A Course in Miracles Workbook Daily Lesson 314, Year 2022

ACIM Daily Lesson 314 I seek a future different from the past. 1. From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from the past.

Lesson 314

I seek a future different from the past.

1. From new perception of the world there comes a future very different from the past. ²The future now is recognized as but extension of the present. ³Past mistakes can cast no shadows on it, so that fear has lost its idols and its images, and being formless, it has no effects. ⁴Death will not claim the future now, for life is now its goal, and all the needed means are happily provided. ⁵Who can grieve or suffer when the present has been freed, extending its security and peace into a quiet future filled with joy?

2. Father, we were mistaken in the past, and choose to use the present to be free. ²Now do we leave the future in Your Hands, leaving behind our past mistakes, and sure that You will keep Your present promises, and guide the future in their holy light.

This is what is happening in my life. I have been vigilant and consistent in being aware of ego thoughts. Furthermore, I have been willing to be corrected so that these thoughts are giving way to the truth. In this way, I am leaving past thinking and past behaviors behind. They are not true, and they are not helpful, so why would I want to keep repeating them? I have learned that I do not want to keep perpetuating what doesn’t work. In the process, I learned that I don’t have to do this, and I learned how to choose differently.

For a while, it seemed that this process would never end.

It felt like nothing was changing, but I stayed the course, and I trusted. Eventually, I realized that, slowly, everything was changing. In the past, someone might speak harshly to me, and I would defend myself. Then I would remember that it is in my defenselessness that my safety lies. I would ask the Holy Spirit to correct my thinking, and as a result, I would return to peace. I discovered that peace is more important to me than anything else. This led me to a different way of approaching the world. This is an example of how I learned to leave the past behind.

Here is another example. I used to hold onto grievances as if they were saving my life, and I suppose I believed they were. If someone betrayed me, I kept that betrayal in my mind. My thinking was that by holding onto the grievance, I was protecting myself from future betrayal. As it turned out, I was only defending myself from future love. It seems that a wall that is built to keep out hurt also keeps out love. I learned to be aware of when I was falling for this lie, and I learned to choose to heal instead. Through the healing forgiveness brings, I came to realize that I was always doing this to myself. I forgave the very idea of betrayal, and without that belief, I could not be betrayed. This is another way that I left the past behind.

There are many beliefs that no longer have a place in my mind.

For instance, I am not interested in victimhood anymore. Nor do I believe that I can be unfairly treated. I stopped thinking that I am a good judge of anything. Instead, I ask the Holy Spirit for His judgment. Guilt was the hardest belief for me to release, and sometimes it tries to resurface, but I am determined.

As I left many old beliefs behind, I discovered the peace and love that has always been in me. As it turns out, we can be aware of fear or aware of love; we cannot be aware of both at the same time. I learned that I could choose which I wanted to focus my attention on. In so doing, I taught myself that I preferred the joy of peace and love and so began to choose only that. Now, from this new perspective, the future is no longer a repetition of past errors. It is more often an extension of the brighter, happier present. I continue my vigilance in expectation of a completely healed mind and so a wholly joyful future.

One morning I woke up thinking about the state of the world.

I talked to the Holy Spirit about what was happening in my mind while I made my coffee and felt better, but not completely clear. So, I decided to work on my lesson and was happy to see that it was a lesson on the past and future. I was immediately reminded that this moment is perfect and this is the only moment I have. As soon as I did that, I stopped being interested in possible futures.

I am also reminded that there is only one thing I can do for the world, and that is to awaken from it. My only function is to accept the Atonement for myself. What changes when I do that? This lesson says that it is my perception that changes. If my present perception is healed, there will be a future that is different from the past. This breaks the cycle of “life,” as we know it here. This is true because our experience of the world is based on our beliefs. As Jesus says, what we believe is true for us. The Atonement changes our beliefs.

When I was briefly worried about the future of the world, what was my fear based on? It was based on the past in which many things have gone wrong, and there has been much suffering. If I continued to worry, this fear, which is suffering, would continue as it has been since the separation idea. I would have no experience of the present moment, having gone from the past to the future without even slowing down.

