Daily Inspiration for Living A Course in Miracles

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Transformation Through Holy Relationships

The holy relationship is the expression of the holy instant in living in this world. ²Like everything about salvation, the holy instant is a practical device, witnessed to by its results. ³The holy instant never fails. ⁴The experience of it is always felt. ⁵Yet without expression it is not remembered. ⁶The holy relationship is a constant reminder of the experience in which the relationship became what it is. ⁷And as the unholy relationship is a continuing hymn of hate in praise of its maker, so is the holy relationship a happy song of praise to the Redeemer of relationships.

The holy relationship, a major step toward the perception of the real world, is learned. ²It is the old, unholy relationship, transformed and seen anew. ³The holy relationship is a phenomenal teaching accomplishment. ⁴In all its aspects, as it begins, develops and becomes accomplished, it represents the reversal of the unholy relationship. ⁵Be comforted in this; the only difficult phase is the beginning. ⁶For here, the goal of the relationship is abruptly shifted to the exact opposite of what it was. ⁷This is the first result of offering the relationship to the Holy Spirit, to use for His purposes.

²Only a radical shift in purpose could induce a complete change of mind about what the whole relationship is for. ³As this change develops and is finally accomplished, it grows increasingly beneficent and joyous. ⁴But at the beginning, the situation is experienced as very precarious. (A Course in Miracles, T-17.V.1:1–2:7;5:2-4. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)

Relationships in the world are central to the Course’s lessons for awakening us to our true relationship with God. Our only real relationship is with God. Because all of God’s Sons are one with Him, our relationship with Him is our relationship with everyone. The Holy Spirit uses our relationships in the world as a classroom to lead us to the experience of our oneness in Love.

The ego’s purpose for relationships is completely opposite to the Holy Spirit’s. The ego’s denial of our oneness with God plays out in its relationships in the world. It starts with perceiving everyone as separate. Then it projects guilt on these separate identities. It judges everything and everyone. Some may be judged as good, others as bad, but always distinct and different from the perceiver. This ego practice anchors our ego identification, keeping awareness of Love’s oneness at bay.

The acceptance of the Holy Spirit’s purpose for a relationship makes the ego’s shenanigans disjunctive. They do not fit the Holy Spirit’s goal. It is helpful to be patient with ourselves as we practice following the Holy Spirit’s lead in our relationship. Having firmly established our identification with the ego, it takes time to break away from this misidentification and redirect our attention to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will not let us down, but we need to accept His help. The benefit His lessons offer is a life experience of increasing happiness, a quiet mind and an increasing flow of Love. It is worth the effort.

© 2021, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The Gift of True Perception

⁶There is no change in Heaven because there is no change in God. ⁷In the holy instant, in which you see yourself as bright with freedom, you will remember God. ⁸For remembering Him is to remember freedom.

If you are tempted to be dispirited by thinking how long it would take to change your mind so completely, ask yourself, “How long is an instant?” ²Could you not give so short a time to the Holy Spirit for your salvation? ³He asks no more, for He has no need of more. ⁴It takes far longer to teach you to be willing to give Him this than for Him to use this tiny instant to offer you the whole of Heaven. ⁵In exchange for this instant He stands ready to give you the remembrance of eternity.

You will never give this holy instant to the Holy Spirit on behalf of your release while you are unwilling to give it to your brothers on behalf of theirs. ²For the instant of holiness is shared, and cannot be yours alone. ³Remember, then, when you are tempted to attack [judge] a brother, that his instant of release is yours. ⁴Miracles are the instants of release [forgiveness] you offer, and will receive. ⁵They attest to your willingness to be released, and to offer time to the Holy Spirit for His use of it. (A Course in Miracles, T-15.I.10:6–12:5. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)

Imagine how you would feel if you perceived no adversary, no lack nor possibility of loss or harm. With this state of mind, your vision shows you only the reality of Love’s presence everywhere and in everything. What could disturb your peace or frighten you if this is what you perceive?

