ACIM Introduction to Lessons 181-200
ACIM Introduction to Lessons 181-200
Introduction to Lessons 181–200
1. Our next few lessons make a special point of firming up your willingness to make your weak commitment strong; your scattered goals blend into one intent. ²You are not asked for total dedication all the time as yet. ³But you are asked to practice now in order to attain the sense of peace such unified commitment will bestow, if only intermittently. ⁴It is experiencing this that makes it sure that you will give your total willingness to following the way the course sets forth.
Slowly, over time and with a practice that became more and more consistent, I have reached a point where my commitment is strong. Maybe my dedication is not total but it is very nearly so. My practice is a joy for the most part and I do have total willingness to following the way the course sets forth. It is the growing peace and joy that following this path has brought me that keeps me on it. I am still undoing as I become aware of the need as I have in the past. But the difference is that I have very little resistance to doing so now. Forgiveness comes naturally and is welcomed.
Lifting Blocks
2. Our lessons now are geared specifically to widening horizons, and direct approaches to the special blocks that keep your vision narrow, and too limited to let you see the value of our goal. ²We are attempting now to lift these blocks, however briefly. ³Words alone can not convey the sense of liberation which their lifting brings. ⁴But the experience of freedom and of peace that comes as you give up your tight control of what you see speaks for itself. ⁵Your motivation will be so intensified that words become of little consequence. ⁶You will be sure of what you want, and what is valueless.
This paragraph perfectly expresses my experience and it is the experience of healing that the Course seeks to bring us. Studying how to do this and why you might want to do it, is helpful at first. It opens the mind to possibilities it had not considered before. But study is not enough, we have come for the experience. I have had that experience and the experience of freedom has extended so that it is no longer just intermittent. I could never return to life as before. It would be unthinkable to do so.
What Impedes Our Progress?
3. And so we start our journey beyond words by concentrating first on what impedes your progress still. ²Experience of what exists beyond defensiveness remains beyond achievement while it is denied. ³It may be there, but you cannot accept its presence. ⁴So we now attempt to go past all defenses for a little while each day. ⁵No more than this is asked, because no more than this is needed. ⁶It will be enough to guarantee the rest will come.
I am looking forward to these lessons because I sincerely want to lay down all remaining defenses. They only impede my progress and it is progress I want so it makes no sense to hold onto them. What I want is right there in my mind waiting for me to accept it, but how can I do that if I am actively resisting. These lessons will help me overcome any remaining hurdles.
From a Past Journal
This happened a few years ago.
Every time I think there is nothing I would not release, I come across another idea that needs my attention. The difference now is that I am certain I want to find these beliefs and look at them with the Holy Spirit. I am certain that I will release them. And, I never waste time feeling guilty about them anymore.
This happened to me one day at a group meeting in which forgiveness was the topic of discussion. Someone talked about a relationship that had been completely healed and the situation in the relationship triggered something in me. I had this thought, How could she forgive that?” My next thought was, “Holy cow, where did that come from???” I was, frankly, shocked. I had no idea that thought was in my mind. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had any hesitation to forgive. Finding that thought is like mining for gold and hitting the motherlode.
Working With the Holy Spirit
I have been working on this idea with the Holy Spirit. I have asked to see the source of the issue, looking for the root cause. Again, using the metaphor of mining for gold, I see myself as a prospector with a sieve such as they had in old westerns. I’m bent over the river of my thoughts shaking my sieve, letting most of the mind chatter flow through but catching a few of the more relevant thoughts. Then I pick through them until I put together a picture of the problem with its different elements.
Once that is done, I ask the Holy Spirit for clarity and for direction in how to see this situation differently. Talking to a friend this morning, I was sharing my process with her and she said something that is very helpful and another piece of the puzzle falls into place. I notice a fear thought hiding in my mind, the fear that complete forgiveness will leave me vulnerable. There, finally, is the last piece falling into place. Now, my work is done and I am ready to release the belief as I see it. I release it and my Holy Self takes it from there leaving me with a profound sense of peace.