August 31, 2021

Lesson 243 –

Today I will judge nothing that occurs.

Perhaps today I can release my tendency to label everything that occurs “good”, “OK”, or “bad.” Everything that occurs just happens. I don’t need to invest in each and every occurrence. When I invest and judge I am perceiving something as separate from me. Everything I think about these occurrences is one of my thoughts that I project on that occurrence. I can let go of any need I feel to control a world that is beyond my control. But, I can control my own thoughts. And when my thoughts are mistaken, I can change them. I can accept Spirit’s guidance in how I [perceive the world’s occurrences.

I will be honest with myself today. I will not think that I already know what must remain beyond my present grasp. I will not think I understand the whole from bits of my perception, which are all that I can see. Today I recognize that this is so. And so I am relieved of judgments that I cannot make. Thus do I free myself and what I look upon, to be in peace as Source created us.   W-pII.243.1:1-5

What do we feel as we look upon the world’s occurrences? If we do not feel peace within, we are using our egoic thought system to perceive them. We have the opportunity to change the source of our thoughts to our One Mind to which Spirit will guide us. One Mind is our natural state of being. We share Mind with Source and all of Creation, all that is real and holy and eternal.

In this shift we find our freedom. We find release from the stress and turmoil in which the world seems to engage us. Wouldn’t we rather experience a world of love, peace, and joy? Believe it or not, it is our choice to experience just that. This experience is there lying just beyond the chaotic world we think we see. The only block to our awareness is a mist, a fog, a veil we have allowed our egoic thought system to place between our mind, our perception and reality. The reality of creation is holy, filled with love and joy and peace. We can begin to step into the awareness of this reality by accepting the higher guidance of our higher Mind and Spirit as we allow the holy shift in our perception. The appearance of the world will change and our actions in it will be revealed. Let go of all judgement and set up the conditions that will let this shift happen. This lesson gives us this prayer to help us whenever we need to re-shift our thoughts or realign our thought system.

Source, today I leave creation free to be itself. I honor all its parts, in which I am included. We are one because each part contains Your memory, and truth must shine in all of us as one.   W-pII.243.2:1-3

August 24, 2021

Lesson 236 –

I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.

What is this mind we must rule? Haven’t we been learning to surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Yes, but opening our mind to Spirit is our choice and it is our responsibility to keep our mind attuned to Spirit’s guidance. The Course gives us so much info about changing our mind and following the guidance we receive. But we must be vigilant for this guidance. We must keep the door open. We need to be aware of which thought system we are aligning with; the egoic thought system or our One Mind. We must seek the blocks to our awareness and release them to allow ourselves to rise into our Oneness consciousness.

I have a realm I must rule. At times, it does not seem I am its ruler at all. It seems to triumph over me, and tell me what to think, and what to do and feel. And yet it has been given me to serve whatever purpose I perceive in it. My mind can only serve. Today I give its service to the Holy Spirit to employ as It sees fit. I thus direct my mind, which I alone can rule. And thus I set it free to do the Will of Source.   W-pII.236.1:1-8

It often seems that we are at the mercy of the world we live in. It appears to happen beyond our control and we are left to deal with the outcomes. Sure, sometimes there are good and happy outcomes. But, the happenings of the world seem beyond our control. The Course teaches us that this world is an illusion. We must consider that the world we think we see is a construct of our perception and rooted in our beliefs about our past that we project on the world. We can choose to see the world differently. We can also see the world more clearly by allowing Spirit to guide our perception of the world and its happenings. Otherwise, without Spirit’s guidance, our perception of the world is guided by our egoic thought system rooted in the belief we are all separate and separate from Source

In this manner, we can choose to allow our egoic thought system to rule our mind and thus the world, or we can turn our mind to Spirit’s guidance and rule our mind through the guidance of Spirit. We rule our mind by aligning our thoughts with the holy guidance of the Spirit of love and peace within us. This choice is always under our control. The choice is between love and fear. It’s a choice between ruling our mind and allowing egoic separation to rule our mind. A choice between our own holy power and helplessness.

What is your choice today, and tomorrow, and the next day? We are offered this prayer to help us make our choice whenever we are ready. Are you ready?

Source, my mind is open to Your Thoughts, and closed today to every thought but Yours. I rule my mind, and offer it to You. Accept my gift, for it is Yours to me.   W-pII.236.2:1-3

August 17, 2021

Lesson 229 –

Love, which created me, is what I am.

This group of lessons speaks to the question, “What is forgiveness?” Forgiveness is letting go of our misperceptions of ourselves and others and recognizing that we are all holy, that we are all whole. We are created by Love, for Source is Love and only Love. We are an extension of our Creator – Source – and therefore are Love. The Course tells us that Love creates only Love and nothing else. In fact, it is impossible to create anything but Love. This lesson points us toward the recognition that we are Love and can be nothing else.

I seek my own Identity, and find It in these words: “Love, which created me, is what I am.” Now need I seek no more. Love has prevailed. So still It waited for my coming home, that I will turn away no longer from the holy face of Christ. And what I look upon attests the truth of the Identity I sought to lose, but which my Creator has kept safe for me.   W-pII.229.1:1-5

Our true Identity is and always has been. It cannot be changed or altered. It remains holy as it has always been. We may have lost sight of our Identity or even denied it. But our true Identity can never be changed. Reawakening to the awareness of our true Identity is called forgiveness – the shift in thought from a mistaken idea to the recognition of what is true. Forgiveness is simple and quiet, a simple recognition.

