes of each
waking hour to the attempt to feel the truth in you. Begin these times
of
searching with these words:
5 Now try to reach the Son of God in
you. This is the Self
that never sinned nor made an image to replace reality. This is the Self
which
never left its home in God to walk the world uncertainly. This is the
Self
which knows no fear nor could conceive of loss or suffering or death.
6 Nothing is required of you to reach
this goal except to
lay all idols and self-images aside, go past the long list of
attributes, both
"good" and "bad," you have ascribed to yourself and wait in
silent expectancy for the truth. God has Himself promised that it will
be
revealed to all who ask for it. You are asking now. You cannot fail
because He
cannot fail.
7 If you do not meet the requirement
of practicing for the
first five minutes of every hour, at least remind yourself hourly:
9 Tell yourself frequently today that
you are as God created
you. And be sure to respond to anyone who seems to irritate you with
these
words:
11 Make every effort to do the hourly
exercises today. Each
one you do will be a giant stride toward your release and a milestone in
learning the thought system which this course sets forth.
1 Today's idea accurately describes
you as God created you.
You are one within yourself and one with Him. Yours is the unity of all
creation. Your perfect unity makes change in you impossible. You do not
accept
this and you fail to realize it must be so, only because you believe
that you
have changed yourself already. You see yourself as a ridiculous parody
on God's
creation—weak, vicious, ugly and sinful, miserable and beset with pain.
2 Such is your version of yourself—a
self divided into many
warring parts, separate from God, and tenuously held together by its
erratic
and capricious maker, to which you pray. It does not hear your prayers,
for it
is deaf. It does not see the oneness in you, for it is blind. It does
not
understand you are the Son of God, for it is senseless and understands
nothing.
3 We will attempt today to be aware of
only what can hear
and see and what makes perfect sense. We will again direct our exercises
towards reaching your One Self, which is united with its Creator. In
patience
and in hope we try again today.
4 The use of the first five minutes of
every waking hour for
practicing the idea for the day has special advantages at the stage of
learning
in which you are at present. It is difficult at this point not to allow
your
mind to wander if it undertakes extended attempts. You have surely
realized
this by now. You have seen the extent of your lack of mental discipline
and of
your need for mind training. It is necessary that you be aware of this,
for it
is indeed a hindrance to your advance.
5 Frequent but shorter practice
periods have other
advantages for you at this time. In addition to recognizing your
difficulties
with sustained attention, you must also have noticed that, unless you
are
reminded of your purpose frequently, you tend to forget about it for
long
periods of time. You often fail to remember the short applications of
the idea
for the day, and you have not yet formed the habit of using it as an
automatic
response to temptation.
6 Structure, then, is necessary for
you at this time,
planned to include frequent reminders of your goal and regular attempts
to
reach it. Regularity in terms of time is not the ideal requirement for
the most
beneficial form of practice in salvation. It is advantageous, however,
for
those whose motivation is inconsistent and who remain heavily defended
against
learning.
7 We will therefore keep to the five
minutes an hour practice
periods for a while and urge you to omit as few as possible. Using the
first
five minutes of the hour will be particularly helpful since it imposes
firmer
structure. Do not, however, use your lapses from this schedule as an
excuse not
to return to it again as soon as you can.
8 There may well be a temptation to
regard the day as lost
because you have already failed to do what is required. This should,
however,
merely be recognized as what it is—a refusal to let your mistakes be
corrected
and an unwillingness to try again.
9 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.
Let us
therefore be determined, particularly for the next week or so, to be
willing to
forgive ourselves for our lapses in diligence and our failures to follow
the
instructions for practicing the day's idea.
10 This tolerance for weakness will
enable us to overlook it,
rather than give it power to delay our learning. If we give it power to
do
this, we are regarding it as strength and are confusing strength with
weakness.
When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course, you have
merely
made a mistake. This calls for correction and for nothing else.
11 To allow a mistake to continue is to
make additional
mistakes based on the first and reinforcing it. It is this process that
must be
laid aside, for it is but another way in which you would defend
illusions
against the truth. Let all these errors go by recognizing them for what
they
are. They are attempts to keep you unaware you are One Self, united with
your
Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power
and in
peace.
12 This is the truth, and nothing else
is true. Today we will
affirm this truth again and try to reach the place in you in which there
is no
doubt that only this is true. Begin the practice periods today with this
assurance, given to your mind with all the certainty that you can give:
14 Then close your eyes and tell
yourself again, slowly and
thoughtfully, attempting to allow the meaning of the words to sink into
your
mind, replacing false ideas:
16 Repeat this several times, and then
attempt to feel the
meaning which the words convey. You are One Self, united and secure in
light
and joy and peace. You are God's Son, One Self with one Creator and one
goal—to
bring awareness of this oneness to all minds, that true creation may
extend the
Allness and the Unity of God.
17 You are One Self, complete and
healed and whole, with
power to lift the veil of darkness from the world and let the light in
you come
through to teach the world the truth about itself. You are One Self, in
perfect
harmony with all there is and all that there will be. You are One Self,
the
holy Son of God, united with your brothers in this Self, united with
your
Father in His Will.
18 Feel this One Self in you, and let
it shine away all your
illusions and your doubts. This is your Self, the Son of God Himself,
sinless
as its Creator, with His strength within you and His Love forever yours.
You
are One Self, and it is given you to feel this Self within you and to
cast all
your illusions out of the one Mind which is this Self, the holy truth in
you.
19 Do not forget today. We need your
help, your little part
in bringing happiness to all the world. And Heaven looks to you in
confidence
that you will try today. Share, then, its surety, for it is yours. Be
vigilant.
Do not forget today.
20 Throughout the day do not forget
your goal. Repeat today's
idea as frequently as possible and understand each time you do so,
someone
hears the voice of hope, the stirring of the truth within his mind, the
gentle
rustling of the wings of peace. Your own acknowledgment you are One
Self,
united with your Father, is a call to all the world to be at one with
you. To
everyone you meet today be sure to give the promise of today's idea and
tell
him this:
1 Although you are One Self, you
experience yourself as
two—as both good and evil, loving and hating, mind and body. This sense
of
being split into opposites induces feelings of acute and constant
conflict and
leads to frantic attempts to reconcile the contradictory aspects of this
self-perception. You have sought many such solutions, and none of them
has
worked. The opposites you see in you will never be compatible. But one
exists.
2 The fact that truth and illusion
cannot be reconciled, no
matter how you try, what means you use, and where you see the problem,
must be
accepted if you would be saved. Until you have accepted this, you will
attempt
endless lists of goals you cannot reach; a senseless series of
expenditures of
time and effort, hopefulness and doubt, each one as futile as the one
before
and failing as the next one surely will.
3 Problems that have no meaning cannot
be resolved within
the framework they are set. Two selves in conflict could not be
resolved, and
good and evil have no meeting place. The self you made can never be your
Self,
nor can your Self be split in two and still be what it is and must
forever be.
4 A mind and body cannot both exist.
Make no attempt to
reconcile the two, for one denies the other can be real. If you are
physical,
your mind is gone from your self-concept, for it has no place in which
it could
be really part of you. If you are Spirit, then the body must be
meaningless to
your reality.
5 Spirit makes use of mind as means to
find its
Self-expression. And the mind which serves the Spirit is at peace and
filled
with joy. Its power comes from Spirit, and it is fulfilling happily its
function here. Yet mind can also see itself divorced from Spirit and
perceive
itself within a body it confuses with itself. Without its function then,
it has
no peace, and happiness is alien to its thoughts.
6 Yet mind apart from Spirit cannot
think. It has denied its
Source of strength and sees itself as helpless, limited, and weak.
Dissociated
from its function now, it thinks it is alone and separate, attacked by
armies
massed against itself and hiding in the body's frail support. Now must
it reconcile
unlike with like, for this is what it thinks that it is for.
7 Waste no more time on this. Who can
resolve the senseless
conflicts which a dream presents? What could the resolution mean in
truth? What
purpose could it serve? What is it for? Salvation cannot make illusions
real
and solve a problem that does not exist. Perhaps you hope it can. Yet
would you
have God's plan for the release of His dear Son bring pain to him and
fail to
set him free?
8 Your Self retains its thoughts, and
they remain within your
mind and in the Mind of God. The Holy Spirit holds salvation in your
mind and
offers it the way to peace. Salvation is a thought you share with God,
because
His Voice accepted it for you and answered in your name that it was
done. Thus
is salvation kept among the thoughts your Self holds dear and cherishes
for
you.
9 We will attempt today to find this
thought, whose presence
in your mind is guaranteed by Him Who speaks to you from your One Self.
Our
hourly five minute practicing will be a search for Him within your mind.
Salvation comes from this One Self through Him Who is the bridge between
your
mind and it.
10 Wait patiently, and let Him speak to
you about your Self,
and what your mind can do, restored to it and free to serve its will.
11 Begin by saying this:
13 Then seek its thoughts, and claim
them as your own.
14 These are your own real thoughts you
have denied, and let
your mind go wandering in a world of dreams, to find illusions in their
place.
Here are your thoughts, the only ones you have. Salvation is among them;
find
it there.
15 If you succeed, the thoughts that
come to you will tell
you you are saved and that your mind has found the function that it
sought to
lose. Your Self will welcome it and give it peace. Restored in strength,
it
will again flow out from Spirit to the Spirit in all things created by
the
Spirit as Itself. Your mind will bless all things. Confusion done, you
are
restored, for you have found your Self.
16 Your Self knows that you cannot fail
today. Perhaps your
mind remains uncertain yet a little while. Be not dismayed by this. The
joy
your Self experiences It will save for you, and it will yet be yours in
full
awareness. Every time you spend five minutes of the hour seeking Him Who
joins
your mind and Self, you offer Him another treasure to be kept for you.
17 Each time today you tell your
frantic mind salvation comes
from your One Self, you lay another treasure in your growing store. And
all of
it is given everyone who asks for it and will accept the gift. Think,
then, how
much is given unto you to give this day, that it be given you!
1 Today's idea identifies you with
your One Self. It accepts
no split identity, nor tries to weave opposing factors into unity. It
simply
states the truth. Practice this truth today as often as you can, for it
will
bring your mind from conflict to the quiet fields of peace. No chill of
fear
can enter, for your mind has been absolved from madness, letting go
illusions
of a split identity.
2 We state again the truth about your
Self, the holy Son of
God who rests in you, whose mind has been restored to sanity. You are
the
Spirit lovingly endowed with all your Father's love and peace and joy.
You are
the Spirit which completes Himself and shares His function as Creator.
He is
with you always, as you are with Him.
3 Today we try to bring reality still
closer to your mind.
Each time you practice, awareness is brought a little nearer at least;
sometimes a thousand years or more are saved. The minutes which you give
are
multiplied over and over, for the miracle makes use of time but is not
ruled by
it. Salvation is a miracle, the first and last; the first that is the
last, for
it is one.
4 You are the Spirit in whose mind
abides the miracle in
which all time stands still; the miracle in which a minute spent in
using these
ideas becomes a time which has no length and which has no end. Give,
then,
these minutes willingly, and count on Him Who promised to lay
timelessness
beside them. He will offer all His strength to every little effort which
you
make.
5 Give Him the minutes which He needs
today to help you
understand with Him you are the Spirit that abides in Him, and Which
calls
through His Voice to every living thing; offers His sight to everyone
who asks;
replaces error with the simple truth.
6The Holy Spirit will be glad to take
five minutes of each
hour from your hands and carry them around this aching world, where pain
and
misery appear to rule. He will not overlook one open mind that will
accept the
healing gift they bring, and He will lay them everywhere He knows they
will be
welcome. And they will increase in healing power each time someone
accepts them
as his thoughts and uses them to heal.
7 Thus will your gift to Him be
multiplied a thousand-fold
and tens of thousands more. And when it is returned to you, it will
surpass in
might the little gift you gave as much as does the radiance of the sun
outshine
the tiny gleam a firefly makes an uncertain moment, and goes out. Yet
will the
steady brilliance of this light remain and lead you out of darkness, nor
will
you be able to forget the way again.
8 Begin these happy exercises with the
words the Holy Spirit
speaks to you, and let them echo round the world through Him:
10 Expressed through you, the Holy
Spirit will accept this
gift which you received of Him, increase its power, and give it back to
you.
11 Offer each practice period today
gladly to Him. And He
will speak to you, reminding you that you are Spirit, one with Him and
God,
your brothers and your Self. Listen for His assurance every time you
speak the
words He offers you today, and let Him tell your mind that they are
true.
12 Use them against temptation, and
escape its sorry
consequences if you yield to the belief that you are something else. The
Holy
Spirit gives you peace today. Receive His words, and offer them to Him.
1 Today is a day of special
dedication. We take a stand on
but one side today. We side with truth and let illusions go. We will not
vacillate between the two but take a firm position with the one. We
dedicate
ourselves to truth today and to salvation as God planned it be. We will
not
argue it is something else; we will not seek for it where it is not. In
gladness we accept it as it is and take the part assigned to us by God.
2 How happy to be certain! All our
doubts we lay aside today
and take our stand with certainty of purpose and with thanks that doubt
is gone
and surety has come. We have a mighty purpose to fulfill and have been
given
everything we need with which to reach the goal. Not one mistake stands
in our
way, for we have been absolved from errors. All our sins are washed away
by
realizing that they were but mistakes.
3 The guiltless have no fear, for they
are safe and
recognize their safety. They do not appeal to magic nor invent escapes
from fancied
threats without reality. They rest in quiet certainty that they will do
what it
is given them to do. They do not doubt their own ability because they
know
their function will be filled completely in the perfect time and place.
They
took the stand which we will take today that we may share their
certainty and
thus increase it by accepting it ourselves.
4 They will be with us—all who took
the stand we take today
will gladly offer us all that they learned and every gain they made.
Those
still uncertain too will join with us and, borrowing our certainty, will
make
it stronger still. While those as yet unborn will hear the call we heard
and
answer it, when they have come to make their choice again. We do not
choose but
for ourselves today.
5 Is it not worth five minutes of your
time each hour to be
able to accept the happiness that God has given you? Is it not worth
five
minutes hourly to recognize your special function here? Is not five
minutes of
the hour but a small request to make in terms of a reward so great it
has no
measure? You have made a thousand losing bargains at the least.
6 Here is an offer guaranteeing you
your full release from
pain of every kind and joy the world does not contain. You can exchange
a
little of your time for peace of mind and certainty of purpose with the
promise
of complete success. And since time has no meaning, you are being asked
for
nothing in return for everything. Here is a bargain that you cannot
lose. And
what you gain is limitless indeed!
7 Each hour today give Him your tiny
gift of but five
minutes. He will give the words you use in practicing today's idea the
deep
conviction and the certainty you lack. His words will join with yours
and make
each repetition of today's idea a total dedication, made in faith as
perfect
and as sure as His in you.
8 His confidence in you will bring the
light to all the
words you say, and you will go beyond their sound to what they really
mean.
Today you practice with Him as you say:
10 In each five minutes that you spend
with Him, He will
accept your words and give them back to you all bright with faith and
confidence so strong and steady they will light the world with hope and
gladness. Do not lose one chance to be the glad receiver of His gifts,
that you
may give them to the world today.
11 Give Him the words, and He will do
the rest. He will
enable you to understand your special function. He will open up the way
to
happiness, and peace and trust will be His gifts, His answer to your
words. He
will respond with all His faith and joy and certainty that what you say
is
true. And you will have conviction then of Him Who knows the function
that you
have on earth as well as Heaven. He will be with you each practice
period you
share with Him, exchanging every instant of the time you offer Him for
timelessness and peace.
12 Throughout the hour, let your time
be spent in happy
preparation for the next five minutes you will spend again with Him.
Repeat
today's idea while you wait for the glad time to come to you again.
Repeat it
often, and do not forget each time you do so, you have let your mind be
readied
for the happy time to come.
13 And when the hour is gone and He is
there once more to
spend a little time with you, be thankful and lay down all earthly
tasks, all
little thoughts and limited ideas, and spend a happy time again with
Him. Tell
Him once more that you accept the part which He would have you take and
help
you fill, and He will make you sure you want this choice, which He has
made with
you and you with Him.
1 Salvation and forgiveness are the
same. They both imply
that something has gone wrong—something you need to be saved from or
forgiven
for, something amiss that needs corrective change, something apart or
different
from the Will of God. Thus do both terms imply something impossible but
yet
which has occurred, resulting in a state of conflict between what is and
what
could never be.
2 Truth and illusions both are equal
now, for both have
happened. The impossible becomes the thing you need forgiveness for,
salvation
from. Salvation is the borderland between the truth and illusion. It
reflects
the truth because it is the means by which you can escape illusions. Yet
it is
not truth because it undoes what was never done.
3 How could there be a meeting place
at all where earth and
Heaven can be reconciled within a mind where both of them exist? The
mind that
sees illusions thinks them real. They have existence in that they are
thoughts.
And yet they are not real because the mind that thinks these thoughts is
separate from God.
4 What joins the separated mind and
thoughts with Mind and
Thought which are forever one? What plan could hold the truth inviolate,
yet
recognize the need illusions bring and offer means by which they are
undone
without attack and with no touch of pain? What but a Thought of God
could be
this plan by which the never done is overlooked and sins forgotten which
were
never real?
5 The Holy Spirit holds this plan of
God exactly as it was
received of Him within the Mind of God and in your own. It is apart from
time
in that its Source is timeless. Yet it operates in time because of your
belief
that time is real. Unshaken does the Holy Spirit look on what you see—on
sin
and pain and death, on grief and separation, and on loss. Yet does He
know one
thing must still be true—God still is Love, and this is not His Will.
6 This is the Thought which brings
illusions to the truth,
and sees them as appearances behind which is the changeless and the
sure. This
is the Thought which saves and which forgives, because it lays no faith
in what
is not created by the only Source it knows. This is the Thought whose
function
is to save by giving you its function as your own.
7 Salvation is your function with the
One to Whom the plan
was given. Now are you entrusted with this plan, along with Him. He has
one
answer to appearances regardless of their form, their size, their depth,
or any
attribute they seem to have:
9 You who will yet work miracles, be
sure you practice well
the idea for today. Try to perceive the strength in what you say, for
these are
words in which your freedom lies. Your Father loves you. All the world
of pain
is not His Will. Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you.
Then let
the Thought with which He has replaced all your mistakes enter the
darkened
places of your mind which thought the thoughts that never were His Will.
10 This part belongs to God, as does
the rest. It does not
think its solitary thoughts and make them real by hiding them from Him.
Let in
the light, and you will look upon no obstacle to what He wills for you.
Open
your secrets to His kindly Light, and see how bright this Light still
shines in
you.
11 Practice His Thought today, and let
His Light seek out and
lighten up all darkened spots and shine through them to join them to the
rest.
It is God's Will your mind be one with His. It is God's Will that He has
but
one Son. It is God's Will that His one Son is you.
12 Think of these things in practicing
today, and start your
longer practice periods with this instruction in the way of truth:
14 Then turn to Him who shares your
function with you, and
let Him teach you what you need to learn to lay all fear aside and know
your
Self as Love Which has no opposite in you.
15 Forgive all thoughts which would
oppose sig the truth of
your completeness, unity, and peace. You cannot lose the gifts your
Father
gave. You do not want to be another self. You have no function that is
not of
God. Forgive yourself the one you think you made. Forgiveness and
salvation are
the same. Forgive what you have made, and you are saved.
16 You have a special message for today
which has the power
to remove all forms of doubt and fear forever from your mind. If you are
tempted to believe them true, remember that appearances cannot withstand
the
truth these mighty words contain:
18 Your only function tells you you are
one. Remind yourself
of this between the times you give five minutes to be shared with Him
Who
shares God's plan with you. Remind yourself:
20 Thus do you lay forgiveness on your
mind and let all fear
be gently laid aside that Love may find Its rightful place in you and
show you
that you are the Son of God.
1 Just as God's Son completes his
Father, so your part in it
completes your Father's plan. Salvation must reverse the mad belief in
separate
thoughts and separate bodies which lead separate lives and go their
separate
ways. One function shared by separate minds unites them in one purpose,
for
each one is equally essential to them all.
2 God's Will for you is perfect
happiness. Why should you
choose to go against His Will? The part that He has saved for you to
take in
working out His plan is given you that you might be restored to what He
wills.
This part is as essential to His plan as to your happiness. Ydelour joy
must be
complete to let His plan be understood by those to whom He sends you.
They will
see their function in your shining face and hear God calling to them in
your
happy laugh.
3 You are indeed essential to God's
plan. Without your joy,
His joy is incomplete. Without your smile, the world cannot be saved.
While you
are sad, the light which God Himself appointed as the means to save the
world
is dim and lusterless. And no one laughs, because all laughter can but
echo
yours.
4 You are indeed essential to God's
plan. Just as your light
increases every light that shines in Heaven, so your joy on earth calls
to all
minds to let their sorrows go and take their place beside you in God's
plan.
God's messengers are joyous, and their joy heals sorrow and despair.
They are
the proof that God wills perfect happiness for all who will accept their
Father's gifts as theirs.
5 We will not let ourselves be sad
today. For if we do, we
fail to take the part that is essential to God's plan as well as to our
vision.
Sadness is the sign that you would play another part instead of what has
been
assigned to you by God. Thus do you fail to show the world how great the
happiness He wills for you. And so you do not recognize that it is
yours.
6 Today we will attempt to understand
joy is our function
here. If you are sad, your part is unfulfilled and all the world is thus
deprived of joy along with you. God asks that you be happy so the world
can see
how much He loves His Son and wills no sorrow rises to abate his joy; no
fear
besets him to disturb his peace.
7 You are God's messenger today. You
bring His happiness to
all you look upon, His peace to everyone who looks on you and sees His
message
in your happy face. We will prepare ourselves for this today in our five
minute
practice periods by feeling happiness arise in us according to our
Father's
Will and ours.
8 Begin the exercises with the thought
today's idea
contains. Then realize your part is to be happy. Only this is asked of
you or
anyone who wants to take his place among God's messengers. Think what
this
means. You have indeed been wrong in your belief that sacrifice is
asked. You
but receive according to God's plan and never lose or sacrifice or die.
9 Now let us try to find that joy
which proves to us and all
the world God's Will for us. It is your function that you find it here
and that
you find it now. For this you came. Let this one be the day that you
succeed!
Look deep within you, undismayed by all the little thoughts and foolish
goals
you pass as you ascend to meet the Christ in you.
10 He will be there. And you can reach
Him now. What could
you rather look upon in place of Him Who waits that you may look on Him?
What
little thought has power to hold you back? What foolish goal can keep
you from
success when He Who calls to you is God Himself? He will be there. You
are
essential to His plan. You are His messenger today. And you must find
what He
would have you give.
11 Do not forget the idea for today
between your longer
practice periods. It is your Self Who calls to you today. And it is Him
you
answer every time you tell yourself you are essential to God's plan for
the
salvation of the world.
1 Today we will continue with the
theme of happiness. This
is a key idea in understanding what salvation means. You still believe
it asks
for suffering as penance for your "sins." This is not so. Yet you
must think it so while you believe that sin is real and that God's Son
can sin.
If sin is real, then punishment is just and cannot be escaped. Salvation
thus
cannot be purchased but through suffering.
2 If sin is real then happiness must
be illusion, for they
cannot both be true. The sinful warrant only death and pain, and it is
this
they ask for, for they know it waits for them and it will seek them out
and
find them somewhere, sometime, in some form which evens the account they
owe to
God. They would escape Him in their fear. And yet He will pursue, and
they
cannot escape.
3 If sin is real, salvation must be
pain. Pain is the cost
of sin, and suffering can never be escaped if sin is real. Salvation
must be
feared, for it will kill but slowly, taking everything away before it
grants
the welcome boon of death to victims who are little more than bones
before
salvation is appeased. Its wrath is boundless, merciless, but wholly
just.
4 Who would seek out such savage
punishment? Who would not
flee salvation and attempt in every way he can to drown the Voice Which
offers
it to him? Why would he try to listen and accept Its offering? If sin is
real,
its offering is death and meted out in cruel form to match the vicious
wishes
in which sin is born. If sin is real, salvation has become your bitter
enemy,
the curse of God upon you who have crucified His Son.
5 You need the practice periods today.
The exercises teach
sin is not real, and all that you believe must come from sin will never
happen,
for it has no cause. Accept Atonement with an open mind which cherishes
no
lingering belief that you have made a devil of God's Son.
6 There is no sin. We practice with
this thought as often as
we can today because it is the basis for today's idea. God's Will for
you is
perfect happiness because there is no sin, and suffering is causeless.
Joy is
just, and pain is but the sign you have misunderstood yourself.
7 Fear not the Will of God. But turn
to it in confidence
that it will set you free from all the consequences sin has wrought in
feverish
imagination. Say:
9
So should you start your practice periods, and then attempt again to
find the
joy these thoughts will introduce into your mind. Give these five
minutes
gladly to remove the heavy load you laid upon yourself with the insane
belief
that sin is real.
10 Today escape from madness. You are
set on freedom's road,
and now today's idea brings wings to speed you on and hope to go still
faster
to the waiting goal of peace. There is no sin. Remember this today, and
tell
yourself as often as you can:
1 You do not want to suffer. You may
think it buys you
something and may still believe a little that it buys you what you want.
Yet
this belief is surely shaken now, at least enough to let you question it
and to
suspect it really makes no sense. It has not gone as yet but lacks the
roots
that once secured it tightly to the dark and hidden secret places of
your mind.
2 Today we try to loose its weakened
hold still further. And
to realize that pain is purposeless, without a cause, and with no power
to
accomplish anything. It cannot purchase anything at all. It offers
nothing and
does not exist. And everything you think it offers you is lacking in
existence
like itself. You have been slave to nothing. Be you free today to join
the
happy Will of God.
3 For several days we will continue to
devote our longer
practice periods to exercises planned to help you reach the happiness
God's
Will has placed in you. Here is your home, and here your safety is. Here
is
your peace, and here there is no fear. Here is salvation. Here is rest
at last.
4 Begin the longer practice periods
today with this
acceptance of God's Will for you:
6 Then seek this function deep within
your mind, for it is
there, awaiting but your choice. You cannot fail to find it when you
learn it
is your choice and that you share God's Will.
7 Be happy, for your only function
here is happiness. You
have no need to be less loving to God's Son than He Whose Love created
him as
loving as Himself. Besides these hourly five minute rests, pause
frequently
today to tell yourself that you have now accepted happiness as your one
function. And be sure that you are joining with God's Will in doing
this.
1 Happiness is an attribute of love.
It cannot be apart from
it, nor can it be experienced where love is not. Love has no limits,
being
everywhere. And therefore joy is everywhere as well. Yet can the mind
deny that
this is so, believing there are gaps in love where sin can enter,
bringing pain
instead of joy.
2 This strange belief would limit
happiness by redefining
love as limited and introducing opposition in what has no limit and no
opposite. Fear is associated then with love, and its results become the
heritage of minds that think what they have made is real. These images,
with no
reality in truth, bear witness to the fear of God, forgetting being
Love, He
must be joy.
3 This basic error we will try again
to bring to truth today
and teach ourselves:
5 Begin your longer practice periods
for today with this
association, which corrects the false belief that God is fear. It also
emphasizes happiness belongs to you because of what He is.
6 Allow this one correction to be
placed within your mind
each waking hour today. Then welcome all the happiness it brings, as
truth
replaces fear, and joy becomes what you expect to take the place of
pain. God
being Love, it will be given you. Bolster this expectation frequently
throughout the day, and quiet all your fears with this assurance, kind
and
wholly true:
1 Today's idea continues with the
thought that joy and peace
are not but idle dreams. They are your right because of what you are.
They come
to you from God, Who cannot fail to give you what He wills. Yet must
there be a
place made ready to receive His gifts. They are not welcomed gladly by a
mind
which has instead received the gifts it made where His belong, as
substitutes
for them.
2 Today we would remove all
meaningless and self-made gifts
which we have placed upon the holy altar where God's gifts belong. These
are
the gifts which are our own in truth. His are the gifts which we
inherited
before time was and which will still be ours when time has passed into
eternity.
3 These are the gifts which are within
us now, for they are
timeless. And we need not wait to have them. They belong to us today.
Therefore
we will to have them now and know in choosing them in place of what we
made we
but unite our will with what God wills and recognize the same as being
one.
4 Our longer practice periods today,
the hourly five minutes
given truth for your salvation, should begin with this:
6 Then lay aside the conflicts of the
world that offer other
gifts and other goals made of illusions, witnessed to by them, and
sought for
only in a world of dreams. All this we lay aside and seek instead that
which is
truly ours, as we ask to recognize what God has given us.
7 We clear a holy place within our
minds before His altar,
where His gifts of peace and joy are welcome and to which we come to
find what
has been given us by Him. We come in confidence today, aware that what
belongs
to us in truth is what He gives. And we would wish for nothing else, for
nothing else belongs to us in truth.
8 So do we clear the way for Him today
by simply recognizing
that His Will is done already and that joy and peace belong to us as His
eternal gifts. We will not let ourselves lose sight of them between the
times
we come to seek for them where He has laid them. This reminder will we
bring to
mind as often as we can:
1 God's peace and joy are yours. Today
we will accept them,
knowing they belong to us. And we will try to understand these gifts
increase
as we receive them. They are not like to the gifts the world can give,
in which
the giver loses as he gives the gift; the taker is the richer by his
loss.
These are not gifts, but bargains made with guilt.
2 The truly given gift entails no
loss. It is impossible
that one can gain because another loses. This implies a limit and an
insufficiency. No gift is given thus. Such "gifts" are but a bid for
a more valuable return—a loan with interest to be paid in full; a
temporary
lending, meant to be a pledge of debt to be repaid with more than was
received
by him who took the gift.
3 This strange distortion of what
giving means pervades all
levels of the world you see. It strips all meaning from the gifts you
give and
leaves you nothing in the ones you take. A major learning goal this
course has
set is to reverse your view of giving, so you can receive. For giving
has
become a source of fear, and so you would avoid the only means by which
you can
receive.
4 Accept God's peace and joy, and you
will learn a different
way of looking at a gift. God's gifts will never lessen when they are
given
away. They but increase thereby. As Heaven's peace and joy intensify
when you
accept them as God's gift to you, so does the joy of your Creator grow
when you
accept His joy and peace as yours.
5 True giving is creation. It extends
the limitless to the
unlimited, eternity to timelessness, and love unto itself. It adds to
all that
is complete already, not in simple terms of adding more, for that
implies that
it was less before. It adds by letting what cannot contain itself
fulfill its
aim of giving everything it has away, securing it forever for itself.
6 Today accept God's peace and joy as
yours. Let Him
complete Himself as He defines completion. You will understand that what
completes Him must complete His Son as well. He cannot give through
loss. No
more can you. Receive His gift of joy and peace today, and He will thank
you
for your gift to Him.
7 Today our practice periods will
start a little
differently. Begin today by thinking of those brothers who have been
denied by
you the peace and joy that are their right under the equal laws of God.
Here
you denied them to yourself. And here you must return to claim them as
your
own. Think of your "enemies" a little while, and tell each one as he
occurs to you:
9 Thus you prepare yourself to
recognize God's gifts to you
and let your mind be free of all that would prevent success today. Now
are you
ready to accept the gift of peace and joy which God has given you. Now
are you
ready to experience the joy and peace you have denied yourself. Now you
can
say, "God's peace and joy are mine," for you have given what you
would receive.
10 You must succeed today if you
prepare your mind as we
suggest, for you have let all bars to peace and joy be lifted up, and
what is
yours can come to you at last. So tell yourself "God's peace and joy are
mine," and close your eyes a while, and let His Voice assure you that
the
words you speak are true.
11 Spend your five minutes thus with
Him each time you can
today, but do not think that less is worthless when you cannot give Him
more.
At least remember hourly to say the words which call on Him to give you
what He
wills to give and wills you to receive.
12 Determine not to interfere today
with what He wills. And
if a brother seems to tempt you to deny God's gift to him, see it as but
another chance to let yourself receive the gifts of God as yours. Then
bless
your brother thankfully, and say:
1 If you will lay aside the ego's
voice, however loudly it
may seem to call; if you will not accept its petty gifts which give you
nothing
that you really want; if you will listen with an open mind, which has
not told
you what salvation is; then you will hear the mighty Voice of truth,
quiet in
power, strong in stillness, and completely certain in its messages.
2 Listen, and hear your Father speak
to you through His
appointed Voice, Which silences the thunder of the meaningless and shows
the
way to peace to those who cannot see. Be still today and listen to the
truth.
Be not deceived by voices of the dead which tell you they have found the
source
of life and offer it to you for your belief. Attend them not, but listen
to the
truth.
3 Be not afraid today to circumvent
the voices of the world;
walk lightly past their meaningless persuasion. Hear them not. Be still
today,
and listen to the truth. Go past all things which do not speak of Him
Who holds
your happiness within His hand, held out to you in welcome and in love.
Hear
only Him today, and do not wait to reach Him longer. Hear one Voice
today.
4 Today the promise of God's Word is
kept. Hear and be
silent. He would speak to you. He comes with miracles a thousand times
as happy
and as wonderful as those you ever dreamt or wished for in your dreams.
His
miracles are true. They will not fade when dreaming ends. They end the
dream
instead and last forever, for they come from God to His dear Son, whose
other
name is you.
5 Prepare yourself for miracles today.
Today allow your
Father's ancient pledge to you and all your brothers to be kept. Hear
Him
today, and listen to the Word which lifts the veil which lies upon the
earth
and wakes all those who sleep and cannot see. God calls to them through
you. He
needs your voice to speak to them, for who could reach God's Son except
his
Father calling through your Self?
6 Hear Him today, and offer Him your
voice to speak to all
the multitudes who wait to hear the Word that He will speak today. Be
ready for
salvation. It is here and will today be given unto you. And you will
learn your
function from the One Who chose it in your Father's Name for you.
7 Listen today, and you will hear a
Voice Which will resound
throughout the world through you. The Bringer of all miracles has need
that you
receive them first and thus become the joyous giver of what you
received. Thus
does salvation start and thus it ends; when everything is yours, and
everything
is given away, it will remain with you forever. And the Lesson has
been
learned.
8 Today we practice giving, not the
way you understand it
now, but as it is. The longer exercises should begin with this request
for your
enlightenment:
10 Ask and expect an answer. Your
request is one whose answer
has been waiting long to be received by you. It will begin the ministry
for
which you came and which will free the world from thinking giving is a
way to
lose. And so the world becomes ready to understand and to receive.
11 Be still and listen to the truth
today. For each five
minutes spent in listening, a thousand minds are opened to the truth.
And they
will hear the holy Word you hear. And when the hour is past, you will
again
release a thousand more who pause to ask that truth be given them along
with
you.
12 Today the holy Word of God is kept
through your receiving
it to give away, so you can teach the world what giving means by
listening and
learning it of Him. Do not forget today to reinforce your choice to hear
and to
receive the Word by this reminder, given to yourself as often as is
possible
today:
1 What can correct illusions but the
truth? And what are
errors but illusions that remain unrecognized for what they are? Where
truth
has entered, errors disappear. They merely vanish, leaving not a trace
by which
to be remembered. They are gone because without belief they have no
life, and
so they disappear to nothingness, returning whence they came. From dust
to dust
they come and go, for only truth remains.
2 Can you imagine what a state of mind
without illusions is?
How it would feel? Try to remember when there was a time—perhaps a
minute,
maybe even less—when nothing came to interrupt your peace; when you were
certain you were loved and safe. Then try to picture what it would be
like to
have that moment be extended to the end of time and to eternity.
3 Then let the sense of quiet that you
felt be multiplied a
hundred times and then be multiplied another hundred more. And now you
have a
hint, not more than just the faintest intimation of the state your mind
will
rest in when the truth has come.
4 Without illusions there could be no
fear, no doubt, and no
attack. When truth has come, all pain is over, for there is no room for
transitory thoughts and dead ideas to linger in your mind. Truth
occupies your
mind completely, liberating you from all beliefs in the ephemeral. They
have no
place because the truth has come, and they are nowhere. They cannot be
found,
for truth is everywhere forever now.
5 When truth has come, it does not
stay a while to disappear
or change to something else. It does not shift and alter in its form,
nor come
and go and go and come again. It stays exactly as it always was, to be
depended
on in every need and trusted with a perfect trust in all the seeming
difficulties and the doubts that the appearances the world presents
engender. They
will merely flow away when truth corrects the errors in your mind.
6 When truth has come, it harbours in
its wings the gift of
perfect constancy and love which does not falter in the face of pain but
looks
beyond it, steadily and sure. Here is the gift of healing, for the truth
needs
no defense, and therefore no attack is possible. Illusions can be
brought to
truth to be corrected. But the truth stands far beyond illusions and
cannot be
brought to them to turn them into truth.
7 Truth does not come and go nor shift
nor change, in this
appearance now and then in that, evading capture and escaping grasp. It
does
not hide. It stands in open light, in obvious accessibility. It is
impossible
that anyone could seek it truly and would not succeed.
8 Today belongs to truth. Give truth
its due, and it will
give you yours. You were not meant to suffer and to die. Your Father
wills
these dreams be gone. Let truth correct them all. We do not ask for what
we do
not have. We merely ask for what belongs to us, that we may recognize it
as our
own.
9 Today we practice on the happy note
of certainty that has
been born of truth. The shaky and unsteady footsteps of illusion is not
our
approach today. We are as certain of success as we are sure we live and
hope
and breathe and think. We do not doubt we walk with truth today and
count on it
to enter into all the exercises that we do this day.
10 Begin by asking Him Who goes with
you upon this
undertaking that He be in your awareness as you go with Him. You are not
made
of flesh and blood and bone but were created by the self-same Thought
which
gave the gift of life to Him as well. He is your Brother and so like to
you
your Father knows that you are both the same. It is your Self you ask to
go
with you, and how could He be absent where you are?
11 Truth will correct all errors in
your mind which tell you
you could be apart from Him. You speak to Him today and make your pledge
to let
His function be fulfilled through you. To share His function is to share
His
joy. His confidence is with you, as you say:
13 Then let Him lead you gently to the
truth which will
envelop you and give you peace so deep and tranquil that you will return
to the
familiar world reluctantly.
14 And yet you will be glad to look
again upon this world.
For you will bring with you the promise of the changes which the truth
that
goes with you will carry to the world. They will increase with every
gift you
give of five small minutes, and the errors that surround the world will
be
corrected as you let them be corrected in your mind.
15 Do not forget your function for
today. Each time you tell
yourself with confidence, "Truth will correct all errors in my mind,"
you speak for all the world and Him Who would release the world as He
would set
you free.
1 Vision depends upon today's idea.
The light is in it, for
it reconciles all seeming opposites. And what is light except the
resolution,
born of peace, of all your conflicts and mistaken thoughts into one
concept
which is wholly true? Even that one will disappear because the Thought
behind
it will appear instead, to take its place. And now we are at peace
forever, for
the dream is over now.
2 True light which makes true vision
possible is not the
light the body's eyes behold. It is a state of mind which has become so
unified
that darkness cannot be perceived at all. And thus what is the same is
seen as
one, while what is not the same remains unnoticed, for it is not there.
3 This is the light which shows no
opposites, and vision,
being healed, has power to heal. This is the light that brings your
peace of
mind to other minds, to share it and be glad that they are one with you
and
with themselves. This is the light which heals because it brings single
perception, based upon one frame of reference from which one meaning
comes.
4 Here are both giving and receiving
seen as different
aspects of one Thought Whose truth does not depend on which is seen as
first,
nor which appears to be in second place. Here it is understood that both
occur
together, that the Thought remain complete. And in this understanding is
the
base on which all opposites are reconciled because they are perceived
from the
same frame of reference which unifies this Thought.
5 One thought, completely unified,
will serve to unify all
thought. This is the same as saying one correction will suffice for all
correction or that to forgive one brother wholly is enough to bring
salvation to
all minds. For these are but some special cases of one law which holds
for
every kind of learning if it be directed by the One Who knows the truth.
6 To learn that giving and receiving
are the same has
special usefulness because it can be tried so easily and seen as true.
And when
this special case has proved it always works in every circumstance where
it is
tried, the thought behind it can be generalized to other areas of doubt
and
double vision. And from there it will extend and finally arrive at the
one
Thought Which underlies them all.
7 Today we practice with the special
case of giving and
receiving. We will use this simple L e s s o n in the obvious because it
has
results we cannot miss. To give is to receive. Today we will attempt to
offer
peace to everyone and see how quickly peace returns to us. Light is
tranquillity, and in that peace is vision given us and we can see.
8 So we begin the practice periods
with the instruction for
today and say:
10 Then close your eyes, and for five
minutes think of what
you would hold out to everyone to have it yours. You might, for
instance, say:
12 Say each one slowly, and then pause
a while, expecting to
receive the gift you gave, and it will come to you in the amount in
which you
gave it. You will find you have exact return, for this is what you
asked. It
might be helpful, too, to think of one to whom to give your gifts. He
represents the others, and through him you give to all.
13 Our very simple lesson for today
will teach you much.
Effect and cause will be far better understood from this time on, and we
will
make much faster progress now. Think of the exercises for today as quick
advances in your learning, made still faster and more sure each time you
say:
1 We ask for rest today and quietness
unshaken by the
world's appearances. We ask for peace and stillness in the midst of all
the
turmoil born of clashing dreams. We ask for safety and for happiness,
although
we seem to look on danger and on sorrow. And we have the thought that
will
answer our asking with what we request.
2 "I rest in God." This thought will
bring to you
the rest and quiet, peace and stillness, and the safety and the
happiness you
seek. "I rest in God." This thought has power to wake the sleeping
truth in you, whose vision sees beyond appearances to that same truth in
everyone and everything there is. Here is the end of suffering for all
the
world and everyone who ever came and yet will come to linger for a
while. Here
is the thought in which the Son of God is born again, to recognize
himself.
3 "I rest in God." Completely
undismayed this
thought will carry you through storms and strife, past misery and pain,
past
loss and death, and onward to the certainty of God. There is no
suffering it
cannot heal. There is no problem which it cannot solve. And no
appearance but
will turn to truth before the eyes of you who rest in God.
4 This is the day of peace. You rest
in God, and while the
world is torn by winds of hate, your rest remains completely
undisturbed. Yours
is the rest of truth. Appearances cannot intrude on you. You call to all
to
join you in your rest, and they will hear and come to you because you
rest in
God. They will not hear another voice but yours because you gave your
voice to
God and now you rest in Him and let Him speak through you.
5 In Him you have no cares and no
concerns, no burdens, no
anxiety, no pain, no fear of future, and no past regrets. In
timelessness you
rest, while time goes by without its touch upon you, for your rest can
never
change in any way at all.
6 You rest today. And as you close
your eyes, sink into
stillness. Let these periods of rest and respite reassure your mind that
all
its frantic fantasies were but the dreams of fever that has passed away.
Let it
be still and thankfully accept its healing. No more fearful dreams will
come
now that you rest in God. Take time today to slip away from dreams and
into
peace.
7 Each hour that you take your rest
today, a tired mind is
suddenly made glad, a bird with broken wings begins to sing, a stream
long dry
begins to flow again. The world is born again each time you rest, and
hourly
remember that you came to bring the peace of God into the world that it
might
take its rest along with you.
8With each five minutes that you rest
today the world is
nearer waking. And the time when rest will be the only thing there is
comes
closer to all worn and tired minds, too weary now to go their way alone.
