Studies with Myron - Forgiveness is the Way Home

ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 178, Year 2022

ACIM Daily Lesson 178 Review V

Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.

I am entrusted with the gifts of God.

ACIM Lesson 178

past contemplation for Lesson 178

Lesson 178

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

1. (165) Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

2. (166) I am entrusted with the gifts of God.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

It is so easy to become entangled in the story that we seem to be living and to lose track of our purpose. I remind myself that all things are lessons God would have me learn so it is the lesson that I am concerned with, not the minutia of the life of Myron. To further confuse the issue, the ego uses the words of the Course and tries to cloak it as a spiritual solution. For instance, I have pain and the ego wants to look for a solution in the medical field. When I lose interest in that, it insists that the pain is proof I am failing at being a Course student. I have to be vigilant for ego thinking.

Pain Is Not Real

I bring my thoughts back to the truth. There is no pain because pain is not real. It is not in my foot because the foot is an illusion so if I feel pain there, I am imagining pain and projecting it onto the foot. Pain is an idea in my mind and the foot is the screen on which I witness this idea. The body is much like the movie screen on which we see actors speaking and moving around. The foot has become the screen on which I see ego ideas being acted out. If I don’t like the movie, I don’t try to engage with the screen. And if I don’t like the pain, the true solution is not in asking for healing of the foot.

⁵When the ego tempts you to sickness do not ask the Holy Spirit to heal the body, for this would merely be to accept the ego’s belief that the body is the proper aim of healing. ⁶Ask, rather, that the Holy Spirit teach you the right perception of the body, for perception alone can be distorted. ⁷Only perception can be sick, because only perception can be wrong. (ACIM, T-8.IX.1:5-7)

Being in a Heavenly State

Instead, I stop denying the Thought of God. I bring my mind back to the lesson that is being presented in this classroom right now. I need only ask for Heaven to be in a Heavenly state, and I can do that right now. If my conviction is not strong, I ask with desire until the conviction is sure. This is a gift of God and He wants me to have it, and I want to have it, so I will. This is where He brings my attention when I ask what it is He wants me to see in this situation.

This doesn’t mean that I won’t take care of the body within the story, see a doctor, take medicine. But my focus is on the healing of the mind that becomes confused and thinks it is the body rather than the witness of the body. If I see a doctor, I do so in loving appreciation for his help. If I feel trepidation at his failure to help, I forgive that reaction as I look at it with the Holy Spirit so that it will disappear. Always, I keep my eye on the prize which is not the healing of the foot, but the healing of the mind.

God Wants Only My Happiness

God wants only my happiness and He placed His Voice in my mind so that my split mind would be healed and I could be led gently back to Heaven. I am grateful for all my lessons and I am thankful that this is the lifetime I have chosen to learn them. Father, I will not squander time in vain attempts to manipulate the world. I will maintain a focus on the truth. I am Yours and You love me and I love You. Thank you for Your Thought that keeps me eternally as I was created, and thank you for Your Gifts which I gratefully accept.

Here is another way I have used this lesson.

One day, I was talking to someone I love very much. He talked about all the things that are wrong and about his victimization. I wondered what to say to him and opened my mind to Spirit for guidance. I heard nothing and so just listened and loved. Knowing what I know, it is easy to see ego thinking in others, easier to see it in them than in me sometimes. But sharing this information is not always helpful to them. My hard and fast rule is to speak only with guidance.

I woke up this morning thinking about my friend and wondering if there was some way to help. I went through various possible conversations in my mind but discarded each. Bottom line; he didn’t ask for my help, and I received no guidance to offer. (If I felt uncomfortable with his situation Byron Katie might ask me whose business I was in. If he is in his business, and I am mentally in his business, who is taking care of mine?) I can look at my reaction to his comments and ask the Holy Spirit to teach me to look past error to see only truth. Perhaps that is all I am supposed to do with this, and perhaps the reason it keeps coming up in my mind is not for his healing, but mine.

I Will Not Betray His Trust

Just before I started this lesson, I thought of him again and asked the Holy Spirit to let me know if I was to say anything to my friend, and to please be very clear about it. My eye went to this message in Lesson 166. Jesus says the gifts of God are for me to give, but then he says to teach by showing the happiness that comes from feeling the touch of Christ. He says that if I live in fear, I am teaching that fear is justified. I have been entrusted with the world’s release from fear. My job is to not betray that trust. The way I do this is to live a happy transformed life. This is a pretty clear message to me.

When I know something that has helped me it can be very tempting to preach it, especially to someone I have a strong connection to. I sincerely want to help. I am a word person and I am most comfortable using words, but nothing teaches like an example. In fact, without example, the words are empty and useless. My experience has been that when a person is ready for something new his mind will open enough to notice that someone else seems to have it. Then he will ask for help, or in some way open that door. Storming the door before he is ready will just cause him to barricade against the assault.

Holy Spirit, thank you for the many ways in which you speak to me. Thank you for finding a way to help me hear your messages.

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 177, Year 2022

ACIM Daily Lesson 177 Review V

There is no death. The Son of God is free.

Now are we one with Him Who is our Source.

ACIM Lesson 177

past contemplation for lesson 177

Lesson 177

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(163) There is no death. The Son of God is free.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(164) Now are we one with Him Who is our Source.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

What does it mean that I am free of death? Does that mean I will live in the world of time and space and in this body forever? Well, no thank you! That would not feel like freedom to me and that is not what Jesus means. Death comes in many forms. Anger, frustration, hate, fear, guilt, and all forms of pain and suffering are some forms of death. Anything that is not perfect and whole, that is not peace and love, and that is not joyful is death. I want to be free of these.

Jesus does not say that someday there will be no death, nor does he say that someday I will be free. There is life existing right now and there is me in perfect freedom right now. There is life eternal right now. I only need to place my awareness there rather than on this death show I’m watching now. I can do this; I need only make a decision for it.

