Daily Inspiration for Living A Course in Miracles

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Awakening from the Dream of Fear

God is the Alternate to dreams of fear. Who shares in [dreams of fear] can never share in Him. But who withdraws his mind from sharing [fear] is sharing Him. There is no other choice. Except you share it, nothing can exist. And you exist because God shared His Will with you, that His creation might create.

It is the sharing of the evil dreams of hate and malice, bitterness and death, of sin and suffering and pain and loss, that makes them real. Unshared, they are perceived as meaningless. The fear is gone from them because you did not give them your support. Where fear has gone there love must come, because there are but these alternatives. Where one appears, the other disappears. And which you share becomes the only one you have. You have the one that you accept, because it is the only one you wish to have.

You share no evil dreams if you forgive the dreamer, and perceive that he is not the dream he made. And so he cannot be a part of yours, from which you both are free. Forgiveness separates the dreamer from the evil dream, and thus releases him. (A Course in Miracles,T-28.V.1:6-3:3. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)

Dreaming is a choice. It is the wish to experience a different “reality” than our waking state. When we choose to dream, we have chosen against our true Reality. And thus we seem to have a different identity.

When we perceive a brother in this dream, we see a dream identity that is not real. If we see him in our dream, we are sharing a dream and this sharing makes the dream seem real. To waken from this dream, we must learn and accept that the dreamer of the dream is not the identity we perceive in the dream. Thus the appearance of a brother who upsets us is not his true Identity.

Recognizing the distinction between the dreamer and the dream helps us release our mistaken perception of his identity. This release applies to both our brother and ourselves. We can disconnect from the dream and recognize our brother as one with us in the Self that God created as His Son. A dream can be forgiven because it is not real. It has no effect on the dreamer. As we let go of the dream through forgiveness, we awaken to the Reality of our oneness in Love.

© 2018, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Returning to the Serenity of God

We attempt, [today], to reach a quickened pace along a shorter path to the serenity and peace of God. We merely close our eyes, and then forget all that we thought we knew and understood. For thus is freedom given us from all we did not know and failed to understand.

Permit no idle thought to go unchallenged. If you notice one, deny its hold and hasten to assure your mind that this is not what it would have. Then gently let the thought which you denied be given up, in sure and quick exchange for the idea we practice for the day.

“\When you are tempted, hasten to proclaim your freedom from temptation, as you say:

This thought I do not want. I choose instead _____.

And then repeat the idea for the day,

I am not a body. I am free.
For I am still as God created me.

…we give these times of quiet to the Teacher Who instructs in quiet, speaks of peace, and gives our thoughts whatever meaning they may have.

…let Him teach you what to do and say and think, each time you turn to Him. He will not fail to be available to you, each time you call to Him to help you. (, A Course in Miracles Workbook Review VI,W-pI.rVI.4:2-4;5:2-4;6:1-4,6;7:2-3. See also ACIM Review VI Insights.)

Unforgiveness is the wish to hang on to the past and use it as our basis for understanding our perceptions. But memories of the past are not real. Thus it is the past we need to let go. As we let the past go it becomes more and more clear that of our self we do not understand anything.

We need to turn to our Teacher within to receive His understanding. The fear and guilt we brought from the past will be replaced by the Holy Spirit’s gift which shows us only Love is real. Therefore only Love is understandable.

When we release the past, we are free to accept the Holy Spirit’s guidance for what to say and do. With this practice, all our doing in the world becomes a means for letting go of barriers to Love and joining with the Love that is everywhere, in every brother and ourselves. This is how to return to the serenity of God’s Love.

© 2018, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Bringing Love’s Light to Dispel the Ego’s Darkness

Who is the light of the world except God’s Son? [“I am the light of the world”], then, is merely a statement of the truth about yourself. It is the opposite of a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. It does not describe the self-concept you have made. It does not refer to any of the characteristics with which you have endowed your idols. It refers to you as you were created by God. It simply states the truth.

You will want to think about this idea as often as possible today. It is the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore to all temptation. It brings all the images you have made about yourself to the truth, and helps you depart in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose.

