L e s s o n  326

I am forever an effect of God. 
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IAMBIC PENTAMETER 
format from URTEXT by Lee Flynn

   Creation is the sum of all God's Thoughts,

   in number infinite, and everywhere

   without all limit. Only Love creates,

   and only like Itself. There was no time

   when all that It created was not there.

   Nor will there be a time when anything

   that It created suffers any change.

   Forever and forever are God's Thoughts

   exactly as They were and as They are,

   unchanged through time and after time is done.

   God's Thoughts are given all the power that

   Their own Creator has. For He would add

   to Love by Its extension. Thus His Son

   shares in creation, and must therefore share

   in power to create. What God has willed

   to be forever one will still be one

   when time is over; and will not be changed

   throughout the course of time, remaining as

   it was before the thought of time began.

   Creation is the opposite of all

   illusions, for Creation is the truth.

   Creation is the holy Son of God,

   for in Creation is His Will complete

   in every aspect, making every part

   container of the whole. Its oneness is

   forever guaranteed inviolate;

   forever held within His holy Will

   beyond all possibility of harm,

   of separation, imperfection and

   of any spot upon its sinlessness.

   We are creation; we the Sons of God.

   We seem to be discrete and unaware

   of our eternal unity with Him.

   Yet back of all our doubts, past all our fears,

   there still is certainty. For Love remains

   with all Its Thoughts, Its sureness being Theirs.

   God's memory is in our holy minds,

   which know their oneness, and their unity

   with their Creator. Let our function be

   only to let this memory return,

   only to let God's Will be done on earth,

   only to be restored to sanity,

   and to be but as God created us.

   Our Father calls to us. We hear His Voice,

   and we forgive creation in the Name

   of its Creator, Holiness Itself,

   Whose holiness His own creation shares;

   Whose holiness is still a part of us.

   ~ Original Handscript of ACIM  January 12, 1971

This lesson reminds us that we have never left our home with God. We were created by God. Love creates. In the section on "What is Creation?" we are told that God thinks us into being. Thus we are the creation of God's Thoughts. As such we have all of His characteristics. Anything about us that is unlike God, we have made ourselves. Thus when we clear and release our thoughts that we have made about ourselves and our seeming reality in this world, we know our true Self as created by God. So in spite of what we may think about ourselves, the truth is that there is nothing we can do to change God's creation. In other words, we have not changed the truth about ourselves and simply can't do it. It is very reassuring to know that we are still the pristine, pure, holy, divine Son of God that can do nothing to change that, no matter how we think we have screwed up, and made ourselves into something else.

It is very much like lesson 67 "Love created me like Itself". This lesson says that this is a "complete and accurate statement of what you are. This is why you are the light of the world."  Jesus tells us here that this is why our reality and our nature is wholly unchanged and unchangeable. We are asked now to release everything that the ego tells us about ourselves. None of it is the truth. Our minds are simply preoccupied with false thoughts and false images.

In Chapter 7.1 "The Last Step" our teacher reminds us that we all see ourselves as outside of the Kingdom, so it is hard to imagine that we have never left our home with God. Yet how can a Thought in the mind of God ever leave its Source. It would mean that that thought would have to be released from God's Mind. That is why we need the experience of the holy instant so we can realize our wholeness as a result of that instant of transcending the ego. No, it won't all change overnight so we have to be patient with ourselves.

Jesus reminds us that we are too afraid of God-too afraid of Love so our awakening to Reality is preceded by the happy dream. All of our practice of the Course teaching and the lessons is to experience the miracle so that our perception can be changed from fearful dreams to gentle dreams. With each experience our motivation increases until at the end we can have the confidence and assurance that God will gather us all up "into the tranquil Heaven" of His Love. This is such a beautiful image of our homecoming from seemingly having wandered off from the beautiful tranquil experience of Love.

