A Course in Miracles Workbook Daily Lesson 281, Year 2022

ACIM Daily Lesson 281 I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.1. Father, Your Son is perfect. ²When I think that I am hurt in any way, it is because I have forgotten who I am, and that I am as You created me.

Lesson 281

I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.

1. Father, Your Son is perfect. ²When I think that I am hurt in any way, it is because I have forgotten who I am, and that I am as You created me. ³Your Thoughts can only bring me happiness. ⁴If ever I am sad or hurt or ill, I have forgotten what You think, and put my little meaningless ideas in place of where Your Thoughts belong, and where they are. ⁵I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts. ⁶The Thoughts I think with You can only bless. ⁷The Thoughts I think with You alone are true.

2. I will not hurt myself today. ²For I am far beyond all pain. ³My Father placed me safe in Heaven, watching over me. ⁴And I would not attack the Son He loves, for what He loves is also mine to love.

My life reflects what I believe is true.

While I cannot be anything other than what God created, I can believe I am something else, and my belief will make it true for me. It will not be true in reality, but my experience will seem very real to me. How do I change my experience of myself? All change is the result of thoughts. If I think thoughts of betrayal, I will feel like I have been betrayed. My life will seem to prove that I am betrayed. It is the same if I have thoughts of guilt. My life will reflect that belief, and it will seem as if I am guilty and that I am surrounded by those who seem to be guilty. What I think is what will be reflected back to me, and it will seem real because that is what I want.

When I remember who I am, I am perfectly happy and at peace. I am perfectly safe, and I know it. My life reflects love and happiness, and peace. I see it everywhere, regardless of what is happening around me. I can remember who I am when I decide that I am no longer interested in being anything other than what I was created. Another important thing to remember is that I must know this for everyone else as well.

It is easy to make that decision, but to mean it is a different thing.

To mean it, I must give up all thoughts that are not in alignment with God. I must relinquish judgment and grievances. It requires that I give up the belief that defense and attack are necessary and important. I must give up the belief there is value in sickness and suffering. And I must, ultimately, let go of the idea of a personal self.

This is easier if I remember that I am only giving up thoughts and beliefs, not anything real. In reality, I am where God established me, safe within Himself. I am what God created me to be. I remember a story I heard from a friend about a found kitten that was raised by a dog. The kitten grew up to be a cat that thought it was one of the dogs.

It was funny to watch, but its confusion in no way made the cat into a dog. It could not change what it was created to be, only what it believed about itself and how it acted. This is what we are like, thinking we could be bodies living in a world of time and space outside God. We can act like and think like humans, but we can only be Spirit. We can only be divine and eternal Beings.

When we accept this simple, unalterable fact, we can recognize that we are dreaming and start waking up.

We can look at the world as if it is a dreamscape or the memory of something we used to think about. We can remind ourselves that we are still safe in God and that our Friend is gently waking us up. He will interpret the dream symbols for us if we let him. And we can let Him show us how to let go of the idea any of this is real.

Looking at the world and our part in it like this will make waking up a simple and easy process. Even when we temporarily return to confusion, we know what is happening, so we can just ask for help. I was watching a TV show last night in which someone was in the emergency room badly hurt. She had been unconscious, and when she opened her eyes, she was at first afraid and confused. The doctors and nurses asked her simple questions and explained what happened to her and where she was. They gently reassured her that she was safe now and that they were taking care of her.

I thought how much like my awakening this is.

My life was a train wreck, and I felt very much like a victim of that wreck. I seemed to be awakening from a long coma in which I dreamed a strange dream. The Holy Spirit comforted me and interpreted what was going on. I was given A Course in Miracles and teachers to help me acclimate to my real Life.

It was all confusing, and it felt at first like everything was being turned upside down. But after a while, I realized that I was actually seeing things right for the first time, and I became grateful for the care and guidance of my Friend. Now, I look at the symbols in the world as helpful guideposts to let me know when I get off track so that I can make different choices rather than believing in the upsetting and frightening happenings. This makes the process simpler and easier. I know now that only the truth is true, and so a happy outcome is inevitable. And for that, I am so very grateful.

This lesson is one I am certain of.

I live by this. I no longer ever think that something outside me is the cause of my distress. It might seem like it is, but I know better. I always go within to see what thoughts I need to heal to return to peace. What healing, in this case, means to me is that I recognize that my thoughts are hurting me and are not true and that I want the Thoughts of God instead.

The Thoughts of God are not words, though my mind might give them words. As I sit here writing, I feel love welling up in me. I feel like I am not alone. I feel gratitude so deep it makes me cry. These are the Thoughts of God as I experience them. I can feel like this all day if I don’t choose to give my attention to the ego thoughts that invariably come into my mind. That is, if I don’t hurt myself today with these thoughts.

Contemplation 2025

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