As many practice periods as possible should be undertaken today, although each one need not exceed a minute or two. They should begin with telling yourself:

I am the light of the world. That is my only function.
That is why I am here.

Today’s idea goes far beyond the ego’s petty views of what you are and what your purpose is. …You are the light of the world. God has built His plan for the salvation of His Son on you. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 61, W-pI.61.1;4:1-5:5;7:1,5-6. See also ACIM Lesson 61 Insights.)

Light shines away darkness, which is the absence of light. Darkness only occurs when there is a barrier against the light. In this world, light can be used as a metaphor for Love. The darkness of the world of separation, which denies Love, makes the presence of Love unrecognized.

We bring Light to the world when we bring Love to replace our thoughts of fear, the absence of Love. Just as light dissipates darkness, Love dispels fear. As Light and darkness cannot coexist, Love and fear cannot coexist.

Our function is to bring Love into the ego thought system of fear and guilt. We do this by bringing all of our fearful and guilty thoughts to the Holy Spirit in our mind. He offers His vision of Love (Light) in their place. His vision recognizes our fearful thoughts as illusions, removing the ego-made barriers to Love and revealing the truth of Love’s eternal Reality. This practice is how we fulfill our part in God’s plan for the salvation of His Son.

© 2018, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Remembering Our True Identity as Love

The ego’s fundamental wish is to replace God. In fact, the ego is the physical embodiment of that wish. For it is that wish that seems to surround the mind with a body, keeping [the mind] separate and alone, and unable to reach other minds except through the body that was made to imprison it.

You are not dealing here with what the person is. On the contrary, you are exclusively concerned with what he does in a body. …You are actively trying to hold him to [the body] by confusing it with him, and judging them as one.

And every grievance that you hold insists that the body is real. It overlooks entirely what your brother is. It reinforces your belief that he is a body, and condemns him for it.

While the body stands at the center of your concept of yourself, you are attacking God’s plan for salvation, and holding your grievances against Him and His creation, that you may not hear the Voice of truth and welcome It as Friend.

It is the body that is outside us, and is not our concern. To be without a body is to be in our natural state. To recognize the light of truth in us is to recognize ourselves as we are. To see our Self as separate from the body is to end the attack on God’s plan for salvation, and to accept it instead. And wherever His plan is accepted, it is accomplished already. (, A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 72,W-pI.72.2:1-3;4:1-2,4;5:6-8;7:4;9:2-6. See also ACIM Lesson 72 Insights.)

The recognition that the body is not our identity is central to our release from fear and guilt. Only the body can seem to harm or be harmed. Our true Identity as Love’s Creation remains united in the oneness of Love. We are invulnerable in this oneness. This is why the most repeated affirmation in the Course is, “I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.”

This applies to everyone. When a brother offends us it is time to remind ourselves that, along with us, he is not a body. He is still as Love created him.

As we practice stepping back from our identification with a body and asking the Holy Spirit to help us see the truth in our brother and ourselves, we shift our attention from the appearance of bodies to the vision in our mind that shows us that only Love is real. This is the vision that reveals the Son of God in every brother along with us. Together we are His one Son. Together we are united as God’s Love.

© 2018, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Accepting the Self Love Created

I will not be afraid of Love today. If I could realize but this today, salvation would be reached for all the world. This [is] the decision not to be insane, and to accept myself as God Himself, my Father and my Source, created me. This [is] the determination not to be asleep in dreams of death, while truth remains forever living in the joy of Love. And this [is] the choice to recognize the Self Whom God created as the Son He loves, and Who remains my one Identity.

Father, Your Name [Identity] is Love and so is mine. Such is the truth. And can the truth be changed by merely giving it another name? The name of fear is simply a mistake. Let me not be afraid of truth today. (, A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 282,W-pII.282. See also ACIM Lesson 282 Insights.)

Love is our Creator and creates only like Itself. Because Love is one, there are no differences within It. There is nothing to distinguish one part of Love from another, for Love has no parts. This means that as Love’s Creation, We are that same Love. We, God’s Son, are one. There is no difference nor distance between us.