Forgiveness clears the way for true perception. It is a gift we give ourself when we forgive our mistaken perception of a brother to see him as the Love he is. Every instant offers us the gift of true perception if we are willing to let go of our judgments. This means we let go of the past, the basis for all judgments.

Only Love is now. Nothing else exists. The practice of following Holy Spirit’s lead throughout the day frees us from our illusions of the past. The Holy Spirit sees the reality of Love and guides us with His vision to free us to remember Heaven. The peace and happiness we feel as we accept His gifts increases our willingness to more consistently let Him lead the way.

© 2021, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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We Are Worthy of Vigilant Practice

I am one Self, united with my Creator.

Today’s idea accurately describes you as God created you. ²You are one within yourself, and one with Him. ³Yours is the unity of all creation. ⁴Your perfect unity makes change in you impossible. ⁵You do not accept this, and you fail to realize it must be so, only because you believe that you have changed yourself already.

You see yourself as a ridiculous parody on God’s creation; weak, vicious, ugly and sinful, miserable and beset with pain. ²Such is your version of yourself; a self divided into many warring parts, separate from God, and tenuously held together by its erratic and capricious maker [ego], to which you pray. ³It does not hear your prayers, for it is deaf. ⁴It does not see the oneness in you, for it is blind. ⁵It does not understand you are the Son of God, for it is senseless and understands nothing.

⁴You have seen the extent of your lack of mental discipline, and of your need for mind training. ⁵It is necessary that you be aware of this, for it is indeed a hindrance to your advance.

…you have not yet formed the habit of using the idea as an automatic response to temptation.

…with all the certainty that you can give [affirm]:

²I am one Self, united with my Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 95, W-95.1:1–2:5;4:4-5;5:3;11:1-2. See also ACIM Lesson 95 Insights.)

The source of all temptations in the world is our belief that the body is our identity. Our responses to appearances in the world are founded upon this mistaken belief. Because the body represents our separation from God, it is weak and vulnerable, for it denies the power of God in our true Self. We need to break the habit of responding to the world as if our body and the world were real.

This affirmation provides a practice that we can use to interrupt the trance script that that keeps us entrenched in the ego thought system. It reminds us of the truth of what we are to help us disconnect from our mistaken identification with the body. We are not a body. We are the Self God created one with Himself. Here is our power and safety. Here we remember we are eternal Love and nothing else.

As we awaken to this fact we experience the joy and peace of our Home in God. We are worthy of being vigilant with this practice it frees us from our self-imposed limitations. It returns us Home to Heaven.

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Our Eternal Dwelling Place

⁴Fear not to give redemption over to your Redeemer’s Love. ⁵He will not fail you, for He comes from One Who cannot fail. ⁶Accept your sense of failure as nothing more than a mistake in who you [think you] are. ⁷For the holy host of God is beyond failure, and nothing that he wills can be denied. ⁸You are forever in a relationship so holy that it calls to everyone to escape from loneliness, and join you in your love. ⁹And where you are [in God’s Love] must everyone seek, and find you there.

Think but an instant on this: God gave the Sonship to you, to ensure your perfect creation. ²This was His gift, for as He withheld Himself not from you, He withheld not His creation. ³Nothing that ever was created but is yours. ⁴Your relationships are with the universe [God’s Kingdom]. ⁵And this universe, being of God, is far beyond the petty sum of all the separate bodies you perceive. ⁶For all its parts are joined in God through Christ, where they become like to their Father. ⁷Christ knows of no separation from His Father, Who is His one relationship, in which He gives as His Father gives to Him.

⁴Leave, then, what seems to you to be impossible, to Him Who knows it must be possible because it is the Will of God. ⁵And let Him Whose teaching is only of God teach you the only meaning of relationships. ⁶For God created the only relationship that has meaning, and that is His relationship with you. (A Course in Miracles, T-15.VIII.3:4–4:7;6:4-6. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)

In this world everyone feels incomplete. Our lives seem to be a constant search for what will complete us or make us whole. We search for this through relationships, status, possessions, even the food we eat. None of these searches succeed because they do not address the cause of the problem.

