Journal for Day 75
LESSON 71
Only God’s plan for salvation will work.
If you have ever felt like you just could not forgive a grievance or found it so hard to do so that it took a long time, you might wonder why that is. I did. Oh, at first, I thought it was hard to forgive because of the nature of the wrong, but later, as I began to understand that all grievances are different expressions of the same one and that all grievances must be released, I was confused at my stubbornness.
I understand now why it is that I had trouble letting them go for a while even after making the decision to do so. There are two plans for salvation in my mind. The Holy Spirit has a plan, but so does the ego. It’s pretty simple really. Here is the ego’s plan.
“2 The ego’s plan for salvation centers around holding grievances. It maintains that, if someone else spoke or acted differently, if some external circumstance or event were changed, you would be saved. Thus, the source of salvation is constantly perceived as outside yourself. Each grievance you hold is a declaration, and an assertion in which you believe, that says, “If this were different, I would be saved.” The change of mind necessary for salvation is thus demanded of everyone and everything except yourself.”
So the ego’s solution to our problem is to make someone or something else the blame for it and then to change the guilty party. And good luck with that! As Dr. Phil would say, “And how’s that working for you?” We all know the answer to that question. It doesn’t work. Even if we manage to change something in the world that makes us feel better for a while, something else will pop up, or the original problem will come back, or the one we changed will resent us and then we have to save ourselves from that.
“3 The role assigned to your own mind in this plan, then, is simply to determine what, other than itself, must change if you are to be saved. According to this insane plan, any perceived source of salvation is acceptable provided that it will not work. This ensures that the fruitless search will continue, for the illusion persists that, although this hope has always failed, there is still grounds for hope in other places and in other things. Another person will yet serve better; another situation will yet offer success.”
It is hopeless, and of course, this is the ego’s plan to seek but do not find. It is never going to work because we are looking where the answer cannot be found. But there is another plan in our mind, one that will work. This lesson tells us to ask God to reveal His plan to us. Ask Him very specifically:
“What would You have me do?
Where would You have me go?
What would You have me say, and to whom?”
“He will answer in proportion to your willingness to hear His Voice.”
This is a good question to ask frequently. It is a good question to ask if one is having trouble releasing a grievance or wanting to release a grievance. It represents for me, full surrender. I surrender my efforts to save myself. Here I am, God. What now?
Another way to understand the two plans in our mind.
If I use the teaching of The Code (https://awakening-together.org/the-code/) I can see that I have two programs running in my mind. One program I can call separation, the other program I can call the Atonement. Separation and Atonement are completely different, and in fact, are opposed.
Living with both has caused chaos in my mind and thus in my life. I want to get rid of one and keep the other. I cannot completely rid myself of the Atonement program because it was installed in such a way as to be permanent. But I can rid myself of the separation program because it was never meant to be permanent. So what I am doing is removing separation code every time I see it because I no longer want it.
I like this idea because it helps me to see that there is no reason for guilt. What kind of programmer would feel guilty for finding code to a program she no longer cares about and wants to remove? In fact, finding destructive code in the system and removing it for all of us would make me something of a hero. ~smile~
Regina’s Tip for this lesson
Regina’s tips today were really excellent. They included an example of how she used the method Jesus gave us in this lesson. I highly recommend reading the entire tip. But the following is the part I want to emphasize for myself.
In today’s workbook lesson, we are instructed to ask God,
“What would You have me do? Where would You have me go?
What would You have me say, and to whom?”
In my experience, it is entirely possible that you will hear something when you ask these questions, and it is entirely possible that you won’t. However, either situation can be a success. Let me explain how.
When something was weighing on my mind, such as a grievance or fear, a time of quiet ‘asking for guidance’ led me to see the situation differently. I received guidance regarding my mind in the situation. When this type of guidance came, I wrote it down. It doesn’t matter if it was brief or a long conversation with God, I found writing it down helpful so I could reflect on it, accept it, and follow it.
However, if there was nothing weighing on my mind, I usually did not receive guidance during a quiet time of ‘asking.’ Instead, I felt peace or devotion as I sat quietly, but later in the day guidance would spontaneously arise when I needed it. I had opened a channel during the quiet time of sitting, and the channel was being used when it was needed.”
My Thoughts
Many people think they don’t hear an answer when they ask for one. From my own experience I have seen that sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t, at least, I don’t get an answer right away. But as Regina points out, asking for an answer opens my mind to receive it when it is needed.
I, too, find it very helpful to write the answer as it comes. I do this so that I can contemplate it and so that I can go back to it later when it needs to be refreshed in my mind. I also do it for another reason. Sometimes I have to start writing just to get my mind fixed on hearing and to keep it from wandering away to something else. Also, I might not be getting anything, but if I start writing, it starts flowing.
Another thing I have discovered is that sometimes I just cannot hear a thought in my mind that seems to be coming from Spiritual Inspiration. I understand that somehow I am blocking it, but that’s OK. I can let it come another way. I leave this up to the Sender. It might come from another person or a book.
It might come from something said in a movie or off of a bumper sticker. These days, it is more likely to come from something I read on Facebook. The point is, if I am sincere in wanting an answer, the Holy Spirit will get it to me in some way that I can understand. I have chosen to practice daily asking and receiving answers because I want to open that channel and keep it open.
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