ACIM Daily Lesson 300
Only an instant does this world endure. 1. This is a thought which can be used to say that death and sorrow are the certain lot of all who come here, for their joys are gone before they are possessed, or even grasped.
Only an instant does this world endure.
Lesson 300
Only an instant does this world endure.
1. This is a thought which can be used to say that death and sorrow are the certain lot of all who come here, for their joys are gone before they are possessed, or even grasped. ²Yet this is also the idea that lets no false perception keep us in its hold, nor represent more than a passing cloud upon a sky eternally serene. ³And it is this serenity we seek, unclouded, obvious and sure, today.
2. We seek Your holy world today. ²For we, Your loving Sons, have lost our way a while. ³But we have listened to Your Voice, and learned exactly what to do to be restored to Heaven and our true Identity. ⁴And we give thanks today the world endures but for an instant. ⁵We would go beyond that tiny instant to eternity.
The thought of the world we made lasted for only an instant before the Holy Spirit corrected it.
So, what are we experiencing now? It can only be the memory of it. ⁶You keep an ancient memory before your eyes. (ACIM, T-26.V.5:6) We are remembering the stories that represent the desire for specialness. The obvious result of this desire is fear and suffering and certain death. But to allow ourselves to awaken from this nightmarish dream, we must give up that special self.
That is why Jesus is helping us to remember what it means to be our Self so that we will see why we want to awaken. Throughout the Course, we are told that these bodies are not who we are. We are being told that we are spirit, that we are safe in God. The Course tells us that we are holy, eternal, and one with God. We are told of our strength and power. We are the holy home of God Himself.
In comparison, Jesus points out that we have lost our way.
We believe we are helpless bodies meant to suffer and die with only moments of happiness intermingled with a lifetime of hopelessness. In essence, our lives are ultimately meaningless. He wants us to compare these two pictures and encourages us to choose Life. Only we can decide when we want to return to our true nature. Now would be a good time.
Could having a separate self be worth what we have given up in order to try for specialness? I am not going to keep fighting for the right to be miserable, frightened, and lost. We have been given the Voice for God, who will guide us Home. We know exactly what to do. Let us view these lives as simply stories of separation rather than some twisted reality. In this way, we can use them to show us the effects of our beliefs, and we can make better choices.
Clearly, Jesus is not talking about time as we know it.
In the world of time and space, a great deal of time has passed since it began, and a great deal of time will pass before it ends. But as Jesus says, “Time is a trick, a sleight of hand, a vast illusion in which figures come and go as if by magic.” In eternity, the world in its entirety endured for only a “tiny tick of time.”
How do we end the world? By allowing our perceptions to be corrected and then undone altogether. We don’t really need to know more than that. I give my perceptions to the Holy Spirit, and He purifies them, bringing them as close to truth as we can know in this state of being in which we find ourselves. If the idea of the world ending is frightening, don’t worry. Your world will not be snatched from you. As your mind clears, reality in all its glory will be revealed. It is a slow and gentle process.
Of course, it is not enough to know that the world we know is not real.
It is not even enough to know that we are God’s Son and safe in Him. We must save ourselves. ⁵You do not have to seek far for salvation. ⁶Every minute and every second gives you a chance to save yourself. (ACIM, T-9.VII.1:5-6) The world of illusion was our choice, and now we must change our minds and decide for God instead.
Accepting the Atonement is our way home, and we do this through forgiveness. When I think I have done this, I search my mind for even one brother I have not forgiven, and I see why I am still not done. I search my mind for one grievance, one thought of guilt, one judgment, and I see what I am to do next.
This work is simple. I see the thought or belief in my mind that is blocking my way, and with the Holy Spirit, I forgive it. This is not hard to do. It takes only seconds to accomplish. If it feels hard, it is because I am not yet convinced that I want it. So, I stop saying it is hard and endless, and I ask the Holy Spirit to heal my mind of the belief that there is something else to want. I ask that He show me another way to see.
Regina’s Tips
Ramana Maharshi said, “When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out but retaining it in the Heart is what is called “inwardness.” Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as “externalization”. Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the ‘I’ which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine.”
My Thoughts
When Jesus talks about this, he explains the same phenomenon differently. In Lesson 325, he describes step by step how we make form in the world. It all starts with thought, and that is why A Course in Miracles helps us understand that our thoughts are hurting us and keeping us bound to the world of form when we could be free and gloriously happy.
In the quote by Ramana Maharshi, he references letting go of the “I,” which is the source of all thoughts. A Course in Miracles uses the word ego in this way. Our ego is a collection of beliefs about ourselves. As we slowly release these beliefs, the “I” we think of as ourselves will be of no interest to us. We won’t identify with it anymore. When that happens, we will know ourselves as eternal and divine.
Regina often refers to this as knowing ourselves as Life rather than as a person. I rather like that. I am Life itself, appearing as a form called Myron with all sorts of beliefs about itself. This will end in a few years or whenever, but of course, Life doesn’t die, so I continue, perhaps, to experience itself in some other form.
I tend to focus on the problem at hand rather than looking forward to the next step. I am still working on the purification process and beginning to move into the next phase, which is going inward, letting go of thought for a bit, and experiencing myself differently, but still my self, still an “I.”
In 2019, I began to experience a different way to see, and my writing reflects that.
This is kind of funny to me. Just my short life seemed to take forever until I got to about 50, then it sped up like crazy! But Jesus is telling us that what seems to be a long time and so important is just a cloud passing through a serene sky. The ego is very insulted by this. I, however, am relieved and grateful.
I have been experiencing a lot of gratitude lately. Sometimes I will be just driving along, and suddenly, I am crying out of pure gratitude. I am so grateful to God for having created me out of Himself so that I am like my Creator. I think that I am feeling this gratitude because I am starting to believe I am as God created me. It was hard to feel gratitude when those were just words. Now that they are becoming meaningful to me, I can’t find the words to express what I feel toward my Father. Fortunately, He does not need words.
I am very motivated to continue the work of being willing to see differently.
I no longer find vigilance to be a hardship. Shame for bad behavior or remembered unkind thoughts is no longer upsetting. I am just grateful that they have come to my attention so they can be forgiven and I can be healed.
It seems to take forever for this work to be done and for the ego to be undone, and yet, it is all just a thought away. The ego is a thought. The desire to keep the ego is a thought. Relinquishing my hold on the ego is not hard and does not take time. It is deciding that this is what I want that seems to take so much time. In a single thought, an instant, I can decide I am ready to go Home, and it is done.
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 300 click here.
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