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ACIM Lesson 52 2025

My commentary of Review Lesson 52

1. (6) I am upset because I see what is not there.
What grabbed my attention in this lesson is that I think I am upset by something happening, but that can’t be true because nothing is happening. I am entranced by an illusion, and because I believe in the illusion, from my perspective, it is true. But nothing can change the fact that it is an illusion, regardless. I am literally upset by nothing because I believe it is something.

On my flight from Louisiana to Sedona, I had to change terminals in Dallas. This is a huge airport, and my airline app wasn’t working. So not only did I not know how to get to the right terminal, but I didn’t know which terminal it was. It took a while to find an employee I could ask. Then I had to stand in line. So far, so good. I was not upset even though I was aware that time was passing.

Then the employee got to me, and he was helpful and patient, but said he didn’t think there was any way I would make it. So, I set off on a brisk walk where I had to watch carefully for where to turn and which escalator to take. It really was a long way off, and I realized that he might be right. I probably wasn’t going to make it. For a moment, I felt anxious. But, really, why get upset because the story of Myron went temporarily dramatic?

I decided just to do my best to get there and then see what would happen next. I arrived at the right terminal three minutes before boarding. I’m glad I didn’t give my peace away over this. Most of my life, I have responded to the story as if it were actually real, and that was to my detriment. I lived an anxious life, always hoping things would be alright, but expecting them to go wrong. All I can say about that is I learned what I didn’t want, and then, through contrast, Jesus taught me what I could have. I am grateful.

2. (7) I see only the past.
I have flown a number of times, and most of those flights were very stressful. I started out being afraid the airplane would crash, and eventually got over that. Then there was how to pack for a trip, would the suitcase be too heavy, and would I get to the airport on time and without forgetting something important? After the towers went down and security became increasingly difficult to navigate, more stress was added.

But in 2019, everything changed. I had a flight to Portland, Oregon, and absolutely everything that could go wrong, did so. It was like I was starring in an I Love Lucy show. I won’t detail it here, but I do want to share that everyone around me was stressed and anxious. They were complaining and fretting about connecting flights. I was enjoying the whole thing.

There was a part of my mind that was confused about my happiness in light of what was happening, but even that confusion just made me smile. As it turns out, this was a significant shift that never entirely waned. I discovered that anxiety about my circumstances must have simply been a choice, even though it didn’t feel like it was a choice when it was happening. All that old confusion and anxiety was dropped, and each moment was seen anew. The past was no longer determining the present. I had entered a new phase of my life that some call Fundamental Wellbeing. Again, just grateful.

3. (8) My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

If I look back at the past to determine how to feel about the present, I am not giving the present the opportunity to surprise me. A year after my beloved sister-in-law died, my brother remarried. When I met my new sister in law, my mind was busy comparing his new wife with his former wife. I had no opportunity to know the woman who was before me because my mind was filled with the past, a past that didn’t exist even while it happened, and certainly didn’t in the present.

As I looked at Janet, I saw only my thoughts about her. This is always true when we see anyone or anything. We are only looking at our own thoughts. I’m sitting at a desk typing on my laptop. I’m lucky to have it; otherwise, I would not be able to do this work and post it on the internet. But my primary thought is that this tiny screen is inconvenient. I am imagining how it is with my iMac with its large screen, so much for gratitude for the laptop.

Instead of enjoying what is happening right now, my mind is remembering the past. When that happens, I lose the joy of the present moment. Comparing one to the other prevents me from truly experiencing what is before me. Why do I do that? Jesus says it is more than because I want to whine that the present isn’t what I want it to be. He says it is because when my mind is preoccupied with the past, I am doing it so that the present doesn’t dawn on my mind. I am using time against God. I am holding onto nothing and leaving myself bereft of the Beloved. This is insanity.

4. (9) I see nothing as it is now.

I must choose. I can see or not see. If I choose to see only the past, I cannot see at all because the past does not exist. If I want to see, I must let the past go. I cannot see nothing and see everything at the same time. What is in the past? Only this entire illusion. Jesus tells us that we put an ancient memory before our eyes. And we call that seeing. We pretend the past is the present, but we are only looking at the past.