The world we see presents a very different picture. It is an insane picture because it is not real. Believing an illusion is real is the definition of insanity. This is why choosing not to be afraid of Love is the choice not to be insane. Because we have invested belief in the illusion of a world of separation, we believe that to turn away from the world would cost us our individual identity.

This is why we fear Love. For most of us saying “I love” is more difficult than saying “I hate.” This is because truly loving would mean we give up our private identity, which seems like a total loss of everything we value. This is true because we have been valuing illusions, which are nothing. But if we accept the Love we are, we give up nothing and gain everything. We accept the universe of Love as our Home. We accept our true Identity as God’s one Son.

© 2018, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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We All Are God’s Perfect Son

Father, Your Son is perfect. When I think that I am hurt in any way, it is because I have forgotten who I am, and that I am as You created me. Your Thoughts can only bring me happiness. If ever I am sad or hurt or ill, I have forgotten what You think, and put my little meaningless ideas in place of where Your Thoughts belong, and where they are. I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts. The Thoughts I think with You can only bless. The Thoughts I think with You alone are true.

I will not hurt myself today. For I am far beyond all pain. My Father placed me safe in Heaven, watching over me. And I would not attack the Son He loves, for what He loves is also mine to love. (, A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 281,W-pII.281. See also ACIM Lesson 281 Insights.)

We hurt ourselves by believing we are a body, a separate identity in a world of form. It denies the truth that we are Love, created by Love, and at one with our Creator. The image of a body is just a thought-form. Withdraw belief in the thought that made the image and the image disappears.

Our belief in being a separate identity make us unaware of the Thoughts we think with God, the Thoughts of Love. We cannot know the oneness of God’s Love while we believe separation is real. This belief leaves us feeling unloved, alone, vulnerable and afraid. It is an attack on our true Self, God’s Son, because it denies our true Reality.

As we recognize these feelings, we can heal our minds by reminding ourselves that they are the effect of a mistaken belief about our identity. It is time to ask for the Holy Spirit’s help to remember our true Identity as God’s perfect Son. We are not a body; we are still as God created us.

© 2018, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Freeing Ourselves from Fear and Guilt

Let us look closer at the whole illusion that what you made has power to enslave its maker. This is the same belief that caused the separation. It is the meaningless idea that thoughts can leave the thinker’s mind, be different from it and in opposition to it. …Only if it were possible the Son of God could leave his Father’s Mind, make himself different and oppose His Will, would it be possible that the self he made, and all it made, should be his master.

Behold the great projection, but look on it with the decision that it must be healed, and not with fear. Nothing you made has any power over you unless you still would be apart from your Creator, and with a will opposed to His. For only if you would believe His Son could be His enemy does it seem possible that what you made is [your enemy]. You would condemn [God’s] joy to misery, and make Him different. And all the misery you made has been your own. Are you not glad to learn it is not true? Is it not welcome news to hear not one of the illusions that you made replaced the truth? (A Course in Miracles, T-22.II.9:1-3,6;10. See also ACIM Text Made Simple.)

Our true Self is a Thought in the Mind of Love. This Self is God’s one Son. We share this Self with every brother. It is the unified Thought of Love in God’s Mind. The recognition of this Self requires inner vision, Christ’s vision. Christ’s vision sees with Love and therefore sees only innocence. When we accept Christ’s vision in place of what we seem to see through the body’s eyes, we see the innocence and Love that is the truth in everyone.

When we accept the images of bodies and what they see as true, we are believing that we have separated from our Creator. The belief that separation is real makes attack and loss seem possible. Within that belief, fear and guilt are constant companions. The key to release from this imaginary world is to let the Holy Spirit in our minds show us Christ’s vision.

Each time we bring a fear or guilt thought to the Holy Spirit, He will show us that there is no cause for concern because illusions cannot cause anything. He will help us look past these mistaken images to the reality of Love’s innocence everywhere. When we accept His vision, we take another step closer to the experience of the Heaven of God’s Love. When no one is excluded from Christ’s vision of innocence, we are welcomed Home where we belong.

© 2018, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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