A Course in Miracles Workbook Daily Lesson 336, Year 2022

ACIM Daily Lesson 336 Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined. 1. Forgiveness is the means appointed for perception’s ending.

Lesson 336

Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined.

1. Forgiveness is the means appointed for perception’s ending. ²Knowledge is restored after perception first is changed, and then gives way entirely to what remains forever past its highest reach. ³For sights and sounds, at best, can serve but to recall the memory that lies beyond them all. ⁴Forgiveness sweeps away distortions, and opens the hidden altar to the truth. ⁵Its lilies shine into the mind, and call it to return and look within, to find what it has vainly sought without. ⁶For here, and only here, is peace of mind restored, for this the dwelling place of God Himself.

2. In quiet may forgiveness wipe away my dreams of separation and of sin. ²Then let me, Father, look within, and find Your promise of my sinlessness is kept; Your Word remains unchanged within my mind, Your Love is still abiding in my heart.

Forgiveness is the means appointed for perception’s ending.

To end this nightmare and remember our true Selves, we must begin by forgiving our perceptions. Before we had the idea of separation, perception was unknown because there was only knowledge. So, our way back to that peaceful state is to first allow our perception to be corrected so that it is near the truth. This process is what the Course calls forgiveness. A way to think of it is letting go. That is to say, we let go of our own interpretations so that we can accept the Holy Spirit’s interpretation.

There are other ways to express this. For instance, we can notice our beliefs and, seeing they are not helpful, choose to believe something else. This is so because all that occurred because of the tiny mad idea occurred at once and is still in our minds. And at the same time it occurred, it was corrected by the Holy Spirit, and that is in our minds, too. We are in every moment choosing what we want to believe.

Most of the time, we make our choices carelessly.

I have learned to do this consciously. Here is an example. This morning, I realized I was thinking about how much pain I have in my hands. I was wondering if it would interfere with typing. So, I stopped what I was doing and took a moment to reconsider. The thought I had chosen was that I was in pain, and it was a problem. I forgave that thought as I reached for a better one. Lesson 190 tells us that pain is not real. Therefore, that is the belief I chose instead. And I remind myself of my chosen belief as often as I need to.

Sickness is one belief, but health is a better belief. Poverty is a belief, but abundance is a belief closer to the truth. We are always choosing what we would believe and what we believe is true for us. It becomes our experience. I suffered a financial loss this month, and my first thought was, uh oh. My second thought was one of abundance. I forgave the belief in lack and chose the belief in abundance. And because this choice is one I make consistently, the appearance of abundance came quickly. I am excited to form a consistent belief in health.

Here is another part of this lesson that is very important.

⁵Its lilies shine into the mind, and call it to return and look within, to find what it has vainly sought without. ⁶For here, and only here, is peace of mind restored, for this the dwelling place of God Himself. I’m opening my mind to the Holy Spirit’s correction as I watch my thoughts. And I am turning within to let myself discover my sinlessness, to find God Himself. I do this as often as I can and for as long as I can. Maybe a minute or two often during the day. An extended time whenever it is possible. Sometimes my day is so busy that I think I can’t find the time or the quiet to do this. But, really, what on earth could be more important than resting in God for a while and letting peace be restored?

A Past Entry

Well, jeez, I am still sick. The mind wants to think about this and build a whole story around it. It wants to assign blame and make guilty. It wants to confuse and obscure the situation. But I am far past caring about all that. I am sick. What is this for, Holy Spirit? What do you want me to know about this? I just keep doing the work of watching my thoughts and feelings and rejoicing as the darkness gives way to light.

I stay with the truth and do not let the happenings in the illusion distract me from that. An illusion is an illusion and has no effect on truth. Sure, it is my experience, the one I chose, but an experience is not the truth either. As long as I remember this, I will also have the experience of forgiveness sweeping away distortions and opening the hidden altar to the truth, to joy, and to peace.

More Entries from the Past

First, I notice my errors in thought, then I decide I don’t want them anymore; that is, they hold no value to me. This allows the Holy Spirit within to correct them and thus begins the undoing of the ego thought system. Once I have completed this task, God takes the final step, and all perception, even the Holy Spirit’s perception, is gone, and nothing is left but the blazing truth of God. Wow!

Right now, I am focused only on my willingness to change and my vigilance for the need to change. This is all I can think about and all I need to think about at this moment. It is enough to keep me quite busy. I have many opportunities to practice forgiveness. I was thinking about someone in my life that I have been holding a grievance against and noticing how reluctant I am to let that grievance go. This even though holding a grievance is suffering. I am amazed at how important my grievances are to me. It is hard to believe that something so painful would be so hard to release.

As I stood there chopping onions, the real work was going on in my mind.

I thought about this person and asked for help in forgiving. I began to see her as my partner in healing. She played her part as my antagonist so that I could see what it looks like and feels like to harbor resentment toward someone. I began to feel gratitude toward her, and the grievance started melting away. What relief!

Then, miraculously, she showed up at my door! Right at that moment of release, there she was! I was able to embrace her with sincere love. How God must love us! It is as if my life were a miracle in every moment. Sometimes I open my eyes and see the miracle, and the rest of the time, the miracle happens without my conscious awareness. I give my willingness to live my life with eyes wide open.

2015

Every once in a while, I will have a grievance that feels hard to release, but mostly now, I am noticing and letting go of (that is, forgiving) the idea of grievances. I am seeing the hidden grievances, the ones that are disguised or that have seemed unimportant because their destructive nature is not so obvious.

I will feel a stab of resentment at the crowds of shoppers. It doesn’t seem like such a big deal. But it is a grievance, and it keeps me in the dark, unaware of the beauty of those fellow shoppers and unaware of our shared innocence. It prevents me from remembering that I am in God because I cannot enter the presence of God if I attack His Son. The ego says that annoyance is not a big deal, but I remember that annoyance is just a veil pulled over rage. I won’t hide my rage anymore. I acknowledge it so I can forgive it.

This resentment against the crowds also builds on the idea of guilt, and if not addressed, that guilt will grow like wildfire. I am still too new to the idea that guilt is not real to be immune to the ego temptation to go there. And I can’t isolate guilt to one small area of the mind. If I accept guilt as real, my life will reflect guilt in all areas.

I see that all grievances are destructive to my peace and to my awakening, even those that seem minor. So I don’t mind this work. Even if this is not the lifetime in which I awaken, it is the lifetime in which I am learning to choose happiness.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 336 click here.

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