I want vision. I want to see what is real and what is right now. So, I keep letting go of the beliefs that keep me enthralled to the past. What do I believe that is not true? I will have to give up the need to be right, the justification for grievances, choices, and the belief I am separate and special. I will have to give up believing I am Myron, a participant in a dream. I will, in return, know what I am, know my wholeness, my perfection, my Creator, and my creations. I decide in each moment what I want. I see nothing as it is now, but I want to.

5. (10) My thoughts do not mean anything.

I have no private thoughts. Yet here I am thinking that I am thinking while nothing is actually happening. The chatter in my mind is nothing. If I were thinking that chatter, it would be meaningless, but I am not actually thinking it. Again, nothing is happening. Here is a passage I always return to.

⁶Your starting point is truth, and you must return to your Beginning. ⁷Much has been seen since then, but nothing has really happened. (ACIM, T-3.VII.5:6-7)

In the beginning, there was only God, and we are part of Him. That has not changed just because we dream of something else. In the beginning, there were only the thoughts of God, and we shared them. This is still true. We will remember who we are and where we are. That is inevitable. Let us remember sooner rather than later. Jesus has given us the map and the directions to take us Home. Let us make use of them today, now.

© 2025, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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Review 1 Introduction and Lesson 51

My commentary of the Introduction to Review 1 and Lesson 51

The introduction to the review gives explicit instructions for using these lessons. Jesus planned these lessons in such a way that doing them as instructed would rewire our minds. You may remember that in the first introduction, he said this.

The purpose of the workbook is to train your mind in a systematic way to a different perception of everyone and everything in the world. ²The exercises are planned to help you generalize the lessons, so that you will understand that each of them is equally applicable to everyone and everything you see. (ACIM, W-in.4:1-2)
And
9. Remember only this; you need not believe the ideas, you need not accept them, and you need not even welcome them. ²Some of them you may actively resist. ³None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy. ⁴But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. ⁵Nothing more than that is required. (ACIM, W-in.9:1-5)

There are introductions to each new set, and for these reasons, it is important that we read them and understand how we are to proceed.

Now, for Lesson 51, we are to review the first five lessons. I am going to say something about each one, but I would encourage you to also read or watch the video of my original contemplation. I used these lessons to transcend a very difficult situation in my life, so it is a good example of how these lessons help us in very practical ways.

1. (1) Nothing I see means anything.
Jesus reminds us that there is nothing to see here. The body’s eyes don’t show us what is here. It only shows us what the mind wants to see. Right now, I want to see a computer and a desk. I want to see a bowl of grapes and a glass of water. I want to see Sedona out the window with its beautiful red rocks. But everything I see is nothing. It doesn’t actually exist. It appears to exist because I believe in it. ⁴Belief produces the acceptance of existence. ⁵That is why you can believe what no one else thinks is true. ⁶It is true for you because it was made by you.
(ACIM, T-1.VI.4:4-6) I want to be careful what I believe in because that is how it winds up as part of this strange construct we call life.

2. (2) I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me. (ACIM, W-51.2:1)
What does this computer mean to me? What is it for? Why did I want it in this life? I decide all those things. When I was working, I had a computer and I was very conflicted about it. I was not comfortable with new things, and technology was definitely new for me. The computer helped me in my job, but I had judged it as a problem, so there was a conflict. What if I had already learned to disregard my judgments because I don’t know what anything is for? I could simply have asked the Holy Spirit to judge for me. Then I would have had a useful tool instead of a problem. And maybe I would have had fun learning new things since I have the best teacher ever right here in my mind. 

We have already established that what we see with our eyes is not really there. But we can use what we have manifested as the world to learn to see. This true seeing, which the Course refers to as Christ Vision, is ours since we are part of the Christ. But we will not experience it if we choose to believe in what the eyes are showing us. That is why I remind myself often that the world as I see it is not real. There is a real world, and I want to see it.

3. (3) I do not understand anything I see. (ACIM, W-51.3:1)
The world is not understandable. It makes no sense. If I let go of one understanding to make room for another, I have just traded nothing for nothing. If, on the other hand, I let go of my judgment and accept the Holy Spirit’s instead, I will have a truer perception. When I let go of my belief that the world is real, I will have made room for what actually is real. I only need to be willing to do this.

I have inflammation in my feet, and I experience pain from this. Lesson 190 tells us that pain is not real. Of course, it isn’t because to be real it would have to have been caused by God. So, I am reminding myself that it is only my belief in pain and the belief that I deserve pain that I am feeling. I ask the Holy Spirit to correct my perception of these beliefs. I want only what reflects reality to have a place in my mind. 