Opportunities to Decide for Life

I am making that decision now. Every day is filled with opportunities to decide for life. Each time I notice a judgmental thought or I notice a fear-based action and I decide for God instead, I am choosing life. It used to feel like a chore to do this because I was not sure I wanted what God was offering. Then it became easier, and finally, I was doing it without even thinking. And at last, I am looking at my ego thoughts and releasing with eagerness and joy knowing that I truly want freedom.

I am living a more awakened life now. That is, I am living in freedom more than I ever have before. I am learning that I want to place my awareness on life and freedom rather than on this little self I made up. I am losing interest in dramas, comedies, and adventures. The adrenal rushes that make up the death story of our lives are no longer fun. Been there, done that, don’t even want the t-shirt anymore.

Making the Right Choices

All I am interested in is releasing the last dregs of the dream life so that I can fully embrace Life as I am meant to live it. I can do this because, now, right now, I am one with God Who is my Source. Right now, in this very moment, while I continue to dream of death, I am one with God. I can choose to live in peace and joy and eternal bliss. That is where I am learning to place my awareness, on Life with my Father and all of my brothers.

How does one let go of the belief in death? Find a path out of the belief and stick to it. Study it, practice it, be vigilant for it. Relax in it, letting faith and trust smooth your way through it. Question every thought discarding those that don’t reflect truth. Never judge yourself or others. Never allow guilt to enter into the process. Never give up. Keep your mind open and receptive to a Higher Source. Quickly discard your own plans when that Source moves you to another better plan. Be surrendered to your Guide so that you can be easily moved.

Before you know it, you will become aware of your Self living you. Even if it is only briefly, it is enough to create a strong desire to allow awakening to that way of living. At least this has been my experience so far. It is not consistent yet but is becoming more consistent as I practice it.

An Example

Here is an example of how this is happening for me. Recently, I felt like I should get my front yard tree trimmed. It had dead limbs from the last hurricane. I was concerned another hurricane would blow them into my roof or worse. I got a proposal from an arborist and was shocked at the cost but agreed to pay it. I also included him cutting away the limbs on my tree that hung over my neighbor’s house. I told my neighbor about it so that he could keep his gate open to allow the tree guys to get in.

In the meantime, I started second-guessing myself. The price seemed really high and when my neighbor asked how much it would cost, he was shocked, too. This made me worry even more. As soon as I noticed that I was feeling anxious, I stopped a minute to see what I had been thinking. I did this because nothing outside me can make me anxious. It can only be my thoughts that upset me.

The First Thought

I saw that the original thought was one of concern that I am paying too much. That thought was not upsetting in itself. It was just a thought. But then I kept thinking and soon I was judging myself and the arborist. I was forming opinions and looking into the future trying to decide if I was spending too much money. My mind went from peace to chaos in moments!

So, I started over. I let myself be aware of the first thought about this project. It was that maybe I made a mistake. That was just a fact. Without further thoughts and judgment, I was in my right mind looking with the Holy Spirit. I was at peace. In this peaceful state, I was aware of another thought. I could call someone for a second proposal. The mind wanted to think about that, too. But I didn’t. I just made the call.

A Good Opportunity to Practice Forgiveness

The second arborist gave me a significantly lower price and from his description of the process, I feel sure he is going to do a better job. It is still expensive but not as expensive. The next day, my neighbor came by to tell me he is going to pay for half of the cost. I had not asked for that or expected it but it was certainly welcome.

It was a very good opportunity for me to practice forgiveness. I forgave the idea that I needed to think about a situation to decide what is best. That is just using the ego-mind and when I tried it, I only felt anxiety without coming to a conclusion. It also gave me the opportunity to practice watching with Awareness (Self) rather than with ego, and to see the difference it makes. Thinking with the ego caused fear and confusion, little deaths. Thinking with the Holy Spirit left me in peace and reminded me that I am one with my Source.

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 176, Year 2022

ACIM Daily Lesson 176 Review V

Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.

I am as God created me.

ACIM Lesson 176

Past Contemplation for Lesson 176

Lesson 176

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

1. (161) Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

2. (162) I am as God created me.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

I start my day by remembering that God is Love and He is my Creator, therefore, I am Love as well. If I am Love then love is all I can give. If I give anything else, then I am pretending to be what I am not. I am trying to re-create myself and thus become my own god. I used to devote all my time to this fool’s errand but I am wiser now.

These days, I am devoting my time to letting go of that kind of thinking and I am practicing reminding myself of the truth. God is only Love and nothing else, therefore He can only give me Love and I am only Love, therefore, I can give only Love.

I Remember Everyone’s True Identity

One of the ways I practice the truth and help myself remember who I am is to remember everyone else’s true identity. If I feel anything but love for someone, I bring them into the circle of peace in my mind. I see us both entering the circle of golden Light. I ask for his blessing as I give him mine and the fiction that is our bodies disappears as we become part of the Light.

We rest there until we are cleansed of the belief we could ever be separate.

When I return and take on the idea of a body again the illusion pulls me in but not as far in as before. I bring a bit of that heavenly experience with me into the world. My mind is not as confused as before and I have at least an inkling of what it means to be as God created me. This bit of truth grows each time I take that journey inward and find the Light. With consistent practice, the outer world too begins to glow with the Light and I can’t find anyone I don’t see as my brother. It seems we are as God created us after all.

A Message

This is a message I received once when feeling the pull of the ego.

Holy Spirit: Precious child, I have always been with you and will never leave you. I am part of you and it is My function to guide you. We are filled with love and gratitude for the vigilance you have shown as you practice the Course. We rejoice as we watch you slowly open your eyes and learn to see truly. For a while longer you will be tempted by the ego, and will be drawn back into the dream, but, as I have said before, never again will you be completely lost in it.

Myron, do not allow yourself to think of the ego as a powerful adversary. The Son of God has no adversary. The ego is just a thought. It is the thought that there is something other than God. In dreams, it seems to have caused untold pain and fear. It is the thought of murder and guilt, but in the end, it is only a thought.