If instead, as I let go of the past, what remains is the present moment.

The present moment is free of the past with its mistakes and suffering. The present moment is where I live. I can’t live in the past because it does not exist. The same can be said of the future. Only now can I live. This basic change in my belief in a past and future eliminates regret and worry. Without regret and worry, my mind is peaceful. Even guilt is gone because without a past, what is there to feel guilty about?

It is hard to get my head around this through thinking about it because the thinking mind keeps bringing up objections, but the objections are all based on the past. The only way to know the truth of this is to do it. It is a regular practice of mine and one I intend to increase. I am going to make the present moment my focus today, at least as much as I can. It helps me to remember to leave the future in the Hands of God.

Regina’s tips on our special theme.

Our special theme makes each of the following statements:

• … perception gives a silent blessing and then disappears, its goal accomplished and its mission done.
• The final judgment … sees the world as totally forgiven, without sin, and wholly purposeless.
• Bodies now are useless and will therefore fade away to nothingness …

Since none of us are at the point of the last judgment, we are each still at the point where perception has a mission, the world has a purpose, and bodies are useful.

What are perception, the world, and bodies for?

My Thoughts

I think that in order to experience separation, we needed a way to see that would make that possible, and perception was the answer to that. After all, if Knowledge was all there was, nothing could be different. Perception allowed choice. Bodies had a similar purpose which was to allow the illusion of separation. The purpose now is to allow the Holy Spirit to correct our perception until it is close enough to the truth to bridge us to Knowledge. If we allow the Holy Spirit to use the body, we can use them to communicate with each other within the illusion instead of using them to experience separation. In this way, we can help each other return home.

Regina’s tips on the lesson.

Let’s add a step to our practice of letting go of judgment. Today, practice in this way:

1. Look when judgment happens.
2. Silently inquire to discover the past in this current judgment. For example, you might ask, “What idea did I believe in the past that has caused this current judgment?”
3. Notice the perception of separation that is caused by judgment.
4. Remember your desire to see without separation or confusion.
5. Let go of your judgment simply because it conflicts with what you truly want.

My Thoughts

I like the step she added. It is helpful to see how it is that judgment is the way we bring the past into the future. Earlier this week, I explored the idea that a friend might be unkind to me. Here is the idea I believed in the past. When I was young, friends tended to gravitate to pairing up; my best friend and me. When a third friend was introduced, the balance was upset, and there was a sense of uncertainty that sometimes turned into loss. So, I learned that friendships were fragile.

This is how one might bring the belief that friendships are fragile into a present-day situation. An act of unkindness might simply be perception influenced by a past unquestioned belief in the fragility of friendships. Forgiving that belief frees one from the past judgment and so from the present-day judgment. Without that judgment, friendships no longer carry the energy of uncertainty and guilt. One is now free to simply love without fear.

Understanding what is happening and how we are hurting ourselves through maintaining judgment are good motivations for letting it go. This is purification which will lead to merging.

I have someone in my life who has had a troubled past.

Sometimes I see behavior that reminds me of his past, and I start to worry. I felt so much relief as I thought about the words in this lesson. In the past, I judged his behavior as self-destructive and felt like this was so sad. At that time, I didn’t know then that his life is perfect for the lessons he came to learn.

I checked in with myself and discovered that without a past and without a future, I am at peace, just as Jesus said I would be. I worry about this person only when I leave the present moment and think about his behavior in the past. Or I leave the present moment and think of what might happen in the future based on the past. It is painful because the way I perceive this is based on my past judgment.

Forgiving my past judgment, I am perfectly happy and perfectly peaceful. And without the influence of the past, I am free to be truly helpful. I remember the truth about my brother, rather than the story of pain and suffering that I have believed before. So, I am going to use the present to be free as I free him from his past. I am very grateful to be reminded of this simple solution that always works.

Contemplation 2025

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 314 click here.

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