ACIM Workbook
Healing Perspectives

Lesson 36

“My holiness envelops everything I see.”

I see this lesson as not only an extension of yesterday’s, but also of the earlier lessons, “God is in everything I see, because God is in my mind.” In this world, the idea that God is in my mind and I am part of God and I share His holiness, His innocence, is totally alien. Every day there seems to be proof that I am anything but holy. I do not spend the day in perfect peace. I am sometimes upset with no rational reason, let alone the reasons that seem to be rational. I certainly don’t seem to share God’s strength and oneness is a concept that seems out of reach to really experience.

Yet the Course is telling me that it is all this that I seem to experience and perceive that is really what is alien. What makes it seem real to me is only my belief in it, and belief can be changed. Thank God! What a relief! I am grateful for the Course and its lesson that I do not have to continue with my experience of the world as it has been. There is another way of seeing, not with the body’s eyes, but in my mind. It is here that real change happens. And it is here that the Course focuses its lessons.

As I do today’s exercises, it may seem as though I am saying words that I do not mean and are almost unbelievable. But they are part of training my mind in a new way of seeing, a new perception of myself and the world. It isn’t important that I believe it now. Belief will come of itself. I need only practice the lessons. They are designed to open the door to the change of mind I need to let go of this alien world. Once again, my heart is filled with gratitude that I have the means to change my mind and accept the peace of God.

There are only two ways of seeing. I am either seeing through the eyes of Christ or I am seeing through the eyes of the ego. The eyes of the ego see only ego. The eyes of Christ see only holiness. And which I choose to see I will see. Today’s lesson helps me to open up to the idea that I can see through the eyes of holiness because I am holy. This lesson is helping me remember what I am and where I am. This lesson is encouraging me to practice seeing through the eyes of holiness.

It is only through consistent practice that my mind will be transformed. I have been used to seeing through the eyes of ego. I have been used to seeing separation and thinking it is real. I need much practice in seeing differently. Today’s lesson gives me that practice. Today’s lesson teaches me to see through the eyes of holiness. Yesterday’s lesson reminded me that I am holy. Today’s lesson reminds me that holiness sees only holiness. Through practice I change my habitual thinking, I change my mind.

As I see through the eyes of holiness, I see clearly that everything is holy. Everything is Love. Through consistent practice, the ego thought system gently falls away by my not giving it support. It falls away from lack of attention. I get what I focus on. As I focus on remembering my holiness, as I focus on seeing through the eyes of holiness, it becomes easier and easier to see only holiness and realize that anything is just false ideas, just nothing. When I don’t try to make something out of nothing, that nothing disappears. What a wonderful opportunity I have today — to practice seeing through the eyes of holiness. I can’t think of anything that is more important. I can’t think of anything that would bring me more happiness.

As I respond to the essence of today’s lesson, it seems to me that holiness is the effect of being whole. And being whole is accepting without condition that my thoughts and feelings are the cause of any effect. When I truly accept that I am whole, then I can know that nothing is holy without me and it cannot be holy without me because it is all the same. If I say that I am holy and that table is not, then I have chained myself to it. I have taken its power away and robbed it in my mind. And if I say that table is holy, and I am not, then I have given away my power and chained myself to the table. As long as inequality exists between cause and effect, I am seeing myself as unholy.

I surrender my arrogance and accept that I am whole and devote myself to the responsibility and care and joy of that relationships with myself. I surrender my arrogance and accept my brother as whole and free and willing to acknowledge himself as such. From this perspective, there is not condition from which my freedom is limited or restrained. I love for the mere joy of it and only that.

My holiness envelops everything I see. As I allow these words to wash over my mind, I enter a deep state of peace. This place completely erases any thought of separation, any thought of illusion about “other.” If my holiness envelops everything I see, there can only be one holiness. It is all that is. It is me. I take time today to come back to this state of awareness, this eternal moment in which I remember my holiness envelops everything I see.

I was reminded of a quote from the text that says,"You need offer only your undivided attention. Everything else will be given you." Seems simple enough, yet how hard it has proven to be! Today's lesson was a perfect practicing ground because I had to remind myself with each effort why my holiness envelopes everything I see. I would have to say to myself that my mind is part of God's and so I am very holy. Otherwise, the lesson made no sense to me and I was just mouthing the words. I guess that means I really need these lessons.

Once I started being aware of my level of attention as I did this lesson, I realized that sometimes I wasn't even getting through 30 seconds of undivided attention before my mind wandered. No wonder some of these lessons seem brand new to me as if I have never done them before. In a way, I haven't because I have never given them my full attention. I think some appeal to me and I do them well, while others I passively resist through inattention.

I guess that means I really need these lessons.

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