And
they will hear the bird begin to sing and see the stream begin to flow
again,
with hope reborn and energy restored to walk with lightened steps along
the
road that suddenly seems easy as they go.
9 You rest within the peace of God
today and call upon your
brothers from your rest, to draw them to their rest along with you. You
will be
faithful to your trust today, forgetting no one, bringing everyone into
the
boundless circle of your peace, the holy sanctuary where you rest.
10 Open the temple doors, and let them
come from far across
the world, and near as well—your distant brothers and your closest
friends—bid
them all enter here and rest with you. You rest within the peace of God
today,
quiet and unafraid. Each brother comes to take his rest and offer it to
you.
11 We rest together here, for thus our
rest is made complete,
and what we give today we have received already. Time is not the
guardian of
what we give today. We give to those unborn and those passed by, to
every
Thought of God, and to the Mind in Which these Thoughts were born and
where
they rest. And we remind them of their resting place each time we tell
ourselves,
1We will repeat today's idea from time
to time. For this one
thought would be enough to save you and the world if you believed that
it is
true. Its truth would mean that you have made no changes in yourself
which have
reality, nor changed the universe so that what God created was replaced
by fear
and evil, misery and death.
2 If you remain as God created you,
fear has no meaning,
evil is not real, and misery and death do not exist. Today's idea is
therefore
all you need to let complete correction heal your mind and give you
perfect
vision which will heal all the mistakes that any mind has made at any
time or
place. It is enough to heal the past and make the future free. It is
enough to
let the present be accepted as it is. It is enough to let time be the
means for
all the world to learn escape from time and every change that time
appears to
bring in passing by.
3 If you remain as God created you,
appearances cannot
replace the truth, health cannot turn to sickness, nor can death be
substitute
for life or fear for love. All this has not occurred if you remain as
God
created you. You need no thought but just this one to let redemption
come to
light the world and free it from the past.
4 In this one thought is all the past
undone; the present
saved to quietly extend into a timeless future. If you are as God
created you,
then there has been no separation of your mind from His, no split
between your
mind and other minds, and only unity within your own.
5 The healing power of today's idea is
limitless. It is the
birthplace of all miracles, the great restorer of the truth to the
awareness of
the world. Practice today's idea with gratitude. This is the truth that
comes
to set you free. This is the truth that God has promised you. This is
the Word
in which all sorrow ends.
6 For your five minute practice
periods, begin with this
quotation from the text:
8 Then, with this statement firmly in
your mind, try to
discover in your mind the Self Who is the holy Son of God Himself. Seek
Him
within you Who is Christ in you, the Son of God and brother to the
world—the
savior who has been forever saved, with power to save whoever touches
Him
however lightly, asking for the Word that tells him he is brother unto
Him.
9 You are as God created you. Today
honor your Self. Let
graven images you made to be the Son of God instead of what He is be
worshipped
not today. Deep in your mind the holy Christ in you is waiting your
acknowledgment
as you. And you are lost and do not know yourself while He is
unacknowledged
and unknown.
10 Seek Him today, and find Him. He
will be your savior from
all idols you have made. For when you find Him you will understand how
worthless are your idols and how false the images which you believed
were you.
Today we make a great advance to truth by letting idols go and opening
our
hands and hearts and minds to God today.
11 We will remember Him throughout the
day with thankful
hearts and loving thoughts for all who meet with us today, for it is
thus that
we remember Him. And we will say, that we may be reminded of His Son,
our holy
Self, the Christ in each of us:
13 Let us declare this truth as often
as we can. This is the
Word of God that sets you free. This is the key that opens up the gate
of
Heaven, and which lets you enter in the peace of God and His eternity.
R3:1 Our third review begins today. We
will review two of the
last 20 ideas each day until we have reviewed them all. We will observe
a
special format for these practice periods which you are urged to follow
as
closely as you can. We understand, of course, that it may be impossible
for you
to undertake what is suggested here as optimal each day and every hour
of the
day.
2 Learning will not be hampered when
you miss a practice
period because it is impossible at the appointed time. Nor is it
necessary that
you make excessive efforts to be sure that you catch up in terms of
numbers.
Rituals are not our aim and would defeat our learning goal.
3 But learning will be hampered when
you skip a practice
period because you are unwilling to devote the time to it which you are
asked
to give. Do not deceive yourself in this. Unwillingness can be most
carefully
concealed behind a cloak of situations you cannot control. Learn to
distinguish
situations which are poorly suited to your practicing from those which
you
establish to uphold a camouflage for your unwillingness.
4 Those practice periods which you
have lost because you did
not want to do them for whatever reason should be done as soon as you
have
changed your mind about your goal. You are unwilling to cooperate in
practicing
salvation only if it interferes with goals you hold more dear. When you
withdraw the value given them, allow your practice periods to be
replacements
for your litanies to them. They gave you nothing. But your practice
periods
offer you everything. Accept their offering and be at peace.
5 The format you should use for these
reviews is this:
devote five minutes twice a day or longer if you would prefer to
contemplating
the ideas assigned. Read over the ideas and comments which are written
first in
each day's exercises. Then begin to think about them quietly, letting
your mind
relate them to your needs, your seeming problems, and all your concerns.
6 Place the ideas within your mind,
and let it use them as
it chooses. Give it faith that it will use them wisely, being helped in
its
decisions by the One Who gave the thoughts to you. What can you trust
but what
is in your mind? Have faith, in these reviews, the means the Holy Spirit
uses
will not fail. The wisdom of your mind will come to your assistance.
Give it
direction at the start, then lean back in quiet faith, and let it use
the ideas
you have given it as they were given you.
7 You have been given them in perfect
trust, in perfect
confidence that you would use them well, in perfect faith that you would
understand their messages and use them for yourself. Offer them to your
mind in
that same trust and confidence and faith. It will not fail. It is the
Holy
Spirit's chosen means for your salvation. And with His trust merits
yours as
well.
8 We emphasize the benefits to you if
you devote the first
five minutes of the day to your review and also give the last five
minutes of
your waking day to it. If this cannot be done, at least try to divide
them so
you undertake one in the morning, and the other in the hour just before
you go
to sleep.
9 The exercises to be done throughout
the day are equally
important and perhaps of even greater value. You have been inclined to
do the
exercises and then go on to other things, without applying what you
learned to
them. As a result, your learning has had little reinforcement, and you
have not
given it the opportunity to prove its worth to you.
10 Here is another chance to use it
well. In these reviews we
stress the need to let your learning not lie idly by between your longer
practice periods. Attempt to give your daily two ideas a brief but
serious
review each hour. Use one on the hour and the other one a half an hour
later.
You need not give more than just a moment to each one.
11 Repeat it, and allow your mind to
rest a little time in
silence and in peace. Then turn to other things, but try to keep the
thought
with you and let it serve to help you keep your peace throughout the
day. If
you are shaken, think of it again. These practice periods are planned to
help
you form the habit of applying what you learn each day to everything you
do.
12 Do not repeat it and then lay it
down. Its usefulness is
limitless to you. And it is meant to serve you in all ways, all times
and
places, and whenever you need help of any kind. Try, then, to take it
with you
in the business of the day and make it holy, worthy of God's Son,
acceptable to
God and to your Self.
13 Each day's review assignment will
conclude with a
restatement of the thought to use each hour and the one to be applied on
each
half hour as well. Forget them not. This second chance with each of
these ideas
will bring such large advances that we come from these reviews with
learning
gains so great that we begin again on solid ground.
14 Do not forget how little you have
learned. Do not forget
how much you can learn now. Do not forget your Father's need of you as
you
review these thoughts He gave to you.
1 For morning and evening review:
[91] Miracles are seen in light.
[92] Miracles are seen in light, and
light and strength are
one.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[93] Light and joy and peace abide in
me.
[94] I am as God created me.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1For morning and evening review:
[95] I am One Self, united with my
Creator.
[96] Salvation comes from my One
Self.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[97] I am Spirit.
[98] I will accept my part in God's
plan for salvation.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[99] Salvation is my only function
here.
[100] My part is essential to God's
plan for salvation.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[101] God's Will for me is perfect
happiness.
[102] I share God's Will for
happiness for me.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[103] God, being Love, is also
happiness.
[104] I seek but what belongs to me
in truth.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[105] God's peace and joy are mine.
[106] Let me be still and listen to
the truth.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[107] Truth will correct all errors
in my mind.
[108] To give and to receive are one
in truth.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 For morning and evening review:
[109] I rest in God.
[110] I am as God created me.
4 On the hour:
6 On the half hour:
1 Here is the answer to your search
for peace. Here is the
key to meaning in a world which seems to make no sense. Here is the way
to
safety in apparent dangers which appear to threaten you at every turn
and bring
uncertainty to all your hopes of ever finding quietness and peace. Here
are all
questions answered; here the end of all uncertainty ensured at last.
2 The unforgiving mind is full of fear
and offers love no
room to be itself, no place where it can spread its wings in peace and
soar
above the turmoil of the world. The unforgiving mind is sad, without the
hope
of respite and release from pain. It suffers and abides in misery,
peering
about in darkness, seeing not, yet certain of the danger lurking there.
3 The unforgiving mind is torn with
doubt, confused about
itself and all it sees, afraid and angry, weak and blustering, afraid to
go
ahead, afraid to stay, afraid to waken or to go to sleep, afraid of
every
sound, yet more afraid of stillness; terrified of darkness, yet more
terrified
at the approach of light.
4 What can the unforgiving mind
perceive but its damnation?
What can it behold except the proof that all its sins are real? The
unforgiving
mind sees no mistakes, but only sins. It looks upon the world with
sightless
eyes and shrieks as it beholds its own projections rising to attack its
miserable parody of life. It wants to live, yet wishes it were dead. It
wants
forgiveness, yet it sees no hope. It wants escape, yet can conceive of
none
because it sees the sinful everywhere.
5 The unforgiving mind is in despair,
without the prospect
of a future which can offer anything but more despair. Yet it regards
its
judgment of the world as irreversible and does not see it has condemned
itself
to this despair. It thinks it cannot change, for what it sees bears
witness
that its judgment is correct. It does not ask because it thinks it
knows. It
does not question, certain it is right.
6 Forgiveness is acquired. It is not
inherent in a mind,
which cannot sin. As sin was an idea you taught yourself, forgiveness
must be
learned by you as well, but from a Teacher other than yourself, who
represents
the other Self in you. Through Him you learn how to forgive the self you
think
you made and let it disappear. Thus you return your mind as one to Him
Who is
your Self and Who can never sin.
7 Each unforgiving mind presents you
with an opportunity to
teach your own how to forgive itself. Each one awaits release from hell
through
you and turns to you imploringly for Heaven here and now. It has no
hope, but
you become its hope. And as its hope, do you become your own. The
unforgiving
mind must learn through your forgiveness that it has been saved from
hell. And
as you teach salvation, you will learn.
8 Yet all your teaching and your
learning will be not of
you, but of the Teacher Who was given you to show the way to you. Today
we
practice learning to forgive. If you are willing, you can learn today to
take
the key to happiness and use it on your own behalf. We will devote ten
minutes
in the morning and at night another ten, to learning how to give
forgiveness
and receive forgiveness too.
9 The unforgiving mind does not
believe that giving and
receiving are the same. Yet we will try to learn today that they are one
through practicing forgiving toward one whom you think of as an enemy
and one
whom you consider as a friend. And as you learn to see them both as one,
we
will extend the lesson to ourselves and see that their escape included
ours.
10 Begin the longer practice periods by
thinking of someone
you do not like, who seems to irritate you or to cause regret in you if
you
should meet him; one you actively despise or merely try to overlook. It
does
not matter what the form your anger takes. You probably have chosen him
already. He will do.
11 Now close your eyes and see him in
your mind and look at
him a while. Try to perceive some light in him somewhere-a little gleam
which
you had never noticed. Try to find some little spark of brightness
shining
through the ugly picture which you hold of him. Look at this picture
till you
see a light somewhere within it, and then try to let this light extend
until it
covers him and makes the picture beautiful and good.
12 Look at this changed perception for
a while, and turn your
mind to one you call a friend. Try to transfer the light you learned to
see
around your former "enemy" to him. Perceive him now as more than
friend to you, for in that light his holiness shows you your savior,
saved and
saving, healed and whole. Then let him offer you the light you see in
him and
let your "enemy" and friend unite in blessing you with what you gave.
Now are you one with them and they with you. Now have you been forgiven
by
yourself.
13 Do not forget throughout the day the
role forgiveness
plays in bringing happiness to every unforgiving mind, with yours among
them.
Every hour tell yourself:
1 What could you want forgiveness
cannot give? Do you want
peace? Forgiveness offers it. Do you want happiness, a quiet mind, a
certainty
of purpose, and a sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world?
Do you
want care and safety and the warmth of sure protection always? Do you
want a
quietness that cannot be disturbed, a gentleness that never can be hurt,
a
deep, abiding comfort, and a rest so perfect it can never be upset?
2 All this forgiveness offers you, and
more. It sparkles in
your eyes as you awake and gives you joy with which to meet the day. It
soothes
your forehead while you sleep and rests upon your eyelids so you see no
dreams
of fear and evil, malice, and attack. And when you wake again, it offers
you
another day of happiness and peace. All this forgiveness offers you, and
more.
3 Forgiveness lets the veil be lifted
up which hides the
face of Christ from those who look with unforgiving eyes upon the world.
It
lets you recognize the Son of God and clears your memory of all dead
thoughts
so that remembrance of your Father can arise across the threshold of
your mind.
4 What would you want forgiveness
cannot give? What gifts
but these are worthy to be sought? What fancied value, trivial effect,
or
transient promise never to be kept can hold more hope than what
forgiveness
brings? Why would you seek an answer other than the answer that will
answer
everything? Here is the perfect answer, given to imperfect questions,
meaningless requests, half-hearted willingness to hear, and less than
halfway
diligence and partial trust.
5 Here is the answer! Seek for it no
more. You will not find
another one instead. God's plan for your salvation cannot change, nor
can it
fail. Be thankful it remains exactly as He planned it. Changelessly it
stands
before you like an open door with warmth and welcome calling from beyond
the
doorway, bidding you to enter in and make yourself at home where you
belong.
6 Here is the answer! Would you stand
outside while all of
Heaven waits for you within? Forgive and be forgiven. As you give, you
will
receive. There is no plan but this for the salvation of the Son of God.
Let us
today rejoice that this is so, for here we have an answer, clear and
plain,
beyond deceit in its simplicity. All the complexities the world has spun
of
fragile cobwebs disappear before the power and the majesty of this
extremely
simple statement of the truth.
7 Here is the answer! Do not turn away
in aimless wandering
again. Accept salvation now. It is the gift of God and not the world.
The world
can give no gifts of any value to a mind which has received what God has
given
as its own. God wills salvation be received today and that the
intricacies of
your dreams no longer hide their nothingness from you.
8 Open your eyes today, and look upon
a happy world of
safety and of peace. Forgiveness is the means by which it comes to take
the
place of hell. In quietness it rises up to greet your open eyes and fill
your
heart with deep tranquility as ancient truths, forever newly born, arise
in
your awareness. What you will remember then can never be described. Yet
your
forgiveness offers it to you.
9 Remembering the gifts forgiveness
gives, we undertake our
practicing today with hope and faith that this will be the day salvation
will
be ours. Earnestly and gladly will we seek for it today, aware we hold
the key
within our hands, accepting Heaven's answer to the hell we made, but
where we
would remain no more.
10 Morning and evening do we gladly
give a quarter of an hour
to the search in which the end of hell is guaranteed. Begin in
hopefulness, for
we have reached the turning point at which the road becomes far easier.
And now
the way is short that yet we travel. We are close indeed to the
appointed
ending of the dream.
11 Sink into happiness as you begin
these practice periods,
for they hold out the sure rewards of questions answered, and what your
acceptance of the answer brings. Today it will be given you to feel the
peace
forgiveness offers and the joy the lifting of the veil holds out to you.
12 Before the light you will receive
today the world will
fade until it disappears, and you will see another world arise you have
no
words to picture. Now we walk directly into light, and we receive the
gifts
which have been held in store for us since time began, kept waiting for
today.
Forgiveness offers everything you want. Today all things you want are
given
you.
13 Let not your gifts recede throughout
the day, as you
return again to meet a world of shifting change and bleak appearances.
Retain your
gifts in clear awareness as you see the changeless in the heart of
change, the
light of truth behind appearances. Be tempted not to let your gifts slip
by and
drift into forgetfulness but hold them firmly in your mind by your
attempts to
think of them at least a minute as each quarter of an hour passes by.
14 Remind yourself how precious are
these gifts with this
reminder, which has power to hold your gifts in your awareness through
the day:
1 Today let us be thankful. We have
come to gentler pathways
and to smoother roads. There is no thought of turning back and no
implacable
resistance to the truth. A bit of wavering remains, some small
objections, and
a little hesitance, but we can well be grateful for our gains, which are
far
greater than we realize.
2 A day devoted now to gratitude will
add the benefit of
some insight into the real extent of all the gains which you have made;
the
gifts you have received. Be glad today in loving thankfulness your
Father has
not left you to yourself, nor let you wander in the dark alone. Be
grateful He
has saved you from the self you thought you made to take the place of
Him and
His creation. Give Him thanks today.
3 Give thanks that He has not
abandoned you and that His
Love forever will remain shining on you, forever without change. Give
thanks as
well that you are changeless, for the Son He loves is changeless as
Himself. Be
grateful you are saved. Be glad you have a function in salvation to
fulfill. Be
thankful that your value far transcends your meager gifts and petty
judgments
of the one whom God established as His Son.
4 Today in gratitude we lift our
hearts above despair and
raise our thankful eyes, no longer looking downward to the dust. We sing
the
song of thankfulness today in honor of the Self Which God has willed to
be our
true identity in Him. Today we smile on everyone we see and walk with
lightened
footsteps as we go to do what is appointed us to do. We do not go alone.
And we
give thanks that in our solitude a Friend has come to speak the saving
Word of
God to us.
5 And thanks to you for listening to
Him. His Word is
soundless if it be not heard. In thanking Him the thanks are yours as
well. An
unheard message will not save the world, however mighty be the Voice
that
speaks, however loving may the message be. Thanks be to you who heard,
for you
become the messenger who brings His Voice with you and let it echo round
and
round the world.
6 Receive the thanks of God today, as
you give thanks to
Him. For He would offer you the thanks you give, since He receives your
gifts
in loving gratitude and gives them back a thousand and a hundred
thousand more
than they were given. He will bless your gifts by sharing them with you,
and so
they grow in power and in strength until they fill the world with
gladness and
with gratitude.
7 Receive His thanks and offer yours
to Him for 15 minutes
twice today. And you will realize to Whom you offer thanks, and Whom He
thanks
as you are thanking Him. This holy half an hour given Him will be
returned to
you in terms of years for every second, power to save the world eons
more
quickly for your thanks to Him.
8 Receive His thanks, and you will
understand how lovingly
He holds you in His Mind, how deep and limitless His care for you, how
perfect
is His gratitude to you. Remember hourly to think of Him and give Him
thanks
for everything He gave His Son that he might rise above the world
remembering
his Father and his Self.
1 Today we will again give thanks for
our identity in God.
Our home is safe, protection guaranteed in all we do, power and strength
available to us in all our undertakings. We can fail in nothing.
Everything we
touch takes on a shining light which blesses and which heals. At one
with God
and with the universe, we go our way rejoicing, with the thought that
God
Himself goes everywhere with us.
2 How holy are our minds! And
everything we see reflects the
holiness within the mind at one with God and with itself. How easily do
errors
disappear, and death give place to everlasting life. Our shining
footprints
point the way to truth, for God is our Companion as we walk the world a
little
while. And those who come to follow us will recognize the way because
the light
we carry stays behind, yet still remains with us as we walk on.
3 What we receive is our eternal gift
to those who follow
after and to those who went before or stayed with us a while. And God,
Who
loves us with the equal love in which we were created, smiles on us and
offers
us the happiness we gave. Today we will not doubt His Love for us nor
question
His protection and His care.
4 No meaningless anxieties can come
between our faith and
our awareness of His Presence. We are one with Him today in recognition
and
remembrance. We feel Him in our hearts. Our minds contain His Thoughts;
our
eyes behold His loveliness in all we look upon. Today we see only the
loving
and the lovable.
5 We see it in appearances of pain,
and pain gives way to
peace. We see it in the frantic, in the sad and the distressed, the
lonely and
afraid, who are restored to the tranquillity and peace of mind in which
they
were created. And we see it in the dying and the dead as well, restoring
them
to life. All this we see because we saw it first within ourselves.
6 No miracle can ever be denied to
those who know that they
are one with God. No thought of theirs but has the power to heal all
forms of
suffering in anyone in times gone by and times as yet to come as easily
as in
the ones who walk beside them now. Their thoughts are timeless and apart
from
distance as apart from time.
7 We join in this awareness as we say
that we are one with
God. For in these words we say as well that we are saved and healed,
that we
can save and heal accordingly. We have accepted and we now would give,
for we
would keep the gifts our Father gave. Today we would experience
ourselves at
one with Him, so that the world may share our recognition of reality. In
our
experience the world is freed; as we deny our separation from our
Father, it is
healed along with us.
8 Peace be to you today. Secure your
peace by practicing
awareness you are one with your Creator, as He is with you. Sometime
today,
whenever it seems best, devote a half an hour to the thought that you
are one
with God. This is our first attempt at an extended period for which we
give no
rules nor special words to guide your meditation. We will trust God's
Voice to
speak as He sees fit today, certain He will not fail. Abide with Him
this half
an hour. He will do the rest.
9 Your benefit will not be less if you
believe that nothing
happens. You may not be ready to accept the gain today. Yet sometime,
somewhere,
it will come to you, nor will you fail to recognize it when it dawns
with
certainty upon your mind. This half an hour will be framed in gold, with
every
minute like a diamond set around the mirror that this exercise will
offer you.
And you will see Christ's face upon it, in reflection of your own.
10 Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you
will see your own
transfiguration in the glass this holy half an hour will hold out to you
to
look upon yourself. When you are ready, you will find it there within
your mind
and waiting to be found. You will remember then the thought to which you
gave
this half an hour, thankfully aware no time was ever better spent.
11 Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you
will look into this
glass and understand the sinless light you see belongs to you, the
loveliness
you look on is your own. Count this half hour as your gift to God, in
certainty
that His return will be a sense of love you cannot understand, a joy too
deep
for you to comprehend, a sight too holy for the body's eyes to see, and
yet you
can be sure someday, perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you will
understand and
comprehend and see.
12 Add further jewels to the golden
frame that holds the
mirror offered you today by hourly repeating to yourself:
1 Let this day be a day of stillness
and of quiet listening.
Your Father wills you hear His Word today. He calls to you from deep
within
your mind where He abides. Hear Him today. No peace is possible until
His Word
is heard around the world; until your mind, in quiet listening, accepts
the
message which the world must hear to usher in the quiet time of peace.
2 This world will change through you.
No other means can
save it, for God's plan is simply this: the Son of God is free to save
himself,
given the Word of God to be his Guide, forever in his mind and at his
side to
lead him surely to his Father's house by his own will, forever free as
God's.
He is not led by force, but only love. He is not judged, but only
sanctified.
3 In stillness we will hear God's
Voice today without
intrusion of our petty thoughts, without our personal desires, and
without all
judgment of His holy Word. We will not judge ourselves today, for what
we are
cannot be judged. We stand apart from all the judgments which the world
has
laid upon the Son of God. It knows him not. Today we will not listen to
the
world, but wait in silence for the Word of God.
4 Hear, holy Son of God, your Father
speak. His Voice would
give to you His holy Word to spread across the world the tidings of
salvation
and the holy time of peace. We gather at the throne of God today, the
quiet
place within your mind where He abides forever in the holiness which He
created
and will never leave.
5 He has not waited until you return
your mind to Him to
give His Word to you. He has not hid Himself from you while you have
wandered
off a little while from Him. He does not cherish the illusions which you
hold
about yourself. He knows His Son and wills that he remain as part of Him
regardless of his dreams, regardless of his madness that his will is not
his
own.
6 Today He speaks to you. His Voice
awaits your silence, for
His Word cannot be heard until your mind is quiet for a while and
meaningless
desires have been stilled. Await His Word in quiet. There is peace
within you
to be called upon today to help make ready your most holy mind to hear
the
Voice of its Creator speak.
7 Three times today, at times most
suitable for silence,
give ten minutes set apart from listening to the world and choose
instead a
gentle listening to the Word of God. He speaks from nearer than your
heart to
you. His Voice is closer than your hand. His Love is everything you are
and
that He is— the same as you, and you the same as He.
8 It is your voice to which you listen
as He speaks to you.
It is your Word He speaks. It is the Word of freedom and of peace, of
unity of
will and purpose, with no separation nor division in the single Mind of
Father
and of Son. In quiet listen to your Self today, and let Him tell you God
has
never left His Son, and you have never left your Self.
9 Only be quiet. You will need no rule
but this to let your
practicing today lift you above the thinking of the world and free your
vision
from the body's eyes. Only be still and listen. You will hear the Word
in which
the Will of God the Son joins in His Father's Will, at one with It, with
no
illusions interposed between the wholly indivisible and true.
10 As every hour passes by today, be
still a moment and
remind yourself you have a special purpose for this day—in quiet to
receive the
Word of God.
1 Today's idea, completely alien to
the ego and the thinking
of the world, is crucial to the thought reversal which this course will
bring
about. If you believed this statement, there would be no problem in
complete
forgiveness, certainty of goal, and sure direction. You would understand
the
means by which salvation comes to you and would not hesitate to use it
now.
2 Let us consider what you do believe
in place of this idea.
It seems to you that other people are apart from you and able to behave
in ways
which have no bearing on your thoughts, nor theirs on yours. Therefore
your
attitudes have no effect on them, and their appeals for help are not in
any way
related to your own. You further think that they can sin without
affecting your
perception of yourself, while you can judge their sin and yet remain
apart from
condemnation and at peace.
3 When you "forgive" a sin there is no
gain to you
directly. You give charity to one unworthy merely to point out that you
are
better, on a higher plane than he whom you forgive. He has not earned
your
charitable tolerance, which you bestow on one unworthy of the gift
because his
sins have lowered him beneath a true equality with you. He has no claim
on your
forgiveness. It holds out a gift to him but hardly to yourself.
4 Thus is forgiveness basically
unsound—a charitable whim,
benevolent yet undeserved; a gift bestowed at times, at other times
withheld.
Unmerited, withholding it is just, nor is it fair that you should suffer
when
it is withheld. The sin which you forgive is not your own. Someone apart
from
you committed it. And if you then are gracious unto him by giving him
what he
does not deserve, your gift is no more yours than was his sin.
5 If this be true, forgiveness has no
grounds on which to
rest dependably and sure. It is an eccentricity in which you sometimes
choose
to give indulgently an undeserved reprieve. Yet it remains your right to
let
the sinner not escape the justified repayment for his sin. Think you the
Lord
of Heaven would allow the world's salvation to depend on this? Would not
His
care for you be small indeed if your salvation rested on a whim?
6 You do not understand forgiveness.
As you see it, it is
but a check upon overt attack, without requiring correction in your
mind. It
cannot give you peace as you perceive it. It is not a means for your
release
from what you see in someone other than yourself. It has no power to
restore
your unity with him to your awareness. It is not what God intended it to
be for
you.
7 Not having given Him the gift He
asks of you, you cannot
recognize His gifts and think He has not given them to you. Yet would He
ask
you for a gift unless it was for you? Could He be satisfied with empty
gestures
and evaluate such petty gifts as worthy of His Son? Salvation is a
better gift
than this, and true forgiveness, as the means by which it is attained,
must
heal the mind that gives, for giving is receiving. What remains as
unreceived
has not been given, but what has been given must have been received.
8 Today we try to understand the truth
that giver and
receiver are the same. You will need help to make this meaningful
because it is
so alien to the thoughts to which you are accustomed. But the Help you
need is
there. Give Him your faith today and ask Him that He share your
practicing in
truth today. And if you only catch a tiny glimpse of the release which
lies in
the idea we practice for today, this is a day of glory for the world.
9 Give 15 minutes twice today to the
attempt to understand
today's idea. It is the thought by which forgiveness takes its proper
place in
your priorities. It is the thought that will release your mind from
every bar
to what forgiveness means and let you realize its worth to you.
10 In silence close your eyes upon the
world which does not
understand forgiveness and seek sanctuary in the quiet place where
thoughts are
changed and false beliefs laid by. Repeat today's idea, and ask for help
in
understanding what it really means. Be willing to be taught. Be glad to
hear
the Voice of truth and healing speak to you, and you will understand the
words
He speaks and recognize He speaks your words to you.
11 As often as you can, remind yourself
you have a goal
today—an aim which makes this day of special value to yourself and all
your
brothers. Do not let your mind forget this goal for long, but tell
yourself:
13 Then spend a quiet moment, opening
your mind to His
correction and His Love. And what you hear of Him you will believe, for
what He
gives will be received by you.
1 Perhaps you think that different
kinds of love are
possible. Perhaps you think there is a kind of love for this, a kind for
that;
a way of loving one, another way of loving still another. Love is one.
It has
no separate parts and no degrees; no kinds nor levels, no divergencies
and no
distinctions. It is like itself, unchanged throughout. It never alters
with a
person or a circumstance. It is the heart of God, and also of His Son.
2 Love's meaning is obscure to anyone
who thinks that love
can change. He does not see that changing love must be impossible. And
thus he
thinks that he can love at times and hate at other times. He also thinks
that
love can be bestowed on one and yet remain itself although it is
withheld from
others. To believe these things of love is not to understand it. If it
could
make such distinctions it would have to judge between the righteous and
the
sinner and perceive the Son of God in separate parts.
3 Love cannot judge. As it is one
itself, it looks on all as
one. Its meaning lies in oneness. And it must elude the mind that thinks
of it
as partial or in part. There is no love but God's, and all of love is
His.
There is no principle which rules where love is not. Love is a law
without an
opposite. Its wholeness is the power holding everything as one, the link
between the Father and the Son which holds them both forever as the
same.
4 No course whose purpose is to teach
you what you really
are could fail to emphasize there is no difference in what you are and
what
love is. Love's meaning is your own, and shared by God Himself. For what
you
are is what He is. There is no love but His, and what He is, is
everything
there is. There is no limit placed upon Himself, and so are you
unlimited as
well.
5 No laws the world obeys can help you
grasp love's meaning.
What the world believes was made to hide love's meaning and to keep it
dark and
secret. There is not one principle the world upholds but violates the
truth of
what love is and what you are as well. Seek not within the world to find
your
Self. Love is not found in darkness and in death. Yet it is perfectly
apparent
to eyes that see and ears that hear its Voice.
6 Today we practice making free our
mind of all the laws you
think you must obey, of all the limits under which you live, and all the
changes which you think are part of human destiny. Today we take the
largest
single step this course requests in your advance toward its established
goal.
If you achieve the faintest glimmering of what love means today, you
have
advanced in distance without measure and in time beyond the count of
years to
your release.
7 Let us together, then, be glad to
give some time to God
today and understand there is no better use for time than this. For 15
minutes
twice today escape from every law in which you now believe. Open your
mind and
rest. The world that seems to hold you prisoner can be escaped by anyone
who
does not hold it dear. Withdraw all value you have placed upon its
meager offerings
and senseless gifts, and let the Gift of God replace them all.
8 Call to your Father, certain that
His Voice will answer.
He Himself has promised this. And He Himself will place a spark of truth
within
your mind wherever you give up a false belief, a dark illusion of your
own
reality and what love means. He will shine through your idle thoughts
today and
help you understand the truth of love. In loving gentleness, He will
abide with
you as you allow His Voice to teach love's meaning to your clean and
open mind.
And He will bless the Lesson with His Love.
9 Today the legion of the future years
of waiting for
salvation disappears before the timelessness of what you learn. Let us
give
thanks today that we are spared a future like the past. Today we leave
the past
behind us, never more to be remembered. And we raise our eyes upon a
different
present, where a future shines unlike the past in every attribute.
10 The world in infancy is newly born.
And we will watch it
grow in strength and health to shed its blessing upon all who come to
learn to
cast aside the world they thought was made in hate to be love's enemy.
Now are
they all made free along with us. Now are they all our brothers in God's
Love.
11 We will remember them throughout the
day because we cannot
leave a part of us outside our love if we would know our Self. At least
three
times an hour think of one who makes the journey with you and who came
to learn
what you must learn. And as he comes to mind, give him this message from
your
Self:
1 The world you see has nothing that
you need to offer you,
nothing that you can use in any way, nor anything at all that serves to
give
you joy. Believe this thought, and you are saved from years of misery,
from
countless disappointments, and from hopes that turn to bitter ashes of
despair.
No one but must accept this thought as true, if he would leave this
world
behind and soar beyond its petty scope and little ways.
2 Each thing you value here is but a
chain that binds you to
the world, and it will serve no other end but this. For everything must
serve
the purpose you have given it until you see a different purpose there.
The only
purpose worthy of your mind this world contains is that you pass it by,
without
delaying to perceive some hope where there is none. Be you deceived no
more.
The world you see has nothing that you want.
3 Escape today the chains you place
upon your mind when you
perceive salvation here. For what you value you make part of you as you
perceive yourself. All things you seek to make your value greater in
your sight
limit you further, hide your worth from you, and add another bar across
the
door that leads to true awareness of your Self.
4 Let nothing which relates to body
thoughts delay your
progress to salvation, nor permit temptation to believe the world has
anything
you want to hold you back. Nothing is here to cherish. Nothing here is
worth
one instant of delay and pain, one moment of uncertainty and doubt. The
worthless offer nothing. Certainty of worth cannot be found in
worthlessness.
5 Today we practice letting go all
thought of values we have
given to the world. We leave it free of purposes we gave its aspects and
its
phases and its dreams. We hold it purposeless within our minds and
loosen it
from all we wish it were. Thus do we lift the chains which bar the door
to
freedom from the world and go beyond all little values and diminished
goals.
6 Peace and be still a little while,
and see how far you
rise above the world when you release your mind from chains and let it
seek the
level where it finds itself at home. It will be grateful to be free a
while. It
knows where it belongs. But free its wings, and it will fly in sureness
and in
joy to join its holy purpose. Let it rest in its Creator, there to be
restored
to sanity, to freedom, and to love.
7 Give it ten minutes rest three times
today. And when your
eyes are opened afterwards, you will not value anything you see as much
as when
you looked at it before. Your whole perspective on the world will shift
by just
a little every time you let your mind escape its chains. The world is
not where
it belongs. And you belong where it would be and where it goes to rest
when you
release it from the world. Your Guide is sure. Open your mind to Him. Be
still
and rest.
8 Protect your mind throughout the day
as well. And when you
think you see some value in an aspect or an image of the world, refuse
to lay
this chain upon your mind and tell yourself with quiet certainty:
1 This is the thought which follows
from the one we
practiced yesterday. You cannot stop with the idea the world is
worthless, for
unless you see that there is something else to hope for, you will only
be
depressed. Our emphasis is not on giving up the world but on exchanging
it for
what is far more satisfying, filled with joy, and capable of offering
you
peace. Think you this world can offer that to you?
2 It might be worth a little time to
think once more about
the value of this world. Perhaps you will concede there is no loss in
letting
go all thought of value here. The world you see is merciless indeed,
unstable,
cruel, unconcerned with you, quick to avenge, and pitiless with hate. It
gives
but to rescind and takes away all things that you have cherished for a
while.
No lasting love is found, for none is here. This is the world of time,
where
all things end.
3 Is it a loss to find a world instead
where losing is
impossible, where love endures forever, hate cannot exist, and vengeance
has no
meaning? Is it loss to find all things you really want and know they
have no
ending, and they will remain exactly as you want them throughout time?
4 Yet even they will be exchanged at
last for what we cannot
speak of, for you go from there to where words fail entirely, into a
silence
where the language is unspoken and yet surely understood. Communication,
unambiguous and plain as day, remains unlimited for all eternity. And
God
Himself speaks to His Son as His Son speaks to Him. Their language has
no
words, for what they say cannot be symbolized. Their knowledge is direct
and
wholly shared and wholly one.
5 How far away from this are you who
stay bound to this
world. And yet how near are you when you exchange it for the world you
want.
Now is the last step certain; now you stand an instant's space away from
timelessness. Here can you but look forward, never back to see again the
world
you do not want. Here is the world that comes to take its place as you
unbind
your mind from little things the world sets forth to keep you prisoner
there.
Value them not, and they will disappear. Esteem them, and they will seem
real
to you.
6 Such is the choice. What loss can be
for you in choosing
not to value nothingness? This world holds nothing that you really want,
but
what you choose instead you want indeed! Let it be given you today. It
waits
but for your choosing it to take the place of all the things you seek
but do
not want.
7 Practice your willingness to make
this change ten minutes
in the morning and at night and once more in between. Begin with this:
9 Then close your eyes upon the world
you see, and in the
silent darkness watch the lights that are not of this world light one by
one
until where one begins, another ends, losing all meaning as they blend
in one.
10 Today the lights of Heaven bend to
you, to shine upon your
eyelids as you rest beyond the world of darkness. Here is light your
eyes
cannot behold. And yet your mind can see it plainly and can understand.
A day
of grace is given you today, and we give thanks. This day we realize
that what
you feared to lose was only loss.
11 Now do we understand there is no
loss, for we have seen
its opposite at last, and we are grateful that the choice is made.
Remember
your decision hourly, and take a moment to confirm your choice by laying
by
whatever thoughts you have, and dwelling briefly only upon this:
1 Perception is consistent. What you
see reflects your
thinking. And your thinking but reflects your choice of what you want to
see. Your
values are determiners of this, for what you value you must want to see,
believing what you see is really there. No one can see a world his mind
has not
accorded value. And no one can fail to look upon what he believes he
wants.
2 Yet who can really hate and love at
once? Who can desire
what he does not want to have reality? And who can choose to see a world
of
which he is afraid? Fear must make blind, for this its weapon is—that
which you
fear to see you cannot see. Love and perception thus go hand in hand,
but fear
obscures in darkness what is there.
3 What, then, can fear project upon
the world? What can be
seen in darkness that is real? Truth is eclipsed by fear, and what
remains is
but imagined. Yet what can be real in blind imaginings of panic borne?
What
would you want that this is shown to you? What would you wish to keep in
such a
dream?
4 Fear has made everything you think
you see. All
separation, all distinctions, and the multitude of differences you
believe make
up the world. They are not there. Love's enemy has made them up. Yet
love can
have no enemy, and so they have no cause, no being, and no consequence.
They
can be valued but remain unreal. They can be sought, but they can not be
found.
5 Today we will not seek for them nor
waste this day in
seeking not what can be found. It is impossible to see two worlds which
have no
overlap of any kind. Seek for the one; the other disappears. But one
remains.
They are the range of choice beyond which your decision cannot go. The
real and
the unreal are all there is to choose between, and nothing more than
these.
6 Today we will attempt no compromise
where none is
possible. The world you see is proof you have already made a choice as
all-embracing as its opposite. What we would learn today is more than
just the
L e s s o n that you cannot see two worlds. It also teaches that the one
you
see is quite consistent from the point of view from which you see it. It
is all
a piece because it stems from one emotion, and reflects its source in
everything you see.
7 Six times today in thanks and
gratitude we gladly give
five minutes to the thought which ends all compromise and doubt and go
beyond
them all as one. We will not make a thousand meaningless distinctions,
nor
attempt to bring with us a little part of unreality as we devote our
minds to
finding only what is real.
8 Begin your searching for the other
world by asking for a
strength beyond your own, and recognize what it is you seek. You do not
want
illusions. And you come to these five minutes emptying your hands of all
the
petty treasures of this world. You wait for God to help you as you say:
10 God will be there. For you have
called upon the great
unfailing Power Who will take this giant step with you in gratitude. Nor
will
you fail to see His thanks expressed in tangible perception and in
truth. You
will not doubt what you will look upon. For though it is perception, it
is not
the kind of seeing that your eyes alone have ever seen before. And you
will
know God's strength upheld you as you made this choice.
11 Dismiss temptation easily today
whenever it arises merely
by remembering the limits on your choice. The unreal or the real, the
false or
true is what you see, and only what you see. Perception is consistent
with your
choice, and hell or Heaven comes to you as one.
12 Accept a little part of hell as
real, and you have damned
your eyes and cursed your sight, and what you will behold is hell
indeed. Yet
the release of Heaven still remains within your range of choice to take
the
place of everything that hell would show to you. All you need say to any
part
of hell, whatever form it takes, is simply this:
1 Failure is all about you while you
seek for goals that
cannot be achieved. You look for permanence in the impermanent, for love
where
there is none, for safety in the midst of danger, immortality within the
darkness of the dream of death. Who could succeed where contradiction is
the
setting of his searching and the place to which he comes to find
stability?
2 Goals which are meaningless are not
attained. There is no
way to reach them, for the means by which you strive for them are
meaningless
as they are. Who can use such senseless means and hope through them to
gain in
anything? Where can they lead? And what could they achieve that offers
any hope
of being real?
3 Pursuit of the imagined leads to
death because it is the
search for nothingness, and while you seek for life you ask for death.
You look
for safety and security while in your heart you pray for danger and
protection
for the little dream you made.
4 Yet searching is inevitable here.
For this you came, and
you will surely do the thing you came for. But the world can not dictate
the
goal for which you search unless you give it power to do so. Otherwise,
you
still are free to choose a goal that lies beyond the world and every
worldly
thought and one which comes to you from an idea relinquished yet
remembered,
old yet new—an echo of a heritage forgot, yet holding everything you
really want.
5 Be glad that search you must. Be
glad as well to learn you
search for Heaven and must find the goal you really want. No one can
fail to
want this goal and reach it in the end. God's Son cannot seek vainly,
though he
try to force delay, deceive himself, and think that it is hell he seeks.
When
he is wrong, he finds correction; when he wanders off, he is led back to
his
appointed task.
6 No one remains in hell, for no one
can abandon his Creator
nor affect His perfect, timeless, and unchanging Love. You will find
Heaven.
Everything you seek but this will fall away, yet not because it has been
taken
from you. It will go because you do not want it. You will reach the goal
you
really want as certainly as God created you in sinlessness.
7 Why wait for Heaven? It is here
today. Time is the great
illusion it is past or in the future. Yet this cannot be if it is where
God
wills His Son to be. How could the Will of God be in the past or yet to
happen?
What He wills is now, without a past and wholly futureless. It is as far
removed from time as is a tiny candle from a distant star, or what you
chose
from what you really want.
8 Heaven remains your one alternative
to this strange world
you made and all its ways—its shifting patterns and uncertain goals, its
painful
pleasures, and its tragic joys. God made no contradictions. What denies
its own
existence and attacks itself is not of Him. He did not make two minds,
with
Heaven as the glad effect of one and earth the other's sorry outcome
that is
Heaven's opposite in every way.
9 God does not suffer conflict. Nor is
His creation split in
two. How could it be His Son could be in hell when God Himself
established him
in Heaven? Could he lose what the Eternal Will has given him to be his
home
forever? Let us not try longer to impose an alien will upon His single
purpose.
He is here because He wills to be, and what He wills is present now
beyond the
reach of time.