4. (4) These thoughts do not mean anything. (ACIM, W-51.4:1)
The thoughts I think I think are meaningless. They represent the ego’s interpretation. The ego is not real, so its thoughts are not real. But I have real thoughts, the thoughts I think with God. I will be aware of them when I let go of the thoughts I think with the ego.

I used to not trust doctors and resented them. I seemed to get the worst doctors, and when I had one I liked, I would lose him. Finally, I got around to asking the Holy Spirit what was going on. He told me that I was separating myself from the doctor by making them my idol. I expected them to save me and was disappointed when I left their office the same vulnerable person who entered it.

Instead of seeing them as separate and you at their mercy, see them as your partner and wanting the best for you. When I changed my thoughts about doctors, I suddenly got the best doctors! Another thought given to me in regard to doctors was to see the partnership as one in which they looked after this body, and I took care of my spiritual healing. As Jesus will tell us in the Course, all illness is mental illness. So that is where my responsibility lies. As I become more sane, my body tends to heal more quickly and requires less attention.

Sometimes I don’t get clear directions. When I am in fear, for example, and I understand the problem, but am unable to let the fear go, I might receive peace. And that is lovely. From the peaceful place, I may be able to gain other valuable help. Or if I am grieving and turn to the Holy Spirit, I receive comfort. No words needed. Once when I was lost, I asked for help and just started driving. I wound up exactly where I needed to be. What I need for any form of help is to abandon my own thoughts so that I can become aware of the thoughts I think with God. Or at least, thoughts that are closer to what I think with God until I open my heart completely.

5. (5) I am never upset for the reason I think. (ACIM, W-51.5:1)
I have often thought I was upset because something wasn’t going my way. Or because someone was a problem for me. When I was married, it sure seemed like he was my problem. I could have sworn he was the reason I was upset. But when we divorced, he was still my problem even though we were not together. That is when I began to really understand how it is that I am never upset for the reason I think.

It was like he was in my mind, still making me upset, but of course, he wasn’t. My thoughts were in my mind. It was my thoughts about him that were the problem all along. I could see how I used this relationship to convince myself that I was an innocent victim and he was the victimizer. I used him to prove I was right and he was wrong. I did these things because this was the world I had made with my beliefs, and I was defending it. It was painful, but it was real to me because I made it. I grew so much from that miserable situation that I can only be grateful for it.

© 2025, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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ACIM Lesson 50 2025

My contemplation of Lesson 50
I am sustained by the Love of God.

I can place my faith in only two places: the imagined ego world of separation or the Love of God. If I choose the ego world, I will suffer fear, sickness, pain, and death. I know this because it has been my experience. While I am aware of my experience as a moment-to-moment study in suffering, I am also aware of my life as a different experience. It is different because I have begun to place my faith in God. This is not moment-to-moment yet, but getting there. 

When my friend offered me a room in her home here in Sedona for two weeks, the cautious self responded with fear. I couldn’t just get up and go to Sedona. I needed time to plan. I needed to look at my bank account and then decide. The ego mind always answers from a place of fear because it was made from fear. But now I know that I have another Voice and I can choose to listen to it. So, I asked for advice and I felt very comfortable saying yes. So, here I am having a lovely time with many new Course friends in beautiful Sedona.

It’s kind of funny, really. I told myself last year that I was done with flying and traveling. I like being at home, having a full schedule of classes, and knowing what comes next in each moment. That’s really hilarious when I think of it this way. I wanted to be happy and peaceful and put my faith in my little house and my dependable routine. As if there could never be a tornado that could upend the whole thing. Never mind that we have been under a tornado watch frequently. There could never be a hurricane that chased me from my home and maybe destroyed my home. We know better than that.

It is just the insanity of believing I have control over anything. The belief that something outside myself could give me peace and happiness. I know better than that. From my own experience, I know that nothing outside me can harm me or keep me safe. I was confused for a while there as I placed my faith in the world rather than in God’s Love. I have a prayer I find very helpful in cases like this. I have shared it before, and I will do so again now. If I needed reminding, maybe you do, too.

All thought from the ego mind is only perception, not truth. So if my thought seems rooted in ego thinking, I look at that perception with the Holy Spirit so that He can shine the light of truth on it and dissipate the darkness. Then I ask Him to put my faith where it belongs. There and done! Feeling blessed and grateful.

