Daily Lesson

  

L e s s o n  361 to 365  

This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace.      

<AUDIO> <VIDEO>   

Hear Today's Lesson~Voice & Music by Martin Weber-Caspers[maz] 

IAMBIC PENTAMETER 
Format from URTEXT by Lee Flynn 

  "And If I need a word to help me, He
   will give it to me. If I need a thought,

   that will He also give. And if I need

   but stillness and a tranquil, open mind,

   these are the gifts I will receive of Him.

   He is in charge by my request. And He

   will hear and answer me, because He speaks

   for God my Father, and His holy Son."

     ~ Original Handscript of ACIM           

 Our Final Lessons 

 <AUDIO> <VIDEO>      

Voice & Music by Martin Weber-Caspers [maz] 

IAMBIC PENTAMETER
Format from URTEXT by Lee Flynn       

   Our final lessons will be left as free
   of words as possible. We use them but

   at the beginning of our practicing,

   and only to remind us that we seek

   to go beyond them. Let us turn to Him

   Who leads the way and makes our footsteps sure.

   To Him we leave these lessons, as to Him

   we give our lives henceforth. For we would not

   return again to the belief in sin

   which made the world seem ugly and unsafe,

   attacking and destroying, dangerous

   in all its ways and treacherous beyond

   the hope of trust and the escape from pain.

   His is the only way to find the peace

   that God has given us. It is His way

   that everyone will travel in the end,

   because it is this ending God Himself

   appointed. In the dream of time it seems

   to be far off. And yet, in truth, it is

   already here; already serving us

   as gracious guidance in the way to go.

   Let us together follow in the way

   that truth points out to us. And let us be

   the leaders of our many brothers, who

   are seeking for the way, but find it not.

   And to this purpose let us dedicate

   our minds, directing all our thoughts to serve

   the function of salvation. Unto us

   the aim is given to forgive the world.

   It is the goal that God has given us.

   It is His ending to the dream we seek,

   and not our own. For all that we forgive

   we will not fail to recognize as part

   of God Himself. And thus His memory

   is given back completely and complete.

   It is our function to remember Him

   on earth, as it is given us to be

   His own completion in reality.

   So let us not forget our goal is shared,

   for it is that remembrance which contains

   the memory of God, and points the way

   to Him and to the Heaven of His peace.

   And shall we not forgive our brother, who

   can offer this to us? He is the way,

   the truth and life that shows the way to us.

   In him resides salvation, offered us

   through our forgiveness, given unto him.

   We will not end this year without the gift

   our Father promised to His holy Son.

   We are forgiven now, and we are saved

   from all the wrath we thought belonged to God,

   and found it was a dream. We are restored

   to sanity, in which we understand

   that anger is insane, attack is mad,

   and vengeance merely foolish fantasy.

   We have been saved from wrath because we learned

   we were mistaken. Nothing more than that.

   And is a father angry at his son

   because he failed to understand the truth?

   We come in honesty to Him, and say

   we did not understand, and ask Him to

   help us to learn His lessons through the Voice

   of His own Teacher. Would He hurt His Son?

   Or would He rush to answer him, and say,

   "This is my Son, and all I have is his?"

   Be certain He will answer thus, for these

   are His own Words to you. And more than that

   can no one ever have, for in these Words

   is all there is and all that there will be

   throughout all time and in eternity. "

   ~ Original Handscript of ACIM    

ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections 

Lesson  361 to 365    
 This holy instant would I give to You.
Be You in charge. For I would follow You,
Certain that Your direction gives me peace. 

Sarah's Commentary:         

We end the year with the final words of the Course and use these words to guide our practice for five days starting on December 27^th and ending on December 31^st. "This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I would follow you, certain that Your direction gives me peace." This lesson reminds us that the only peace there is, is already ours, given us by God. We can't find it outside of ourselves. It is not in our circumstances but in ourselves.

