Daily Inspiration for Living A Course in Miracles

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Transcending Appearances to See the Christ

It is impossible not to believe what you see, but it is equally impossible to see what you do not believe. Perceptions are built up on the basis of experience, and experience leads to beliefs. It is not until beliefs are fixed that perceptions stabilize. In effect, then, what you believe you do see. That is what I meant when I said, “Blessed are ye who have not seen and still believe,” for those who believe in the resurrection will see it. The resurrection is the complete triumph of Christ over the ego, not by attack but by transcendence. For Christ does rise above the ego and all its works, and ascends to the Father and His Kingdom.

Let the Christ in you interpret for you, and do not try to limit what you see by narrow little beliefs that are unworthy of God’s Son. For until Christ comes into His Own, the Son of God will see himself as Fatherless.

I am your resurrection and your life. You live in me because you live in God. And everyone lives in you, as you live in everyone. Can you, then, perceive unworthiness in a brother and not perceive it in yourself? And can you perceive it in yourself and not perceive it in God? Believe in the resurrection because it has been accomplished, and it has been accomplished in you. …But make no exceptions yourself, or you will not perceive what has been accomplished for you. For we ascend unto the Father together, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, for such is the nature of God’s Son as his Father created him. (A Course in Miracles, T-11.VI.1;3:9-10;4:1-6,8-9. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

Beliefs are the foundation of the ego’s perceptions. It is why the ego defends its beliefs with vigilance to the point of violence. The Holy Spirit does not do battle with the ego. Rather the Holy Spirit offers us help to have new experiences through the lessons of the ACIM Workbook for Students and other means. As we have new experiences that are consistent with the Truth, we become willing to replace beliefs based on the ego’s lies with beliefs based on Truth.

As we adjust our beliefs based on experiences under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we resurrect our true Self, the Christ in us. The ego’s denial of the Christ in us fades and the vision of Christ in our minds grows stronger. We see Christ reflected back to us in our brothers as we accept It in ourselves. Even though a brother may seem to act insanely, Christ’s vision is not deceived by the appearance. The Christ in us transcends appearances, knowing that appearances have no substance and have no effect whatsoever on the truth of God’s one Son.

Let us choose Christ’s vision today, that we may share Christ’s resurrection with all our brothers.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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God’s Strength and Love Help Us Forgive

God does not forgive because He has never condemned. And there must be condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is the great need of this world, but that is because it is a world of illusions. Those who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them. As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive only yourself.

Yet although God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the basis of forgiveness. Fear condemns and love forgives. Forgiveness thus undoes what fear has produced, returning the mind to the awareness of God. For this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation. It is the means by which illusions disappear.

…spend a minute or two in searching your mind for those whom you have not forgiven. It does not matter “how much” you have not forgiven them. You have forgiven them entirely or not at all.

At any time during the day when you become aware of any kind of negative reaction to anyone, present or not… tell him silently:

God is the Love in which I forgive you. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 46, W-pI.46.1-2;3:3-5;7:3-5. See also ACIM Lesson 46 Insights.)

A negative reaction in any situation is a sure sign that we need to forgive. The strength and Love we need to forgive is already in us because God is in us. We are eternally in the Mind of God, for we cannot leave our Source.

The presence of fear or lack of peace comes from the belief that we have left our Source. But we, the Son of God, are His Creation, His extensions of Love, and what God Creates is eternal. Only a false belief, an illusion, makes us unaware of the presence of God in us.

Today we choose to monitor our thoughts. If we notice disturbance to our peace, we will call upon the strength and Love of God in us to help us forgive the appearance of fear. His strength supports us in seeing through illusions to the changeless Love that is our Reality. His Help will remind us that God is the Love in which we forgive and will set us free to be the Love He created us to be.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The Fast Track to Our Home in Love

…try to understand and accept what the idea for the day [my only function is the one God gave me] really means. Today’s idea offers you escape from all your perceived difficulties. It places the key to the door of peace, which you have closed upon yourself, in your own hands. It gives you the answer to all the searching you have done since time began.

Try …to arrange your day so that you have set apart the time for God, as well as for all the trivial purposes and goals you will pursue. This is part of the long-range disciplinary training your mind needs, so that the Holy Spirit can use it consistently for the purpose He shares with you.

