A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

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To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

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To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Lesson Insights, we recommend that you
read the corresponding lesson in the Workbook of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Click here to read or listen to this ACIM Workbook Lesson online.

---

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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 365 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 365 Insights

“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

“Be You in charge.” Those are the words I need to remember in every situation. Those are the words that will carry me Home. Trying to be in charge on my own is the problem. Letting the Holy Spirit be in charge is the answer. In the Epilogue it says, “Whatever troubles you, be certain that He has the answer, and will gladly give it to you, if you simply turn to Him and ask it of Him.”

“Be You in charge.” These four little words are not complicated to remember. If I have the willingness to remember these words, I will remember them. Letting myself be carried by the Holy Spirit is how I will return Home. It is how I will awaken to the truth. Opening my mind to the Holy Spirit’s healing perspectives is how the insanity in my mind will be undone. The Holy Spirit brings the Light of God, the Light of Truth, to every dark corner in my mind, to every fear, to every judgment, to every false idea.

The rest of my life is dedicated to these four words, “Be You in charge.” I may falter and falter again, but with my focus on these four words I will be carried past all the false illusions of the world. I will be carried through every fear, every nightmare dream. Letting the Holy Spirit be in charge is my most important prayer. My openness to the Holy Spirit allows Him to do His work. Healing my mind is His job, not mine.

“Be You in charge.” These words open the gates to Love’s healing Light. These healing words pave the way to my awakening to the truth. On this last day of the year, I need remember but these words, “Be You in charge,” and I can be confident that healing will follow.

My heart is filled with gratitude for this year dedicated to receiving Holy Spirit’s healing perspective for each lesson. This practice has strengthened my trust in His presence in my life. It has strengthened my confidence that He is ever present to guide me in all things, to teach me the way of healing and to be a Friend and Comforter.

The fact that I am not alone is more real to me now. I remember it more quickly when I get wrapped up in the events of my day, thinking I must solve my problems on my own. The experience has taught me that I have the means to resolve all problems, not on my own, but in union with the Holy Spirit in my mind. Thoughts of vulnerability and guilt still enter my mind. But I do not give them a dwelling place nearly as long as I used to. My home is Heaven. Separation and isolation cannot abide there and therefore cannot abide in me.

With an enthusiastic heart, I dedicate the coming year to the continued practice of going to the Holy Spirit to receive His healing perspectives every day and throughout the day. This practice has brought me great blessing, yet it is but a tiny taste of what is available to me as I develop the habit of letting Holy Spirit be in charge in every instant. This is my heart’s desire.

This is what will bring me peace. This is what will help me see the Love in my brother that is my own. This is what will help me remember that God’s strength is mine and I share His invulnerability. This is what will help me remember in every moment, “The sight of Christ is all there is to see. The song of Christ is all there is to hear. The hand of Christ is all there is to hold. There is no journey but to walk with Him.” (T.24.V.7:7-10) It is a journey of joy and I give thanks.

If you feel there is more to gain from the Workbook lessons than you have taken in this year, we encourage you to go through the lessons again. You may find you see things the next time through you didn’t see before. Because the Course is leading us to a complete thought reversal, sometimes our attachment to our old way of thinking does not allow us to see the message there in front of us. But trust there has been much gained in this year. Your willingness has expanded dramatically and you will find many gifts as you go through the lessons again.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 364 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 364 Insights

“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

Giving every moment to the Holy Spirit may seem like a tall order. It becomes easier when I just focus on doing it in this present moment. It’s like they say in football, “Take it one game at a time.” Just open to Holy Spirit — now. Let the Holy Spirit be in charge — now. This brings it down to a manageable, doable thing.

The Holy Spirit is there to help me right now. He is always doing His job. It is my openness to His being in charge that I need to take care of. If I take care of this one thing, just making sure that the Holy Spirit is in charge right now, the rest will take care of itself. If I do my part, the Holy Spirit’s direction will bring me peace. I will know whatever I need to know whenever I need to know it. So this is my one goal — to put Holy Spirit in charge now. That is all. There are no if’s, and’s or but’s. Just one focus. Right now I open to Holy Spirit’s guidance. This is my part. The Holy Spirit knows how to do His part and will do it if I allow Him. And I focus on allowing Him — now.

It says in the epilogue that the Holy Spirit will provide “all answers that you need for anything that seems to trouble you. He knows the way to solve all problems and resolve all doubts.” In one of the earlier lessons we are told to affirm, “Let me recognize where the problem is so it can be solved.” If I seem to be having a problem that is not being resolved, it is because I am not recognizing where the problem really is.

The ego is always happy to provide “solutions.” But we need to remember that in all things the ego’s motto is always seek and do not find. All the ego’s solutions are really delaying tactics, decoys to keep us from searching where the solution really can be found. The solution is never at the level of form, although the Holy Spirit may use form to help us bridge toward the real solution.

At the core of every problem is the belief that we have separated from our Source and our brothers. If we did not hang on to this belief we would rest contented in the loving presence of our Creator and our brothers, knowing our unity with them. There would be nothing to fix. We have identified for so long with the ego thought system as reality that we do not recognize on our own where the problem lies.

So we need help and we need an open mind. It is why the beginning lessons start training us to remember we do not know what anything means. As long as we are convinced that the meaning we have given what we see is real and true, we are not open to be taught. As we conclude the lessons for the year, we have been shown in many ways that we do not know how to correctly perceive anything. We have also been taught that we are not the isolated, separate identity that we thought we were. We have been told in many ways that we are “God’s Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of His Love.” (W.pII.14.1:1)

We are learning to open to a new image of What we are. The recognition of this is accelerated as we give each instant to the Holy Spirit to be our Guide. He directs us with certainty and singleness of purpose to the one goal that brings us Home to the Heaven where we belong. It is a lesson worth learning. It is a lesson of freedom and of peace. Today I will follow, not lead, for it is my heart’s desire to find my Self.

Sometimes I feel like my life is out of control. As I take a step back and look at this, I can see that it has most often happened when I said I wanted one thing and did another. An example would be that I would say I want to lose weight and I will do it by following a specific diet. Then I would not follow the diet and start gaining weight instead. I start feeling anxious all out of proportion with gaining a couple of pounds and I think this is because I feel helpless. I think I have no control over my life even though that doesn’t really make sense.