How often have you thought one thing and then changed your mind? Because you have held this thought for so long and because you have defended it with layers of concealment you have made it seem something more than just a thought, but I assure you that is all it is. When you are ready you will simply stop thinking it, and all that will be left in your mind is the love of God.

The Only Real Solution to Fear

The following is something that happened while I was still working.

Yesterday I had a wonderful opportunity to practice what I have been learning. Lately, one of our chief competitors has become very proactive in soliciting our customers and is sometimes successful. I went to see a very large customer and, while he had not bought from the other company, I could tell by his questions, he had been approached.

When I left, I noticed how anxious I was. I noticed fear and fear defenses in my mind. Luckily, I had just downloaded The Holy Spirit’s Interpretation of the New Testament and was listening to Matthew while I drove. This was wonderfully helpful to me as I looked at the fear. I also received many thoughts from the Holy Spirit to help me remember the truth.

I remembered that this situation did not scare me. Nothing about it is the cause of my fear. It is the fear in my mind that caused the situation, so correcting the situation will not solve my problem. I imagine a picture of myself seeing a fearful situation as a leak in the levee. I put my hand over the leak to keep the water out and just out of reach is another leak. Yikes, what now? This is what it is like trying to control the effects of the fear I have given a home in my mind.

The only real solution is to recognize where the fear comes from and ask for healing. It was hard at first because I couldn’t take my eye off the water gushing out of the leaking levee. It is very hard to convince the thinking mind to ignore its warning system (what the body’s eyes tell it) and to understand the cause of the problem is somewhere else. So that is why I shut the thinking mind down entirely. It is only a distraction in a case like this.

I repeated my mantra several times. I allowed it to calm me down and take me from my thinking mind to my Heart. There I was reminded of the love my Father has for me. I was reminded that I am not fear. If I were fear, God would have to be fear as well because He created me like Himself. I remembered to ask Him what I should do, rather than asking the ego-mind. I remembered my purpose. My purpose has nothing to do with keeping customers. My job is to extend love to them and my competitors alike.

I had to repeat this or parts of it a few times, but in the end, peace prevailed. It was interesting to note that as I lost interest in financial fears, the ego tried to hook me with bodily fears, then relationship fears. Persistent little devil.

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Manual for Teachers: Section 18 . . HOW IS CORRECTION MADE? . . . . . . . page 48 paragraph 4

Section 18

HOW IS CORRECTION MADE?

page 48, paragraph 4

HOW IS CORRECTION MADE?

rev myron on Youtube – SAMe content

HOW IS CORRECTION MADE?

4. In order to heal, it thus becomes essential for the teacher of God to let all his own mistakes be corrected. ²If he senses even the faintest hint of irritation in himself as he responds to anyone, let him instantly realize that he has made an interpretation that is not true. ³Then let him turn within to his eternal Guide, and let Him judge what the response should be. ⁴So is he healed, and in his healing is his pupil healed with him. ⁵The sole responsibility of God’s teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself. ⁶Atonement means correction, or the undoing of errors. ⁷When this has been accomplished, the teacher of God becomes a miracle worker by definition. ⁸His sins have been forgiven him, and he no longer condemns himself. ⁹How can he then condemn anyone? ¹⁰And who is there whom his forgiveness can fail to heal? (ACIM, M-18.4:1-10)

Atonement

I have one thing to do here, one responsibility, one purpose. I am to accept the Atonement for myself. The process is simple. I notice when I respond with a lack of peace and I ask the Holy Spirit for a corrected interpretation. This is so simple that the ego mind, which thrives on complexity, will over-look it. But it works. I have been doing this process for many years and I see how effective it is.

This is the way I am healed, and it is the way my pupil is healed with me. I accept the Atonement (the Holy Spirit’s correction) for myself and as my mind is healed, so is my pupil’s mind. I hear objections from the ego mind as I read this. First, it doesn’t accept that there is only one of us, one mind, but it is an old argument and I’m not interested. The ego sees separate bodies and cannot see past what the body’s eyes see, but I am not limited to the body’s senses anymore.

Teaching: Ego or Jesus

Then the ego complains that this is not how teaching works. A teacher is one who knows more and shares that knowledge with one who knows less. She does that with words, either speaking or writing. The student sits at her feet (metaphorically) and absorbs her wisdom. The ego really likes this definition of teaching. It has all the elements it is so fond of, separation, hierarchy, and perception and projection.

Instead, Jesus has a different form of teaching in mind. In any relationship, the teacher of God watches her thoughts as she interacts, and if she notices even the slightest irritation toward her pupil, she asks for and receives correction. As her mind is healed, the student’s mind is healed. Perfect. The ego hates this. Too simple. Where is the hierarchy in this? Where is the blame and the guilt? And yet, So is he healed, and in his healing is his pupil healed with him.

Healing Thoughts

And if this is really how it works, then why do workshops, write books, teach classes and facilitate courses? Jesus has also told us that our hands, our feet, our tongues are needed, so this kind of teaching must have its place. Of course, it is through the words and the interactions that we see we have thoughts that need healing, but I think it is also helpful in other ways.

If the teacher’s words are inspired, they can help awaken the memory of truth in another’s mind. This has happened for me when I studied with Regina, and with Cate Grieves. I felt a stirring within when I read any number of books. I was helped when I listened to Keith Kavanagh recently. The Way of Mastery moved me deeply and opened me to a more expanded view of myself.

Inspiration

There are so many ways the Holy Spirit speaks to me. A Course in Miracles itself is full of words, and is precious to me as a written path Home. But no book, no workshop, no words can awaken me. They can only motivate me, and inspire me to willingness. It is only the Holy Spirit that heals, and it is only with my willingness to be healed that this is accomplished. And, the hardest of all pill for the ego to swallow, it is only through my healing that my student is healed, not anything I say or do. I am not, after all, special. ~smile~

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 175, Year 2022

ACIM Daily Lesson 175 Review V

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

ACIM Lesson 175 Review V

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Lesson 175

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

1. (159) I give the miracles I have received.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

2. (160) I am at home. ²Fear is the stranger here.