10 Today we will not choose a paradox
in place of truth. How
could the Son of God make time to take away the Will of God? He thus
denies
himself and contradicts what has no opposite. He thinks he made a hell
opposing
Heaven and believes that he abides in what does not exist, while Heaven
is the
place he cannot find. Leave foolish thoughts like these behind today,
and turn
your mind to true ideas instead.
11 No one can fail who asks to reach
the truth, and it is
truth we ask to reach today. We will devote ten minutes to this goal
three
times today, and we will ask to see the rising of the real world to
replace the
foolish images that we held dear, with true ideas arising in the place
of
thoughts which have no meaning, no effect, and neither source nor
substance in
the truth.
12 This we acknowledge as we start upon
our practice periods.
Begin with this:
14 For several minutes watch your mind
and see, although your
eyes are closed, the senseless world you think is real. Review the
thoughts as
well which are compatible with such a world and which you think are
true. Then
let them go, and sink below them to the holy place where they can enter
not.
There is a door beneath them in your mind which you could not completely
lock
to hide what lies beyond.
15 Seek for that door and find it. But
before you try to open
it, remind yourself no one can fail who asks to reach the truth, and it
is this
request you make today. Nothing but this has any meaning now; no other
goal is
valued now nor sought; nothing before this door you really want, and
only what
lies past it do you seek.
16 Put out your hand and see how easily
the door swings open
with your one intent to go beyond it. Angels light the way, so that all
darkness
vanishes and you are standing in a light so bright and clear that you
can
understand all things you see. A tiny moment of surprise, perhaps, will
make
you pause before you realize the world you see before you in the light
reflects
the truth you knew and did not quite forget in wandering away in dreams.
17 You cannot fail today. There walks
with you the Spirit
Heaven sent you that you might approach this door some day and through
His aid
slip effortlessly past it to the light. Today that day has come. Today
God
keeps His ancient promise to His holy Son, as does His Son remember his
to Him.
This is a day of gladness, for we come to the appointed time and place
where
you will find the goal of all your searching here and all the seeking of
the
world, which ends together as you pass beyond the door.
18 Remember often that today should be
a time of special
gladness, and refrain from dismal thoughts and meaningless laments.
Salvation's
time has come. Today is set by Heaven Itself to be a time of grace for
you and
for the world. If you forget this happy fact, remind yourself with this:
1 What keeps the world in chains but
your beliefs? And what
can save the world except your Self? Belief is powerful indeed. The
thoughts
you hold are mighty, and illusions are as strong in their effects as is
the
truth. A madman thinks the world he sees is real and does not doubt it.
Nor can
he be swayed by questioning his thoughts' effects. It is but when their
source
is raised to question that the hope of freedom comes to him at last.
2 Yet is salvation easily achieved,
for anyone is free to
change his mind, and all his thoughts change with it. Now the source of
thought
has shifted, for to change your mind means you have changed the source
of all
ideas you think or ever thought or yet will think.
3 You free the past from what you
thought before. You free
the future from all ancient thoughts of seeking what you do not want to
find.
The present now remains the only time. Here in the present is the world
set
free. For as you let the past be lifted and release the future from your
ancient fears, you find escape and give it to the world.
4 You have enslaved the world with all
your fears, with
doubts and miseries, your pain and tears, and all your sorrows press
upon it
and keep it a prisoner to your beliefs. Death strikes it everywhere
because you
hold the bitter thought of death within your mind. The world is nothing
in
itself. Your mind must give it meaning. And what you behold upon it are
your
wishes, acted out so you can look on them and think them real.
5 Perhaps you think you did not make
the world but came
unwillingly to what was made already, hardly waiting for your thoughts
to give
it meaning. Yet in truth you found exactly what you looked for when you
came.
There is no world apart from what you wish, and herein lies your
ultimate
release. Change but your mind on what you want to see, and all the world
must
change accordingly.
6 Ideas leave not their source. This
central theme is often
stated in the text and must be borne in mind if you would understand the
L e s
s o n for today. It is not pride which tells you that you made the world
you
see and that it changes as you change your mind. But it is pride that
argues
you have come into a world quite separate from yourself, impervious to
what you
think, and quite apart from what you chance to think it is.
7 There is no world! This is the
central thought the course
attempts to teach. Not everyone is ready to accept it, and each one must
go as
far as he can let himself be led along the road to truth. He will return
and go
still farther, or perhaps step back a while and then return again.
8 But healing is the gift of those who
are prepared to learn
there is no world and can accept the lesson now. Their readiness will
bring the
lesson to them in some form which they can understand and recognize.
Some see
it suddenly on point of death and rise to teach it. Others find it in
experience that is not of this world, which shows them that the world
does not
exist because what they behold must be the truth, and yet it clearly
contradicts the world. And some will find it in this course and in the
exercises that we do today.
9 Today's idea is true because the
world does not exist. And
if it is indeed your own imagining, then you can loose it from all
things you
ever thought it was by merely changing all the thoughts that gave it
these
appearances. The sick are healed as you let go all thoughts of sickness,
and
the dead arise when you let thoughts of life replace all thoughts you
ever held
of death.
10 A lesson earlier repeated once must
now be stressed again,
for it contains the firm foundation for today's idea. You are as God
created
you. There is no place where you can suffer and no time that can bring
change
to your eternal state. How can a world of time and place exist if you
remain as
God created you?
11 What is the lesson for today except
another way of saying
that to know your Self is the salvation of the world? To free the world
from
every kind of pain is but to change your mind about yourself. There is
no world
apart from your ideas because ideas leave not their source, and you
maintain
the world within your mind in thought.
12 Yet if you are as God created you,
you cannot think apart
from Him nor make what does not share His timelessness and love. Are
these
inherent in the world you see? Does it create like Him? Unless it does,
it is
not real and cannot be at all. If you are real, the world you see is
false, for
God's creation is unlike the world in every way. And as it was His
Thought by
which you were created, so it is your thoughts which made it and must
set it free
that you may know the Thoughts you share with God.
13 Release the world! Your real
creations wait for this
release to give you fatherhood, not of illusions, but as God in truth.
God
shares His Fatherhood with you who are His Son, for He makes no
distinctions in
what is Himself and what is still Himself. What He creates is not apart
from
Him, and nowhere does the Father end, the Son begin as something
separate from
Him.
14 There is no world because it is a
thought apart from God
and made to separate the Father and the Son and break away a part of God
Himself and thus destroy His wholeness. Can a world which comes from
this idea
be real? Can it be anywhere? Deny illusions, but accept the truth. Deny
you are
a shadow briefly laid upon a dying world. Release your mind, and you
will look
upon a world released.
15 Today our purpose is to free the
world from all the idle
thoughts we ever held about it and about all living things we see upon
it. They
can not be there—no more than we. For we are in the home our Father set
for us
along with them. And we who are as He created us would loose the world
this day
from every one of our illusions that we may be free.
16 Begin the 15 minute periods in which
we practice twice
today with this:
18 Then merely rest, alert but with no
strain, and let your
mind in quietness be changed so that the world is freed along with you.
19 You need not realize that healing
comes to many brothers
far across the world as well as to the ones you see near by as you send
out
these thoughts to bless the world. But you will sense your own release,
although you may not fully understand as yet that you could never be
released
alone.
20 Throughout the day, increase the
freedom sent through your
ideas to all the world, and say whenever you are tempted to deny the
power of
your simple change of mind:
1 Sometimes in teaching there is
benefit, particularly after
you have gone through what seems theoretical and quite remote from what
the
student has already learned, to bring him back to practical concerns.
This we
will do today. We will not speak of lofty, world-encompassing ideas but
dwell
instead on benefits to you.
2 You do not ask too much of life, but
far too little. When
you let your mind be drawn to bodily concerns, to things you buy, to
eminence
as valued by the world, you ask for sorrow, not for happiness. This
course does
not attempt to take from you the little that you have. It does not try
to
substitute utopian ideas for satisfactions which the world contains.
3 There are no satisfactions in the
world. Today we list the
real criteria by which to test all things you think you want. Unless
they meet
these sound requirements, they are not worth desiring at all, for they
can but
replace what offers more.
4 The laws which govern choice you
cannot make, no more than
you can make alternatives from which to choose. The choosing you can do;
indeed
you must. But it is wise to learn the laws you set in motion when you
choose
and what alternatives you choose between. We have already stressed there
are
but two, however many there appear to be.
5 The range is set, and this we cannot
change. It would be
most ungenerous to you to let alternatives be limitless and thus delay
your
final choice until you had considered all of them in time and not been
brought
so clearly to the place where there is but one choice that must be made.
6 Another kindly and related law is
that there is no
compromise in what your choice must bring. It cannot give you just a
little,
for there is no in-between. Each choice you make brings everything to
you or
nothing. Therefore, if you learn the tests by which you can distinguish
everything from nothing, you will make the better choice.
7 First, if you choose a thing that
will not last forever,
what you chose is valueless. A temporary value is without all value.
Time can
never take away a value that is real. What fades and dies was never
there and
makes no offering to him who chooses it. He is deceived by nothing in a
form he
thinks he likes.
8 Next, if you choose to take a thing
away from someone
else, you will have nothing left. This is because when you deny his
right to
everything, you have denied your own. You therefore will not recognize
the
things you really have, denying they are there. Who seeks to take away
has been
deceived by the illusion loss can offer gain. Yet loss must offer loss
and
nothing more.
9 Your next consideration is the one
on which the others
rest. Why is the choice you make of value to you? What attracts your
mind to
it? What purpose does it serve? Here it is easiest of all to be
deceived, for
what the ego wants it fails to recognize. It does not even tell the
truth as it
perceives it, for it needs to keep the halo which it uses to protect its
goals
from tarnish and from rust that you may see how innocent it is.
10 Yet is its camouflage a thin veneer
which could deceive
but those who are content to be deceived. Its goals are obvious to
anyone who
cares to look for them. Here is deception doubled, for the one who is
deceived
will not perceive that he has merely failed to gain. He will believe
that he
has served the ego's hidden goals. And though he tries to keep its halo
clear
within his vision, yet must he perceive its tarnished edges and its
rusted
core.
11 His ineffectual mistakes appear as
sins to him because he
looks upon the tarnished as his own—the rust a sign of deep unworthiness
within
himself. He who would still preserve the ego's goals and serve them as
his own
makes no mistakes according to the dictates of his guide. This guidance
teaches
it is error to believe that sins are but mistakes, for who would suffer
for his
sins if this were so?
12 And so we come to the criterion for
choice which is the
hardest to believe, because its obviousness is overlaid with many levels
of
obscurity. If you feel any guilt about your choice, you have allowed the
ego's
goals to come between the real alternatives, and thus you do not realize
there
are but two. And the alternative you think you chose seems fearful and
too
dangerous to be the nothingness it actually is.
13All things are valuable or valueless,
worthy or not of
being sought at all, entirely desirable or not worth the slightest
effort to
obtain. Choosing is easy just because of this. Complexity is nothing but
a
screen of smoke which hides the very simple fact that no decision can be
difficult.
14What is the gain to you in learning
this? It is far more
than merely letting you make choices easily and without pain. Heaven
Itself is
reached by empty hands and open minds, which come with nothing to find
everything and claim it as their own. We will attempt to reach this
state
today, with self-deception laid aside and with an honest willingness to
value
but the truly valuable and the real.
15 Our two extended practice periods of
15 minutes will begin
with this:
17 And then receive what waits for
everyone who reaches
unencumbered to the gate of Heaven, which swings open as he comes.
Should you begin
to let yourself collect some needless burdens or believe you see some
difficult
decisions facing you, be quick to answer with this simple thought:
1 Let us review the meaning of
"forgive," for it
is apt to be distorted and to be perceived as something which entails an
unfair
sacrifice of righteous wrath, a gift unjustified and undeserved, and a
complete
denial of the truth. In such a view, forgiveness must be seen as mere
eccentric
folly, and this course appear to rest salvation on a whim.
2 This twisted view of what
forgiveness means is easily
corrected when you can accept the fact that pardon is not asked for what
is
true. It must be limited to what is false. It is irrelevant to
everything
except illusions. Truth is God's creation, and to pardon this is
meaningless.
All truth belongs to Him, reflects His laws and radiates His Love. Does
this
need pardon? How can you forgive the sinless and eternally benign?
3 The major difficulty that you find
in genuine forgiveness
on your part is that you still believe you must forgive the truth and
not
illusions. You conceive of pardon as a vain attempt to look past what is
there;
to overlook the truth in an unfounded effort to deceive yourself by
making an
illusion true. This twisted viewpoint but reflects the hold that the
idea of
sin retains as yet upon your mind as you regard yourself.
4 Because you think your sins are
real, you look on pardon
as deception. For it is impossible to think of sin as true and not
believe
forgiveness is a lie. Thus is forgiveness really but a sin, like all the
rest.
It says the truth is false and smiles on the corrupt as if they were as
blameless as the grass; as white as snow. It is delusional in what it
thinks it
can accomplish. It would see as right the plainly wrong, the loathsome
as the
good.
5 Pardon is no escape in such a view.
It merely is a further
sign that sin is unforgivable, at best to be concealed, denied, or
called
another name, for pardon is a treachery to truth. Guilt can not be
forgiven. If
you sin, your guilt is everlasting. Those who are forgiven from the view
their
sins are real are pitifully mocked and twice condemned—first by
themselves for
what they think they did and once again by those who pardon them.
6 It is sin's unreality that makes
forgiveness natural and
wholly sane, a deep relief to those who offer it; a quiet blessing where
it is
received. It does not countenance illusions but collects them lightly
with a
little laugh and gently lays them at the feet of truth. And there they
disappear entirely.
7 Forgiveness is the only thing that
stands for truth in the
illusions of the world. It sees their nothingness and looks right
through the
thousand forms in which they may appear. It looks on lies but it is not
deceived. It does not heed the self-accusing shrieks of sinners mad with
guilt.
It looks on them with quiet eyes and merely says to them, "My brother,
what you think is not the truth."
8 The strength of pardon is its
honesty, which is so
uncorrupted that it sees illusions as illusions, not as truth. It is
because of
this that it becomes the undeceiver in the face of lies, the great
restorer of
the simple truth. By its ability to overlook what is not there, it opens
up the
way to truth, which had been blocked by dreams of guilt.
9 Now are you free to follow in the
way your true
forgiveness opens up to you. For if one brother has received this gift
of you,
the door is open to yourself. There is a very simple way to find the
door to
true forgiveness and perceive it open wide in welcome. When you feel
that you
are tempted to accuse someone of sin in any form, do not allow your mind
to
dwell on what you think he did, for this is self-deception. Ask instead,
"Should I accuse myself of doing this?"
10 Thus will you see alternatives for
choice in terms which
render choosing meaningful and keep your mind as free of guilt and pain
as God
Himself intended it to be and as it is in truth. It is but lies which
would
condemn. In truth is innocence the only thing there is. Forgiveness
stands
between illusions and the truth, between the world you see and that
which lies
beyond, between the hell of guilt and Heaven's gate.
11 Across this bridge, as powerful as
Love Which laid Its
blessing on it, are all dreams of evil and of hatred and attack brought
silently to truth. They are not kept to swell and bluster and to terrify
the
foolish dreamer who believes in them. He has been gently wakened from
his dream
by understanding what he thought he saw was never there. And now he
cannot feel
that all escape has been denied to him.
12 He does not have to fight to save
himself. He does not
have to kill the dragons which he thought pursued him. Nor need he erect
the
heavy walls of stone and iron doors he thought would make him safe. He
can
remove the ponderous and useless armor made to chain his mind to fear
and
misery. His step is light, and as he lifts his foot to stride ahead, a
star is
left behind to point the way to those who follow him.
13 Forgiveness must be practiced, for
the world cannot
perceive its meaning nor provide a guide to teach you its beneficence.
There is
no thought in all the world which leads to any understanding of the laws
it
follows nor the Thought which it reflects. It is as alien to the world
as is
your own reality. And yet it joins your mind with the reality in you.
14Today we practice true forgiveness
that the time of joining
be no more delayed. For we would meet with our reality in freedom and in
peace.
Our practicing becomes the footsteps lightening up the way for all our
brothers, who will follow us to the reality we share with them.
15 That this may be accomplished, let
us give a quarter of an
hour twice today and spend it with the Guide Who understands the meaning
of
forgiveness and was sent to us to teach it. Let us ask of Him:
17 Then choose one brother as He will
direct, and catalogue
his "sins," as one by one they cross your mind. Be certain not to
dwell on any one of them, but realize that you are using his
"offenses" but to save the world from all ideas of sin. Briefly
consider all the evil things you thought of him, and each time ask
yourself
"Would I condemn myself for doing this?"
18 Let him be freed from all the
thoughts you had of sin in
him. And now you are prepared for freedom. If you have been practicing
thus far
in willingness and honesty, you will begin to sense a lifting up, a
lightening
of weight across your chest, a deep and certain feeling of relief. The
time
remaining should be given to experiencing the escape from all the heavy
chains
you sought to lay upon your brother which were laid upon yourself.
19 Forgiveness should be practiced
through the day, for there
will be so many times when you forget its meaning and attack yourself.
When
this occurs, allow your mind to see through this illusion as you tell
yourself:
21 In everything you do, remember this:
1 Who would defend himself unless he
thought he was
attacked, that the attack is real, and that his own defense can save
himself?
And herein lies the folly of defense—it gives illusions full reality and
then
attempts to handle them as real. It adds illusions to illusions, thus
making
correction doubly difficult.
2 And it is this you do when you
attempt to plan the future,
activate the past, or organize the present as you wish. You operate from
the
belief you must protect yourself from what is happening because it must
contain
what threatens you. A sense of threat is an acknowledgment of an
inherent weakness,
a belief that there is danger which has power to call on you to make
appropriate defense.
3 The world is based on this insane
belief. And all its
structures, all its thoughts and doubts, its penalties and heavy
armaments, its
legal definitions and its codes, its ethics and its leaders and its
gods, all
serve but to preserve its sense of threat. For no one walks the world in
armature but must have terror striking at his heart.
4 Defense is frightening. It stems
from fear, increasing
fear as each defense is made. You think it offers safety. Yet it speaks
of fear
made real and terror justified. Is it not strange you do not pause to
ask, as
you elaborate your plans and make your armor thicker and your locks more
tight,
what you defend, and how, and against what?
5 Let us consider first what you
defend. It must be
something that is very weak and easily assaulted. It must be something
made
easy prey, unable to protect itself, and needing your defense. What but
the
body has such frailty that constant care and watchful, deep concern is
needful
to protect its little life? What but the body falters and must fail to
serve
the Son of God as worthy host?
6 Yet it is not the body that can
fear, nor be a thing to
fear. It has no needs but those which you assign to it. It needs no
complicated
structures of defense, no health-inducing medicine, no care, and no
concern at
all. Defend its life, or give it gifts to make it beautiful or walls to
make it
safe, and you but say your home is open to the thief of time,
corruptible and
crumbling, so unsafe it must be guarded with your very life.
7 Is not this picture fearful? Can you
be at peace with such
a concept of your home? Yet what endowed the body with the right to
serve you
thus except your own belief? It is your mind which gave the body all the
functions that you see in it and set its value far beyond a little pile
of dust
and water. Who would make defense of something that he recognized as
this?
8 The body is in need of no defense.
This cannot be too
often emphasized. It will be strong and healthy if the mind does not
abuse it
by assigning it to roles it cannot fill, to purposes beyond its scope,
and to
exalted aims which it cannot accomplish. Such attempts, ridiculous yet
deeply
cherished, are the sources for the many mad attacks you make upon it.
For it
seems to fail your hopes, your needs, your values, and your dreams.
9 The "self" that needs protection is
not real.
The body, valueless and hardly worth the least defense, need merely be
perceived as quite apart from you, and it becomes a healthy, serviceable
instrument through which the mind can operate until its usefulness is
over. Who
would want to keep it when its usefulness is done?
10 Defend the body, and you have
attacked your mind. For you
have seen in it the faults, the weaknesses, the limits, and the lacks
from
which you think the body must be saved. You will not see the mind as
separate
from bodily conditions. And you will impose upon the body all the pain
that
comes from the conception of the mind as limited and fragile, and apart
from
other minds and separate from its Source.
11 These are the thoughts in need of
healing, and the body
will respond with health when they have been corrected and replaced with
truth.
This is the body's only real defense. Yet is this where you look for its
defense? You offer it protection of a kind from which it gains no
benefit at
all but merely adds to your distress of mind. You do not heal but merely
take
away the hope of healing, for you fail to see where hope must lie if it
be meaningful.
12 A healed mind does not plan. It
carries out the plans
which it receives through listening to Wisdom that is not its own. It
waits
until it has been taught what should be done and then proceeds to do it.
It
does not depend upon itself for anything except its adequacy to fulfill
the
plans assigned to it. It is secure in certainty that obstacles cannot
impede
its progress to accomplishment of any goal which serves the greater plan
established for the good of everyone.
13 A healed mind is relieved from the
belief that it must
plan, although it cannot know the outcome which is best, the means by
which it
is achieved, nor how to recognize the problem that the plan is made to
solve.
It must misuse the body in its plans until it recognizes this is so. But
when
it has accepted this as true, then is it healed and lets the body go.
14 Enslavement of the body to the plans
the unhealed mind
sets up to save itself must make the body sick. It is not free to be a
means of
helping in a plan which far exceeds its own protection and which needs
its
service for a little while. In this capacity is health assured. For
everything
the mind employs for this will function flawlessly and with the strength
that
has been given it and cannot fail.
15 It is, perhaps, not easy to perceive
that self-initiated
plans are but defenses with the purpose all of them were made to
realize. They
are the means by which a frightened mind would undertake its own
protection at
the cost of truth. This is not difficult to realize in some forms which
these
self-deceptions take, for the denial of reality is very obvious. Yet
planning
is not often recognized as a defense.
16 The mind engaged in planning for
itself is occupied in
setting up control of future happenings. It does not think that it will
be
provided for unless it makes its own provisions. Time becomes a future
emphasis
to be controlled by learning and experience obtained from past events
and
previous beliefs. It overlooks the present, for it rests on the idea the
past
has taught enough to let the mind direct its future course.
17
The mind that
plans is thus refusing
to allow for change. What it has learned before becomes the basis for
its
future goals. Its past experience directs its choice of what will
happen. And
it does not see that here and now is everything it needs to guarantee a
future
quite unlike the past without a continuity of any old ideas and sick
beliefs.
Anticipation plays no part at all, for present confidence directs the
way.
18 Defenses are the plans you undertake
to make against the
truth. Their aim is to select what you approve and disregard what you
consider
incompatible with your beliefs of your reality. Yet what remains is
meaningless
indeed. For it is your reality which is the "threat" that your
defenses would attack, obscure, and take apart and crucify.
19 What could you not accept if you but
knew that everything
that happens, all events, past, present, and to come, are gently planned
by One
Whose only purpose is your good? Perhaps you have misunderstood His
plan, for
He would never offer pain to you. But your defenses did not let you see
His
loving blessing shine in every step you ever took. While you made plans
for
death, He led you gently to eternal life.
20 Your present trust in Him is the
defense which promises a
future undisturbed, without a trace of sorrow and with joy which
constantly
increases as this life becomes a holy instant, set in time but heeding
only
immortality. Let no defenses but your present trust direct the future,
and this
life becomes a meaningful encounter with the truth that only your
defenses
would conceal.
21 Without defenses, you become a light
which Heaven
gratefully acknowledges to be its own. And it will lead you on in ways
appointed for your happiness according to the ancient plan begun when
time was
born. Your followers will join their light with yours, and it will be
increased
until the world is lighted up with joy. And gladly will our brothers lay
aside
their cumbersome defenses which availed them nothing and could only
terrify.
22 We will anticipate that time today
with present
confidence, for this is part of what was planned for us. We will be sure
that
everything we need is given us for our accomplishment of this today. We
make no
plans for how it will be done but realize that our defenselessness is
all that
is required for the truth to dawn upon our minds with certainty.
23 For 15 minutes twice today, we rest
from senseless
planning and from every thought which blocks the truth from entering our
minds.
Today we will receive instead of plan, that we may give instead of
organize.
And we are given truly, as we say:
25 Nothing but that. If there are plans
to make, you will be
told of them. They may not be the plans you thought were needed nor
indeed the
answers to the problems which you thought confronted you. But they are
answers
to another kind of question which remains unanswered yet in need of
answering
until the Answer comes to you at last.
26 All your defenses have been aimed at
not receiving what
you will receive today. And in the light and joy of simple truth, you
will but
wonder why you ever thought that you must be defended from release.
Heaven asks
nothing. It is hell that makes extravagant demands for sacrifice. You
give up
nothing in these times today when undefended you present yourself to
your
Creator as you really are.
27 He has remembered you. Today we will
remember Him. For
this is Easter time in your salvation. And you rise again from what was
seeming
death and hopelessness. Now is the light of hope reborn in you, for now
you
come without defense to learn the part for you within the plan of God.
What
little plans or magical beliefs can still have value when you have
received
your function from the Voice of God Himself?
28 Try not to shape this day as you
believe would benefit you
most. For you can not conceive of all the happiness that comes to you
without
your planning. Learn today. And all the world will take this giant
stride and
celebrate your Easter time with you. Throughout the day, as foolish
little
things appear to raise defensiveness in you and tempt you to engage in
weaving
plans, remind yourself this is a special day for learning, and
acknowledge it
with this:
1 No one can heal unless he
understands what purpose
sickness seems to serve. For then he understands as well its purpose has
no
meaning. Being causeless and without a meaningful intent of any kind, it
cannot
be at all. When this is seen, healing is automatic. It dispels this
meaningless
illusion by the same approach that carries all of them to truth and
merely
leaves them there to disappear.
2 Sickness is not an accident. Like
all defenses, it is an
insane device for self-deception. And like all the rest, its purpose is
to hide
reality, attack it, change it, render it inept, distort it, twist it, or
reduce
it to a little pile of unassembled parts. The aim of all defenses is to
keep
the truth from being whole. The parts are seen as if each one were whole
within
itself.
3 Defenses are not unintentional nor
are they made without
awareness. They are secret magic wands you wave when truth appears to
threaten
what you would believe. They seem to be unconscious but because of the
rapidity
with which you choose to use them. In that second, even less, in which
the
choice is made, you recognize exactly what you would attempt to do and
then
proceed to think that it is done.
4 Who but yourself evaluates a threat,
decides escape is
necessary, and sets up a series of defenses to reduce the threat that
has been
judged as real? All this cannot be done unconsciously. But afterwards
your plan
requires that you must forget you made it, so it seems to be external to
your
own intent-a happening beyond your state of mind, an outcome with a real
effect
on you instead of one effected by your self.
5 It is this quick forgetting of the
part you play in making
your "reality" which makes defenses seem to be beyond your own
control. But what you have forgot can be remembered, given willingness
to
reconsider the decision which is doubly shielded by oblivion. Your not
remembering is but the sign that this decision still remains in force as
far as
your desires are concerned.
6 Mistake this not for fact. Defenses
must make facts
unrecognizable. They aim at doing this, and this they seem to do. Every
defense
takes fragments of the whole, assembles them without regard to all their
true
relationships, and thus constructs illusions of a whole which is not
there. It
is this process which imposes threat, and not whatever outcome may
result.
7 When parts are wrested from the
whole and seen as separate
and wholes within themselves, they become symbols standing for attack
upon the
whole, successful in effect, and never to be seen as whole again. And
yet you
have forgotten that they stand but for your own decision of what should
be
real, to take the place of what is real.
8 Sickness is a decision. It is not a
thing that happens to
you quite unsought, which makes you weak and brings you suffering. It is
a
choice you make, a plan you lay when for an instant truth arises in your
own
deluded mind and all your world appears to totter and prepare to fall.
Now are
you sick that truth may go away and threaten your establishments no
more.
9 How do you think that sickness can
succeed in shielding you
from truth? Because it proves the body is not separate from you, and so
you
must be separate from the truth. You suffer pain because the body does,
and in
this pain are you made one with it. Thus is your "true" identity
preserved and the strange, haunting thought that you might be something
beyond
this little pile of dust silenced and stilled. For see, this dust can
make you
suffer, twist your limbs, and stop your heart, commanding you to die and
cease
to be.
10 Thus is the body stronger than the
truth, which asks you
live but cannot overcome your choice to die. And so the body is more
powerful
than everlasting life, Heaven more frail than hell, and God's design for
the
salvation of His Son opposed by a decision stronger than His Will. His
Son is
dust, the Father incomplete, and chaos sits in triumph on His throne.
11 Such is your planning for your own
defense. And you
believe that Heaven quails before such mad attacks as these, with God
made
blind by your illusions, truth turned into lies, and all the universe
made
slave to laws which your defenses would impose on it. Yet who believes
illusions but the one who made them up? Who else can see them and react
to them
as if they were the truth?
12 God knows not of your plans to
change His Will. The
universe remains unheeding of the laws by which you thought to govern
it. And
Heaven has not bowed to hell, nor life to death. You can but choose to
think
you die or suffer sickness or distort the truth in any way. What is
created is
apart from all of this. Defenses are plans to defeat what cannot be
attacked.
What is unalterable cannot change. And what is wholly sinless cannot
sin.
13Such is the simple truth. It does not
make appeal to might
nor triumph. It does not command obedience nor seek to prove how pitiful
and futile
are your attempts to plan defenses which would alter it. It merely wants
to
give you happiness, for such its purpose is. Perhaps it sighs a little
when you
throw away its gifts, and yet it knows with perfect certainty that what
God
wills for you must be received.
14 It is this fact which demonstrates
that time is an
illusion. For it lets you think what God has given you is not the truth
right
now, as it must be. The Thoughts of God are quite apart from time. For
time is
but another meaningless defense you made against the truth. Yet what God
wills
is here, and you remain as He created you.
15 Truth has a power far beyond
defense, for no illusions can
remain where it has been allowed to enter. And it comes to any mind that
would
lay down its arms and cease to play with folly. It is found at any
time-today,
if you will choose to practice giving welcome to the truth. This is our
aim
today. And we will give a quarter of an hour twice to ask the truth to
come to
us and set us free.
16 And truth will come, for it has
never been apart from us.
It merely waits for just this invitation which we give today. We
introduce it
with a healing prayer to help us rise above defensiveness and let truth
be as
it has always been:
18 Healing will flash across your open
mind as peace and
truth arise to take the place of war and vain imaginings. There will be
no dark
corners sickness can conceal and keep defended from the light of truth.
There
will be no dim figures from your dreams nor their obscure and
meaningless
pursuits with double purposes insanely sought, remaining in your mind.
It will
be healed of all the sickly wishes that it tried to authorize the body
to obey.
19 Now is the body healed because the
source of sickness has
been opened to relief. And you will recognize you practiced well by
this-the
body should not feel at all. If you have been successful, there will be
no
sense of feeling ill or feeling well, of pain or pleasure. No response
at all
is in the mind to what the body does. Its usefulness remains and nothing
more.
20 Perhaps you do not realize that this
removes the limits
you had placed upon the body by the purposes you gave to it. As these
are laid
aside, the strength the body has will always be enough to serve all
truly
useful purposes. The body's health is fully guaranteed because it is not
limited by time, by weather or fatigue, by food and drink, or any laws
you made
it serve before. You need do nothing now to make it well, for sickness
has
become impossible.
21 Yet this protection needs to be
preserved by careful
watching. If you let your mind harbor attack thoughts, yield to
judgment, or
make plans against uncertainties to come, you have again misplaced
yourself,
and made a bodily identity which will attack the body, for the mind is
sick.
Give instant remedy should this occur by not allowing your defensiveness
to
hurt you longer. Do not be confused about what must be healed, but tell
yourself:
1 Today's idea remains the central
thought on which
salvation rests. For healing is the opposite of all the world's ideas
which
dwell on sickness and on separate states. Sickness is a retreat from
others and
a shutting off of joining. It becomes a door that closes on a separate
self and
keeps it isolated and alone.
2 Sickness is isolation. For it seems
to keep one self apart
from all the rest to suffer what the others do not feel. It gives the
body
final power to make the separation real and keep the mind in solitary
prison,
split apart and held in pieces by a solid wall of sickened flesh which
it can
not surmount. The world obeys the laws that sickness serves, but healing
operates apart from them.
3 It is impossible that anyone be
healed alone. In sickness
must he be apart and separate. But healing is his own decision to be one
again
and to accept his Self with all its parts intact and unassailed. In
sickness
does his Self appear to be dismembered and without the unity that gives
it
life. But healing is accomplished as he sees the body has no power to
attack
the universal oneness of God's Son.
4 Sickness would prove that lies must
be the truth. But
healing demonstrates that truth is true. The separation sickness would
impose
has never really happened. To be healed is merely to accept what always
was the
simple truth and always will remain exactly as it has forever been. Yet
eyes
accustomed to illusions must be shown that what they look upon is false.
So
healing, never needed by the truth, must demonstrate that sickness is
not real.
5 Healing might thus be called a
counter-dream which cancels
out the dream of sickness in the name of truth but not in truth itself.
Just as
forgiveness overlooks all sins that never were accomplished, healing but
removes illusions that have not occurred. Just as the real world will
arise to
take the place of what has never been at all, healing offers restitution
for
imagined states and false ideas which dreams embroider into pictures of
the truth.
6 Yet think not healing is unworthy of
your function here.
For anti-Christ becomes more powerful than Christ to those who dream the
world
is real. The body seems to be more solid and more stable than the mind.
And
love becomes a dream, while fear remains the one reality that can be
seen and
justified and fully understood.
7 Just as forgiveness shines away all
sin and the real world
will occupy the place of what you made, so healing must replace the
fantasies
of sickness which you hold before the simple truth. When sickness has
been seen
to disappear in spite of all the laws that hold it cannot but be real,
then
questions have been answered. And the laws can be no longer cherished
nor
obeyed.
8 Healing is freedom. For it
demonstrates that dreams will
not prevail against the truth. Healing is shared. And by this attribute,
it
proves that laws unlike the ones which hold that sickness is inevitable
are
more potent than their sickly opposites. Healing is strength. For by its
gentle
hand is weakness overcome. And minds which were walled off within a body
free
to join with other minds, to be forever strong.
9 Healing, forgiveness, and the glad
exchange of all the
world of sorrow for a world where sadness cannot enter, are the means by
which
the Holy Spirit urges you to follow Him. His gentle lessons teach how
easily
salvation can be yours, how little practice you need undertake to let
His laws
replace the ones you made to hold yourself a prisoner to death.
10 His life becomes your own as you
extend the little help He
asks in freeing you from everything that ever caused you pain. And as
you let
yourself be healed, you see all those around you or who cross your mind
or whom
you touch or those who seem to have no contact with you healed along
with you.
Perhaps you will not recognize them all, nor realize how great your
offering to
all the world when you let healing come to you. But you are never healed
alone.
And legions upon legions will receive the gift which you receive when
you are
healed.
11 Those who are healed become the
instruments of healing.
Nor does time elapse between the instant they are healed and all the
grace of
healing it is given them to give. What is opposed to God does not exist.
And
who accepts it not within his mind becomes a haven where the weary can
remain
to rest. For here is truth bestowed, and here are all illusions brought
to
truth.
12 Would you not offer shelter to God's
Will? You but invite
your Self to be at home, and can this invitation be refused? Ask the
inevitable
to occur, and you will never fail. The other choice is but to ask what
cannot
be to be, and this cannot succeed. Today we ask that only truth will
occupy our
minds, that thoughts of healing will this day go forth from what is
healed to
what must yet be healed, aware that they will both occur as one.
13 We will remember, as the hour
strikes, our function is to
let our minds be healed that we may carry healing to the world,
exchanging
curse for blessing, pain for joy, and separation for the peace of God.
Is not a
minute of the hour worth the giving to receive a gift like this? Is not
a
little time a small expense to offer for the gift of everything?
14 Yet must we be prepared for such a
gift. And so we will
begin the day with this and give ten minutes to these thoughts with
which we will
conclude today at night as well:
16 Let healing be through you this very
day. And as you rest
in quiet, be prepared to give as you receive, to hold but what you give,
and to
receive the Word of God to take the place of all the foolish thoughts
that ever
were imagined. Now we come together to make well all that was sick and
offer blessing
where there was attack. Nor will we let this function be forgot as every
hour
of the day slips by, remembering our function with this thought:
1 In this world, Heaven is a choice
because here we believe
there are alternatives to choose between. We think that all things have
an
opposite, and what we want we choose. If Heaven exists, there must be
hell as
well, for contradiction is the way we make what we perceive and what we
think
is real. Creation knows no opposite. But here is opposition part of
being
"real."
2 It is this strange perception of the
truth that makes the
choice of Heaven seem to be the same as the relinquishment of hell. It
is not
really thus. Yet what is true in God's creation cannot enter here unless
it is
reflected in some form the world can understand. Truth cannot come where
it
could only be perceived with fear, for this would be the error truth can
be
brought to illusions. Opposition makes the truth unwelcome, and it
cannot come.
3 Choice is the obvious escape from
what appears as
opposites. Decision lets one of conflicting goals become the aim of
effort and
expenditure of time. Without decision, time is but a waste and effort
dissipated. It is spent for nothing in return. And time goes by without
results. There is no sense of gain, for nothing is accomplished; nothing
learned.
4 You need to be reminded that you
think a thousand choices
are confronting you when there is really only one to make. And even this
but
seems to be a choice. Do not confuse yourself with all the doubts that
myriad
decisions would induce. You make but one. And when that one is made, you
will
perceive it was no choice at all, for truth is true and nothing else is
real.
There is no opposite to choose instead. There is no contradiction to the
truth.
5 Choosing depends on learning. But
the truth cannot be
learned but only recognized. In recognition its acceptance lies, and as
it is
accepted, it is known. But knowledge is beyond the goals we seek to
teach
within the framework of this course. Ours are teaching goals to be
attained
through learning how to reach them, what they are, and what they offer
you.
Decisions are the outcome of your learning, for they rest on what you
have
accepted as the truth of what you are and what your needs must be.
6 In this insanely complicated world,
Heaven appears to take
the form of choice rather than merely being what it is. Of all the
choices you
have tried to make, this is the simplest, most definitive, the prototype
of all
the rest, the one which settles all decisions. If you could decide the
rest,
this one remains unsolved. But when you solve this one, the others are
resolved
with it, for all decisions but conceal this one by taking different
forms. Here
is the final and the only choice in which is truth accepted or denied.
7 So we begin today considering the
choice that time was
made to help us make. Such is its holy purpose, now transformed from the
intent
you gave it, that it be a means for demonstrating hell is real, hope
changes to
despair, and life itself must in the end be overcome by death. In death
alone
are opposites resolved, for ending opposition is to die. And thus
salvation
must be seen as death, for life is seen as conflict. To resolve the
conflict is
to end your life as well.
8 These mad beliefs can gain
unconscious hold of great
intensity and grip the mind with terror and anxiety so strong that it
will not
relinquish its ideas about its own protection. It must be saved from
salvation,
threatened to be safe, and magically armored against truth. And these
decisions
are made unaware to keep them safely undisturbed, apart from question
and from
reason and from doubt.
9 Heaven is chosen consciously. The
choice cannot be made
until alternatives are accurately seen and understood. All that is
veiled in
shadows must be raised to understanding to be judged again, this time
with
Heaven's help, and all mistakes in judgment which the mind had made
before are
open to correction as the truth dismisses them as causeless. Now are
they
without effects. They cannot be concealed because their nothingness is
recognized.
10The conscious choice of Heaven is as
sure as is the ending
of the fear of hell when it is raised from its protective shield of
unawareness
and is brought to light. Who can decide between the clearly seen and the
unrecognized? Yet who can fail to make a choice between alternatives
when only
one is seen as valuable, the other as a wholly worthless thing, a but
imagined
source of guilt and pain? Who hesitates to make a choice like this? And
shall
we hesitate to choose today?
11 We make the choice for Heaven as we
wake and spend five
minutes making sure that we have made the one decision that is sane. We
recognize we make a conscious choice between what has existence and what
has
nothing but an appearance of the truth. Its pseudo-being, brought to
what is
real, is flimsy and transparent in the light. It holds no terror now,
for what
was made enormous, vengeful, pitiless with hate demands obscurity for
fear to
be invested there. Now it is recognized as but a foolish, trivial
mistake.
12 Before we close our eyes in sleep
tonight, we reaffirm the
choice that we have made each hour in between. And now we give the last
five
minutes of our waking day to the decision with which we awoke. As every
hour
passed, we have declared our choice again in a brief quiet time devoted
to
maintaining sanity. And finally we close the day with this,
acknowledging we
chose but what we want:
1 Here is the end of choice. For here
we come to a decision
to accept ourselves as God created us. And what is choice except
uncertainty of
what we are? There is no doubt that is not rooted here. There is no
question
but reflects this one. There is no conflict that does not entail the
single
simple question, "What am I?"
2 Yet who could ask this question
except one who has refused
to recognize himself? Only refusal to accept yourself could make the
question
seem to be sincere. The only thing that can be surely known by any
living thing
is what it is. From this one point of certainty it looks on other things
as
certain as itself. Uncertainty about what you must be is self-deception
on a
scale so vast its magnitude can hardly be conceived.
3 To be alive and not to know yourself
is to believe that
you are really dead. For what is life except to be yourself, and what
but you
can be alive instead? Who is the doubter? What is it he doubts? Whom
does he
question? Who can answer him? He merely states that he is not himself
and therefore,
being something else, becomes a questioner of what that something is.
4 Yet he could never be alive at all
unless he knew the
answer. If he asks as if he did not know, it merely shows he does not
want to
be the thing he is. He has accepted it because he lives, has judged
against it
and denied its worth, and has decided that he does not know the only
certainty
by which he lives. Thus he becomes uncertain of his life, for what it is
has
been denied by him.
5 It is for this denial that you need
Atonement. Your denial
made no change in what you are. But you have split your mind into what
knows
and does not know the truth. You are yourself. There is no doubt of
this, and
yet you doubt it. But you do not ask what part of you can really doubt
yourself. It cannot really be a part of you that asks this question, for
it
asks of one who knows the answer. Were it part of you, uncertainty would
be
impossible.
6Atonement remedies the strange idea
that it is possible to
doubt yourself and be unsure of what you really are. This is the depth
of
madness. Yet it is the universal question of the world. What does this
prove
except the world is mad? Why share its madness in the sad belief that
what is
universal here is true? Nothing the world believes is true. It is a
place whose
purpose is to be a home where those who claim they do not know
themselves can
come to question what it is they are.
7 And they will come again until the
time Atonement is
accepted, and they learn it is impossible to doubt yourself and not to
be aware
of what you are. Only acceptance can be asked of you, for what you are
is
certain. It is set forever in the holy Mind of God and in your own. It
is so
far beyond all doubt and question that to ask what it must be is all the
proof
you need to show that you believe the contradiction that you know not
what you
cannot fail to know.
8 Is this a question or a statement
which denies itself in
statement? Let us not allow our holy minds to occupy themselves with
senseless
musings such as this. We have a mission here. We did not come to
reinforce the
madness which we once believed in. Let us not forget the goal that we
accepted.
It is more than just our happiness alone we came to gain. What we accept
as
what we are proclaims what everyone must be along with us.
9 Fail not your brothers, or you fail
yourself. Look
lovingly on them that they may know that they are part of you and you of
them.
This does Atonement teach and demonstrates the oneness of God's Son is
unassailed by his belief he knows not what he is. Today accept
Atonement, not
to change reality, but merely to accept the truth about yourself and go
your
way rejoicing in the endless Love of God. It is but this that we are
asked to
do. It is but this that we will do today.