What I have noticed as I have begun to turn my life over to the Holy Spirit is that in total surrender, I now feel as if I am in control of my life. Before I sometimes felt like I was in a runaway car with no steering and no brakes. I was at the wheel, but the car wasn’t going where I thought I wanted it.

I think that one reason I resisted turning everything over to the Holy Spirit was that I feared losing control. I guess that need to feel independent and in charge of my own life is part of the ego strategy to get me to value separateness. How odd and unexpected it is to discover that surrender to God does not diminish my power, but actually increases it.

Giving every moment to the Holy Spirit does, indeed, seem like a tall order, but that’s because we’re so used to trying to run our own lives (and many times the lives of others). I remember when I was first introduced to that idea, I would think, “How can I turn my life over to something I can’t see or touch or hear?” But by that time, I was in so much pain, I figured I had nothing to lose by turning my life over to my concept of God. My life was in total chaos so I knew I was doing something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. It seemed like the harder I tried, the worse things got. Today I understand what “being in that place of total surrender is where all your power is” means.

Letting Holy Spirit be in charge, reminds me of Albert Einstein’s statement, “The significant problems we face can never be solved at the level of thinking that created them.” By going to Holy Spirit, we are automatically, instantaneously at a level where no problem exists. By not going to Holy Spirit, we remain at the level of worldly illusion problems, with no hope for alleviating them.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 363 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 363 Insights

“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

The Holy Spirit is always certain, having but one purpose, one goal. Being able to see all effects of everything in this world, He knows what is truly helpful in every situation. I surely cannot say that of myself alone and I don’t seem to share His certainty. Because the Holy Spirit is ever present in my mind, my uncertainty can only be because of my unwillingness to consistently follow His direction. His certainty is there for me to claim. It is my uncertainty about whether I really want His direction that leaves me in confusion and conflict.

The undoing of my resistance, of my unwillingness, is a gradual process. The Holy Spirit is patient with me, knowing the inevitability of my return Home. He understands that too sudden a shift in my values would bring terror rather than peace to my conflicted mind. And so He walks with me and works with me gently and compassionately, helping me to see where my values are misplaced. He helps me recognize illusions for what they are. He helps me see they have no value and offer me nothing that can content me.

As I let go of these misplaced values, I become more and more willing to follow His direction. With this increasing willingness, my certainty grows. Confusion and conflict diminish, replaced by certainty and contentment. These gifts He offers me eternally. He offers me nothing that is temporary, for He would not deceive the Son of God, Who is worthy only of the eternal.

I give thanks today that I have the means to return to the certainty and unity of Love, my Source.

Today I give to having a quiet and open mind. I give today to the Holy Spirit that He would be my constant Companion and inner Friend. He knows how to decide for me. He knows how to straighten my mind. I have forgotten my Self in illusions. I need the help of my constant Companion and Guide.

Holy Spirit, I open my mind to You today to receive Your comforting touch. Your healing touch of Love and peace and joy heals my mind of false values and gently guides me Home, where I belong. I am eternally safe with You. There is no fear too big for You to handle. By making You my constant Companion, I learn of and remember eternity at last. “This holy instant would I give to you.”

There are no words to express my gratitude for the Course and for the awareness that I have allowed myself to receive as a result of practicing what the Course teaches. It wasn’t until I made a commitment to practice the lessons, though, that I began to open myself to receive awareness of truth. Before then, the Course didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

I can’t explain it, but, the more I think I know, the more I realize how much I don’t know. And it’s only because of these lessons and my commitment to finding the truth about myself and my purpose in life, that I am learning to train my mind to stop the vicious cycle of insanity.

I’m learning to request the guidance of my Holy Companion in all I do; any conversations I have, any movies I watch, any books I read, and, of course, at the start of my day. Though many times, as the day goes on I forget the truth, practicing these lessons has helped me stop and step back. In this place of stepping back I make no judgment, but instead ask the Holy Spirit to take charge.

I surrender my thoughts to Him and, like this lesson says, if I need a word or a thought to help me, He gives it to me. Sometimes I don’t hear anything and that’s fine too, because stillness is better than judging. When I judge, I lose my peace. He never fails to send me some kind of message — not when He’s ready to send it to me, but when I’m ready to receive it.

I, personally, will start the lessons over again from the beginning because, as I grow spiritually, I see things from a different perspective and that’s exciting to me. I believe the promises of the Course are becoming more real for me and I look forward to continuing my journey of awakening, remembering that we are all joined as one.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 362 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 362 Insights

“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

This year of lessons has been preparing us to live what has been called the “mystic’s” life. It is a life directed by the Holy Spirit instead of the ego’s dictates. Because the Holy Spirit’s direction is always towards peace, it is a life of increasing peace and happiness. The form of our doing in the world may not change, but the meaning we give it does. Less and less of our doing is motivated by a sense of needing to protect ourselves against some unknown or imagined pending danger. Rather our doing is motivated by the heartfelt desire to extend Love, to see the face of Christ in all our brothers, to bring the miracle of forgiveness to the world.

If we will let Him, the Holy Spirit will guide all our doing and it will bring us great joy. Our judgments diminish as we turn them over to Him. More and more each moment is recognized as a gift, an opportunity to extend forgiveness and Love. It may be someone we meet at the grocery store. It may be someone we talk to on the phone, a co-worker, a supervisor, a friend or someone we have not even met who shares in the blessing of forgiveness. Our minds are joined and the forgiveness of one is the forgiveness of all.

Perhaps we may not feel ready yet to let the Holy Spirit guide us in all our ways. Perhaps there are some areas of our life that we still want to reserve as our own. We fear we may be asked to make changes we don’t feel ready to make. It does not matter. The Holy Spirit forever offers His gifts. As we learn to accept them and experience their blessing, their healing, their peace and joy, we will naturally want more.

The appeal of peace becomes stronger than the appeal of specialness. Gradually we begin to see that those areas of our lives we reserve for ourselves no longer have the attraction they once had. Gradually we offer them also to the Holy Spirit and He gives us the gift of peace and eternal happiness in exchange. The Holy Spirit does not coerce or demand. He simply holds out His gifts to us and judges not. We take them when we are ready.

A Course in Miracles offers us a means to accelerate our willingness to receive the gift of God’s peace and joy. We each use what’s available to us for healing according to our willingness.