³God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

The miracle I want is Christ Vision. I want to see everything through Christ. If I react with anything less than unconditional love, I am seeing through the ego and I ask for another way to see. I receive that miracle, and then I give it. I give it through looking without judgment and seeing the Light of God that exists in all living things. Giving it is how I know I have it and giving it ignites the spark of truth in the mind of the receiver.

The more often I give and receive this miracle, the less fear there is in the mind. What happens eventually after asking for this miracle and giving it as I receive it, is that I know who I am and I know who my brother is. I know that, like God, we are Love and only Love. We are still as God created us. Nothing seen in the world can change the Will of God and we are God’s Will.

Vigilance Is Required

Because the world feels so real to us, it requires great vigilance and consistent practice to shift out of that belief and constant reminders of the truth to remain in the truth. I wake up each morning to thoughts of the body and I begin right away to remind myself that the body and the world as it appears to exist is an illusion.

SoI remind myself that the body is not me and that I am not in it, that it could not contain me. I am not this Myron character, rather I am observing this ancient story of Myron. My job today is to experience her thoughts and reactions and to decide what it is that I want to believe. And I will decide which beliefs I will release to the Holy Spirit on behalf of the Sonship.

That is the only connection I have with this body of Myron and her story. This is the way I protect my mind from slipping back into the story as if it is real and really happening to me. This is the way I keep myself from believing in the fear that is the ego’s natural state. The goal is to know that God is but Love, and so am I, and to keep that knowing foremost in my mind.

A Message from Spirit

The following is a message from Spirit from a time when I was just learning to master the belief in fear.

Holy Spirit, how would you have me use this lesson today?

Holy Spirit: When you see some form of fear in your mind today, Myron, remind yourself that God loves you. He loves you with a love that is complete and unchanging, that is unaffected by your imaginings. He delights in you and all that you do. He doesn’t know judgment, only love. By using the ego’s fearful moments in this way, you are allowing the root of fear to be shaken loose. Each time you do this, fear’s hold on you is permanently lessened.

Avoidance Is not Healing

Me: Of course. I see that when I try to avoid or change what seems to scare me, I am just teaching myself that it is real and the cause of my fear. If I am worried about money then try to earn more to alleviate my worry, I have brought myself deeper into the illusion. I have caused myself to believe that the world is real and the cause of my concerns.

Holy Spirit: Yes, that is true. Fear found a place in your mind and the mind created images to explain the fear. The fear came first. The circumstances that you see with the body’s eyes are simply a reflection of this fear. All are within your mind; the fear, the story, the body that seems to be experiencing the story. Healing, therefore, must occur within the mind. Do not worship fear for it is a false god. Turn your back to it, and look toward your Creator Who is Love and does not offer fear. In this way are all fearful symbols relinquished for all time.

The Fear Stories Are an Illusion

I had an evening a while back where fear caught my attention and I let it consume me. But even then, I asked for help and received it. When it happened again the next night, I caught it faster and let go faster. The next night the ego-mind tried to engage me in that fear and I simply turned away from it out of disinterest. The Holy Spirit wants me to know this, to know that healing occurs in the mind and that I can trust that healing.

I had fear in my mind and projected it as a story in the life of Myron. I believed the fearful story, but instead of trying to change the story, I asked that my mind be healed of this belief. Once done, the ego-mind could no longer entangle me in that fear story. This happened pretty quickly for me because I have been doing this practice long enough that fear is not quite the hook it used to be.

Using this process in each fearful circumstance is helping me to undo the belief in fear itself. And that is how we undo the ego and this makes it possible for us to see what has been true all along. The fear stories are the illusion. The truth is that we are love. We are loved. We are perfect and perfectly innocent. We are safe in God.

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 174, Year 202

ACIM Daily Lesson 174 Review V

Into His Presence would I enter now.

Today I learn to give as I receive.

ACIM Lesson 174

past contemplation for lesson 174

Lesson 174

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

1. (157) Into His Presence would I enter now.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

2. (158) Today I learn to give as I receive.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

Holy Spirit, I ask that you be with me all day today helping me to keep my focus on what is true. If I allow my mind to wander into illusions of what might have been, or what I fear is to come, please remind me of the moment I am in now and that this is the only moment there is. It is in only this moment that I can choose again.

Bring My Attention to My Lesson

As I go through my day acting and reacting, please help me to bring my attention to my lesson understanding that the body and the world are just the classrooms for the lesson. Sometimes I forget that this is true and begin to act as if the purpose of life is to change the classroom. Help me to keep the purpose of life clearly in the forefront of my mind.

When I stand before my brother, I sometimes see the body and its actions and errors. Please help me to see the light that stands behind this dark vision so that I may learn to see the light within myself. I will be mindful of the judgments I make of my brother’s behaviors. And I ask that you correct my thinking so that I don’t foolishly believe my brother is his behavior any more than he is his body.

I Forget It’s Just a Story

Holy Spirit, it is still possible for me to temporarily forget that the body and personality associated with Myron are just a story of separation and that I can watch this story to help me remember the truth about who I am. Please help me to remember to step back from this dream figure so that I can look with the Holy Spirit without judgment.

I am tired of trying to fix the dream, and long to completely awaken from it. But at the same time, it calls to me and tempts me to once again enter it fully. I am grateful that I no longer do that. I no longer fully believe in the illusion, and I thank you for your help that has awakened me to this. But I still have not fully released it and it is my heart’s desire to do so. Please help me as I learn to detach from the dream for all time.

In the Quiet of the Morning

This morning it is quiet and easy to feel Your ever-present help. I can rest in You, and feel deep gratitude for that rest. As others join me in today’s story, it is possible I will become distracted and not feel Your presence in me. Please help me to see that this is not possible. Help me to rise above the battleground and to be aware of You within me all during the day no matter who joins me or what dramas distract me. Help me to see the dramas as lessons rather than distractions. Amen.

That has been my prayer for a long time. It used to be more a wish or a hope. Now I see it answered day by day and the prayer is more a prayer of gratitude than of a call for help, hoped for but uncertain.

