Daily Inspiration for Living A Course in Miracles

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Problem Solving with the Holy Instant

In quietness are all things answered, and is every problem quietly resolved. In conflict there can be no answer and no resolution, for its purpose is to make no resolution possible, and to ensure no answer will be plain. A problem set in conflict has no answer, for it is seen in different ways. And what would be an answer from one point of view is not an answer in another light. You are in conflict. Thus it must be clear you cannot answer anything at all, for conflict has no limited effects. Yet if God gave an answer there must be a way in which your problems are resolved, for what He wills already has been done.

Thus it must be that time is not involved and every problem can be answered now. Yet it must also be that, in your state of mind, solution is impossible. Therefore, God must have given you a way of reaching to another state of mind in which the answer is already there. Such is the holy instant. It is here that all your problems should be brought and left. Here they belong, for here their answer is. And where its answer is, a problem must be simple and be easily resolved. It must be pointless to attempt to solve a problem where the answer cannot be. Yet just as surely it must be resolved, if it is brought to where the answer is.

Attempt to solve no problems but within the holy instant’s surety. For there the problem will be answered and resolved. (A Course in Miracles, T-27.IV.1:1-3:2. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

The holy instant is God’s gift to help us reach a quiet mind where we can receive His answer to every perceived problem. Whenever we are conflicted or uncertain about what to do or what to think, we are engaged with the ego. The ego has one primary goal: to maintain the belief in separation. Thus it will never provide a true resolution to any perceived problem. It will only offer a substitute illusion that we may like better than our current perceived problem. But the ego’s “solutions” will always maintain the illusion of separation in keeping with its motto, “seek and do not find.”

The practice of pausing and going to a peaceful state opens the door to inspiration that will truly solve our perceived problem. We reach this quiet state by at least temporarily setting aside our ideas of what the problem is or how we think it might be solved. These ideas come from the ego and can never truly solve the problem.

When we let our minds be quiet, the Holy Spirit can give us an answer that is truly freeing. It will bring with it a sense of peace and comfort. It may also include actions to take in the dream of form. This form reflects the state of peace and Love of our true Self in the world. This is how our acceptance of the holy instant and peace can resolve problems perceived in the dream.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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The Key to Peace and Happiness

If all but loving thoughts have been forgotten, what remains is eternal. And the transformed past is made like the present. No longer does the past conflict with now. This continuity extends the present by increasing its reality and its value in your perception of it. In these loving thoughts is the spark of beauty hidden in the ugliness of the unholy relationship where hatred is remembered; yet [the loving thoughts are] there to come alive as the relationship is given to Him Who gives it life and beauty. That is why Atonement centers on the past, which is the source of separation, and where it must be undone. For separation must be corrected where it was made.

It is still up to you to choose to join with truth or with illusion. But remember that to choose one is to let the other go. Which one you choose you will endow with beauty and reality, because the choice depends on which you value more. The spark of beauty or the veil of ugliness, the real world or the world of guilt and fear, truth or illusion, freedom or slavery — it is all the same. For you can never choose except between God and the ego. Thought systems are but true or false, and all their attributes come simply from what they are. Only the Thoughts of God are true. And all that follows from them comes from what they are, and is as true as is the holy Source from which they came. (A Course in Miracles, T-17.III.5:3-9;9. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

Time is one of the key concepts the ego uses to make separation seem real. Memories of the past seem to be permanent because the past is not here and cannot be changed. Yet hanging on to memories keeps the past alive in our perception of the present. The past is also used as the basis for our made up stories about what the future may bring. With the past held firmly in our minds, the loving, radiant present is blocked from our awareness. This is why undoing our grip on the past is essential to free us to live in God’s present moment of Love.

Forgiveness is the Holy Spirit’s lesson that helps us loosen our attachment to our memories. As the past is forgotten we experience increasing peace and happiness, which are God’s Will for us. In each moment we choose between opposing God’s Will or accepting It; between the hell of lack of Love or the joy of living in God’s Love.