10 Five minutes in the morning and at
night we will devote to
dedicate our minds to our assignment for today. We start with this
review of
what our mission is:
12 We have not lost the knowledge that
God gave to us when He
created us like Him. We can remember it for everyone, for in creation
are all
minds as one and in our memory is the recall how dear our brothers are
to us in
truth, how much a part of us is every mind, how faithful they have
really been
to us, and how our Father's Love contains us all.
13In thanks for all creation, in the
name of its Creator and
His oneness with all aspects of creation, we repeat our dedication to
our cause
today each hour, as we lay aside all thoughts that would distract us
from our
holy aim. For several minutes let your mind be cleared of all the
foolish
cobwebs which the world would weave around the holy Son of God. And
learn the
fragile nature of the chains that seem to keep the knowledge of yourself
apart
from your awareness, as you say:
1 Cure is a word that cannot be
applied to any remedy the
world accepts as beneficial. What the world perceives as therapeutic is
but
what will make the body "better." When it tries to heal the mind, it
sees no separation from the body, where it thinks the mind exists. Its
forms of
healing thus must substitute illusion for illusion. One belief in
sickness
takes another form, and so the patient now perceives himself as well.
2 He is not healed. He merely had a
dream that he was sick,
and in the dream he found a magic formula to make him well. Yet he has
not
awakened from the dream, and so his mind remains exactly as it was
before. He has
not seen the light that would awaken him and end the dream. What
difference
does the content of a dream make in reality? One either sleeps or
wakens. There
is nothing in between.
3 The happy dreams the Holy Spirit
brings are different from
the dreaming of the world, where one can merely dream he is awake. The
dreams
forgiveness lets the mind perceive do not induce another form of sleep,
so that
the dreamer dreams another dream. His happy dreams are heralds of the
dawn of
truth upon the mind. They lead from sleep to gentle waking, so that
dreams are
gone. And thus they cure for all eternity.
4 Atonement heals with certainty and
cures all sickness. For
the mind which understands that sickness can be nothing but a dream is
not
deceived by forms the dream may take. Sickness where guilt is absent
cannot
come, for it is but another form of guilt. Atonement does not heal the
sick,
for that is not a cure. It takes away the guilt that makes the sickness
possible. And that is cure indeed. For sickness now is gone, with
nothing left
to which it can return.
5 Peace be to you who have been cured
in God and not in idle
dreams. For cure must come from holiness, and holiness can not be found
where
sin is cherished. God abides in holy temples. He is barred where sin has
entered.
Yet there is no place where He is not. And therefore sin can have no
home in
which to hide from His beneficence. There is no place where holiness is
not,
and nowhere sin and sickness can abide.
6 This is the thought that cures. It
does not make distinctions
among unrealities. Nor does it seek to heal what is not sick, unmindful
where
the need for healing is. This is no magic. It is merely an appeal to
truth
which cannot fail to heal and heal forever. It is not a thought which
judges an
illusion by its size, its seeming gravity, or anything that is related
to the
form it takes. It merely focuses on what it is and knows that no
illusion can
be real.
7 Let us not try today to seek to cure
what cannot suffer
sickness. Healing must be sought but where it is and then applied to
what is
sick so that it can be cured. There is no remedy the world provides that
can
effect a change in anything. The mind that brings illusions to the truth
is
really changed. There is no change but this. For how can one illusion
differ
from another but in attributes that have no substance, no reality, no
core, and
nothing that is truly different?
8 Today we seek to change our minds
about the source of
sickness, for we seek a cure for all illusions, not another shift among
them.
We will try today to find the source of healing, which is in our minds
because
our Father placed it there for us. It is not further from us than
ourselves. It
is as near to us as our own thoughts—so close it is impossible to lose.
We need
but seek it, and it must be found.
9 We will not be misled today by what
appears to us as sick.
We go beyond appearances today and reach the source of healing from
which
nothing is exempt. We will succeed to the extent to which we realize
that there
can never be a meaningful distinction made between what is untrue and
equally
untrue. Here there are no degrees and no beliefs that what does not
exist is
truer in some forms than others. All of them are false and can be cured
because
they are not true.
10 So do we lay aside our amulets, our
charms and medicines,
our chants and bits of magic in whatever form they took. We will be
still and
listen for the Voice of healing which will cure all ills as one,
restoring
saneness to the Son of God. No voice but this can cure. Today we hear a
single
Voice which speaks to us of truth where all illusions end, and peace
returns to
the eternal quiet home of God.
11 We waken hearing Him and let Him
speak to us five minutes
as the day begins and end the day by listening again five minutes more
before we
go to sleep. Our only preparation is to let our interfering thoughts be
laid
aside, not separately, but all of them as one. They are the same. We
have no
need to make them different and thus delay the time when we can hear our
Father
speak to us. We hear Him now. We come to Him today.
12 With nothing in our hands to which
we cling, with lifted
hearts and listening minds we pray:
14 And we will feel salvation cover us
with soft protection
and with peace so deep that no illusion can disturb our minds nor offer
proof
to us that it is real. This will we learn today. And we will say our
prayer for
healing hourly and take a minute as the hour strikes to hear the answer
to our prayer
be given us as we attend in silence and in joy. This is the day when
healing
comes to us. This is the day when separation ends and we remember Who we
really
are.
R4:1 Now we review again, this time aware
we are preparing for
the second part of learning how the truth can be applied. Today we will
begin
to concentrate on readiness for what will follow next. Such is our aim
for this
review and for the lessons following. Thus we review the recent lessons
and
their central thoughts in such a way as will facilitate the readiness
which we
would now achieve.
2 There is a central theme that
unifies each step in the
review we undertake, which can be simply stated in these words:
4 This is a fact and represents the
truth of what you are
and what your Father is. It is this thought by which the Father gave
creation
to the Son, establishing the Son as co-creator with Himself. It is this
thought
which fully guarantees salvation to the Son. For in his mind no thoughts
can
dwell but those his Father shares. Lack of forgiveness blocks this
thought from
his awareness. Yet it is forever true.
5 Let us begin our preparation with
some understanding of
the many forms in which the lack of true forgiveness may be carefully
concealed.
Because they are illusions, they are not perceived to be but what they
are—defenses which protect your unforgiving thoughts from being seen and
recognized. Their purpose is to show you something else and hold
correction off
through self-deceptions made to take its place.
6 And yet your mind holds only what
you think with God. Your
self-deceptions cannot take the place of truth. No more than can a child
who
throws a stick into the ocean change the coming and the going of the
tides, the
warming of the water by the sun, the silver of the moon on it by night.
So do
we start each practice period in this review with readying our minds to
understand the lessons that we read and see the meaning which they offer
us.
7 Begin each day with time devoted to
the preparation of
your mind to learn what each idea you will review that day can offer you
in
freedom and in peace. Open your mind and clear it of all thoughts that
would
deceive, and let this thought alone engage it fully and remove the rest:
9 Five minutes with this thought will
be enough to set the
day along the lines which God appointed and to place His Mind in charge
of all
the thoughts you will receive that day. They will not come from you
alone, for
they will all be shared with Him. And so each one will bring the message
of His
Love to you, returning messages of yours to Him. So will communion with
the
Lord of Hosts be yours, as He Himself has willed it be. And as His own
completion joins with Him, so will He join with you who are complete as
you
unite with Him and He with you.
10After your preparation, merely read
each of the two ideas
assigned to you to be reviewed that day. Then close your eyes and say
them
slowly to yourself. There is no hurry now, for you are using time for
its
intended purpose. Let each word shine with the meaning God has given it
as it
was given to you through His Voice. Let each idea that you review that
day give
you the gift which He has laid in it for you to have of Him. And we will
use no
format for our practicing but this:
11 Each hour of the day bring to your
mind the thought with
which the day began and spend a quiet moment with it. Then repeat the
two ideas
you practice for the day unhurriedly, with time enough to see the gifts
which
they contain for you, and let them be received where they were meant to
be. We
add no other thoughts, but let them be the messages they are. We need no
more
than this to give us happiness and rest and endless quiet, perfect
certainty,
and all our Father wills that we receive as the inheritance we have of
Him.
12 Each day of practicing, as we
review, we close as we
began, repeating first the thought that made the day a special time of
blessing
and of happiness for us and through our faithfulness restored the world
from
darkness to the light, from grief to joy, from pain to peace, from sin
to
holiness. God offers thanks to you who practice thus the keeping of His
Word.
And as you give your mind to the ideas for the day again before you
sleep, His
gratitude surrounds you in the peace wherein He wills you be forever and
are
learning now to claim again as your inheritance.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[121]
Forgiveness
is the key to happiness.
[122]
Forgiveness
offers everything I want.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[123]
I
thank my Father for His gifts to me.
[124]
Let
me remember I am one with God.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[125]
In
quiet I receive God's Word today.
[126]
All
that I give is given to myself.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[127]
There
is no love but God's.
[128]
The
world I see has nothing that I want.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[129]
Beyond
this world there is a world I want.
[130]
It
is impossible to see two worlds.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[131]
No
one can fail who asks to reach the truth.
[132]
I
loose the world from all I thought it was.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[133]
I
will not value what is valueless.
[134]
Let
me perceive forgiveness as it is.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[135]
If
I defend myself, I am attacked.
[136]
Sickness
is a defense against the truth.
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.
My mind holds only what I think with
God.
[139]
I
will accept Atonement for myself.
[140]
Only
salvation can be said to cure.
1 No one can judge on partial
evidence. That is not
judgment. It is merely an opinion based on ignorance and doubt. Its
seeming
certainty is but a cloak for the uncertainty it would conceal. It needs
irrational defense because it is irrational. And its defense seems
strong,
convincing, and without a doubt because of all the doubting underneath.
2 You do not seem to doubt the world
you see. You do not
really question what is shown you through the body's eyes. Nor do you
ask why
you believe it, even though you learned a long while since your senses
do
deceive. That you believe them to the last detail which they report is
even
stranger when you pause to recollect how frequently they have been
faulty
witnesses indeed! Why would you trust them so implicitly? Why but
because of
underlying doubt which you would hide with show of certainty?
3 How can you judge? Your judgment
rests upon the witness
that your senses offer you. Yet witness never falser was than this. But
how
else do you judge the world you see? You place pathetic faith in what
your eyes
and ears report. You think your fingers touch reality and close upon the
truth.
This is awareness which you understand and think more real than what is
witnessed to by the eternal Voice of God Himself.
4 Can this be judgment? You have often
been urged to refrain
from judging, not because it is a right to be withheld from you. You
cannot
judge. You merely can believe the ego's judgments, all of which are
false. It
guides your senses carefully, to prove how weak you are, how helpless
and
afraid, how apprehensive of just punishment, how black with sin, how
wretched
in your guilt.
5 This thing it speaks of and would
yet defend it tells you
is yourself. And you believe that this is so with stubborn certainty.
Yet
underneath remains the hidden doubt that what it shows you as reality
with such
conviction it does not believe. It is itself alone that it condemns. It
is
within itself it sees the guilt. It is its own despair it sees in you.
6 Hear not its voice. The witnesses it
sends to prove to you
its evil is your own are false and speak with certainty of what they do
not
know. Your faith in them is blind because you would not share the doubts
their
lord cannot completely vanquish. You believe to doubt his vassals is to
doubt
yourself. Yet you must learn to doubt their evidence will clear the way
to
recognize yourself and let the Voice for God alone be Judge of what is
worthy
of your own belief.
7 He will not tell you that your
brother should be judged by
what your eyes behold in him, nor what his body's mouth says to your
ears, nor
what your fingers' touch reports of him. He passes by such idle
witnesses,
which merely bear false witness to God's Son. He recognizes only what
God
loves, and in the holy light of what He sees do all the ego's dreams of
what
you are vanish before the splendor He beholds.
8 Let Him be judge of what you are,
for He has certainty in
which there is no doubt, because it rests on certainty so great that
doubt is
meaningless before Its face. Christ cannot doubt Himself. The Voice of
God can
only honor Him, rejoicing in His perfect, everlasting sinlessness. Whom
He has
judged can only laugh at guilt, unwilling now to play with toys of sin,
unheeding of the body's witnesses before the rapture of His holy face.
9 And thus He judges you. Accept His
word of what you are,
for He bears witness to your beautiful creation and the Mind Whose
Thought
created your reality. What can the body mean to Him Who knows the glory
of the
Father and the Son? What whispers of the ego can He hear? What could
convince
Him that your sins are real?
10 Let Him be judge as well of
everything that seems to
happen to you in this world. His lessons will enable you to bridge the
gap
between illusions and the truth. He will remove all faith that you have
placed
in pain, disaster, suffering, and loss. He gives you vision which can
look
beyond these grim appearances and can behold the gentle face of Christ
in all
of them. You will no longer doubt that only good can come to you who are
beloved of God, for He will judge all happenings and teach the single
lesson
which they all contain.
11 He will select the elements in them
that represent the
truth and disregard those aspects which reflect but idle dreams. And He
will
reinterpret all you see and all occurrences, each circumstance, and
every
happening which seems to touch on you in any way from His one frame of
reference, wholly unified and sure. And you will see the love beyond the
hate,
the constancy in change, the pure in sin, and only Heaven's blessing on
the
world.
12 Such is your resurrection, for your
life is not a part of
anything you see. It stands beyond the body and the world, past every
witness
for unholiness, within the Holy, holy as Itself. In everyone and
everything,
His Voice would speak to you of nothing but your Self and your Creator,
Who is
one with Him. So will you see the holy face of Christ in everything and
hear in
everything no sound except the echo of God's Voice.
13 We practice wordlessly today, except
at the beginning of
the time you spend with God. We introduce these times with but a single,
slow
repeating of the thought with which the day begins. And then we watch
our
thoughts, appealing silently to Him Who sees the elements of truth in
them. Let
Him evaluate each thought that comes to mind, remove the elements of
dreams,
and give them back to you as clean ideas that do not contradict the Will
of
God.
14 Give Him your thoughts, and He will
give them back as
miracles which joyously proclaim the wholeness and the happiness God
wills His
Son as proof of His eternal Love. And as each thought is thus
transformed, it
takes on healing power from the Mind Which saw the truth in it and
failed to be
deceived by what was falsely added. All the threads of fantasy are gone,
and
what remains is unified into a perfect thought that offers its
perfection
everywhere.
15Spend 15 minutes thus when you awake
and gladly give
another 15 more before you go to sleep. Your ministry begins as all your
thoughts are purified. So are you taught to teach the Son of God the
holy
lesson of his sanctity. No one can fail to listen when you hear the
Voice for
God give honor to God's Son. And everyone will share the thoughts with
you
which He has retranslated in your mind.
16 Such is your Eastertide. And so you
lay the gift of
snow-white lilies on the world, replacing witnesses to sin and death.
Through
your transfiguration is the world redeemed and joyfully released from
guilt.
Now do we lift our resurrected minds in gladness and in gratitude to Him
Who
has restored our sanity to us.
17 And we will hourly remember Him Who
is salvation and
deliverance. As we give thanks the world unites with us and happily
accepts our
holy thoughts which Heaven has corrected and made pure. Now has our
ministry
begun at last, to carry round the world the joyous news that truth has
no
illusions and the peace of God, through us, belongs to everyone.
1 No one can suffer loss unless it be
his own decision. No
one suffers pain except his choice elects this state for him. No one can
grieve
nor fear nor think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants.
And no
one dies without his own consent. Nothing occurs but represents your
wish, and
nothing is omitted that you choose. Here is your world, complete in all
details. Here is its whole reality for you. And it is only here
salvation is.
2 You may believe that this position
is extreme and too
inclusive to be true. Yet can truth have exceptions? If you have the
gift of
everything, can loss be real? Can pain be part of peace, or grief of
joy? Can
fear and sickness enter in a mind where love and perfect holiness abide?
Truth
must be all-inclusive if it be the truth at all. Accept no opposite and
no
exceptions, for to do so is to contradict the truth entirely.
3 Salvation is the recognition that
the truth is true and
nothing else is true. This you have heard before, but may not yet accept
both
parts of it. Without the first, the second has no meaning, but without
the
second is the first no longer true. Truth cannot have an opposite. This
can not
be too often said and thought about. For if what is not true is true as
well as
what is true, then part of truth is false, and truth has lost its
meaning.
Nothing but the truth is true, and what is false is false.
4 This is the simplest of
distinctions, yet the most
obscure. But not because it is a difficult distinction to perceive. It
is
concealed behind a vast array of choices which do not appear to be
entirely
your own. And thus the truth appears to have some aspects that belie
consistency but do not seem to be but contradictions introduced by you.
5 As God created you, you must remain
unchangeable with
transitory states by definition false. And that includes all shifts in
feeling,
alterations in conditions of the body and the mind, in all awareness,
and in
all response. This is the all-inclusiveness which sets the truth apart
from
falsehood, and the false kept separate from the truth as what it is.
6 Is it not strange that you believe
to think you made the
world you see is arrogance? God made it not. Of this you can be sure.
What can
He know of the ephemeral, the sinful and the guilty, the afraid, the
suffering
and lonely, and the mind that lives within a body that must die? You but
accuse
Him of insanity, to think He made a world where such things seem to have
reality. He is not mad. Yet only madness makes a world like this.
7 To think that God made chaos,
contradicts His Will,
invented opposites to truth, and suffers death to triumph over life—all
this is
arrogance. Humility would see at once these things are not of Him. And
can you
see what God created not? To think you can is merely to believe you can
perceive what God willed not to be. And what could be more arrogant than
this?
8 Let us today be truly humble and
accept what we have made
as what it is. The power of decision is our own. Decide but to accept
your
rightful place as co-creator of the universe, and all you think you made
will
disappear. What rises to awareness then will be all that there ever was,
eternally as it is now. And it will take the place of self-deceptions
made but
to usurp the altar to the Father and the Son.
9 Today we practice true humility,
abandoning the false
pretense by which the ego seeks to prove it arrogant. Only the ego can
be
arrogant. But truth is humble in acknowledging its mightiness, its
changelessness, and its eternal wholeness—all-encompassing, God's
perfect gift
to His beloved Son.
10 We lay aside the arrogance which
says that we are sinners,
guilty and afraid, ashamed of what we are. And we lift our hearts in
true
humility instead to Him Who has created us immaculate, like to Himself
in power
and in love. The power of decision is our own. And we accept of Him that
which
we are and humbly recognize the Son of God.
11 To recognize God's Son implies as
well that all
self-concepts have been laid aside and recognized as false. Their
arrogance has
been perceived. And in humility the radiance of God's Son, his
gentleness, his
perfect sinlessness, his Father's Love, his right to Heaven and release
from
hell are joyously accepted as our own. Now do we join in glad
acknowledgment
that lies are false and only truth is true.
12 We think of truth alone as we arise
and spend five minutes
practicing its ways, encouraging our frightened minds with this:
14 Then will we wait in silence, giving
up all
self-deceptions as we humbly ask our Self that He reveal Himself to us.
And He
Who never left will come again to our awareness, grateful to restore His
home
to God as it was meant to be.
15 In patience wait for Him throughout
the day and hourly invite
Him with the words with which the day began, concluding it with this
same
invitation to your Self. God's Voice will answer, for He speaks for you
and for
your Father. He will substitute the peace of God for all your frantic
thoughts,
the truth of God for self-deceptions, and God's Son for your illusions
of
yourself.
1 You who feel threatened by this
changing world, its twists
of fortune and its bitter jests, its brief relationships and all the
"gifts"
it merely lends to take away again, attend this lesson well. The world
provides
no safety. It is rooted in attack and all its "gifts" of seeming
safety are illusory deceptions. It attacks and then attacks again. No
peace of
mind is possible where danger threatens thus.
2 The world gives rise but to
defensiveness. For threat
brings anger, anger makes attack seem reasonable, honestly provoked, and
righteous in the name of self defense. Yet is defensiveness a double
threat.
For it attests to weakness and sets up a system of defense that cannot
work.
Now are the weak still further undermined, for there is treachery
without and
still a greater treachery within. The mind is now confused and knows not
where
to turn to find escape from its imaginings.
3 It is as if a circle held it fast,
wherein another circle
bound it, and another in that one, until escape no longer can be hoped
for nor
obtained. Attack, defense; defense, attack, become the circles of the
hours and
the days that bind the mind in heavy bands of steel with iron overlaid,
returning but to start again. There seems to be no break nor ending in
the
ever-tightening grip of imprisonment upon the mind.
4 Defenses are the costliest of all
the prices which the ego
would exact. In them lies madness in a form so grim that hope of sanity
seems
but to be an idle dream, beyond the possible. The sense of threat the
world
encourages is so much deeper and so far beyond the frenzy and intensity
of
which you can conceive that you have no idea of all the devastation it
has
wrought. You are its slave. You know not what you do in fear of it. You
do not
understand how much you have been made to sacrifice who feel its iron
grip upon
your heart.
5 You do not realize what you have
done to sabotage the holy
peace of God by your defensiveness. For you behold the Son of God as but
a
victim to attack by fantasies, by dreams, and by illusions he has made;
yet
helpless he is in their presence, needful only of defense by still more
fantasies and dreams by which illusions of his safety comfort him.
6 Defenselessness is strength. It
testifies to recognition
of the Christ in you. Perhaps you will recall the course maintains that
choice
is always made between His strength and your own weakness seen apart
from Him.
Defenselessness can never be attacked because it recognizes strength so
great
attack is folly or a silly game a tired child might play when he becomes
too
sleepy to remember what he wants.
7 Defensiveness is weakness. It
proclaims you have denied
the Christ and come to fear His Father's anger. What can save you now
from your
delusion of an angry god whose fearful image you believe you see at work
in all
the evils of the world? What but illusions could defend you now, when it
is but
illusions which you fight?
8 We will not play such childish games
today. For our true
purpose is to save the world, and we would not exchange for foolishness
the
endless joy our function offers us. We would not let our happiness slip
by
because a senseless fragment of a dream happened to cross our minds, and
we
mistook the figures in it for the Son of God, its tiny instant for
eternity.
9 We look past dreams today and
recognize that we need no
defense because we are created unassailable, without all thought or wish
or
dream in which attack has any meaning. Now we cannot fear, for we have
left all
fearful thoughts behind. And in defenselessness we stand secure,
serenely
certain of our safety now, sure of salvation; sure we will fulfil our
chosen
purpose as our ministry extends its holy blessing through the world.
10 Be still a moment, and in silence
think how holy is your
purpose, how secure you rest, untouchable within its light. God's
ministers
have chosen that the truth be with them. Who is holier than they? Who
could be
surer that his happiness is fully guaranteed? And who could be more
mightily
protected? What defense could possibly be needed now by those who are
among the
chosen ones of God by His election and their own as well?
11 It is the function of God's
ministers to help their
brothers choose as they have done. God has elected all, but few have
come to
realize His Will is but their own. And while you fail to teach what you
have
learned, salvation waits and darkness holds the world in grim
imprisonment. Nor
will you learn that light has come to you, and your escape has been
accomplished. For you will not see the light until you offer it to all
your
brothers. As they take it from your hands, so will you recognize it as
your
own.
12 Salvation can be thought of as a
game that happy children
play. It was designed by One Who loves His children, and Who would
replace
their fearful toys with joyous games which teach them that the game of
fear is
gone. His game instructs in happiness because there is no loser.
Everyone who
plays must win, and in his winning is the gain to everyone ensured. The
game of
fear is gladly laid aside when children come to see the benefits
salvation
brings.
13 You who have played that you are
lost to hope, abandoned
by your Father, left alone in terror in a fearful world made mad by sin
and
guilt, be happy now. That game is over. Now a quiet time has come in
which we
put away the toys of guilt and lock our quaint and childish thoughts of
sin
forever from the pure and holy minds of Heaven's children and the Son of
God.
We pause but for a moment more to play our final happy game upon this
earth.
And then we go to take our rightful place where truth abides and games
are
meaningless.
14 So is the story ended. Let this day
bring the last chapter
closer to the world that everyone may learn the tales he reads of
terrifying
destiny, defeat of all his hopes, his pitiful defense against a
vengeance he
can not escape, are but his own deluded fantasies. God's ministers have
come to
waken him from the dark dreams this story has evoked in his confused,
bewildered memory of this distorted tale. God's Son can smile at last on
learning that it is not true.
15 Today we practice in a form we will
maintain for quite a
while. We will begin each day by giving our attention to the daily
thought as
long as possible. Five minutes now becomes the least we give to
preparation for
a day in which salvation is the only goal we have. Ten would be better;
15
better still. And as distraction ceases to arise to turn us from our
purpose,
we will find that half an hour is too short a time to spend with God.
Nor will
we willingly give less at night in gratitude and joy.
16 Each hour adds to our increasing
peace, as we remember to
be faithful to the Will we share with God. At times, perhaps, a minute,
even
less, will be the most that we can offer as the hour strikes. Sometimes
we will
forget. At other times the business of the world will close on us, and
we will
be unable to withdraw a little while and turn our thoughts to God.
17 Yet when we can, we will observe our
trust as ministers of
God in hourly remembrance of our mission and His Love. And we will
quietly sit
by and wait on Him and listen to His Voice and learn what He would have
us do
the hour that is yet to come, while thanking Him for all the gifts He
gave us
in the one gone by.
18 In time, with practice, you will
never cease to think of
Him and hear His loving Voice guiding your footsteps into quiet ways
where you
will walk in true defenselessness, for you will know that Heaven goes
with you.
Nor would you keep your mind away from Him a moment, even though your
time is
spent in offering salvation to the world. Think you He will not make
this
possible for you who chose to carry out His plan for the salvation of
the world
and yours?
19 Today our theme is our
defenselessness. We clothe
ourselves in it as we prepare to meet the day. We rise up strong in
Christ and
let our weakness disappear as we remember that His strength abides in
us. We
will remind ourselves that He remains beside us through the day and
never
leaves our weakness unsupported by His strength.
20 We call upon His strength each time
we feel the threat of
our defenses undermine our certainty of purpose. We will pause a moment
as He
tells us, "I am here." Your practicing will now begin to take the
earnestness of love to help you keep your mind from wandering from its
intent.
21 Be not afraid nor timid. There can
be no doubt that you
will reach your final goal. The ministers of God can never fail because
the
love and strength and peace that shine from them to all their brothers
come
from Him. These are His gifts to you. Defenselessness is all you need to
give
Him in return. You lay aside but what was never real to look on Christ
and see
His sinlessness.
1 Let us today be neither arrogant nor
falsely humble. We
have gone beyond such foolishness. We cannot judge ourselves, nor need
we do
so. These are but attempts to hold decision off, and to delay commitment
to our
function. It is not our part to judge our worth, nor can we know what
role is
best for us; what we can do within a larger plan we cannot see in its
entirety.
Our part is cast in Heaven, not in hell. And what we think is weakness
can be
strength; what we believe to be our strength is often arrogance.
2 Whatever your appointed role may be,
it was selected by
the Voice for God, Whose function is to speak for you as well. Seeing
your
strengths exactly as they are and equally aware of where they can be
best
applied, for what, to whom, and when, He chooses and accepts your part
for you.
He does not work without your own consent, but He is not deceived in
what you
are and listens only to His Voice in you.
3 It is through His ability to hear
One Voice Which is His
own that you become aware at last there is One Voice in you. And that
One Voice
appoints your function and relays it to you, giving you the strength to
understand it, do what it entails, and to succeed in everything you do
that is
related to it. God has joined His Son in this, and thus His Son becomes
His messenger
of unity with Him.
4 It is this joining through the Voice
of God of Father and
of Son that sets apart salvation from the world. It is this Voice which
speaks
of laws the world does not obey, which promises salvation from all sin,
with
guilt abolished in the mind that God created sinless. Now this mind
becomes
aware again of Who created it, and of His lasting union with itself. So
is its
Self the one reality in which its will and that of God are joined.
5 A messenger does not elect to make
the message he
delivers. Nor does he question the right of him who does nor ask why he
has
chosen those who will receive the message that he brings. It is enough
that he
accept it, bring it to the ones for whom it is appointed, and fulfill
his role
in its delivery. If he determines what the messages should be or what
their
purpose is or where they should be carried, he is failing to perform his
proper
part as bringer of the Word.
6 There is one major difference in the
role of Heaven's
messengers which sets them off from those the world appoints. The
messages
which they deliver are intended first for them. And it is only as they
can
accept them for themselves that they become able to bring them further
and to
give them everywhere that they were meant to be. Like earthly
messengers, they
did not write the messages they bear, but they become their first
receivers in
the truest sense, receiving to prepare themselves to give.
7 An earthly messenger fulfills his
role by giving all the
messages away. The messengers of God perform their part by their
acceptance of
His messages as for themselves and show they understand the messages by
giving
them away. They choose no roles that are not given them by His
authority. And
so they gain by every message which they give away.
8 Would you receive the messages of
God? For thus do you
become His messengers. You are appointed now. And yet you wait to give
the
messages you have received, and so you do not know that they are yours
and do
not recognize them. No one can receive and understand he has received
until he
gives. For in the giving is his own acceptance of what he received.
9 You who are now the messengers of
God receive His
messages, for that is part of your appointed role. God has not failed to
offer
what you need, nor has it been left unaccepted. Yet another part of your
appointed task is yet to be accomplished. He Who has received for you
the
messages of God would have them be received by you as well. For thus do
you
identify with Him and claim your own.
10 It is this joining that we undertake
to recognize today.
We will not seek to keep our minds apart from Him Who speaks for us, for
it is
but our voice we hear as we attend Him. He alone can speak to us and for
us,
joining in One Voice the getting and the giving of God's Word, the
giving and
receiving of His Will.
11 We practice giving Him what He would
have that we may
recognize His gifts to us. He needs our voice that He may speak through
us. He
needs our hands to hold His messages and carry them to those whom He
appoints.
He needs our feet to bring us where He wills, that those who wait in
misery may
be at last delivered. And He needs our will united with His own, that we
may be
the true receivers of the gifts He gives.
12 Let us but learn this lesson for
today: we will not
recognize what we receive until we give it. You have heard this said a
hundred
times, and yet belief is lacking still. But this is sure—until belief is
given
it, you will receive a thousand miracles and then receive a thousand
more but
will not know that God Himself has left no gift beyond what you already
have
nor has denied the tiniest of blessings to His Son. What can this mean
to you
until you have identified with him and with his own?
13 Our lesson for today is stated thus:
15 The world recedes as we light up our
minds and realize
these holy words are true. They are the message sent to us today from
our
Creator. Now we demonstrate how they have changed our minds about
ourselves and
what our function is. For as we prove that we accept no will we do not
share,
our many gifts from our Creator will spring to our sight and leap into
our
hands, and we will understand what we received.
1 There is a way of living in the
world that is not here,
although it seems to be. You do not change appearance, though you smile
more
frequently. Your forehead is serene; your eyes are quiet. And the ones
who walk
the world as you do recognize their own. Yet those who have not yet
perceived
the way will recognize you also and believe that you are like them as
you were
before.
2 The world is an illusion. Those who
choose to come to it
are seeking for a place where they can be illusions and avoid their own
reality. Yet when they find their own reality is even here, then they
step back
and let it lead the way. What other choice is really theirs to make? To
let
illusion walk ahead of truth is madness, but to let illusion sink behind
the
truth and let the truth stand forth as what it is, is simple sanity.
3This is the simple choice we make
today. The mad illusion
will remain awhile in evidence for those to look upon who chose to come
and
have not yet rejoiced to find they were mistaken in the choice. They
cannot
learn directly from the truth, because they have denied that it is so.
And so
they need a teacher who perceives their madness, but who still can look
beyond
illusion to the simple truth in them.
4 If truth demanded they give up the
world, it would appear
to them as if it asked the sacrifice of something that is real. Many
have
chosen to renounce the world while still believing its reality, and they
have
suffered from a sense of loss and have not been released accordingly.
Others
have chosen nothing but the world, and they have suffered from a sense
of loss
still deeper, which they did not understand.
5 Between these paths there is another
road that leads away
from loss of every kind, for sacrifice and deprivation both are quickly
left
behind. This is the way appointed for you now. You walk this path as
others
walk, nor do you seem to be distinct from them although you are indeed.
Thus
can you serve them while you serve yourself and set their footsteps on
the way
which God has opened up to you, and them through you.
6 Illusion still appears to cling to
you that you may reach
them. Yet it has stepped back, and it is not illusion that they hear you
speak
of nor illusion which you bring their eyes to look on and their minds to
grasp.
Now can the truth, which walks ahead of you, speak to them through
illusion,
for the road leads past illusion now, while on the way you call to them
that
they may follow you.
7All roads will lead to this one in
the end. For sacrifice
and deprivation are paths which lead nowhere, choices for defeat, and
aims
which will remain impossible. All this steps back as truth comes forth
in you
to lead your brothers from the ways of death and set them on the way to
happiness. Their suffering is but illusion. Yet they need a guide to
lead them
out of it, for they mistake illusion for the truth.
8 Such is salvation's call, and
nothing more. It asks that
you accept the truth, and let it go before you, lighting up the path of
ransom
from illusion. It is not a ransom with a price. There is no cost, but
only
gain. Illusion can but seem to hold in chains the holy Son of God. It is
but
from illusions he is saved. As they step back, he finds himself again.
9Walk safely now, yet carefully,
because this path is new to
you. And you may find that you are tempted still to walk ahead of truth
and let
illusions be your guide. Your holy brothers have been given you to
follow in
your footsteps as you walk with certainty of purpose to the truth. It
goes
before you now, that they may see something with which they can
identify,
something they understand to lead the way.
10 Yet at the journey's ending there
will be no gap, no
distance between truth and you. And all illusions walking in the way you
travelled will be gone from you as well, with nothing left to keep the
truth
apart from God's completion, holy as Himself. Step back in faith, and
let truth
lead the way. You know not where you go, but One Who knows goes with
you. Let
Him lead you with the rest.
11 When dreams are over, time has
closed the door on all the
things that pass, and miracles are purposeless, the holy Son of God will
make
no journeys. There will be no wish to be illusion rather than the truth.
And we
step forth toward this as we progress along the way that truth points
out to
us. This is our final journey, which we make for everyone. We must not
lose our
way. For as truth goes before us, so it goes before our brothers who
will
follow us.
12 We walk to God. Pause and reflect on
this. Could any way
be holier or more deserving of your effort, of your love, and of your
full
intent? What way could give you more than everything or offer less and
still
content the holy Son of God? We walk to God. The truth that walks before
us now
is one with Him and leads us to where He has always been. What way but
this
could be a path that you would choose instead?
13 Your feet are safely set upon the
road which leads the
world to God. Look not to ways that seem to lead you elsewhere. Dreams
are not
a worthy guide for you who are God's Son. Forget not He has placed His
hand in
yours and given you your brothers in His trust that you are worthy of
His trust
in you. He cannot be deceived. His trust has made your pathway certain
and your
goal secure. You will not fail your brothers nor your Self.
14 And now He asks but that you think
of Him a while each day
that He may speak to you and tell you of His Love, reminding you how
great His
trust, how limitless His Love. In your name and His own, which are the
same, we
practice gladly with this thought today:
1 Today's idea but states the simple
truth that makes the
thought of sin impossible. It promises there is no cause for guilt, and
being
causeless it does not exist. It follows surely from the basic thought so
often
mentioned in the text—ideas leave not their source. If this be true, how
can
you be apart from God? How could you walk the world alone and separate
from
your Source?
2 We are not inconsistent in the
thoughts that we present in
our curriculum. Truth must be true throughout if it be true. It cannot
contradict itself nor be in parts uncertain and in others sure. You
cannot walk
the world apart from God because you could not be without Him. He is
what your
life is. Where you are, He is. There is one Life. That Life you share
with Him.
Nothing can be apart from Him and live.
3 Yet where He is there must be
holiness as well as life. No
attribute of His remains unshared by everything that lives. What lives
is holy
as Himself because what shares His life is part of Holiness and could no
more
be sinful than the sun could choose to be of ice, the sea elect to be
apart
from water, or the grass to grow with roots suspended in the air.
4 There is a Light in you Which cannot
die, Whose Presence
is so holy that the world is sanctified because of you. All things that
live
bring gifts to you and offer them in gratitude and gladness at your
feet. The
scent of flowers is their gift to you. The waves bow down before you,
and the
trees extend their arms to shield you from the heat and lay their leaves
before
you on the ground that you may walk in softness, while the wind sinks to
a
whisper round your holy head.
5 The Light in you is what the
universe longs to behold. All
living things are still before you, for they recognize Who walks with
you. The
light you carry is their own, and thus they see in you their holiness,
saluting
you as savior and as God. Accept their reverence, for it is due to
Holiness
itself Which walks with you, transforming in Its gentle Light all things
into
Its likeness and Its purity.
6 This is the way salvation works. As
you step back, the
Light in you steps forward and encompasses the world. It heralds not the
end of
sin in punishment and death. In lightness and in laughter is it gone,
because
its quaint absurdity is seen. It is a foolish thought, a silly dream,
not
frightening, ridiculous perhaps, but who would waste an instant in
approach to
God Himself for such a senseless whim?
7 Yet you have wasted many, many years
on just this foolish
thought. The past is gone with all its fantasies. They keep you bound no
longer. The approach to God is near. And in the little interval of doubt
which
still remains, you may perhaps lose sight of your Companion, and mistake
Him
for the senseless, ancient dream that now is past.
8 " Who walks with me?"
This question
should be asked a thousand times a day, till certainty has ended
doubting and
established peace. Today let doubting cease. God speaks for you in
answering
your question with these words:
1 This is a day of silence and of
trust. It is a special
time of promise in your calendar of days. It is a time Heaven has set
apart to
shine upon, and cast a timeless light upon this day when echoes of
eternity are
heard. This day is holy, for it ushers in a new experience, a different
kind of
feeling and awareness. You have spent long days and nights in
celebrating
death. Today you learn to feel the joy of life.
2 This is another crucial turning
point in the curriculum.
We add a new dimension now—a fresh experience that sheds a light on all
that we
have learned already and prepares us for what we have yet to learn. It
brings
us to the door where learning ceases, and we catch a glimpse of what
lies past
the highest reaches it can possibly attain. It leaves us there an
instant and
we go beyond it, sure of our direction and our only goal.
3 Today it will be given you to feel a
touch of Heaven,
though you will return to paths of learning. Yet you have come far
enough along
the way to alter time sufficiently to rise above its laws and walk into
eternity a while. This you will learn to do increasingly, as every
lesson,
faithfully rehearsed, brings you more swiftly to this holy place and
leaves you
for a moment to your Self.
4 He will direct your practicing
today, for what you ask for
now is what He wills. And having joined your will with His this day,
what you
are asking must be given you. Nothing is needed but today's idea to
light your
mind and let it rest in still anticipation and in quiet joy wherein you
quickly
leave the world behind.
5 From this day forth, your ministry
takes on a genuine
devotion and a glow that travels from your fingertips to those you touch
and
blesses those you look upon. A vision reaches everyone you meet, and
everyone
you think of, or who thinks of you. For your experience today will so
transform
your mind that it becomes the touchstone for the holy Thoughts of God.
6 Your body will be sanctified today,
its only purpose being
now to bring the vision of what you experience this day to light the
world. We
cannot give experience like this directly. Yet it leaves a vision in our
eyes
which we can offer everyone that he may come the sooner to the same
experience
in which the world is quietly forgot and Heaven is remembered for a
while.
7 As this experience increases and all
goals but this become
of little worth, the world to which you will return becomes a little
closer to
the end of time, a little more like Heaven in its ways, a little nearer
its
deliverance. And you who bring it light will come to see the light more
sure,
the vision more distinct.
8 The time will come when you will not
return in the same
form in which you now appear, for you will have no need of it. Yet now
it has a
purpose and will serve it well. Today we will embark upon a course you
have not
dreamed of. But the Holy One, the Giver of the happy dreams of life,
Translator
of perception into truth, the holy Guide to Heaven given you has dreamed
for
you this journey which you make and start today with the experience this
day
holds out to you to be your own.
9 Into Christ's Presence will we enter
now, serenely unaware
of everything except His shining face and perfect Love. The vision of
His face
will stay with you, but there will be an instant which transcends all
vision,
even this, the holiest. This you will never teach, for you attained it
not
through learning. Yet the vision speaks of your remembrance of what you
knew
that instant and will surely know again.
1 What has been given you? The
knowledge that you are a
mind, in Mind and purely mind, sinless forever, wholly unafraid because
you
were created out of Love. Nor have you left your Source, remaining as
you were
created. This was given you as knowledge which you cannot lose. It was
given as
well to every living thing, for by that knowledge only does it live.
2 You have received all this. No one
who walks the world but
has received it. It is not this knowledge which you give, for that is
what
creation gave. All this cannot be learned. What, then, are you to learn
to give
today? Our lesson yesterday evoked a theme found early in the text.
Experience
cannot be shared directly in the way that vision can. The revelation
that the
Father and the Son are one will come in time to every mind. Yet is that
time
determined by the mind itself, not taught.
3 The time is set already. It appears
to be quite arbitrary.
Yet there is no step along the road that anyone takes but by chance. It
has
already been taken by him, although he has not yet embarked on it. For
time but
seems to go in one direction. We but undertake a journey that is over.
Yet it
seems to have a future still unknown to us.
4 Time is a trick-a sleight of hand, a
vast illusion in
which figures come and go as if by magic. Yet there is a plan behind
appearances which does not change. The script is written. When
experience will
come to end your doubting has been set. For we but see the journey from
the
point at which it ended, looking back on it, imagining we make it once
again; reviewing
mentally what has gone by.
5 A teacher does not give experience
because he did not
learn it. It revealed itself to him at its appointed time. But vision is
his
gift. This he can give directly, for Christ's knowledge is not lost
because He
has a vision He can give to anyone who asks. The Father's Will and His
are
joined in knowledge. Yet there is a vision which the Holy Spirit sees
because
the mind of Christ beholds it too.
6Here is the joining of the world of
doubt and shadows made
with the intangible. Here is a quiet place within the world made holy by
forgiveness and by love. Here are all contradictions reconciled, for
here the
journey ends. Experience, unlearned, untaught, unseen, is merely there.
This is
beyond our goal, for it transcends what needs to be accomplished. Our
concern
is with Christ's vision. This we can attain.
7 Christ's vision has one law. It does
not look upon a body
and mistake it for the Son whom God created. It beholds a light beyond
the
body, an idea beyond what can be touched, a purity undimmed by errors,
pitiful
mistakes, and fearful thoughts of guilt from dreams of sin. It sees no
separation. And it looks on everyone, on every circumstance, all
happenings,
and all events without the slightest fading of the light it sees.
8 This can be taught and must be
taught by all who would
achieve it. It requires but the recognition that the world cannot give
anything
that faintly can compare with this in value; nor set up a goal which
does not
merely disappear when this has been perceived. And this you give
today-see no
one as a body. Greet him as the Son of God he is, acknowledging that he
is one
with you in holiness.
9 Thus are his sins forgiven him, for
Christ has vision
which has power to overlook them all. In His forgiveness, they are gone.
Unseen
by One, they merely disappear because a vision of the holiness which
lies
beyond them comes to take their place. It matters not what form they
took nor
how enormous they appeared to be nor who seemed to be hurt by them. They
are no
more, and all effects they seemed to have are gone with them, undone and
never
to be done.
