Daily Inspiration for Living A Course in Miracles

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Accepting the Reality of God’s Love

²Your Friend goes with you. ³You are not alone. ⁴No one who calls on Him can call in vain. ⁵Whatever 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. ⁶He will not withhold all answers that you need for anything that seems to trouble you. ⁷He knows the way to solve all problems, and resolve all doubts. ⁸His certainty is yours. ⁹You need but ask it of Him, and it will be given you.

…hear but the Voice for God and for your Self when you retire from the world, to seek reality instead. ³He will direct your efforts, telling you exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certain Word. ⁴His is the Word that God has given you. ⁵His is the Word you chose to be your own.

And now I place you in His hands, to be His faithful follower, with Him as Guide through every difficulty and all pain that you may think is real.

³You will be told exactly what God wills for you each time there is a choice to make. ⁴And He will speak for God and for your Self, thus making sure that hell will claim you not, and that each choice you make brings Heaven nearer to your reach. (A Course in Miracles, W-ep.1:2-9;3:2–4:1;5:3-4)

God is not a dictator. He simply offers the gift of all of His Love to His Son. When we choose to identify with the ego thought system of separation, we deny our birthright. We deny our true Identity. The ego is the wish to establish its own domain with it in charge. When we identify with the ego, we accept its demands.

We have another choice. We can choose to accept God’s gift of all of Himself. With this acceptance, we accept His Will that we share the oneness of His Love without limit. Our true Self’s Will is the same as God’s. It is His gift of Love that we seek for in myriad forms in the ego’s world. It cannot be found there because Love is denied.

Today we choose to accept our best Friend, Who is with us always. His mission is to guide us to recognize that ego’s world offers nothing we really want. In its place we are led to join with all of Reality in the Heart of Love.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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A Core Lesson from the Course

Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.

This is how A Course in Miracles begins. It makes a fundamental distinction between the real and the unreal; between knowledge and perception. Knowledge is truth, under one law, the law of love or God. Truth is unalterable, eternal and unambiguous. It can be unrecognized, but it cannot be changed. It applies to everything that God created, and only what He created is real. It is beyond learning because it is beyond time and process. It has no opposite; no beginning and no end. It merely is.

The world of perception, on the other hand, is the world of time, of change, of beginnings and endings. It is based on interpretation, not on facts. It is the world of birth and death, founded on the belief in scarcity, loss, separation and death. It is learned rather than given, selective in its perceptual emphases, unstable in its functioning, and inaccurate in its interpretations.

From knowledge and perception respectively, two distinct thought systems arise which are opposite in every respect. In the realm of knowledge no thoughts exist apart from God, because God and His Creation share one Will. The world of perception, however, is made by the belief in opposites and separate wills, in perpetual conflict with each other and with God. What perception sees and hears appears to be real because it permits into awareness only what conforms to the wishes of the perceiver. This leads to a world of illusions, a world which needs constant defense precisely because it is not real. (A Course in Miracles, Preface.1:1–4:5)

No matter how convinced we are that we are right, our perceptions are never true. Perceptions require an observer and an object observed. Thus perceptions depend upon separation to seem to exist.

The Course is telling us that what we think of as seeing is fundamentally flawed. It starts with the body which itself is within the false thought system of separation. It can only perceive within a dream world of separation.

A central teaching in the Course is that we are not a body. Our mistaken identification with the body keeps our attention on illusions of differences. Yet we have another way of seeing in the mind that does not use the body’s senses. It calls this vision, which only sees the reality of Love. Because Love is one, It sees only Itself, eternally extending to Love. This vision sees only truth.

As we give priority in our mind to this true vision, we free ourselves from the limitations of the body. We learn that we are eternally Love, loving and loved, and nothing else.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Reclaiming the Peace of God

The stillness of the peace of God is mine.

Perhaps we are now ready for a day of undisturbed tranquility. ²If this is not yet feasible, we are content and even more than satisfied to learn how such a day can be achieved. ³If we give way to a disturbance, let us learn how to dismiss it and return to peace. ⁴We need but tell our minds, with certainty, “The stillness of the peace of God is mine,” and nothing can intrude upon the peace that God Himself has given to His Son.

Father, Your peace is mine. ²What need have I to fear that anything can rob me of what You would have me keep? ³I cannot lose Your gifts to me. ⁴And so the peace You gave Your Son is with me still, in quietness and in my own eternal love for You. (A Course in Miracles, W-273. See also ACIM Lesson 273 Insights.)

Here we have a simple process we can use any time our peace of mind is disturbed. All we need do is remind ourselves, “The stillness of the peace of God is mine.” It is ours now and forever. In every moment we can reclaim the peace we disowned by identifying with the ego.

No matter what circumstances seem to be around us, this simple statement will help us come back to the stillness of the Mind we share with God. Let’s join together with this practice today to help bring peace to the world. The peace we already share unites us with the truth in every brother. Each time we remember this thought, its message is brought to the world.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Opening Our Mind to Be Love’s Expression

I do not know what anything is for.

Purpose is meaning. ²Today’s idea explains why nothing you see means anything.

You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego goals. ²These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests, because the ego is not you. ³This false identification makes you incapable of understanding what anything is for. ⁴As a result, you are bound to misuse it. ⁵When you believe this, you will try to withdraw the goals you have assigned to the world, instead of attempting to reinforce them.

Another way of describing the goals you now perceive is to say that they are all concerned with “personal” interests. ²Since you have no personal interests, your goals are really concerned with nothing. ³In cherishing them, therefore, you have no goals at all. ⁴And thus you do not know what anything is for.

