ACIM Daily Lesson 308 This instant is the only time there is. 1. I have conceived of time in such a way that I defeat my aim.
This instant is the only time there is.
Lesson 308
This instant is the only time there is.
1. I have conceived of time in such a way that I defeat my aim. ²If I elect to reach past time to timelessness, I must change my perception of what time is for. ³Time’s purpose cannot be to keep the past and future one. ⁴The only interval in which I can be saved from time is now. ⁵For in this instant has forgiveness come to set me free. ⁶The birth of Christ is now, without a past or future. ⁷He has come to give His present blessing to the world, restoring it to timelessness and love. ⁸And love is ever-present, here and now.
2. Thanks for this instant, Father. ²It is now I am redeemed. ³This instant is the time You have appointed for Your Son’s release, and for salvation of the world in him.
Time is not actually real.
However, in order to have our present experience, time is necessary. The experience of separation requires that we be apart from each other in both time and space. Consequently, since we opted for the experience of separation, we are now in time. The good news is that we are not stuck here, as there are two ways of using time. However, when we are lost in our experience, we see only one way. That is, we use time to go deeper into the illusion.
First, let’s look at how we use time to stay in time.
We do this as we avoid the present moment by thinking of the past or the future. We cannot be in the past and also be in the present. It may seem that we can do this because the body appears to be in the present. However, the body is not who or where we are. We are spirit and, through the use of mind, seem to be wherever we place our attention. As long as our focus is on the past or the future, we are unaware of the present. As a result, the misuse of time keeps us bound to the illusion. This is so because it is in the present that forgiveness sets us free from time.
How we use time to escape time.
As we come to understand how we now use time, the solution becomes apparent. We can, instead, use time to escape from the illusion. Here is an example from my own life. I used to be mired down by guilt over past behavior, as are many of us. I could be perfectly happy, and suddenly I would remember something from the past that caused regret. My happiness evaporated immediately. Additionally, as I thought about my guilt, I reinforced the belief in guilt, and that made it harder to forgive it.
When I finally began to understand that I am innocent because I was created innocent, this changed. I was able, at last, to forgive the past and let it go. This is important to my happiness but even more important to my awakening. I can now stay in the present moment more than before. I am grateful for this shift because awakening happens only in the present moment. The birth of Christ is now, without a past or future. This didn’t happen all at once. I use time to come to accept that I am innocent and that I can return to my natural state. In addition, I use time to direct my mind to that outcome. This is the right use of time.
The realization that time is not real and now is the only instant in which I exist has been so helpful to me. I had a weird reaction to an experience yesterday, and I was confused by it. I kept thinking it must be something from my past that caused it and was trying to figure out what that was. But, really, who cares. The only thing to do with the past is forgive and move on.
Yesterday, I forgave the past, forgave my judgment of the past, and let it go.
Right now, at this moment, I exist, and I cannot say that about the past, so why should I give it my attention? If I place my attention on the past, I keep it alive in my memory, and I miss out on the present. Worse than that, without the present moment, clean and pure and perfect, I am just dragging the past into the future, and nothing changes. Just more of the past that was disturbing to me when it happened.
The reason the present moment is perfect is that it is the moment in which Christ is birthed anew. It is the moment of the second coming. The present moment holds all that is needed. It is a present blessing because in it is love always present. Where can we find peace? In the present moment and nowhere else. Where can we find happiness? Only in the present moment. Even if a memory is of something pleasant, it is not happiness, only the memory of it. Thanks for this miraculous, wonderful moment, Father.
Regina’s Tips
That is an extraordinary sentence.
“all minds are given to the hands of Christ”
“to be returned to spirit”
“in the name of true creation”
“and the Will of God”
Please take time to contemplate this sentence today. What clarity comes to you as you contemplate this beautiful symphony of words? Be sure to write your clarity down, so you can return to it if it is forgotten later in the day.
My Thoughts
The thoughts that come to me are that the minds are purified at the hands of Christ and, from there, returned to God, where creation continues. This is all minds, so no mind is left behind. This is done because it is the Will of God that it is so, and there is no other will.
2016
I have experienced some success at staying in the now moment. I am not consistently successful, but I am much better at it. When I am in the past or the future, I notice much more quickly, and I usually have no trouble bringing myself out of it because that is my true desire. I noticed this happening just a few minutes ago. I had cataract surgery yesterday, and this morning I was thinking about it, thinking that it went ok, but I hope never to do it again. It is just too weird to have someone cut on your eye while you are awake.
I started to feel anxious, hoping it never happened again. Then I realized what was happening. I was in the past, reliving it, and then I was in the future, imagining how bad it would be if I had to repeat it. I had been at peace, but then, after these thoughts, I was not peaceful. The good news is that I saw exactly how that happened.
First of all, the surgery was painless, and there was nothing to be upset about except my thoughts. And then, I compounded the error by reliving it over and over in my mind and imagining it as my future. When I saw what I was doing and stopped, I was living in only this now peaceful moment, and I was happy.
As long as I stay in this moment, I am in eternity.
I can be back in time only if I put myself there by focusing on a past or a future. I have learned to see this happen and to understand how it happened. Every time I am unhappy, I have given up eternity to return to time. I really want to stop doing that. I want to stay in the eternal moment.
³There is no fear in the present when each instant stands clear and separated from the past, without its shadow reaching out into the future. ⁴Each instant is a clean, untarnished birth, in which the Son of God emerges from the past into the present. ⁵And the present extends forever. (ACIM, T-15.I.8:3-5)
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 308 click here.
If you found this content helpful, please share on social media so more people can read and learn.