10Thus do you learn to give as you
receive. And thus Christ's
vision looks on you as well. This lesson is not difficult to learn if
you
remember in your brother you but see yourself. If he be lost in sin so
must you
be; if you see light in him your sins have been forgiven by yourself.
Each
brother whom you meet today provides another chance to let Christ's
vision
shine on you and offer you the peace of God.
11 It matters not when revelation
comes, for that is not of
time. Yet time has still one gift to give in which true knowledge is
reflected
in a way so accurate its image shares its unseen holiness; its likeness
shines
with its immortal love. We practice seeing with the eyes of Christ
today. And
by the holy gifts we give, Christ's vision looks upon ourselves as well.
1 No one can give what he has not
received. To give a thing
requires first you have it in your own possession. Here the laws of
Heaven and
the world agree. But here they also separate. The world believes that to
possess a thing, it must be kept. Salvation teaches otherwise. To give
is how
to recognize you have received. It is the proof that what you have is
yours.
2 You understand that you are healed
when you give healing.
You accept forgiveness as accomplished in yourself when you forgive. You
recognize your brother as yourself and thus do you perceive that you are
whole.
There is no miracle you cannot give, for all are given you. Receive them
now by
opening the storehouse of your mind where they are laid and giving them
away.
3 Christ's vision is a miracle. It
comes from far beyond
itself, for it reflects eternal love and the rebirth of love which never
died
but has been kept obscure. Christ's vision pictures Heaven, for it sees
a world
so like to Heaven that what God created perfect can be mirrored there.
The
darkened glass the world presents can show but twisted images in broken
parts.
The real world pictures Heaven's innocence.
4 Christ's vision is the miracle in
which all miracles are
born. It is their source, remaining with each miracle you give and yet
remaining yours. It is the bond by which the giver and receiver are
united in
extension here on earth as they are one in Heaven. Christ beholds no sin
in
anyone, and in His sight the sinless are as one. Their holiness was
given by
His Father and Himself.
5 Christ's vision is the bridge
between the worlds. And in
its power can you safely trust to carry you from this world into one
made holy
by forgiveness. Things which seem quite solid here are merely shadows
there,
transparent, faintly seen, at times forgot, and never able to obscure
the light
that shines beyond them. Holiness has been restored to vision, and the
blind
can see.
6 This is the Holy Spirit's single
gift—the treasure house
to which you can appeal with perfect certainty for everything that can
contribute to your happiness. All are laid here already. All can be
received
but for the asking. Here the door is never locked, and no one is denied
his
least request or his most urgent need. There is no sickness not already
healed,
no lack unsatisfied, no need unmet within this golden treasury of
Christ.
7 Here does the world remember what
was lost when it was made.
For here it is repaired, made new again but in a different light. What
was to
be the home of sin becomes the center of redemption and the hearth of
mercy
where the suffering are healed and welcome. No one will be turned away
from
this new home where his salvation waits. No one is stranger to him. No
one asks
for anything of him except the gift of his acceptance of his welcoming.
8 Christ's vision is the holy ground
in which the lilies of
forgiveness set their roots. This is their home. They can be brought
from here
back to the world, but they can never grow in its unnourishing and
shallow
soil. They need the light and warmth and kindly care Christ's charity
provides.
They need the love with which He looks on them. And they become His
messengers
who give as they received.
9 Take from His storehouse that its
treasures may increase.
His lilies do not leave their home when they are carried back into the
world.
Their roots remain. They do not leave their source, but carry its
beneficence
with them and turn the world into a garden like the one they came from
and to
which they go again with added fragrance. Now are they twice blessed.
The
messages they brought from Christ have been delivered and returned to
them. And
they return them gladly unto Him.
10 Behold the store of miracles set out
for you to give. Are
you not worth the gift when God appointed it be given you? Judge not
God's Son,
but follow in the way He has established. Christ has dreamed the dream
of a
forgiven world. It is His gift whereby a sweet transition can be made
from
death to life, from hopelessness to hope. Let us an instant dream with
Him. His
dream awakens us to truth. His vision gives the means for a return to
our
unlost and everlasting sanctity in God.
1 Fear is a stranger to the ways of
love. Identify with
fear, and you will be a stranger to yourself. And thus you are unknown
to you.
What is your Self remains an alien to the part of you which thinks that
it is
real but different from yourself. Who could be sane in such a
circumstance? Who
but a madman could believe he is what he is not and judge against
himself?
2 There is a stranger in our midst who
comes from an idea so
foreign to the truth he speaks a different language, looks upon a world
truth
does not know, and understands what truth regards as senseless. Stranger
yet,
he does not recognize to whom he comes and yet maintains his home
belongs to
him, while he is alien now who is at home.
3And yet how easy it would be to say,
"This is my home.
Here I belong and will not leave because a madman says I must." What
reason is there for not saying this? What could the reason be except
that you
had asked this stranger in to take your place and let you be a stranger
to
yourself? No one would let himself be dispossessed so needlessly unless
he/she
thought there was another home more suited to his/her tastes.
4 Who is the stranger? Is it fear or
you that is unsuited to
the home which God provided for His Son? Is fear His own, created in His
likeness?
Is it fear that love completes and is completed by? There is no home can
shelter love and fear. They cannot coexist. If you are real, then fear
must be
illusion. And if fear is real, then you do not exist at all.
5 How simply, then, the question is
resolved. Who fears has
but denied himself and said, "I am the stranger here. And so I leave my
home to one more like me than myself and give him all I thought belonged
to
me." Now is he exiled of necessity, not knowing who he is, uncertain of
all things but this—that he is not himself and that his home has been
denied to
him.
6 What does he search for now? What
can he find? A stranger
to himself can find no home wherever he may look, for he has made return
impossible. His way is lost except a miracle will search him out and
show him
that he is no stranger now. The miracle will come. For in his home his
Self
remains. It asked no stranger in and took no alien thought to be Itself.
And It
will call its own unto Itself, in recognition of what is Its own.
7 Who is the stranger? Is he not the
one your Self calls
not? You are unable now to recognize this stranger in your midst, for
you have
given him your rightful place. Yet is your Self as certain of Its own as
God is
of His Son. He cannot be confused about creation. He is sure of what
belongs to
Him. No stranger can be interposed between His knowledge and His Son's
reality.
He does not know of strangers. He is certain of His Son.
8 God's certainty suffices. Who He
knows to be His Son
belongs where He has set His Son forever. He has answered you who ask,
"Who is the stranger?" Hear His Voice assure you, quietly and sure,
that you are not a stranger to your Father, nor is your Creator stranger
made
to you. Whom God has joined remains forever one, at home in Him, no
stranger to
Himself.
9Today we offer thanks that Christ has
come to search the
world for what belongs to Him. His vision sees no strangers, but beholds
His
own and joyously unites with them. They see Him as a stranger, for they
do not
recognize themselves. Yet as they give Him welcome, they remember. And
He leads
them gently home again where they belong.
10Not one does Christ forget. Not one
He fails to give you to
remember that your home may be complete and perfect as it was
established. He
has not forgotten you. But you will not remember Him until you look on
all as
He does. Who denies his brother is denying Him and thus refusing to
accept the
gift of sight by which his Self is clearly recognized, his home
remembered, and
salvation come.
1 Today we practice differently and
take a stand against our
anger that our fears may disappear and offer room to love. Here is
salvation in
the simple words in which we practice today's idea. Here is the answer
to temptation
which can never fail to welcome in the Christ where fear and anger had
prevailed before. Here is Atonement made complete, the world passed
safely by,
and Heaven now restored. Here is the answer of the Voice of God.
2 Complete abstraction is the natural
condition of the mind.
But part of it is now unnatural. It does not look on everything as one.
It sees
instead but fragments of the whole, for only thus could it invent the
partial
world you see. The purpose of all seeing is to show you what you wish to
see.
All hearing but brings to your mind the sounds it wants to hear.
3 Thus were specifics made. And now it
is specifics we must
use in practicing. We give them to the Holy Spirit that He may employ
them for
a purpose which is different from the one we gave to them. Yet He can
use but
what we made to teach us from a different point of view, so we can see a
different use in everything.
4 One brother is all brothers. Every
mind contains all
minds, for every mind is one. Such is the truth. Yet do these thoughts
make
clear the meaning of creation? Do these words bring perfect clarity with
them
to you? What can they seem to be but empty sounds, pretty, perhaps;
correct in
sentiment, yet fundamentally not understood nor understandable. The mind
that
taught itself to think specifically can no longer grasp abstraction in
the
sense that it is all-encompassing. We need to see a little that we learn
a lot.
5 It seems to be the body that we feel
limits our freedom,
makes us suffer, and at last puts out our life. Yet bodies are but
symbols of a
concrete form of fear. Fear without symbols calls for no response, for
symbols
can stand for the meaningless. Love needs no symbols, being true. But
fear
attaches to specifics, being false.
6 Bodies attack but minds do not. This
thought is surely
reminiscent of our text, where it is often emphasized. This is the
reason
bodies easily become fear's symbols. You have many times been urged to
look
beyond the body, for its sight presents the symbol of love's "enemy"
Christ's vision does not see. The body is the target for attack, for no
one
thinks he hates a mind. Yet what but mind directs the body to attack?
What else
could be the seat of fear except what thinks of fear?
7 Hate is specific. There must be a
thing to be attacked. An
enemy must be perceived in such a form he can be touched and seen and
heard and
ultimately killed. When hatred rests upon a thing, it calls for death as
surely
as God's Voice proclaims there is no death. Fear is insatiable,
consuming
everything its eyes behold, seeing itself in everything, compelled to
turn upon
itself and to destroy.
8 Who sees a brother as a body sees
him as fear's symbol.
And he will attack because what he beholds is his own fear external to
himself,
poised to attack and howling to unite with him again. Mistake not the
intensity
of rage projected fear must spawn. It shrieks in wrath and claws the air
in
frantic hope it can reach to its maker and devour him.
9 This do the body's eyes behold in
one whom Heaven
cherishes, the angels love, and God created perfect. This is his
reality. And
in Christ's vision is his loveliness reflected in a form so holy and so
beautiful that you could scarce refrain from kneeling at his feet. Yet
you will
take his hand instead, for you are like him in the sight that sees him
thus.
10 Attack on him is enemy to you, for
you will not perceive
that in his hands is your salvation. Ask him but for this, and he will
give it
to you. Ask him not to symbolize your fear. Would you request that love
destroy
itself? Or would you have it be revealed to you and set you free?
11 Today we practice in a form we have
attempted earlier.
Your readiness is closer now, and you will come today nearer Christ's
vision.
If you are intent on reaching it, you will succeed today. And once you
have
succeeded, you will not be willing to accept the witnesses your body's
eyes
call forth. What you will see will sing to you of ancient melodies you
will
remember. You are not forgot in Heaven. Would you not remember it?
12 Select one brother, symbol of the
rest, and ask salvation
of him. See him first as clearly as you can in that same form to which
you are
accustomed. See his face, his hands and feet, his clothing. Watch him
smile,
and see familiar gestures which he makes so frequently. Then think of
this—what
you are seeing now conceals from you the sight of one who can forgive
you all
your sins, whose sacred hands can take the nails which pierce your own
away and
lift the crown of thorns which you have placed upon your bleeding head.
13 Ask this of him that he may set you
free:
15 And He will answer Whom you called
upon, for He will hear
the Voice of God in you and answer in your own. Behold him now whom you
had
seen as merely flesh and bone and recognize that Christ has come to you.
16 Today's idea is your safe escape
from anger and from fear.
Be sure you use it instantly, should you be tempted to attack a brother
and
perceive in him the symbol of your fear. And you will see him suddenly
transformed from enemy to savior, from the devil into Christ.
1 This single thought, held firmly in
the mind, would save
the world. From time to time we will repeat it, as we reach another
stage in
learning. It will mean far more to you as you advance. These words are
sacred,
for they are the words God gave in answer to the world you made. By them
it
disappears, and all things seen within its misty clouds and vaporous
illusions
vanish as these words are spoken. For they come from God.
2 Here is the Word by which the Son
became His Father's
happiness, His Love, and His completion. Here creation is proclaimed and
honored as it is. There is no dream these words will not dispel, no
thought of
sin, and no illusion that the dream contains that will not fade away
before
their might. They are the trumpet of awakening that sounds around the
world.
The dead awake in answer to its call. And those who live and hear this
sound
will never look on death.
3 Holy indeed is he who makes these
words his own—arising
with them in his mind, recalling them throughout the day, at night
bringing
them with him as he goes to sleep. His dreams are happy and his rest
secure,
his safety certain and his body healed because he sleeps and wakens with
the
truth before him always. He will save the world because he gives the
world what
he receives each time he practices the words of truth.
4 Today we practice simply. For the
words we use are mighty,
and they need no thoughts beyond themselves to change the mind of him
who uses
them. So wholly is it changed that it is now the treasury in which God
places
all His gifts and all His Love to be distributed to all the world,
increased in
giving, kept complete because its sharing is unlimited. And thus you
learn to
think with God. Christ's vision has restored your sight by salvaging
your mind.
5 We honor you today. Yours is the
right to perfect holiness
you now accept. With this acceptance is salvation brought to everyone,
for who
could cherish sin when holiness like this has blessed the world? Who
could
despair when perfect joy is yours, available to all as remedy for grief
and
misery, all sense of loss, and for complete escape from sin and guilt?
6 And who would not be brother to you
now—you, his redeemer
and his savior. Who could fail to welcome you into his heart with loving
invitation, eager to unite with one like him in holiness? You are as God
created you. These words dispel the night, and darkness is no more. The
light
is come today to bless the world, for you have recognized the Son of
God, and
in your recognition is the world's.
1 Death is a thought which takes on
many forms, often
unrecognized. It may appear as sadness, fear, anxiety, or doubt; as
anger,
faithlessness, and lack of trust; concern for bodies, envy, and all
forms in
which the wish to be as you are not may come to tempt you. All such
thoughts
are but reflections of the worshipping of death as savior and as giver
of
release.
2 Embodiment of fear, the host of sin,
god of the guilty,
and the lord of all illusions and deceptions, does the thought of death
seem
mighty. For it seems to hold all living things within its withered hand;
all
hopes and wishes in its blighting grasp. All goals perceived but in its
sightless eyes. The frail, the helpless, and the sick bow down before
its
image, thinking it alone is real, inevitable, worthy of their trust. For
it
alone will surely come.
3 All things but death are seen to be
unsure, too quickly
lost however hard to gain, uncertain in their outcome, apt to fail the
hopes
they once engendered and to leave the taste of dust and ashes in their
wake in
place of aspirations and of dreams. But death is counted on. For it will
come
with certain footsteps when the time has come for its arrival. It will
never
fail to take all life as hostage to itself.
4 Would you bow down to idols such as
this? Here is the
strength and might of God Himself perceived within an idol made of dust.
Here
is the opposite of God proclaimed as lord of all creation, stronger than
God's
Will for life, the endlessness of love and Heaven's perfect, changeless
constancy. Here is the Will of Father and of Son defeated finally and
laid to
rest beneath the headstone death has placed upon the body of the holy
Son of
God.
5 Unholy in defeat, he has become what
death would have him
be. His epitaph, which death itself has written, gives no name to him,
for he
has passed to dust. It says but this: "Here lies a witness God is
dead." And this it writes again and still again, while all the while its
worshippers agree, and kneeling down with foreheads to the ground, they
whisper
fearfully that it is so.
6 It is impossible to worship death in
any form and still
select a few you would not cherish and would yet avoid while still
believing in
the rest. For death is total. Either all things die or else they live
and
cannot die. No compromise is possible. For here again we see an obvious
position which we must accept if we be sane; what contradicts one
thought
entirely can not be true unless its opposite is proven false.
7 The idea of the death of God is so
preposterous that even
the insane have difficulty in believing it. For it implies that God was
once alive
and somehow perished, killed, apparently, by those who did not want him
to
survive. Their stronger will could triumph over His, and so eternal life
gave
way to death. And with the Father died the Son as well.
8 Death's worshippers may be afraid.
And yet can thoughts
like these be fearful? If they saw that it is only this which they
believed,
they would be instantly released. And you will show them this today.
There is
no death, and we renounce it now in every form for their salvation and
our own
as well. God made not death. Whatever form it takes must therefore be
illusion.
This the stand we take today. And it is given us to look past death and
see the
life beyond.
9 Our Father, bless our eyes today. We
are Your messengers,
and we would look upon the glorious reflection of Your Love which shines
in
everything. We live and breathe in You alone. We are not separate from
Your
eternal life. There is no death, for death is not Your Will. And we
abide where
You have placed us, in the Life we share with You and with all living
things,
to be like You and part of You forever. We accept Your Thoughts as ours,
and
our will is one with Yours eternally. Amen.
1 What time but now can truth be
recognized? The present is
the only time there is. And so today, this instant, now, we come to look
upon
what is forever there—not in our sight, but in the eyes of Christ. He
looks
past time and sees eternity as represented there. He hears the sounds
the
senseless busy world engenders, yet He hears them faintly, for beyond
them all
He hears the song of Heaven and the Voice of God more clear, more
meaningful,
more near.
2 The world fades easily away before
His sight. Its sounds
grow dim. A melody from far beyond the world increasingly is more and
more
distinct—an ancient call to which He gives an ancient answer. You will
recognize them both. For they are but your answer to your Father's call
to you.
Christ answers for you, echoing your Self, using your voice to give His
glad consent,
accepting your deliverance for you.
3 How holy is your practicing today,
as Christ gives you His
sight and hears for you and answers in your name the call He hears. How
quiet
is the time you give to spend with Him beyond the world. How easily are
all
your seeming sins forgot and all your sorrows unremembered. On this day
is
grief laid by, for sights and sounds which come from nearer than the
world are
made clear to you who will today accept the gifts He gives.
4 There is a silence into which the
world can not intrude.
There is an ancient peace you carry in your heart and have not lost.
There is a
sense of holiness in you the thought of sin has never touched. All this
today
you will remember. Faithfulness in practicing today will bring rewards
so great
and so completely different from all things you sought before that you
will
know that here your treasure is and here your rest.
5 This is the day when vain imaginings
part like a curtain
to reveal what lies beyond them. Now is what is really there made
visible,
while all the shadows which appeared to hide it sink to obscurity. Now
is the
balance righted and the scales of judgment left to Him Who judges true.
And in
His judgment will a world unfold in perfect innocence before your eyes.
Now
will you see it with the eyes of Christ. Now is its transformation clear
to
you.
6 Brothers, this day is sacred to the
world. Your vision,
given you from far beyond all things within the world, looks back on
them in a
new light. And what you see becomes the healing and salvation of the
world. The
valuable and valueless are both perceived and recognized for what they
are. And
what is worthy of your love receives your love, while nothing to be
feared
remains.
7 We will not judge today. We will
receive but what is given
us from judgment made beyond the world. Our practicing today becomes our
gift
of thankfulness for our release from blindness and from misery. All that
we see
will but increase our joy because its holiness reflects our own. We
stand
forgiven in the sight of Christ, with all the world forgiven in our own.
8 We bless the world as we behold it
in the light in which
our Savior looks on us and offer it the freedom given us through His
forgiving
vision, now our own. Open the curtain in your practicing by merely
letting go
all things you think you want. Your trifling treasures put away and
leave a
clean and open space within your mind where Christ can come and offer
you the
treasure of salvation. He has need of your most holy mind to save the
world.
9 Is not this purpose worthy to be
yours? Is not Christ's
vision worthy to be sought above the world's unsatisfying goals? Let not
today
slip by without the gifts it holds for you receiving your consent and
your
acceptance. We can change the world if you acknowledge them. You may not
see
the value your acceptance gives the world. But this you surely want—you
can
exchange all suffering for joy this very day. Practice in earnest, and
the gift
is yours. Would God deceive you? Can His promise fail? Can you withhold
so
little when His Hand holds out complete salvation to His Son?
1 What makes this world seem real
except your own denial of
the truth which lies beyond? What but your thoughts of misery and death
obscure
the perfect happiness and the Eternal Life your Father wills for you?
And what
could hide what cannot be concealed except illusion? What could keep
from you
what you already have except your choice to see it not, denying it is
there?
2 The Thought of God created you. It
left you not, nor have
you ever been apart from It an instant. It belongs to you. By It you
live. It
is your Source of life, holding you one with It, and everything is one
with you
because It left you not. The Thought of God protects you, cares for you,
makes
soft your resting place and smooth your way, lighting your mind with
happiness
and love. Eternity and everlasting life shine in your mind because the
Thought
of God has left you not and still abides with you.
3 Who would deny his safety and his
peace, his joy, his
healing and his peace of mind, his quiet rest, his calm awakening if he
but
recognized where they abide? Would he not instantly prepare to go where
they
are found, abandoning all else as worthless in comparison with them? And
having
found them, would he not make sure they stay with him and he remains
with them?
4 Deny not Heaven. It is yours today
but for the asking. Nor
need you perceive how great the gift, how changed your mind will be
before it
comes to you. Ask to receive, and it is given you. Conviction lies
within it.
Till you welcome it as yours, uncertainty remains. Yet God is fair.
Sureness is
not required to receive what only your acceptance can bestow.
5 Ask with desire. You need not be
sure that you request the
only thing you want. But when you have received, you will be sure you
have the
treasure you have always sought. What would you then exchange it for?
What
would induce you now to let it fade away from your ecstatic vision? For
this
sight proves that you have exchanged your blindness for the seeing eyes
of
Christ; your mind has come to lay aside denial and accept the Thought of
God as
its inheritance.
6 Now is all doubting past, the
journey's end made certain,
and salvation given you. Now is Christ's power in your mind to heal as
you were
healed. For now you are among the saviors of the world. Your destiny
lies there
and nowhere else. Would God consent to let His Son remain forever
starved by
his denial of the nourishment he needs to live? Abundance dwells in him,
and
deprivation cannot cut him off from God's sustaining Love and from his
home.
7 Practice today in hope. For hope
indeed is justified. Your
doubts are meaningless, for God is certain. And the Thought of Him is
never
absent. Sureness must abide within you who are host to Him. This course
removes
all doubts which you have interposed between Him and your certainty of
Him. We
count on God and not upon ourselves to give us certainty. And in His
Name we
practice as His Word directs we do. His sureness lies beyond our every
doubt.
His Love remains beyond our every fear. The Thought of Him is still
beyond all
dreams and in our minds according to His Will.
1 All things are given you. God's
trust in you is limitless.
He knows His Son. He gives without exception, holding nothing back that
can
contribute to your happiness. And yet unless your will is one with His,
His
gifts are not received. But what would make you think there is another
will
than His?
2 Here is the paradox that underlies
the making of the
world. This world is not the Will of God, and so it is not real. Yet
those who
think it real must still believe there is another will, and one that
leads to
opposite effects from those He wills. Impossible indeed, but every mind
that
looks upon the world and judges it as certain, solid, trustworthy, and
true
believes in two creators or in one, himself alone. But never in one God.
3 The gifts of God are not acceptable
to anyone who holds
such strange beliefs. He must believe that, to accept God's gifts,
however
evident they may become, however urgently he may be called to claim them
as his
own, is being pressed to treachery against himself. He must deny their
presence, contradict the truth, and suffer to preserve the world he
made.
4 Here is the only home he thinks he
knows. Here is the only
safety he believes that he can find. Without the world he made is he an
outcast, homeless and afraid. He does not realize that it is here he is
afraid
indeed and homeless too—an outcast wandering so far from home, so long
away, he
does not realize he has forgotten where he came from, where he goes, and
even
who he really is.
5 Yet in his lonely, senseless
wanderings, God's gifts go
with him, all unknown to him. He cannot lose them. But he will not look
at what
is given him. He wanders on, aware of the futility he sees about him
everywhere, perceiving how his little lot but dwindles as he goes ahead
to
nowhere. Still he wanders on in misery and poverty, alone though God is
with
him, and a treasure his so great that everything the world contains is
valueless before its magnitude.
6 He seems a sorry figure—weary, worn,
in threadbare
clothing, and with feet that bleed a little from the rocky road he
walks. No
one but has identified with him, for everyone who comes here has pursued
the
path he follows and has felt defeat and hopelessness as he is feeling
them. Yet
is he really tragic when you see that he is following the way he chose
and
needs but realize Who walks with him and open up his treasures to be
free?
7 This is your chosen self, the one
you made as a
replacement for reality. This is the self you savagely defend against
all
reason, every evidence, and all the witnesses with proof to show this is
not
you. You heed them not. You go on your appointed way, with eyes cast
down lest
you might catch a glimpse of truth and be released from self-deception
and set
free.
8 You cower fearfully lest you should
feel Christ's touch
upon your shoulder and perceive His gentle hand directing you to look
upon your
gifts. How could you then proclaim your poverty in exile? He would make
you
laugh at this perception of yourself. Where is self-pity then? And what
becomes
of all the tragedy you sought to make for him whom God intended only
joy?
9 Your ancient fear has come upon you
now, and justice has
caught up with you at last. Christ's hand has touched your shoulder, and
you
feel that you are not alone. You even think the miserable self you
thought was
you may not be your identity. Perhaps God's Word is truer than your own.
Perhaps His gifts to you are real. Perhaps He has not wholly been
outwitted by
your plan to keep His Son in deep oblivion and go the way you chose
without
your Self.
10 God's Will does not oppose. It
merely is. It is not God
you have imprisoned in your plan to lose your Self. He does not know
about a
plan so alien to His Will. There was a need He did not understand, to
which He
gave an Answer. That is all. And you who have this Answer given you have
need
no more of anything but this.
11 Now do we live, for now we cannot
die. The wish for death
is answered, and the sight that looked upon it now has been replaced by
vision
which perceives that you are not what you pretend to be. One walks with
you Who
gently answers all your fears with this one merciful reply: "It is not
so." He points to all the gifts you have each time the thought of
poverty
oppresses you and speaks of His companionship when you perceive yourself
as
lonely and afraid.
12 Yet He reminds you still of one
thing more you had
forgotten. For His touch on you has made you like Himself. The gifts you
have
are not for you alone. What He has come to offer you, you now must learn
to
give. This is the lesson that His giving holds, for He has saved you
from the
solitude you sought to make in which to hide from God. He has reminded
you of
all the gifts that God has given you. He speaks as well of what becomes
your
will when you accept these gifts and recognize they are your own.
13 The gifts are yours, entrusted to
your care to give to all
who chose the lonely road you have escaped. They do not understand they
but
pursue their wishes. It is you who teach them now. For you have learned
of
Christ there is another way for them to walk. Teach them by showing them
the
happiness that comes to those who feel the touch of Christ and recognize
God's
gifts. Let sorrow not tempt you to be unfaithful to your trust.
14 Your sighs will now betray the hopes
of those who look to
you for their release. Your tears are theirs. If you are sick, you but
withhold
their healing. What you fear but teaches them their fears are justified.
Your
hand becomes the giver of Christ's touch; your change of mind becomes
the proof
that who accepts God's gifts can never suffer anything. You are
entrusted with
the world's release from pain.
15 Betray it not. Become the living
proof of what Christ's
touch can offer everyone. God has entrusted all His gifts to you. Be
witness in
your happiness to how transformed the mind becomes which chooses to
accept His
gifts and feel the touch of Christ. Such is your mission now. For God
entrusts
the giving of His gifts to all who have received them. He has shared His
joy
with you. And now you go to share it with the world.
1 There are not different kinds of
life, for life is like
the truth. It does not have degrees. It is the one condition in which
all that
God created share. Like all His Thoughts, it has no opposite. There is
no death
because what God created shares His Life. There is no death because an
opposite
to God does not exist. There is no death because the Father and the Son
are
one.
2 In this world there appears to be a
state that is life's
opposite. You call it death. Yet we have learned that the idea of death
takes
many forms. It is the one idea which underlies all feelings that are not
supremely happy. It is the alarm to which you give response of any kind
that is
not perfect joy. All sorrow, loss, anxiety, and suffering and pain, even
a
little sigh of weariness, a slight discomfort or the merest frown,
acknowledge
death. And thus deny you live.
3 You think that death is of the body.
Yet it is but an
idea, irrelevant to what is seen as physical. A thought is in the mind.
It can
be then applied as mind directs it. But its origin is where it must be
changed
if change occurs. Ideas leave not their source. The emphasis this course
has
placed on that idea is due to its centrality in our attempts to change
your
mind about yourself. It is the reason you can heal. It is the cause of
healing.
It is why you cannot die. Its truth established you as one with God.
4 Death is the thought that you are
separate from your
Creator. It is the belief conditions change, emotions alternate because
of
causes you cannot control, you did not make, and you can never change.
It is
the fixed belief ideas can leave their source and take on qualities the
source
does not contain, becoming different from their own origin, apart from
it in
kind as well as distance, time, and form.
5 Death cannot come from life. Ideas
remain united to their
source. They can extend all that their source contains. In that they can
go far
beyond themselves. But they cannot give birth to what was never given
them. As
they are made, so will their making be. As they were born, so will they
then
give birth. And where they come from, there will they return.
6 The mind can think it sleeps, but
that is all. It cannot
change what is its waking state. It cannot make a body nor abide within
a body.
What is alien to the mind does not exist because it has no source. For
mind
creates all things that are and cannot give them attributes it lacks nor
change
its own eternal, mindful state. It cannot make the physical. What seems
to die
is but the sign of mind asleep.
7 The opposite of life can only be
another form of life. As
such, it can be reconciled with what created it because it is not
opposite in
truth. Its form may change; it may appear to be what it is not. Yet mind
is
mind awake or sleeping. It is not its opposite in anything created nor
in what
it seems to make when it believes it sleeps.
8 God creates only mind awake. He does
not sleep, and His
creations cannot share what He gives not nor make conditions which He
does not
share with them. The thought of death is not the opposite to thoughts of
life.
Forever unopposed by opposites of any kind, the Thoughts of God remain
forever
changeless with the power to extend forever changelessly but yet within
Themselves, for They are everywhere.
9 What seems to be the opposite of
life is merely sleeping.
When the mind elects to be what it is not and to assume an alien power
which it
does not have, a foreign state it cannot enter or a false condition not
within
its Source, it merely seems to go to sleep a while. It dreams of time—an
interval in which what seems to happen never has occurred, the changes
wrought
are substanceless, and all events are nowhere. When the mind awakes, it
but
continues as it always was.
10 Let us today be children of the
truth and not deny our
holy heritage. Our life is not as we imagine it. Who changes life
because he
shuts his eyes or makes himself what he is not because he sleeps and
sees in
dreams an opposite to what he is? We will not ask for death in any form
today.
Nor will we let imagined opposites to life abide even an instant where
the
Thought of life eternal has been set by God Himself.
11 His holy home we strive to keep
today as He established
it, and wills it be forever and forever. He is Lord of what we think
today. And
in His Thoughts, which have no opposite, we understand there is one life
and
that we share with Him, with all creation, with their thoughts as well,
whom He
created in a unity of life that cannot separate in death and leave the
Source
of Life from where it came.
12 We share our life because we have
one Source, a Source
from Which perfection comes to us, remaining always in the holy minds
which He
created perfect. As we were, so are we now and will forever be. A
sleeping mind
must waken as it sees its own perfection mirroring the Lord of Life so
perfectly it fades into what is reflected there. And now it is no more a
mere
reflection. It becomes the thing reflected and the light which makes
reflection
possible. No vision now is needed. For the wakened mind is one that
knows its
Source, its Self, its holiness.
1 God speaks to us. Shall we not speak
to Him? He is not
distant. He makes no attempt to hide from us. We try to hide from Him
and
suffer from deception. He remains entirely accessible. He loves His Son.
There
is no certainty but this, yet this suffices. He will love His Son
forever. When
his mind remains asleep, He loves him still. And when his mind awakes,
He loves
him with a never-changing Love.
2 If you but knew the meaning of His
Love, hope and despair
would be impossible, for hope would be forever satisfied; despair of any
kind
unthinkable. His grace His answer is to all despair, for in it lies
remembrance
of His Love. Would He not gladly give the means by which His Will is
recognized? His grace is yours by your acknowledgment. And memory of Him
awakens in the mind which asks the means of Him whereby its sleep is
done.
3 Today we ask of God the gift He has
most carefully
preserved within our hearts, waiting to be acknowledged. This the gift
by which
God leans to us and lifts us up, taking salvation's final step Himself.
All
steps but this we learn, instructed by His Voice. But finally He comes
Himself
and takes us in His arms and sweeps away the cobwebs of our sleep. His
gift of
grace is more than just an answer. It restores all memories the sleeping
mind
forgot; all certainty of what love's meaning is.
4 God loves His Son. Request Him now
to give the means by
which this world will disappear, and vision first will come with
knowledge but
an instant later. For in grace you see a light that covers all the world
in
love and watch fear disappear from every face as hearts rise up and
claim the
light as theirs. What now remains that Heaven be delayed an instant
longer?
What remains undone when your forgiveness rests on everything?
5 It is a new and holy day today, for
we receive what has
been given us. Our faith lies in the Giver, not our own acceptance. We
acknowledge our mistakes, but He to Whom all error is unknown is yet the
One
Who answers our mistakes by giving us the means to lay them down and
rise to
Him in gratitude and love.
6 And He descends to meet us as we
come to Him, for what He
has prepared for us He gives and we receive. Such is His Will because He
loves
His Son. To Him we pray today, returning but the words He gave to us
through
His own Voice, His Word, His Love:
1 Grace is an aspect of the Love of
God which is most like
the state prevailing in the unity of truth. It is the world's most lofty
aspiration, for it leads beyond the world entirely. It is past learning
yet the
goal of learning, for grace cannot come until the mind prepares itself
for true
acceptance. Grace becomes inevitable instantly in those who have
prepared a
table where it can be gently laid and willingly received, an altar clean
and
holy for the gift.
2 Grace is acceptance of the Love of
God within a world of seeming
hate and fear. By grace alone the hate and fear are gone, for grace
presents a
state so opposite to everything the world contains that those whose
minds are
lighted by the gift of grace can not believe the world of fear is real.
3 Grace is not learned. The final step
must go beyond all
learning. Grace is not the goal this course aspires to attain. Yet we
prepare
for grace in that an open mind can hear the call to waken. It is not
shut tight
against God's Voice. It has become aware that there are things it does
not know
and thus is ready to accept a state completely different from experience
with
which it is familiarly at home.
4 We have perhaps appeared to
contradict our statement that
the revelation of the Father and the Son as one has been already set.
But we
have also said the mind determines when that time will be and has
determined
it. And yet we urge you to bear witness to the Word of God to hasten the
experience of truth and speed its advent into every mind which
recognizes its
effects on you.
5 Oneness is simply the idea God is.
And in His Being, He
encompasses all things. No mind holds anything but Him. We say "God
is," and then we cease to speak, for in that knowledge words are
meaningless. There are no lips to speak them and no part of mind
sufficiently
distinct to feel that it is now aware of something not itself. It has
united
with its Source, and like its Source Itself, it merely is.
6 We cannot speak nor write nor even
think of this at all.
It comes to every mind when total recognition that its will is God's has
been
completely given and received completely. It returns the mind into the
endless
present, where the past and future cannot be conceived. It lies beyond
salvation—past all thought of time, forgiveness, and the holy face of
Christ.
The Son of God has merely disappeared into His Father, as his Father has
in
him. The world has never been at all. Eternity remains a constant state.
7 This is beyond experience we try to
hasten. Yet
forgiveness, taught and learned, brings with it the experiences which
bear
witness that the time the mind itself determined to abandon all but this
is now
at hand. We do not hasten it, in that what you will offer was concealed
from
Him Who teaches what forgiveness means. All learning was already in His
Mind, accomplished
and complete. He recognized all that time holds and gave it to all minds
that
each one might determine from a point where time has ended when it is
released
to revelation and eternity.
8 We have repeated several times
before that you but make a journey
that is done. For oneness must be here. Whatever time the mind has set
for
revelation is entirely irrelevant to what must be a constant state,
forever as
it always was; forever to remain as it is now. We merely take the part
assigned
long since and fully recognized as perfectly fulfilled by Him Who wrote
salvation's script in His Creator's name and in the name of His
Creator's Son.
9 There is no need to further clarify
what no one in the
world can understand. When revelation of your oneness comes, it will be
known
and fully understood. Now we have work to do, for those in time can
speak of
things beyond and listen to words which explain what is to come is past
already. Yet what meaning can the words convey to those who count the
hours
still and rise and work and go to sleep by them?
10 Suffice it, then, that you have work
to do to play your
part. The ending must remain obscure to you until your part is done. It
does
not matter. For your part is still what all the rest depends on. As you
take
the role assigned to you, salvation comes a little nearer each uncertain
heart
that does not beat as yet in tune with God. Forgiveness is the central
theme
which runs throughout salvation, holding all its parts in meaningful
relationships, the course it runs directed, and its outcome sure.
11 And now we ask for grace, the final
gift salvation can
bestow. Experience that grace provides will end in time, for grace
foreshadows
Heaven yet does not replace the thought of time but for a little while.
The
interval suffices. It is here that miracles are laid, to be returned by
you
from holy instants you receive through grace in your experience to all
who see
the light that lingers on your face.
12 What is the face of Christ but his
who went a moment into
timelessness and brought a clear reflection of the unity he felt an
instant
back to bless the world? How could you finally attain to it forever
while a
part of you remains outside, unknowing, unawakened, and in need of you
as
witness to the truth?
13 Be grateful to return, as you were
glad to go an instant
and accept the gifts that grace provided you. You carry them back to
yourself.
And revelation stands not far behind. Its coming is ensured. We ask for
grace
and for experience that comes from grace. We welcome the release it
offers
everyone. We do not ask for the unaskable. We do not look beyond what
grace can
give. For this we can give in the grace that has been given us.
14 Our learning goal today does not
exceed this prayer, yet
in the world, what could be more than what we ask this day of Him Who
gives the
grace we ask as it was given Him?
1 No one attacks without intent to
hurt. This can have no
exception. When you think that you attack in self defense, you mean that
to be
cruel is protection; you are safe because of cruelty. You mean that you
believe
to hurt another brings you freedom. And you mean that to attack is to
exchange the
state in which you are for something better, safer, more secure from
dangerous
invasion and from fear.
2 How thoroughly insane is the idea
that to defend from fear
is to attack! For here is fear begot and fed with blood, to make it grow
and
swell and rage. And thus is fear protected, not escaped. Today we learn
a
lesson which can save you more delay and needless misery than you can
possibly
imagine. It is this:
4 It seems to be the enemy without
that you attack. Yet your
defense sets up an enemy within—an alien thought at war with you,
depriving you
of peace, splitting your mind into two camps which seem wholly
irreconcilable.
For love now has an "enemy," an opposite; and fear, the alien, now
needs your defense against the threat of what you really are.
5 If you consider carefully the means
by which your fancied
self-defense proceeds on its imagined way, you will perceive the
premises on
which the idea stands. First, it is obvious ideas must leave their
source. For
it is you who make attack and must have first conceived of it. Yet you
attack
outside yourself and separate your mind from him who is to be attacked
with
perfect faith the split you made is real.
6 Next are the attributes of love
bestowed upon its
"enemy." For fear becomes your safety and protector of your peace, to
which you turn for solace and escape from doubts about your strength and
hope
of rest in dreamless quiet. And as love is shorn of what belongs to it
and it
alone, love is endowed with attributes of fear. For love would ask you
lay down
all defense as merely foolish. And your arms indeed would crumble into
dust.
For such they are.
7 With love as enemy must cruelty
become a god, and gods
demand that those who worship them obey their dictates and refuse to
question
them. Harsh punishment is meted out relentlessly to those who ask if the
demands are sensible or even sane. It is their enemies who are
unreasonable and
insane, while they are always merciful and just.
8 Today we look upon this cruel god
dispassionately. And we
note that though his lips are smeared with blood and fire seems to flame
from
him, he is but made of stone. He can do nothing. We need not defy his
power. He
has none. And those who see in him their safety have no guardian, no
strength
to call upon in danger, and no mighty warrior to fight for them.
9 This moment can be terrible. But it
can also be the time
of your release from abject slavery. You make a choice, standing before
this
idol, seeing him exactly as he is. Will you restore to love what you
have
sought to wrest from it and lay before this mindless piece of stone? Or
will
you make another idol to replace it? For the god of cruelty takes many
forms.
Another can be found.
10 Yet do not think that fear is the
escape from fear. Let us
remember what the course has stressed about the obstacles to peace. The
final
one, the hardest to believe, is nothing, and a seeming obstacle with the
appearance of a solid block, impenetrable, fearful and beyond
surmounting, is
the fear of God Himself. Here is the basic premise which enthrones the
thought
of fear as god. For fear is loved by those who worship it, and love
appears to be
invested now with cruelty.
11 Where does the totally insane belief
in gods of vengeance
come from? Love has not confused its attributes with those of fear. Yet
must
the worshippers of fear perceive their own confusion in fear's
"enemy," its cruelty as now a part of love. And what becomes more
fearful than the heart of Love Itself? The blood appears to be upon His
Lips;
the fire comes from Him. And He is terrible above all else, cruel beyond
conception, striking down all who acknowledge Him to be their God.
12 The choice you make today is
certain. For you look for the
last time upon this bit of carven stone you made and call it god no
longer. You
have reached this place before, but you have chosen that this cruel god
remain
with you in still another form, and so the fear of God returned with
you. This
time you leave it here. And you return to a new world unburdened by its
weight;
beheld not in its sightless eyes but in the vision that your choice
restored to
you.
13 Now do your eyes belong to Christ,
and He looks through
them. Now your voice belongs to God and echoes His. And now your heart
remains
at peace forever. You have chosen Him in place of idols, and your
attributes,
given by your Creator, are restored to you at last. The Call of God is
heard
and answered. Now has fear made way for love, as God Himself replaces
cruelty.
R5:1 We now review again. This time we
are ready to give more
effort and more time to what we undertake. We recognize we are preparing
for
another phase of understanding. We would take this step completely, that
we may
go on again more certain, more sincere, with faith upheld more surely.
Our
footsteps have not been unwavering, and doubts have made us walk
uncertainly
and slowly on the road this course sets forth. But now we hasten on, for
we approach
a greater certainty, a firmer purpose and a surer goal.
4 This is the thought which should
precede the thoughts that
we review. Each one but clarifies some aspect of this thought or helps
it be
more meaningful, more personal and true, and more descriptive of the
holy Self
we share and now prepare to know again:
6 This Self alone knows love. This
Self alone is perfectly
consistent in Its thoughts, knows Its Creator, understands Itself, is
perfect
in Its knowledge and Its love, and never changes from Its constant state
of
union with Its Father and Itself.
7 And it is This that waits to meet us
at the journey's
ending. Every step we take brings us a little nearer. This review will
shorten
time immeasurably if we keep in mind that This remains our goal, and as
we
practice, it is This to which we are approaching. Let us raise our
hearts from
dust to life as we remember This is promised us, and that this course
was sent
to open up the path of light to us, and teach us, step by step, how to
return
to the eternal Self we thought we lost.
8 I take the journey with you. For I
share your doubts and
fears a little while, that you may come to me who recognize the road by
which
all fears and doubts are overcome. We walk together. I must understand
uncertainty and pain, although I know they have no meaning. Yet a savior
must
remain with those he teaches, seeing what they see, but still retaining
in his
mind the way that led him out and now will lead you out with him. God's
Son is
crucified until you walk along the road with me.
