Daily Lesson

  

   L e s s o n  37

My holiness blesses the world.  

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< GUIDANCE from ELDER BROTHER >

¹ This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the world or why you are here. Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness. Thus are you and the world blessed together. No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due. And he is entitled to everything because it is his birthright as a Son of God.

² There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the world's thinking. Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or something. As a result, the perceiver will lose. Nor will he have any idea why he is losing. Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through your vision. Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see themselves as whole make no demands.

³ Your holiness is the salvation of the world. It lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed, along with you.

⁴ Today's four longer exercise periods, each to involve three to five minutes of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for today followed by a minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:

⁵ My holiness blesses this chair.
My holiness blesses that window.
My holiness blesses this body.

⁶ Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using his name and saying:

⁷ My holiness blesses you, [name].

⁸ You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open your eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so desire; you may alternate between applying it to what you see around you and to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any combination of these two phases of application which you prefer. The practice period should conclude with a repetition of the idea made with your eyes closed and another following immediately with your eyes open.

⁹ The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you can. It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using his name as you do so. It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness.

Workbook - Part 1
 Introduction 

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¹ A theoretical foundation such as the text is necessary as a background to make these exercises meaningful. Yet it is the exercises which will make the goal possible. An untrained mind can accomplish nothing. It is the purpose of these exercises to train the mind to think along the lines which the course sets forth.

² The exercises are very simple. They do not require more than a few minutes, and it does not matter where or when you do them. They need no preparation. They are numbered, running from 1 to 365. The training period is one year. Do not undertake more than one exercise a day.

³ The purpose of these exercises is to train the mind to a different perception of everything in the world. The workbook is divided into two sections, the first dealing with the undoing of what you see now and the second with the restoration of sight. It is recommended that each exercise be repeated several times a day, preferably in a different place each time and, if possible, in every situation in which you spend any long period of time. The purpose is to train the mind to generalize the lessons, so that you will understand that each of them is as applicable to one situation as it is to another.

⁴ Unless specified to the contrary, the exercise should be practiced with the eyes open, since the aim is to learn how to see. The only rule that should be followed throughout is to practice the exercises with great specificity. Each one applies to every situation in which you find yourself and to everything you see in it. Each day's exercises are planned around one central idea, the exercises themselves consisting of applying that idea to as many specifics as possible. Be sure that you do not decide that there are some things you see to which the idea for the day is inapplicable. The aim of the exercises will always be to increase the application of the idea to everything. This will not require effort. Only be sure that you make no exceptions in applying the idea.

⁵ Some of the ideas you will find hard to believe, and others will seem quite startling. It does not matter. You are merely asked to apply them to what you see. You are not asked to judge them, nor even to believe them. You are asked only to use them. It is their use which will give them meaning to you, and show you they are true. Remember only this-you need not believe them, you need not accept them, and you need not welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter nor decrease their efficacy. But allow yourself to make no exceptions in applying the ideas the exercises contain. Whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than this is required.

ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections 

Lesson  37 
My holiness blesses the world.       

Sarah's Commentary:        

Have you ever asked yourself why you are here? What your function in the world is? This lesson says it gives us a "glimmering" of it. (1.1) It seems like more than a glimmering to me when the lesson says in 1.2 "your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness". It becomes quite clear then, that regardless of what we seem to be doing in the world, our function is to offer healing and blessing. But what does this mean? It means that we must engage in the forgiveness of our judgments and our grievances so that the blessing comes through us. There is nothing for us to try to do because when we look with vision we are joined in our minds with the Holy Spirit and blessings automatically extend through us. Thus, as was said yesterday, the blessing that is now in our minds, envelops everything we see. It is our unholiness, the choice for the ego thought system, that condemns the world we see. Again we are reminded here that projection makes perception, meaning that what we have chosen within, we see without and they are the same.

Then he goes on to say that "No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due."(1.4-5) There is no sacrifice to anyone. In the world of egos, this is not the case. We expect things in return for what we give. We need others to serve us.  Someone always loses. We see a world of competition, where we seem to be separated from everyone, a world where if I gain, then you must lose. I think that if I am to get what I want, there must be some kind of cost to me. I have to pay (sacrifice) for what I want. It is the thought system that makes us believe that we have to pay back God for what we have taken from him-our individuality. But when we only bless, we are blessed. "Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment to someone or something" (2.2) And that way of seeing is to see the Son of God as fragmented. 

