ACIM Daily Lesson 271 Christ’s is the vision I will use today. 1. Each day, each hour, every instant, I am choosing what I want to look upon, the sounds I want to hear, the witnesses to what I want to be the truth for me.

Christ’s is the vision I will use today.

Lesson 271

Christ’s is the vision I will use today.

1. Each day, each hour, every instant, I am choosing what I want to look upon, the sounds I want to hear, the witnesses to what I want to be the truth for me. ²Today I choose to look upon what Christ would have me see, to listen to God’s Voice, and seek the witnesses to what is true in God’s creation. ³In Christ’s sight, the world and God’s creation meet, and as they come together all perception disappears. ⁴His kindly sight redeems the world from death, for nothing that He looks on but must live, remembering the Father and the Son; Creator and creation unified.

2. Father, Christ’s vision is the way to You. ²What He beholds invites Your memory to be restored to me. ³And this I choose, to be what I would look upon today.

It always seemed to me that I looked on what was there.

Then I realized that I don’t actually see what is there but rather my interpretation of what I see. Eventually, I realized that I see what I want to be there, and so finally, I knew something that would help me to awaken. I was finally taking full responsibility for my experience of the world and thus could honestly change my mind. I want to share something my friend Donna Stufft wrote about this because she expressed it so well.

From Donna

I see what I want to see because I’m always LOOKING FOR what I want to see. I want to see what is true according to me and my perception of it, based on what I believe about it. No matter how anything ‘looks,’ I actually choose the way I want to perceive it – the ‘light’ I want to see it in – so that it matches up with my beliefs. And that is followed by defense of my perception.

Everything I see and how I react to whatever it is supports my thought system, which is based on my beliefs. This is really another way of saying that my beliefs are reflected in absolutely everything that I see. And I accept that as Truth in my experience. What I want to be true about a thing/person/event is what I’ll see to be true. Others may see something totally different because they’ll perceive it in a way that supports their beliefs. And therein lies our troubled world in which we chose to experience separation and Ego autonomy.

Beliefs aren’t random.

They’re based on the past – what we’ve experienced or what someone else has reported to us… personally, via tv, radio, the internet, etc… from their own perspective. We tend to trust those more who share our own beliefs — an Ego tactic based on selective oneness. Oneness that supports Ego’s purpose is the only oneness Ego wants to be part of. ‘Birds of a feather flock together’ – fairly peacefully until one of those birds chooses to express itself differently … and then it’s ostracized or pecked to death.

The only way to find peace of mind is to move above conventional vision that embraces the uniqueness of separation and see instead with Christ’s vision: see that the same love of God is what we are all created from; see that God’s love provides purpose beyond our understanding that we can TRUST; and join with that love, through forgiveness. 

Donna did a wonderful job.

She helped us to see the process we use to make a world that suits our desires. I am happy to look with the Holy Spirit at my own perceptions of the world. In so doing, for a moment, they sit side by side with the truth, and then my perceptions disappear. This is Christ’s Vision, and it shows me that there is only truth and not perception, one unified Self rather than many expressions of the One.

The restoration of the Sonship is so simple, really. Through each of our seemingly separate selves, we choose to perceive what is true about each other, and in so doing, we recognize our unification. The ego argues that only the smallest percentage of people are ready for this, but I am no longer interested in that argument.

We, as separate individuals, are not in charge of the Atonement.

So we cannot understand how it will work. I just know my part is to accept the Atonement as often as possible. Today, I am being invited to focus my attention on seeing the witnesses to what is true in God’s creation. I can do this as easily as I have more often sought the witnesses to the ego in my brothers.

I used to wonder how it is I was supposed to ever get out of this illusion.

All I needed to do was to read today’s lesson. Each passing moment offers me an opportunity to go home. What am I thinking right now? Is it a thought I would think with God? Or is it a judgment of someone or something?

How about in this instant? Did I just think how perfect life is as a path home, or did I think that I messed up again and wondered how I would ever get home at this rate? Every instant of my life offers me the opportunity to look at my thoughts and see how I am doing. Every instant offers me the opportunity to look at my thoughts and make another choice.

I think exactly what I want to think. If my mind is filled with judgmental thoughts, it is because that is what I want to be true for me. This is hard to admit, but better to see the truth and make a different choice than to pretend that I am doing the best I can. That I just can’t seem to do better, or that I can’t understand how to do this. I know very well how to do this.

It may be that I have forgotten who I am.

I am worthy of living as the Christ rather than living as the ego, and I can ask the Holy Spirit to step forward in my mind and help me to reestablish this truth. I can be vigilant for thoughts indicating I still prefer judgment over love and ask the Holy Spirit to undo these thoughts. And I can decide that I am worth this kind of effort. It is possible not only to do what Jesus asks me to do in this course but also necessary. It is inevitable.

As I look back on my life, I am amazed at all the ways in which I resisted the idea of choosing God. Many of the ways I resisted were passive, so I hardly noticed I was doing it. For instance, in the past I would use television and novels as a distraction from mind-watching and healing. I saw that after a day of watching my mind, I could hardly wait to lose myself in some mindless activity.

On the other hand, I don’t always do this.

I often choose to watch TV and movies and read novels from a more conscious state. I notice the ego thoughts of the characters. Their fictional stories are my stories and I choose to bring them into my life by reading or watching them. Their stories and my story are equally illusions so they both make good practice.

I still do lots of fun things and still enjoy what I do. Actually, everything is more enjoyable when I use it to help me awaken. Everything in my life, each moment of my life can be another step home, or I can use it to walk in circles accomplishing nothing. It is up to me. Holy Spirit, guide my thoughts, be in charge of my decisions, and help me to see with Christ’s Vision today. Thank you.

This was a lesson I learned in 2009.

Last night I met a couple for lunch and a movie. I had not met the young man before and knew very little about him, but from that little bit of information, I noticed I had already judged him. And I also noticed that because of my judgment, I was not looking forward to the evening. I love watching my mind. Because I was watching these thoughts, I knew the cause of my discomfort was not the couple or the situation but was my thoughts about them.

I asked the Holy Spirit to look with me on this evening and to show me what He sees. It was a lovely evening, and I liked the young man very much. I have no doubt that the evening would have ended differently if I had clung to my dreams of judgment in which I saw myself as separate from these people. All I gave up was the opportunity to write an imagined story. In its place, I was given the peace and joy resulting from choosing to see this couple through Christ’s Vision.

Sometimes I think that I have forgiven an idea only to have it pop up again when least expected.

This happened to me one night. My daughter’s fiancé works out of town, so he cannot be with her for the birthing classes, and I go in his stead. At last night’s class, they talked about breastfeeding and other newborn topics. What happened is that I began to think of times when I made errors with my little ones, sometimes potentially serious errors, and I became anxious.