Holy Spirit, today I offer You my eyes, my ears, my tongue, my hands, my feet to serve Your Will, which I know to be my own in truth. I would not lead but only follow Your sure direction to the Home of my Source and Creator. I give thanks for Your friendship and Your comfort. I rest in Your sure direction.

Even though we may be dreaming about something else, we cannot stop being the Light of God That we are. Behind the form, everyone and everything in this world is the Light of God — the same Light of God. That is the lesson we are to ultimately learn.

That is why I must follow and not lead. The Holy Spirit teaches me to see as He does, to see the truth behind every form of separation. My job is to let the Holy Spirit in, to give the Holy Spirit the chance to do Its healing work in my mind.

I may rise and fall and rise and fall again, but one thing is certain. In reality dreams do not matter, for they are merely dreams. The truth remains that we are all still the Light of God. We cannot change that through dreaming. We cannot effect a change in What we are in any way. We are safe in the Mind of God because we cannot leave the Mind of God. Our dreams may appear very real to us, but in fact they mean nothing because they are nothing.

Letting the Holy Spirit into my mind is my job right now. Being open to Holy Spirit’s healing perspectives is my job right now. “Be You in charge. For I would follow You, certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

I had a lesson in following the Holy Spirit in a dream last night. I woke in the night thinking about an area of my life that I had given over to the Holy Spirit, but that I keep taking back or experiencing doubts about (mainly, I think, because it seems to be working so well and so quickly and I just can’t believe it). I keep wondering if I am following Guidance, or if I am just kidding myself and doing what I want to do, not what I should. Pretty soon I’ve talked myself into circles and am feeling a lot of anxiety. So, I put on a recorded meditation from the Pathways of Light ACIM Practitioner Course 905 that helps me to move from specialness to holiness. In this meditation I am able to look at what I want to turn over to the Holy Spirit with Him and receive guidance. I was helped by this meditation and quickly fell asleep.

I woke later from a dream in which I found myself crossing a tall bridge in a car. I am riding along at an exhilarating speed in the passengers seat and decide to get more comfortable by reclining the seat somewhat. I can’t get it to catch and it seems to be trying to lay flat. This makes me nervous and the mood is broken. I look at the drivers seat and realize I should be there because it seems no one is driving. Strange that the ride has been so good without me at the control. In a panic I climb into the drivers seat and see myself coming up on other vehicles and try to put on the brakes but it seems I have cloth or something tangling my feet and I can’t find the brakes. Nevertheless, I make it (miraculously, it seems) to the other side of the bridge and to where I am going with no mishap.

When I woke up, the dream came back to me and I realized that it mirrored what I am doing in my “waking” life. I gave the controls over to the Holy Spirit and was moving toward our destination at a fast clip until I started feeling nervous about no longer being in control and tried to take over again.

Then I felt anxiety as I tried to do something on my own that I have already proven myself incapable of completing successfully. Even as, in my anxiety, I felt doomed to crash and burn, I realized that the Holy Spirit can guide me safely to where I need to be. As I reached this conclusion, I relaxed my need to control and gave it back to the Holy Spirit’s capable hands.

I often give my dreams to the Holy Spirit to use to teach me. I am so glad I do that because this allowed the Holy Spirit to use a very dramatic event to get the point across in a way I couldn’t miss. I understand something now that I was wrestling with in my “day life.”

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 361 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 361 Insights

“This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.”

This lesson, which is to be practiced for the next five days, is the culmination of our year of practice. It is telling us what all the exercises and words were guiding us to. We are to have the habit of giving every instant to the Holy Spirit to receive His direction. It is this that makes the instant holy, for we have released the purpose we would give it in our allegiance to the ego and instead open to the direction the Holy Spirit would give. We are assured that by doing this we will have peace. All the exercises leading up to this point have been designed to clear the way and open our minds to be receptive to the Holy Spirit’s direction.

The exercises of this year are now resources for us to use whenever we forget where our true Source of Help is. When we get wrapped up in the ego’s illusions, we have the tools to find our way back to the clarity our inner Teacher offers us. This is a lifelong practice. For many it may be helpful to go through the workbook lessons again another year, perhaps many years, so that we can truly make the principles and exercises a part of our way of thinking and living. It is their practice that will bring us peace.

The Workbook does not stand on its own. It is based on the thought system set forth in the Text. The application of the lessons in the Workbook become more understandable and meaningful as the ideas in the Text are made part of our way of thinking. We have so long identified with the lies of the ego and thought them real that we do not recognize their falsity. Part of the defense of the ego is to cloak its lies in appealing images that seem to be beneficent. Yet beneath them remains the ego’s dedication to death. The Text helps us learn to recognize the ego’s deceptions. At the same time it helps us to see the radiant and glorious truth of What we are as God’s Son.

With the foundation of understanding from the Text and the practice of giving every moment to the Holy Spirit developed in the Workbook lessons, our life becomes a demonstration of changed perception, of miracles bringing peace. As it says in the introduction to the Manual, “To teach is to demonstrate.” We are always teaching by what we demonstrate in our lives. When we align ourselves with the ego, we demonstrate the ego’s illusions and teach them to ourselves and the world. When we follow the Holy Spirit’s direction, we demonstrate release of illusions (forgiveness) and teach that to the world. This is where the Manual for Teachers is a helpful guide as we go through the process of applying forgiveness more and more in our lives.

To be a teacher of God does not mean we must all form groups to teach A Course in Miracles. Being a teacher of God means we demonstrate forgiveness in our lives. It means by having the practice of turning every instant over to the Holy Spirit for Him to be in charge, we become miracle workers. We teach forgiveness by demonstrating forgiveness. That is our part in God’s plan for salvation, for the release of the world from the dream of separation.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 360 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 360 Insights

“Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.”

As I worked with this lesson today, I realized that I felt unsettled. I perceived a loved one experiencing flu symptoms and I was concerned. I wanted to pray for my friend, but I wanted my prayer to reflect the principles of the Course. I asked the Holy Spirit to guide my prayer.

I said to the Holy Spirit, “I do not know what this means or what it is for.” (He already knew that, but I needed to remind myself.) “Help me to see the meaning I am giving it and learn what it really means.”

Holy Spirit showed me that seeing my friend as vulnerable and weak was a reflection of my belief that I am vulnerable and weak. Everything I see is a projection from my mind. He reminded me that “I am God’s Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of God’s Love.” (W.II.14.1:1) And the same applies to my friend, who is one with me. I affirmed in my mind to my friend, “You are God’s Son, complete and healed and whole, shining in the reflection of God’s Love.” I noticed that I was beginning to feel comforted and more peaceful.