We have denied our Source of completion. Our searching in the world is directed by the ego, who can only offer unreal substitutes for God’s eternal Love. We will only feel complete when we accept, without reservation, God’s gift of all His Love. This means we accept that we are one with Him. Nothing but His Love exists in truth.

We cannot find our way out of the ego’s closed system of search and not find without the help of God’s Teacher, the Holy Spirit. He is God’s Messenger sent to help us see past the ego’s false substitutes to the presence of Love through Christ’s vision. With His vision, we learn that we have all the Love we need. We are not alone. We lack nothing that is real and nothing unreal has any value. We need to be taught to recognize illusions for what they are. This is the Holy Spirit’s function.

We easily let go of what we no longer value. Without the barrier of the ego’s substitutes for Love, God’s Love enlightens our mind. We awaken to the fact that we are God’s one Son, united with Him eternally, forever dwelling in His joy and peace.

© 2021, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Our Journey to the Real World

The real world is the state of mind in which the only purpose of the world is seen to be forgiveness. ²Fear is not its goal, for the escape from guilt becomes its aim. ³The value of forgiveness is perceived and takes the place of idols, which are sought no longer, for their “gifts” are not held dear. ⁴No rules are idly set, and no demands are made of anyone or anything to twist and fit into the dream of fear. ⁵Instead, there is a wish to understand all things created as they really are. ⁶And it is recognized that all things must be first forgiven, and then understood.

Here [in this world], it is thought that understanding is acquired by attack. ²There [in the real world], it is clear that by attack is understanding lost. ³The folly of pursuing guilt as goal is fully recognized. ⁴And idols are not wanted there, for guilt is understood as the sole cause of pain in any form. ⁵No one is tempted by its vain appeal, for suffering and death have been perceived as things not wanted and not striven for. ⁶The possibility of freedom has been grasped and welcomed, and the means by which it can be gained can now be understood. ⁷The world becomes a place of hope, because its only purpose is to be a place where hope of happiness can be fulfilled. ⁸And no one stands outside this hope, because the world has been united in belief the purpose of the world is one which all must share, if hope be more than just a dream.

Not yet is Heaven quite remembered, for the purpose of forgiveness still remains. ²Yet everyone is certain he will go beyond forgiveness, and he but remains until it is made perfect in himself. ³He has no wish for anything but this. ⁴And fear has dropped away, because he is united in his purpose with himself. ⁵There is a hope of happiness in him so sure and constant he can barely stay and wait a little longer, with his feet still touching earth. ⁶Yet is he glad to wait till every hand is joined, and every heart made ready to arise and go with him. ⁷For thus is he made ready for the step in which is all forgiveness left behind. (A Course in Miracles, T-30.V.1:1–3:7. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)

The reward for complete forgiveness is awakening to Heaven. Heaven has always been our Home but perception of separation and guilt stand as a barrier to our awareness of our inheritance. Having accepted the idea of a world where separation seems real and guilt justified, the world now has only one meaningful purpose. We need to forgive the world for all we have thought it was. No dark corners can be left unforgiven. Any unforgiving thought, any reservation that there may still be value in this world worth keeping, blocks attainment of the real world.

Achieving complete forgiveness seems like a daunting task. This perception comes from the ego’s need to maintain its dominance of our thoughts. But each unloving thought forgiven and released makes the next forgiveness opportunity easier. As we progress on our forgiving journey, we discover that many issues share a common thread. When that thread is dispelled through forgiveness, many corollary fears and guilts are dispelled. Our life experience is increasingly peaceful and happy. We more frequently answer calls for love with love and we receive the Love we give. The practice of forgiveness is a journey to the joy and peace of the real world.