I truly thought I had forgiven that young woman I was for not being perfect, but that mild anxiety and regret showed me that there was more work to be done. I talked to Holy Spirit about it and asked Him to heal me. It was interesting for me to note that when this first began, I experienced it as fear for my daughter, that she would do something wrong and hurt her baby and live a life of regret. Then I realized that it was me I was thinking of and was then projecting onto her, as we here tend to do.

Jeez, Holy Spirit, I really want to stop torturing myself with the past.

I know I cannot do this without your help. I truly desire to let the past die and to live only in this moment. Please remove from my mind the belief that I am guilty of my mistakes. Please remove from my mind the belief I must be punished for my mistakes. I know that is why I have not released the memories to You so far. I see what you are telling me. It is that I think I must pay for my sins with this eternal self-condemnation. Please remove that belief from my mind as well. I really want to know my innocence, and I really want to be free. Thank You.

It took a while, but eventually, I forgave those beliefs in my guilt as a parent. I am so grateful.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 271 click here.

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ACIM Daily Lesson: 6. What Is the Christ? 1. Christ is God’s Son as He created Him.

6. What Is the Christ?

6.What Is the Christ?

1.Christ is God’s Son as He created Him. ²He is the Self we share, uniting us with one another, and with God as well. ³He is the Thought which still abides within the Mind that is His Source. ⁴He has not left His holy home, nor lost the innocence in which He was created. ⁵He abides unchanged forever in the Mind of God.

We are the Christ; it is the only thing that is true about us. Everything else is illusion. Bodies are an illusion. The world is an illusion. These stories we think of as our lives are illusions. We are not each one a separate Christ; we are the Christ as one. In each of us is the Christ Mind, and as we learn to see only that in each other, we will see that we are united and one with God. As this occurs with more frequency, the mind will awaken, and we will have completed the cycle, returning our attention to paradise, where we will abide for a while again before letting that illusion go as well.

We are the Christ.

2.Christ is the link that keeps you one with God, and guarantees that separation is no more than an illusion of despair, for hope forever will abide in Him. ²Your mind is part of His, and His of yours. ³He is the part in which God’s Answer lies; where all decisions are already made, and dreams are over. ⁴He remains untouched by anything the body’s eyes perceive. ⁵For though in Him His Father placed the means for your salvation, yet does He remain the Self Who, like His Father, knows no sin.

Christ is God’s Son as He created Him – this is what we are. But to identify with this Self, I must first release my identity with this body. A body cannot be the Christ. A body cannot be a Thought in the Mind of God. Nor can a body be one with other bodies. The idea of bodies represents the desire to be forever separate from each other and from God. The Christ is the certainty that this is not us. We are, as one, the Christ.

The Christ is the part of us that is real.

3. Home of the Holy Spirit, and at home in God alone, does Christ remain at peace within the Heaven of your holy mind. ²This is the only part of you that has reality in truth. ³The rest is dreams. ⁴Yet will these dreams be given unto Christ, to fade before His glory and reveal your holy Self, the Christ, to you at last.

4.The Holy Spirit reaches from the Christ in you to all your dreams, and bids them come to Him, to be translated into truth. ²He will exchange them for the final dream which God appointed as the end of dreams. ³For when forgiveness rests upon the world and peace has come to every Son of God, what could there be to keep things separate, for what remains to see except Christ’s face?

The Christ, the home of the Holy Spirit, is the only real part of us. It is where we remain one and at peace. It is our holy mind. Everything else is a dream, but we can give these dreams to the Holy Spirit. There they will be translated into truth and traded for the final dream, the dream of a forgiven world, what Jesus calls the real world.

The Face of Christ

5. And how long will this holy face be seen, when it is but the symbol that the time for learning now is over, and the goal of the Atonement has been reached at last? ²So therefore let us seek to find Christ’s face and look on nothing else. ³As we behold His glory, will we know we have no need of learning or perception or of time, or anything except the holy Self, the Christ Whom God created as His Son.

Here, Jesus uses the Face of Christ as a symbol of forgiveness. It represents the goal of Atonement met; learning and perception are no longer needed. When we look at anyone and everyone as representing only the Face of Christ, we will be ready for God to reach down and take us up to Him. The nightmare will be over.

Forgiveness is something I understand.

I know how to do this. So this is the most comfortable part for me to think of. I know that I am mistaken when I think I or someone else is guilty of anything. Yes, the character in their story is guilty, but we are not these stories. We, the Children of God, are innocent and remain innocent no matter what is done in these dreams.

I can see past the dream character to my dear brother who is as he was created, seeing in him the Face of Christ. But I cannot make any exceptions to this. I cannot look on any dream character and think it is real and still see the Face of Christ. I am reminded by Jesus that there is no one in these bodies, not in mine nor in yours. The Christ in you inhabits not a body. ²Yet He is in you. ³And thus, it must be that you are not within a body. (ACIM, T-25.in.1:1-3)

Regina’s Tips

Christ and God’s Son are synonymous, and they both point to what many people call consciousness.

It’s important to remember that terms are symbols, and because they are only symbols, terms are not used consistently. Because terms are used differently at different times, we need to reach an understanding that is beyond terms.

Let me paint a simplistic picture that will help us understand Christ-consciousness.
At the highest level of truth, the source exists. The source is a mystery, often represented by darkness. It is unmanifest life teeming with potential.

Out of this potential, consciousness arises. Consciousness is awareness, but it is more than that. It is like a canvas that potentialities can be painted on. It is also the divine mechanism, or paint brush, that enables creation. Through its beingness, ongoing creation happens. Without consciousness, nothing else could be.

This is Christ. It is what we are beyond our experience of human. The humans that we appear to be are temporary appearances in the consciousness that we are.

My Thoughts

As Regina points out, words are symbols, and as Jesus says, they are but symbols of symbols and thus twice removed from reality. Sometimes students of the Course argue over concepts within the Course because these symbols are not always used consistently. This can cause confusion if students seek absolutes where there are none. It is more helpful to take the Course as a whole and not turn an idea upside down because of a word whose symbolism is misconstrued.

Regina’s vision of Christ-consciousness is close enough to my vision of it to suit me. I noticed that I prefer God as light instead of darkness, but does that matter? Not at all. I noticed another thing. In her definition of Christ, there is only oneness, absolute non-dualism. And though the Course implies non-dualism, I notice that stated so clearly as Regina has done, I felt discomfort.

I think most of us are uncomfortable with this idea.

It is probably true that most people don’t like the idea that our personal self does not survive our return to God. I look at those reactions with the Holy Spirit so that He can heal my mind and prepare me for whatever comes next. Here is the sentence that was most meaningful for me. “The humans that we appear to be are temporary appearances in the consciousness that we are.” This is what I accept fully and with joy.