For the longer practice period, review the idea for the day. Then close your eyes, repeat the idea to yourself once again, and watch your mind carefully to catch whatever thoughts cross it. At first, make no attempt to concentrate only on thoughts related to the idea for the day. Rather, try to uncover each thought that arises to interfere with it. Note each one as it comes to you, with as little involvement or concern as possible, dismissing each one by telling yourself:

This thought reflects a goal that is preventing me from accepting my only function.

After a while, interfering thoughts will become harder to find. Try, however, to continue a minute or so longer, attempting to catch a few of the idle thoughts that escaped your attention before, but do not strain or make undue effort in doing this. Then tell yourself:

On this clean slate let my true function be written for me.

You need not use these exact words, but try to get the sense of being willing to have your illusions of purpose be replaced by truth. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 65, W-pI.65.3;4:3-6:6. See also ACIM Lesson 65 Insights.)

This exercise from ACIM is like daily house cleaning. By doing a little house cleaning daily, your house can be left clean without making it a big project that gets put off. By having a daily practice of setting time apart to be with God and cleaning away our habitual interferences, we open the door to Holy Spirit’s cleaning of our minds. We are encouraged to go lightly with this process so that it isn’t made into a burden that we put off.

Establishing this practice will bring great reward. A mind that is open to Holy Spirit’s lessons in awakening is on the fast track on the journey Home to Love. It leads us to deep peace and lasting happiness.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Learning to Recognize Our Blocks to Love

Think what is given those who share their Father’s purpose, and who know that it is theirs. They want for nothing. Sorrow of any kind is inconceivable. Only the light they love is in awareness, and only love shines upon them forever. It is their past, their present and their future; always the same, eternally complete and wholly shared. They know it is impossible their happiness could ever suffer change of any kind. Perhaps you think the battleground can offer something you can win. Can it be anything that offers you a perfect calmness, and a sense of love so deep and quiet that no touch of doubt can ever mar your certainty? And that will last forever?

Those with the strength of God in their awareness could never think of battle. What could they gain but loss of their perfection? For everything fought for on the battleground is of the body; something it seems to offer or to own. No one who knows that he has everything could seek for limitation, nor could he value the body’s offerings. The senselessness of conquest is quite apparent from the quiet sphere above the battleground. What can conflict with everything? And what is there that offers less, yet could be wanted more? Who with the Love of God upholding him could find the choice of miracles or murder [separation, specialness] hard to make? (A Course in Miracles, T-23.IV.8-9. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

The limitless strength of God is already ours. We are unaware of it because we have chosen to accept the limitation of a body identity. Being unaware of God’s strength in us does not mean it is gone. We need to choose to rise above the dream of bodies and personalities in conflict. We rise above by welcoming the Holy Spirit’s vision in place of our perceptions of everything we experience in the world.

The world was made by the thought of separation to be a place of conflict. The Holy Spirit sees only the reality of Love’s oneness where conflict is impossible. As we accept the Holy Spirit’s purpose to overlook the dream of separation, fear and guilt, we move along the journey leading us back to our rightful place in Heaven’s oneness. We move out of conflict to the certainty of peace and eternal happiness given us by our Creator.

Today we ask the Holy Spirit to guide our vision and teach us to recognize the mistaken beliefs that block our awareness of Love’s presence.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The Truth of Eternal Love Is in Us

You whose mind is darkened by doubt and guilt, remember this: God gave the Holy Spirit to you, and gave Him the mission to remove all doubt and every trace of guilt that His dear Son has laid upon himself. It is impossible that this mission fail. Nothing can prevent what God would have accomplished from accomplishment. Whatever your reactions to the Holy Spirit’s Voice may be, whatever voice you choose to listen to, whatever strange thoughts may occur to you, God’s Will is done. You will find the peace in which He has established you, because He does not change His Mind. He is invariable as the peace in which you dwell, and of which the Holy Spirit reminds you.

Learn that even the darkest nightmare that disturbs the mind of God’s sleeping Son holds no power over him. He will learn the lesson of awaking. God watches over him and light surrounds him.

Can God’s Son lose himself in dreams, when God has placed within him the glad Call to waken and be glad? He cannot separate himself from what is in him. His sleep will not withstand the Call to wake. The mission of redemption will be fulfilled as surely as the creation will remain unchanged throughout eternity. You do not have to know that Heaven is yours to make it so. It is so. Yet to know it, the Will of God must be accepted as your will.

The Holy Spirit will undo for you everything you have learned that teaches that what is not true must be reconciled with truth. (A Course in Miracles, T-13.XI.5;9:5-11:1. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

The ego is at war with God because it stands for everything that is opposite to God. Yet only the Love of God is real so nothing opposite to God exists. God does not do battle with what does not exist.

