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.