This is something I wrote in the past.

I think it is helpful because it deals with ideas that are most relevant to us right now.
We are learning that Christ is the sum of all that God created, and we are all part of Christ. Christ is untouched by anything seen in the world and continues as was created forever without interruption of any kind. Christ is the link that keeps us connected to God. Salvation lies within Christ.

I love this sentence: “Home of the Holy Spirit, and at home in God alone, does Christ remain at peace within the Heaven of your holy mind.” My mind is holy, and in its holiness is Heaven. When I do not feel like I am in Heaven, I am not in my real mind. But my real mind remains untouched by my despairing dreams, safe from my illusions.
The thought that comes to me and comforts and reassures me is that since Christ remains at peace within my mind, peace is always available to me. No matter what chaotic story I may be telling myself, peace is still accessible to me because it has gone nowhere.

Jesus seems to be using Christ and Holy Spirit interchangeably.

And since I am part of Christ, I am also part of the Holy Spirit, and we are all part of God. There is no separation. I try to envision this and my mind, which is still concrete in its thinking, and I cannot.

I do see why it is that Christ’s vision is our goal. We see the end of dreams and a world at peace through Christ’s vision. I felt this was an impossible goal for the longest time because I could not do it. Now I understand that my desire to end dreams makes it possible for the Holy Spirit to translate them into truth for me. In my willingness to awaken, the dream is ending, slowly at first but more quickly now, because as I experience the peace of God, what else could I want?

Is it possible to live as Christ even here?

I think it is. As I watch the mind for thoughts of separation, perception, projection, and time, and I become willing to bring those thoughts before the Holy Spirit to be reinterpreted, I move closer and closer to that awakened state. Truly, that is all I am doing. I am noticing what is not Christ and choosing not to believe it. I do this through the Holy Spirit in my Christ Mind because I cannot look to a dream to interpret itself. In surprise, I see how simple salvation is.

ACIM Daily Lesson 270 I will not use the body’s eyes today. 1. Father, Christ’s vision is Your gift to me, and it has power to translate all that the body’s eyes behold into the sight of a forgiven world.

I will not use the body’s eyes today.

Lesson 270

I will not use the body’s eyes today.

1. Father, Christ’s vision is Your gift to me, and it has power to translate all that the body’s eyes behold into the sight of a forgiven world. ²How glorious and gracious is this world! ³Yet how much more will I perceive in it than sight can give. ⁴The world forgiven signifies Your Son acknowledges his Father, lets his dreams be brought to truth, and waits expectantly the one remaining instant more of time which ends forever, as Your memory returns to him. ⁵And now his will is one with Yours. ⁶His function now is but Your Own, and every thought except Your Own is gone.

2. The quiet of today will bless our hearts, and through them peace will come to everyone. ²Christ is our eyes today. ³And through His sight we offer healing to the world through Him, the holy Son whom God created whole; the holy Son whom God created one.

I will use the body’s eyes to show me the images I have made to give form to the thoughts in my mind.

But that is not vision. The eyes can only show me the ego’s interpretation of the world. Using my eyes, I will see sin and suffering everywhere I look. Just this morning, I saw that my car needs some bodywork. I see that the war in Ukraine is still going on, and people are suffering and dying. Putin is talking about using nuclear weapons that would affect the entire world.

A major hurricane is headed for Florida. Puerto Rico has already been devastated by a hurricane. Our country is divided over the abortion issue and many other things. A couple finds a baby abandoned in their backyard shed. A State Trooper gets shot in the face. And tomorrow it will be something else. From the perspective of the ego’s story of Myron, I will continue to see this world.

Remember Lesson 15.

My thoughts are images that I have made.

1. It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing. ²You think you think them, and so you think you see them. ³This is how your “seeing” was made. ⁴This is the function you have given your body’s eyes. ⁵It is not seeing. ⁶It is image making. ⁷It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.

Our eyes were made to show us what is not there. To see what is really there, we need Christ’s Vision. Jesus tells us that “…it has power to translate all that the body’s eyes behold into the sight of a forgiven world.” “This world is “glorious and gracious.” The forgiven world is the world that God loves and that we will also love. But there is even more because the world forgiven signifies we acknowledge God as our Father, and our memory returns.

Does this seem like an impossible task?

It would be an impossible task if we had to do this alone. But we are not alone. God placed the Holy Spirit in our minds to guide us Home. Our part is very simple and easy to do. We only need to be vigilant for our thoughts and to look at untrue thoughts with the Holy Spirit so they can be corrected and our minds healed. I used to think this was hard, that I just couldn’t release some of those thoughts. But it is not hard. Nothing is hard that is wholly desired.

This process is so simple that to call it hard is ridiculous.

I know I am resisting it when I think it is hard. “Allowing insanity to enter your mind means that you have not judged sanity as wholly desirable. ²If you want something else you will make something else, but because it is something else, it will attack your thought system and divide your allegiance.” (ACIM, T-7.VI.12:1-2) I am no longer entirely insane, and I have discovered that I can change my mind.

As I notice my car needing bodywork, I pay attention to how this makes me feel and the thoughts that come into my mind about it. Does it embarrass me to have a damaged car? Does it seem to tarnish my image to drive a damaged car? And does it cause worry thoughts over money as I think of getting it fixed? All these ideas have passed through my mind. Each one is forgiven and released. What is left is the certainty that what needs to be done will be done when it is needed. If it is not done, it is not needed. What is left is a mind at peace.

Is the Ukraine war and the threat of nuclear weapons being used causing me upset? I forgive it and let it go. I look in my mind for thoughts that contribute to war. Am I at war with anyone in my life? Do I hate anyone? Do I think my opinions are right and someone else’s is wrong? And do I justify my attacks through these judgments? I forgive the beliefs in my own mind. That is my part in ending war.

In The Dynamics of the Ego, Jesus tells us this. 

³The ego is totally confused about reality, but it does not lose sight of its goal. ⁴It is much more vigilant than you are because it is perfectly certain of its purpose. ⁵You are confused because you do not recognize yours. (ACIM, T-11.V.7:3-5) This is why I am very clear about my goal, purpose, and role as a teacher of God. It is why I stay vigilant and why I am closer to seeing the forgiven world and thus closer to returning Home.

Regina’s Tips

The last paragraph of our special theme says:

You will identify with what you think will make you safe. Whatever it may be, you will believe that it is one with you. Your safety lies in truth, and not in lies. Love is your safety. Fear does not exist. Identify with love, and you are safe. Identify with love, and you are home. Identify with love, and find your Self.

Trust that you do not know yourself because you have not observed that closely until now. Realize that your purpose is to ensure that your faith is placed with the motive you have chosen. Be clear on this purpose, and then observe yourself.