The Giver of the Happy Dream

“But the Holy One, the Giver of the happy dreams of life, Translator of perception into truth, the holy Guide to Heaven given you, has dreamed for you this journey which you make and start today, with the experience this day holds out to you to be your own.”

Today, I have experienced a touch of Heaven, perhaps not exactly as described in Lesson 157, but definitely a touch of it. My ego-mind doesn’t find it to be perfect. I have resisted every effort the ego has made to pull me into one of its stories. Oh, yes, the ego has really tried, but I am only interested in peace today.

I Asked for Help

This morning during meditation, I asked for help in experiencing a deeper level of meditation and to more often feel the quiet joy of knowing who I am. Before I read these lessons, I was asking for what is offered here. I was asking the Giver of happy dreams of life to work miracles in my mind.

What I feel is a quiet joy. I am not exhilarated or excited, but just quietly joyful. I haven’t done anything differently, and I don’t know anything today that I didn’t know yesterday. But each group I was part of, each person I spoke to seemed precious to me and I felt joyful being a part of it.

Each time an untrue thought came into my mind, I gently released it without effort and with no concern it was there. Because I knew the Translator of perception was on the job I didn’t need to concern myself other than to see the need for translation. I just let myself be carried.

I Am a Mind, In Mind

“What has been given you? The knowledge that you are a mind, in Mind and purely mind, sinless forever, wholly unafraid, because you were created out of love. Nor have you left your Source, remaining as you were created. This was given you as knowledge which you cannot lose. It was given as well to every living thing, for by that knowledge only does it live.”

Today, this passage from 158 was self-evident to me and therefore nothing that happened was important because it was just an illusion. This is what is true and cannot be changed or altered. My only purpose here is to stop believing anything else.

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 173, Year 2022

ACIM Review V Daily Lesson 173

past comtemplation for lesson 173

Lesson 173

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

1. (155) I will step back and let Him lead the way.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

2. (156) I walk with God in perfect holiness.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

As long as my mind is still not completely healed, I need help navigating the world. I know I am not Myron but I am not altogether in touch with my Self and so my experience is not of being that Self and living from that Self. The Holy Spirit will guide me through the world and through my challenges within the world and all I have to do is let Him. He heals my mind when I see that there is still some dark thought that lingers.

Casual Judgments

Every time I have one of those casual judgments, I am surprised. How is it I am still doing that? I don’t know but I am grateful that I notice and that I am not interested in keeping it. More often now, I find myself praying for the one who triggered me. Recently, I had an encounter with a cashier at a store who was clearly not happy to be there, surly really, and my first thought was judgment. But then I asked the Holy Spirit to heal my mind of the belief that judgment is my job and that attempting it is of any value to me.

That was last week sometime, and now when the memory of that encounter shows itself, I feel a strong desire to pray for her. I don’t put it into words, I just see her in my mind and hold her in love. I know that this is the Holy Spirit leading the way, showing me that she needs my help, and I need to help her. We will both receive what we need from the encounter now. We are both closer to knowing that we are Love.

Walking with God

Sometimes it can seem as if we walk the world in fear and with ego clearly leading the way, but even when it seems this way, it is not true. We walk with God in perfect holiness whether we are aware of it or not. No matter how hard we work to obscure our holiness, it is there because we were created holy and nothing can change that. It is only ego arrogance that says we can make of ourselves something God did not create and ego is an illusion so it did not happen.

We can walk with God in full awareness of our holiness as we let go of the ego darkness in our mind and as we do this, the world is seen differently. We learn to love the world and everyone in it. And we learn to see what is there just behind the darkness. The dream becomes happier and more peaceful and we help out brothers to awaken, too. We may still be in the world but no longer of the world. We know that God is Love and so are we.

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 172, Year 2022

ACIM Review V Daily Lesson 172

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

past contemplation for lesson 172

Lesson 172

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

1. (153) In my defenselessness my safety lies.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

2. (154) I am among the ministers of God.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

6. I take the journey with you. ²For I share your doubts and fears a little while, that you may come to me who recognize the road by which all fears and doubts are overcome. ³We walk together. ⁴I must understand uncertainty and pain, although I know they have no meaning. ⁵Yet a savior must remain with those he teaches, seeing what they see, but still retaining in his mind the way that led him out, and now will lead you out with him. ⁶God’s Son is crucified until you walk along the road with me.

This is from the Introduction. Jesus is taking this journey with us helping us each step of the way. I call on him often and converse with him all during the day. I do this because he tells us this in the Clarification of Terms.

⁷Yet he would help you yet a little more if you will share your pains and joys with him, and leave them both to find the peace of God. (ACIM, C-5.6:7)

I Will Not Defend Against What Cannot Affect Me

I can afford to be defenseless because I am as God created me. God is Love and I am an extension of Him. When I recognize that I am the watcher of the movie, The Story of Myron, I don’t feel any desire to defend myself against anything or anyone. Why would I? I am the watcher not the thing being watched. The watcher is not affected by what she watches.

An analogy would be that I can stare all day at the traffic passing on the street in front of my house. At the end of the day, I am still as I was before I stared at it. The Story of Myron doesn’t change what I am no matter how long I watch it. So, I am perfectly safe regardless of what twists and turns this story takes. There is no need to defend against something that cannot hurt me.

I Am Among the Ministers of God

God is but Love, and therefore so am I. As such I am among the ministers of God. I minister through my words and through my behavior. I minister as I recognize my brother as one with me and do not confuse him with his story either. When I am defenseless before him knowing that we are all innocent, I am being a minister of God. As I step aside from the ego, and instead write what is given me to write, I am a minister of God.

The Holy Spirit chose my function for me and so I can be certain that I will be able to fill it and I do so without either arrogance or false humility. As a minister of God, I do my best to fulfil my function and to do so without ego interference. In delivering the messages I am given; I am the first receiver and so I benefit from every message I give away.

