ACIM Daily Lesson 261 God is my refuge and security. 1. I will identify with what I think is refuge and security.
God is my refuge and security.
Lesson 261
God is my refuge and security.
1. I will identify with what I think is refuge and security. ²I will behold myself where I perceive my strength, and think I live within the citadel where I am safe and cannot be attacked. ³Let me today seek not security in danger, nor attempt to find my peace in murderous attack. ⁴I live in God. ⁵In Him I find my refuge and my strength. ⁶In Him is my Identity. ⁷In Him is everlasting peace. ⁸And only there will I remember Who I really am.
2. Let me not seek for idols. ²I would come, my Father, home to You today. ³I choose to be as You created me, and find the Son whom You created as my Self.
The body is not our refuge.
I used to think my body was my refuge and security, and sometimes I still act like this is true. When I have been in company with others, even when I have thoroughly enjoyed their presence, I feel a sense of relief when I am alone. Taking my body away from others as a way of finding peace gives me the sense that the body is my refuge.
Another way I see the effects of the belief in the body as my refuge is when I think I would be happier if some particular person (body) was not in my life. Or maybe it will show up as the belief that the only way I can be safe from disease is to separate myself from other bodies. We think of many ways in which we believe the body keeps us safe. And yet, this doesn’t seem to work, does it?
We still get sick. We still remain frequently unhappy even when we take our body away from others. If we eliminate one person we don’t like, another shows up to take his place. The body is always going to let us down. No matter how it serves us or fails to serve us in life, it will inevitably die. Clearly, the body is not a safe refuge and is not secure.
I am being told that I will see myself where I feel safe.
It is odd anyone would feel safe in the world, but I used to think that way. I thought when life was easy and that I had it made. The world is not secure, though, and while things might be comfortable today, they might be painful tomorrow. And the only certainty is that everything will change, and who can be comfortable and feel safe in that kind of uncertainty? I spent some time under the impression that if I kept trying, I would succeed in life. Sometimes I did, and often I didn’t, and neither result brought me peace.
I am done seeking idols. I have discovered the hard way that there is not enough money or fame in the world to bring me the happiness and peace that is mine if I remember who I am. Relationships won’t do it, nor will good health, beauty, or anything else in the world. Temporary pleasure is the most I can expect from the world, and at what cost? This is not to say that I cannot enjoy the world, but if I think the world is my refuge, I am wrong, and that attitude will only lead to suffering. God is my refuge and security.
Here is a past entry in which I was beginning to take awakening seriously.
When I look at the body and think, “me,” I am lost to my true identity. When I look at my body and think, “How would you use this body to extend love, Holy Spirit,” I am found. Or at least I am on my way to being found. In both cases, I am using the body, but the results are very different. A Course in Miracles is given to us to help us remember that we are not the body, that we remain as we were created, eternal and perfect love. Despite appearances, we remain in God, part of God.
One day, Cate Grieves replied to a posting I made. She said, “Ask God to wake you up.” Never before have I been open to this idea. I always felt like there was still so much to be undone before I could wake up. Yesterday, I asked God to wake me up. That was a fervent prayer. All prayer is answered, so I can trust that this is true.
I am watching to see how this unfolds.
I felt so happy and peaceful for most of the day yesterday. While I had thoughts of judgment and fear come into my mind, I also had true responses to those thoughts come into my mind. After a while, it occurred to me that I must get rid of those thoughts, but then I realized that this was a judgment. I was judging myself for the thoughts and feeling unworthy of awakening. So I asked that my mind be healed of that belief. After that, I relaxed into the process. I saw the thoughts and knew they were not me.
Then I saw a little bit of fear from the corner of my mind’s eye. I started to turn away but realized it would be better to acknowledge what was happening. So, I pulled the fear out of the corner and looked at it. I let myself feel the fear completely, then I was reminded that I am in God and fear is not here. The fear dissipated so quickly and completely that I couldn’t bring it back and had no interest in doing so.
