ACIM Daily Lesson 355 There is no end to all the peace and joy, and all the miracles that I will give, when I accept God’s Word. Why not today?
There is no end to all the peace and joy, and all the miracles that I will give, when I accept God’s Word. Why not today?
Photo by John Gardiner of Whangarei, New Zealand
Lesson 355
There is no end to all the peace and joy, and all the miracles that I will give, when I accept God’s Word. Why not today?
1. Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me? ²For You will keep Your Word You gave Your Son in exile. ³I am sure my treasure waits for me, and I need but reach out my hand to find it. ⁴Even now my fingers touch it. ⁵It is very close. ⁶I need not wait an instant more to be at peace forever. ⁷It is You I choose, and my Identity along with You. ⁸Your Son would be Himself, and know You as his Father and Creator, and his Love.
We are being told that we don’t have to wait for peace and joy. It is quite possible to have it now, even as we continue to experience this life story. Peace and joy are inevitable as we choose God. We are told that we need not wait for an instant longer to be at peace forever. That is to say, when we accept our identity as the Son of God rather than the son of the ego, we are at peace.
My experience has been one of gradual shifting.
When I react to the world, my feelings alert me to a belief that is binding me to this illusory experience. For instance, this morning, I noticed that I was feeling stressed. So, I stopped what I was doing to examine my thoughts. Consequently, I discovered that my mind was jumping around to the different things I need to do before Christmas.
I rested my mind in God and let go of that thinking. There is a better way to handle this, and as my mind cleared, I remembered what that was. I asked the Holy Spirit what He would have me do now, and I did that. This is how I stay at peace. Before, I was asking the ego what to do about this time crunch, and the ego kept bringing me one thing after another to get done. However, that wasn’t helpful, but then the ego is seldom helpful. It is always trying to fix the effect without dealing with the cause.
As we are told in the Rules for Decision, we are to make no decisions by ourselves (with the ego). Jesus tells us that all decisions are made in union. ⁷You will not make decisions by yourself whatever you decide. ⁸For they are made with idols or with God. (ACIM, T-30.I.14:7-8) If I am unhappy, it is because I am making my decisions with ego rather than with God. It is as simple as that, and to return to a miracle-minded state, I only need to choose God.
In the Rules for Decision, we are also told this.
Your day is not at random. ²It is set by what you choose to live it with, and how the friend whose counsel you have sought perceives your happiness. (ACIM, T-30.I.15:1-2) This morning, I carelessly chose the ego as my counselor, and the ego thought my happiness depended on getting everything done. But, when I asked the Holy Spirit for guidance, I realized that my happiness depended on trusting Him to direct my day.
Because I have practiced this for a long time, I usually choose God automatically now. Sometimes, though, I fall back into old thought habits. However, it is easy to change my mind, and this change of mind is truly a miracle. I went from feeling anxious to being at peace with only one thought. My mind reached out to the Holy Spirit for peace, and as Jesus says in this lesson, it is very close. My peace of mind is now the miracle that I give to whoever He sends my way.
I am promised joy and asked to consider why I should wait for it. It is mine because it is me, just as awareness is me. Certainly, this is something I cannot be separated from. That I am not aware of it is a temporary aberration and will not last.
The lesson also stresses that what I have, I will give. If I choose to be aware of the love and peace that is mine, I will give it to others. Of course, I will, just as I give stress and anger and other ego emotions when that is where I have placed my awareness. Anybody feeling inadequate this morning? That might be my stuff. LOL. I got a Fitbit and can’t figure out how to use it. Feeling frustrated.
Regina’s Tips
“Our part” is spiritual practice, like the spiritual practices listed in my tip from Lesson 352. It’s interesting to note, however, that spiritual practice cannot take us across the threshold into the final awakening. We can’t make the crossing through the self’s will or effort. Bernadette Roberts wrote about this in the conclusion of her book, “The Experience of No-Self.”
She wrote:
Of our own accord, we cannot cross the line into the unknown; only God knows if we are ready for such a step, only he can take us across and see us through. In fact, self never crosses the line, it simply ceases to be.
My Thoughts
We awaken in the world, and we do this through our spiritual practice, and we continue this practice until we have prepared ourselves to let go of the world altogether, including any sense of self, but then we surrender to God and let that final step be taken by Him. There is no other way.
Regina says this: In other words, spiritual practice will not usher us across the threshold to the final awakening, but until the crossing over occurs, spiritual practice is needed up to and including the last moment on this side of the crossing. In fact, the closer we are to the crossing over, the more mastery we need in spiritual practice.