It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give up the goals you have established for everything. ²The recognition that they are meaningless, rather than “good” or “bad,” is the only way to accomplish this. (A Course in Miracles, W-25.1:1-2;2:1–3:4;5:1-2. See also ACIM Lesson 25 Insights.)

While we identify with the ego, we will always be seeking what is not in our best interest. Identifying with the body is identifying with the ego. With this identification, all our efforts are invested in protecting this false image of our identity. The ego is the wish for a unique identity and therefore denies the oneness of God’s Love.

We need to let go of our mistaken identification with the ego. The practice of reminding ourselves that we do not know what anything means helps us loosen our misidentification. It opens our mind to accept the idea that we are Love and nothing else.

We have been given Help to guide us to see our true Identity as the one Self that is God’s Son. We share the oneness of God’s Love. Our only meaningful purpose is to extend the Love we are equally to all. Today is an opportunity to remind ourselves that we do not know what anything means. With this open mind, we welcome the Holy Spirit’s help to guide us in the way of Love.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Starting Our Day with Love

²My mind holds only what I think with God.

³That is a fact, and represents the truth of What you are and What your Father is. ⁴It is this thought by which the Father gave creation to the Son, establishing the Son as co-creator with Himself. ⁵It is this thought that fully guarantees salvation to the Son. ⁶For in his mind no thoughts can dwell but those his Father shares. ⁷Lack of forgiveness blocks this thought from his awareness. ⁸Yet it is forever true.

²Because [forms] are illusions, they are not perceived to be but what they are; defenses that protect your unforgiving thoughts from being seen and recognized. ³Their purpose is to show you something else, and hold correction off through self-deceptions made to take its place.

²Open your mind, and clear it of all thoughts that would deceive, and let this thought alone engage it fully, and remove the rest:

³My mind holds only what I think with God.

⁴Five minutes with this thought will be enough to set the day along the lines which God appointed, and to place His Mind in charge of all the thoughts you will receive that day.

They will not come from you alone, for they will all be shared with Him. ²And so each one will bring the message of His Love to you, returning messages of yours to Him. ³So will communion with the Lord of Hosts be yours, as He Himself has willed it be. (A Course in Miracles, W-rIV.in.2:2-8;3:2-3;5:2–6:3)

This is a great way to start our day, remembering our mind holds only the truth that we think with God. Because God is only Love, our real mind holds only thoughts of Love.

The wish to experience specialness could only seem to be answered in a split mind that makes up illusionary forms and believes they are real. This is the world we experience as bodies. This world cannot bring us lasting happiness because it denies the Source of true happiness.

As we remind ourselves that our mind holds only what we think with God, we are opening to the healing of our mind. Our thoughts of Love, which we share with God, heal our fear-based thoughts. Love does not condemn, so our thoughts of Love dispel our judgments. Opening our mind to Love is the path to freedom from the limitations of the ego’s dream of separation.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Let Love Be Our Message to the World

It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked you are not invulnerable. ²You see attack as a real threat. ³That is because you believe that you can really attack. ⁴And what would have effects through you must also have effects on you. ⁵It is this law that will ultimately save you, but you are misusing it now. ⁶You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests, rather than against them.

Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. ²And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable. ³Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the attack thoughts are. ⁴Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted together. ⁵They contradict each other.

…you always attack yourself first.

…vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. ²Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. ³Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you are vulnerable. ⁴And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not so. (A Course in Miracles, W-26.1:1–2:5;3:1;4:1-4. See also ACIM Lesson 26 Insights.)

When we let Love be expressed through us, we feel Love’s blessing. Likewise, when we judge others, that judgment is applied to ourselves. We cannot avoid the effects of our thoughts. But we can change our thoughts.

When we put the Holy Spirit in charge of our view of the world, His direction will follow the way of Love. As we express Love, we experience Love. Learning to let Love direct our thoughts is key to knowing that we are invulnerable, safe in God’s Love. Today we choose safety and peace of mind by choosing to be a messenger of Love.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Forgiving Our False Perceptions

²Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power. ³They will either make a false world or lead me to the real one. ⁴But thoughts cannot be without effects. ⁵As the world I see arises from my thinking errors, so will the real world rise before my eyes as I let my errors be corrected. ⁶My thoughts cannot be neither true nor false. ⁷They must be one or the other. ⁸What I see shows me which they are.

²What I see witnesses to what I think. ³If I did not think I would not exist, because life is thought. ⁴Let me look on the world I see as the representation of my own state of mind. ⁵I know that my state of mind can change. ⁶And so I also know the world I see can change as well.

³I would look upon the witnesses that show me the thinking of the world has been changed. ⁴I would behold the proof that what has been done through me has enabled love to replace fear, laughter to replace tears, and abundance to replace loss. ⁵I would look upon the real world, and let it teach me that my will and the Will of God are one. (A Course in Miracles, W-54.1:2-8;2:2-6;5:3-5. See also ACIM Lesson 54 Insights.)

The world we see with the body’s eyes is false perception. It is the effect of a mind that has chosen to believe that separation is real. We are always free to make a different choice.

When we let the Holy Spirit help us forgive our mistaken choice, the real world reflects this choice. We see the reality of Love everywhere. We feel the certainty of Love’s oneness which protects us from all change. We are at peace knowing that we dwell in the Heart of Love.

We have help to choose this different way of seeing. We need only be willing to accept the help. The Holy Spirit does the rest. In gratitude our minds are healed. We remember we are Love and nothing else.

© 2024, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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