Daily Inspiration for Living A Course in Miracles

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The Purpose of Forgiveness

Mary:
I am seeing that forgiveness is my only purpose. A way to define forgiveness is let go and let God.

I am recognizing that I made up a story and believed that it was real. Through the daily process of forgiveness, I am learning again and again that the story is not true. As I daily practice stepping back and quietly asking what is true, the answer I receive again and again is that only Love is true. Now the purpose of each day is to practice accepting this more and more.

I still find myself thinking that something other than Love is true, and my opportunity now is to catch these times of misperception and hand them over to the Holy Spirit to be undone. This is the purpose of every day. The purpose of forgiveness opens my heart and mind to the beautiful and glorious truth that the whole Sonship is still the pure Light of Love and has never changed.

I need mind purification until I am not tempted by yet another form of specialness. And so today I have another opportunity to forgive and forget the story that something could happen to change God’s one Son.

Robert:
The need for forgiveness arises when I believe in an image of myself as separate from Love—I am identifying with a body image that can be harmed in some way. Because this image is believed to be separate from God, a sense of unworthiness and vulnerability is inevitable.

Unworthiness is not a happy feeling. The ego’s answer to this is to project unworthiness on other body images. If someone else is more unworthy, then I seem to be less unworthy. This does not really accomplish anything, for it holds the idea that unworthiness is possible firmly in the mind. It does not question the truth of the perceived unworthiness.

The purpose of forgiveness is to remove the belief in unworthiness and separation entirely from the confused mind that believes the image is true. This relief can only come from the part of my mind that does not believe it, but remembers that I, along with all my brothers, remain as Love created me. This is why I must bring all thoughts of fear, guilt, judgment and limitation to the Holy Spirit to receive His kind and gentle correction. From the Mind that knows the truth, the misperception that it is possible to be separate from Love is corrected.

Today I dedicate to practice letting Holy Spirit guide all my perceptions, that I may see the Love He sees.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Making Room for Happiness

Robert:
The more I let go of judgments and opinions, the happier I am, the more peace I experience. If I think any appearance or form in the world should be different, I am telling myself that my happiness depends upon an empty form. It doesn’t seem to be an empty form because I have given it meaning by my judgment. To step back from this self-imposed meaning, I need to practice day by day, hour by hour, stepping back and opening my mind to Holy Spirit’s interpretation of all things in the world.

As I accept the Holy Spirit’s vision, I am able to recognize what is meaningless and has no value, and easily let it go. With that release, the joy of God’s Love rushes in to fill the “space” that had been taken by the false meaning I had given to an empty image. No longer am I looking for happiness in a meaningless world, but I am experiencing the innate happiness that comes with accepting my Self as Love created it. This is what forgiveness brings. This is what I truly want.

Today I will be vigilant to hold my mind open to the Holy Spirit’s gift of vision.

Mary:
Today we were guided to read A Course in Miracles, Lesson 122,

Forgiveness offers everything I want.” What stood out to me was, “Forgiveness lets the veil be lifted up that hides the face of Christ from those who look with unforgiving eyes upon the world. It lets you recognize the Son of God, and clears your memory of all dead thoughts so that remembrance of your Father can arise across the threshold of your mind. (W-pI.122.3:1-2)

Applying this gentle message is my practice for today. This day is for letting the veil be lifted so that I can see the face of Christ instead of separate personalities. Today is for allowing the Holy Spirit to purify my mind of all ego thoughts. Today is for stepping back consistently and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead the way. Today is another day of practice in letting go of all the meaning I have given the world and letting it be replaced by Holy Spirit’s meaning. Forgiveness offers everything I want and I give thanks.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Joining with the Light in Us

Mary:
in reading A Course in Miracles this morning, this is what stood out:

When you are still an instant, when the world recedes from you, when valueless ideas cease to have value in your restless mind, then you will hear His Voice. So poignantly He calls to you that you will not resist Him longer. In that instant He will take you to His home, and you will stay with Him in perfect stillness, silent and at peace, beyond all words, untouched by fear and doubt, sublimely certain that you are at home. (W-pI.182.8)

In many places the Course talks about joining with Jesus or the Holy Spirit. It is when we are willing to join with the Light in us that we receive true healing. Being willing to lay down the ego’s constant chatter and open to the Holy Spirit’s gift of peace is how I return to my true Home. Giving time to this is how I allow the Holy Spirit to heal my mind and show me how to be truly helpful. This is my opportunity today. And I give thanks.

Robert:
The ego values independence. Garfield stated this perfectly in a cartoon when he said, “I need my space.” When we identify with the ego as our identity, we think we need our space. We put up myriad defenses to protect ourselves from intrusions, be they physical, emotional or ideological. Our “space” is defined by our beliefs.

The ego’s biggest perceived threat is the Will of God because the ego “will” opposes God’s Will. Yet the Course tells us that our true will and God’s Will are one and the same. So the ego is in opposition to our real will, what we truly want. The ego is afraid of God’s Will because it perceives God’s Will as His attempt to control us.

Yet the Course tells us that God’ Will for us is perfect happiness. So when we choose to identify with the ego, we are choosing against our happiness. The key to accepting our true will and our happiness is forgiveness. When we let go of valuing specialness, valuing a separate identity, we will experience the unlimited happiness that is God’s gift.

