ACIM Daily Lesson 344. Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me.
Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me.
Photo by John Gardiner of Whangarei, New Zealand
Lesson 344
Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me.
1. This is Your law, my Father, not my own. ²I have not understood what giving means, and thought to save what I desired for myself alone. ³And as I looked upon the treasure that I thought I had, I found an empty place where nothing ever was or is or will be. ⁴Who can share a dream? ⁵And what can an illusion offer me? ⁶Yet he whom I forgive will give me gifts beyond the worth of anything on earth. ⁷Let my forgiven brothers fill my store with Heaven’s treasures, which alone are real. ⁸Thus is the law of love fulfilled. ⁹And thus Your Son arises and returns to You.
2. How near we are to one another, as we go to God. ²How near is He to us. ³How close the ending of the dream of sin, and the redemption of the Son of God.
Nothing I give to myself alone has any meaning.
Each time I got married, it was for the purpose of giving myself something. I was looking for personal fulfillment, stability, safety, and security. I wanted someone to be there for me, to love me, and to take care of me. It was all about me, me, me. I was willing to do my part, of course, but only if I was rewarded with what I wanted. It’s amazing how self-centered I was without even realizing it. As a result, since I didn’t really give, not knowing how to give, I gained nothing. All my relationships were like this until I began to learn this lesson.
Now that I have learned that what I give is what I receive, I tend to give what I want to receive. When I give, it is for love’s sake because I want to receive love. I give generously because I want to receive generosity. I give forgiveness because I want to receive forgiveness. In the same way, I give happiness in every way I can because that is what I want to receive. My relationships are different now because I am different now. “How near we are to one another, as we go to God,” is meaningful to me because that is how it feels now.
Regina’s Tips
I find myself wanting to sit quietly with this sentence. For me, this sentence is like animated glitter sparkling with aliveness. It is the key—the answer. We abide as our unaffected Self, both during meditation and while living in the world, and this simple abidance ushers in a whole new world.
This brilliant clarity is so obvious to me that I just want to be as silent as silent can be and then whisper, “Do you see it? Do you see how simple it is? Do you see how we can do this all the time until the doing is done?”
No one, no thing, nor any circumstance can prevent you from making this choice. It is a choice that is always available to you
If I could give a gift to every single person on the planet, it would be the gift of seeing the simplicity of this statement:
Abiding as your unaffected Self is The Way.
My Thoughts
This is the miracle we are all longing for. We want to live as we were created, and that is the unaffected Self. The world is where we come to be something other than our Self, and we do this for as long as we want to. We pretend that we are separate and live in separation. We pretend we can find a way to make the world work for us, and we devise ways to do this. And we revel in our specialness even as we suffer pain and death.
Then one day, we realize that we are tired of the game, and we start using the world as a way to return to our natural state. What we learn eventually is that our natural state is what we are. We never lost it, and it was unaffected by anything that happened in the world, no matter how awful or sordid those experiences were. Now the world becomes our path back to that unaffected Self as we reassess our choices and decide which ones are in alignment with Self and choose those. More and more, we abide as our Self even here in the world. It isn’t hard, but it takes dedication and determination, and vigilance.
Regina
Two interpretations of today’s lesson immediately come to mind.
- As I accept the atonement for myself by abiding as the unaffected Self, the service I render is for everyone.
- As I teach my brother that what he has done has not hurt me, I grow more and more aware of the truth of my unaffectedness.
Today I learn the law of love, that what I give my brother is my gift to me.
Here are two excellent stories that Regina uses to illustrate how this can be used in a practical way.
I LOVE to teach others that no matter what they do to me, it’s okay, and I am not hurt, and my love for them is totally unaffected. I have practiced this under what some may say are extreme circumstances. For example, one friend became jealous of me and went on an internet tirade spreading lies about me. This tirade lasted about 6 months. During this time, I stayed out of it. I did not respond to her posts or defend myself in any way.
When this tirade ended, a few years passed. She did not contact me, and I allowed her to have no contact with me. I did not initiate contact with her because she did not want contact, not because of a grievance on my part. I allowed her to have her perception and her feelings about it. And then, one day, something difficult happened in her life, and she called me for help. I responded as if nothing had happened in-between our last friendly conversation and this one. The moment she wanted me to be her close friend, I was her close friend again.
That’s just one example of how I teach that I am not hurt, and you did not hurt me.
I am unaffected, and you are innocent. These are two of the most beautiful lessons that can be taught.
Now, there is a difference between teaching this lesson and enabling unwholesome behavior. It’s very difficult to explain the difference with words because the guidance that explains the difference is a feeling within.
However, as an example, the Awakening Together Sanctuary is a place that has been set aside as a sanctuary, a place free of disrespect and attack. So, if my friend were to come in there and begin telling lies about me, we would need to follow our etiquette guidelines and remove her from the Sanctuary. At one point, if she were to return and follow our guidelines, all would be forgotten, but for as long as she persisted, she would continue to be banned.
At the same time, my heart would remain open and loving toward my friend, even as the behavior is not being condoned.
One thing that Regina points out is that sometimes the appropriate thing to do in a situation is to back away from abuse. Here is her example of this.
Another example was the time I had a stalker.
He called and emailed me several times each day. His ideas about our relationship were ideas from a mentally ill mind. The guidance was to ignore him because whenever I responded to him in any way, I encouraged him deeper into his mental illness. Although I was slow to learn this lesson, I finally learned to ignore him with an open heart. I loved him and had compassion for his illness, but I did not pick up the phone or return his emails.
In other words, you can love an alcoholic without buying him a drink.
Of course, this fine line between enabling and loving is one each person needs to find for himself/herself.
If there is a situation with someone in your life that is confusing for you, please ask a question of inner wisdom. And then begin to write in order to receive more clarity and personal guidance. As you write, remember that you are not guilty, and the other person is not guilty. If anything comes into your writing that indicates that either one of you is guilty, realize ego has gotten into the writing. Take a break, get in touch with your desire for truth and healing, and then try writing again.
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 344 click here.
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