I am not the weak and fearful image I have made of myself. “In me is love perfected, fear impossible, and joy established without opposite.” (W.II.14.1:3) Of course, this is equally true for my friend and everyone in the world. As I thought about my friend and affirmed this in my mind, my feeling of peace grew stronger. I felt myself relax and a sense of safety washed over me. No longer did I see my friend as in danger. No longer was I using my perception to reinforce my sense of separation and weakness.

When I perceive anyone as vulnerable, fearful, angry or guilty, I am using that person to teach myself that this perception is true and justified. I am teaching myself that those same attributes apply to me. The Course is teaching me, “Don’t believe it!” This is not the truth about me or anyone.

As I practice bringing all my thoughts to the Holy Spirit to receive his perception, I will learn a different lesson than the ego teaches. I will learn that I remain as God created me. I will learn that I am forever safe in His loving Arms, protected by my unity with Him. I can truly offer “peace to my brother, who is one with me,” because I am not giving reality to the illusion of vulnerability. I am recognizing his holiness along with mine.

I, too, am learning from the Course that whenever I perceive something that robs me of my peace, I need to deal with that uneasy thought at it’s source; my own mind. I have to remind myself not only who or what my uneasy thought is, but more importantly, Who I am. If there is no peace and love in my own mind, I won’t project peace and Love out into my world. (I can’t give what I don’t accept). The Holy Spirit reminds me that I am a Son of God, forever changeless, forever just as He created me. And as such, my Self offers peace to myself and my brothers, who are One with me.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 359 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 359 Insights

“God’s answer is some form of peace. All pain
Is healed; all misery replaced with joy.
All prison doors are opened. And all sin
Is understood as merely a mistake.”

God’s peace is what is real. Our reality as united Love is what is real. As we let go of trying to replace Heaven with illusions of separation, the peace we are and the Love we are returns to our awareness because it has never left us. From this perspective, forgiveness just means letting go of what could never happen, letting go of trying to make up an identity that is different and separate from Love, Which is united for eternity.

Making up dreams of individuality and conflict is very stressful. Trying to have a will that is separate from God’s generates enormous fear. We create nightmares and become very frightened and then call out for help. As we open to receive the help, the help always comes in some form of peace.

As we learn our nightmares are not true, we open up our closed minds more and more. The separation that we thought had happened was just a mistake and had no real effect on us. We learn that we are still safe in Heaven. We are just dreaming of being on a distant shore. God is not far away. God is nearer than our beating heart. As we are willing to let the false ideas of separation fall away, we know again the peace and joy and Love that are eternally ours.

When I experience true forgiveness, I think of a phrase from an old Alka-Seltzer commercial, “Oh what a relief it is.” A heavy burden of judgment, condemnation and guilt is lifted from my shoulders. The air is clear, like a sunny spring day after a rain. I walk with a smile of joy on my face and I am at peace. I have received God’s answer to the pain I thought I was in. I have learned that what I thought happened that needed forgiveness did not really happen. I was not changed or harmed in any way. I remain as God created me. And so do all my brothers.

Forgiveness is such a great blessing. It is a wonder that it seems at times so hard to forgive. Sometimes it seems that pain and sorrow are more appealing than God’s peace and joy. If you asked me which I prefer, I would say I prefer peace and joy. But as long as I align my mind with the ego thought system, I will prefer pain and loss over the peace and joy of God, though it doesn’t seem that is what I am asking for.

The ego dresses specialness in fancy clothes and sparkling baubles to make it seem appealing. It does this to hide the death and decay that are the price of specialness. To have specialness I must perceive myself as separate and distinct from my Creator. Thus I perceive myself as cut off from Life, and death is inevitable. I try to claim the temporary pleasures of specialness, all the while believing in the inevitability of death.

“Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die” is the ego’s swan song. For many this is the best that “life” in this world has to offer. We don’t realize that being in this world is not Life, but the denial of Life. We have one Life, and that Life we share with God. The good news is that this world is just a mistake and this mistake has had absolutely no real effect on us, the Sons of God. As we let the Holy Spirit help us forgive, our minds are healed. Pain fades away and we return to the joy and peace of God, our natural state.

Holy Spirit, I stand before You in humility, remembering that of myself I know nothing. I look to You for all meaning and trust with confidence that You will guide me Home to the Heaven where I remain in truth. And I give thanks.

Something I have noticed is that the more often I bring my dark thoughts to God for healing and receive that healing, the less tolerance I have for discomfort. Now, as soon as I feel anger or fear or guilt or whatever, I want to get rid of it. Even if it seems “small,” the discomfort is acute.

I also have noticed that the results seem to come much closer to the surrender. I don’t seem to work as hard on it as I did before. And I don’t dread the bad feelings like I did before; in fact I usually feel grateful that this is being brought to my attention

Knowing all of this, it never ceases to amaze me that there are certain aspects of the illusion I still cling to and find myself recycling through the whole process on a regular basis. I don’t care, though. I have seen that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, it works to look at this stuff and then let it go. So I try to be patient, but persistent with myself.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 358 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 358 Insights

“No call to God can be unheard nor left
Unanswered. And of this I can be sure;
His answer is the one I really want.”

We were created by Love as Love. Love has only one purpose or desire. And that is to extend Itself, to give Love. That is what we really want. But this world was made by the ego thought system which rejects Love, choosing specialness in its place. When we identify with the ego thought system, we have become confused about what we really want. It’s like a two year old who’s gotten really tired and cranky. If you ask this tired two year old what he wants, what will make him happy, he may tell you what he thinks it is, but if he gets it, he’s not happy. You can try again and again and nothing brings happiness. He does not remember what he really wants.

Our Creator alone knows what we really want, because He created us like Himself. Seeing that we were confused about what we really wanted, He gave us the Holy Spirit, Who remembers for us. So no matter how confused we are about what we want, no matter how much we seek in the world for happiness, the memory of what we really want stays with us. At some point we become willing to stop searching where we have not found happiness and turn to the Voice for God within, Who will lead us back to what we really want.

We really want Love and nothing else. But Love does not demand that we receive It. It waits on our welcome. When we choose the illusions of this world, we are denying Love and It is not welcome. As we let illusions go, as they cease to have value to us, Love is welcome and fills our hearts with joy. The identity I have called myself begins to be recognized as nothing and the Self that God created like Himself begins to be recognized as everything.