Today I will remind myself to bring all my interpretations and judgments to the Holy Spirit for correction. Thus will I learn to not value the valueless.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Accepting God’s Will

Robert:
If I want to be happy, there’s really only one thing to do: Follow Holy Spirit’s lead in all things. Grievances stand between me and my awareness of Holy Spirit’s vision. They are a form of unwillingness to accept God’s gifts. Since the Holy Spirit’s purpose is to lead me to God’s gifts, unwillingness to accept them must close off my awareness of Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Today is a day for vigilance to bring all grievances, judgments, opinions, perceptions to the Holy Spirit with an open mind willing to receive His kind and loving lesson that teaches me what has real value and what is meaningless. As I recognize the meaningless with His help, it is easily let go and unhappiness is replaced with happiness. God’s Will for me is perfect happiness. With Holy Spirit’s help I will accept this today.

Mary:
Today it is my opportunity to step back and allow my mind to quiet… Today I have the opportunity to welcome the Holy Spirit into my mind…

In order to do this, I must let go of all I think I know. This is how I allow the Light of truth to enter. This is the same as letting go of my defenses against God. This is the same as allowing Holy Spirit’s peace to enter and replace all of the confused thoughts of the ego. Letting the Holy Spirit wash away all that is not true is my practice for today. This comes easily when Holy Spirit’s healing perspective is all I want.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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All I Really Want Is God

Mary:
Do I want oneness or do I want separation? If I still want to see differences and individuality, I am refusing to acknowledge God as God is. When the face of Christ is all I want to see, I am accepting my true Self’s vision.

What do I want to see today? It is my opportunity today to be vigilant and recognize the circumstances where I still focus on differences and individuality, which are seen through the eyes of the ego. Once I recognize it, I have the opportunity to forgive or let go of wanting the ego’s perspective. My opportunity is to hand this perception over to the Holy Spirit, Who will show me the truth. Today all I want is God. My willingness to want only the truth brings the truth to me.

Robert:
To say: “All I really want is Love” is the same as saying all I really want is God, all I really want is to be my Self. This world as I experience it is simply the effect of making believe that I am not my Self. Forgiveness is the way of letting go of the game of make-believe.

The easiest way to forgive is to let the Holy Spirit guide every interpretation and direct all my doing to serve His purpose for the dream. His singular purpose is to lead me back to my Source, to return me to all I really want. Today is another day to practice letting Holy Spirit guide me in all things.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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What’s Really Important?

Mary:
When I went to Spirit and asked for guidance, this sentence comes to mind: “God is but Love and therefore so am I.” I stayed with this thought and what comes with it is the thought that because I am only Love, my only function is to extend only Love… Love sees only Love and recognizes that anything else is an illusion and doesn’t matter… Love is changeless and eternal… This means that all that is true is changeless and eternal… This helps me let go of giving value to the valueless… This helps me set my priorities straight.

A Course in Miracles tells me to ask of everything, “What is it for?” If it does not last forever, it is really meaningless. As I sit in a place of quiet, I am reminded how important it is to give time to resting in God… resting in the truth of God’s eternal Presence… I trust that as I do this, I will be guided in how to be truly helpful. I hear the words, “There is no place where God is not.” Remembering this is my practice for today.

Holy Spirit to Robert:
Remember that your safety lies in What you are. An illusion is never safe because it can change on a whim. But What You are is eternal and changeless and therefore invulnerable.

While you believe in an image of yourself, your only function is to let it go and accept your Self. You do this by bringing all your perceptions to Me and opening to My vision. I will show you what is true and shine away the meaningless images with the Light of Love. Let Me guide all your seeing today.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Laughing at Fear Thoughts Through Forgiveness

Robert:
One of my favorite Workbook lessons is: “God goes with me wherever I go.” It offers comforting assurance that I cannot be without God. No matter where I go, His Love and strength are with me. It concludes with the wonderful reminder that, “You can indeed afford to laugh at fear thoughts, remembering that God goes with you wherever you go.” (W-pI.41.10)

I don’t think of myself as being fearful. Yet if I am honest, I have to acknowledge that there are many times in a day when I at least mentally make plans for the future, from thinking of things I might say to someone or wishing a situation would have a certain outcome, to making plans on my own for how I think the next Pathways of Light Center should look.

Only if there were some underlying fear that if I didn’t make some plans I wouldn’t be safe would there be a need to spend time planning for the future. In those moments I’m not laughing at fear thoughts. In some way I’m thinking that there may be something that could disturb my peace. All this really means is that in those moments I have forgotten that God is with me and will always be with me. With the strength of God within me there truly is nothing that can affect me.

So today I will remind myself frequently that God goes with me wherever I go and that with Him I am perfectly safe and perfectly loved and I can share that with everyone.

Mary:
Today forgiveness is my highest priority. Forgiveness means opening my mind to receive the miracle of truth from the Holy Spirit, instead of thinking thoughts on my own. In truth there is no division anywhere. Forgiveness allows the Light of the Holy Spirit to return to my mind. Forgiveness allows me to return Home to my Father. Forgiveness helps me remember I never left. Forgiveness removes the blocks to the awareness of Love’s presence in everyone and everywhere. Forgiveness is my only function here.

My job today is to ask frequently, “Whose hand am I holding right now, Holy Spirit’s or ego’s? What mind am I joining with, the false mind which thinks in terms of separation or the real Mind of Love?” Forgiveness returns me Home where I belong along with every brother. Because we are joined as one mind, we don’t go Home alone.

© 2010, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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