²He needs our voice that He may speak through us. ³He needs our hands to hold His messages, and carry them to those whom He appoints. ⁴He needs our feet to bring us where He wills, that those who wait in misery may be at last delivered. ⁵And He needs our will united with His Own, that we may be the true receivers of the gifts He gives. (ACIM, W-154.11:2-5)

One Night I Had A Dream
Last night I had a dream that I don’t remember. What I do remember is that something bad was happening, and I remember that just before I woke up, I heard the words, “God is in this situation.” Then I was given the thought that the ego was also in the situation because both the thought of God and the thought of ego are in my mind and this is where the situation is. So, it is always possible to choose to see the situation through God rather than the ego as they are both equally available to me. The dream ended because as I remembered the truth, I had no need to defend myself from whatever was threatening me in that dream.

I had a restless sleep last night and woke up feeling tired, but also pleased about the helpful thought that had been inserted into my dream. I realized that the amount of sleep I got was just a fact and meaningless. The problem was that I wasjudging the amount of sleep I was getting and giving it meaning. I was choosing to look at it with ego, but I could look at it with God instead. It feels good to let go of my judgments and to be willing to simply look at the idea of not sleeping as something I don’t know anything about.

Conversation with the Holy Spirit

“How would you have me see this, God?”

Holy Spirit: You feel a wave of tiredness wash over you and you automatically become defensive. Do you notice the thoughts in your mind when this happens?

Me: Yes, I notice that I think about what this will mean for me as I go about my day. I think that I will be unable to function well. Since I have to drive around town the I am concerned about my reactions being slower than usual. I think about a second cup of coffee. I feel anxious.

Holy Spirit: Through your judgment of the situation, you have chosen to look at it with the ego and the ego, which knows only separation, feels defensive. Would you be willing for just a moment to wipe the slate clean? Would you be willing to let go of your beliefs about this situation so that I can show you something different?

Me: Yes. I want to see this differently. I am curious and a little excited to think about it.

(As I relaxed my defenses and let go of my judgments, I felt a wave of tiredness again, and this time I didn’t fight it. I just let it happen and noticed how it felt. Then it passed.)

Holy Spirit, I see that it is not unpleasant when I don’t struggle against it.

Holy Spirit: That is because you are not judging against it, not giving it a meaning based on what you think you know.

Me: I also notice a desire to return to defensiveness. I watched that feeling, too, until it passed.

Holy Spirit: Yes, the mind that is still confused about who it is and does not want to give up its imagined control. It wants to write on the slate and feels a desperate need to do so before God’s meaning is accepted. Use today to watch the mind with detachment. When you feel the need to defend recognize that you have chosen to look with ego, but that you can return to defenselessness as you choose God, instead.

Me: That feels so much better. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I look forward to a day of practice.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 172 click here.

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson 171, Year 2022

ACIM Review V Daily Lesson 171

past contemplations for lesson 171

Lesson 171

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

1. (151) All things are echoes of the Voice for God.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

2. (152) The power of decision is my own.

²God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

Echoes of the Voice for God

It is interesting for me to go through reviews like this. All things are echoes of the Voice for God. What does that mean, again? I find that I can’t remember. As I go back and read the original lesson I remember. Oh yes, I have been asking the ego what everything means, and he has sent me words and pictures and filled my senses with “proof” of loss, fear, and guilt. I have asked the ego to judge and I and everyone I look on is found wanting.

How can this be true if my Source is Love and only Love? Thoughts leave not their source and so I must be like God. I must be love and only love, the same for all other parts of the Sonship. What of the errors I make daily, and the horrors I read about in the paper? What of the attacks I experience from friend and enemy alike? Am I supposed to pretend these are not happening? I am love. There is only love. Everything else I see is a message of judgment from the ego. The ego is a nonexistent liar. Why am I listening to it? How can I hear the echoes of the Voice for God if I am listening to something else?

The Power of Decision – Rules for Decision

I was guided to look at the power of decision again and was further guided to review how it is I make decisions. This is from Rules for Decisions in Chapter 30.

Paragraph 14 on page 628 of the Text popped out at me. It says, ” We said you can begin a happy day with the determination not to make decisions by yourself. This seems to be a real decision in itself. And yet, you cannot make decisions by yourself. The only question really is with what you choose to make them. That is really all. The first rule, then, is not coercion, but a simple statement of a simple fact. You will not make decisions by yourself whatever you decide. For they are made with idols or with God. And you ask help of anti-Christ or Christ, and which you choose will join you and tell you what to do.”

And paragraph 16 on page 628 popped out at me too. It says, “The second rule as well is but a fact. For you and your advisor must agree on what you want before it can occur. It is but this agreement that permits all things to happen. Nothing can be caused without some form of union, be it with a dream of judgment or the Voice for God. Decisions cause results because they are not made in isolation. They are made by you and your adviser, for yourself and for the world as well. The day you want you offer to the world, for it will be what you have asked for, and will reinforce the rule of your adviser in the world. Whose kingdom is the world for you today? What kind of day will you decide to have?”

We Decide on Everything

The lesson tells us in no uncertain terms and with no comprise that whatever is in our lives is there because we decided on it. In the Text, he is explaining how we make the decision. We make it in union, either with the ego or the Holy Spirit. There is no other option. We do not make decisions on our own no matter what we tell ourselves to the contrary.

Here is an example. How is it that loss shows up in my life? Who would want that? Who would decide for loss? We did. We decided to show up as bodies that die. And we then decided that when someone’s body dies, it means they die and we will suffer their loss. On two levels we made that decision, on the level of manifestation and on the level of interpretation. Neither death nor loss is in God, so we must have made those decisions with the ego.

Power of Decision

And lest we think there is some limit to the power of our decisions, remember Lesson 152.

1. No one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision. ²No one suffers pain except his choice elects this state for him. ³No one can grieve nor fear nor think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants. ⁴And no one dies without his own consent. ⁵Nothing occurs but represents your wish, and nothing is omitted that you choose. ⁶Here is your world, complete in all details. ⁷Here is its whole reality for you. ⁸And it is only here salvation is.