Through forgiveness, letting go of illusions, I return to my Identity as the Son of God. Today I continue my practice of bringing every unsettled or disturbing thought to the Holy Spirit with an open mind and heart to receive His perception and take another step closer to recognizing my Self. I thank my Father that He created me changeless like Himself and gave me the means to remember Who I am.

This lesson is about opening my mind to the Holy Spirit, letting my mind join with the Holy Spirit so I will truly recognize where all true value lies. Looking out through the body’s eyes and making a world of separation from God real has really been choosing against my Self — refusing to recognize What I am and Where I am.

Because I cannot leave Heaven, which is what I am, I have been dreaming of being on a distant shore, where everything is separate and alone, unique and different from everything else. By dreaming in this way, I have given myself the semblance of making decisions on my own and being independent of God. Because this dream is denying the Love I am, it has been filled with fear. It has really been hell. Like the prodigal son who has thrown away his father’s wealth, I am now wanting to return to my Father’s Home. I have recognized that dreaming of being on a distant shore is not what I really want.

Holy Spirit, I open my mind to Your healing insight. I open my mind to the truth. I would awaken to the truth that in fact I have never left Heaven. I open to the truth that nothing has changed God’s Son and that I still remain as God created me. In true humility, I am willing to step back and listen to Your healing Voice. I am willing to receive a change of mind. I am willing to see all things as they really are and give up my foolish dreams of separation. I am willing to let my mind be healed today.

As I ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in reading this lesson, He reminds me of my commitment to seek and find the peace that I want, that I am, that was given me. In my heart, I know no call to my Father has gone unanswered. He has never failed me and He continues to reveal Himself to me in all I do; I but need to be still. And in this stillness, I am aware of His love, His promise. I choose today to remember that myself is nothing, but my Self is all.

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you, my brothers and sisters a truly blessed Christmas. May the Christ in all of us be born this season, along with our brother Jesus. May we come a little closer to our true Selves and each other in the Oneness of our Heavenly Father. God blesses you.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 357 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 357 Insights

“Truth answers every call we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself.”

If I truly want to see the truth, I will see the Light of God in every brother. If I want to see through the ego’s eyes, I will see differences, weakness, lack and guilt. I will see death and sin, for that is what the ego is made to look for. And what the ego looks for it finds, even if it is just a product of its own thought system of separation. The power of choice is mine as long as I think I am living in this world.

This lesson is reminding me to behold the truth in my brother and as I do this, my mind will be healed. Beholding the truth in my brother comes with joining with the Holy Spirit in my mind. The Holy Spirit brings me miracles or a change of my perception. The Holy Spirit brings me an awareness of the truth in every brother when I am having trouble finding it on my own. The Holy Spirit purifies my thoughts of all false ideas.

As the false ideas are laid aside, the truth stands alone, unhindered by the ego’s lies. The truth is always there. It always has been and always will be. The truth is true, and nothing else is true. The key to my healing is, how soon am I willing to return to the truth?

Joining with the ego only brings sickness, sorrow and pain. My tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limit. Today I am willing to join with the Holy Spirit and recognize only what is true. Only this brings me the happy dreams of the Holy Spirit. In the happy dreams of the Holy Spirit, the false ideas are seen for what they are and gently laid aside.

In truth everyone is saved, everyone is still God’s shining Light, as pure as God created them. When I join with the Holy Spirit, I am able to see this. I continue my practice with Holy Spirit today, knowing that what I practice I strengthen. Today is another day of letting my mind be healed.

Forgiveness gives welcome to the truth. Truth is ever present, but this world was made to be the denial of truth. Since we have signed on to the belief system of the world and made it our own, we need a means to let go of the denial of truth so that it is once more welcome in our minds.

That is what forgiveness is for. It is why forgiveness is called “truth’s reflection.” Forgiveness is an illusion along with all the other illusions of this world, with one important difference. Unlike other illusions, forgiveness welcomes truth and thus undoes illusion. So forgiveness serves a mighty purpose in this world. Forgiveness undoes the world and prepares our minds to accept the knowledge of God; to accept the joy of God; to accept the Love of God.

Forgiveness reveals to me the truth in my brother and thus I am healed. My perception of my brother is always a reflection of what I think I am. As I am able to perceive the truth in him, it shows me the truth in myself. This is healing. This is the return to the recognition of my Self as It was created by God.

Because truth is ever present, it always answers a call that welcomes it. When I lay aside the sharp edged toys of illusion, the kindness and gentleness of truth is there to fill my heart. I see a world of kindness and gentleness. I see a world free of danger. I see a world where everyone is my Friend, reflecting back to me the truth of What I am.

Today I will practice taking every thought of condemnation, of fear and guilt, of irritation, disappointment or frustration, to the Holy Spirit. I will accept His help in laying down these painful illusions and welcome His vision that shows me the innocence in my brother, the changelessness in my Self, and the wholeness that I retain in my Creator, my Source, my Love. Thus will I offer salvation to the world as I accept it in myself.

When I am willing to forgive, it just means that I no longer want to live in the illusion; I am willing to surrender my own judgment of myself and my brothers and am open to receiving something other than what I’ve taught myself, thus escaping the prison in which I think I live. So, today I AM willing not to be imprisoned and I, therefore, choose to step back, follow and not lead, see sinlessness, and I will be healed. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 356 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 356 Insights

“Sickness is but another name for sin.
Healing is but another name for God.
The miracle is thus a call to Him.”

Opening to a change of mind is how we return to Him. If we are in pain, we are believing in our guilt and the guilt of our brother. We have forgotten that this is but a false idea.

When we get tired of holding on to the pain, we will open to the idea that there is another way. We become willing to open our minds to a correction of our perception. Accepting this change of mind brings us the miracle that is the reflection of God’s Love. The more we are willing to open our minds to a correction in our perception, the faster we are returned to the truth, the faster our minds are healed. The Holy Spirit needs our openness so that this healing can occur.

We are God’s Son, but we have forgotten. By being open to be led by the Holy Spirit, we are led to healing. We are led to God. Today I would practice not thinking that I know what anything means on my own. I would practice being receptive to Holy Spirit’s lead. Thus will I have a peaceful and happy day.