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ACIM Lesson 49 2025

My contemplation of Lesson 49
God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.

Maybe like me, you have had trouble believing this one. There may be no proof that this is true, or at least little proof. The first time I read it, I was excited at the idea and thought that doing the lesson would give me access to that Voice. I was really disappointed that not only did I fail to experience this amazing shift I expected, but I couldn’t still my mind for five minutes, for goodness sake. I have discovered that I need five minutes just to settle in and let the ego voice fade a bit. Then I can spend five minutes with the Holy Spirit.

But when I first started doing the lessons, I was still very uncertain about myself. I was discouraged and wondered if it worked for everyone except me. What I know now is that for most people, this is going to take consistent and determined practice. Even Jesus had to practice listening for that voice. He says this: ¹⁰It takes effort and great willingness to learn. ¹¹It is the final lesson that I learned, and God’s Sons are as equal as learners as they are as Sons. (ACIM, T-5.II.3:10-11) He is forewarning us that this is going to take effort, but also assuring us that he did it, so it must be possible for us to do so as well.

I still have trouble stilling my mind, but now I am patient with myself and I don’t worry about it. I continue to do what is asked of me with a certainty that I will succeed in all things. What I never doubt is the connection. I am connected to that Voice. It is there whether I am paying attention to it or not. How could it not be? My mind is part of God’s Mind. I am very holy. If I were not in God and God were not in me, I would cease to exist because God is Life. God is continuously sharing His thoughts with me. My heart sings at the thought of this, and I am strongly motivated to become more aware of those thoughts.

This morning, and every morning since I have been at The Little Garden here in Sedona, I have sat with my housemates and done the lesson with them. I don’t have anyone to do this with at home, so it is quite a treat. After we do the lesson, we share our thoughts about it. What a wonderful way to start the day. This desire to connect with others on this extraordinary path is why I write about the Course and share what I write. I love it when someone shares in return.

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ACIM Lesson 48 2025

My contemplation of Lesson 48
There is nothing to fear.

You may not actually believe this. Probably you hope it is true. I know when I began the lessons, I was conflicted about Lesson 48. Sure, I wanted it to be true, but I also felt cheated. There was nothing for me to do. I was big into doing back then. I thought that I was in charge of my awakening, and I could make it happen if I did enough things right. Yes, there are things for us to do. Ideas to take in, beliefs to let go. But that is not what wakes us up.

This work helps to loosen the hold we have on our ego persona. It helps us realize that we are not trapped in hell, that there is a way out. It is like a farmer tilling the soil, removing rocks and other obstacles to growing a healthy crop. He then fertilizes the soil and finally plants the seeds. But then, it is left to the sun and rain to do the rest.

This is what I do with these lessons. I am preparing my mind for the change that is occurring. I am removing obstacles (my wrong-minded thoughts). And I am planting the seeds. The seed this morning is the truth that there is nothing to fear. I have moved past doubt in what Jesus tells me. While the Myron character still feels surges of fear at times, I know there is nothing to fear. There is no world, and nothing is happening.

What could there be to fear? I am among the Son’s of God. I have no body that could get sick and die. I am not trapped in a world gone mad from separation thoughts. I am spirit and only spirit. I am aware of an impossible experience because I want it. When I am done with the experience, it will seem in the story that Myron dies, but all that is happening is that I have removed my awareness from the idea of Myron.

Sometimes I think of this life as a game I am playing. There are many levels to this game. At the beginning level, the goal is to set up the situations that will help me attain the higher levels. Some of those were things that seemed to make me a victim and unfairly treated, because letting those beliefs go is a goal at the higher level. At the next level, I am also gaining tools that will help me achieve the final goal.

One of the obstacles was my first divorce, which got me kicked out of the Catholic church. And the tool I eventually gained as I forgave was A Course in Miracles. It was the map and instructions for winning the game. It also showed me the prize for winning. I would discover that it was only a game. I exist apart from the game. I am not really the avatar in the game, but the player of the game.

Since I now knew that the fear I often felt was not real and I was always safe, I discovered that there was a way to win the game. It is called awakening in the dream, playing for fun without fear of losing, and helping others win the game. Everything looks the same and my avatar is still sometimes caught up in the game, but within, I know that fundamentally everything is fine. Things may still look scary in the game, but it is just a game. Nothing is happening, and I can relax knowing there is nothing to fear.