Daily Application

Here is something that happened several years ago and the instructions I received from the Holy Spirit.

A dear one questioned me and doubted me and I felt resentment well up in my mind. I began to doubt myself and this made me fearful. I hated her for how I felt. When I looked at this I saw that when my friend questioned and doubted me I had asked the ego to judge this for me so I would know what it meant. The ego said that she was so wrong to do this and that she was also right in her judgment. The ego also guided me to memories of past errors to prove its judgment was true. All day long the ego guided me to further proof of my incompetence. It seemed to be everywhere I turned. As the day came to a close my dear one seemed to have become my hated one.

Doubting the Ego

Jesus says that I am Love as my Father is Love. As I meditate on this, I begin to doubt the ego judgment. Either the ego is wrong or Jesus is wrong. What if Jesus is right? I ask for the Holy Spirit’s judgment of my friend and for His judgment of me. The Holy Spirit asks me if my friend is expressing love, or is she asking for love? There is nothing else to consider. Everything else is false judgment. Why would I ask the ego when the ego knows nothing? Why don’t I just ask the blind man what the color blue looks like? The ego has no conception of love, and so it has no conception of me.

No matter what judgment I ask the Holy Spirit to make His answer is always the same. What if I lose my job? “There is only love.” What if I am wrong about everything I think I know? “There is only love.” What if something goes wrong, someone dies, I get lost, my friend turns away from me, no one likes me, I forget who I am? “God is only love, there is only love, you are only love.”

Conversation with the Holy Spirit

What if I don’t believe this; what if I argue against it? And what if my mind rails against You, Holy Spirit, and decides against you? Or what if I decide that you are clearly insane if you can look around at what I see and call it love?

Holy Spirit: “There is still only love.”

“God is but love.

God is All There Is.

You are but love.”

“Turn only to me for the truth because the ego does not know the truth. Let go of all the thoughts the ego gave you concerning this situation, every element of the dream, and all that will be left is the echo of the Voice for God, which is love. Do not doubt that you can see only love because that is all there is. Place your doubt where it is clearly appropriate, on the ego.”

Any Exceptions?

Me: I hear my friend say something that I know is inaccurate. She is not seeing this correctly. Wouldn’t it be the loving thing to correct her? And wouldn’t it be my job to set it straight?

Holy Spirit: Myron, your job is to see her as she is, only Love. If you see anything else when you look at her, recognize that you are asking the ego for its judgment.

Me: What about teaching? Shouldn’t I be teaching what I know to others?

Holy Spirit: You are always teaching. You teach others who they are by being who you are. If they are ready for that lesson, they will get it. And if not, they will get it later. If you are teaching who you are not, some will accept that lesson as well until they are ready for a new lesson.

Me: Is there no place for words?

Holy Spirit: Tell others about your experiences, how you are learning your lessons, and those times when you seemed not to be learning. This is the way you are to teach. This will be helpful. When you look at another and decide they are wrong, this is not a lesson for them, but for you. It is an opportunity for you to set aside the ego judgment and ask Me to evaluate the situation for you.

Me: The power of decision is my own. I will to decide for God.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 171 click here.

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ACIM Workbook Daily Lesson Review V, 2022

ACIM Daily Lessons Review V Introduction

ACIM Review V Introduction

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

Past contemplation for Review V

Review V

Introduction

1. We now review again. ²This time we are ready to give more effort and more time to what we undertake. ³We recognize we are preparing for another phase of understanding. ⁴We would take this step completely, that we may go on again more certain, more sincere, with faith upheld more surely. ⁵Our footsteps have not been unwavering, and doubts have made us walk uncertainly and slowly on the road this course sets forth. ⁶But now we hasten on, for we approach a greater certainty, a firmer purpose and a surer goal.

I am absolutely ready to give more effort and time to what we undertake. There is nothing more important than this. I very much want to be free of the constant chatter of the ego-mind, and free of all doubts and uncertainties. I am ready to be free of judgments and opinions. Because I have achieved some degree of this freedom, I know it is possible to be completely free. Now I can imagine what this would be like and this evokes a yearning for it to be done.

Prayer

2. Steady our feet, our Father. ²Let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be still, and speak to us. ³We have no words to give to You. ⁴We would but listen to Your Word, and make it ours. ⁵Lead our practicing as does a father lead a little child along a way he does not understand. ⁶Yet does he follow, sure that he is safe because his father leads the way for him.

3. So do we bring our practicing to You. ²And if we stumble, You will raise us up. ³If we forget the way, we count upon Your sure remembering. ⁴We wander off, but You will not forget to call us back. ⁵Quicken our footsteps now, that we may walk more certainly and quickly unto You. ⁶And we accept the Word You offer us to unify our practicing, as we review the thoughts that You have given us.

This Introduction has one of my favorite prayers in the Course. I am walking Home and I am not alone. Yes, I stumble and sometimes lose my way for a while, but Jesus, my sweet brother, walks with me and helps me back onto the path when I wander off. I am filled with gratitude for him and truly determined to do what I am given to do on behalf of the Sonship, just as he is doing his part, again and again, leaving no one behind. And this is for us to do as well. “Take your brother’s hand, for this is not a way we walk alone.”

God Is but Love

4. This is the thought which should precede the thoughts that we review. ²Each one but clarifies some aspect of this thought, or helps it be more meaningful, more personal and true, and more descriptive of the holy Self we share and now prepare to know again:

³God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

⁴This Self alone knows Love. ⁵This Self alone is perfectly consistent in Its Thoughts; knows Its Creator, understands Itself, is perfect in Its knowledge and Its Love, and never changes from Its constant state of union with Its Father and Itself.

The Journey’s Ending

5. And it is this that waits to meet us at the journey’s ending. ²Every step we take brings us a little nearer. ³This review will shorten time immeasurably, if we keep in mind that this remains our goal, and as we practice it is this to which we are approaching. ⁴Let us raise our hearts from dust to life, as we remember this is promised us, and that this course was sent to open up the path of light to us, and teach us, step by step, how to return to the eternal Self we thought we lost.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I. This is the truth that expresses my goal. I am what God is, and we are Love. We are the Oneness in a constant state of union. All else follows from this knowing. And so I keep it ahead of me, a beacon of light to guide me Home. God is Love and so am I. I could be nothing else because He is nothing else. Everything that is expressed in the world is an illusion that either reflects this Love or is something to be undone in my mind.