Toward the end of the day, I felt tired from all this.
I recognized that this resulted from believing I am my thoughts and I must undo my thoughts. I reminded myself again not to judge the thoughts, just notice them and let them go, giving them no emphasis. There was the thought that I am guilty of my errors, but I also remembered that can’t be true. I am in God, and there is no guilt in God.
The ego says it is not my time to awaken, or else everything would be different now. Or maybe the truth is not true after all. But I don’t believe that. The part of the mind that doesn’t want to wake up is hanging on and grasping for straws, but I am ready to wake up, and I asked, so I must receive. I am not going to question this, and I am not going to second guess myself or my decision. I am just going to watch.
This is another past entry with a message from Jesus to help me to give up my idols.
I have, in the past, been worried about my job, and though I am not actively worried about it, I am not immune to that concern. This is the same as saying that my job is what makes me safe, so if I lose it, or choose to give it up, then I am in danger. It is another way of saying that the job and the money I make are my gods now. They are the idol I made to take the place of my creator, who is my only true refuge and security.
I am still in the process of loosening the hold on the identity as mother, which is another way I have chosen to look for my refuge in a different place. I am reminded of this passage from ACIM.
The special love relationship is an attempt to limit the destructive effects of hate by finding a haven in the storm of guilt.
My special relationships with my children are my attempt to create a haven in a storm of guilt.
I surround and enfold myself with this special love, and for a while, it seems to work.
There are moments of intense fear, guilt, and pain, but then it returns to being the haven I think I need. It seems to keep me safe from the lack of love I experience as a separated Son of God. But this haven began to disintegrate from the very moment I built it. It is another false idol.
Perhaps you remember the backlash from a comment that Kathy Griffin made when she received her Emmy. She wasn’t going to thank Jesus for this award. She said no one had less to do with this award than Jesus; “This award is my god now!” There are a lot of angry Christians berating her for this, but she is only saying out loud what all of us do. We find something that makes us feel safe and call it god.
Jesus, you know I have been conflicted about giving up certain of my idols.
I know it is silly, but I hesitate to take a chance that You know what you are doing when you say something is standing behind them, something better. That moment of surrender is so scary. Please be with me. You said I could hold your hand when I went through the clouds; that is what I feel I need right now. I must admit I am afraid, but I am willing to see this differently.
Jesus: You are loved and protected and fully supported, Sister.
Indeed, you have chosen to look at some of your favorite idols and to finally put them aside. All of Heaven stands with you in this holy endeavor. Fear will offer you its protection, but that is an illusion because fear itself is an illusion. When fear tells you to turn away from this work and to return to what you know, remember that hiding in the illusion has not provided you with peace or joy but only a temporary respite from suffering. You are the Son of God, and your Father would have you receive your birthright, which is eternal peace, eternal joy, and eternal safety.
My dear friend, you stand on a threshold.
The only thing barring your way is the fear of stepping through it. You have often stood paralyzed on the verge of the next perfect step in your awakening, and each time you have finally passed through the fear. Have you ever found the fear to be substantive in any way once you stepped into it?
Me: Jesus, the fear was truly an illusion.
It was nothing posing as reality. Once I allowed the fear to wash over me, I saw that I remained unscathed. I am lost as to why I stand afraid of it again. You have directed me to many simple processes that I can use to gently traverse this field of darkness that seems to terrify me so much. And here I stand, frozen in terror, with the tool in my hand. It is ridiculous.
Jesus: As I said to you before, look away from the fear and the story. If you are not looking at the story, you will be able to see what is blocking your way. Embrace your trust and your deepest desire. Remember why you are doing this. Remember your purpose. Let your mind dwell on these things. If you watch fear, you will become mesmerized by it and will place your faith in it, and it will fail you. Give me your trust. I will guide you through the fear and into the Light.
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 261 click here.
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