9 My resurrection comes again each
time I lead a brother
safely to the place at which the journey ends and is forgot. I am
renewed each
time a brother learns there is a way from misery and pain. I am reborn
each
time a brother's mind turns to the light in him and looks for me. I have
forgotten no one. Help me now to lead you back to where the journey was
begun,
to make another choice with me.
10 Release me as you practice once
again the thoughts I
brought to you from Him Who sees your bitter need and knows the answer
God has
given Him. Together we review these thoughts. Together we devote our
time and
effort to them. And together we will teach them to our brothers. God
would not
have Heaven incomplete. It waits for you as I do. I am incomplete
without your
part in me. And as I am made whole, we go together to our ancient home,
prepared for us before time was and kept unchanged by time, immaculate
and
safe, as it will be at last, when time is done.
11 Let this review be then your gift to
me. For this alone I
need—that you will hear the words I speak and give them to the world.
You are
my voice, my eyes, my feet, my hands, through which I save the world.
The Self
from Which I call to you is but your own. To Him we go together. Take
your
brother's hand, for this is not a way we walk alone. In him I walk with
you and
you with me. Our Father wills His Son be one with Him. What lives but
must not
then be one with you?
12 Let this review become a time in
which we share a new
experience for you, yet one as old as time, and older still. Hallowed
your
name. Your glory undefiled forever. And your wholeness now complete, as
God
established it. You are His Son, completing His extension in your own.
We
practice but an ancient truth we knew before illusion seemed to claim
the
world. And we remind the world that it is free of all illusions every
time we
say,
14 With this we start each day of our
review. With this we
start and end each period of practice time. And with this thought we
sleep, to
waken once again with these same words upon our lips to greet another
day. No
thought that we review but we surround with it and use the thoughts to
hold it
up before our minds and keep it clear in our remembrance throughout the
day.
And thus when we have finished this review, we will have recognized the
words
we speak are true.
15 Yet are the words but aids and to be
used, except at the
beginning and the end of practice periods, but to recall the mind as
needed to
its purpose. We place faith in the experience that comes from practice,
not the
means we use. We wait for the experience and recognize that it is only
here
conviction lies. We use the words, and try and try again to go beyond
them to
their meaning, which is far beyond their sound. The sound grows dim and
disappears as we approach the Source of meaning. It is here that we find
rest.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[151] All things are echoes of the
Voice of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[152] The power of decision is my
own.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[153] In my defenselessness my safety
lies.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[154] I am among the ministers of
God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[155] I will step back and let Him
lead the way.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[156] I walk with God in perfect
holiness.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[157] Into His Presence would I enter
now.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[158] Today I learn to give as I
receive.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[159] I give the miracles I have
received.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[160] I am at home. Fear is the
stranger here.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[161] Give me your blessing, holy Son
of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[162] I am as God created me.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[163] There is no death. The Son of
God is free.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[164] Now are we one with Him Who is
our Source.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[165] Let not my mind deny the
Thought of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[166] I am entrusted with the gifts
of God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[167] There is one life, and that I
share with God.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[168] Your grace is given me. I claim
it now.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[169] By grace I live. By grace I am
released.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
[170] There is no cruelty in God and
none in me.
God is but Love, and therefore so am
I.
I181:1 Our next few lessons make a special
point of firming up
your willingness to make your weak commitment strong, your scattered
goals blend
into one intent. You are not asked for total dedication all the time, as
yet.
But you are asked to practice now in order to attain the sense of peace
such
unified commitment will bestow, if only intermittently. It is
experiencing this
which makes it sure that you will give your total willingness to
following the
way the course sets forth.
2 Our lessons now are geared
specifically to widening
horizons and direct approaches to the special blocks which keep your
vision
narrow and too limited to let you see the value of our goal. We are
attempting
now to lift these blocks, however briefly. Words alone can not convey
the sense
of liberation which their lifting brings. But the experience of freedom
and of
peace that comes as you give up your tight control of what you see
speaks for
itself. Your motivation will be so intensified that words become of
little
consequence. You will be sure of what you want and what is valueless.
3 And so we start our journey beyond
words by concentrating
first on what impedes our progress still. Experience of what exists
beyond
defensiveness remains beyond achievement while it is denied. It may be
there,
but you cannot accept its presence. So we now attempt to go past all
defenses
for a little while each day. No more than this is asked because no more
than
this is needed. It will be enough to guarantee the rest will come.
1 Trusting your brothers is essential
to establishing and
holding up your faith in your ability to transcend doubt and lack of
sure
conviction in yourself. When you attack a brother, you proclaim that he
is
limited by what you have perceived in him. You do not look beyond his
errors.
Rather, they are magnified, becoming blocks to your awareness of the
Self that lies
beyond your own mistakes and past his seeming sins as well as yours.
2 Perception has a focus. It is this
which gives consistency
to what you see. Change but this focus, and what you behold will change
accordingly. Your vision now will shift to give support to the intent
which has
replaced the one you held before. Remove your focus on your brother's
sins, and
you experience the peace that comes from faith in sinlessness. This
faith
receives its only sure support from what you see in others past their
sins. For
their mistakes, if focused on, are witnesses to sins in you. And you
will not
transcend their sight and see the sinlessness that lies beyond.
3 Therefore, in practicing today, we
first let all such
little focuses give way to our great need to let our sinlessness become
apparent. We instruct our minds that it is this we seek and only this,
for just
a little while. We do not care about our future goals, and what we saw
an
instant previous has no concern for us within this interval of time
wherein we practice
changing our intent. We seek for innocence and nothing else. We seek for
it
with no concern but now.
4 A major hazard to success has been
involvement with your
past and future goals. You have been quite preoccupied with how
extremely
different the goals this course is advocating are from those you held
before.
And you have also been dismayed by the depressing and restricting
thought that,
even if you should succeed, you will inevitably lose your way again. How
could
this matter? For the past is gone, the future but imagined. These
concerns are
but defenses against present change of focus in perception. Nothing
more.
5 We lay these pointless limitations
by a little while. We
do not look to past beliefs, and what we will believe will not intrude
upon us
now. We enter in the time of practicing with one intent—to look upon the
sinlessness within. We recognize that we have lost this goal if anger
blocks
our way in any form. And if a brother's sins occur to us, our narrowed
focus
will restrict our sight and turn our eyes upon our own mistakes, which
we will
magnify and call our "sins."
6 So, for a little while, without
regard to past or future,
should such blocks arise, we will transcend them with instructions to
our minds
to change their focus, as we say:
8 And we will also use these thoughts
to keep us safe
throughout the day. We do not seek for long range goals. As each
obstruction
seems to block the vision of our sinlessness, we seek but for surcease
an
instant from the misery the focus upon sin will bring, and uncorrected
will
remain.
9 Nor do we ask for fantasies. For
what we seek to look upon
is really there. And as our focus goes beyond mistakes, we will behold a
wholly
sinless world. When seeing this is all we want to see, when this is all
we seek
for in the name of true perception, are the eyes of Christ inevitably
ours. And
the love He feels for us becomes our own as well. This will become the
only
thing we see reflected in the world and in ourselves.
10 The world which once proclaimed our
sins becomes the proof
that we are sinless. And our love for everyone we look upon attests to
our
remembrance of the holy Self Which knows no sin and never could conceive
of
anything without Its sinlessness. We seek for this remembrance as we
turn our
minds to practicing today. We look neither ahead nor backwards. We look
straight into the present. And we give our trust to the experience we
ask for
now. Our sinlessness is but the Will of God. This instant is our willing
one
with His.
1 This world you seem to live in is
not home to you. And
somewhere in your mind you know that this is true. A memory of home
keeps
haunting you, as if there were a place that called you to return,
although you
do not recognize the Voice nor what it is the Voice reminds you of. Yet
still
you feel an alien here, from somewhere all unknown. Nothing so definite
that
you could say with certainty you are an exile here. Just a persistent
feeling,
sometimes not more than a tiny throb, at other times hardly remembered,
actively dismissed, but surely to return to mind again.
2 No one but knows whereof we speak.
Yet some try to put by
their suffering in games they play to occupy their time and keep their
sadness
from them. Others will deny that they are sad and do not recognize their
tears
at all. Still others will maintain that what we speak of is illusion,
not to be
considered more than but a dream. Yet who in simple honesty, without
defensiveness and self-deception, would deny he understands the words we
speak?
3 We speak today for everyone who
walks this world, for he
is not at home. He goes uncertainly about in endless search, seeking in
darkness what he cannot find, not recognizing what it is he seeks. A
thousand
homes he makes, yet none contents his restless mind. He does not
understand he
builds in vain. The home he seeks can not be made by him. There is no
substitute for Heaven. All he ever made was hell.
4 Perhaps you think it is your
childhood home that you would
find again. The childhood of your body and its place of shelter are a
memory
now so distorted that you merely hold a picture of a past that never
happened.
Yet there is a Child in you Who seeks His Father's house and knows that
He is
alien here. This Childhood is eternal, with an innocence that will
endure
forever. Where this Child shall go is holy ground. It is His holiness
that
lights up Heaven and that brings to earth the pure reflection of the
light
above, wherein are earth and Heaven joined as one.
5 It is this Child in you your Father
knows as His own Son.
It is this Child Who knows His Father. He desires to go home so deeply,
so
unceasingly, His voice cries unto you to let Him rest a while. He does
not ask
for more than just a few instants of respite—just an interval in which
He can
return to breathe again the holy air that fills His Father's house. You
are His
home as well. He will return. But give Him just a little time to be
Himself
within the peace that is His home, resting in silence and in peace and
love.
6 This Child needs your protection. He
is far from home. He
is so little that He seems so easily shut out, His tiny Voice so readily
obscured, His calls for help almost unheard amid the grating sounds and
harsh
and rasping noises of the world. Yet does He know that in you still
abides His
sure protection. You will fail Him not. He will go home, and you along
with
Him.
7 This Child is your defenselessness,
your strength. He
trusts in you. He came because He knew you would not fail. He whispers
of His
home unceasingly to you. For He would bring you back with Him, that He
Himself
might stay and not return again where He does not belong and where He
lives an
outcast in a world of alien thoughts. His patience has no limits. He
will wait
until you hear His gentle Voice within you, calling you to let Him go in
peace
along with you to where He is at home and you with Him.
8 When you are still an instant, when
the world recedes from
you, when valueless ideas cease to have value in your restless mind,
then will
you hear His Voice. So poignantly He calls to you that you will not
resist Him
longer. In that instant, He will take you to His home, and you will stay
with
Him in perfect stillness, silent and at peace, beyond all words,
untouched by
fear and doubt, sublimely certain that you are at home.
9 Rest with Him frequently today. For
He was willing to
become a little child that you might learn of Him how strong is he who
comes
without defenses, offering only love's messages to those who think he is
their
enemy. He holds the might of Heaven in His hand and calls them friend,
and
gives His strength to them that they may see He would be Friend to them.
He
asks but they protect Him, for His home is far away, and He will not
return to
it alone.
10 Christ is reborn as but a little
Child each time a
wanderer would leave his home. For he must learn that what he would
protect is
but this Child, Who comes defenseless and Who is protected by
defenselessness.
Go home with Him from time to time today. You are as much an alien here
as He.
11 Take time today to lay aside your
shield which profits
nothing and lay down the spear and sword you raised against an enemy
without
existence. Christ has called you friend and brother. He has even come to
you to
ask your help in letting Him go home completed and completely. He has
come as
does a little child who must beseech his father for protection and for
love. He
rules the universe, and yet He asks unceasingly that you return with Him
and
take illusions as your gods no more.
12 You have not lost your innocence. It
is for this you
yearn. This is your heart's desire. This is the Voice you hear, and this
the
Call which cannot be denied. The holy Child remains with you. His home
is yours.
Today He gives you His defenselessness, and you accept it in exchange
for all
the toys of battle you have made. And now the way is open, and the
journey has
an end in sight at last. Be still a moment and go home with Him, and be
at
peace a while.
1 God's Name is holy, but no holier
than yours. To call upon
His Name is but to call upon your own. A father gives his son his name,
and
thus identifies the son with him. His brothers share his name, and thus
are
they united in a bond to which they turn for their identity. Your
Father's Name
reminds you who you are, even within a world that does not know; even
though
you have not remembered it.
2 God's Name cannot be heard without
response, nor said
without an echo in the mind which calls you to remember. Say His Name,
and you
invite the angels to surround the ground on which you stand and sing to
you as
they spread out their wings to keep you safe and shelter you from every
worldly
thought that would intrude upon your holiness.
3 Repeat God's Name and all the world
responds by laying
down illusions. Every dream the world holds dear has suddenly gone by,
and
where it seemed to stand you find a star; a miracle of grace. The sick
arise,
healed of their sickly thoughts. The blind can see; the deaf can hear;
the
sorrowful cast off their mourning, and the tears of pain are dried as
happy
laughter comes to bless the world.
4 Repeat the Name of God and little
names have lost their
meaning. No temptation but becomes a nameless and unwanted thing before
God's
Name. Repeat His Name and see how easily you will forget the names of
all the
gods you value. They have lost the name of god you gave them. They
become
anonymous and valueless to you, although before you let the Name of God
replace
their little names, you stood before them worshipfully, naming them as
gods.
5 Repeat the Name of God and call upon
your Self, Whose Name
is His. Repeat His Name and all the tiny, nameless things on earth slip
into
right perspective. Those who call upon the Name of God cannot mistake
the
nameless for the Name, nor sin for grace, nor bodies for the holy Son of
God.
6 And should you join a brother as you
sit with him in
silence and repeat God's Name along with him within your quiet minds,
you have
established there an altar which reaches to God Himself and to His Son.
Practice but this today; repeat God's Name slowly again and still again.
Become
oblivious to every name but His.
7 Hear nothing else. Let all your
thoughts become anchored
on this. No other words we use except at the beginning, when we say
today's
idea but once. And then God's Name becomes our only thought, our only
word, the
only thing that occupies our minds, the only wish we have, the only
sound with
any meaning, and the only name of everything that we desire to see; of
everything that we would call our own.
8 Thus do we give an invitation which
can never be refused.
And God will come and answer it Himself. Think not He hears the little
prayers
of those who call on Him with names of idols cherished by the world.
They
cannot reach Him thus. He cannot hear requests that He be not Himself or
that
His Son receive another name than His.
9 Repeat His Name, and you acknowledge
Him as sole Creator
of reality. And you acknowledge also that His Son is part of Him,
creating in
His Name. Sit silently, and let His Name become the all-encompassing
idea which
holds your mind completely. Let all thoughts be still except this one.
And to
all other thoughts respond with this, and see God's Name replace the
thousand
little names you gave your thoughts, not realizing that there is One
Name for
all there is and all that there will be.
10 Today you can achieve a state in
which you will experience
the gifts of grace. You can escape all bondage of the world and give the
world
the same release you found. You can remember what the world forgot and
offer it
your own remembering. You can accept today the part you play in its
salvation
and your own as well, and both can be accomplished perfectly.
11 Turn to the Name of God for your
release, and it is given
you. No prayer but this is necessary, for it holds them all within it.
Words
are insignificant and all requests unneeded when God's Son calls on his
Father's Name. His Father's Thoughts become his own. He makes his claim
to all
his Father gave, is giving still, and will forever give. He calls on Him
to let
all things he thought he made be nameless now, and in their place the
holy Name
of God becomes his judgment of their worthlessness.
12 All little things are silent. Little
sounds are soundless
now. The little things of earth have disappeared. The universe consists
of
nothing but the Son of God who calls upon his Father. And his Father's
Voice
gives answer in his Father's holy Name. In this eternal, still
relationship, in
which communication far transcends all words and yet exceeds in depth
and
height whatever words could possibly convey, is peace eternal. In our
Father's
Name, we would experience this peace today. And in His Name it shall be
given
us.
1 You live by symbols. You have made
up names for everything
you see. Each one becomes a separate entity, identified by its own name.
By
this you carve it out of unity. By this you designate its special
attributes and
set it off from other things by emphasizing space surrounding it. This
space
you lay between all things to which you give a different name—all
happenings in
terms of place and time, all bodies which are greeted by a name.
2 This space you see as setting off
all things from one
another is the means by which the world's perception is achieved. You
see
something where nothing is and see as well nothing where there is
unity—a space
between all things, between all things and you. Thus do you think that
you have
given life in separation. By this split you think you are established as
a
unity which functions with an independent will.
3 What are these names by which the
world becomes a series
of discrete events, of things un-unified, of bodies kept apart and
holding bits
of mind as separate awarenesses? You gave these names to them,
establishing
perception as you wished to have perception be. The nameless things were
given
names and thus reality was given them as well. For what is named is
given
meaning and will then be seen as meaningful, a cause of true effects
with
consequence inherent in itself.
4 This is the way reality is made by
partial vision,
purposefully set against the given truth. Its enemy is wholeness. It
conceives
of little things and looks upon them. And a lack of space, a sense of
unity or
vision which sees differently become the threats which it must overcome,
conflict with, and deny.
5 Yet does this other vision still
remain a natural
direction for the mind to channel its perception. It is hard to teach
the mind
a thousand alien names and thousands more. Yet you believe this is what
learning means—its one essential goal by which communication is achieved
and
concepts can be meaningfully shared.
6 This is the sum of the inheritance
the world bestows. And
everyone who learns to think that it is so accepts the signs and symbols
which
assert the world is real. It is for this they stand. They leave no doubt
that
what is named is there. It can be seen, as is anticipated. What denies
that it
is true is but illusion, for it is the ultimate reality. To question it
is
madness; to accept its presence is the proof of sanity.
7 Such is the teaching of the world.
It is a phase of
learning everyone who comes must go through. But the sooner he perceives
on
what it rests, how questionable are its premises, how doubtful its
results, the
sooner does he question its effects. Learning which stops with what the
world
would teach stops short of meaning. In its proper place, it serves but
as a
starting point from which another kind of learning can begin, a new
perception
can be gained, and all the arbitrary names the world bestows can be
withdrawn
as they are raised to doubt.
8 Think not you made the world.
Illusions, yes! But what is
true in earth and Heaven is beyond your naming. When you call upon a
brother,
it is to his body that you make appeal. His true identity is hidden from
you by
what you believe he really is. His body makes response to what you call
him,
for his mind consents to take the name you give him as his own. And thus
his
unity is twice denied, for you perceive him separate from you, and he
accepts
this separate name as his.
9 It would indeed be strange if you
were asked to go beyond
all symbols of the world, forgetting them forever; yet were asked to
take a teaching
function. You have need to use the symbols of the world a while. But be
you not
deceived by them as well. They do not stand for anything at all, and in
your
practicing, it is this thought that will release you from them. They
become but
means by which you can communicate in ways the world can understand, but
which
you recognize is not the unity where true communication can be found.
10 Thus what you need are intervals
each day in which the
learning of the world becomes a transitory phase—a prison house from
which you
go into the sunlight and forget the darkness. Here you understand the
Word, the
Name Which God has given you; the One Identity Which all things share;
the one
acknowledgment of what is true. And then step back to darkness, not
because you
think it real, but only to proclaim its unreality in terms which still
have
meaning in the world which darkness rules.
11 Use all the little names and symbols
which delineate the
world of darkness. Yet accept them not as your reality. The Holy Spirit
uses
all of them, but He does not forget creation has One Name, One Meaning,
and a
single Source Which unifies all things within Itself. Use all the names
the
world bestows on them but for convenience, yet do not forget they share
the
Name of God along with you.
12 God has no name. And yet His Name
becomes the final lesson
that all things are one, and at this lesson does all learning end. All
names
are unified; all space is filled with truth's reflection. Every gap is
closed
and separation healed. The Name of God is the inheritance He gave to
those who
chose the teaching of the world to take the place of Heaven. In our
practicing,
our purpose is to let our minds accept what He has given as the answer
to the
pitiful inheritance you made as fitting tribute to the Son He loves.
13 No one can fail who seeks the
meaning of the Name of God.
Experience must come to supplement the Word. But first you must accept
One Name
for all reality, and realize the many names you gave its aspects have
distorted
what you see but have not interfered with truth at all. One Name we
bring into
our practicing. One Name we use to unify our sight.
14 And though we use a different name
for each awareness of
an aspect of God's Son, we understand that they have but One Name, Which
He has
given them. It is this Name we use in practicing. And through Its use,
all
foolish separations disappear which kept us blind. And we are given
strength to
see beyond them. Now our sight is blessed with blessings we can give as
we
receive.
1 To say these words is nothing. But
to mean these words is
everything. If you could but mean them for just an instant, there would
be no
further sorrow possible for you in any form, in any place or time.
Heaven would
be completely given back to full awareness, memory of God entirely
restored,
the resurrection of all creation fully recognized.
2 No one can mean these words and not
be healed. He cannot
play with dreams nor think he is himself a dream. He cannot make a hell
and
think it real. He wants the peace of God, and it is given him. For that
is all
he wants, and that is all he will receive. Many have said these words.
But few
indeed have meant them. You have but to look upon the world you see
around you
to be sure how very few they are. The world would be completely changed
should
any two agree these words express the only thing they want.
3 Two minds with one intent become so
strong that what they
will becomes the Will of God. For minds can only join in truth. In
dreams no
two can share the same intent. To each the hero of the dream is
different—the
outcome wanted not the same for both. Loser and gainer merely shift
about in
changing patterns, as the ratio of gain to loss and loss to gain takes
on a
different aspect of another form.
4 Yet compromise alone a dream can
bring. Sometimes it takes
the form of union, but only the form. The meaning must escape the dream,
for
compromising is the goal of dreaming. Minds cannot unite in dreams. They
merely
bargain. And what bargain can give them the peace of God? Illusions come
to
take His place. And what He means is lost to sleeping minds intent on
compromise, each to his gain and to another's loss.
5 To mean you want the peace of God is
to renounce all
dreams. For no one means these words who wants illusions and who
therefore
seeks the means which bring illusions. He has looked on them and found
them
wanting. Now he seeks to go beyond them, recognizing that another dream
would
offer nothing more than all the others. Dreams are one to him. And he
has
learned their only difference is one of form, for one will bring the
same
despair and misery as do the rest.
6 The mind which means that all it
wants is peace must join
with other minds, for that is how peace is obtained. And when the wish
for
peace is genuine, the means for finding it are given in a form each mind
which
seeks for it in honesty can understand. Whatever form the lesson takes
is
planned for him in such a way that he can not mistake it if his asking
is
sincere. And if he asks without sincerity, there is no form in which the
lesson
will meet with acceptance and be truly learned.
7 Let us today devote our practicing
to recognizing that we
really mean the words we say. We want the peace of God. This is no idle
wish.
These words do not request another dream be given us. They do not ask
for
compromise nor try to make another bargain in the hope that there may
yet be
one which can succeed where all the rest have failed. To mean these
words
acknowledges illusions are in vain, requesting the eternal in the place
of
shifting dreams which seem to change in what they offer, but are one in
nothingness.
8 Today devote your practice periods
to careful searching of
your mind to find the dreams you cherish still. What do you ask for in
your
heart? Forget the words you use in making your requests. Consider but
what you
believe will comfort you and bring you happiness. But be you not
dismayed by
lingering illusions, for their form is not what matters now. Let not
some
dreams be more acceptable, reserving shame and secrecy for others. They
are
one.
9 And being one, one question should
be asked of all of
them: "Is this what I would have, in place of Heaven and the peace of
God?" This is the choice you make. Be not deceived that it is otherwise.
No compromise is possible in this. You choose God's peace, or you have
asked
for dreams. And dreams will come as you requested them. Yet will God's
peace
come just as certainly and to remain with you forever. It will not be
gone with
every twist and turning of the road to reappear unrecognized in forms
which
shift and change with every step you take.
10 You want the peace of God. And so do
all who seem to seek
for dreams. For them as well as for yourself you ask but this when you
make
this request with deep sincerity. For thus you reach to what they really
want
and join your own intent with what they seek above all things, perhaps
unknown
to them, but sure to you. You have been weak at times, uncertain in your
purpose and unsure of what you wanted, where to look for it, and where
to turn
for help in the attempt. Help has been given you. And would you not
avail
yourself of it by sharing it?
11 No one who truly seeks the peace of
God can fail to find
it. For he merely asks that he deceive himself no longer by denying to
himself
what is God's Will. Who can remain unsatisfied who asks for what he has
already? Who could be unanswered who requests an answer which is his to
give?
The peace of God is yours.
12 For you it was created, given you by
its Creator and
established as His own eternal gift. How can you fail when you but ask
for what
He wills for you? And how could your request be limited to you alone? No
gift
of God can be unshared. It is this attribute that sets the gifts of God
apart
from every dream that ever seemed to take the place of truth.
13 No one can lose and everyone must
gain whenever any gift
of God has been requested and received by anyone. God gives but to
unite. To
take away is meaningless to Him. And when it is as meaningless to you,
you can
be sure you share one Will with Him, and He with you. And you will also
know
you share one Will with all your brothers, whose intent is yours.
14 It is this one intent we seek today,
uniting our desires
with the need of every heart, the call of every mind, the hope that lies
beyond
despair, the love attack would hide, the brotherhood that hate has
sought to
sever, but which still remains as God created it. With help like this
beside
us, can we fail today as we request the peace of God be given us?
1 Here is the statement that will one
day take all arrogance
away from every mind. Here is the thought of true humility which holds
no
function as your own but that which has been given you. It offers your
acceptance of a part assigned to you, without insisting on another role.
It
does not judge your proper role. It but acknowledges the Will of God is
done on
earth as well as Heaven. It unites all wills on earth in Heaven's plan
to save the
world, restoring it to Heaven's peace.
2 Let us not fight our function. We
did not establish it. It
is not our idea. The means are given us by which it will be perfectly
accomplished. All that we are asked to do is to accept our part in
genuine
humility and not deny with self-deceiving arrogance that we are worthy.
What is
given us to do we have the strength to do. Our minds are suited
perfectly to
take the part assigned to us by One Who knows us well.
3 Today's idea may seem quite sobering
until you see its
meaning. All it says is that your Father still remembers you and offers
you the
perfect trust He holds in you who are His Son. It does not ask that you
be
different in any way from what you are. What could humility request but
this?
And what could arrogance deny but this? Today we will not shrink from
our
assignment on the specious grounds that modesty is outraged. It is pride
that
would deny the call of God Himself.
4 All false humility we lay aside
today that we may listen
to God's Voice reveal to us what He would have us do. We do not doubt
our
adequacy for the function He will offer us. We will be certain only that
He
knows our strengths, our wisdom, and our holiness. And if He deems us
worthy,
so we are. It is but arrogance that judges otherwise.
5 There is one way and only one to be
released from the
imprisonment your plan to prove the false is true has brought to you.
Accept
the plan you did not make instead. Judge not your value to it. If God's
Voice
assures you that salvation needs your part and that the whole depends on
you,
be sure that it is so. The arrogant must cling to words, afraid to go
beyond
them to experience which might affront their stance. Yet are the humble
free to
hear the Voice which tells them what they are and what to do.
6 Arrogance makes an image of yourself
that is not real. It
is this image which quails and retreats in terror as the Voice for God
assures
you that you have the strength, the wisdom, and the holiness to go
beyond all
images. You are not weak, as is the image of yourself. You are not
ignorant and
helpless. Sin can not tarnish the truth in you, and misery can come not
near
the holy home of God.
7 All this the Voice for God relates
to you. And as He
speaks, the image trembles and seeks to attack the threat it does not
know,
sensing its basis crumble. Let it go. Salvation of the world depends on
you and
not upon this little pile of dust. What can it tell the holy Son of God?
Why
need he be concerned with it at all?
8 And so we find our peace. We will
accept the function God
has given us, for all illusions rest upon the weird belief that we can
make
another for ourselves. Our self-made roles are shifting, and they seem
to
change from mourner to ecstatic bliss of loved and loving. We can laugh
or weep
and greet the day with welcome or with tears. Our very being seems to
change as
we experience a thousand shifts in mood, and our emotions raise us high
indeed
or dash us to the ground in hopelessness.
9 Is this the Son of God? Could He
create such instability
and call it Son? He Who is changeless shares His attributes with His
creation.
All the images His Son appears to make have no effect on what he is.
They blow
across his mind like windswept leaves that form a patterning an instant,
break
apart to group again, and scamper off. Or like mirages seen above a
desert,
rising from the dust.
10 These unsubstantial images will go
and leave your mind
unclouded and serene when you accept the function given you. The images
you
make give rise to but conflicting goals, impermanent and vague,
uncertain and
ambiguous. Who could be constant in his efforts or direct his energies
and
concentrated drive toward goals like these? The functions which the
world
esteems are so uncertain that they change ten times an hour at their
most
secure. What hope of gain can rest on goals like this?
11 In lovely contrast, certain as the
sun's return each
morning to dispel the night, your truly given function stands out clear
and
wholly unambiguous. There is no doubt of its validity. It comes from One
Who
knows no error. And His Voice is certain of its messages. They will not
change
nor be in conflict. All of them point to one goal, and one you can
attain. Your
plan may be impossible, but God's can never fail because He is its
Source.
12 Do as His Voice directs. And if it
asks a thing of you
that seems impossible, remember Who it is that asks and who would make
denial.
Then consider this—which is more likely to be right? The Voice that
speaks for
the Creator of all things Who knows all things exactly as they are, or a
distorted image of yourself, confused, bewildered, inconsistent and
unsure of
everything? Let not its voice direct you. Hear instead a certain Voice
Which
tells you of a function given you by your Creator, Who remembers you and
urges
that you now remember Him.
13 His gentle Voice is calling from the
known to the
unknowing. He would comfort you, although He knows no sorrow. He would
make a
restitution, though He is complete; a gift to you, although He knows
that you
have everything already. He has Thoughts which answer every need His Son
perceives, although He sees them not. For Love must give, and what is
given in
His Name takes on the form most useful in a world of form.
14 These are the forms which never can
deceive, although they
come from Formlessness Itself. Forgiveness is an earthly form of love
which as
it is in Heaven has no form. Yet what is needed here is given here as it
is
needed. In this form, you can fulfil your function even here, although
what
love will mean to you when formlessness has been restored to you is
greater
still. Salvation of the world depends on you who can forgive. Such is
your
function here.
1 No one can give unless he has. In
fact, giving is proof of
having. We have made this point before. What seems to make it hard to
credit is
not this. No one can doubt that you must first possess what you would
give. It
is the second phase on which the world and true perception differ.
Having had
and given, then the world asserts that you have lost what you possessed.
The
truth maintains that giving will increase what you possess.
2 How is this possible? For it is sure
that if you give a
finite thing away, your body's eyes will not perceive it yours. Yet we
have
learned that things but represent the thoughts that make them. And you
do not
lack for proof that when you give ideas away, you strengthen them in
your own
mind. Perhaps the form in which the thought seems to appear is changed
in
giving. Yet it must return to him who gives. Nor can the form it takes
be less
acceptable. It must be more.
3 Ideas must first belong to you
before you give them. If
you are to save the world, you first accept salvation for yourself. But
you
will not believe that this is done until you see the miracles it brings
to
everyone you look upon. Herein is the idea of giving clarified and given
meaning. Now you can perceive that by your giving is your store
increased.
4 Protect all things you value by the
act of giving them
away, and you are sure that you will never lose them. What you thought
you did
not have is thereby proven yours. Yet value not its form. For this will
change
and grow unrecognizable in time, however much you try to keep it safe.
No form
endures. It is the thought behind the form of things that lives
unchangeable.
5 Give gladly. You can only gain
thereby. The thought
remains and grows in strength as it is reinforced by giving. Thoughts
extend as
they are shared, for they cannot be lost. There is no giver and receiver
in the
sense the world conceives of them. There is a giver who retains, another
who
will give as well. And both must gain in this exchange, for each will
have the
thought in form most helpful to him. What he seems to lose is always
something
he will value less than what will surely be returned to him.
6 Never forget you give but to
yourself. Who understands
what giving means must laugh at the idea of sacrifice. Nor can he fail
to
recognize the many forms which sacrifice may take. He laughs as well at
pain
and loss, at sickness and at grief, at poverty, starvation and at death.
He
recognizes sacrifice remains the one idea that stands behind them all,
and in
his gentle laughter are they healed.
7 Illusions recognized must disappear.
Accept not suffering,
and you remove the thought of suffering. Your blessing lies on everyone
who
suffers when you choose to see all suffering as what it is. The thought
of
sacrifice gives rise to all the forms that suffering appears to take.
And
sacrifice is an idea so mad that sanity dismisses it at once.
8 Never believe that you can
sacrifice. There is no place
for sacrifice in what has any value. If the thought occurs, its very
presence
proves that error has arisen and correction must be made. Your blessing
will
correct it. Given first to you, it now is yours to give as well. No form
of
sacrifice and suffering can long endure before the face of one who has
forgiven
and has blessed himself.
9 The lilies that your brother offers
you are laid upon your
altar, with the ones you offer him beside them. Who could fear to look
upon
such lovely holiness? The great illusion of the fear of God diminishes
to
nothingness before the purity that you will look on here. Be not afraid
to
look. The blessedness you will behold will take away all thought of
form, and
leave instead the perfect gift forever there, forever to increase,
forever
yours, forever given away.
10 Now are we one in thought, for fear
has gone. And here,
before the altar to one God, one Father, one Creator and one Thought, we
stand
together as one Son of God. Not separate from Him Who is our Source; not
distant from one brother who is part of our One Self Whose innocence has
joined
us all as one, we stand in blessedness and give as we receive. The Name
of God
is on our lips. And as we look within, we see the purity of Heaven shine
in our
reflection of our Father's Love.
11 Now are we blessed, and now we bless
the world. What we
have looked upon we would extend, for we would see it everywhere. We
would
behold it shining with the grace of God in everyone. We would not have
it be
withheld from anything we look upon. And to ensure this holy sight is
ours, we
offer it to everything we see. For where we see it, it will be returned
to us
in form of lilies we can lay upon our altar, making it a home for
Innocence Itself,
Who dwells in us and offers us His Holiness as ours.
1 Why wait for Heaven? Those who seek
the light are merely
covering their eyes. The light is in them now. Enlightenment is but a
recognition, not a change at all. Light is not of the world, yet you who
bear
the light in you are alien here as well. The light came with you from
your
native home and stayed with you because it is your own. It is the only
thing
you bring with you from Him Who is your Source. It shines in you because
it
lights your home and leads you back to where it came from and you are at
home.
2 This light cannot be lost. Why wait
to find it in the
future or believe it has been lost already or was never there? It can so
easily
be looked upon that arguments which prove it is not there become
ridiculous.
Who can deny the presence of what he beholds in him? It is not difficult
to
look within, for there all vision starts. There is no sight, be it of
dreams or
from a truer source, that is not but the shadow of the seen through
inward
vision. There perception starts, and there it ends. It has no source but
this.
3 The peace of God is shining in you
now and from your heart
extends around the world. It pauses to caress each living thing and
leave a
blessing with it which remains forever and forever. What it gives must
be
eternal. It removes all thoughts of the ephemeral and valueless. It
brings
renewal to all tired hearts and lights all vision as it passes by. All
of its
gifts are given everyone, and everyone unites in giving thanks to you
who give
and you who have received.
4 The shining in your mind reminds the
world of what it has
forgotten, and the world restores the memory to you as well. From you
salvation
radiates with gifts beyond all measure, given and returned. To you, the
giver
of the gift, does God Himself give thanks. And in His blessing does the
light
in you shine brighter, adding to the gifts you have to offer to the
world.
5 The peace of God can never be
contained. Who recognizes it
within himself must give it. And the means for giving it are in his
understanding. He forgives because he recognized the truth in him. The
peace of
God is shining in you now and in all living things. In quietness is it
acknowledged universally. For what your inward vision looks upon is your
perception of the universe.
6 Sit quietly and close your eyes. The
light within you is
sufficient. It alone has power to give the gift of sight to you. Exclude
the
outer world and let your thoughts fly to the peace within. They know the
way.
For honest thoughts, untainted by the dream of worldly things outside
yourself,
become the holy messengers of God Himself. These thoughts you think with
Him.
They recognize their home. And they point surely to their Source where
God the
Father and the Son are one.
7 God's peace is shining on them, but
they must remain with
you as well, for they were born within your mind as yours was born in
God's.
They lead you back to peace from where they came but to remind you how
you must
return. They heed your Father's Voice when you refuse to listen. And
they urge
you gently to accept His Word for what you are instead of fantasies and
shadows. They remind you that you are the co-creator of all things that
live.
For as the peace of God is shining in you, it must shine on them.
8 We practice coming nearer to the
light in us today. We
take our wandering thoughts and gently bring them back to where they
fall in
line with all the thoughts we share with God. We will not let them
stray. We
let the light within our minds direct them to come home. We have
betrayed them,
ordering that they depart from us. But now we call them back and wash
them
clean of strange desires and disordered wishes. We restore to them the
holiness
of their inheritance.
9 Thus are our minds restored with
them, and we acknowledge
that the peace of God still shines in us and from us to all living
things that
share our life. We will forgive them all, absolving all the world of
what we
thought it did to us. For it is we who make the world as we would have
it. Now
we choose that it be innocent, devoid of sin, and open to salvation. And
we lay
our saving blessing on it as we say:
1 There is a light in you the world
can not perceive. And
with its eyes you will not see this light, for you are blinded by the
world.
Yet you have eyes to see it. It is there for you to look upon. It was
not
placed in you to be kept hidden from your sight. This light is a
reflection of
the thought we practice now. To feel the Love of God within you is to
see the
world anew, shining in innocence, alive with hope, and blessed with
perfect
charity and love.
2 Who could feel fear in such a world
as this? It welcomes
you, rejoices that you came, and sings your praises as it keeps you safe
from
every form of danger and of pain. It offers you a warm and gentle home
in which
to stay a while. It blesses you throughout the day and watches through
the
night as silent guardian of your holy sleep. It sees salvation in you
and
protects the light in you in which it sees its own. It offers you its
flowers
and its snow in thankfulness for your benevolence.
3 This is the world the Love of God
reveals. It is so
different from the world you see through darkened eyes of malice and of
fear
that one belies the other. Only one can be perceived at all. The other
one is
wholly meaningless. A world in which forgiveness shines on everything
and peace
offers its gentle light to everyone is inconceivable to those who see a
world
of hatred, rising from attack, poised to avenge, to murder and destroy.
4 Yet is the world of hatred equally
unseen and
inconceivable to those who feel God's Love in them. Their world reflects
the
quietness and peace that shines in them, the gentleness and innocence
they see
surrounding them, the joy with which they look out from the endless
wells of
joy within. What they have felt in them they look upon and see its sure
reflection everywhere.
5 What would you see? The choice is
given you. But learn and
do not let your mind forget this law of seeing: you will look upon that
which
you feel within. If hatred finds a place within your heart, you will
perceive a
fearful world, held cruelly in death's sharp-pointed, bony fingers. If
you feel
the Love of God within you, you look out upon a world of mercy and of
love.
6 Today we pass illusions as we seek
to reach to what is
true in us and feel Its all-embracing tenderness, Its Love Which knows
us
perfect as Itself, Its sight which is the gift Its Love bestows on us.
We learn
the way today. It is as sure as Love Itself, to Which it carries us. For
its
simplicity avoids the snares the foolish convolutions of the world's
apparent
reasoning but serve to hide.
7 Simply do this: be still and lay
aside all thoughts of
what you are and what God is, all concepts you have learned about the
world,
all images you hold about yourself. Empty your mind of everything it
thinks is
either true or false or good or bad, of every thought it judges worthy
and all
the ideas of which it is ashamed. Hold onto nothing. Do not bring with
you one
thought the past has taught nor one belief you ever learned before from
anything. Forget this world, forget this course, and come with wholly
empty
hands unto your God.
8 Is it not He Who knows the way to
you? You need not know
the way to Him. Your part is simply to allow all obstacles that you have
interposed between the Son and God the Father to be quietly removed
forever.
God will do His part in joyful and immediate response. Ask and receive.
But do
not make demands nor point the road to God by which He should appear to
you.
The way to reach Him is merely to let Him be. For in that way is your
reality
acclaimed as well.
9 And so today we do not choose the
way in which we go to
Him. But we do choose to let Him come. And with this choice we rest. And
in our
quiet hearts and open minds His Love will blaze its pathway of itself.
What has
not been denied is surely there if it be true, and can be surely
reached. God
knows His Son and knows the way to him. He does not need His Son to show
Him
how to find His way. Through every opened door His Love shines outward
from its
home within and lightens up the world in innocence.
1 Pain is a wrong perspective. When it
is experienced in any
form, it is a proof of self-deception. It is not a fact at all. There is
no
form it takes which will not disappear if seen aright. For pain
proclaims God
cruel. How could it be real in any form? It witnesses to God the
Father's
hatred of His Son, the sinfulness He sees in him, and His insane desire
for
revenge and death. Can such projections be attested to? Can they be
anything
but wholly false?
2 Pain is but witness to the Son's
mistakes in what he
thinks he is. It is a dream of fierce retaliation for a crime that could
not be
committed, for attack on what is wholly unassailable. It is a nightmare
of
abandonment by an eternal Love which could not leave the Son whom it
created
out of love.
3 Pain is a sign illusions reign in
place of truth. It
demonstrates God is denied, confused with fear, perceived as mad, and
seen as
traitor to Himself. If God is real, there is no pain. If pain is real,
there is
no God. For vengeance is not part of love. And fear, denying love and
using
pain to prove that God is dead, has shown that death is victor over
life. The
body is the Son of God, corruptible in death, as mortal as the Father he
has
slain.
4 Peace to such foolishness! The time
has come to laugh at
such insane ideas. There is no need to think of them as savage crimes or
secret
sins with weighty consequence. Who but a madman could conceive of them
as cause
of anything? Their witness, pain, is mad as they and no more to be
feared than
the insane illusions which it shields and tries to demonstrate must
still be
true.
5 It is your thoughts alone that cause
you pain. Nothing
external to your mind can hurt or injure you in any way. There is no
cause
beyond yourself that can reach down and bring oppression. No one but
yourself
affects you. There is nothing in the world which has the power to make
you ill
or sad or weak or frail. But it is you who have the power to dominate
all
things you see by merely recognizing what you are. As you perceive the
harmlessness in them, they will accept your holy will as theirs. And
what was
seen as fearful now becomes a source of innocence and holiness.
6 My holy brothers, think of this
awhile—the world you see
does nothing. It has no effects at all. It merely represents your
thoughts. And
it will change entirely as you elect to change your mind and choose the
joy of
God as what you really want. Your Self is radiant in this holy joy,
unchanged,
unchanging, and unchangeable forever and forever. And would you deny a
little
corner of your mind its own inheritance and keep it as a hospital for
pain, a
sickly place where living things must come at last to die?
7 The world may seem to cause you
pain. And yet the world,
as causeless, has no power to cause. As an effect, it cannot make
effects. As
an illusion it is what you will. Your idle wishes represent its pains.
Your
strange desires bring it evil dreams. Your thoughts of death envelop it
in fear,
while in your kind forgiveness does it live.
8 Pain is the thought of evil taking
form and working havoc
in your holy mind. Pain is the ransom you have gladly paid not to be
free. In
pain is God denied the Son He loves. In pain does fear appear to triumph
over
love and time replace eternity and Heaven. And the world becomes a cruel
and a
bitter place, where sorrow rules and little joys give way before the
onslaught
of the savage pain that waits to end all joy in misery.