What is it that you find yourself doing? Why are you doing it? Is that action evidence that your faith is placed with your motive, or are you finding that you have placed your faith elsewhere?

Be careful that you do not judge that which you see and observe. Separate yourself from the body. See the body as not you. See it merely as evidence of thought that is in your mind. See it as a learning device and nothing else.

Be grateful for this body and all it is teaching you, for in partnership with this learning device you will correct the mind. You will bring faith into alignment with motive through your own desire to do so.

My Thoughts

This is good advice. I generally use my body for my purpose, but not always. I can honestly assess those times and consider whether my body could be put to better use. It is especially appreciated that she reminds me not to judge what I see and to see my body as not me, just evidence of a thought in my mind, a learning device. And I also like the reminder to be grateful for the body and all it teaches me.

Here is something from a past journal.

I was learning to practice forgiveness at this time.

Yesterday was very fruitful. I noticed many instances when I was judging. I judged both people and circumstances. One time this happened was when I was doing a favor for someone, and he did not express gratitude or even acknowledge in any way that I was doing so. There was ego chatter going on in my mind about his ingratitude.

I talked to the Holy Spirit about it and was reminded that my joy is not dependent on anyone’s gratitude toward me. I did not “need” love from anyone and that the way to feel love was to allow it to flow through me to the other person. So I could feel love, not by waiting for it to come to me, but by loving this person right now. This person fully deserves my love, not because of anything he did or did not do, but because of who he is as my holy brother and God’s child. This is an example of first using the body’s eyes and then deciding differently.

Another way I am practicing not using the body’s eyes is by accepting whatever is happening as perfect.

I had a couple of circumstances yesterday and again this morning when I thought I would be happier if things were different. This is such a common thing for me to do that I really have to pay close attention even to notice I am doing it.

I remind myself that nothing outside me is the source of my experience. If I feel sad because someone is not with me or anxious because something is not happening, then the sadness and anxiety are the reactions I decided on when I asked the ego what the situation meant. I remind myself that it is what it is, a perfectly neutral event. The meaning it has was given by me. This makes it easier to be accepting.

Regret is another opportunity to see differently.

Some time ago, I lost a customer and experienced fear and guilt when it happened. Yesterday when he came into my mind, I noticed mind chatter about this. It was the, “I could have done this” and “I should have done that” kind of chatter. That always ends by trying to make someone guilty. This time I stopped it and asked the Great Undoer, the Holy Spirit, to give me a new way of seeing this.

He helped me see how silly it is to try to figure out what I might have done differently by reminding me that it was done and over long ago. My only job now is to decide what meaning I want to give to it now. Do I want to use this as another opportunity to project and thus keep guilt, or do I want to forgive and thus release another layer of guilt? I decided to forgive myself and everyone involved. We seemed to be playing an attack and defend game, and I don’t want to play anymore. No more games! I want to see with the eyes of Christ.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 270 click here.

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ACIM Daily Lesson 269 My sight goes forth to look upon Christ’s face. 1. I ask Your blessing on my sight today.

My sight goes forth to look upon Christ’s face.

Lesson 269

My sight goes forth to look upon Christ’s face.

1. I ask Your blessing on my sight today. ²It is the means which You have chosen to become the way to show me my mistakes, and look beyond them. ³It is given me to find a new perception through the Guide You gave to me, and through His lessons to surpass perception and return to truth. ⁴I ask for the illusion which transcends all those I made. ⁵Today I choose to see a world forgiven, in which everyone shows me the face of Christ, and teaches me that what I look upon belongs to me; that nothing is, except Your holy Son.

2. Today our sight is blessed indeed. ²We share one vision, as we look upon the face of Him Whose Self is ours. ³We are one because of Him Who is the Son of God; of Him Who is our own Identity.

I do ask God’s blessing on my sight today.

I want to see with Christ Vision, to see the face of Christ in everyone. So, I will pay attention to my thoughts and reactions to others. In this way, I can be shown the error if there is one, and shown how to look beyond them. This happened to me one morning last year. I was walking in the park, and two women were coming toward me.

I felt uneasy as I realized that none of us were wearing masks, but then I saw they were veering off the path. One of them looked up and smiled at me, and I smiled back and felt happy, and I was glad we weren’t wearing masks. I am also aware that some people feel very differently about masking and vaccinating than I do, and that’s OK. I stay vigilant for any desire to judge them or our difference in opinion. If that happens, I am quick to ask for Vision to show me the face of Christ in us all.

Christ’s vision is His gift to you. (ACIM, T-13.VIII.6:6)

Sometimes I will be asked how to see the face of Christ in another. My experience is that I cannot do this, but that I can want this and be willing to meet its conditions, and it just happens. The only conditions I am aware of are the willingness to see past the body, the personality, the words or actions of the other person, and mostly to look past my own judgments.

I don’t think I can be given the gift of Christ Vision if I am angry or projecting guilt. If I fail to meet its conditions, I can always access this gift if I ask the Holy Spirit for a new perception. There is always another way to see, I just have to sincerely desire it and ask for it. Asking for this new way to see is how I forgive the world and let it disappear so that I can become aware of what it has hidden. It will still be an illusion, I see, but it will be a transcendent illusion, one closer to reality.

Yesterday, I brought my computer in to get a new hard drive.

I had to drive an hour and a half to get this done because no one nearer me is certified to work on my Mac. I have gone to one of their stores and was not impressed. So I noticed on my way there that I was already feeling defensive toward them. As soon as that thought entered my mind, I was not at peace, so I questioned it. Do I want a different company to work on my computer, or do I want the peace of God?

As soon as I raised that question in my mind, I knew the answer. The peace of God is everything I want. I forgave the thought and went back to peace. When I arrived at the store, I looked at the technician with Christ’s vision. I loved him. And when he talked to me, he was patient kind, and a pleasure to deal with. I received what I gave.

No surprise there. Jesus tells us throughout the Course that this is how it works. I began the trip with an ego illusion in mind but chose to forgive that thought before I could project it. I did this simply by staying aware of my thoughts and forgiving those that are not my real thoughts.

It made me happy to read this entry from 2015.

I am asking God’s blessing on my sight today and every day. I have had this experience and know it is possible. Just yesterday, I saw the result of allowing my holy vision to show me the truth. There were changes at worked that I disliked the changes and I saw one person as chiefly responsible and resented her for it. I felt trapped in the situation because I don’t see it changing, and I don’t see myself quitting. This increased the resentment.

All along, I have been aware that this is my story and no one else’s responsibility and that I have been projecting to make it someone else’s fault. Yet I allowed my fear to drive my responses and seemed unwilling to stop. It was very frustrating and uncomfortable, and I continued throughout the experience to ask for vision. Then I accepted vision, and everything turned on a dime.