Remembering that God is Love, the miracle is a call to Love. It is a call in which the answer is desired. Everyone in this world is calling for Love. But while separation and specialness are valued more than the unified wholeness of Love, the miracle cannot happen because Love is not desired more than specialness. Love waits on welcome.

Love and specialness cannot coexist, for Love is given equally to all. Specialness is the idea that Love can be withheld and more given to one while less is given to another. This idea is inconceivable to Love, which sees no differences, for It looks only upon Itself. Love is all there is. Only Love is real.

The miracle of the call to God occurs as specialness loses its value to us. It occurs as we begin to recognize the pain that specialness brings. Specialness can only seem to be in a thought system that believes separation, or sin, is real. But since only Love is real, specialness can only be an illusion.

When I look back honestly at every situation in which I felt hurt or offended, it is always because I believed that some aspect of my special and unique identity had been harmed. I believed that in some way I had suffered loss. I could only believe this if I believed I was separate from Love. In this world this belief is centered around the image of a body as my identity. Along with this I must also believe that other bodies are the identity of others, distinct and different from me. Thus conflict between these identities is possible and fear and guilt inevitable.

It is time to learn that a unique, special identity offers me nothing that I really want. The yearning for Love, which has kept me searching to fill the sense of emptiness that everyone in this world experiences, will lead me Home if I turn to the Guide Who knows the way. If I follow the ego’s direction, I will only continue to wander in the wilderness, not realizing that what I seek is closer than my hand. If I think I know on my own what anything means, I am following the ego’s lead, for the ego is the idea that I am on my own.

When I am willing to recognize that on my own I know nothing and turn to the Holy Spirit for His guidance, I have put my feet upon the pathway Home. I have made a wilderness for myself that seems dark and confusing with many pitfalls and false trails. The Holy Spirit remembers what is real for me. He will lead me out of the maze if I will but follow.

When I call upon the Holy Spirit, I call upon God’s Name and my own. I desire to know my Self. I desire to know Love in Its fullness, without limit. I have searched in the wilderness long enough. I desire to return to the Light of my Creator.

Once again today I dedicate to practicing interpreting nothing on my own. I dedicate this day to following the Holy Spirit’s lead and I will experience the miracle of Love.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 355 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 355 Insights

“There is no end to all the peace and joy,
And all the miracles that I will give,
When I accept God’s Word. Why not today?”

Accepting God’s Word is accepting the truth. I accept the truth by opening my mind to receive the Holy Spirit’s healing perceptions. I accept the truth by opening to receive God’s peace.

To receive God’s peace I focus on God’s peace. I focus on letting it in. I know that I have let peace in when I can feel it, for it softens every concern. God’s peace brings a gentleness and a quiet certainty with it. There is also a feeling of well being and a knowing that everything is all right, no matter what may appear to be happening in the dream. If I am open to receive mind healing around any particular area of my life, I will receive it in a form that is best for me at that moment.

I receive God’s Word through my desire to receive it. When my desire is strong, I open easily and there is no efforting because it always has been there waiting for my acceptance.

There are but two thought systems for me to choose between. I must be willing to lay down the ego thought system in order to receive God’s Word, in order to receive my true inheritance. I will remember my true Identity only as I am willing to let go of what is not mine. The ego thought system is not what I am nor will it ever be.

It is my choosing that brings me the ego or God’s Word. In today’s lesson, Jesus is asking me to join with him in choosing God’s Word. He encourages me to accept the peace and joy that comes with returning to my true Self. Today, now, I choose to join with God’s Word. I choose to let Love heal my mind of all its false ideas.

Everyone in this world is searching for peace, for this is a world of conflict and depression. Whether or not we find peace depends upon the guide we listen to. The ego directs us to look for some form that will make us happy and will bring us peace, because that is all it knows. So if we follow the ego’s direction, we look for peace in the right job, the right partner, the right house, having the right stuff. Or we may look for it in a bottle, a chemical or physical pleasures or by trying to get rid of those we do not like, even to the point of war and murder. All these attempts are in keeping with the ego’s motto “seek and do not find.”

No one has ever found lasting peace and happiness in any of these things. In fact, they only bring us more pain. Fortunately, “Tolerance for pain may be high, but it is not without limit. Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however dimly, that there must be a better way.” (Text 2.III.3:5-6) At that point we open the door a crack to be receptive to God’s Word. His Word comes to us through the Holy Spirit in our minds.

When we let the Holy Spirit guide us, we are led to recognize that there is no value in any form in this world. We are led gently and patiently to recognize the Love and peace that we seek is already in us. And we begin to see it in our brothers as well. We begin to see that all the conflict is over nothing. We begin to see that we are not alone, but are always in the presence of our loving Father and Creator. We begin to see that our brothers are part of us, not adversaries, but partners in the journey to remembering Love.

The Word of God tells me that I remain one with Love as I was created. As I accept this, I give the miracle of the vision of unity to all I see. Conflict fades away, for I recognize there is no other in opposition to the Will of Love. I recognize my will is the Will of Love and I see that all my brothers join me in that Will.

The fruitless searching is over. My attention now is focused with a singleness of purpose on a Prize that has always been mine. Each time I bring a painful thought to the Holy Spirit to receive His healing Light, I move a step closer to the Prize. I forgive and Light replaces darkness, peace replaces conflict and Love replaces fear. I forgive and I remember God’s Word.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 354 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 354 Insights

“We stand together, Christ and I, in peace
And certainty of purpose. And in Him
Is His Creator, as He is in me.”

I have been playing a role of being in a body and making decisions on my own. I have gotten used to this role so that I have thought that this is what I am. I am now learning to step back from that role and see that this is not me. I have been merely acting in a play where separate bodies interact and each one makes decisions on its own.

My practice now is to recognize that the play is just a dream and is not true. None of the actors are the individual selves they portray. They are really the Christ, like me. In reality our true Identity lies in the one Christ Mind, where we are one. And the Christ is the extension of our Father. My practice today is to reinforce that there is no separation. There is only oneness in the Mind of Christ, which is in that Mind of God.

My peace lies in remembering this truth. My peace lies in accepting my true role as God created me. I can act another part, but that is not who I am. Today it is my practice to accept my Self as God created me.

Here the Christ is equated with God’s Son as He created Him. Thus Christ represents the holy, innocent, sinless extension of Love. The Christ is also equated with our Self. It is the Self that shares Its purpose with Its Creator. In fact It shares All That Is with All. God is in the Christ. Christ is in me, and so God must be in me. That is the truth for all of us. No one is left out of Christ and no one is without Christ in him. Thus no one is without Love in him.

