Lesson 57 

W-pI.57.1. (31) I am not the victim of the world I see. 

2 How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so choose? 3 My chains are loosened. 4 I can drop them off merely by desiring to do so. 5 The prison door is open. 6 I can leave simply by walking out. 7 Nothing holds me in this world. 8 Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. 9 I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last. 

I tend to think I am not a victim of the world because I made the world and I chose to be here, and I suppose that is true. However, this idea that I am not a victim of the world because I can choose to have it completely undone when I decide to is also a compelling argument for not being a victim.  

On the one hand, the ego insists that this eventuality is so far into the future that it is depressing to think that I have to wait until the world is undone before all these unfortunate situations end. On the other hand, this idea is simple and straight forward. I don’t have to figure out what I need to do about any particular problem in which I seem to be a victim or why it showed up in my life. The only thing anyone needs to do is to wake up if they want to be happy and at peace and all that requires is to want it more than I want to stay here so that undoes the first ego objection. Being free of the world does not necessarily require a lot of time. 

What are the insane wishes that seem to keep us prisoners of the world we made? Here is an example. An unusual thing happened yesterday. I had three cancellations and so that left me with a large block of free time. I was excited to have it because I am behind on two courses I am facilitating and I need to continue to prepare my taxes. Things did not go according to my plan. 

I hurt my foot and went to the doctor and he sent me for X-Rays and then my daughter asked me to pick up my granddaughter from school. I got almost nothing done except those things. I felt disappointed about my plans going awry and worried about no progress being made on these projects. It felt like I was a victim of circumstances.  

This disappointment and worry are the chains that hold me here because they keep me a victim. Fortunately, I no longer believe in this idea of being a victim so I just shrugged my shoulders and waited to see how all this would work out. This is the way I move quickly back onto my path Home. It is the way I give up my insane wishes and walk out the open door of this strange prison of my thoughts.  

W-pI.57.2. (32) I have invented the world I see. 

2 I made up the prison in which I see myself. 3 All I need do is recognize this and I am free. 4 I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to imprison the Son of God. 5 I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer want. 6 The Son of God must be forever free. 7 He is as God created him, and not what I would make of him. 8 He is where God would have him be, and not where I thought to hold him prisoner. 

We made up this world and every moment, I make up the world as I see it. I interpret each situation according to what I want it to be, another chain shucked off and that much closer to complete freedom, or as another way to be sure the world continues to be my prison. Even if I choose to see myself as a prisoner of the world, that is, as a victim of the world, I cannot make it true.  

I am as God created me and that will always be true because it is His Will that it be so. God created me free and so I am. I can only pretend to be something else for as long as I can tolerate the suffering and I have reached the end of my tolerance. This is why I accept that I cannot be the victim of the world I see and why it is that I am able to easily resist the ego interpretation of the world and quickly choose again. 

W-pI.57.3. (33) There is another way of looking at the world. 

2 Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way of looking at it. 3 I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are the opposite of truth. 4 I see the world as a prison for God’s Son. 5 It must be, then, that the world is really a place where he can be set free. 6 I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds his freedom. 

This describes the way I gained my freedom and the way I hold onto it. I learned through faith and practice that there is always another way of looking at the world. Today, when I woke up, I looked at my calendar to see when I could work on my two new courses so I would be ready for my calls next week. I had thought that I could use some time today because this is a light day for calls. But I forgot that a student had changed her time and we are meeting this morning and that I had received a call late yesterday that the doctor’s office had scheduled an MRI today.  

For a moment, I felt concerned about this. But there is always another way to look at anything that happens in the world. I decided, again, to forgo the worry and just accept the inevitable. I didn’t do this with the attitude that I was doomed anyway so I may as well accept my defeat. I did it in joy that I know how to live now, and I am certain that what needs to happen will happen and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t need to happen. My life is not at random and everything is in my best interest even when I can’t see enough of the picture to understand how that is true. 

W-pI.57.4. (34) I could see peace instead of this. 

2 When 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. 3 I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it. 4 And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me. 

I used to think the world was a prison, that I was in it and it was my own fault. I struggled to make it a better prison and even when I discovered A Course in Miracles and saw a way out, I struggled with that. My attitude made even the Course feel like a prison. But one day, I decided that I had a goal and that was the peace of God. Everything that happened became a way out of my self-imposed prison. That became the purpose of all things and so I saw everything as a way to undo the world.  

The world seems very different to me now. This transformation is not complete, but what has occurred so far is amazing. I see that even this world reflects peace if that is my choice because my mind decides what I see. The world is always reflecting my beliefs. When I believe that what God creates is beyond my ability to alter, I become aware of my true nature which is peace. From that perspective, I look out on a world at peace and everyone in it as peace.  

I see the truth reflected there instead of the confusion that used to be in my mind. I see this even as the world seems to be the opposite. That is the miracle of a healed mind, the ability to know God in all things no matter what the eyes see, that is, to see past the illusion to the truth. I protect this vision by staying vigilant just as I did this morning when I had an uh-oh moment thinking there was a problem. I simply release that thought so that I can see reality instead. 

W-pI.57.5. (35) My mind is part of God’s. 2 I am very holy. 

3 As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself. 4 The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. 5 In this light I begin to see what my illusions about myself kept hidden. 6 I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me. 

I spend a lot of time at home alone so I am used to solitude. When I have a day of being with others, I have to remind myself of my purpose or I will not connect with others because I am still being alone in my mind. I shift this way of being as I deliberately look at others and really see them. I don’t decide what I will see, I wait to be shown. In this way, I keep the ego out of the process.  

If someone needs a kind word or a little redirection in the way they are seeing things, the Holy Spirit gives me the perfect words so that I am helpful. It is easy as long as I let Him redirect me when that is needed. Choosing to live like this, I remember that my mind is part of God’s and I feel the holiness that I am. Because what I see always reflects what I believe, this enables me to become aware of everyone else’s holiness. 

It’s interesting to see how the ego tries to deflect this kind of joining. I saw a different doctor at the clinic where I go. When I first looked at him, I thought he looked young and wished my regular doctor had been available. Then I automatically shifted gears. I started to look at him as if he were with me in the mind of God. I waited to see why it was that I was here with this doctor. 

While he was examining my foot, I remembered on the form I had to fill out, there were several questions to consider. They were asking what I wanted from the doctor, such as did I want to talk about anything other than the initial problem. One of the questions had made me smile. It asked if I wanted him to pray for me. So, I told him that I had never had a doctor ask if I wanted prayers. This led to him holding my hands and saying a sincere and lovely prayer for me. It was a sweet encounter between two holy minds.