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ACIM Lesson 47 2025

My contemplation of Lesson 47
God is the strength in which I trust.

In this lesson, we are reminded that we cannot trust in the strength of the ego, the separate self. We have no way of knowing how to live life moment to moment in a way that is loving and helpful to ourselves and each other. We have no control over where life takes us. It is a joke we play on ourselves when we make plans on our own, that is, with our ego mind. Often it is not a funny joke from where we think we are.

What is probably not apparent to us before the Course is that while we are like lost children in the woods, we have within us a power and a strength that we can access. The Course calls this our Holy Spirit. Even as a Course student, I was the recalcitrant child who wanted to do it on her own. My life often reflected that decision to my detriment. But that’s OK. It is how I learned. The contrast of using the ego mind to make decisions as compared to calling on the Holy Spirit to decide for me taught me to choose the right mind more often.

I will still choose the split mind at times, but now I see the error quickly and ask for correction just as quickly. Seldom do I stay in the split mind long enough to make changing the mind I use seem difficult. However, if I make that mistake, the solution is the same. I ask the Holy Spirit to correct my perception of the situation, and with a sigh of relief, I let my mind be healed. It wasn’t always so easy, but consistent practice shifted this for me. So now if I get caught up in a story, it is so uncomfortable that I gladly do what it takes to return to peace. As Jesus has told us, he teaches through contrast.

When I first began this study, it felt like I was being asked to give something up when I let go of trying to navigate the illusion on my own. I had a real problem with control. I didn’t want to give it up. Like I ever had control to begin with. Life taught me differently. I began to realize that I was not being asked to sacrifice the right to control my life since I was coming to realize that I didn’t have any control.

By learning to trust the strength of God in me, I have come much closer to knowing my true Self. God gave all of Himself to me in my creation, so the strength of God is my strength, too. I am simply deciding to be my true Self rather than identifying with the separate self I made to have this insane experience. I do this by calling on that strength and letting it teach me who I am.

My mission here is to let the experience teach me that I can simply have the experience or I can use it to undo the misguided experiment in separation. Eventually, all the Sons of God will succeed in finding their way Home. Today we have an excellent practice to not only make this life happier and easier, but also to return us to our Home sooner.

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ACIM Lesson 46 2025

My Contemplation of Lesson 46
God is the Love in which I forgive.

Forgiveness is everything. It is the way I live a peaceful and happy life while I think I am here. It is the way I awaken from the belief in separation. Forgiveness is the great need of the world so I am vigilant for the need for forgiveness. No matter where I see the need, in someone I know and love, someone I don’t know at all, in a situation, I am really only seeing the need to forgive some false belief I am holding. Thus, I am always forgiving myself even if I forgive something seemingly outside my mind.

When I first started the Course, it seemed as if the list was endless. But now, while I always find something to forgive each day, it no longer feels overwhelming. Here is an example of how I use forgiveness.  I am staying in Sedona for a couple of weeks and just got here last night. There were two women on the shuttle from the airport in Phoenix to Sedona who talked the whole time. I was sitting next to them and after a while, I began to resent their constant chatter. So, I forgave that situation and the two women. Then I forgave my belief that anything outside my own mind could affect me.

No matter what seems to be the source of my distress, it is always some belief in my mind that needs to be forgiven and let go. There are only a few root cause beliefs, so it is not hard to realize what it is that needs to be corrected. It could be the belief I am unsafe, unfairly treated, a victim, or the belief in lack or loss, and the belief in guilt. Maybe a few more, but those are the ones that come to mind easily. I am happy to forgive all of these. When I do, I am forgiving on behalf of the Sonship because what is forgiven in my mind is forgiven in all minds.

If the forgiveness doesn’t come naturally and easily, I ask the Holy Spirit to correct my perception. It is always a perception that needs correction. The two women did not see their conversation as a problem. They seemed to be enjoying themselves very much. It was my interpretation of the situation that was the problem, so that is what needed to be corrected. That simple prayer asking the Holy Spirit to correct my perception is easy to remember and can be thought even when I am busy. I am, as always, grateful for A Course in Miracles and for my Father Who placed the Holy Spirit in my mind to guide, heal, and comfort.

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