9 Lay down your arms and come without
defense into the quiet
place where Heaven's peace holds all things still at last. Lay down all
thoughts of danger and of fear. Let no attack enter with you. Lay down
the
cruel sword of judgment that you hold against your throat, and put aside
the withering
assaults with which you seek to hide your holiness. Here will you
understand
there is no pain. Here does the joy of God belong to you.
10 This is the day when it is given you
to realize the lesson
which contains all of salvation's power. It is this: pain is illusion;
joy
reality. Pain is but sleep; joy is awakening. Pain is deception; joy
alone is
truth.
11 And so again we make the only choice
that ever can be
made—we choose between illusions and the truth, or pain and joy, or hell
and
Heaven. Let our gratitude unto our Teacher fill our hearts as we are
free to
choose our joy instead of pain, our holiness in place of sin, the peace
of God
instead of conflict, and the light of Heaven for the darkness of the
world.
1 Here is your declaration of release
from bondage of the
world. And here as well is all the world released. You do not see what
you have
done by giving to the world the role of jailer to the Son of God. What
could it
be but vicious and afraid, fearful of shadows, punitive and wild,
lacking all
reason, blind, insane, and sad?
2 What have you done that this should
be your world? What
have you done that this is what you see? Deny your own identity, and
this is
what remains. You look on chaos and proclaim it as yourself. There is no
sight
that fails to witness this to you. There is no sound that does not speak
of
frailty within you and without, no breath you draw that does not seem to
bring
you nearer death, no hope you hold but will dissolve in tears.
3 Deny your own identity, and you will
not escape the
madness which induced this weird, unnatural, and ghostly thought which
mocks
creation and which laughs at God. Deny your own identity, and you assail
the
universe alone, without a friend, a tiny particle of dust against the
legions
of your enemies. Deny your own identity and look on evil, sin, and
death. And
watch despair snatch from your fingers every scrap of hope, leaving you
nothing
but the wish to die.
4 Yet what is it except a game you
play in which identity
can be denied? You are as God created you. All else but this one thing
is folly
to believe. In this one thought is everything set free. In this one
truth are
all illusions gone. In this one fact is sinlessness proclaimed to be
forever
part of everything, the central core of its existence, and its guarantee
of
immortality.
5 But let today's idea find a place
among your thoughts, and
you have risen far above the world and all the worldly thoughts that
hold it
prisoner. And from this place of safety and escape, you will return and
set it
free. For he who can accept his true identity is truly saved. And his
salvation
is the gift he gives to everyone in gratitude to Him Who pointed out the
way to
happiness that changed his whole perception of the world.
6 One holy thought like this, and you
are free; you are the
holy Son of God Himself. And with this holy thought, you learn as well
that you
have freed the world. You have no need to use it cruelly and then
perceive this
savage need in it. You set it free of your imprisonment. You will not
see a
devastating image of yourself walking the world in terror with the world
twisting in agony because your fears have laid the mark of death upon
its
heart.
7 Be glad today how very easily is
hell undone. You need but
tell yourself:
9 And in that thought is everything
you look on wholly
changed.
10 A miracle has lighted up all dark
and ancient caverns
where the rites of death echoed since time began. For time has lost its
hold
upon the world. The Son of God has come in glory to redeem the lost, to
save
the helpless, and to give the world the gift of his forgiveness. Who
could see
the world as dark and sinful when God's Son has come again at last to
set it
free?
11 You who perceive yourself as weak
and frail, with futile
hopes and devastated dreams, born but to die, to weep, and suffer pain,
hear
this: all power is given unto you in earth and Heaven. There is nothing
that
you cannot do. You play the game of death, of being helpless, pitifully
tied to
dissolution in a world which shows no mercy to you. Yet when you accord
it
mercy will its mercy shine on you.
12 Then let the Son of God awaken from
his sleep, and opening
his holy eyes return again to bless the world he made. In error it
began. But
it will end in the reflection of his holiness. And he will sleep no more
and
dream of death. Then join with me today. Your glory is the light that
saves the
world. Do not withhold salvation longer. Look about the world, and see
the
suffering there. Is not your heart willing to bring your weary brothers
rest?
13 They must await your own release.
They stay in chains till
you are free. They cannot see the mercy of the world until you find it
for
yourself. They suffer pain until you have denied its hold on you. They
die till
you accept your own eternal life. You are the holy Son of God Himself.
Remember
this, and all the world is free. Remember this, and earth and Heaven are
one.
1 It is your Father's holy Will that
you complete Himself
and that your Self shall be His sacred Son, forever pure as He, of love
created
and in love preserved, extending love, creating in its name, forever one
with
God and with your Self. Yet what can such a function mean within a world
of
envy, hatred, and attack? Therefore you have a function in the world in
its own
terms. For who can understand a language far beyond his simple grasp?
2 Forgiveness represents your function
here. It is not God's
creation, for it is the means by which untruth can be undone. And who
would
pardon Heaven? Yet on earth you need the means to let illusion go.
Creation
merely waits for your return to be acknowledged, not to be complete.
3 Creation cannot even be conceived of
in the world. It has
no meaning here. Forgiveness is the closest it can come to earth. For
being
Heaven-borne, it has no form at all. Yet God created One Who has the
power to translate
into form the wholly formless. What He makes are dreams, but of a kind
so close
to waking that the light of day already shines in them. And eyes already
opening behold the joyful sights their offerings contain.
4 Forgiveness gently looks upon all
things unknown in
Heaven, sees them disappear, and leaves the world a clean and unmarked
slate on
which the Word of God can now replace the senseless symbols written
there
before. Forgiveness is the means by which the fear of death is overcome
because
it holds no fierce attraction now, and guilt is gone.
5 Forgiveness lets the body be
perceived as what it is—a
simple teaching aid to be laid by when learning is complete, but hardly
changing him who learns at all. The mind without the body cannot make
mistakes.
It cannot think that it will die nor be the prey of merciless attack.
Anger
becomes impossible, and where is terror then? What fears could still
assail
those who have lost the source of all attack, the core of anguish, and
the seat
of fear?
6 Only forgiveness can relieve the
mind of thinking that the
body is its home. Only forgiveness can restore the peace that God
intended for
His holy Son. Only forgiveness can persuade the Son to look again upon
his
holiness. With anger gone, you will indeed perceive that for Christ's
vision
and the gift of sight no sacrifice was asked, and only pain was lifted
from a
sick and tortured mind.
7 Is this unwelcome? Is it to be
feared? Or is it to be
hoped for, met with thanks, and joyously accepted? We are one and
therefore
give up nothing. But we have indeed been given everything by God. Yet do
we
need forgiveness to perceive that this is so. Without its kindly light
we grope
in darkness, using reason but to justify our rage and our attack. Our
understanding is so limited that what we think we understand is but
confusion
born of error. We are lost in mists of shifting dreams and fearful
thoughts,
our eyes shut tight against the light, our minds engaged in worshipping
what is
not there.
8 Who can be born again in Christ but
him who has forgiven
everyone he sees or thinks of or imagines? Who could be set free while
he
imprisons anyone? A jailer is not free, for he is bound together with
his
prisoner. He must be sure that he does not escape, and so he spends his
time in
keeping watch on him. The bars which limit him become the world in which
the
jailer lives, along with him. And it is on his freedom that the way to
liberty
depends for both of them.
9 Therefore hold no one prisoner.
Release instead of bind,
for thus are you made free. The way is simple. Every time you feel a
stab of
anger, realize you hold a sword above your head. And it will fall or be
averted
as you choose to be condemned or free. Thus does each one who seems to
tempt
you to be angry represent your savior from the prison-house of death.
And so
you owe him thanks instead of pain.
10 Be merciful today. The Son of God
deserves your mercy. It
is he who asks that you accept the way to freedom now. Deny him not. His
Father's Love for him belongs to you. Your function here on earth is
only to
forgive him, that you may accept him back as your identity. He is as God
created him. And you are what he is. Forgive him now his sins, and you
will see
that you are one with him.
1 God does not know of learning. Yet
His Will extends to
what He does not understand in that He wills the happiness His Son
inherited of
Him be undisturbed, eternal and forever gaining scope, eternally
expanding in
the joy of full creation, and eternally open and wholly limitless in
Him. This
is His Will. And thus His Will provides the means to guarantee that it
is done.
2 God sees no contradictions. Yet His
Son believes he sees
them. Thus he has a need for One Who can correct his erring sight and
give him
vision that will lead him back to where perception ceases. God does not
perceive at all. Yet it is He Who gives the means by which perception is
made
true and beautiful enough to let the light of Heaven shine upon it. It
is He
Who answers what His Son would contradict and keeps his sinlessness
forever
safe.
3God offers no forgiveness, for He
knows no sin is possible.
And yet He let His holy law of Love be given form in which it could be
offered
to the world. And He created One Who could perceive what form this law
should
take, to be received by every mind which had forgotten it as it exists
in
Heaven and in God. Thus He encompassed what He could not see nor
understand by
giving of His Love and making Answer to a question which, though
meaningless,
His Son had asked of Him.
4 The One Whom God created to replace
the foolish thoughts
which crept into the mind of His most holy Son with peace and joy
fulfills His
function now. He redirects each lesson you would teach in hate to one in
which
forgiveness enters, and returns the hate to love, so that the fear is
gone. And
now guilt cannot enter, for its source has been excluded as the purpose
of the
lesson has been changed to guiltlessness; the hatred has been rooted out
by
love.
5 These are the lessons God would have
you learn. His Will
reflects them all, and they reflect His loving kindness to the Son He
loves.
Each lesson has a central thought, the same in all of them. The form
alone is
changed, with different circumstances and events, with different
characters and
different themes apparent but not real. They are the same in fundamental
content. It is this:
7 Certain it is that all distress does
not appear to be but
unforgiveness. Yet that is the content underneath the form. It is this
sameness
which makes learning sure because the lesson is so simple that it cannot
be
rejected in the end. No one can hide forever from a truth so very
obvious that
it appears in countless forms and yet is recognized as easily in all of
them if
one but wants to see the simple lesson there.
9 These are the words the Holy Spirit
speaks in all your
tribulations, all your pain, all suffering regardless of its forms.
These are
the words with which temptation ends and guilt, abandoned, is revered no
more.
These are the words which end the dream of sin and rid the mind of fear.
These
are the words by which salvation comes to all the world.
10 Shall we not learn to say these
words when we are tempted
to believe that pain is real and death becomes our choice instead of
life?
Shall we not learn to say these words when we have understood their
power to
release all minds from bondage? These are words which give you power
over all
events which seem to have been given power over you. You see them
rightly when
you hold these words in full awareness, and do not forget these words
apply to
everything you see or any brother looks upon amiss.
11 How can you tell when you are seeing
wrong or someone else
is failing to perceive the lesson he should learn? Does pain seem real
in the
perception? If it does, be sure the lesson is not learned. And there
remains an
unforgiveness hiding in the mind which sees the pain through eyes the
mind
directs.
12 God would not have you suffer thus.
He would help you
forgive yourself. His Son does not remember who he is. And God would
have him
not forget His Love and all the gifts His Love brings with it. Would you
now
renounce your own salvation? Would you fail to learn the simple lessons
Heaven's Teacher sets before you that all pain may disappear and God may
be
remembered by His Son?
13 All things are lessons God would
have you learn. He would
not leave an unforgiving thought without correction nor one thorn or
nail to
hurt His sacred Son in any way. He would ensure his holy rest remain
untroubled
and serene, without a care in an eternal home which cares for him. And
He would
have all tears be wiped away with none remaining yet unshed and none but
waiting their appointed time to fall. For God has willed that laughter
should
replace each one and that His Son be free again.
14 We will attempt today to overcome a
thousand seeming
obstacles to peace in just one day. Let mercy come to you more quickly.
Do not
try to hold it off another day, another minute, or another instant. Time
was
made for this. Use it today for what its purpose is. Morning and night,
devote
what time you can to serve its proper aim, and do not let the time be
less than
meets your deepest need.
15 Give all you can and give a little
more, for now we would
arise in haste and go unto our Father's house. We have been gone too
long, and
we would linger here no more. And as we practice, let us think about all
things
we saved to settle by ourselves and kept apart from healing. Let us give
them
all to Him Who knows the way to look upon them so that they will
disappear.
Truth is His message; truth His teaching is. His are the lessons God
would have
us learn.
16 Each hour spend a little time today,
and in the days to
come, in practicing the lesson in forgiveness in the form established
for the
day. And try to give it application to the happenings the hour brought,
so that
the next one is free of the one before. The chains of time are easily
unloosened in this way.
17 Let no one hour cast its shadow on
the one that follows,
and when that one goes, let everything that happens in its course go
with it.
Thus will you remain unbound, in peace eternal in the world of time.
This is
the lesson God would have you learn: there is a way to look on
everything that
lets it be to you another step to Him and to salvation of the world.
18 To all that speaks of terror, answer
thus:
20 To every apprehension, every care,
and every form of
suffering, repeat these selfsame words. In them 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. God will take this final step Himself. Do not
deny the
little steps He asks you take to Him.
1 Today's idea takes another step
toward quick salvation,
and a giant stride it is indeed! So great the distance is that it
encompasses,
it sets you down just short of Heaven, with the goal in sight and
obstacles
behind. Your foot has reached the lawns that welcome you to Heaven's
gate, the
quiet place of peace where you await with certainty the final step of
God. How
far are we progressing now from earth! How close are we approaching to
our
goal! How short the journey still to be pursued!
2 Accept today's idea, and you have
passed all anxiety, all
pits of hell, all blackness of depression, thoughts of sin, and
devastation
brought about by guilt. Accept today's idea, and you have released the
world
from all imprisonment by loosening the heavy chains that locked the door
to
freedom on it. You are saved, and your salvation thus becomes the gift
you give
the world because you have received.
3 In no one instant is depression felt
or pain experienced
or loss perceived. In no one instant sorrow can be set upon a throne and
worshipped faithfully. In no one instant can one even die. And so each
instant
given unto God in passing, with the next one given Him already, is a
time of
your release from sadness, pain and even death itself.
4 God holds your future as He holds
your past and present.
They are one to Him, and so they should be one to you. Yet in this world
the
temporal progression still seems real. And so you are not asked to
understand
the lack of sequence really found in time. You are but asked to let the
future
go and place it in God's hands. And you will see by your experience that
you
have laid the past and present in His hands as well because the past
will
punish you no more and future dread will now be meaningless.
5 Release the future. For the past is
gone, and what is
present, freed from its bequest of grief and misery, of pain and loss,
becomes
the instant in which time escapes the bondage of illusions where it runs
its
pitiless, inevitable course. Then is each instant, which was slave to
time,
transformed into a holy instant when the light that was kept hidden in
God's
Son is freed to bless the world. Now is he free, and all his glory
shines upon
a world made free with him to share his holiness.
6 If you can see the lesson for today
as the deliverance it
really is, you will not hesitate to give as much consistent effort as
you can
to make it be a part of you. As it becomes a thought which rules your
mind, a
habit in your problem-solving repertoire, a way of quick reaction to
temptation, you extend your learning to the world. And as you learn to
see
salvation in all things, so will the world perceive that it is saved.
7 What worry can beset the one who
gives his future to the
loving hands of God? What can he suffer? What can cause him pain or
bring
experience of loss to him? What can he fear? And what can he regard
except with
love? For he who has escaped all fear of future pain has found his way
to
present peace and certainty of care the world can never threaten. He is
sure
that his perception may be faulty but will never lack correction. He is
free to
choose again when he has been deceived, to change his mind when he has
made
mistakes.
8 Place, then, your future in the
hands of God. For thus you
call the memory of Him to come again, replacing all your thoughts of sin
and
evil with the truth of love. Think you the world could fail to gain
thereby and
every living creature not respond with healed perception? Who entrusts
himself
to God has also placed the world within the hands to which he has
himself
appealed for comfort and security. He lays aside the sick illusions of
the
world along with his and offers peace to both.
9 Now are we saved indeed. For in
God's hands we rest
untroubled, sure that only good can come to us. If we forget, we will be
gently
reassured. If we accept an unforgiving thought, it will be soon replaced
by
love's reflection. And if we are tempted to attack, we will appeal to
Him Who
guards our rest to make the choice for us that leaves temptation far
behind. No
longer is the world our enemy, for we have chosen that we be its
friends.
1 Gratitude is a lesson hard to learn
for those who look
upon the world amiss. The most that they can do is see themselves as
better off
than others. And they try to be content because another seems to suffer
more
than they. How pitiful and deprecating are such thoughts! For who has
cause for
thanks while others have less cause, and who could suffer less because
he sees
another suffer more? Your gratitude is due to Him alone Who made all
cause of
sorrow disappear throughout the world.
2 It is insane to offer thanks because
of suffering. But it
is equally insane to fail in gratitude to One Who offers you the certain
means
whereby all pain is healed and suffering replaced with laughter and with
happiness. Nor could the even partly sane refuse to take the steps which
He
directs and follow in the way He sets before them to escape a prison
that they
thought contained no door to the deliverance they now perceive.
3 Your brother is your "enemy" because
you see in
him the rival for your peace, a plunderer who takes his joy from you and
leaves
you nothing but a black despair so bitter and relentless that there is
no hope
remaining. Now is vengeance all there is to wish for. Now can you but
try to
bring him down to lie in death with you, as useless as yourself, as
little left
within his grasping fingers as in yours.
4 You do not offer God your gratitude
because your brother
is more slave than you, nor could you sanely be enraged if he seems
freer. Love
makes no comparisons. And gratitude can only be sincere if it is joined
to
love. We offer thanks to God our Father that in us all things will find
their
freedom. It will never be that some are loosed while others still are
bound,
for who can bargain in the name of love?
5 Therefore give thanks, but in
sincerity. And let your
gratitude make room for all who will escape with you—the sick, the weak,
the
needy and afraid, and those who mourn a seeming loss or feel apparent
pain, who
suffer cold or hunger, or who walk the way of hatred and the path of
death. All
these go with you. Let us not compare ourselves with them, for thus we
split
them off in our awareness from the unity we share with them, as they
must share
with us.
6 We thank our Father for one thing
alone—that we are
separate from no living thing and therefore one with Him. And we rejoice
that
no exceptions ever can be made which would reduce our wholeness nor
impair or
change our function to complete the One Who is Himself completion. We
give
thanks for every living thing, for otherwise we offer thanks for nothing
and we
fail to recognize the gifts of God to us.
7 Then let our brothers lean their
tired heads against our
shoulders as they rest a while. We offer thanks for them. For if we can
direct
them to the peace that we would find, the way is opening at last to us.
An
ancient door is swinging free again; a long forgotten Word re-echoes in
our
memory and gathers clarity as we are willing once again to hear.
8 Walk then in gratitude, the way of
love. For hatred is
forgotten when we lay comparisons aside. What more remains as obstacles
to
peace? The fear of God is now undone at last, and we forgive without
comparing.
Thus we cannot choose to overlook some things and yet retain some other
things
still locked away as sins. When your forgiveness is complete, you will
have
total gratitude, for you will see that everything has earned the right
to love
by being loving, even as your Self.
9 Today we learn to think of gratitude
in place of anger,
malice, and revenge. We have been given everything. If we refuse to
recognize
it, we are not entitled therefore to our bitterness and to a
self-perception
which regards us in a place of merciless pursuit where we are badgered
ceaselessly and pushed about without a thought or care for us or for our
future. Gratitude becomes the single thought we substitute for these
insane
perceptions. God has cared for us and calls us Son. Can there be more
than this?
10 Our gratitude will pave the way to
Him and shorten our
learning time by more than you could ever dream of. Gratitude goes hand
in hand
with love, and where one is, the other must be found. For gratitude is
but an
aspect of the love which is the Source of all creation. God gives thanks
to
you, His Son, for being what you are—His own completion and the source
of love,
along with Him. Your gratitude to Him is one with His to you. For love
can walk
no road except the way of gratitude, and thus we go who walk the way to
God.
1 When this is firmly understood and
kept in full awareness,
you will not attempt to harm yourself nor make your body slave to
vengeance.
You will not attack yourself, and you will realize that to attack
another is
but to attack yourself. You will be free of the insane belief that to
attack a
brother saves yourself. And you will understand his safety is your own,
and in
his healing you are healed.
2 Perhaps at first you will not
understand how mercy,
limitless and with all things held in its sure protection, can be found
in the
idea we practice for today. It may in fact appear to be a sign that
punishment
can never be escaped because the ego, under what it sees as threat, is
quick to
cite the truth to save its lies. Yet must it fail to understand the
truth it
uses thus. But you can learn to see these foolish applications and deny
the
meaning they appear to have.
3 Thus do you also teach your mind
that you are not an ego.
For the ways in which the ego would distort the truth will not deceive
you
longer. You will not believe you are a body to be crucified. And you
will see
within today's idea the light of resurrection, looking past all thoughts
of
crucifixion and of death to thoughts of liberation and of life.
4 Today's idea is one step we take in
leading us from
bondage to the state of perfect freedom. Let us take this step today
that we
may quickly go the way salvation shows us, taking every step in its
appointed
sequence as the mind relinquishes its burdens one by one. It is not time
we
need for this. It is but willingness. For what would seem to need a
thousand
years can easily be done in just one instant by the grace of God.
5 The dreary, hopeless thought that
you can make attacks on
others and escape yourself has nailed you to the cross. Perhaps it
seemed to be
salvation. Yet it merely stood for the belief the fear of God is real.
And what
is that but hell? Who could believe his Father is his deadly enemy,
separate
from him and waiting to destroy his life and blot him from the universe,
without the fear of hell upon his heart?
6 Such is the form of madness you
believe if you accept the
fearful thought you can attack another and be free yourself. Until this
form is
changed, there is no hope. Until you see that this, at least, must be
entirely
impossible, how could there be escape? The fear of God is real to anyone
who
thinks this thought is true. And he will not perceive its foolishness
nor even
see that it is there so that it would be possible to question it.
7 To question it at all, its form must
first be changed at
least as much as will permit fear of retaliation to abate and the
responsibility returned to some extent to you. From there you can at
least
consider if you want to go along this painful path. Until this shift has
been
accomplished, you cannot perceive that it is but your thoughts that
bring you
fear and your deliverance depends on you.
8 Our next steps will be easy if you
take this one today.
From there we go ahead quite rapidly. For once you understand it is
impossible
that you be hurt except by your own thoughts, the fear of God must
disappear.
You do not now believe that fear is caused without. And God, Whom you
had
thought to banish, can be welcomed back within the holy mind He never
left.
9 Salvation's song can certainly be
heard in the idea we
practice for today. If it can but be you you crucify, you did not hurt
the
world and need not fear its vengeance and pursuit. Nor need you hide in
terror
from the deadly fear of God projection hides behind. The thing you dread
the
most is your salvation. You are strong, and it is strength you want. And
you
are free and glad of freedom. You have sought to be both weak and bound
because
you feared your strength and freedom. Yet salvation lies in them.
10 There is an instant in which terror
seems to grip your
mind so wholly that escape appears quite hopeless. When you realize once
and
for all that it is you you fear, the mind perceives itself as split. And
this
had been concealed while you believed attack could be directed outward
and
returned from outside to within. It seemed to be an enemy outside you
had to
fear. And thus a god outside yourself became your mortal enemy—the
source of
fear.
11 Now for an instant is a murderer
perceived within you,
eager for your death, intent on plotting punishment for you until the
time when
it can kill at last. Yet in this instant is the time as well in which
salvation
comes. For fear of God has disappeared. And you can call on Him to save
you
from illusions in His Love, calling Him Father and yourself His Son.
Pray that
the instant may be soon—today. Step back from fear and make advance to
love.
12 There is no Thought of God that does
not go with you to
help you reach that instant and to go beyond it quickly, surely, and
forever.
When the fear of God is gone, there are no obstacles that still remain
between
you and the holy peace of God. How kind and merciful is the idea we
practice!
Give it welcome, as you should, for it is your release. It is indeed but
you your
mind can try to crucify. Yet your redemption, too, will come from you.
1 Here is the second step we take to
free your mind from the
belief in outside force pitted against your own. You make attempts at
kindness
and forgiveness. Yet you turn them to attack again unless you find
external
gratitude and lavish thanks. Your gifts must be received with honor,
lest they
be withdrawn. And so you think God's gifts are loans at best; at worst,
deceptions which would cheat you of defenses to ensure that when He
strikes He
will not fail to kill.
2 How easily are God and guilt
confused by those who know
not what their thoughts can do. Deny your strength, and weakness must
become
salvation to you. See yourself as bound, and bars become your home. Nor
will
you leave the prison house or claim your strength until guilt and
salvation are
not seen as one and freedom and salvation are perceived as joined, with
strength beside them, to be sought and claimed and found and fully
recognized.
3 The world must thank you when you
offer it release from
your illusions. Yet your thanks belong to you as well, for its release
can only
mirror yours. Your gratitude is all your gifts require that they be a
lasting
offering of a thankful heart released from hell forever. Is it this you
would
undo by taking back your gifts because they were not honored? It is you
who
honor them and give them fitting thanks, for it is you who have received
the
gifts.
4 It does not matter if another thinks
your gifts unworthy.
In his mind there is a part that joins with yours in thanking you. It
does not
matter if your gifts seem lost and ineffectual. They are received where
they
are given. In your gratitude are they accepted universally and
thankfully
acknowledged by the Heart of God Himself. And would you take them back
when He
has gratefully accepted them?
5 God blesses every gift you give to
Him and every gift is
given Him because it can be given only to yourself, and what belongs to
God
must be His own. Yet you will never realize His gifts are sure, eternal,
changeless, limitless, forever giving out, extending love, and adding to
your
never-ending joy, while you forgive but to attack again.
6 Withdraw the gifts you give, and you
will think that what
is given you has been withdrawn. But learn to let forgiveness take away
the
sins you think you see outside yourself, and you can never think the
gifts of
God are lent but for a little while before He snatches them away again
in
death. For death will have no meaning for you then.
7 And with the end of this belief is
fear forever over.
Thank your Self for this, for He is grateful only unto God, and He gives
thanks
for you unto Himself. To everyone who lives will Christ yet come, for
everyone
must live and breathe in Him. His Being in His Father is secure because
Their
Will is one. Their gratitude to all They have created has no end, for
gratitude
remains a part of love.
8 Thanks be to you, the holy Son of
God, for as you were
created you contain all things within your Self. And you are still as
God
created you. Nor can you dim the light of your perfection. In your
heart, the
Heart of God is laid. He holds you dear because you are Himself. All
gratitude
belongs to you because of what you are.
9 Give thanks as you receive it. Be
you free of all
ingratitude to anyone who makes your Self complete. And from this Self
is no
one left outside. Give thanks for all the countless channels which
extend this
Self. All that you do is given unto Him. All that you think can only be
His Thoughts,
sharing with Him the holy Thoughts of God. Earn now the gratitude you
have
denied yourself when you forgot the function God has given you. But
never think
that He has ever ceased to offer thanks to you.
1 Injury is impossible. And yet
illusion makes illusion. If
you can condemn, you can be injured. For you have believed that you can
injure,
and the right you have established for yourself can be now used against
you
till you lay it down as valueless, unwanted, and unreal. Then does
illusion
cease to have effects, and all it seemed to have will be undone. Then
are you
free, for freedom is your gift, and you can now receive the gift you
gave.
2 Condemn and you are made a prisoner.
Forgive and you are
freed. Such is the law that rules perception. It is not a law that
knowledge
understands, for freedom is a part of knowledge. To condemn is thus
impossible
in truth. What seems to be its influence and its effects have not
occurred at
all. Yet must we deal with them a while as if they had. Illusion makes
illusion. Except one. Forgiveness is illusion that is answer to the
rest.
3 Forgiveness sweeps all other dreams
away, and though it is
itself a dream, it breeds no others. All illusions save this one must
multiply
a thousand fold. But this is where illusions end. Forgiveness is the end
of
dreams because it is a dream of waking. It is not itself the truth. Yet
does it
point to where the truth must be and gives direction with the certainty
of God
Himself. It is a dream in which the Son of God awakens to his Self and
to his
Father, knowing They are one.
4 Forgiveness is the only road that
leads out of disaster,
past all suffering, and finally away from death. How could there be
another
way, when this one is the plan of God Himself? And why would you oppose
it,
quarrel with it, seek to find a thousand ways in which it must be wrong,
a
thousand other possibilities?
5 Is it not wiser to be glad you hold
the answer to your
problems in your hand? Is it not more intelligent to thank the One Who
gives
salvation, and accept His gift with gratitude? And is it not a kindness
to
yourself to hear His Voice and learn the simple lessons He would teach,
instead
of trying to dismiss His words and substitute your own in place of His?
6 His words will work. His words will
save. His words
contain all hope, all blessing and all joy that ever can be found upon
this
earth. His words are born in God, and come to you with Heaven's love
upon them.
Those who hear His words have heard the song of Heaven, for these are
the words
which all will merge as one at last. And as this one will fade away, the
Word
of God will come to take its place, for it will be remembered then and
loved.
7 This world has many seeming separate
haunts Kun det kan blive opfattet where
mercy
has no meaning and attack appears as justified. Yet all are one-a place
where death is offered to God's Son and to his Father. You may think
They have
accepted, but if you will look again upon the place where you beheld
Their
blood, you will perceive a miracle instead.
8 How foolish to believe that They
could die! How foolish to
believe you can attack! How mad to think that you could be condemned and
that
the holy Son of God can die! The stillness of your Self remains unmoved,
untouched by thoughts like these, and unaware of any condemnation which
could
need forgiveness. Dreams of any kind are strange and alien to the truth.
Yet
what but Truth could have a Thought which builds a bridge to truth which
brings
illusions to the other side?
9 Today we practice letting freedom
come to make its home
with you. The truth bestows these words upon your mind that you may find
the
key to light and let the darkness end:
11 Do not forget today that there can
be no form of suffering
that fails to hide an unforgiving thought. Nor can there be a form of
pain
forgiveness cannot heal.
12 Accept the one illusion which
proclaims there is no
condemnation in God's Son, and Heaven is remembered instantly; the world
forgotten, all its weird beliefs forgotten with it, as the face of
Christ
appears unveiled at last in this one dream. This is the gift the Holy
Spirit
holds for you from God your Father. Let today be celebrated both on
earth and in
your holy home as well. Be kind to both, as you forgive the trespasses
you
thought them guilty of, and see your innocence shining upon you from the
face
of Christ.
13 Now is there silence all around the
world. Now is there
stillness where before there was a frantic rush of thoughts that made no
sense.
Now is there tranquil light across the face of earth, made quiet in a
dreamless
sleep. And now the Word of God alone remains upon it. Only that can be
perceived an instant longer. Then are symbols done and everything you
ever
thought you made completely vanished from the mind which God forever
knows to
be His only Son.
14 There is no condemnation in him. He
is perfect in his
holiness. He needs no thoughts of mercy. Who could give him gifts when
everything is his? And who could dream of offering forgiveness to the
Son of
Sinlessness Itself, so like to Him Whose Son he is, that to behold the
Son is
to perceive no more and only know the Father? In this vision of the Son,
so
brief that not an instant stands between this single sight and
timelessness
itself, you see the vision of yourself and then you disappear forever
into God.
15 Today we come still nearer to the
end of everything that
yet would stand between this vision and our sight. And we are glad that
we have
come this far and recognize that He Who brought us here will not forsake
us
now. For He would give to us the gift that God has given us through Him
today.
Now is the time of your deliverance. The time has come. The time has
come
today.
1 Freedom must be impossible as long
as you perceive a body
as yourself. The body is a limit. Who would seek for freedom in a body
looks
for it where it can not be found. The mind can be made free when it no
longer
sees itself as in a body, firmly tied to it and sheltered by its
presence. If
this were the truth, the mind were vulnerable indeed!
2 The mind that serves the Holy Spirit
is unlimited forever,
in all ways, beyond the laws of time and space, unbound by any
preconceptions,
and with strength and power to do whatever it is asked. Attack thoughts
cannot
enter such a mind because it has been given to the Source of Love. And
fear can
never enter in a mind that has attached itself to Love. It rests in God,
and
who can be afraid who lives in Innocence and only loves?
3 It is essential for your progress in
this course that you
accept today's idea and hold it very dear. Be not concerned that to the
ego it
is quite insane. The ego holds the body dear because it dwells in it and
lives
united with the home that it has made. It is a part of the illusion that
has
sheltered it from being found illusory itself.
4 Here does it hide, and here it will
be seen as what it is.
Declare your innocence, and you are free. The body disappears because
you have
no need of it except the need the Holy Spirit sees. For this, the body
will
appear as useful form for what the mind must do. It thus becomes a
vehicle
which helps forgiveness be extended to the all-inclusive goal that it
must
reach according to God's plan.
5 Cherish today's idea, and practice
it today and every day.
Make it a part of every practice period you take. There is no thought
that will
not gain thereby in power to help the world, and none which will not
gain in
added gifts to you as well. We sound the call of freedom round the world
with
this idea. And would you be exempt from the acceptance of the gifts you
give?
6 The Holy Spirit is the home of mind
that seeks for
freedom. In Him it has found what it has sought. The body's purpose now
is unambiguous.
And it becomes perfect in the ability to serve an undivided goal. In
conflict-free and unequivocal response to mind with but the thought of
freedom
as its goal, the body serves, and serves its purpose well. Without the
power to
enslave, it is a worthy servant of the freedom which the mind within the
Holy
Spirit seeks.
7 Be free today, and carry freedom as
your gift to those who
still believe they are enslaved within a body. Be you free, so that the
Holy
Spirit can make use of your escape from bondage to set free the many who
perceive themselves as bound and helpless and afraid. Let love replace
their
fears through you. Accept salvation now, and give your mind to Him Who
calls to
you to make this gift to Him. For He would give you perfect freedom,
perfect
joy, and hope that finds its full accomplishment in God.
8 You are God's Son. In immortality
you live forever. Would
you not return your mind to this? Then practice well the thought the
Holy
Spirit gives you for today. Your brothers stand released with you in it;
the
world is blessed along with you; God's Son will weep no more, and Heaven
offers
thanks for the increase of joy your practice brings even to it. And God
Himself
extends His Love and happiness each time you say:
1 Seek you no further. You will not
find peace except the
peace of God. Accept this fact, and save yourself the agony of yet more
bitter
disappointments, bleak despair, and sense of icy hopelessness and doubt.
Seek
you no further. There is nothing else for you to find except the peace
of God,
unless you seek for misery and pain.
2 This is the final point to which
each one must come at
last, to lay aside all hope of finding happiness where there is none, of
being
saved by what can only hurt, of making peace of chaos, joy of pain and
Heaven
out of hell. Attempt no more to win through losing nor to die to live.
You
cannot but be asking for defeat.
3 Yet you can ask as easily for love,
for happiness, and for
eternal life in peace that has no ending. Ask for this, and you can only
win.
To ask for what you have already must succeed. To ask that what is false
be
true can only fail. Forgive yourself for vain imaginings, and seek no
longer
what you cannot find. For what could be more foolish than to seek and
seek and
seek again for hell, when you have but to look with open eyes to find
that
Heaven lies before you, through a door that opens easily to welcome you?
4 Come home. You have not found your
happiness in foreign
places and in alien forms which have no meaning to you, though you
sought to
make them meaningful. This world is not where you belong. You are a
stranger
here. But it is given you to find the means whereby the world no longer
seems
to be a prison house for you or anyone.
5 Freedom is given you where you
beheld but chains and iron
doors. For you must change your mind about the purpose of the world if
you
would find escape. You will be bound till all the world is seen by you
as
blessed and everyone made free of your mistakes and honored as he is.
You made
him not; no more yourself. And as you free the one, the other is
accepted as he
is.
6 What does forgiveness do? In truth
it has no function and
does nothing, for it is unknown in Heaven. It is only hell where it is
needed
and where it must serve a mighty function. Is not the escape of God's
beloved
Son from evil dreams that he imagines, yet believes are true, a worthy
purpose?
Who could hope for more while there appears to be a choice to make
between
success and failure, love and fear?
7 There is no peace except the peace
of God because He has
one Son, who cannot make a world in opposition to God's Will and to his
own,
which is the same as His. What could he hope to find in such a world? It
cannot
have reality because it never was created. Is it here that he would seek
for
peace? Or must he see that, as he looks on it, the world can but
deceive? Yet
can he learn to look on it another way and find the peace of God.
8 Peace is the bridge that everyone
will cross to leave this
world behind. But peace begins within the world perceived as different
and
leading from this fresh perception to the gate of Heaven and the way
beyond.
Peace is the answer to conflicting goals, to senseless journeys,
frantic, vain
pursuits, and meaningless endeavors. Now the way is easy, sloping gently
toward
the bridge where freedom lies within the peace of God.
9 Let us not lose our way again today.
We go to Heaven, and
the path is straight. Only if we attempt to wander can there be delay
and
needless wasted time on thorny byways. God alone is sure, and He will
guide our
footsteps. He will not desert His Son in need, nor let him stray forever
from
his home. The Father calls; the Son will hear. And that is all there is
to what
appears to be a world apart from God where bodies have reality.
10 Now is there silence. Seek no
further. You have come to
where the road is carpeted with leaves of false desires, fallen from the
trees
of hopelessness you sought before. Now are they underfoot. And you look
up and
on toward Heaven, with the body's eyes but serving for an instant longer
now.
Peace is already recognized at last, and you can feel its soft embrace
surround
your heart and mind with comfort and with love.
11 Today we seek no idols. Peace can
not be found in them.
The peace of God is ours, and only this will we accept and want. Peace
be to us
today. For we have found a simple, happy way to leave the world of
ambiguity
and to replace our shifting goals and solitary dreams with single
purpose and
companionship. For peace is union if it be of God. We seek no further.
We are
close to home and draw still nearer every time we say:
R6:1 For this review, we take but one
idea each day and
practice it as often as is possible. Besides the time you give morning
and
evening, which should not be less than 15 minutes, and the hourly
remembrances
you make throughout the day, use the idea as often as you can between
them.
Each of these ideas alone would be sufficient for salvation, if it were
learned
truly. Each would be enough to give release to you and to the world from
every
form of bondage and invite the memory of God to come again.
2 With this in mind, we start our
practicing in which we
carefully review the thoughts the Holy Spirit has bestowed on us in our
last 20
lessons. Each contains the whole curriculum if understood, practiced,
accepted,
and applied to all the seeming happenings throughout the day. One is
enough.
But for that one, there must be no exceptions made. And so we need to
use them
all and let them blend as one, as each contributes to the whole we
learn.
3 These practice sessions, like our
last review, are
centered round a central theme with which we start and end each lesson.
It is
this:
5 The day begins and ends with this.
And we repeat it every
time the hour strikes or we remember in between we have a function that
transcends the world we see. Beyond this and a repetition of the special
thought we practice for the day, no form of exercise is urged except a
deep
relinquishment of everything that clutters up the mind and makes it deaf
to
reason, sanity, and simple truth.
6 We will attempt to get beyond all
words and special forms
of practicing for this review. For we attempt this time to reach a
quickened
pace along a shorter path to the serenity and peace of God. We merely
close our
eyes and then forget all that we thought we knew and understood. For
thus is
freedom given us from all we did not know and failed to understand.
7 There is but one exception to this
lack of structuring.
Permit no idle thought to go unchallenged. If you notice one, deny its
hold and
hasten to assure your mind that this is not what it would have. Then
gently let
the thought which you denied be given up in sure and quick exchange for
the
idea you practice for the day.
8 When you are tempted, hasten to
proclaim your freedom from
temptation as you say:
10 And then repeat the idea for the
day, and let it take the
place of what you thought. Beyond such special applications of each
day's idea,
we will add but a few formal expressions or specific thoughts to aid
your
practicing. Instead we give these times of quiet to the Teacher Who
instructs
in quiet, speaks of peace, and gives our thoughts whatever meaning they
may
have.
11 To Him I offer this review for you.
I place you in His
charge and let Him teach you what to do and say and think each time you
turn to
Him. He will not fail to be available to you each time you call to Him
to help
you. Let us offer Him the whole review we now begin, and let us also not
forget
to Whom it has been given as we practice day by day, advancing toward
the goal
He set for us, allowing Him to teach us how to go, and trusting Him
completely
for the way each practice period can best become a loving gift of
freedom to the
world.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[181]
I
trust my brothers, who are one with me.
1
No one but is my brother. I am blessed with oneness with the universe,
and God,
my Father, One Creator of the whole that is my Self, forever one with
me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[182]
I
will be still a moment and go home.
1
Why would I choose to stay an instant more where I do not belong, when
God
Himself has given me His Voice to call me home?
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[183]
I
call upon God's Name and on my own.
1
The name of God is my deliverance from every thought of evil and of sin,
because it is my own as well His.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[184]
The
Name of God is my inheritance.
1
God's name reminds me that I am His Son, not slave to time, unbound by
laws
which rule the world of sick illusions, free in God, forever and forever
one
with Him.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[185]
I
want the peace of God.
1
The peace of God is everything I want. The peace of God is my one goal;
the aim
of all my living here, the end I seek my purpose and my function and my
life
while I abide where I am not at home.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[186]
Salvation
of the world depends on me.
1
I
am entrusted with the gifts of God because I am His Son. and I would
give His
gifts where He intended them to be.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[187]
I
bless the world because I bless myself.
1
God's blessing shines upon me from within my heart where He abides. I
need but
turn to Him, and every sorrow melts away as I accept His boundless Love
for me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am
not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[188]
The
peace of God is shining in me now.
1
I will be still and let the earth be still along with me. And in
that stillness, we will find the peace of God. it is within my heart,
which
witnesses to God Himself.
I
am
not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[189]
I
feel the Love of God within me now.
1
The Love of God is what created me. The Love of God is everything I am.
The
Love of God proclaimed me as His Son. The Love of God within me sets me
free.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[190]
I
choose the joy of God instead of pain.
1
Pain is my own idea. It is not a thought of God, but one I thought apart
from
Him and from His Will. His Will is joy and only joy for His beloved Son.
And
that I choose instead of what I made.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[191]
I
am the holy Son of God Himself.
1
In silence and in true humility I seek God's glory to behold it in the
Son whom
He created as my Self.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[192]
I
have a function God would have me fill.
1
I
seek the function that would set me free from all the vain illusions of
the
world. Only the function God has given me can offer freedom. Only this I
seek,
and only this will I accept as mine.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[193]
All
things are lessons God would have me learn.
1
A
lesson is a miracle which God offers to me in place of thoughts I made
that
hurt me. What I learn of Him becomes the way I am set free. And so I
choose to
learn His lessons and forget my own.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[194]
I
place the future in the hands of God.
1
The past is gone; the future is not yet. Now am I freed from both. For
what God
gives can only be for good. And I accept the way I am set free. And so I
choose
but what He gives as what belongs to me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[195]
Love
is the way I walk in gratitude.
1
The Holy Spirit is my only Guide. He walks with me in love. and I give
thanks
to Him for showing me the way to go.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[196]
It
can be but myself I crucify.
1
All that I do, I do unto myself. If I attack, I suffer. But if I
forgive,
salvation will be given me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[197]
It
can be but my gratitude I earn.
1
Who should give thanks for my salvation but myself? And how but through
salvation can I find the Self to Whom my thanks are due?
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[198]
Only
my condemnation injures me.
1
My condemnation keeps my vision dark, and through my sightless eyes I
cannot
see the vision of my glory. Yet today I can behold this glory and be
glad.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[199]
I
am not a body. I am free.
