Lesson 62
Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.
W-pI.62.1. It is your forgiveness that will bring the world of darkness to the light. 2 It is your forgiveness that lets you recognize the light in which you see. 3 Forgiveness is the demonstration that you are the light of the world. 4 Through your forgiveness does the truth about yourself return to your memory. 5 Therefore, in your forgiveness lies your salvation.
I think of forgiveness as the recognition that we have actually done nothing and that we have never been condemned so there is nothing to forgive. It is returning our mind to right thinking and realizing that no one has hurt us or affected us, that it is only our beliefs that make it seem so. How could anyone victimize me when it is my script and my choice to have this experience. I also think of forgiveness as undoing. For instance, I forgive the idea that I could ever be separate from anything and that is an undoing of that belief. As I forgive the world I see and experience, it is undone in my mind and the darkness is replaced by light, and the memory of who I am returns to me.
W-pI.62.2. Illusions about yourself and the world are one. 2 That is why all forgiveness is a gift to yourself. 3 Your goal is to find out who you are, having denied your Identity by attacking creation and its Creator. 4 Now you are learning how to remember the truth. 5 For this attack must be replaced by forgiveness, so that thoughts of life may replace thoughts of death.
The idea that I am a separate person with an identity different from any other, and that I am separate from my Creator with a mind separate from all other minds including the Mind of God, is what I am forgiving. It is an illusion, something that could never happen, but because we have made up a story of separation, it feels like an attack on creation and on its Creator.
This causes us to feel guilt and to be afraid of salvation. Forgiveness dispels this belief and with it, the guilt and fear. It is undone and I remember the truth. Now the illusion seems ridiculous. How could we ever have believed in the fantasy that we could make ourselves something we are not. I wonder if the apple tree longs to be a cherry tree? Would it strive to turn its back on reality and try to produce cherries? What a silly dream that would be, and how impossible to accomplish. That is what we try to do when we dream of being separate and less than a perfect part of God.
W-pI.62.3. Remember that in every attack you call upon your own weakness, while each time you forgive you call upon the strength of Christ in you. 2 Do you not then begin to understand what forgiveness will do for you? 3 It will remove all sense of weakness, strain and fatigue from your mind. 4 It will take away all fear and guilt and pain. 5 It will restore the invulnerability and power God gave His Son to your awareness.
I became frustrated with Lowes this morning because for two days they have transferred me from one person to another and have failed to get me to a person who can help me. I finally told the last person I spoke to that I was ready to give up on Lowes and call Home Depot instead because I was tired of being transferred to people who could not help. She offered to get me to the right person and did so right away.
As soon as I expressed my frustration to her, I felt week and fatigued. It was simple fear that I was helpless in this situation. I forgave it as soon as I heard the anger in my voice and my mind returned to peace and the fear was gone. Another example is that I have felt helpless controlling my weight and general physical problems. I could see that I was my own worst enemy but couldn’t understand why I was doing it and how to do it differently.
I asked for help. Again. After many requests. This time, I was serious. I know that this is just another untrue thought that needs forgiving and that I can do this. Why would I not be able to do it? I have forgiven nearly every ego belief in my mind, so of course, I can do this. My decision was stronger and more convicted than before and I was guided to seek help. In fact, my words to Jesus were something like this. Please send me an answer I can understand and use any method to get it to me.
Immediately afterward, I had the thought to ask my friend, Linda, to ask her guides what it was that I needed to know. The word she got was sacrifice. I sensed this was right but was unsure how to see it in this case. It was the next morning that I realized I believed that I had to sacrifice in order to have what I wanted. I reminded myself that God never asks for our sacrifice, that it could only be the ego that demands sacrifice.
The ego says we have to give up what we want and sacrifice our own desires and good so that we will be worthy of God’s graces. The ego says we have to work hard if we want to succeed. It also says that we don’t really deserve good so maybe we won’t receive it and if we want it, we have to do penance. These are beliefs that need to be forgiven in the mind because they are not true. Letting them be undone will release us from the prison of ego thinking and 5 It will restore the invulnerability and power God gave His Son to your awareness.
W-pI.62.4. Let us be glad to begin and end this day by practicing today’s idea, and to use it as frequently as possible throughout the day. 2 It will help to make the day as happy for you as God wants you to be. 3 And it will help those around you, as well as those who seem to be far away in space and time, to share this happiness with you.
It is wonderful to know that as I release the belief in sacrifice to the Holy Spirit and accept His gift of healing, I am doing for everyone. I am helping those around me and those who seem far away in space and time. We are sharing the happiness that comes to us as we forgive the untrue thoughts in the mind.
W-pI.62.5. As often as you can, closing your eyes if possible, say to yourself today:
2 Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.
3 I would fulfill my function that I may be happy.
4 Then devote a minute or two to considering your function and the happiness and release it will bring you. 5 Let related thoughts come freely, for your heart will recognize these words, and in your mind is the awareness they are true. 6 Should your attention wander, repeat the idea and add:
7 I would remember this because I want to be happy.
I’m very excited to do this lesson today. I had no idea the belief in sacrifice was still in my mind, but now that it has been drawn to my attention, I see where it influences my life experience. I am thrilled to think of releasing it now so that I can be happy and at peace all the time, and to share it with everyone else.