Final Lessons Introduction
It may be that there are a few people who go through the lessons once and that is all they need. I was not one of those. I have gone through them several times and each time I did this, I moved closer to God through forgiving myself and my brothers. Now, I do the lessons because I love them but also because it is now my responsibility to help others reach the same level that I have reached. W.fl.in.2:5-6 5 Let us together follow in the way that truth points out to us. 6 And let us be the leaders of our many brothers who are seeking for the way, but find it not.
Lessons 361
This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.
Journal
Each instant I give to You. I have no desire to be in charge, to be my own guide. I know that I still wander off the path once in a while, but I also know that You call me back when I do. I am so grateful for You, so grateful that my Creator placed You in my mind so that I would always have Your gifts when I need them.
My son is starting to feel afraid because he has not gotten a job yet even though he has applied for positions that are perfect for him and even though he knows the interview went well. It makes him feel helpless, I think, and he has no idea what to do with that. I feel his anxiety. It has always been this way between us.
At first, I mistook his anxiety for mine and the ego started weaving stories around this. But I am not interested. So, I asked what this situation is for and I knew it was for me to find the peace of God in it. Oh, yes! My one goal is the peace of God, and it is the only goal I have. It is everything I want. It is first for me and then for everyone else, including my son. What else of true value could I offer him?
Regina’s Tips
As we go into the second year of Gentle Healing, we go into a year that has three primary focuses:
- Coming to know and follow your individual inner teacher.
- Purifying false beliefs and unwholesome conditioning.
- Becoming increasingly familiar with awareness as your Self.
The final lesson, which is repeated for five days, is a lesson of surrender and trust. Surrender and trust are the very skills needed to accomplish the objectives for Year 2. Therefore, I encourage you to spend the next five days immersing yourself in the final lesson.
My Thoughts
I feel very comfortable with these ideas. I feel that I know my inner teacher and that I know how to purify my false beliefs and do this quickly with little if any resistance. I am even becoming familiar with awareness as my Self, I think. I know that I never think of the body/personality as my self. I am quite aware of this character as a temporary construct that allows me to observe the beliefs in the mind so that I can decide what I want to keep and what I am ready to release.
I know this construct has a short life-span and that I will throw it off when it has served its purpose, so I have no confusion about that. I don’t know what I am, exactly, and I suppose the word awareness is as good as any other to describe it. I no longer try to imagine some form that I could hold onto as being my true Self. Idea or Thought are closer, perhaps, but how could I know what I am until I return to Reality?
A Past Entry
There are many ways He gives me what I need. One day, when my son got to my house he was sick with an infection of some sort and felt awful. I felt the desire to reach out with healing thoughts, to see him healed. Then this thought appeared in my mind: “I can’t even heal myself. How could I heal him?” For a while, it seemed a perfectly reasonable statement. I felt guilty and unworthy.
Awhile later when my mind was quiet the Holy Spirit spoke so gently to me it was like a feather falling softly into my mind. He said, “It is through healing that you are healed.” If I had not been still, I would not have even heard this thought. But as soon as I heard it I laughed at my foolishness. I looked again at my son and this time I knew that the sickness was a lie. How could the Son of God suffer? I refuse to feel sorry for him or regretful for his condition. I just know that it is not the truth.
As I did this, I saw other thoughts bubbling up. I thought about how I talked about my own illness, and how I worried about him. I thought about my advice and my warnings. I watched them rise up to the top so they could be recognized for what they were. It was uncomfortable at first, knowing how very unhelpful I was while all the time I thought I was being a loving mother. My discomfort at seeing my errors reminded me of shards of glass long buried under the skin working their way out. For a bit, it hurts, but then they are gone and no longer causing pain.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for your gentle guidance.