In this world it seems to be the opposite. Everyone experiences fear and guilt. Everywhere we look, fear is being acted out in one form or another. Guilt is being assigned to everyone in one way or another. The President proclaims that Saddam Hussein must pay the ultimate price for what he has done. What is this but an expression of fear and guilt? When we perceive ourselves and everyone as alone and acting on their own, fear is inevitable. We protect ourselves by judgment and condemnation.

When we refuse to talk to someone because of what we believe they have done to us, it is the same as calling for Saddam to pay the ultimate price. Both cases reflect the belief that we are separate and that harm is possible because separation is real. Love does not condemn. Love cannot isolate, for what is one with all cannot conceive of isolation. To know the Christ in us, we must let go of judgment. Christ, being Love, does not judge. It sees only Itself in everything It look upon. To know the Christ in us, we must do the same.

Thus we come back to the one means that will reveal the vision of Christ to us again. We must forgive. We cannot look to the world for the means to forgive, for the world was made to show us cause for condemnation. Instead we must turn to the Holy Spirit in our minds, Who gently and patiently guides our thoughts and leads us to recognize that forms are illusions and cannot change the truth. He guides us to see the truth of Love that unifies us all in One. He guides us to see that there is no value in specialness and uniqueness, only pain. He helps us to see that what we thought happened in this world of illusions never really occurred.

Thus we are able to forgive, for we recognize there really is nothing to forgive. The veil of judgment fades away and we see the Love in our brother that unites us with our Creator. Fear disappears and the joy of reunion with our Self sings through our being. And we give thanks.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 353 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 353 Insights

“My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today
Have but one purpose; to be given Christ
To use to bless the world with miracles.”

In the late 50’s there was a program called, “This Is Your Life.” I feel that Jesus, in this lesson, is describing the true purpose of each of our lives. He is telling us in this lesson what our life is all about. He is describing our vocation and what will bring us true happiness. He is describing our ability to serve the oneness as we awaken to oneness.

In this lesson he is being very clear about what our role is in God’s plan of awakening. He describes very specifically the purpose we share and how to do our part. We have no identity other than our Identity in Christ. We have no role other than joining with Jesus to bless the world with miracles.

Our bodies become the vehicle to share the process of awakening that we have accepted for ourselves. We see how happy we are as we receive these daily blessings and we would extend that happiness to others. We do not go Home alone. We gladly join with every brother as we see the Christ in everyone. What life could be more fulfilling than this? I am grateful that this is so.

What a joyous dedication this lesson offers! I think of it as the dedication of a minister of God. And it is a dedication that blesses me because it offers blessing. Recently I saw a wonderful television movie called, “Secret Santa.” The core message was that there is great joy and blessing in giving without expectation. Blessing is freely offered because giving is returned as a joyous gift.

As I dedicate my life to the service of the Holy Spirit, to seeing with Christ’s vision and hearing the Voice for God all through the day, my life becomes increasingly peaceful and joyous. Judgment falls away. Fear falls away. Guilt falls away. What is revealed is what has always been there — the Love of my Creator with Its gifts of happiness and peace.

No longer am I buffeted by the winds of changing circumstances and unexpected events, for I remember the Love that is my rock, my foundation, my Self. I remember that changing external circumstances have no effect on me in truth so I remain serene and confident in my Identity as God’s Son. I see His Son reflected in everyone I look upon. There are no adversaries there. No one to defend against. All are my loving brothers, part of my Self. Conflict fades away and the quiet assurance of God’s Love brings me comfort and rest.

My heart is filled with gratitude that overflows to all my brothers. My heart sings the song of oneness; there is room for no other song. For I would remember that I remain at Home in Heaven, including All That Is in my circle of Love. Today’s dedication gives me great blessing as it leads me Home and I “recognize that Christ is but my Self.”

I absolutely love that last sentence that says “I lose myself in my Identity.” What a glorious place to be lost. No fear, no doubt, just love and joy and freedom. This, my brothers, is God’s Will. It took my perception of a long time to realize that, but the rough journey has been worth it.

I’ve been lost in the world I created for a long time, but this was not what God wanted for me. He sent the Holy Spirit with me to guide me and to catch me when I would fall and, sure enough, I fell many, many times. But my true Identity, the Love of my Heavenly Father calling me back to Him, was more powerful than my illusions of the world. Today I’m opening my mind to hear Him. Because I’m willing to listen, I feel better about myself, my brothers, and my world. I’m beginning to turn my dream into a happy one. I’m beginning to experience being lost in my Identity.

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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• • Lesson Index
Listen to Lesson 352 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 352 Insights

“Judgment and love are opposites. From one
Come all the sorrows of the world. But from
The other comes the peace of God Himself.”

If I am not feeling peaceful, it is important for me to remember that I have made a judgment on my own. If I am not peaceful, I have not listened to the Holy Spirit. The way I return to peace is to once again open my mind to the healing perceptions of my inner Comforter, the One Who straightens my mind. My one vocation now becomes that of stepping back and following the lead of my inner Teacher, the One Who can return me to my true Identity.

I can tell right away when I have stepped away from the Holy Spirit’s guidance. And the barometer that tells me this is my level of peace. Paying attention to my level of peace helps me recognize the signal that it is time to again step back and open my mind for a mental adjustment. I have forgotten once again that I need to allow the Holy Spirit to return my mind to peace. Judgment brings sorrow. Forgiveness brings peace.

Today it is my practice once again to pay attention to my level of peace. Today it is my practice to step back and let myself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Today is a day of mind healing.

Judgment is not my job. I have taught myself that judgment is an essential tool for survival. I need it to protect myself from the evils of the world, from other people’s attacks, from the dangers of the environment, even from those who I believe love me. Judgment is the primary tool of the ego to hold separation in place in my mind. It is judgment that reinforces that I am different from everything and everyone else.

The ego does not want us to recognize the pain that judgment brings. In fact it tries to convince us that judgment is the way we protect ourselves from pain. It does not tell us that the “life” that judgment protects is not life at all, but really death. Judgment “protects” us from the Love of God, which the ego fears.

Here again we see the insanity of the ego. It seeks endlessly for Love, but fears It, and therefore does not really want It. No one finds what they do not want. And so the ego’s mode of operation of seek and do not find is held in place.