Forgiveness, on the other hand, is still, and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, nor seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks, and waits, and judges not. One who would not forgive must judge, for they must justify their failure to forgive. But one who would forgive themselves must learn to welcome truth exactly as it is.   W-pII.1.4:1-5

Take a moment to be still and look within. In this quiet the Truth will become apparent. Love is recognized as it rises in our mind. Peace also rises in our awareness. This holy instant of stillness is all we need to step into this awareness of our true Identity. The lesson offers this prayer to help us make this shift.

Creator, my thanks to You for what I am; for keeping my Identity untouched and sinless, in the midst of all the thoughts of sin my foolish mind made up. And thanks to You for saving me from them. Amen.   W-pII.229.2:1-3

August 10, 2021

Lesson 222 –

God is with me. I live and move in God.

We have reached a point in the Workbook Lessons when we start releasing the need for words. We have spent the first part of this year we have given to practicing and learning the principles of the Course. We have opened our minds just a little to begin to allow a shift in the way we think. We have learned that we can see the world differently. We have learned that the world appears differently to our egoic thought system than its reality. Er have learned to look beyond the appearance of everything we tink we see to the truth and reality beyond.

We are never alone. We ma feel alone at times, but there is One who always walks with us whether or not we see their prescence. Our Creator has given us the Holy Spirit to walk with us in this world of separation. And in the real world, the One who created us always walks with us, moving and loving with us. Once we become aware of that Presence through Spirit, we feel this Presence live and move with us, always present. When we allow ourselves to feel this Presence, we experience peace and love. We experience a joy so deep we could never have imagined. We feel the Oneness of this Presence and its Oneness with all Creation which we recognize as our true and rightful home.

God is with me. God is my Source of life, the life within, the air I breathe, the food by which I am sustained, the water which renews and cleanses me. God is my home, wherein I live and move; the Spirit which directs my actions, offers me Its Thoughts, and guarantees my safety from all pain. God covers me with kindness and with care, and holds in love the Child God shines upon, who also shines on God. How still is the one who knows the truth of what God speaks today!   W-pII.222.1:1-5

We have truly come home. We feel less of a need for words as we begin to experience direct communication with our Source. We find ourselves communing in Oneness with the holiness we already are and always have been. We find the life within us that is eternal and unstoppable. We are sustained, we are renewed, and we are cleansed of any illusions of unworthiness we have identified with in our past. All that is past no longer needs any consideration for it is no longer. As we open ourselves to the truth about ourselves, we are transformed and restored to the holy One we are, complete, limitless and whole. Let all the barriers to the awareness of who we really are go. They have no power to hold us unless we give them that power. Release it. Let it go. Allow the happiness of reality to rise within and buoy the joy that is ours. Step into the joy of living as One.

August 3, 2021

Lesson 215 –

Review of Lesson 195

I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.

(195) Love is the way I walk in gratitude.

The Holy Spirit is my only Guide. The Holy Spirit walks with me in love. And I give thanks to the Holy Spirit for showing me the way to go.

I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.   W-pI.215.1:1-7

“Love is the way I walk in gratitude,” is the lesson we are reviewing. This lesson exudes a sense of grace and peace for me. The world I see is bound to appear better if I approach it with this attitude. What do we have to be grateful for? We look around at the world we think we see and see so much wrong, so much pain. But are we seeing clearly? Or are we seeing the world incorrectly? What guide are we relying on to show us the way?

Our gratitude will pave the way to the One, and shorten our learning time by more than you could ever dream of. Gratitude goes hand in hand with love, and where one is the other must be found. For gratitude is but an aspect of the Love which is the Source of all creation. The One gives thanks to you, the One Child, for being what you are; the One’s Own completion and the Source of love, along with the One. Your gratitude to the One is one with the One’s to you. For love can walk no road except the way of gratitude, and thus we go who walk the way to the One.   W-pI.195.10:1-6

Who or what do we look to for guidance on our journey home? Many times I find myself fighting whatever I encounter that I don’t like. There are challenges. There are road blocks. Rather than being upset or angry, I could change my mind and be grateful for just a moment. Perhaps there’s a message. Perhaps there’s a signpost I need to see to guide my way. My gratitude allows me to relax just enough to allow peace and love to rise within me and adjust my attitude. My mind sees so much better when I relax into gratitude and the grace that comes with it to guide me.

We never have to travel our path alone. Sometimes it may feel very lonely, but that is due to our closed eyes and mind. Spirit always walks beside us ready to take our hand at any moment we become willing to let go of our denial of who we are and who walks beside us. Yes, Spirit walks beside us always, whether or not we are aware of Its presence. Spirit is never judgmental or cross. Spirit simply walks with us knowing who we are and ready to catch us or pick us up when we fall. When we allow our mind to open just a bit, Spirit reminds us of who we are. In that remembrance is the ancient song of love that is so familiar and reminds us of our home in Oneness. Spirit reminds us of who we really are.

Look ahead. Look beyond the path you think you see to the beauty that lies beyond. This is our destination and it’s already around and within us. Walking in gratitude with love brings the awareness that we are already home to our mind. Let us allow ourselves to see that we are all One. Let us remember our true home in Oneness and be grateful. Let it be so, right now.