ACIM Lesson 26 My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.

Lesson 26

My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.

1. It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked you are not invulnerable. ²You see attack as a real threat. ³That is because you believe that you can really attack. ⁴And what would have effects through you must also have effects on you. ⁵It is this law that will ultimately save you, but you are misusing it now. ⁶You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests, rather than against them.

It seems so apparent that we can be attacked. Someone can attack our reputations, our bank accounts, our relationships, our bodies. How is it that we are invulnerable? When I wondered about this, I remembered that I am one with all and in God. This world and its bodies, including the one I am associated with now, are an illusion. If there is only one then who is attacking?

If there is no one to attack, then where is the sense of being attacked and attacking coming from? It can only be from my own mind. It comes from the ego thought system that believes in the many. From the point of view of the ego thought system, we attacked God and now He is attacking us. We defend ourselves from God by projecting our guilt onto others. Now there is the belief that we are vulnerable and in need of defense. ⁴And what would have effects through you must also have effects on you. If I can attack, I can be attacked.

Attack Thoughts vs Invulnerability

2. Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. ²And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable. ³Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the attack thoughts are. ⁴Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted together. ⁵They contradict each other.

All ego thoughts are projected. As Jesus tells us in Chapter 2,¹⁴All thinking produces form at some level. (ACIM, T-2.VI.9:14) As we project our attack thoughts, we fear that the attack will be returned and thus we feel vulnerable. We cannot believe in attack and believe in our invulnerability at the same time.

How is it that the world and bodies seem to be real? Also in Chapter 2, Jesus explains this phenomenon. He tells us that ⁵What you believe is true for you. (ACIM, T-2.VII.5:5) So even though it is literally impossible for us to be vulnerable, our belief in attack has convinced us that we are. Just as our belief in separation has convinced us we are separate individuals in a world outside God.

Nothing Except Your Thoughts

3. The idea for today introduces the thought that you always attack yourself first. ²If attack thoughts must entail the belief that you are vulnerable, their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes. ³Thus they have attacked your perception of yourself. ⁴And because you believe in them, you can no longer believe in yourself. ⁵A false image of yourself has come to take the place of what you are.

4. Practice with today’s idea will help you to understand that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. ²Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. ³Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you are vulnerable. ⁴And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not so.

Attack thoughts have far greater effects on us than simply making life scary. Projection makes perception and so our belief in attack has caused us to attack our perception of ourself. Now instead of seeing ourselves as an extension of God and thus invulnerable, we see ourselves as bodies that are vulnerable. And because we feel vulnerable, we attack in defense. And because we attack, we feel vulnerable and in need of defense. What an awful cycle we have caused ourselves to be caught up in. And worse yet, this thinking has caused us to forget who we are.

There is good news, though. We are not trapped. Our practice is going to help us break free of this cycle. We will begin to learn that only our thoughts hurt us. There is nothing outside us and so there is nothing that can attack us. The practice will show us how this is true and forgiveness will free us. We are doing this to ourselves, but we can also change our thinking and stop doing it.

The Practice

5. Six practice periods are required in applying today’s idea. ²A full two minutes should be attempted for each of them, although the time may be reduced to a minute if the discomfort is too great. ³Do not reduce it further.

6. The practice period should begin with repeating the idea for today, then closing your eyes and reviewing the unresolved questions whose outcomes are causing you concern. ²The concern may take the form of depression, worry, anger, a sense of imposition, fear, foreboding or preoccupation. ³Any problem as yet unsettled that tends to recur in your thoughts during the day is a suitable subject. ⁴You will not be able to use very many for any one practice period, because a longer time than usual should be spent with each one. ⁵Today’s idea should be applied as follows:

7. First, name the situation:

²I am concerned about _________.

³Then go over every possible outcome that has occurred to you in that connection and which has caused you concern, referring to each one quite specifically, saying:

⁴I am afraid _________ will happen.

That Thought Is an Attack Upon Myself

8. If you are doing the exercises properly, you should have some five or six distressing possibilities available for each situation you use, and quite possibly more. ²It is much more helpful to cover a few situations thoroughly than to touch on a larger number. ³As the list of anticipated outcomes for each situation continues, you will probably find some of them, especially those that occur to you toward the end, less acceptable to you. ⁴Try, however, to treat them all alike to whatever extent you can.

9. After you have named each outcome of which you are afraid, tell yourself:

²That thought is an attack upon myself.

³Conclude each practice period by repeating today’s idea to yourself once more.

What Worries Me Today

I had the perfect idea to work with this morning. The thought I had was how much I don’t like to take medicine and never do so lightly. If I feel like I must, I read the side effects before I take it. If I am concerned, I weigh the benefits against the possible harm before I decide. I developed nerve pain and recently it became worse. Two doctors prescribed the same medication and after researching the problem, could not find any better alternative. I don’t like the possible side effects but I couldn’t see any other possibility so I started taking it. Still, I worried about it and I don’t want worry thoughts in my mind because they are an attack on my peace. So, this is how my practice went.

I am concerned about taking this medicine.

That thought is an attack upon myself.

I am afraid that it will cause more problems than it solves.

That thought is an attack upon myself.

I am afraid that if I start using it, I will have to take it forever.

That thought is an attack upon myself.

I am afraid that it will affect my happiness.

That thought is an attack upon myself.

I am afraid that it will cause me to gain weight.

That thought is an attack upon myself.

I am afraid it will affect my vision.

That thought is an attack upon myself.

I am afraid that stopping the medicine will cause really unpleasant symptoms.

That thought is an attack upon myself.

Gratitude

As I did this practice, I began to see how these thoughts were an attack on myself and that they were making me feel more vulnerable than the pain did. Also, as I did the practice, I felt the weight of the attack thoughts lifting from me. What took their place was gratitude. I began to feel gratitude for the magical solution to my magical problem. Perhaps as I continue to clear my mind of attack thoughts, I will no longer attack this body and so not need magic.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 26 click here.

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