That is the most amazing part for me.

I was miserable in my judgments for days, and then I wasn’t. Everything changed in a moment. I was pretty sure the healing was done but knew I would have to be confronted by the situation to be sure. I was looking forward to being at peace at work or seeing what else in my mind needed to be undone. Yesterday, another drama was going on, and I experienced no conflict in my mind. Instead, I was an instrument of peace for the others involved, so I know it is done.

I can’t tell you how good this feels! I think about the drama getting worse, and I am at peace. Or, I think about getting fired, and I am at peace. Lately, I have been testing this as I think about being retired and living basically on social security. And instead of feeling panicked, I find myself laughing as I consider how on earth that could work. I think about not being able to retire (which has been my most persistent ego goal for a while now), and I feel nothing about it.

“Wow, Holy Spirit. We did good! What else do we need to work on?”

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 269 click here.

If you found this content helpful, please share on social media so more people can read and learn.

ACIM Daily Lesson 268 Let all things be exactly as they are. 1. Let me not be Your critic, Lord, today, and judge against You.

Let all things be exactly as they are.

Lesson 268

Let all things be exactly as they are.

1. Let me not be Your critic, Lord, today, and judge against You. ²Let me not attempt to interfere with Your creation, and distort it into sickly forms. ³Let me be willing to withdraw my wishes from its unity, and thus to let it be as You created it. ⁴For thus will I be able, too, to recognize my Self as You created me. ⁵In love was I created, and in love will I remain forever. ⁶What can frighten me, when I let all things be exactly as they are?

2. Let not our sight be blasphemous today, nor let our ears attend to lying tongues. ²Only reality is free of pain. ³Only reality is free of loss. ⁴Only reality is wholly safe. ⁵And it is only this we seek today.

I will not let my personal wishes interfere with creation.

Here is one way I practice letting things be exactly as they are. I recognize that what I see reflects the thoughts and beliefs in my mind. I remember that Jesus says this.

 It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing. ²You think you think them, and so you think you see them. ³This is how your “seeing” was made. ⁴This is the function you have given your body’s eyes. ⁵It is not seeing. ⁶It is image making. ⁷It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions. (ACIM, W-15.1:1-7)

And he also says this.

¹³There are no idle thoughts. ¹⁴All thinking produces form at some level. (ACIM, T-2.VI.9:13-14)

These ideas, as well as others along the same line that Jesus shares with us in the Course explain that my thoughts matter very much. The thoughts that are not true can make a whole world. So, even though they make nothing real, what they make is real to the maker, so they are not without power. This is why I want to be careful about the thoughts I think I think. I want to be careful of the form that they are producing.

Here is an example of thoughts taking form.

⁴The thought of sacrifice gives rise to all the forms that suffering appears to take. (ACIM, W-187.7:4)

This is an example of a thought that I don’t want to take form in my life. So, for instance, today, I am going to my daughter’s house to give her a break from my granddaughter. I’m happy to spend time with my granddaughter and happy to help my daughter, but I have some things I could be doing instead. This can lead to a feeling of sacrifice so that instead of feeling good about the visit, I start to resent it.

The effect will be that I don’t enjoy myself. The form will symbolize the belief in victimhood and that I am unfairly treated. It will also be that I have strengthened my belief in sacrifice and will produce more experiences of sacrifice in my life.

Or, I can let things be as they are.

When I notice these kinds of thoughts, I choose again. Very quickly, I instruct my mind that I am not interested in sacrifice and suffering. I decide instead that I am looking forward to this visit, and I smile and let the truth of that wash over me. I relax about the other things I could be doing and what I thought I should be doing, and trust that everything will get done in perfect timing.

In making this choice, I am letting all things be as they are. I am letting God’s Will that I be happy and peaceful be done. I am not fighting Him about this, insisting that sacrifice is real and unavoidable, that somehow the feeling of sacrifice is forced on me by others and thus others can decide if I am happy or not. In so doing, I am relaxing the personal will and letting it fall away in exchange for my true will, which is one with the Will of God. I can do this with all negative thoughts that I notice. It’s easy, and it’s worth the small effort it takes, both for me and the Sonship.

We are encouraged to place our attention on only what is true.

One time, I was anemic from blood loss that happened after a procedure. While the symptoms were still apparent, I had the opportunity to notice my reactions. The following is the entry in my journal about this.

For a while, I was unconcerned. I understood the problem, and I chose to make the best of it. I used the time to rest and practice meditation and contemplation. When I seemed to be taking excessive time to recover, I began to worry that something else was wrong. At that point, my attention had gone to the body, and I no longer felt safe.

Again, I decided to use the situation as an opportunity to look at that tendency in myself and to let it go. So, then my mind was focused on the truth again. While worried about the body, I felt like the body; that is, I identified with the body, and therefore I was prone to fear.

When I changed my mind, I remembered that I am not the body and that what I am cannot be endangered. As long as my mind was focused on the truth, I just let the body be, and I was fine. When I worried about the body, I was not letting things be as they were, and, in my worry, I suffered.

The following are ways that I learned not to interfere with God.

These are entries from my Daily Lesson Journals. This one was in 2015.

It is good to read this lesson today as I needed to see exactly what I have been doing. I have an issue at work that keeps popping up even though I thought I had allowed healing. I see that I have been thinking of the people involved as being separate from each other, with each having their own separate interests. Once I do that, I lose sight of our shared interest, which is awakening.

Yesterday I was with one of the people involved, and everything went smoothly and lovingly. A few hours later, I was driving alone and suddenly realized that the ego was trying to make a case for going back into fear, and this was despite the success of the meeting. The part of my mind that wants to hold onto separation keeps my attention with stories of millions of separate beings, each moving in different directions, always motivated by lack and competition. I am grateful to learn to disengage from that identity by being vigilant for ego thinking and asking for correction.

Holy Spirit is helping me.

He helps me to remember that this shattered picture is a cosmic joke I have played upon myself. He helps me to see that Mind is whole, and I am that Mind, not this little sliver of self I have claimed to be me. I am Mind stepping into this Myron identity for a moment to see what “less than” looks like.

When I meet another of my identities, it is to interact with my Self. It is Christ meeting Christ while playing at being human. It is one Mind considering many angles of the same impossibility. And It makes me laugh to think of it. I know I will slip back into my role as Myron and probably lose sight of what is really happening, but I will never forget it completely.

Holy Spirit, I am willing to let creation be as it is. I need Your help because I don’t have a lot of practice doing this, and I keep reverting back to the ego, thinking that it should be different. I give you the situation at work and ask that You help me to see within it what You see. And I will continue to be vigilant for thoughts that indicate I am trying to take over again. My way does not work. I am willing to see that and to choose differently.

This one happened in 2016.

