Daily Inspiration for Living A Course in Miracles

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Releasing Ourselves from the Ego’s Hell

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. [Illusions] 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.

Try to remember when there was a time… when nothing came to interrupt your peace; when you were certain you were loved and safe.

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 [illusions]. They have no place because the truth has come, and they are nowhere. They can not be found, for truth is everywhere forever, now.

Begin by asking Him [your Self] Who goes with you upon this undertaking that He be in your awareness as you go with 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:

Truth will correct all errors in my mind,
And I will rest in Him Who is my Self.

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.

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. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 107, W-pI.107.1;2:3;3:2-7;8:1;9:2-10:2. See also ACIM Lesson 107 Insights.)

The transition from the fear, doubt and pain we experience in the world to a life of peace, joy and certain safety happens entirely in our mind where our true Self abides. If we make the unequivocal commitment to identify with our true Self, the appearances of the world will fade away. Illusions disappear in the presence of Truth.

Today we commit to following the lead of our true Self, for we would be released from the ego thought system of separation and return to the truth of Love’s Oneness.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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A Day of Profound Fulfillment

Let the invisible unity of which you are a part be the guiding influence in your life. Life lived as the Whole rather than as a separate part, is perfectly fulfilling. You are the Whole; you contain and are contained by everything. There is nothing that is not your Mind.

Apparently separate existence is but a dream you are dreaming. While you continue to sleep, the dream seems real, much as your nightly dreams seem real until you awake. Then you see clearly that you were dreaming and you do not mistake those dreams for reality. When you awake from the sleep of ignorance, you will know that the world you see and everything in it was nothing more than a passing dream that is now over. The spiritual sun is rising, and its Light shines away the darkness of the long night’s sleep. Step forward into the Light and take your rightful place as the Christ, God’s holy Creation. Even now you are the Christ as you have always been. The dream cannot affect your Reality, only your awareness of It. (From the Christ Mind Book II, p. 173)

The Whole of Reality is Love and nothing else. When we identify with Love, we are identifying with all that is Real. When we accept that we are united with the Whole, containing and contained by It, we see the truth in everyone as one with us in the unity of the Whole. We join with the Love that unifies us as Christ in the Mind of God. We see past the appearances in the dream of separation. The Love that we are joins freely and without limit with the Love that is everyone.

Our hearts are filled with joy, for we are fulfilling our sole purpose to extend Love. We dedicate today to letting Love guide our vision, our thoughts, our words and our actions. With Love as our Guide, it will be a day of blessing and profound fulfillment.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The Pillars That Uphold the Ego

[It] is [the purpose of the laws of chaos] to make meaningless, and to attack the truth. Here are the laws that rule the world you made. And yet they govern nothing, and need not be broken; merely looked upon and gone beyond.

The first chaotic law is that the truth is different for everyone. Like all these principles, this one maintains that each is separate and has a different set of thoughts that set him off from others.

The second law of chaos, dear indeed to every worshipper of sin, is that each one must sin, and therefore deserves attack and death. This principle, closely related to the first, is the demand that errors call for punishment and not correction.”

[T]he third preposterous belief… seems to make chaos eternal. For if God cannot be mistaken, He must accept His Son’s belief in what he is, and hate him for it.

See how the fear of God is reinforced by this third principle.

The ego values only what it takes. This leads to the fourth law of chaos, which, if the others are accepted, must be true. This seeming law is the belief you have what you have taken. By this, another’s loss becomes your gain, and thus it fails to recognize that you can never take away save from yourself.

[A] final principle… holds there is a substitute for love [fear]. This is the magic that will cure all of your pain; the missing factor in your madness that makes it “sane.”

[Fear]… is lifted to the throne of love…

Life not in Heaven is impossible, and what is not in Heaven is not anywhere. Outside of Heaven, only the conflict of illusion stands; senseless, impossible and beyond all reason, and yet perceived as an eternal barrier to Heaven. Illusions are but forms. Their content is never true.

How can you know whether you chose the stairs to Heaven or the way to hell? Quite easily. How do you feel? Is peace in your awareness? Are you certain which way you go? And are you sure the goal of Heaven can be reached? If not, you walk alone. Ask, then, your Friend to join with you, and give you certainty of where you go. (A Course in Miracles, T-23.II. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

It is helpful to know that the seeming stability and permanence of the ego is based on chaos. It makes it clear that the ego cannot be trusted, for it is as safe as quicksand. Do we really want to build the foundation of our “life” on quicksand? To do so is insanity.

We need to learn the hidden pillars of the ego thought system we have been using as the basis for all our perceptions. As we learn that our perceptions are based on insane beliefs, we take an important step to release ourselves from the ego’s illusions.

Knowing that our uncertainty, unhappiness, fear and guilt come from interpretations based on insane beliefs helps us know the symptoms that are flags warning us to turn to the Holy Spirit for help. We have a Friend Whose purpose is to guide us up the stairs to Heaven. We take His Hand today.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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From Fear to Love

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 [the world]. It is this that is meaningless in truth. Beneath your words [thoughts] 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.

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 that 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 impotence and unreality. And on this alone it is correct.

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 that 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. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 12, W-pI.12.5:3-6 & 13.2-3. See also ACIM Lesson 12 Insights.)

Since only God’s Love is real, the appearance of anything other than the oneness of Love must be illusion. Illusions have no meaning of their own. We can only perceive illusions if we believe that we are outside of and separate from God’s Love. This belief is the core of the ego thought system of separation. By equating ourselves with the ego, we believe we are in a world without God’s Love. This belief puts us in a constant state of fear (lack of Love).

