Lesson 159

I give the miracles I have received.

No one can give what he has not received. To give a thing requires first you have it in your own possession. Here the laws of Heaven and the world agree. But here they also separate. The world believes that to possess a thing, it must be kept. Salvation teaches otherwise. To give is how to recognize you have received. It is the proof that what you have is yours.

You understand that you are healed when you give healing. You accept forgiveness as accomplished in yourself when you forgive. You recognize your brother as yourself, and thus do you perceive that you are whole. There is no miracle you cannot give, for all are given you. Receive them now by opening the storehouse of your mind where they are laid, and giving them away.

Christ’s vision is a miracle. It comes from far beyond itself, for it reflects eternal love and the rebirth of love which never dies, but has been kept obscure. Christ’s vision pictures Heaven, for it sees a world so like to Heaven that what God created perfect can be mirrored there. The darkened glass the world presents can show but twisted images in broken parts. The real world pictures Heaven’s innocence.

Christ’s vision is the miracle in which all miracles are born. It is their source, remaining with each miracle you give, and yet remaining yours. It is the bond by which the giver and receiver are united in extension here on earth, as they are one in Heaven. Christ beholds no sin in anyone. And in His sight the sinless are as one. Their holiness was given by His Father and Himself.

Christ’s vision is the bridge between the worlds. And in its power can you safely trust to carry you from this world into one made holy by forgiveness. Things which seem quite solid here are merely shadows there; transparent, faintly seen, at times forgot, and never able to obscure the light that shines beyond them. Holiness has been restored to vision, and the blind can see.

This is the Holy Spirit’s single gift; the treasure house to which you can appeal with perfect certainty for all the things that can contribute to your happiness. All are laid here already. All can be received but for the asking. Here the door is never locked, and no one is denied his least request or his most urgent need. There is no sickness not already healed, no lack unsatisfied, no need unmet within this golden treasury of Christ.

Here does the world remember what was lost when it was made. For here it is repaired, made new again, but in a different light. What was to be the home of sin becomes the center of redemption and the hearth of mercy, where the suffering are healed and welcome. No one will be turned away from this new home, where his salvation waits. No one is stranger to him. No one asks for anything of him except the gift of his acceptance of his welcoming.

Christ’s vision is the holy ground in which the lilies of forgiveness set their roots. This is their home. They can be brought from here back to the world, but they can never grow in its unnourishing and shallow soil. They need the light and warmth and kindly care Christ’s charity provides. They need the love with which He looks on them. And they become His messengers, who give as they received.

Take from His storehouse, that its treasures may increase. His lilies do not leave their home when they are carried back into the world. Their roots remain. They do not leave their source, but carry its beneficence with them, and turn the world into a garden like the one they came from, and to which they go again with added fragrance. Now are they twice blessed. The messages they brought from Christ have been delivered, and returned to them. And they return them gladly unto Him.

Behold the store of miracles set out for you to give. Are you not worth the gift, when God appointed it be given you? Judge not God’s Son, but follow in the way He has established. Christ has dreamed the dream of a forgiven world. It is His gift, whereby a sweet transition can be made from death to life; from hopelessness to hope. Let us an instant dream with Him. His dream awakens us to truth. His vision gives the means for a return to our unlost and everlasting sanctity in God.

INITIAL INSIGHT: The more I study the Course, the more I learn that there are many ways to say the same thing. There is no world out there. We (as individuals) are projections from the same mind. The world is a projection of sin, guilt, and fear. We have forgotten that we did this to ourselves. Within our mind is the ego world we made through projection, and there is also the Holy Spirit Who is the answer to that error.

We return to sanity by bringing the symbols of separation, those specific instances of wrong-minded thinking, to our right mind where the Holy Spirit corrects them. The Holy Spirit’s answer is a miracle, which brings us closer to Heaven. His answer is for all, and the miracle is shared by all. Throughout the Course, and very much in this lesson, it is emphasized that we must see our brother as he was created, not as he appears in his story. This is essential for our salvation. We cannot go home without him. Within our mind are all miracles and the way to know they are there is to give them.

It really is simple. I let all grievances go and I extend love instead. Love is a miracle. That is how we prepare our mind for awakening. The mind becomes confused about this because it is immersed in the story, and the story seems to need attention. This is how confusion keeps us in the illusion. It is easy to believe that something is wrong with the story. Since the story is only a projection from the mind, though, it is the mind that needs correction.

“Christ’s vision is a miracle.” 

Here is what Jesus tells us about Christ’s vision.

• It reflects eternal love and the rebirth of the love that has been obscured.
• It is like Heaven and can be mirrored here.
• It pictures Heaven’s innocence.
• It is the miracle in which all miracles are born, being their source.
• It is the bond that unites giver and receiver.
• It sees no sin and it sees the sinless as one.
• It is the bridge between the worlds.
• It is the Holy Spirit’s single gift.

Christ’s vision is not reality but it represents reality while still here in time. This is possible for us all.

