Lesson 115 2015

Lesson 115

For morning and evening review:

1. (99) Salvation is my only function here.

²My function here is to forgive the world for all the errors I have made. ³For thus am I released from them with all the world.

Here is how this looks to me. I forgive the laws I have imposed on my body. I forgive the belief that anyone could be guilty regardless of what happens in this illusion. I forgive the idea of victimhood and that I or anyone could be mistreated. I forgive the belief in fear and death. I forgive the belief in pain. I forgive the idea that attack is ever justified. I forgive the idea I must defend myself from God. I forgive the idea that I am a body or in a body or that bodies exist. I forgive the idea that the world exists. I forgive the idea that I need anything outside me to change in order for me to be happy.

I forgive the idea that there is ever a justification for holding a grievance and that there is any value whatsoever in doing so. I forgive the idea that there is anything outside my mind or anything outside God. I forgive by watching my thoughts and feelings and when I see the belief in any of this, I gladly, happily, release that belief to the Holy Spirit for correction. These beliefs come in many forms, but in the end, they are all the same and the result is that I remember I am still as God created me and nothing God did not create exists at all.

2. (100) My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.

²I am essential to the plan of God for the salvation of the world. ³For He gave me His plan that I might save the world.

I have a part in God’s plan for the salvation of the world, as does each and every one of us. We must all forgive our errors. If every single one of us forgave our errors but I did not, the world would not be saved. I cannot save it for anyone else and so correcting others and trying to do their part for them will not work. I have one function and that is to accept the atonement for myself. The Atonement is the only plan that will work and my part in it is essential to the entire plan. All these errors I have made must be forgiven and released. This is my part.

Here is one example. I used to think that if my children didn’t love me, I couldn’t be happy. I didn’t feel worthy of their love and so no matter what loving thing they said or did, I only heard words that made me feel like I wasn’t loved. I was always trying to be careful of what I said and did and if I made a mistake, I was desperate to fix it somehow.

I forgave the idea that I needed their love and I forgave the idea that I was unworthy. I did this one thought at a time, over and over. It took quite a long time for me to do this but now it is done. If I make a mistake and can see that I hurt one of them with a careless word, I make amends. If in their mind something happened and they seem to draw away, I just keep loving them and things work their way out. There is no longer desperation in my mind and so none in the relationships.

It is clear to me that they love me very much and I love them very much and that is a happy state to be in. But if that were to change, I would still be happy because the need is gone. Before this was accomplished, I could not imagine being happy without their love, and the idea of giving up that need was scary to me. But being freed of that neediness has made it possible to have these lovely relationships and it cost me nothing to give up the neediness.

3. On the hour:
²Salvation is my only function here.

³On the half hour:
⁴My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.

(ACIM, W-115.1:1–3:4)

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