I am happy to say that the situation at work has been resolved. Of course, some other relationship issues have arisen. I suppose that will keep happening until I decide to let God be God and stop trying to interfere with reality. My problem has been that I have recently looked at the world I made and believed what I saw was reality. That can’t be true. First of all, I see what I think, so what I see is not reality but the effect of separation thoughts. With my mind, I made images to represent the fear and guilt in my mind and then projected these images as situations in my life. I use the body to experience them.

It is possible to make different images because I have different thoughts.

Yes, the ego thoughts of separation are in my mind, but my real thoughts are there as well. I have the thoughts I think with God. This is the Holy Spirit’s corrected version, and I could choose those images as easily as I make the images of fear and guilt. So why don’t I do that instead? Why don’t I choose images that represent happiness and freedom? Of course, I do sometimes, and my life seems very good, indeed. But then I tend to fall back into ego thinking and image making.

Here is what I am doing to stop this insanity.

I notice fear thoughts like I have when I think of my son, whose life has been filled with drama lately. And I notice how afraid I am for him. So, I watch what happens. I feel sad and weepy. I feel like I want desperately to fix him. It seems I need him to be happy so I can be happy. I want to shake him and make him be somewhere different in his journey, a happier place. I become angry with him and then feel guilty and worse than ever. Seeing these reactions, I know that I have interfered with creation. There is no way that God would create something so dark and twisted.

Knowing this, I remind myself that I have light in my mind, and so I ask the Holy Spirit to help me. I ask that he remove the dark thoughts from my mind so that I can become aware of the joyful, loving thoughts. It feels like a real battle going on in my mind at times. It feels impossible at times. And yet, I know this can’t be true.

We are not weak and helpless.

It is through the power of God that was given me in my creation that we could make this alternate universe, and this same power can undo what we did. Just at this moment, this one little thought of discouragement can be undone. I see it, and I see how it makes me feel. I can decide I want to be happy instead, and I allow the miracle to occur.

This is how it is done, each one of us looking at the effects of wrong-minded thinking and making new decisions, and allowing the miracle to transform our world. This is the way we can stop interfering with creation. We choose the true thoughts instead of the ego thoughts. Simple as that. When it feels hard, we realize that we have been distracted by the story and by the fear and that this changes nothing in reality. True thoughts remain true and available to us. It is just a matter of vigilance and practice.

And now it is different.

Over time, I have learned not to interfere with God. And when I become tempted to do so, I notice and choose again. Just yesterday, I had that opportunity. My son is staying with me for a while, and mostly it is a joy to have this time with him. But, again, his life is filled with drama. Here is how it is different for me, though. Yesterday things didn’t go as expected for him, and he felt dejected. I thought that I hoped he would get settled somewhere else so I could return to my normal peaceful existence.

Of course, right away, I saw the fallacy of this. Would God have created a world where I was the victim of my son’s moodiness? I laughed at this silly idea and let it go. I am happy because I decide on happiness, not because my son is happy. And he cannot be the cause of my unhappiness. I will not act as if someone outside me can affect how I feel. The uncomfortable feelings fell away after forgiving the idea that this could be true. And peace was restored in my mind just as God intended.

ACIM Daily Lesson 257

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

Lesson 267

My heart is beating in the peace of God.

1. Surrounding me is all the life that God created in His Love. ²It calls to me in every heartbeat and in every breath; in every action and in every thought. ³Peace fills my heart, and floods my body with the purpose of forgiveness. ⁴Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world is given me. ⁵Each heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with strength. ⁶I am a messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held forever quiet and at peace within His loving Arms. ⁷Each heartbeat calls His Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at home in Him.

2. Let me attend Your Answer, not my own. ²Father, my heart is beating in the peace the Heart of Love created. ³It is there and only there that I can be at home.

Oh, my dear God, what a beautiful lesson!

I sat and cried when I read this. I don’t really know what to say about it. It filled my heart with love and gratitude. Just imagine, all around me is the life God created out of His Love! Thinking about this, I can’t imagine what else I could do in life that comes anywhere near this in importance or in joy. This is the reason my only goal is the peace of God. This is what it feels like to be in the peace of God. It is not peace that comes and goes with shifting perceptions, but It is peace that is always there. It is the strength of God that never varies and is available in all circumstances.

I have a purpose. As a messenger of God, I don’t have to worry about how to be this in the world. I am directed by His Voice and sustained by Him in love. I only need to let go of everything that would obstruct this communication. And I do this willingly and consistently, even if not perfectly. My deep desire to live my purpose guarantees that I can and will do whatever is needed of me to the best of my ability. And wherever I fail, I am forgiven, and I renew my efforts.

I want to sit here aware of all the life God created in His Love surrounding me. How foolish I am to take that for granted and not even notice most of the time. I feel every heartbeat and every breath calling to me to become aware. I hear a whisper in my heart not to forget again, not to become unconscious again. Truthfully, I should be living in a state of wonder all the time!

Regina’s Tips on What Is the Body? and my Thoughts

Our special theme says, “Made to be fearful, must the body serve the purpose given it.” And in most cases, it does.

However, our special theme goes on to say, “But we can change the purpose that the body will obey by changing what we think that it is for.”

Today, please contemplate the purpose you would like the body to obey. Also, contemplate how the body can be used/moved differently in order to follow that purpose.

My Thoughts

I think my body is for the purpose of teaching and learning and extending love. This is much different than the purpose I gave it when I was young. I used to think it was for enjoying sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and I threw myself into it wholeheartedly. Now I throw myself into my new purpose with as much enthusiasm and with more satisfaction than I have ever experienced in my life.

Here is what I wrote in my journal at another time.

Yesterday as I did my work with Spirit, I began to feel this. And as I went into my day, I couldn’t help but notice how friendly everyone was. It is like they were just pleased to have passed me on the sidewalk and couldn’t help smiling. This happened so often that it was surreal. It felt like a message from Jesus telling me to notice what it is like when I make the decision not to attack and not to defend.

This morning’s lesson seems to point to my experience from yesterday. It was like a little taste of feeling God’s Love through all of creation. It was absolutely delicious! Today, I will not forget that I no longer need to defend myself because there is nothing to defend against. If attack thoughts appear in my mind, I pray to remember today’s lesson. Right behind these fearful thought images, I have projected into my life is the Love of God all around me. There is only what God created, and if I see anything that is not His Love, I must surely be dreaming. Wake me up, God!

Today I will be sustained by the Love of God. These are the words I am writing down and bringing with me in my Daytimer and in my heart to remind me what is mine for the asking.

“Each heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with strength.

I am a messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held forever quiet and at peace within His loving Arms. Each heartbeat calls His Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at home in Him.”