When we identify with the ego, we believe God is our enemy and we are afraid of His Will. We are afraid of Love, peace and happiness. This makes no sense because the ego makes no sense, being insane. Though we seem to be lost in the ego, we can never lose our connection with our Source. The truth of Heaven and eternal Love is in us, no matter how real images of destruction and death appear to be. The truth of What we are cannot be changed, though it can be hidden by illusionary images of separation.

There is a way out of this self-made hell. We need to choose to listen to a voice other than the ego — the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will patiently and lovingly teach us that the ego’s world is false and only Love is true. We need only be willing to bring all our thoughts to the Holy Spirit for His reinterpretation. This is how we will learn to distinguish the reality of Love from the ego thought system of specialness and separation. Each time we accept the Holy Spirit’s kind lessons, we move forward on our journey of awakening to the certainty of Heaven. This is a great day to practice!

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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God’s Strength Is Ours

Unless I look upon what is not there, my present happiness is all I see. Eyes that begin to open see at last. And I would have Christ’s vision come to me this very day. What I perceive without God’s Own Correction for the sight I made is frightening and painful to behold. Yet I would not allow my mind to be deceived by the belief the dream I made is real an instant longer. This the day I seek my present happiness, and look on nothing else except the thing I seek.

With this resolve I come to You, and ask Your strength to hold me up today, while I but seek to do Your Will. You cannot fail to hear me, Father. What I ask have You already given me. And I am sure that I will see my happiness today. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 290, W-pII.290. See also ACIM Lesson 290 Insights.)

The world we see as a body seems so real. There are so many things that need to be fixed to make us safe. We can’t even agree with each other about what will fix the problems. Yet we are told that for every problem, when we forgive the problem will disappear.  It seems a daunting task to accomplish this forgiveness.

We have the strength of God within us to support us in accomplishing forgiveness. Forgiveness is our only meaningful purpose in this world. Forgiveness is the way out of the dream of fear and guilt. It is the path of return to the changeless Love of God.

We have Help to forgive, but we must ask for It. Our asking expresses our willingness to be helped. Our belief in the reality of separation is a defense against the Love of God. When we ask and are willing to accept the strength of God to help us forgive, we turn our attention to the means that will set us free. We are lowering our defense against Love. We want to remember the Love and peace and joy of our true Self.

Today we ask the strength of God in us to help us see with Christ’s vision and forgive our barriers to Love’s presence.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Healing Through Accepting Love’s Vision

Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity to heal the Son of God. And he is healed because you offered faith [in oneness] to him, giving him to the Holy Spirit and releasing him from every demand your ego would make of him. Thus do you see him free, and in this vision does the Holy Spirit share. And since He shares [His vision] He has given it, and so He heals through you. It is this joining Him in a united purpose that makes this purpose real, because you make it whole. And this is healing. The body is healed because you came without [the body], and joined the Mind in which all healing rests.

The body cannot heal, because it cannot make itself sick. It needs no healing. Its health or sickness depends entirely on how the mind perceives [the body], and the purpose that the mind would use it for. It is obvious that a segment of the mind can see itself as separated from the Universal Purpose. When this occurs the body becomes [the separated mind’s] weapon, used against this Purpose, to demonstrate the “fact” that separation has occurred. The body thus becomes the instrument of illusion, acting accordingly; seeing what is not there, hearing what truth has never said and behaving insanely, being imprisoned by insanity. (A Course in Miracles, T-19.I.2-3. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

Our true Self has one Purpose — to extend the oneness of Love and nothing else. Our true Self, the Holy Spirit, sees only the oneness of Love everywhere. When we see with the vision of Love, the appearance of bodies is overlooked because only the reality of Love is seen. We heal by accepting Love’s vision of oneness.

When we identify with the body and its perceptions, we identify with separation as our reality. The body is simply an instrument of the ego used for the purpose of making separation seem real. To heal, we must disconnect our identification with a body and join with the oneness of our true Self. This is true healing.

As we accept Love’s vision and see the Love in our brothers, our minds are healed. This acceptance of our oneness must be total, with no reservations. We can keep no illusions of separation in the mind alongside truth. Illusions deny truth.

Today we would welcome healing in our minds by choosing to accept Love’s vision in place of perceptions through the body. This is how we find peace in a dream of chaos, for Love overlooks illusions.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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