ACIM Daily Lesson 226. My home awaits me. I will hasten there.

Lesson 226

My home awaits me. I will hasten there.

1. If I so choose, I can depart this world entirely. ²It is not death which makes this possible, but it is change of mind about the purpose of the world. ³If I believe it has a value as I see it now, so will it still remain for me. ⁴But if I see no value in the world as I behold it, nothing that I want to keep as mine or search for as a goal, it will depart from me. ⁵For I have not sought for illusions to replace the truth.

2. Father, my home awaits my glad return. ²Your Arms are open and I hear Your Voice. ³What need have I to linger in a place of vain desires and of shattered dreams, when Heaven can so easily be mine?

To leave this world entirely means to leave the world I currently see and experience. It is a change my mind. I start looking at the world from the perspective of the holy mind rather than from the perspective of the ego. This idea didn’t mean a lot to me until I began to experience the shift myself. Now I see that it is everything. I see only what I believe in, so changing my beliefs changes everything.

I don’t have to die to be free.

Nothing about the world has to change; only my mind must change to experience God. In fact, dying is just another way of staying in the world (staying in the illusion). Sure, we will all lay our bodies down at some point, but that is different than dying. Dying is an attempt to escape; it is giving up, hoping that after this is something we like better. It is just another attempt to usurp God, to make our own decisions, and to make our own plans.

In dying, we are just moving from one illusion into another, to get spit back into the illusion of the world again. There is no freedom in that. It is just an endless cycle of birth and death, which is nothing at all. Laying down the body is receiving the knowledge that you are through now, and it is time to go because the mind has changed, and the work is done.

How I See the World Has Changed Because My Mind Has Changed.

As I learn to see the world differently, I lose interest in it. I lose interest in all the parts I used to value, and without interest in it, the world as I used to experience has gone from me. There is nothing here that I need to sacrifice. In fact, what I have learned is this. The many things I thought I would miss if they were gone caused not a ripple in my life as they left. It is not a sacrifice if something of no value is gone.

There is still conflict in the world, still Covid and other illnesses. Bodies still die, and grief is still felt. But how I see these things have changed. I know that the world does not actually exist, and neither do these bodies. Therefore, I cannot be in one of them. This is a knowing that never leaves me even when I feel like a body, even when I think I want things to be different. Because that knowledge is still there, I don’t stay long in these body experiences. Perhaps one day, I will not have them at all.

As I read the lesson this morning, the word goal stood out to me.

“But if I see no value in the world as I behold it, nothing that I want to keep as mine or search for as a goal, it will depart from me.” I have been holding tightly to the goal of keeping a painful idea in my mind. Now, I have been saying that I am trying to let this idea go, but if that were what I was doing, I would have succeeded. But the idea is still there, so it must be that I still want it. So, my real goal has been to hold onto the painful thought while pretending I want to be free. I love the truth. It always set me free.

Every time I see that I am holding onto something, it is because I think I need something. I think I lack and that I would be better off if I had that something else. I cannot go Home while I feel a sense of neediness or lack because I cannot bring neediness or lack into my Home. There is no neediness in God. God lacks nothing. So, when I think I NEED to have something or be something or do something, I see that I have placed value where there is none. I can mean it when I say I am ready to let go of that painful thought. I don’t need it. I am complete without it. And look! I am closer to home.

I am encouraged in my desire for the real world.

One thing I have going for me is that I don’t believe the world needs to change for me to be happy. I don’t believe any of my ego desires are important or will ensure my happiness. I still have ego preferences. I prefer not to suffer physically. I prefer not to be destitute. I prefer not to lose people I love. I am aware of those preferences, but I don’t think of them as my goals. I don’t strive for any of that. I strive to open my heart, get out of my head, complete my purpose for this incarnation, wake up, see differently, and see through Christ’s vision. I notice these preferences falling away.

We can have a far different experience of the world if that is what we desire and desire wholly. Even in this in-between place where I want the real world and yet still value something of this world, my experience is more peaceful and loving. The more I choose peace as my goal, the happier I become. I imagine a world where I see no value in seeing fear and guilt anywhere. This vision strongly motivates me to release all the blocks to Love’s Presence from my mind.

My son is going through a difficult time right now.

I have noticed an anxious feeling that can arise from the belief that I need him to be safe and happy. This disturbs my peace, and I am letting it go. The ego argues that letting go of the need for him to be safe and happy is crazy. It is like wishing he were unhappy and unsafe. But the ego is wrong. God never asks for sacrifice.

As I let go of the idea of me needing this from him, I am free to remember the truth about my son. I can remember that he is this brilliant light, that he is God’s perfect Son. He is given the same gifts from God as we all have, freedom, joy, and love. He has the same Holy Spirit in his mind as do we all. Jesus is walking his path with him as he walks my path with me. As I remember these things about my son and hold them in my mind, I am truly helpful to him and to myself. And no one loses.

Regina’s Tips

My home awaits me. I will hasten there.

There is no reason for us to hold onto unhappiness of any kind. Only our own ideas and the value we give them create unhappiness.

What ideas are you giving value to that create your unhappiness?

Do you think things should be different than they are? Is there an ideal perfection that is not being met? Is someone acting differently than you want him/her to act? Should you have something that you do not have? Is your mind full of self-condemnation, or is it highly critical of another?

When you are unhappy, pause and look. What idea is currently present and currently valued as true? Do you value this idea more than the opportunity to know the freedom of truth realization? Or are you willing to release this idea and any value you’ve given it in order to be one step closer to total freedom?

My Thoughts

I know for a fact that I can be happy right now as I do the work I came here to do, but there are times when I feel frustrated or sad, and those are choices I make. There is no reason for them, just a decision I made. It is the result of believing the ego thoughts in my mind. The ego is never satisfied and is always looking for the next best thing. Because these thoughts of failing to reach my goal soon enough are about my spiritual path, I can be temporarily fooled into thinking it is something besides ego. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t encourage through discouragement. That is always the ego, and I don’t have to believe these thoughts.

Contemplation 2025

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 226 click here.

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