And what I know is that Jesus did not write these words because they are pretty. He wrote them because they are true, and they are true even when I deny them with my actions and words and my ego thoughts. This is why I can live a life of peace and joy and love right now, not in some imagined future. For the last few days, I have been reminding myself of the truth and beauty that is available to me.

I have been more vigilant of the tendency to fall back into ego thinking than I ever have been before. I then ask that those thoughts be removed from my mind. And I ask that I know God, know Love, instead. This is my prayer, and all true prayers are answered, so I expect the peace of God. I expect to know myself in the Heart of God.

And in contrast, this is from an earlier journal entry.

Yesterday I was living this and loving the day and everyone in it. I was looking at people with real interest and without judgment. Then I noticed this peace begin to dissolve. At first, I didn’t put it together with anything I was believing, I just noticed I didn’t feel as good as before. I noticed that I had said something I regretted and was having trouble letting go of the regret.

I left that situation without doing more than noticing it. Later as I was driving and popped a CD into my player. It was from A Thousand Names for Joy by Byron Katie. She said:

“Who would you be in people’s presence without, for example, the story that anyone should care about you, ever: You would be love itself. When you believe the myth that people should care, you’re too needy to care about people or about yourself. The experience of love can’t come from anyone else; it can come only from inside you.”

I felt a little tickle in my mind as I listened to this.

It applied in some way to my life that day, I felt sure.  But I had shopping to do and put it out of my mind. Life is generous, though, and when I fail to get its message, it sends it to me again. I really wasn’t enjoying my shopping, and I began to pay attention to my thoughts. It felt like the sales clerk was unhelpful. I asked a question about how to fashionably wear a piece that I was looking at. To my ear, her answer seemed to say that there was something wrong with me if I had to ask.

I noticed that I began to feel out of place in this part of the store. The fashions were too stylish and seemed all to be designed for thin, rich people. It started to feel like the clerks were looking at me with an expression that said, “Buy in this department? In your dreams, chubby lady on a budget.” I began to resent these women, and I noticed I no longer smiled at them or anyone else. My attitude was not friendly or kind. I was not extending love.

So, I asked the Holy Spirit for clarity.

I remembered what I had heard Katie say right before I got out of the car. She said: Who would you be in people’s presence without, for example, the story that anyone should care about you, ever: You would be love itself. Why on earth would I care what anyone thought about me? That would be their business and not mine. They don’t know me; they only know their thoughts about me.

And while I am concerned about how they feel about me, I am so needy that I have no room for love, not for myself or for them. Look how many opportunities I missed to gladden my brother’s heart (and myself since there is only one of us), all because I imagined a story in which I cared what they thought when I walked by. And really, it was a made-up story since I have no idea what they were thinking anyway.

I feel so grateful for that experience.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 267 click here.

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ACIM Daily Lesson 266 My holy Self abides in you, God’s Son. 1. Father, You gave me all Your Sons, to be my saviors and my counselors in sight; the bearers of Your holy Voice to me.

My holy Self abides in you, God’s Son.

Lesson 266

My holy Self abides in you, God’s Son.

1. Father, You gave me all Your Sons, to be my saviors and my counselors in sight; the bearers of Your holy Voice to me. ²In them are You reflected, and in them does Christ look back upon me from my Self. ³Let not Your Son forget Your holy Name. ⁴Let not Your Son forget his holy Source. ⁵Let not Your Son forget his Name is Yours.

2. This day we enter into Paradise, calling upon God’s Name and on our own, acknowledging our Self in each of us; united in the holy Love of God. ²How many saviors God has given us! ³How can we lose the way to Him, when He has filled the world with those who point to Him, and given us the sight to look on them?

Everyone is my savior, each and every person I meet.

If I am distracted by their personality or feel that I am being attacked, I have the opportunity to ask for Christ Vision so that I can see differently. If the person I am with is loving and supportive, they are saviors as well in their support and encouragement. How could I fail to go home when saviors surround me? We are one with each other, and together we are one with God.

Jesus asks us how we can lose the way to God when He has filled the world with those who point to Him and given us the sight to look on them. I know it doesn’t always feel like everyone is our savior, but Jesus has told us that we hear from another what we want to hear, and so if we don’t hear a savior, it must be that we wanted to hear an enemy. But God has given us sight to see so we can change our minds about what we want, and we will have a different perception of our brother.

And indeed, this is true.

Each person shows me either my own glory or what in me I need to heal so that I can remove the blocks to the Christ within. On those days when I seem to be surrounded by those who would obstruct me, I am grateful for the chance to look with the Holy Spirit at what I am projecting onto them so that I can choose again. At other times it seems that my brothers are there to gently guide me, support me and uplift me.

I am equally grateful and encouraged that I am projecting a truer picture. But either way, I am reminded that my life is my way home. I only need to remember what it is for and not get distracted by the form of the help because even those I love dearly take the form of enemy at times. The circumstances can serve as a roadmap home or as a distraction from my purpose, but as Jesus said, “…(He has) given us the sight to look on them.”

We are one within the Mind of God.

These bodies are not one, so we cannot be bodies. I look at a body with my eyes, but my Heart sees the truth. As we begin to see with the Heart, grievances will become unknown. Who would hold a grievance against an image, a body, or a memory of a story? The sleeping Son that is deciding to awaken calls to me to lovingly support Its efforts. How could I fail to answer that call for love?

Here is something interesting I read in the Bible.

This comes from Mark 9.

Jesus got into a boat and crossed back over to the town where he lived.^[a] 2 Some people soon brought to him a crippled man lying on a mat. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the crippled man, “My friend, don’t worry! Your sins are forgiven.”

³ Some teachers of the Law of Moses said to themselves, “Jesus must think he is God!”

⁴ But Jesus knew what was in their minds, and he said, “Why are you thinking such evil things? ⁵ Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk? ⁶ But I will show you that the Son of Man has the right to forgive sins here on earth.” So Jesus said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and go on home.” ⁷ The man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw this, they were afraid^[b] and praised God for giving such authority to people.

We do have the right to forgive sins here on earth. Our function now is to forgive all belief in sin for ourselves and our brothers. These two must go together since we are, in truth, one. We cannot forgive ourselves without forgiving everyone else, and we cannot forgive them without forgiving ourselves. We can take our place as the Light of the world, or we can continue to hold grievances for as long as we can tolerate the pain of doing so. Eventually, though, we must awaken to what we really are.

Jesus reminds us that grievances keep us from seeing what is right in front of us.

³These figures become the middlemen the ego employs to traffic in grievances. ⁴They stand between your awareness and your brothers’ reality. ⁵Beholding them, you do not know your brothers or your Self. (ACIM, W-73.2:3-5) I don’t care to traffic in grievances anymore. Instead, I want always to remember what he tells us in this lesson. ³How can we lose the way to Him, when He has filled the world with those who point to Him, and given us the sight to look on them? I ask for that sight each time I mistake a holy Son of God.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 266 click here.

