ACIM Daily Lesson 69 My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
ACIM Daily Lesson 69
Lesson 69
My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
1. No one can look upon what your grievances conceal. ²Because your grievances are hiding the light of the world in you, everyone stands in darkness, and you beside him. ³But as the veil of your grievances is lifted, you are released with him. ⁴Share your salvation now with him who stood beside you when you were in hell. ⁵He is your brother in the light of the world that saves you both.
Because we are one, we stand with our brother wherever he is. If he believes in his guilt, we are all in darkness. This is why I don’t want to make anyone feel guilty. I don’t want to even think of them as guilty. I remind myself that we exist in the mind and so what we think matters a great deal. Sometimes someone will act or speak in a way that seems like an attack. There is only one response that I want to have and that is love. Those who attack are in fear and love is what they need.
And in the same way, if I feel like I am being victimized or unfairly treated, I want to let that belief go right away. If I feel attacked by anyone including myself, I have darkened the mind for all of us and I want to correct that. These grievances are what keeps us bound to our illusions and so blind to our reality. I lovingly forgive myself for my errors and thus bring light to everyone. I lovingly forgive the error wherever I find it and the mind is lightened for us all.
Ending the Ancient Search
2. Today let us make another real attempt to reach the light in you. ²Before we undertake this in our more extended practice period, let us devote several minutes to thinking about what we are trying to do. ³We are literally attempting to get in touch with the salvation of the world. ⁴We are trying to see past the veil of darkness that keeps it concealed. ⁵We are trying to let the veil be lifted, and to see the tears of God’s Son disappear in the sunlight.
3. Let us begin our longer practice period today with the full realization that this is so, and with real determination to reach what is dearer to us than all else. ²Salvation is our only need. ³There is no other purpose here, and no other function to fulfill. ⁴Learning salvation is our only goal. ⁵Let us end the ancient search today by finding the light in us, and holding it up for everyone who searches with us to look upon and rejoice.
This is sacred work I do as I practice this lesson. I won’t take this lightly. Nothing else I do in the world matters next to this. What I do today is what I came to do. I will approach it as the holy instant that it is and do my best. This practice will be done in confidence because I know Who goes with me. It will be done in joy because no matter what happens, it is a step toward salvation. I do this for us all that we may be released from all pain and suffering. I do it so that we will all remember Who We Are and Where We Are.
Heavy Dark Clouds
4. Very quietly now, with your eyes closed, try to let go of all the content that generally occupies your consciousness. ²Think of your mind as a vast circle, surrounded by a layer of heavy, dark clouds. ³You can see only the clouds because you seem to be standing outside the circle and quite apart from it.
5. From where you stand, you can see no reason to believe there is a brilliant light hidden by the clouds. ²The clouds seem to be the only reality. ³They seem to be all there is to see. ⁴Therefore, you do not attempt to go through them and past them, which is the only way in which you would be really convinced of their lack of substance. ⁵We will make this attempt today.
I appreciate the cloud metaphor as it describes perfectly what it was like for me at the start of my spiritual journey. At first, I thought what I thought with no idea that I could or wanted to go past these thoughts. I never imagined that they were obscuring my way out of a life that had become painful. Over the years I have practiced watching my thoughts. In doing so, I have discovered that my thoughts are indeed like clouds, insubstantial. I discovered that they do not rule me and that I can let them go easily when I no longer want them. This is what Jesus is teaching us in this lesson.
God Will Raise You
6. After you have thought about the importance of what you are trying to do for yourself and the world, try to settle down in perfect stillness, remembering only how much you want to reach the light in you today,—now! ²Determine to go past the clouds. ³Reach out and touch them in your mind. ⁴Brush them aside with your hand; feel them resting on your cheeks and forehead and eyelids as you go through them. ⁵Go on; clouds cannot stop you.
7. If you are doing the exercises properly, you will begin to feel a sense of being lifted up and carried ahead. ²Your little effort and small determination call on the power of the universe to help you, and God Himself will raise you from darkness into light. ³You are in accord with His Will. ⁴You cannot fail because your will is His.
Just think of that; the power of the universe is helping us as we do this work. God, Himself will raise us from the darkness into the light. It is possible to feel this shifting of the mind right in the meditation. Or it might occur slowly as we continue to release more grievances in the days ahead. It has worked slowly for me at the pace I was willing to go. But you cannot fail and the shift will occur as it did for me.
Let the Power of God Work in You and through You
8. Have confidence in your Father today, and be certain that He has heard you and answered you. ²You may not recognize His answer yet, but you can indeed be sure that it is given you and you will yet receive it. ³Try, as you attempt to go through the clouds to the light, to hold this confidence in your mind. ⁴Try to remember that you are at last joining your will to God’s. ⁵Try to keep the thought clearly in mind that what you undertake with God must succeed. ⁶Then let the power of God work in you and through you, that His Will and yours be done.
When I first did this lesson and others like it, I thought nothing was happening and let myself feel discouraged. In spite of that, I kept doing the work daily. Every dark cloud represented grievances that I let go as I could. The result of letting one go was peace and I learned to crave that peace so I did the work more diligently. Those ‘failed’ attempts to reach the light were not failures at all. The power of God was working in me and through me at the perfect pace for me.
In the Shorter Practice Periods
9. In the shorter practice periods, which you will want to do as often as possible in view of the importance of today’s idea to you and your happiness, remind yourself that your grievances are hiding the light of the world from your awareness. ²Remind yourself also that you are not searching for it alone, and that you do know where to look for it. ³Say, then:
⁴My grievances hide the light of the world in me. ⁵I cannot see what I have hidden. ⁶Yet I want to let it be revealed to me, for my salvation and the salvation of the world.
⁷Also, be sure to tell yourself:
⁸If I hold this grievance the light of the world will be hidden from me,
if you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today.
This is the work that brought me to the shift I so longed for. I was sometimes discouraged as I tried and failed to forgive, but I didn’t give up. I knew that it could be done and I trusted that I was being lifted up in my attempts. With help from our Mighty Companions, I forgave myself for my past errors. I forgave my projections onto others. I continue to watch my mind and forgive as needed. The difference is that it is easier and faster now. Whatever it takes to reach this shift, it is worth it.
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 69 click here.
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