DAILY APPLICATION: “Behold the store of miracles set out for you to give. Are you not worth the gift, when God appointed it be given you? Judge not God’s Son, but follow in the way He has established. Christ has dreamed the dream of a forgiven world. It is His gift, whereby a sweet transition can be made from death to life; from hopelessness to hope. Let us an instant dream with Him. His dream awakens us to truth. His vision gives the means for a return to our unlost and everlasting sanctity in God.”

I am touched by that last paragraph and feel an urge to join Christ in His vision. I want to spend today dreaming of a forgiven world. As soon as I felt this desire, I was aware of the ego’s objections. How could I even dream of a healed world where there is so much divisiveness, so much cruelty, where the news was every day a litany of man’s selfishness and hatred? And yet, I know that this world is the illusion and Christ’s vision is the way we awaken to truth. I am willing to ask for His vision each time I am confronted with the dark stories of the separated mind.

Here is something from my journal that I wrote about a few years ago.

It is starting to get really hot here, and very humid. When I work outside in my garden or taking care of my lawn, even when I simply go someplace, I am miserable in the heat. As I watch my mind I notice thoughts that I think I am a victim of the heat. I think I am a victim of circumstances. I know this cannot be true because I am not a victim of the world I see. And yet, I feel like a victim. I have a grievance against this situation.

While in this state of victimization I think I want the heat to go away, my body to be stronger, my mind to get over all this whining. I want things to be different than they are. Then I feel guilty because I think I could be happy if only my life were different and I know this is kind of thinking will take me deeper into the illusion. Still, surely in this one case, my salvation lies in the world being different.

It feels very confused in my mind when I think like this. I have one goal, and that is to awaken from the dream of separation through forgiveness. But then my mind argues, “But does that mean I have to suffer heat stroke just to live?” I get lost in the ego thinking. It is like standing in a jungle thick with vegetation and surrounded by paths all leading to places I cannot see. Which do I take? Each seems promising, but each has its own objections. Could it be that I am confused because I don’t want the only answer that leads out of confusion?

One of the paths has a sign at its entrance that says “Christ’s vision is the miracle in which all miracles are born.” I am drawn to that path because it seems the straightest, the simplest, and the most peaceful. On this path, there is nothing for me to think about. No decisions to be made. I surrender fully on this path. I surrender all questions and all answers. I ask that my mind be filled only with Christ Vision. I wish for nothing because I don’t know what to wish for. I surrender all wishes. In my trust, I am carried.

The ego really, really wants to go back to thinking about this, but I am willing to be empty, at least for this moment. I am willing to be filled with knowledge that is not of me. The ego is a little buzzing sound that seems to be saying, “But, what about…. ” And, “But, what if…. ” But, but, but. This moment I am still willing to be empty, still willing to be filled. And in this moment. And this one.

I am never confused in this way now, and while the ego will still argue against surrender, I never give in to that. It might take me a few minutes and though rarely, it might take a few hours, I know the ego now and I know I am not that.

INSIGHTS FROM HOLY SPIRIT: Yesterday, you were listening to the ego off and on and you made a choice not to continue to do so. Remember the gratitude you felt when your mind was clear? That was a miracle. The miracle was in you all along but you had to apply it to your situation to remember that you had it. You did this by making a choice for God even though it did not make sense to do so. It was a choice you made and this choice is always possible. It is easy if you focus on your purpose rather than the story.

You also made a choice to give the miracle to someone you love and you did it in the same way. You set aside your worry and all the seeming proof that worry made sense in the circumstances. You surrendered that belief and chose for God once again, knowing that it was the most healing thing you could do for you and your loved one. Remember the gratitude you felt once your mind was clear? Miracles will do that for you. Miracles will fill you with love and gratitude. Miracles are yours and giving them away is the way you know they are yours.

GRATITUDE: I love the way this works. It was simple and easy to do and it feels right. I am truly grateful.

REGINA’S TIPS

There is an interesting point in today’s workbook lesson. It says, “Receive [miracles] now by opening the storehouse of your mind where they are laid, and giving them away.” This means that miracles already exist in us.

How do we open the storehouse of our mind and access the miracles?

The lesson calls true vision “the miracle in which all miracles are born.” In other words, we open the storehouse of our mind by overlooking illusion and focusing on life-presence.

Focus on life-presence in nature.
Focus on life-presence in people.
Focus on life-presence in yourself.

When we focus on life-presence, we see and experience things differently, and so we also ‘be’ differently. Giving miracles is a natural outcome of true vision and the resulting beingness. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about how we will give miracles. All we have to do is practice true vision. Everything else will happen naturally. (That’s the miracle.)

Note: Awareness-watching-awareness is a method of focusing on life-presence in yourself.

MY THOUGHTS

My everyday practice of noticing untrue thoughts and releasing them to the Holy Spirit is the way I keep my mind clear and so am able to see with Christ vision. But sometimes, I have to pull my attention away from the world and focus on Christ vision. I have to literally make a choice and I do so without compromise and with confidence.