This peace is forever still and undisturbed in us no matter how raucous are the shrieks of the ego demanding its due. Only within is where certainty and peace are found. It is in the deep silence of our minds. It is in the perfection of that which is watching our drama from outside of the dream. The drama itself  is the dream that we made up. When we realize we are the dreamer we can truly make choices. "In holiness we were created and in holiness do we remain".  And anything unlike it is our own self created drama.  

The year has ended. In T. 16.II he says that "This is a year of joy, in which your listening will increase and peace will grow with its increase. The power of holiness and the weakness of attack are both being brought into your awareness. And this has been accomplished in a mind firmly convinced that holiness is weakness and attack is power. Should not this be a sufficient miracle to teach you that your Teacher is not of you? But remember also that whenever you listened to His interpretation, the results have brought you joy. Would you prefer the results of your interpretation considering honestly what they have been? God wills you better. Could you not look with greater charity on whom God loves with perfect love?"

Those are profound words which remind us of the progress that we have been making this year. We are reminded that if we really notice what has happened around us that we will see the contrast between the times we chose to attack and those where we chose peace instead and the miracles that came about as a result. This is the proof that there is power in forgiveness. This is the proof that when we let go of the ego counsel and listen instead to the wisdom of our deeper Self, that we have considerably more peace and joy in our lives. But it is ultimately about undoing the ego. There are times in our lives doing this course that things seem to get much worse. To the ego mind that is an indication that the course is not working for us. But we need not be upset but can, in fact, rejoice that we have an opportunity now to really see the darkness of the ego which we were not aware of before. And seeing it is an important step to undoing the ego. So it is not a time to despair. Despair about how long this will take to undo the ego, and how bound we seem to be to it, is just a defense against the truth. Outside of time, in the holy instant we see that this is so. Just know that the light is behind the darkness and our work is in front of us.

What is different now in your life? Take notice. For me when I am in a state of distress I can come back to peace much more quickly;  I can let anger go much more readily; I can admit that I am wrong and thus am more humble about not knowing;  I take more responsibility for my thoughts by taking back my projections from my brother and offer the miracle instead; I see more and more that I don't know my own best interests and thus accept that everything is unfolding for my highest good;  I make fewer judgments; I watch my mind more frequently for signs of distress and have become more willing to give them over; my stubborn nature has increasingly been a source of humor and laughter for me; I have increasingly seen challenges in my life as opportunities to look at what is going on in my mind that is creating this situation and take responsibility for it; I have allowed myself to be a detective of my own experience, watching it with interest, investigating what is going on in my mind and not judging the seemingly negative emotions but simply being willing to bring them to the light; I have increasingly seen that I do not have to change anyone but myself; my job is to accept and love those who are  struggling with themselves as it is just my own reflection of my struggle. My job is not to change anyone.  

 Later in this same section of the text Jesus reminds us that we have many gifts offered to us by God but we ignore them as long as we focus our attention on what we think of as our reality. He reminds us that we are putting "faith in the disaster that you made". In other words we believe that the lives we have made have some kind of reality and that we are in control of what happens. "Today, let us resolve together to accept the joyful tidings that disaster is not real and that reality is not disaster."  We plan and strategize to try to deal with what we think is the reality of our lives. When we listen instead to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we accept that what we think of as our life in this world is not real and that what is truly real can never show up as disaster. "Reality is safe and sure and wholly kind to everyone and everything. There is no greater love than to accept this and be glad. For love asks only that you be happy, and will give you everything that makes for happiness" (T. 16.II.8)

 So this is a time to evaluate what the gifts of walking through this Course have been for you. What are the signs of progress in your life? These are all witnesses of God's Love for us. These are the gifts that help us to see that no matter what it looks like out in the world, we are always safe. Yes, the body may be jeopardized but we are not bodies. Our spirit is never at risk. Yes, we will be confronted by seeming problems but we don't know what they are for in our lives. They can teach us so much if we are willing to use them for this purpose. I have learned so much about forgiveness and release when I have turned a problem over to the Holy Spirit. He always solves it in ways that seem so counter-intuitive. He has guided me to pay off a seeming adversary when on my own I would have fought the situation in court. And yet His counsel brought peace. It also has brought me recognition that striving for money, status, position, power, material things only bring pain. True gifts come from forgiveness, from healing of the mind by releasing our grievances. They are gifts that bring joining and healing with our brothers and sisters.  