Jesus Is with Us

7. My resurrection comes again each time I lead a brother safely to the place at which the journey ends and is forgot. ²I am renewed each time a brother learns there is a way from misery and pain. ³I am reborn each time a brother’s mind turns to the light in him and looks for me. ⁴I have forgotten no one. ⁵Help me now to lead you back to where the journey was begun, to make another choice with me.

He Has Forgotten No One

I have a deep and abiding love for my brother, Jesus, and so much gratitude for his help. I gladly release him as I release myself from all doubts and all pain. Jesus says that his resurrection comes again each time he leads a brother to the journey’s end. This will be true for me when I end the journey and join Jesus in his loving work.

In the meantime, each step I take along the path Home is helping someone else take that step. This must be true because in spite of appearances, we all journey together along with Jesus. What is accomplished by any one of us is accomplished for all of us.

⁴I have forgotten no one. ⁵Help me now to lead you back to where the journey was begun, to make another choice with me.

Thank you, Brother. I love you.

Together We Review These Thoughts

8. Release me as you practice once again the thoughts I brought to you from Him Who sees your bitter need, and knows the answer God has given Him. ²Together we review these thoughts. ³Together we devote our time and effort to them. ⁴And together we will teach them to our brothers. ⁵God would not have Heaven incomplete. ⁶It waits for you, as I do. ⁷I am incomplete without your part in me. ⁸And as I am made whole we go together to our ancient home, prepared for us before time was and kept unchanged by time, immaculate and safe, as it will be at last when time is done.

9. Let this review be then your gift to me. ²For this alone I need; that you will hear the words I speak, and give them to the world. ³You are my voice, my eyes, my feet, my hands through which I save the world. ⁴The Self from which I call to you is but your own. ⁵To Him we go together. ⁶Take your brother’s hand, for this is not a way we walk alone. ⁷In him I walk with you, and you with me. ⁸Our Father wills His Son be one with Him. ⁹What lives but must not then be one with you?

This Is Our Gift to Jesus

Repeatedly, Jesus is telling us that he is with us, helping us as we take this journey. He wants us to know that he is incomplete without us. We are being encouraged to devote ourselves to this work and to each other as he has done. I feel that call and I am dedicated to answering it. Heaven is waiting for us to make this decision.

⁶It waits for you, as I do. ⁷I am incomplete without your part in me.

This review will be our gift to Jesus. As we do each lesson may we keep firmly in our mind our sacred purpose. We are the voice, the eyes, the feet, the hands through which Jesus saves the world. What else am I going to do that comes close to this in worth? Shop for more clothes? Watch more TV? We are asked to take our brother’s hand because this is not a journey we walk alone. We cannot do this if we are judging our brother and holding grievances. I will remember my purpose if I am tempted into this behavior again.

We Are His Son

10. Let this review become a time in which we share a new experience for you, yet one as old as time and older still. ²Hallowed your Name. ³Your glory undefiled forever. ⁴And your wholeness now complete, as God established it. ⁵You are His Son, completing His extension in your own. ⁶We practice but an ancient truth we knew before illusion seemed to claim the world. ⁷And we remind the world that it is free of all illusions every time we say:

⁸God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

This paragraph is reminding us of who we are and that we practice something that feels new to us but is actually an ancient truth. And each time we do this, we remind the world that it is free of illusions.

With this We Start Each Day

11. With this we start each day of our review. ²With this we start and end each period of practice time. ³And with this thought we sleep, to waken once again with these same words upon our lips, to greet another day. ⁴No thought that we review but we surround with it, and use the thoughts to hold it up before our minds, and keep it clear in our rememberance throughout the day. ⁵And thus, when we have finished this review, we will have recognized the words we speak are true.

12. Yet are the words but aids, and to be used, except at the beginning and the end of practice periods, but to recall the mind, as needed, to its purpose. ²We place faith in the experience that comes from practice, not the means we use. ³We wait for the experience, and recognize that it is only here conviction lies. ⁴We use the words, and try and try again to go beyond them to their meaning, which is far beyond their sound. ⁵The sound grows dim and disappears, as we approach the Source of meaning. ⁶It is Here that we find rest.

We are given the world to use to remind us of our purpose. And we are remembering that God is Love and therefore so are we. We are to use these words when we wake, during the day, and before we go to sleep. We use them to begin and end each practice. And yet, it is not the worlds that are our goal, but the experience they give us. The experience comes not because of the words, but the conviction with which we utter them.

Something Extra

This is from an earlier journal. It is a remarkable experience I had through a dream.

I cried some happy tears this morning when I read the refrain of this review. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. The reason it evoked this emotional response is because of a dream I had last night. Before I went to bed, I talked to Jesus about living in joy and told him I want this, and asked for his help. Then I asked, as I often do, that I be taught in my sleep.

I had some very clear lessons, and even remember having a “light bulb” moment and saying, that I finally see what that means. I don’t remember what that was, but it is done and will be in my mind now. But the most remarkable part of the dream is the part where I experience myself as pure love. There was no ego.

I Tried to Recover the Feeling

When that part of the dream was over I wanted it back so bad. I tried to give words to it but there were no words. I tried to recover the feeling, but I could not. It was like looking for something I couldn’t see in my imagination. How do you find something you can’t visualize? All that was left was the certainty I had felt it and the longing for it. But it happened and I am grateful for the experience, having had a foretaste of what is to come.

When I woke up this morning, I had the memory of the experience of being only Love and then I read the lesson that tells me God is only Love and therefore so am I. Of course, I cried. I cried tears of gratitude. I am given exactly what I need on this path even before I know I need it. Surely, I am not alone on this journey.