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ACIM Daily Lesson My holy vision sees all things as pure. 1. Father, Your Mind created all that is, Your Spirit entered into it, Your Love gave life to it.

My holy vision sees all things as pure.

Lesson 263

My holy vision sees all things as pure.

1. Father, Your Mind created all that is, Your Spirit entered into it, Your Love gave life to it. ²And would I look upon what You created as if it could be made sinful? ³I would not perceive such dark and fearful images. ⁴A madman’s dream is hardly fit to be my choice, instead of all the loveliness with which You blessed creation; all its purity, its joy, and its eternal, quiet home in You.

2. And while we still remain outside the gate of Heaven, let us look on all we see through holy vision and the eyes of Christ. ²Let all appearances seem pure to us, that we may pass them by in innocence, and walk together to our Father’s house as brothers and the holy Sons of God.

We have made a fundamental error.

We seem to be outside the gate of Heaven so that being our experience, we must find our way back. It helps so much to know what it is we are looking for, so I am grateful to Jesus for showing us both the error and the solution. The error is the belief in bodies and all forms of separation and their effects; the belief in fear and guilt, the belief that anger, hatred, and judgment are inevitable and justified. This is not just the error of what we have seemingly done, but the error is greater than this. It is the fundamental error of believing we have the power to decide what we are. We do not, and thank you, God, that we don’t.

The answer has been placed in our minds.

We know what isn’t true, and we know that the Holy Spirit has been placed in our minds to undo what we have believed. We know how to call on the Holy Spirit, and he will purify all thoughts that can be purified. And He will remove those that are completely without truth. We know that we cannot enter the presence of God if we attack His Son, so we know that we must give all grievances to the Holy Spirit to be undone. This is all just a matter of practice now.

What, then, are we moving toward? Jesus tells us the answer to this in the beginning paragraph. He tells us that the Mind of God created all that is, His Spirit entered into it, and His Love gave life to it. This is us he is talking about. This is how we were created, and we cannot change that. We can dream of changing it, but we did not and cannot accomplish this change. We are moving steadily toward Heaven, steadily toward merging with God.

But here now, even in this dream, we can accomplish much.

We can choose to have our minds healed so that we see only the perfection of God’s creation. We can do this by seeing through the eyes of Christ. Seeing that way will show us the beauty and majesty of all God created. Instead of what we have made, we will see the loveliness with which God blessed creation; all its purity, its joy, and its eternal, quiet home in Him.

With Christ’s vision, we will “let all appearances seem pure to us, that we may pass them by in innocence, and walk together to our Father’s house as brothers and the holy Sons of God.” Does all this seem unlikely, maybe even impossible? Perhaps so in light of what we have imagined in its place, but remember that it is only imagination and that reality becomes apparent to us the moment we clear away what we chose to see in its place. We understand what must be relinquished, we have the means to do so, and we have the help of All Who have gone before us. How could we fail? We can’t fail.

There is a way to see the world differently.

For a while now, I have been practicing this. When I would perceive hostility from someone, ask to see it differently. Then suddenly, I would see the fear under which that person was burdened. I would know that I could bring healing to that one. I would simply know the truth for him while he was too confused to know it for himself.

At the same time, I learned that defending myself was not worth the effort. I learned that I wanted the healing for him and that as he was healed, so was I. And so, I learned that there is no separation and that we must be one if the healing of one is the healing of the other. Life is sweet and peaceful as long as I remember this. I forget sometimes, but I return to it because I cannot tolerate lack of peace for long. But also, because I understand that I cannot want for another what I don’t want for myself. We are too intertwined, too connected for that.

This lesson does truly make my heart sing!

The description of how God created us and especially the last phrase. “… walk together to our Father’s house as brothers and the holy Sons of God.” That is us! We are brothers, and we are the holy Sons of God. Right now, as we share this lesson, we are walking together to our Father’s house. And all during the day, as we notice our judgments and desire vision instead, we do it together, with each other and for each other.

It can be so easy to judge and barely notice we are doing it. This morning as I posted on Facebook, I read a comment by someone who always says something that feels sarcastic and unhelpful. I felt judgmental toward him. That is the kind of thing that I want to notice and let go of because these seemingly insignificant judgments are equal in their harmfulness as are the ones that feel big to me. And the truth is he is my brother, perfectly created by my Father, with His Spirit and His Love. That is what I want to see and only that.

The ego insists that the proof otherwise is right there nearly every day, plain as day for everyone to see.

But the ego is talking about an illusion as interpreted by another illusion. Why would I listen to that? “I open my heart to You, Holy Spirit. Please heal me of this incredible burden of judgment. Please wake me up to the beautiful truth.”

Now I see things differently for the most part. I also realize that I have one purpose: to allow my mind to be healed so that I can see with Christ Vision rather than through the ego mind. I don’t try to see with Christ’s Vision, I simply allow the healing and Christ Vision becomes apparent to me. It is a subtle difference, maybe, but it is a difference that allows peace of mind even in this world.

When I “try” to see correctly, I am doing it through the ego and will fail because the ego doesn’t possess vision. When I just notice that I am using the ego mind and allow that to be corrected for me, and I keep doing this, I begin to notice a difference in how I see. I begin to see innocence everywhere I look, not because I am trying to see innocence, but because I have allowed enough healing that I am beginning to see what is there rather than the veil of separation I used to see.

This lesson talks to me about reality.

It reminds me that what I presently choose to look at is not real. It also reminds me that I can, with my brother, return to reality, return to God. I notice that it does not say that I have to make reality. And I don’t have to make myself see reality. I only need to desire the truth as created by God rather than the illusion I made. I do this in many simple ways during the course of my day.

For one thing, I have been practicing being an innocent witness to everything I see. Yesterday I nearly ran out of gas in an area with no gas stations. I did not think I would make it to the gas station and began immediately to worry about what to do and run worst-case scenarios through my mind. Then I remembered that I want to be the witness and to see everything in my life as innocent.

It was time to stop judging the situation.

Since, by this time, I not only saw the situation as guilty of ruining my day but had made myself guilty for being so careless. I began to see the community guilty for being so small they had no gas station and my boss guilty for sending me out into the wilds to do my job. And the ego had just gotten started, I am sure eventually everyone right up the ladder to God would be guilty before it was over.

Instead, I just changed my mind. As I witnessed the gas needle creep down further into the red as I drove, I realized that there is no guilt attached to this situation. I didn’t reason it out; I simply accepted it was what it was. Ultimately, I made it to the gas station, which I would have done regardless of my attitude. But with my change of mind, it was a lovely drive because I didn’t have all the dark clouds of guilt obscuring my vision.

To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 263 click here.

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