Today we welcome the Holy Spirit’s lessons in forgiveness to release the past and to accept God’s present Love now.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Trust Our Guide to True Forgiveness

[All that I give is given to myself] is the thought by which forgiveness takes its proper place in your priorities. It is the thought that will release your mind from every bar to what forgiveness means, and let you realize its worth to you.

…seek sanctuary in the quiet place where thoughts are changed and false beliefs laid by. Repeat today’s idea, and ask for help in understanding what it really means. Be willing to be taught. Be glad to hear the Voice of truth and healing speak to you, and you will understand the words He speaks, and recognize He speaks your words to you.”

Do not let your mind forget this goal for long, but tell yourself:

All that I give is given to myself. The Help I need to learn
that this is true is with me now. And I will trust in Him. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 126, W-pI.126.9:2-10:4;11:2-5. See also ACIM Lesson 126 Insights.)

Are we willing to be taught another way of seeing? Or do we insist on trusting only what we see with the body’s eyes? This is a choice we make in every moment. When we insist on trusting what we perceive through the body, we maintain the dream of separation, guilt and fear.

By being willing to be taught by our inner Teacher, we open the self-made prison doors to receive the gift of Love and peace, given us by our Creator. As we accept Help to see truly, we learn to recognize the Truth in our brother as Love and nothing else. This recognition teaches us of the Truth in ourselves. This is why when we give true forgiveness, we receive forgiveness. It is time to accept the Help we have right now and trust It to guide us to true forgiveness.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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From Virtual to True Reality

You will believe that you are part of where you think you are. That is because you surround yourself with the environment you want. And you want it to protect the image of yourself that you have made. The image is part of this environment. What you see while you believe you are in it is seen through the eyes of the image. This is not vision. Images cannot see.

[‘My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy,’] presents a very different view of yourself. By establishing your Source it establishes your Identity, and it describes you as you must really be in truth. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 35, W-pI.35.1:1-2:2A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 35, )

What we see through the body’s eyes is a virtual reality. Virtual means that its an imitation, not the real thing. The body functions just like virtual reality goggles. With virtual reality goggles, it seems that we are in the scene. We can look in any direction and see different things, all from our own perspective.

The body does the same thing, but it cannot show us the Reality of oneness. It shows us only a false imitation of reality that masks the Truth. The body is incapable of showing us Truth, so we must have help from outside of the virtual reality story made up by the ego.

This Help is the Holy Spirit, Who brings us Christ’s vision in our mind which does not use the body’s eyes. Christ’s vision disregards form and sees only the oneness of Spirit. Spirit is united with God, sharing His Love and holiness.

To know our Self, we must undo the belief that we are a separate identity as a body. It is the Holy Spirit’s purpose to guide us in this process of undoing and remembering Who we really are.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Remembering the Self Love Created

The world can teach no images of you unless you want to learn them. There will come a time when images have all gone by, and you will see you know not what you are. It is to this unsealed and open mind that truth returns, unhindered and unbound. Where concepts of the self have been laid by is truth revealed exactly as it is. When every concept has been raised to doubt and question, and been recognized as made on no assumptions that would stand the light, then is the truth left free to enter in its sanctuary, clean and free of guilt. There is no statement that the world is more afraid to hear than this:

I do not know the thing I am, and therefore do not know what I am doing, where I am, or how to look upon the world or on myself.

Yet in this learning is salvation born. And What you are will tell you of Itself. (A Course in Miracles, T-31.V.17. See also ACIM Text Q & A.)

The core focus of A Course in Miracles is to bring us to the point of accepting that we do not know what we are or what anything means. The early lessons of the Workbook lead us in this direction. There are many places throughout the Course that express this intent. Clearly it is understood that we have great resistance to the idea that we are clueless about what we are. Thankfully we are lovingly and patiently guided in this direction.

