LESSON 121
Forgiveness is the key to happiness
6 Forgiveness is acquired. It is not inherent in the mind, which cannot sin. As sin is an idea you taught yourself, forgiveness must be learned by you as well, but from a Teacher other than yourself, Who represents the other Self in you. Through Him you learn how to forgive the self you think you made, and let it disappear. Thus you return your mind as one to Him Who is your Self, and Who can never sin.
The unforgiving mind must learn through your forgiveness that it has been saved from hell. And as you teach salvation, you will learn. Yet all your teaching and your learning will be not of you, but of the Teacher Who was given you to show the way to you.
The unforgiving mind does not believe that giving and receiving are the same.
I know that the unforgiving mind has made a living hell out of life. In the moment we had the tiny mad idea and imaged a world of separation, this unhappy world unfolded. We forgot our true identity which is of God and believed in the one we made which is the opposite of Love. This is where guilt and fear were born and it is here that they must be forgiven if we are to return to our natural state of being, our true Self.
Jesus reminds us that we have the key to happiness in forgiveness and he reminds us that to give is to receive. The exercise for this lesson is to reimagine someone we do not presently like and to see the spark of divinity in them, to focus on that spark until it is all we see. Then we imagine someone we do like and let the light from the two of them combine and in their brilliance to encompass our self. This is an exercise in forgiveness and in reinforcing the belief that to give is to receive.
When I did the exercise, I was wondering who I would choose. I couldn’t think of anyone I had a problem with. I thought my mind was wandering around in ego land thinking about a group I am part of, and I tried to pull it back to the task at hand. This one person kept getting in the way of my meditation until suddenly, my mind snapped to the realization that she was the one I was to use. Sometimes my mind is a little slow on the uptake. ~smile~
The ego doesn’t hate her but on the other hand, didn’t want to forgive her either. Evidently, my ego mind wanted to keep her as an annoyance. I had a hard time settling on her as the one to see differently. Finally, I asked the Holy Spirit to help me make this meditation a valuable experience. I then begin to see her as spirit rather than the personality/body I knew. I let that light spread until I was no longer aware of the personality traits my ego didn’t like about her ego.
The one I like came immediately to mind, surprising me in its choice. This one presents an ego equally imperfect but for some reason, I have no trouble seeing her as her Self. In my mind, her ego personification fell away quickly. As her light glowed brighter it combined with the light of the one who was my “enemy” and the two of those bright Lights blessed me with forgiveness and we were one brilliant Light.
Even as I was writing about my experience, there was, and is, a silence in my mind beneath the words and I am confident that the Holy Spirit is healing my mind of the idea of enemies and the idea that any of these bodies is separate from me. He is healing my mind of the belief that it is possible to lose when giving. I wrote the words I need to remember every hour on a card that I can take with me.
Regina’s Tips
Today’s workbook lesson says of the ego mind, “It does not ask, because it thinks it knows. It does not question, certain it is right.” The lesson also says that we learn forgiveness “from a Teacher other than yourself, Who represents the other Self in you.”
It is time for us to begin asking within for understanding and guidance. If we are to find freedom, we need to let the teacher who knows the way take the lead.
The ego mind does not ask, because it thinks it knows. Therefore, we will ask. We will not come from ego. We will accept that we do not know, and we will ask. I encourage you to take time at least 1-3 times a week to sit quietly and ask within for whatever you need to see or realize now. Leave the question open, and let the genuine answer come.
My Thoughts
This is a practice I am willing to embrace. I know how to ask and I know how to listen. Sometimes I am given words and sometimes just a knowing that I translate into words. I can do this and do so already to some extent. This conscious and deliberate yield greater results so I will try it.
Manual for Teachers
“The body’s eyes will continue to see differences. But the mind that has let itself be healed will no longer acknowledge them. ...The one answer to sickness of any kind is healing. The one answer to all illusions is truth.”
I love how simple Jesus makes this. In sorting what we see there are only two categories, real and unreal. When my eyes show me a sick body, the ego mind makes a series of decisions to determine that it knows something about that person. What is the sickness, how sick are they, is it contagious, who is guilty, and other things. It uses these categories to decide if the person can be or even should be healed.
When my mind is healed my eyes still show me a sick body but the mind ignores that. It doesn’t acknowledge any distinctions in form or severity. The healed mind decides it is not true and therefore sees only God’s unchanging creation. The healed mind sees only the Will of God. As I am able to do that, I consider it a prayer. If I am completely unaffected by the ego image of a sick body, then the light in my mind can ignite the light in the other person’s mind and a miracle is given.
Text
II. The Way to Remember God, P 7
7 A little while and you will see me, for I am not hidden because you are hiding. I will awaken you as surely as I awakened myself, for I awoke for you. In my resurrection is your release. Our mission is to escape from crucifixion, not from redemption. Trust in my help, for I did not walk alone, and I will walk with you as our Father walked with me. Do you not know that I walked with Him in peace? And does not that mean that peace goes with us on the journey?
Could Jesus be any clearer? He is with us on this journey. He will awaken us as surely as he was awakened himself. I take great comfort in that and I feel so much love and appreciation for my brother that it brings tears to my eyes. I am much closer to awakening now than I used to be.
There are many ego ideas I no longer believe. My faith is stronger, my desire for awakening more heartfelt. But I still have difficult moments in which I doubt and so that is why this paragraph is so important to me. It reminds me of Lesson 70 in which he says, “If it helps you, think of me holding your hand and leading you. And I assure you this will be no idle fantasy.”
Our brother is truly with us, helping us, reassuring us, bringing us home. All he asks of us is to trust him. And when even this small thing is too much for us, he understands and helps us to build our trust. No wonder I cry in appreciation and love.
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