The ego assigns its own meaning to make illusions seem meaningful and capable of having an effect. It is this we experience when we equate ourselves with the ego. But this experience is based on belief in what could never be true. To experience the indescribable joy God has given us, we must let go of believing that anything the ego offers is true.

We begin the process of letting go of the ego by reminding ourselves that what we see in the world is meaningless. The next step is to ask the Holy Spirit to show us what is truly meaningful beyond the appearances that we have believed in. As we open to the Holy Spirit’s lessons, the appearances of the world become less disturbing because we become more aware of the certainty of God’s changeless Love in us and everyone. With practice, we will see the world more consistently with the Holy Spirit’s vision. We will experience greater peace and happiness. We are worthy of this practice.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Learning to See Our Innocence

Remember always that it is impossible to condemn the Son of God in part. Those whom you see as guilty become the witnesses to guilt in you, and you will see it there, for it is there until it is undone. Guilt is always in your mind, which has condemned itself. Project it not, for while you do, it cannot be undone. With everyone whom you release from guilt great is the joy in Heaven, where the witnesses to your fatherhood rejoice.

Do not be afraid to look within. The ego tells you all is black with guilt within you, and bids you not to look. Instead, it bids you look upon your brothers, and see the guilt in them. Yet this you cannot do without remaining blind. For those who see their brothers in the dark, and guilty in the dark in which they shroud them, are too afraid to look upon the light within. Within you is not what you believe is there, and what you put your faith in. Within you is the holy sign of perfect faith your Father has in you. He does not value you as you do. He knows Himself, and knows the truth in you. He knows there is no difference, for He knows not of differences. Can you see guilt where God knows there is perfect innocence? You can deny His knowledge, but you cannot change it. Look, then, upon the light He placed within you, and learn that what you feared was there has been replaced with love. (A Course in Miracles, T-13.IX.6:5-9;8:1-13. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

When we choose to identify with the ego image of our self, a body and personality, we devalue our self. We are identifying with an illusion that is nothing. When we accept the Self that God knows us to be, we accept our true value. Our one Self is all that is real and all that is valuable.

We accept our Self by letting go of identifying with the ego. Forgiveness is the way we let go of the false beliefs that tie us to the ego thought system. The ego thought system proclaims our guilt by showing us what perceptions of guilt in others. This is the ego’s mechanism for hiding the guilt we believe is in us. As we practice letting the Holy Spirit help us forgive the guilt perceived in others, we release the guilt we believe is in us.

As we succeed in forgiving others, the ego has another ploy. It turns the guilt on ourselves. Now we become the tarnished ones who are to blame for all our pain and sorrow. But God sees only innocence in us, so believing we are guilty at all is a mistake to be corrected. We must let the Holy Spirit help us forgive ourselves. This is how we will learn to see the Light of innocence in us that God knows is there.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Accepting Love in Our Mind

Be in my mind, my Father, through the day.

Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today. Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You. And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be there to hear my call to You and answer me. As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son.

This is as every day should be. Today, practice the end of fear. Have faith in Him Who is your Father. Trust all things to Him. Let Him reveal all things to you, and be you undismayed because you are His Son. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 232, W-pII.232. See also ACIM Lesson 232 Insights.)

To ask our Father to be in our mind is to ask Love to be in our mind. They are One and the Same. With Love dwelling in our minds, we see only Love. We give only Love, for we know of nothing else.

With Love in our minds through the day, it will be a day of blessing and being blessed. It will be a day of peace and joy. It will be a day of recognizing every brother as What he is — Love and nothing else. It will be a day in which we remember we are “God’s Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of His Love.” (W-pII.14)

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Remembering the Peace of God

Forget not that the motivation for this course is the attainment and the keeping of the state of peace. Given this state the mind is quiet, and the condition in which God is remembered is attained. It is not necessary to tell Him what to do. He will not fail. Where He can enter, there He is already. And can it be He cannot enter where He wills to be? Peace will be yours because it is His Will. Can you believe a shadow can hold back the Will that holds the universe secure? God does not wait upon illusions to let Him be Himself. No more His Son. They are. And what illusion that idly seems to drift between Them has the power to defeat what is Their Will?

To learn this course requires willingness to question every value that you hold. Not one can be kept hidden and obscure but it will jeopardize your learning. No belief is neutral. Every one has the power to dictate each decision you make. For a decision is a conclusion based on everything that you believe. [Decision] is the outcome of belief, and follows it as surely as does suffering follow guilt and freedom sinlessness. There is no substitute for peace. What God creates has no alternative. The truth arises from what He knows. And your decisions come from your beliefs as certainly as all creation rose in His Mind because of what He knows. (A Course in Miracles, T-24.in.1-2. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

What God knows is changeless, being all that is real. What we believe constantly changes. Our beliefs are formed based on our perceptions of our experiences. But our perceptions are severely limited, allowing awareness of a tiny fraction of everything that is.

So we base our beliefs on incomplete information, thus leaving us in a constant state of uncertainty. With uncertainty comes conflict. Someone introduces information that conflicts with our beliefs. Do we change our beliefs to incorporate the new information or do we defend against the information to protect our beliefs? This constant conflict leaves our belief system on shaky ground. Doubt is inevitable and peace impossible.

This is why we must question everything we believe. But our questions must be brought not to the ego but to the Holy Spirit, the only Source of a certain answer. It is the Holy Spirit’s vision that will lead us to the certainty of God and the peace that comes with His certainty. We have another joyous day ahead of us in which to practice opening our mind to the Holy Spirit’s perception in place of our own and remember the peace of God.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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