Regina warns of the temptation to think we are done once we experience the first awakening. She says: …until the final crossing over occurs, we are vulnerable to the subconscious ego. We need to remain alert through spiritual practice. In fact, the closer we are to the crossing over, the more mastery we need in spiritual practice in order to make ourselves available for the final awakening without turning back or slipping into a delusional false enlightenment.
Regina also suggests humility.
Spiritual practice is humility because, through spiritual practice, we remain the student. Humility is the opposite of egotistical self-importance. Humility prepares us for God’s final step. It is safe to say that ultimate humility is absolutely necessary for final awakening.
No problem there for me. I feel humble in my practice, uplifted, and blessed but humble.
This is something I wrote years ago.
I was just considering the possibility of awakening. It sounded both amazing and frightening. I was willing to work toward awakening but wobbling on the idea of reaching it. Here is what I said.
Absolutely, today! Today I will be willing to see differently. Today I will be ever so vigilant for the effects of believing in separation and in choosing the ego over God. When I see those effects, fear, guilt, anger, pain, or anything other than pure joy, I will give my willingness to be wrong. I will give my willingness to release the thoughts that create those feelings. I can give only what I am willing to receive, so I will be willing to receive God’s Word today. When I forget, I will be happy to notice that I forgot and choose again.
For a long time, I was happy to put acceptance in the future. I was glad to work on it because working on it meant I was safe from acceptance, while all that striving made me feel good about myself. There seems to be a fine line between doing the work that needs to be done and doing the work to keep the solution at bay.
At first, I believed that salvation meant death.
I thought I would remember who I was, and I would wake up and leave behind everyone I loved since they were still in the illusion. Clearly, I believed there was a tremendous sacrifice being asked of me. I was happy to work toward salvation but desperately afraid to achieve salvation.
Now, I don’t feel this way anymore because I understand some things. I understand that I can live awake just as some of my friends do, which is pretty wonderful. I understand that when I awaken, even if I did not remain in my body, I don’t leave anyone behind. When I wake into wholeness, nothing and no one will be missing. I understand that what I fear losing is an illusion, and so there is nothing to lose.
So why am I still dreaming? Holy Spirit, I need Your help.
Holy Spirit: Your resistance is weakening daily as you continue to look at the effects of the beliefs held in the mind. Do not be discouraged by the time it seems to take, as this is the proper use of time. Do not be discouraged. Give Me your mind every time you think to. The desire to awaken is strong. Remember to ask yourself who it is that resists. You are not that.
Later in the day:
I knew that I was not entirely open to a message from Spirit, but I trusted He would be with me throughout the day. And, of course, He was. I had some interesting insights during the day. The main one happened when I was talking to a friend about the subtle ways in which I try to run my own life. I wanted to be the creator of who and what I was.
I still do, but not as much as I used to because I am more willing now to watch the story and just let it be. Now I am more likely to watch with Holy Spirit, with a willingness to be corrected. To notice without concern for how it turns out… until I’m not. Then I go back to thinking about how important it is that I decide what needs to be done and then do it.
It doesn’t have to be a world-shattering event that pulls me back into the story.
I can snap my pants and notice they are tight, and I’m right back there. I’m feeling angry, discouraged, and determined to fix this. I’m deciding on which diet will work best and which outfit will hide my shame most effectively. I could, at this point, ask Holy Spirit to come into this moment with me, but I don’t really want to. He and I may not have the same goal.
Maybe He, not having a body, would not understand how important it is that I look good in my jeans. I’ll hang with the Holy Spirit when it is important, like with my spiritual stuff. I read about this really fast diet just the other day. It must be a sign. I need a diet, and there is this article right on time. “See, Holy Spirit, I got it. I’ll call You if I need you.”
But I am not going to stay with this ego belief.
When I have even the slightest inclination to work within the world to make myself feel better or even the slightest thought that I know what anything is for or what anything means, I have just entered the twilight zone. This is where reality is turned on its head. I am the created pretending to be my own creator and choosing misery over joy just to prove the point and just to hold onto the illusion of self-determination. Why do I still dream? It seems I am willing to give up my treasure if I get to decide what that looks like. And I am willing to forgo my Identity as God’s Son for the dubious distinction of Myron, self-created. I am so very willing to reconsider this.
Holy Spirit, thank you for making this clear to me.
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 355 click here.
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