 "This is the year for the application of ideas that have been given you. For the ideas are mighty forces to be used and not held idly by".  That is the biggest lesson of all...to apply the lessons we are given. They are no use to us simply as words on the page. They are to be applied in every situation without exception. "They have already proved their power sufficiently for you to place your faith in them and not in their denial. This year invest in truth and let it work in peace. Have faith in Him Who has faith in you. Think what you have really seen and heard and recognize it. Can you be alone with witnesses like these?"  (T. 16.II.9)  

Certainly I have seen that these ideas are mighty and powerful forces that have changed my life. So why do I still hold doubt thoughts? I have seen seeming enemies become lasting friends; I have seen my marriage saved; I have seen angels appear on my path when disaster seems to be looming-whether a flat tire or a difficulty with a seemingly big problem. And yet while I have all kinds of evidence of His presence, I still wonder about the next time and still often rely on my own solutions. So now it is time for strong resolve to trust, to give up the "I know" mind and to be gently led every moment.  We all have had proof of the Holy Spirit working through us knowing that what has happened has nothing to do with our plans and intentions. It is getting out of our own way and allowing Him to radiate His Love through us. "And the results have been to bring peace where there was pain, and suffering has disappeared to be replaced by joy". As we give the love we know it is in us. We know it by giving it.  

 So let's embrace these final lessons and commit to live them as much as we can by trusting in the Power that is behind them, working in our lives with total consistency. Our peace and joy have increased as has our confidence in our Teacher. There truly is a gift behind each disaster. There is a door that leads us out of each difficult situation,  that is provided by the Holy Spirit. A miracle is waiting behind every problem. It wants to come forth and give us the lesson that we are loved and never abandoned. Have faith in this Power. Extend the gift to others even when there appears to be lack of appreciation and even attack. By extending love and forgiveness we bring these gifts to our awareness. We don't need any more evidence. We have the evidence when we apply these lessons. The Course does work. Look at the data of your own lives. It is time to set your intention for another year. It is time to recognize that there are no accidents in salvation. Everyone who shows us or who has shown up in our lives is there for a divine purpose. They are all gifts for our learning.  

 And finally, we recognize that procrastination hurts us. "His is the only way to find the peace that God has given us. It is His way that everyone must travel in the end, because it is this ending God Himself appointed. In the dream often, it seems to be far off. And yet, in truth it is already here; already serving as gracious guidance in the way to go. Let us together follow in the way that truth points out to us. And let us be the leaders of our many brothers who are seeking for the way, but find it not"  

 How ready are we to come with total honesty to God and admit that we don't know; that we are lost in the illusion; that our answers are like flying with the wings of a sparrow when the wings of the eagle are always available to us. "We come in honesty to God and say we did not understand and ask Him to help us to learn His lessons through the Voice of His Own Teacher." "And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son"   

So for our final five days of lessons which we give to the Holy Spirit it requires that we allow space in our minds for His Presence. It is a time to go beyond words, as the Introduction to these final lessons inform us. Each practice period is now about entering the holy instant as much as possible. We are putting the Holy Spirit in charge of these practice periods and following Him on the way to peace. Words mean little now and while He will give them to us as we need them to focus our practice, the main focus is to go beyond words to experience. "He is in charge by my request".  We must now actively choose to go to Him when we are tempted to be right and feel superior, making comparisons and wanting to win at someone's expense.Now we enter a state where we remember our purpose everyday which is to forgive. That is the only reason to be here in this world.  

We remember that the Atonement is fully present in us. The Teacher is within. And now we recognize we are one, with the same goal and the same need. "The light in them shines as brightly, regardless of the density of the fog that obscures it. If you give no power to the fog to obscure the light, it has none." (T. 12.II.2) We recognize that to remember that we are the way the truth and the life the same as Jesus we must commit daily to  forgiveness. 

Love and blessings Sarah

Sarah's Home Page

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