ACIM Daily Lesson 57 Review I
ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 57
Review I
Lesson 57
Today let us review these ideas:
1. (31) I am not the victim of the world I see.
²How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so choose? ³My chains are loosened. ⁴I can drop them off merely by desiring to do so. ⁵The prison door is open. ⁶I can leave simply by walking out. ⁷Nothing holds me in this world. ⁸Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. ⁹I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last.
When I think back over my life, I can hardly believe what a victim I was, at least in my own mind. I thought I was a victim of circumstance and other people. I had all the proof, I thought. But as Jesus says, I am free to walk out of this prison any time I want to. If I am victim to anything it is to my own decisions and I can change my mind about that.
Nowadays, I don’t believe I could be a victim because I do understand that I am as free as I want to be. I may still have a rare instance of feeling victimized. It is like I decide to try it on again to see if I miss it but I don’t believe it and so I free myself quickly. The prison we walk out of is our choice to believe what is not true. Thus, I can free myself while still in the story of Myron and have done so to a great degree.
2. (32) I have invented the world I see.
²I made up the prison in which I see myself. ³All I need do is recognize this and I am free. ⁴I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to imprison the Son of God. ⁵I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer want. ⁶The Son of God must be forever free. ⁷He is as God created him, and not what I would make of him. ⁸He is where God would have him be, and not where I thought to hold him prisoner.
This, of course, is why I can’t be a victim of the world; I made it up. God created me as Spirit, as Thought in His Mind. I am forever free and forever as God created me, unchanging and immortal. That I could be a frail and helpless body on a dying planet surrounded by enemies is ridiculous. It is a very compelling story, though, and one I can get sucked into if not careful. This is why I remind myself of the truth often. There is no world and there are no bodies and so I am not in one. I am in God where He would have me be.
3. (33) There is another way of looking at the world.
²Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way of looking at it. ³I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are the opposite of truth. ⁴I see the world as a prison for God’s Son. ⁵It must be, then, that the world is really a place where he can be set free. ⁶I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds his freedom.
These days I always think of the world as a place where I find my freedom. I see everything that happens in this life as an opportunity to deepen my awakening. Once I was ready to begin using the world as a way to return Home, I started receiving help. The right books and teachers showed up for me so I had the tools I needed. I began to see my challenges as opportunities to heal my mind.
Freeing Myself
I failed to be helpful to someone I love when she was suffering. I can often be helpful when someone is confused but I never seem to say the right thing to this loved one. I could feel bad about this, blame myself or even her. I might think that I can’t be happy if I fail her. Or, I could give those thoughts to the Holy Spirit and trust that she will receive the help she needs from someone else.
Or maybe this is her opportunity to learn to go within for help. I just know that if I can’t help her, it must not be my job. I will remember her truth and that might be all she needs from me. The first option of feeling bad because it appears I was not helpful is the way to stay imprisoned to my false beliefs. The second option is how I use the world to free myself.
4. (34) I could see peace instead of this.
²When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey. ³I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it. ⁴And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.
Right now, with Russia making war against Ukraine, it is a challenge to see peace instead of this. We are free, all of us, to experience this world however we choose. We can make war or we can live in peace seeing each other as brothers and treating each other with love. One day this will be the way we all live in the real world but now it is the time we do our part to bring it forward. I do my part by not making war in my mind. If I am judging Putin, this is war. If I am conflicted in any way, this is war. I bring peace to the planet as I bring peace to my mind.
5. (35) My mind is part of God’s. ²I am very holy.
³As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself. ⁴The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. ⁵In this light I begin to see what my illusions about myself kept hidden. ⁶I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me.
This is not talking about the ego but about our true Selves. This is why peace comes from deep within. As I forgive the world, the light within shines outward and the ego moves further from my conscious awareness. And I become more aware of the holiness that I am as part of God. In the world, this feels like peace and happiness that is unaffected by what is happening around me.
Then some ego thought that still interests me comes to the forefront and I experience that effect. I have another opportunity to heal the mind of an untrue belief. For a moment or a day, I lose the sense of my holiness. But I know peace now so I just do what is necessary to regain it. I forgive myself, my brothers, my illusions, and the world we made. I do this gladly for all of us.
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 57 click here.
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