Yet beneath that ego fear, the Love that we are calls to us. We feel Its attraction and we yearn to remember It. It is there to be found. We need only follow the Guide Who knows the way to It. The ego does not know the way, because it does not know what Love is, being itself the rejection of Love. But the Holy Spirit knows the way, being the messenger of Love in our minds.

All I need to do is practice listening for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in my mind. He will judge all things for me on my behalf if I will let Him. Because His judgment is very simple, it sees only what is real and rejects the unreal. His judgment leads me out of the pain of the judgment I have tried to do on my own. The Holy Spirit knows how to judge truly. Thus listening to His Voice is the means by which I am freed from all sorrow and my mind is opened to the peace of God.

Today I will practice stepping back and following. I would not lead. I would follow in His footsteps as He leads me back to the memory of my Father, to the Self that God created to be Love and nothing else. Thus will I receive God’s peace and share it with all my brothers.

I am having an issue with my supervisor right now and I sense that she’s being distant and somewhat cold with me. I believe that part of that perception comes from my own paranoia, my own insecurities when I forget who I am. But most of it is from that judgment you speak of, that tool that I think I need to protect me from the evils of the world.

So then what happens is that I put on those gloves of defense and prepare to protect myself in case my supervisor says or does something that I perceive as hurtful. And if she senses that I’m wearing defense gloves, naturally, she’s going to put gloves on to protect HERSELF, and the ego is standing back enjoying the victory.

The Course asks me to think of my brother as a mind in which illusions still persist. These lessons help me to remember, not only who I am, but also who my supervisor is. My supervisor’s peace and mine are One. I now choose to step back, make no judgment on myself or my supervisor. I ask Holy Spirit to help me see this situation as He would have me see it, and I know, without a doubt, that by the end of my work day, I will have peace. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

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Listen to Lesson 351 Insights

ACIM Workbook Lesson 351 Insights

“My sinless brother is my guide to peace.
My sinful brother is my guide to pain.
And which I choose to see I will behold.”

This lesson is again bringing to our attention the power of decision. What we see or perceive is entirely our choice. It is not imposed upon us. As we accept this we reclaim our power to be in charge of our experience. As we reclaim that power, we are free to choose differently if what we are experiencing is not happy and peaceful.

What we experience is always the effect of our choice. Our choice is based on what we believe we are. If we believe we are the holy Son of God we will see our brothers as God’s Holy Son. If we believe we are guilty, capable of attack, weak and needing to defend, we will see the same in our brothers. What we see is always a projection from our mind that reflects what we believe we are.

The first paragraph of the “What am I?” section that goes with this series of 10 lessons I like to call the declaration of our perfection. It is telling us what the entire Course is aimed at helping us to accept. If we can accept this picture of our Self as What we are, we will see our brother sinless.

Forgiveness clears the veil away for us to see the shining radiant Christ that is the truth in all our brothers. It does not matter whether it seems we are forgiving a brother or we are forgiving ourselves. What seems to be two is really one and cannot be separated. So in some situations it may seem I may need to forgive a brother and so I need to take my thought of judgment of him to the Holy Spirit in my mind and ask the Holy Spirit to help me see him through His eyes. Perhaps I need to wait with quiet patience to receive this corrected perception. If I am willing I will receive it. Guaranteed.

As the veil of a false image fades I will recognize that what I thought was my brother was not him at all. It was only a mistaken idea, which I gratefully release. In that release I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders and find that I receive the gift of forgiveness as I give it. My heart is lightened. A smile comes upon me and I am filled with gratitude.

In another situation I may become aware that I am judging myself. Once again I bring the thought of judgment to the Holy Spirit and I ask for His vision to replace what I have been perceiving. I wait with quiet patience to receive His vision. My willingness lets it come. As the truth dawns upon my mind, I see what I judged was not me at all, but just a false idea of what I am. Recognizing it is not me, I freely lay it down. It no longer has value to me. It is not my identity.

The Holy Spirit shows me my Identity as Love, my Self, the holy Son of God. And again my heart is lightened. I smile and I am filled with gratitude again. Now I look upon a world of Light. My brother is my Friend and my Companion. And I learn that whether I forgive a brother or myself, I receive the selfsame gift, for we are one.

Thank You Father for my brother’s sinlessness and my own. Thank You for the Guide You gave me to show me this. Today I would look only on sinlessness and know my Self.

There are only two thought systems to choose between. One thought system always sees separation. The other thought system always sees oneness. The thought system that chooses separation also chooses to see guilt outside itself. This guilt is an attempt to relieve itself from the guilt it believes is its own. But seeing guilt outside itself really only intensifies its experience of pain.

This thought system is insane. It makes up images of duality where in truth there is none. It seeks to find guilt only in illusions of separation. It tries to find joy within a painful thought system. Instead of life it only makes illusions of death.

It is very important that we see the ego for what it truly is. The ego offers a great adventure of individuality. It offers specialness and uniqueness and freedom to choose on our own. It values competition and seeing differences. It values seeing a world of separate bodies where nothing is the same. It loves to compare and evaluate as to which thing is most special and grand in the moment. It loves to make up hierarchies of specialness, of lower and higher, of good and bad, within its value system. Judging on its own becomes its life vocation, how it reinforces its individuality and specialness.

This thought system does not tell us that what it truly seeks for is guilt, pain and ultimately death. It hides these values beneath a gossamer veil of specialness. It entices its followers with trophies and wealth, special beauty and having more of something than another. It does not tell us that what it offers is merely illusions of specialness, merely illusions of separation.

The only way for us to find true joy and true peace is to see this thought system for what it is and let it go. The Holy Spirit has been present the whole time while we were seeking illusions of specialness, and is here in our mind now. The Holy Spirit is still in our mind, waiting for us to choose with Him. It is only by choosing with the Holy Spirit that the pain and sorrow found within the thought system of the ego is seen for what it is and gradually released. Choosing with the Holy Spirit lifts the veil of the ego’s illusions and shows us the truth. It shows us that we never left Heaven and that we are still as God created us. The dreams of separation never happened.

Today I choose to join with Holy Spirit. As I see what Holy Spirit shows me, I am awakened to what is real. With Holy Spirit as my Guide, I now choose peace instead of pain. “And which I choose to see I will behold.”

© 2003, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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