1
I
am God's Son. Be still, my mind, and think a moment upon this. And then
return
to earth without confusion as to what my Father loves forever as His
Son.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
[200]
There
is no peace except the peace of God.
1
Let me not wander from the way of peace, for I am lost on other roads
than
this. But let me follow Him Who leads me home, and peace is certain as
the Love
of God.
I
am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
IP2:1 Words will mean little now. We use
them but as guides on
which we do not now depend. For now we seek direct experience of truth
alone.
The lessons which remain are merely introductions to the times in which
we
leave the world of pain and go to enter peace. Now we begin to reach the
goal
this course has set and find the end toward which our practicing was
geared.
2 Now we attempt to let the exercise
be merely a beginning.
For we wait in quiet expectation for our God and Father. He has promised
He
will take the final step Himself. And we are sure His promises are kept.
We
have come far along the road, and now we wait for Him. We will continue
spending time with Him each morning and at night, as long as makes us
happy. We
will not consider time a matter of duration now. We use as much as we
will need
for the result that we desire. Nor will we forget our hourly remembrance
in
between, calling to God when we have need of Him as we are tempted to
forget
our goal.
3 We will continue with a central
thought for all the days
to come. And we will use that thought to introduce our times of rest and
calm
our minds at need. Yet we will not content ourselves with simple
practicing in
the remaining holy instants which conclude the year that we have given
God. We
say some simple words of welcome and expect our Father to reveal Himself
as He
has promised. We have called on Him, and He has promised that His Son
will not
remain unanswered when he calls His Name.
4 Now do we come to Him with but His
Word upon our minds and
hearts. And wait for Him to take the step to us that He has told us,
through
His Voice, He would not fail to take when we invited Him. He has not
left His
Son in all his madness nor betrayed His trust in him. Has not His
faithfulness
earned Him the invitation that He seeks to make us happy? We will offer
it, and
it will be accepted. So our times with Him will now be spent. We say the
words
of invitation that His Voice suggests, and then we wait for Him to come
to us.
5 Now is the time of prophecy
fulfilled. Now are all ancient
promises upheld and fully kept. No step remains for time to separate
from its
accomplishment. For now we cannot fail. Sit silently and wait upon your
Father.
He has willed to come to you when you have recognized it is your will He
do so.
And you could have never come this far unless you saw, however dimly,
that it
is your will.
6 I am so close to you we cannot fail.
Father, we give these
holy times to You in gratitude to Him Who taught us how to leave the
world of
sorrow in exchange for its replacement given us by You. We look not
backward
now. We look ahead and fix our eyes upon the journey's end. Accept these
little
gifts of thanks from us, as through Christ's vision we behold a world
beyond
the one we made and take that world to be the full replacement of our
own.
7 And now we wait in silence, unafraid
and certain of Your
coming. We have sought to find our way by following the Guide You sent
to us.
We did not know the way, but You did not forget us. And we know that You
will
not forget us now. We ask but that Your ancient promises be kept which
are Your
Will to keep. We will with You in asking this. The Father and the Son,
Whose
holy Will created all that is, can fail in nothing. In this certainty,
we
undertake these last few steps to You and rest in confidence upon Your
Love,
Which will not fail the Son who calls to You.
8 And so we start upon the final part
of this one holy year
which we have spent together in the search for truth and God, Who is its
one
Creator. We have found the way He chose for us and made the choice to
follow it
as He would have us go. His hand has held us up. His Thoughts have lit
the
darkness of our minds. His Love has called to us unceasingly since time
began.
9 We had a wish that God would fail to
have the Son whom He
created for Himself. We wanted God to change Himself and be what we
would make
of Him. And we believed that our insane desires were the truth. Now we
are glad
that this is all undone, and we no longer think illusions true. The
memory of
God is shimmering across the wide horizons of our minds. A moment more,
and it
will rise again. A moment more, and we who are God's Sons are safely
home,
where He would have us be.
10 Now is the need for practice almost
done. For in this
final section we will come to understand that we need only call to God
and all
temptations disappear. Instead of words, we need but feel His Love.
Instead of
prayer, we need but call His Name. Instead of judging, we need but be
still and
let all things be healed. We will accept the way God's plan will end, as
we
received the way it started. Now it is complete. This year has brought
us to
eternity.
11 One further use for words we still
retain. From time to
time, instructions on a theme of special relevance will intersperse our
daily
lessons and the periods of wordless, deep experience which should come
afterwards. These special thoughts should be reviewed each day, each one
of
them to be continued till the next is given you. They should be slowly
read and
thought about a little while, preceding one of the holy and blessed
instants in
the day. We give the first of these instructions now.
1 Forgiveness recognizes what you
thought your brother did
to you has not occurred. It does not pardon sins and make them real. It
sees
there was no sin. And in this view are all your sins forgiven. What is
sin
except a false idea about God's Son? Forgiveness merely sees its falsity
and
therefore lets it go. What then is free to take its place is now the
Will of
God.
2 An unforgiving thought is one which
makes a judgment that
it will not raise to doubt, although it is not true. The mind is closed
and
will not be released. The thought protects projection, tightening its
chains so
that distortions are more veiled and more obscure, less easily
accessible to
doubt, and further kept from reason. What can come between a fixed
projection
and the aim that it has chosen as its needed goal?
3 An unforgiving thought does many
things. In frantic
action, it pursues its goal, twisting and overturning what it sees as
interfering with its chosen path. Distortion is its purpose and the
means by
which it would accomplish it as well. It sets about its furious attempts
to
smash reality, without concern for anything that would appear to pose a
contradiction to its point of view.
4 Forgiveness, on the other hand, is
still and quietly does
nothing. It offends no aspect of reality nor seeks to twist it to
appearance
that it likes. It merely looks and waits and judges not. He who would
not
forgive must judge, for he must justify his failure to forgive. But he
who
would forgive himself must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.
5 Do nothing, then, and let
forgiveness show you what to do
through Him Who is your Guide, your Savior and Defender, strong in hope,
and
certain of your ultimate success. He has forgiven you already, for such
is His
function given Him by God. Now must you share His function and forgive
whom He
has saved, whose sinlessness He sees, and whom He honors as the Son of
God.
2 Now do we wait in quiet. God is here
because we wait
together. I am sure that He will speak to you, and you will hear. Accept
my
confidence, for it is yours. Our minds are joined. We wait with one
intent—to
hear our Father's answer to our call, to let our thoughts be still and
find His
peace, to hear Him speak to us of what we are, and to reveal Himself
unto His
Son.
1 God is with me. He is my Source of
life, the life within,
the air I breathe, the food by which I am sustained, the water which
renews and
cleanses me. He is my home, wherein I live and move, the Spirit Which
directs
my actions, offers me Its Thoughts, and guarantees my safety from all
pain. He
covers me with kindness and with care and holds in love the Son He
shines upon,
who also shines on Him. How still is he who knows the truth of what He
speaks
today!
1 I was mistaken when I thought I
lived apart from God, a
separate entity which moved in isolation, unattached, and housed within
a body.
Now I know my life is God's. I have no other home, and I do not exist
apart
from Him. He has no Thoughts that are not part of me, and I have none
but those
which are of Him.
1 My true identity is so secure, so
lofty, sinless, glorious
and great, wholly beneficent and free from guilt that Heaven looks to it
to
give it light. It lights the world as well. It is the gift my Father
gave me,
and the one as well I give the world. There is no gift but this that can
be
either given or received. This is reality, and only this. This is
illusion's
end. It is the Truth.
2 Brother, we find that stillness now.
The way is open. Now
we follow it in peace together. You have reached your hand to me, and I
will
never leave you. We are one, and it is but this oneness that we seek as
we
accomplish these few final steps which end a journey that was not begun.
1 If I so choose, I can depart this
world entirely. It is
not death which makes this possible, but it is change of mind about the
purpose
of the world. If I believe it has a value as I see it now, so will it
still
remain for me. But if I see no value in the world as I behold it,
nothing that
I want to keep as mine or search for as a goal, it will depart from me.
For I
have not sought for illusions to replace the truth.
2 And so today we find our glad return
to Heaven, which we
never really left. The Son of God this day lays down his dreams. The Son
of God
this day comes home again, released from sin and clad in holiness, with
his
right mind restored to him at last.
1 My Father knows my holiness. Shall I
deny His knowledge
and believe in what His knowledge makes impossible? Shall I accept as
true what
He proclaims as false? Or shall I take His Word for what I am since He
is my
Creator and the One Who knows the true condition of His Son?
1 I seek my own identity and find it
in these words:
"Love, Which created me, is what I am." Now need I seek no more. Love
has prevailed. So still it waited for my coming home that I will turn
away no
longer from the holy face of Christ. And what I look upon attests the
truth of
the identity I sought to lose, but which my Father has kept safe for me.
1 In peace I was created. And in peace
do I remain. It is
not given me to change my Self. How merciful is God my Father, that when
He
created me He gave me peace forever. Now I ask but to be what I am. And
can
this be denied me, when it is forever so?
1Salvation is a promise made by God
that you would find your
way to Him at last. It cannot not be kept. It guarantees that time will
have an
end, and all the thoughts that have been born in time will end as well.
God's
Word is given every mind which thinks that it has separate thoughts and
will
replace these thoughts of conflict with the Thought of peace.
2 The Thought of peace was given to
God's Son the instant
that his mind had thought of war. There was no need for such a Thought
before,
for peace was given without opposite and merely was. But when the mind
is
split, there is a need of healing. So the Thought which has the power to
heal
the split became a part of every fragment of the mind that still was one
but
failed to recognize its oneness. Now it did not know itself and thought
its own
identity was lost.
3 Salvation is undoing in the sense
that it does nothing,
failing to support the world of dreams and malice. Thus it lets
illusions go.
By not supporting them, it merely lets them quietly go down to dust. And
what
they hid is now revealed—an altar to the holy Name of God whereon His
Word is
written, with the gifts of your forgiveness laid before it and the
memory of
God not far behind.
4 Let us come daily to this holy place
and spend a while
together. Here we share our final dream. It is a dream in which there is
no
sorrow, for it holds a hint of all the glory given us by God. The grass
is
pushing through the soil, the trees are budding now, and birds have come
to
live within their branches. Earth is being born again in new perception.
Night
has gone, and we have come together in the light.
5 From here we give salvation to the
world, for it is here
salvation was received. The song of our rejoicing is the call to all the
world
that freedom is returned, that time is almost over, and God's Son has
but an
instant more to wait until his Father is remembered, dreams are done,
eternity
has shined away the world, and only Heaven now exists at all.
2 This is your will, my brother. And
you share this will
with me, and with the One as well Who is our Father. To remember Him is
Heaven.
This we seek. And only this is what it will be given us to find.
2 This is as every day should be.
Today practice the end of
fear. Have faith in Him Who is your Father. Trust all things to Him. Let
Him
reveal all things to you, and be you undismayed because you are His Son.
2 Today we have one Guide to lead us
on. And as we walk
together, we will give this day to Him with no reserve at all. This is
His day.
And so it is a day of countless gifts and mercies unto us.
1 Today we will anticipate the time
when dreams of sin and
guilt are gone and we have reached again the holy peace we never left.
Merely a
tiny instant has elapsed between eternity and timelessness. So brief the
interval, there was no lapse in continuity nor break in thoughts which
are
forever unified as one. Nothing has ever happened to disturb the peace
of God
the Father and the Son. This we accept as wholly true today.
1 I need but look upon all things that
seem to hurt me and
with perfect certainty assure myself, "God wills that I be saved from
this," and merely watch them disappear. I need but keep in mind my
Father's Will for me is only happiness to find that only happiness has
come to
me. And I need but remember that His Love surrounds His Son and keeps
his
sinlessness forever perfect to be sure that I am saved and safe forever
in His
arms. I am the Son He loves. And I am saved because God in His mercy
wills it
so.
1 I have a kingdom I must rule. At
times, it does not seem I
am its king at all. It seems to triumph over me and tell me what to
think and
what to do and feel. And yet it has been given me to serve whatever
purpose I
perceive in it. My mind can only serve. Today I give its service to the
Holy
Spirit to employ as He sees fit. I thus direct my mind, which I alone
can rule.
And thus I set it free to do the Will of God.
1 Today I will accept the truth about
myself. I will arise
in glory and allow the light in me to shine upon the world throughout
the day.
I bring the world the tidings of salvation that I hear as God my Father
speaks
to me. And I behold the world that Christ would have me see, aware it
ends the
bitter dream of death, aware it is my Father's call to me.
2 And so again today we pause to think
how much our Father
loves us. And how dear His Son, created by His Love, remains to Him
Whose Love
is made complete in him.
1 Let not the truth about ourselves
today be hidden by a
false humility. Let us instead be thankful for the gifts our Father gave
us.
Can we see in those with whom He shares His glory any trace of sin and
guilt?
And can it be that we are not among them when He loves His Son forever
and with
perfect constancy, knowing he is as He created him?
1 Fear is deception. It attests that
you have seen yourself
as you could never be and therefore look upon a world which is
impossible. Not
one thing in this world is true. It does not matter what the form in
which it
may appear. It witnesses but to your own illusions of yourself. Let us
not be
deceived today. We are the Son of God. There is no fear in us, for we
are each
a part of Love Itself.
ST241:1The world is false perception. It is
born of error, and it
has not left its source. It will remain no longer than the thought which
gave
it birth is cherished. When the thought of separation has been changed
to one
of true forgiveness will the world be seen in quite another light, and
one
which leads to truth, where all the world must disappear and all its
errors
vanish. Now its source has gone, and its effects are gone as well.
2 The world was made as an attack on
God. It symbolizes
fear. And what is fear except love's absence? Thus the world was meant
to be a
place where God could enter not and where His Son could be apart from
Him. Here
was perception born, for knowledge could not cause such insane thoughts.
But
eyes deceive, and ears hear falsely. Now mistakes become quite possible,
for
certainty has gone.
3 The mechanisms of illusion have been
born instead. And now
they go to find what has been given them to seek. Their aim is to fulfil
the
purpose which the world was made to witness and make real. They see in
its
illusions but a solid base where truth exists, upheld apart from lies.
Yet
everything that they report is but illusion, which is kept apart from
truth.
4 As sight was made to lead away from
truth, it can be
redirected. Sounds become the call of God. And all perception can be
given a
new purpose by the one Whom God appointed savior to the world. Follow
His light
and see the world as He beholds it. Hear His Voice alone in all that
speaks to
you. And let Him give you peace and certainty, which you have thrown
away but
Heaven has preserved for you in Him.
5 Let us not rest content until the
world has joined our
changed perception. Let us not be satisfied until forgiveness has been
made
complete. And let us not attempt to change our function. We must save
the
world. For we who made it must behold it through the eyes of Christ,
that what
was made to die can be restored to Everlasting Life.
1 What joy there is today! It is a
time of special celebration.
For today holds out the instant to the darkened world where its release
is set.
The day has come when sorrows pass away and pain is gone. The glory of
salvation dawns today upon a world set free. This is the time of hope
for
countless millions. They will be united now as you forgive them all. For
I will
be forgiven by you today.
1 I will not lead my life alone today.
I do not understand
the world. And so to try to lead my life alone must be but foolishness.
For
there is One Who knows all that is best for me. And He is glad to make
no
choices for me but the ones that lead to God. This day I give to Him,
for I
would not delay my coming home, and it is He Who knows the way to Him.
1 I will be honest with myself today.
I will not think that
I already know what must remain beyond my present grasp. I will not
think I
understand the whole from bits of my perception, which are all that I
can see.
Today I recognize that this is so. And so I am relieved of judgment
which I
cannot make. Thus do I free myself and what I look upon, to be in peace
as God
created us.
2 And there we are in truth. No storms
can come into the
hallowed haven of our home. In God are we secure. For what can come to
threaten
God Himself or make afraid what will forever be a part of Him?
2 And so we go in peace. To all the
world we give the
message that we have received. And thus we come to hear the Voice of
God, Who
speaks to us as we relate His Word, Whose Love we recognize because we
share
the Word that He has given unto us.
1 Let me not think that I can find the
way to God if I have
hatred in my heart. Let me not try to hurt God's Son and think that I
can know
his Father or my Self. Let me not fail to recognize myself and still
believe
that my awareness can contain my Father, or my mind conceive of all the
love my
Father has for me and all the love which I return to Him.
1 Sin is the symbol of attack. Behold
it anywhere, and I
will suffer. For forgiveness is the only means whereby Christ's vision
comes to
me. Let me accept what His sight shows me as the simple truth and I am
healed
completely. Brother, come and let me look on you. Your loveliness
reflects my
own. Your sinlessness is mine. You stand forgiven, and I stand with you.
1 I have disowned the truth. Now let
me be as faithful in
disowning falsity. Whatever suffers is not part of me. What grieves is
not
myself. What is in pain is but illusion in my mind. What dies was never
living
in reality and did but mock the truth about myself. Now I disown
self-concepts
and deceits and lies about the holy Son of God. Now am I ready to accept
him
back as God created him and as he is.
1 Forgiveness paints a picture of a
world where suffering is
over, loss becomes impossible, and anger makes no sense. Attack is gone,
and
madness has an end. What suffering is now conceivable? What loss can be
sustained? The world becomes a place of joy, abundance, charity, and
endless
giving. It is now so like to the Heaven that it quickly is transformed
into the
Light that it reflects. And so the journey which the Son of God began
has ended
in the Light from Which he came.
1 Let me behold the Son of God today
and witness to his
glory. Let me not try to obscure the holy light in him and see his
strength
diminished and reduced to frailty nor perceive the lacks in him with
which I
would attack his sovereignty.
ST251:1Sin is insanity. It is the means by
which the mind is
driven mad and seeks to let illusions take the place of truth. And being
mad,
it sees illusions where the truth should be and where it really is. Sin
gave
the body eyes, for what is there the sinless would behold? What need
have they
of sights or sounds or touch? What would they hear or reach to grasp?
What
would they sense at all? To sense is not to know. And truth can be but
filled
with knowledge and with nothing else.
2 The body is the instrument the mind
made in its striving
to deceive itself. Its purpose is to strive. Yet can the goal of
striving
change. And now the body serves a different aim for striving. What it
seeks for
now is chosen by the aim the mind has taken as replacement for the goal
of
self-deception. Truth can be its aim as well as lies. The senses then
will seek
instead for witnesses to what is true.
3 Sin is the home of all illusions,
which but stand for
things imagined, issuing from thoughts which are untrue. They are the
"proof" that what has no reality is real. Sin "proves"
God's Son is evil; timelessness must have an end; eternal life must die.
And
God Himself has lost the Son He loves, with but corruption to complete
Himself,
His Will forever overcome by death, love slain by hate, and peace to be
no
more.
4 A madman's dreams are frightening,
and sin appears indeed
to terrify. And yet what sin perceives is but a childish game. The Son
of God
may play he has become a body, prey to evil and to guilt, with but a
little
life that ends in death. But all the while his Father shines on him and
loves
him with an everlasting Love which his pretenses cannot change at all.
5 How long, oh Son of God, will you
maintain the game of
sin? Shall we not put away these sharp-edged children's toys? How soon
will you
be ready to come home? Perhaps today? There is no sin. Creation is
unchanged.
Would you still hold return to Heaven back? How long, oh holy Son of
God, how
long?
1 I sought for many things and found
despair. Now do I seek
but one, for in that one is all I need and only what I need. All that I
sought
before I needed not and did not even want. My only need I did not
recognize.
But now I see that I need only truth. In that, all needs are satisfied,
all
cravings end, all hopes are finally fulfilled, and dreams are gone. Now
have I
everything that I could need. Now have I everything that I could want.
And now
at last I find myself at peace.
1 My Self is holy beyond all the
thoughts of holiness of
which I now conceive. Its shimmering and perfect purity is far more
brilliant
than is any light that I have ever looked upon. Its love is limitless,
with an
intensity that holds all things within it in the calm of quiet
certainty. Its
strength comes not from burning impulses which move the world but from
the
boundless Love of God Himself. How far beyond this world my Self must
be, and
yet how near to me and close to God!
1 It is impossible that anything
should come to me unbidden
by myself. Even in this world, it is I who rule my destiny. What happens
is
what I desire. What does not occur is what I do not want to happen. This
must I
accept. For thus am I led past this world to my creations, children of
my Will,
in Heaven where my holy Self abides with them and Him Who has created
me.
2 Today we let no evil thoughts direct
our words or actions.
When such thoughts occur, we quietly step back and look at them, and
then we
let them go. We do not want what they would bring with them. And so we
do not
choose to keep them. They are silent now. And in the stillness, hallowed
by His
Love, God speaks to us and tells us of our will, as we have chosen to
remember
Him.
1 It does not seem to me that I can
choose to have but peace
today. And yet my God assures me that His Son is like Himself. Let me
this day
have faith in Him Who says I am God's Son. And let the peace I choose be
mine
today bear witness to the truth of what He says. God's Son can have no
cares
and must remain forever in the peace of Heaven. In His name I give today
to
finding what my Father wills for me, accepting it as mine and giving it
to all
my Father's Sons, along with me.
1 The way to God is through
forgiveness here. There is no
other way. If sin had not been cherished by the mind, what need would
there
have been to find a way to where you are? Who would still be uncertain?
Who
could be unsure of who he is? And who would yet remain asleep in heavy
clouds
of doubt about the holiness of him who God created sinless? Here we can
but
dream. But we can dream we have forgiven him in whom all sin remains
impossible, and it is this we choose to dream today. God is our goal;
forgiveness is the means by which our minds return to Him at last.
1 If I forget my goal, I can be but
confused, unsure of what
I am and thus conflicted in my actions. No one can serve contradicting
goals
and serve them well. Nor can he function without deep distress and great
depression. Let us therefore be determined to remember what we want
today that
we may unify our thoughts and actions meaningfully and achieve only what
God
would have us do today.
1 All that is needful is to train our
minds to overlook all
little, senseless aims and to remember that our goal is God. His memory
is
hidden in our minds, obscured but by our pointless little goals which
offer
nothing and do not exist. Shall we continue to allow God's grace to
shine in
unawareness while the toys and trinkets of the world are sought instead?
God is
our only goal, our only Love. We have no aim but to remember Him.
1 Sin is the only thought that makes
the goal of God seem
unobtainable. What else could blind us to the obvious and make the
strange and
the distorted seem more clear? What else but sin engenders our attacks?
What
else but sin could be the source of guilt, demanding punishment and
suffering?
And what but this could be the source of fear, obscuring God's creation,
giving
love the attributes of fear and of attack?
2 Now is our Source remembered, and
therein we find our true
Identity at last. Holy indeed are we because our Source can know no sin.
And we
who are His Sons are like each other and alike to Him.
1 The body is a fence the Son of God
imagines he has built
to separate parts of his Self from other parts. It is within this fence,
he
thinks he lives, to die as it decays and crumbles. For within this fence
he
thinks that he is safe from love. Identifying with his safety, he
regards
himself as what his safety is. How else could he be certain he remains
within
the body, keeping love outside?
2 The body will not stay. Yet this he
sees as double safety.
For the Son of God's impermanence is "proof" his fences work and do
the task his mind assigns to them. For if his oneness still remained
untouched,
who could attack and who could be attacked? Who could be victor? Who
could be
his prey? Who could be victim? Who the murderer? And if he did not die,
what
"proof" is there that God's eternal Son can be destroyed?
3 The body is a dream. Like other
dreams, it sometimes seems
to picture happiness but can quite suddenly revert to fear, where every
dream
is born. For only love creates in truth, and truth can never fear. Made
to be
fearful, must the body serve the purpose given it. But we can change the
purpose
which the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.
4 The body is the means by which God's
Son returns to
sanity. Though it was made to fence him into hell without escape, yet
has the
goal of Heaven been exchanged for the pursuit of hell. The Son of God
extends
his hand to reach his brother and to help him walk along the road with
him. Now
is the body holy. Now it serves to heal the mind that it was made to
kill.
5 You will identify with what you
think will make you safe.
Whatever it may be, you will believe that it is one with you. Your
safety lies
in truth and not in lies. Love is your safety. Fear does not exist.
Identify
with love, and you are safe. Identify with love, and you are home.
Identify
with love, and find your Self.
1 I will identify with what I think is
refuge and security.
I will behold myself where I perceive my strength and think I live
within the
citadel where I am safe and cannot be attacked. Let me today seek not
security
in danger, nor attempt to find my peace in murderous attack. I live in
God. In
Him I find my refuge and my strength. In Him is my Identity. In Him is
everlasting peace. And only there will I remember who I really am.
2 We who are one would recognize this
day the truth about
ourselves. We would come home and rest in unity. For there is peace, and
nowhere else can peace be sought and found.
2 And while we still remain outside
the gate of Heaven, let
us look on all we see through holy vision and the eyes of Christ. Let
all
appearances seem pure to us that we may pass them by in innocence and
walk
together to our Father's house as brothers and the holy Sons of God.
2 My brothers, join with me in this
today. This is
salvation's prayer. Must we not join in what will save the world along
with us?
1 I have indeed misunderstood the
world because I laid my
"sins" on it and saw them looking back at me. How fierce they seemed!
And how deceived was I to think that what I feared was in the world
instead of
in my mind alone. Today I see the world in the celestial gentleness with
which
creation shines. There is no fear in it. Let no appearance of my
"sins" obscure the light of Heaven, shining on the world. What is
reflected here is in God's Mind. The images I see reflect my thoughts.
Yet is
my mind at one with God's. And so I can perceive creation's gentleness.
2 This day we enter into paradise,
calling upon God's Name
and on our own, acknowledging our Self in each of us, united in the holy
Love
of God. How many saviors God has given us! How can we lose the way to
Him, when
He has filled the world with those who point to Him and given us the
sight to
look on them?
1 Surrounding me is all the life that
God created in His
Love. It calls to me in every heartbeat and in every breath, in every
action
and in every thought. Peace fills my heart and floods my body with the
purpose
of forgiveness. Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world
is
given me. Each heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with
strength.
I am a messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in
love, and
held forever quiet and at peace within His loving arms. Each heartbeat
calls
His Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at
home in
Him.
2 Let not our sight be blasphemous
today nor let our ears
attend to lying tongues. Only reality is free of pain. Only reality is
free of
loss. Only reality is wholly safe. And it is only this we seek today.
2 Today our sight is blessed indeed.
We share one vision as
we look upon the face of Him Whose Self is ours. We are one because of
Him Who
is the Son of God, of Him Who is our own Identity.
2 The quiet of today will bless our
hearts, and through them
peace will come to everyone. Christ is our eyes today. And through His
sight,
we offer healing to the world through Him, the holy Son whom God created
whole,
the holy Son whom God created one.
1 Christ is God's Son as He created
Him. He is the Self we
share, uniting us with one another and with God as well. He is the
Thought
Which still abides within the Mind That is His Source. He has not left
His holy
home nor lost the innocence in which He was created. He abides unchanged
forever in the Mind of God.
2 Christ is the link that keeps you
one with God and
guarantees that separation is no more than an illusion of despair. For
hope
forever will abide in Him. Your mind is part of His and His of yours. He
is the
part in which God's Answer lies, where all decisions are already made
and
dreams are over. He remains untouched by anything the body's eyes
perceive. For
though in Him His Father placed the means for your salvation, yet does
He
remain the Self Who, like His Father, knows no sin.
3 Home of the Holy Spirit and at home
in God alone, does
Christ remain at peace within the Heaven of your holy mind. This is the
only
part of you that has reality in truth. The rest is dreams. Yet will
these
dreams be given unto Christ to fade before His glory and reveal your
holy Self,
the Christ, to you at last.
4 The Holy Spirit reaches from the
Christ in you to all your
dreams and bids them come to Him to be translated into truth. He will
exchange
them for the final dream which God appointed as the end of dreams. For
when
forgiveness rests upon the world and peace has come to every Son of God,
what
could remain to keep things separate, for what remains to see except
Christ's
face?
5 And how long will this holy face be
seen, when it is but
the symbol that the time for learning now is over and the goal of the
Atonement
has been reached at last? So therefore let us seek to find Christ's face
and
look on nothing else. As we behold His glory will we know we have no
need of
learning or perception or of time, or anything except the holy Self, the
Christ
Whom God created as His Son.
1 Each day, each hour, every instant,
I am choosing what I
want to look upon, the sounds I want to hear, the witnesses to what I
want to
be the truth for me. Today I choose to look upon what Christ would have
me see,
to listen to God's Voice, and seek the witnesses to what is true in
God's
creation. In Christ's sight, the world and God's creation meet, and as
they
come together, all perception disappears. His kindly sight redeems the
world
from death. For nothing that He looks on but must live, remembering the
Father
and the Son; Creator and Creation unified.
2 Today we pass illusions by. And if
we hear temptation call
to us to stay and linger in a dream, we turn aside and ask ourselves if
we, the
Sons of God, could be content with dreams when Heaven can be chosen just
as
easily as hell and love will happily replace all fear.
1 Perhaps we are now ready for a day
of undisturbed
tranquility. If this is not yet feasible, we are content and even more
than
satisfied to learn how such a day can be achieved. If we give way to a
disturbance, let us learn how to dismiss it and return to peace. We need
but tell
our minds with certainty, "The stillness of the peace of God is
mine," and nothing can intrude upon the peace that God Himself has given
to His Son.
2 A special blessing comes to us today
from Him Who is our
Father. Give this day to Him and there will be no fear today because the
day is
given unto Love.
1 Let us today attend the Voice of
God, Which speaks an
ancient lesson, no more true today than any other day. Yet has this day
been
chosen as the time when we will seek and hear and learn and understand.
Join me
in hearing. For the Voice of God tells us of things we cannot understand
alone,
nor learn apart. It is in this that all things are protected. And in
this the
healing of the Voice of God is found.
1 What is the Word of God? "My Son is
pure and holy as
Myself." And thus did God become the Father of the Son He loves, for
thus
was he created. This the Word His Son did not create with Him because in
this
His Son was born. Let us accept His Fatherhood, and all is given us.
Deny we
were created in His Love, and we deny our Self, to be unsure of who we
are, of
who our Father is, and for what purpose we have come. And yet we need
but to
acknowledge Him Who gave His Word to us in our creation, to remember Him
and so
recall our Self.
2 Let us not worship idols, nor
believe in any laws idolatry
would make to hide the freedom of the Son of God. He is not bound except
by his
beliefs. Yet what he is is far beyond his faith in slavery or freedom.
He is
free because he is his Father's Son. And he can not be bound unless
God's Truth
can lie and God can will that He deceive Himself.
1 If I accept that I am prisoner
within a body in a world in
which all things that seem to live appear to die, then is my Father
prisoner
with me. And this do I believe when I maintain the laws the world obeys
must I
obey—the frailties and the sins which I perceive are real and cannot be
escaped. If I am bound in any way, I do not know my Father or my Self.
And I am
lost to all reality. For truth is free, and what is bound is not a part
of
truth.
1 The end of dreams is promised me
because God's Son is not
abandoned by His Love. Only in dreams is there a time when he appears to
be in
prison and awaits a future freedom if it be at all. Yet in reality his
dreams
are gone, with truth established in their place. And now is freedom his
already. Should I wait in chains which have been severed for release,
when God
is offering me freedom now?
1 Whom God created limitless is free.
I can invent
imprisonment for him, but only in illusions, not in truth. No Thought of
God
has left its Father's Mind. No Thought of God is limited at all. No
Thought of
God but is forever pure. Can I lay limits on the Son of God, whose
Father
willed that he be limitless and like Himself in freedom and in love?
1The Holy Spirit mediates between
illusions and the truth.
As He must bridge the gap between reality and dreams, perception leads
to
knowledge through the grace that God has given Him, to be His gift to
everyone
who turns to Him for truth. Across the bridge that He provides are
dreams all
carried to the truth, to be dispelled before the light of knowledge.
There are
sights and sounds forever laid aside. And where they were perceived
before,
forgiveness has made possible perception's tranquil end.
2 The goal the Holy Spirit's teaching
sets is just this end
of dreams. For sights and sounds must be translated from the witnesses
of fear
to those of love. And when this is entirely accomplished, learning has
achieved
the only goal it has in truth. For learning, as the Holy Spirit guides
it to
the outcome He perceives for it, becomes the means to go beyond itself,
to be
replaced by the Eternal Truth.
3 If you but knew how much your Father
yearns to have you
recognize your sinlessness, you would not let His Voice appeal in vain
nor turn
away from His replacement for the fearful images and dreams you made.
The Holy
Spirit understands the means you made, by which you would attain what is
forever unattainable. And if you offer them to Him, He will employ the
means
you made for exile to restore your mind to where it truly is at home.
4 From knowledge, where He has been
placed by God, the Holy
Spirit calls to you to let forgiveness rest upon your dreams and be
restored to
sanity and peace of mind. Without forgiveness will your dreams remain to
terrify you. And the memory of all your Father's Love will not return to
signify the end of dreams has come.
5 Accept your Father's gift. It is a
call from Love to Love
that it be but itself. The Holy Spirit is His gift by Which the
quietness of
Heaven is restored to God's beloved Son. Would you refuse to take the
function
of completing God when all He wills is that you be complete?
2 I will not hurt myself today. For I
am far beyond all
pain. My Father placed me safe in Heaven, watching over me. And I would
not
attack the Son He loves, for what He loves is mine to love as well.
1 If I could realize but this today,
salvation would be
reached for all the world. This the decision not to be insane and to
accept
myself as God Himself, my Father and my Source, created me. This the
determination not to be asleep in dreams of death while truth remains
forever
living in the joy of life. And this the choice to recognize the Self
Whom God
created as the Son He loves and Who remains my one Reality.
2 Now are we one in shared identity,
with God our Father as
our only Source and everything created part of us. And so we offer
blessing to
all things, uniting lovingly with all the world, which our forgiveness
has made
one with us.
1 Loss is not loss when properly
perceived. Pain is
impossible. There is no grief with any cause at all. And suffering of
any kind
is nothing but a dream. Such is the truth—at first to be but said and
then
repeated many times and next to be accepted as but partly true with many
reservations. Then to be considered seriously more and more, and finally
accepted as the truth. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. And
I
would go beyond these words today, go past all reservations, and arrive
at full
acceptance of the truth in them.
1 Today I wake with joy, expecting but
the happy things of
God to come to me. I ask but them to come and realize my invitation will
be
answered by the thoughts to which it has been sent by me. And I will ask
for
only joyous things the instant I accept my holiness. For what would be
the use
of pain to me, what purpose would my suffering fulfill, and how would
grief and
loss avail me, if insanity departs from me today and I accept my
holiness
instead?
2 The stillness of today will give us
hope that we have
found the way and travelled far along it to a wholly certain goal. Today
we
will not doubt the end which God Himself has promised us. We trust in
Him and
in our Self, Who still is one with Him.
1 Where would I go but Heaven? What
could be a substitute
for happiness? What gift could I prefer before the peace of God? What
treasure
would I seek and find and keep that can compare with my identity? And
would I
rather live with fear than love?
2 Forgive me, then, today. And you
will know you have
forgiven me if you behold your brother in the light of holiness. He
cannot be
less holy than can I, and you cannot be holier than he.
1 Unless the past is over in my mind,
the real world must
escape my sight. For I am really looking nowhere, seeing but what is not
there.
How can I then perceive the world forgiveness offers? This the past was
made to
hide, for this the world that can be looked on only now. It has no past.
For
what can be forgiven but the past, and if it is forgiven, it is gone.
1 Unless I look upon what is not
there, my present happiness
is all I see. Eyes that begin to open see at last. And I would have
Christ's
vision come to me this very day. What I perceive without God's own
correction
for the sight I made is frightening and painful to behold. Yet I would
not
allow my mind to be deceived by the belief the dream I made is real an
instant
longer. This the day I seek my present happiness and look on nothing
else
except the thing I seek.
1 The real world is a symbol like the
rest of what
perception offers. Yet it stands for what is opposite to what you made.
Your
world is seen through eyes of fear and brings the witnesses of terror to
your
mind. The real world cannot be perceived except through eyes forgiveness
blesses, so they see a world where terror is impossible and witnesses to
fear
can not be found.
2 The real world holds a counterpart
for each unhappy
thought reflected in your world, a sure correction for the sights of
fear and
sounds of battle which your world contains. The real world shows a world
seen
differently, through quiet eyes and with a mind at peace. Nothing but
rest is
there. There are no cries of pain and sorrow heard, for nothing here
remains
outside forgiveness. And the sights are gentle. Only happy sights and
sounds
can reach the mind that has forgiven itself.
3 What need has such a mind for
thoughts of death, attack,
and murder? What can it perceive surrounding it but safety, love, and
joy? What
is there it would choose to be condemned, and what is there that it
would judge
against? The world it sees arises from a mind at peace within itself. No
danger
lurks in anything it sees, for it is kind and only kindness does it look
upon.
4 The real world is the symbol that
the dream of sin and
guilt is over and God's Son no longer sleeps. His waking eyes perceive
the sure
reflection of his Father's Love, the certain promise that he is
redeemed. The
real world signifies the end of time, for its perception makes time
purposeless.
5 The Holy Spirit has no need of time
when it has served His
purpose. Now He waits but that one instant more for God to take His
final step,
and time has disappeared, taking perception with it as it goes and
leaving but
the Truth to be Itself. That instant is our goal, for it contains the
memory of
God. And as we look upon a world forgiven, it is He Who calls to us and
comes
to take us home, reminding us of our Identity which our forgiveness has
restored to us.
1 Christ's vision looks through me
today. His sight shows me
all things forgiven and at peace and offers this same vision to the
world. And
I accept this vision in its name, both for myself and for the world as
well.
What loveliness we look upon today! What holiness we see surrounding us!
And it
is given us to recognize it is a holiness in which we share; it is the
Holiness
of God Himself.
1 God's promises make no exceptions.
And He guarantees that
only joy can be the final outcome found for everything. Yet it is up to
us when
this is reached—how long we let an alien will appear to be opposing His.
And
while we think this will is real, we will not find the end He has
appointed as
the outcome of all problems we perceive, all trials we see, and every
situation
that we meet. Yet is the ending certain. For God's Will is done in earth
and
Heaven. We will seek and we will find according to His Will, which
guarantees
that our will is done.
1 All fear is past because its source
is gone and all its thoughts
gone with it. Love remains the only present state, whose Source is here
forever
and forever. Can the world seem bright and clear and safe and welcoming
with
all my past mistakes oppressing it and showing me distorted forms of
pain? Yet
in the present, love is obvious and its effects apparent. All the world
shines
in reflection of its holy light, and I perceive a world forgiven at
last.
1 I am a Son of God. And can I be
another thing as well? Did
God create the mortal and corruptible? What use has God's beloved Son
for what
must die? And yet a neutral thing does not see death, for thoughts of
fear are
not invested there, nor is a mockery of love bestowed upon it. Its
neutrality
protects it while it has a use. And afterwards, without a purpose, it is
laid
aside. It is not sick or old or hurt. It is but functionless, unneeded
and cast
off. Let me not see it more than this today—of service for a while and
fit to
serve, to keep its usefulness while it can serve, and then to be
replaced for
greater good.
1 Christ asks that He may use my eyes
today and thus redeem
the world. He asks this gift that He may offer peace of mind to me and
take
away all terror and all pain. And as they are removed from me, the
dreams that
seemed to settle on the world are gone. Redemption must be one. As I am
saved,
the world is saved with me. For all of us must be redeemed together.
Fear
appears in many different forms, but love is one.
2 We teach today what we would learn
and that alone. And so
our learning goal becomes an unconflicted one and possible of easy reach
and
quick accomplishment. How gladly does the Holy Spirit come to rescue us
from
hell when we allow His teaching to persuade the world through us to seek
and
find the easy path to God!
1 Forgiveness is the only gift I give
because it is the only
gift I want, and everything I give I give myself. This is salvation's
simple
formula. And I, who would be saved, would make it mine to be the way I
live
within a world that needs salvation and that will be saved as I accept
Atonement for myself.
1 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.
1 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.
1 This is the thought that 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.
1 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 which 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.
2 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 everyone
as
one.
3 The Second Coming ends the lessons
which 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.
4 The Second Coming is the one event
in time which time
itself cannot affect. For everyone 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 all Sons of God acknowledge that they
all
are one. And God the Father smiles upon His Son, His one creation and
His only
joy.
5 Pray that this 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.
2 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.
2 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 come to Him.
1 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 which show His Father's Love. Let Him no longer be a
stranger here, for He is born again in me today.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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.
2 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 but one.
1 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.
1 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 which 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.
2 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.
1 Christ's Second Coming gives the Son
of God the 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 which 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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."
1 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 you of the agony of all the
judgments you
have made against yourself and re-establish peace of mind by giving you
God's
Judgment of His Son.
1 Perception follows judgment. Having
judged, you therefore
see what you would look upon. For sight can merely serve to offer you
what you
would have. It is impossible to overlook what you would see and fail to
see
what you 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.
2
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 are joined. For in our vision it becomes as holy as the
light in
us.
1 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 hope?
1 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
perceives
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.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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 aside
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
which 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.
1 Here is a thought from which all
arrogance has been
removed, and only truth is left. For arrogance opposes truth. But where
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.
1 The Son of God is limitless. There
are no limits on his
strength, his peace, his joy, or 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.
1 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 change.
Forever and
forever are God's Thoughts exactly as they were and as they are,
unchanged
through time and after time is done.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
2 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.
1 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.
2 And as we pay the debt we owe to
truth—a debt which 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.
2 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.
1 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.
2 Let us today behold earth disappear,
at first transformed,
and then, forgiven, fade entirely into God's holy Will.
1 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.
1 What seems to be the second place is
first, for all things
we perceive are upside down until we listen to the Voice of 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.
2 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.
1 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.
1 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.
2 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.
3 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 tranquillity?
4 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 for death.
5 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.
2 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.
1 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.
1 Conflict must be resolved. It cannot
be evaded, set aside,
denied, disguised, seen somewhere else, called by another name, nor
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.
1 I will not wait another day to find
the treasures which my
Father offers me. Illusions must be vain and dreams are gone, even while
they
are woven out of thoughts that rest on false perception. 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.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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
he has
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.
1 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.
2 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.
1 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 gives.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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 you saw.
5 Miracles fall like drops of healing
rain from Heaven on a
dry and dusty world, where starved and thirsty creatures came 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.
2 Let us not then attack our
sinlessness, for it contains
the Word of God to us, and in its kind reflection we are saved.
2 Brother, forgive me now. I come to
you to take you home
with me. And as we go, the world goes with us on the way to God.
2 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.
2 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.
2 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.
2 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.
2 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 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.
2 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.
2 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.
2 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.
3 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 brothers
and
perceive all things as kindly and as good. We do not seek a function
that is
past the gates of Heaven. Knowledge will return when we have done our
part. We
are concerned only with giving welcome to the truth.
4 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
of God proclaim the world as sinless. Ours the minds which 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.
5 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.
IF:1Our 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,
which
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.
2 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 this 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.
3 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.
4 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 show
the way to us. In him resides salvation, offered us through our
forgiveness
given unto him.
5 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?
6 We come in honesty to Him 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.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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.
1 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 And now I place you in His hands, to
be His faithful
followers, 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.
5 The end is certain and the means as
well. To this we say
"Amen." We will be told exactly what God wills for us 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 right direction. Joy attends our way. For
we go
homeward to an open door which God has held unclosed to welcome us.
6 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 close and
all
about. His Love surrounds you, and of this be sure: that I will never
leave you
comfortless.