As we let go of the importance we give to things in the world, including our concept of what we are, we become happier and more peaceful. This is a good feeling. It motivates us to keep doing the work that frees us from the image of being a weak and separate self, fearful and guilty, in need of constant defense.

The principal mechanism that frees us from all this is forgiveness — letting go of the false images that hide our true Self from our awareness. The strength of God supports us in the practice of forgiveness. His Voice guides us when we are willing to receive His Thoughts. Christ’s vision helps us look past the false images of separation to see and join with the Love that is everywhere to behold. We are on a journey to remembering that we are, together, God’s holy Son, united with our Creator.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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How to Bring Light to the World

The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness. My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world finds expression through me. My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the light of the world in me. My forgiveness is the means by which the world is healed, together with myself. Let me, then, forgive the world, that it may be healed along with me.

Let me not forget my function. I would not forget my function, because I would remember my Self. I cannot fulfill my function if I forget it. And unless I fulfill my function, I will not experience the joy that God intends for me. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 82, W-pI.82.1,3. See also ACIM Lesson 82 Insights.)

The appearance of disaster and death in the dream of separation makes it seem very real. It certainly does not seem like a dream. And these catastrophic events or personal harm seem unforgivable. Ignoring what we believe is real cannot be justified. Yet we are told that our only function is to forgive. In the thought system of the world, this is impossible.

Yet if we are willing, the Holy Spirit in our minds will shine the Light of Love on our perception. He will show us that no matter what the appearance, our true Self is still safe in the Light of Love. The image of a vulnerable body is not what we are.

As we let the Holy Spirit teach us this lesson, the seeming reality of the dream of separation fades. We learn to see that the perception of harm is just the confused part of our mind calling for help and healing. That call may appear to come from someone else in the form of their words and actions, or it may come in our own mind as thoughts of fear and guilt. They are the same call for help.

The Holy Spirit answers both by bringing the Light of Love to help us see that our true Self can never harm nor be harmed, for only Love is real. As we learn that no harm really happened — it was only a dream of harm — we easily forgive the appearance and overlook it. We fulfill our function and bring the Light of Love to the world as we accept the Holy Spirit’s lessons.

© 2017, Pathways of Light. http://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Being the Harmlessness of Our True Self

You make what you defend against, and by your own
defense against it is it real and inescapable. Lay down
your arms, and only then do you perceive it false.

Now do your eyes belong to Christ, and He looks through them. Now your voice belongs to God and echoes His. And now your heart remains at peace forever. You have chosen Him in place of idols, and your attributes, given by your Creator, are restored to you at last. The Call for God is heard and answered. Now has fear made way for love, as God Himself replaces cruelty.

Father, we are like You. No cruelty abides in us, for there is none in You. Your peace is ours. And we bless the world with what we have received from You alone. We choose again, and make our choice for all our brothers, knowing they are one with us. We bring them Your salvation as we have received it now. And we give thanks for them who render us complete. In them we see Your glory, and in them we find our peace. Holy are we because Your Holiness has set us free. And we give thanks. Amen. (A Course in Miracles Workbook Lesson 170, W-pI.170.2:6-7;12:1-13:11. See also ACIM Lesson 170 Insights.)

The dream of a world of separation is a defense against the oneness of God’s Love. We populate the dream with images of separation — bodies, cultures, races, countries and continents — which stand as a defense against oneness. The images make separation seem real. It is impossible to experience the joy and peace of our true Self in the dream that defends against it.

We were created complete as the one Self we share with all our brothers. This one Self is God’s Son, the extension of God’s Love. Love does not condemn nor harm. There is no harm in the one Self that is the truth of our being. As we identify with our Self, we see with the eyes of Christ. We speak with His voice. We experience His peace and we recognize our completion by our unity with our brothers. 

Today we use the inner vision of our Self to look past the images of separation in the dream and welcome the recognition of the Love our brother is, united with us.

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