 We are not these discrete and separate beings. We are One with God yet we are "unaware of our eternal unity with Him." Our perception is that of an individual self. Now we are asked to go past all of our doubts and fears in order to experience the truth and be restored to sanity. Certainty is of God. In this world nothing is certain including what we think of as love. We have all experienced how quickly our notion of love can turn to anger and hate. The closest reflection of love in this world is forgiveness. With each forgiving thought we recognize that we are not separate. When we forgive we are recognizing the innocence of our brother and thus we recognize the truth. "Each one you see in light brings your light closer to your awareness. Love always leads to love. The sick who ask for love, are grateful for it, and in their joy they shine with holy thanks". (Chapter 13.VI.II). It is so beautiful to know that love and beauty is in us and to know it we must extend it to our brother. By giving it we know we have it.

 In this lesson we commit to "Let me know that I am an Effect of God, and so I have the power to create like You". (1.6) This is such a personal appeal to our own minds to allow us to have the experience of God's power. And that power is simply the power of creation here on earth. How do we manifest this power of creation? We offer our forgiveness and our blessing to everyone we meet. We see that we are the same in our creation. We see the innocence and beauty in everyone. We see the Christ. But that is not something that can be manufactured. We are often triggered by circumstances, people and events in our lives that bring on anger, frustration and judgment. But if this world is a classroom for our healing then the option in front of us when this happens, is to either to act on those feelings that are triggered in us or to become aware of the unhealed pain in us that we can investigate and bring to the light of truth.

 Isn't it reassuring to know that we can't determine what we are? God is the Cause and we are His effect. Nothing can change that. Nothing we have done makes any difference to the truth. The truth simply shines forth waiting for us to acknowledge that this is so. "Cause and its effects are indistinguishable"(1.5)  meaning that we simply cannot be distinguished from our Source. We have all of God's attributes. We are divine beings with the power to create just like His power to create. When I join with a brother or sister and connect at a deep level, experiencing the joy, peace and compassion of true joining, I know that it is not this Sarah personality, the dream figure,  that has done anything. It is the truth of my Self that is shining through when the personality surrenders control and gets out of the way. The connection of two souls is truly the power of divinity shining through this body.

In other words, in our experience on this earth, we can be the mirror and can reflect Heaven through our forgiveness. "Your plan I follow here, and at the end I know that You will gather Your effects into the tranquil Heaven of Your Love, where earth will vanish, and all separate thoughts unite in glory as the Son of God"(1.8) That is what our function is here until we come to true perception until there is no need to be in this earthly classroom any longer and we disappear into God.  "Let us today behold earth disappear, at first transformed, and then forgiven, fade entirely into God's holy Will".(2.1) In other words, when we come to the end of our journey here, the world will be transformed into the happy dream because our mind is now that clear reflection of God's Love when our unhealed thoughts are all brought to truth, until finally the earth will disappear because our classroom is no longer needed, until we become One again with God.

In practicing this lesson, feel free to use words that speak to you personally. Allow these words to come from your mind. For me words like, I am like my Father with all his attributes. Or today, I follow His plan for me and surrender my own. Or Father, help me to know that I can never leave you. And today use every opportunity to watch your thoughts and challenge them so that you don't act on them when they come from anger, judgment, frustration, superiority etc. Feel the pain of the unhealed parts of your own mind and be willing to give up the idea that trying to change or control anything in outside events will bring peace. All this does is cover over this unhealed pain that we are trying to distract ourselves from. If, however you do find yourself having reacted to some event or situation today, forgive yourself and recognize that this is just another learning opportunity presented to you.

 Love and blessings, Sarah

 Sarah's Home Page

Quotes in this article are from Foundation for Inner Peace edition; To locate the same quotes in the 'Original Edition', use this link:  http://www.jcim.net/acim_us/Acim.php  
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^{A Course in Miracles
 TEXT
 Chapter Thirty One
The Simplicity of Salvation}

II. The Illusion of an Enemy