© 2021, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The Joy of Giving and Receiving Love

To give and to receive are one in truth.

Vision depends upon today’s idea. ²The light is in it, for it reconciles all seeming opposites. ³And what is light except the resolution, born of peace, of all your conflicts and mistaken thoughts into one concept which is wholly true? ⁴Even that one will disappear, because the Thought behind it will appear instead to take its place. ⁵And now you are at peace forever, for the dream is over then.

True light that makes true vision possible is not the light the body’s eyes behold. ²It is a state of mind that has become so unified that darkness cannot be perceived at all. ³And thus what is the same is seen as one, while what is not the same remains unnoticed, for it is not there.

This is the light that shows no opposites, and vision, being healed, has power to heal. ²This is the light that brings your peace of mind to other minds, to share it and be glad that they are one with you and with themselves. ³This is the light that heals because it brings single perception, based upon one frame of reference, from which one meaning comes.

Here are both giving and receiving seen as different aspects of one Thought whose truth does not depend on which is seen as first, nor which appears to be in second place. ²Here it is understood that both [giving and receiving] occur together, that the Thought remain complete. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 108, W-108.1:1–4:2. See also ACIM Lesson 108 Insights.)

I remember when I first fell in love I was afraid to use the L-word. It seemed that to say “I love you” would mean a loss of freedom. It would require a commitment that entailed some vague loss of freedom. This reservation reflects the ego’s demand for sacrifice.

Thanks to the Course, I now know that Love is unity with All That is. Accepting Love can only mean gaining the awareness of the Reality of unlimited, eternal Love. There can be no loss in what is eternal and unlimited. When we accept Love, we join in Love’s unity. Now to say “I love you” means to accept our innocence and unity in Love. We are accepting the Self that God created as His one Son. There can be no greater joy than to join in the eternal giving and receiving of Love.

© 2021, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Our Invincible Identity

My body is a wholly neutral thing.

I am a Son of God. ²And can I be another thing as well? ³Did God create the mortal and corruptible? ⁴What use has God’s beloved Son for what must die? ⁵And yet a neutral thing does not see death, for thoughts of fear are not invested there, nor is a mockery of love bestowed upon it. ⁶Its neutrality protects it while it has a use. ⁷And afterwards, without a purpose, it is laid aside. ⁸It is not sick nor old nor hurt. ⁹It is but functionless, unneeded and cast off. ¹⁰Let me not see it more than this today; of service for a while and fit to serve, to keep its usefulness while it can serve, and then to be replaced for greater good.

My body, Father, cannot be Your Son. ²And what is not created cannot be sinful nor sinless; neither good nor bad. ³Let me, then, use this dream to help Your plan that we awaken from all dreams we made. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 294, W-294. See also ACIM Lesson 294 Insights.)

In the world we are so identified with the body as our identity that its difficult to conceive of an existence without a body as real. The thought of separation (ego) made the body as a barrier to prevent our awareness of our Self, the Son of God. We cannot have the specialness separation offers and be awake in the oneness of God’s Love.

The idea of cutting loose from the body as our identity terrifies the ego because it would mean its end. It does not want us to know that it would really mean our awakening to our true Identity which has existed unchanged since before time began. We will remember that we remain as God created us.

The Holy Spirit has a different use for the body. Instead of using it as a barrier against the awareness of Love’s presence, He uses the body as a teaching aid to help us learn where our true Identity lies. Every encounter we perceive with the body is a teaching opportunity for the Holy Spirit to help us see beyond what the body can perceive. Each time we accept His help we take another step on the path to enlightenment, the path to our existence as Love.

The choice to accept the Holy Spirit’s help is the choice to be happy. It is the choice to know of our safety and peace, eternally protected by the power of God. Our true Identity is as invincible as God, for God has shared all of Himself with His Creation. Today we choose the Holy Spirit’s purpose for the body with willingness to accept His help throughout the day.

© 2021, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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