In Chapter 1.III.3 Jesus tells us that "the Golden Rule asks you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you." However, there is a proviso here as follows:  "This means that the perception of both must be accurate. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot behave appropriately unless you perceive correctly." So the Golden Rule, as discussed in the Course, is about looking at everyone from the "perception of our own holiness to the holiness of others". This is a contrast to being a do-gooder or preaching to anyone. It only asks for our quiet recognition of Oneness with each other. (3.2) We need do nothing except this to know our own holiness. But it requires first that we perceive correctly and that means that holiness can only be extended through the healed mind. Forgiveness is the only way that we can clear our ego thoughts. And when the mind is healed, it is clearly not me doing the blessing but it can then shine through me to others. So my responsibility with this lesson is to clear the channel so that the love that shines in our right mind where the Holy Spirit resides is not blocked by our perceptions. 

Through this we have the power to work miracles. Any other way of seeing means that we lose but we don't know why! Isn't that interesting? An earlier lesson was "God is in everything I see because God is in my mind." This lesson is very similar. Because God is in my mind, I am very holy. Holiness is   a state of  innocence. It is seeing with innocent perception with no preconceived notions. It is a mind that wakes up from believing that what it currently knows is the truth. It is a state of holiness. And it is only blessings that extend from the saintly. As paragraph 1 says, it is our true function in the world and why we are here.  We all gain as we give honor to our brothers who are our Self.

The state of innocence is total. When we experience our holiness, it is a beautiful state that radiates love to the universe. When we are in this state, all is perfect. Nothing can go wrong. It is like a golden hue paints the world in beauty. All is well. The world does not have to change because there is no world to change. It is our thoughts about the world that must change. And now we can see how so often we throw away this moment of joy and peace when we swing back into judgment. When this happens, it is as if the glorious experience we had, never happened. This is how we play out the separation over and over. But as we do our lesson and extend the beneficence of our loving nature, we are actually practicing this state of holiness that we actually are.  "Your witnessing demonstrates your belief, and thus strengthens it". (T.1.IV.4.7)  "You are asked to live so as to demonstrate that you are not an ego, and I do not choose God's channels wrongly". (T.4.VI.6.3) So we are using these lessons to demonstrate a belief that is weak in us but through its demonstration it is strengthened and thus with each practice we do we remind ourselves about the truth about ourselves that we are not the ego, meaning we are not the personality nor the self concept that we currently think defines us in this world. 

We do not believe what we are saying right now but that is all part of the training. With practice, the door is slowly being opened. It is not important if we don't believe these statements right now. It will come. The means are provided to us every day through the application of these practices.   The exercises we are doing right now both affirm the truth about ourselves while having us look at our mistaken thoughts that block the truth of our Reality.  

" Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating it is as blessed to give as to receive". (T.1.I.16.1) This is a world of taking. It is a world of having our needs met and we see others as a way of meeting our needs. It is a world where we mostly look after what we think is our due. But now we learn that through extending our blessing we receive it for ourselves and with each miracle our mind is shifted in recognizing that we receive the blessing for ourselves each time we give it.  "When a brother acts insanely, he is offering you an opportunity to bless him.   You need the blessing you can offer him."(T.7.VII.2. ) Yes, it is very challenging. Our usual response to insane behavior is to become angry. Yet more and more we see through this practice that it is our anger that needs to be brought to the light of truth. Only then can blessing instead of attack extend through us.  When we see attack, it is a reflection of our own attack thoughts that we now can see as a result of our projection. Our brother is seen as a symbol of our own attack thoughts, projected out.   "Those who attack do not know they are blessed". (T.7.VII.7.5) So it is our function to forgive and thus we must look first to our own minds. And thus blessing extends through us when the blocks to love are lifted. 

To bless our brothers is not something we do by teaching or preaching. What teaches is our quiet recognition that in our holiness are all things blessed with us. 

 So the practice today requires:

 1. Four times today for three-to-five-minutes   
2. repeat the idea, "my holiness blesses the world", several times, slowly . 
3. Now look quite slowly about you, applying the idea specifically to whatever you see in your casual survey. My holiness blesses this chair, that rug etc 

4. Now close your eyes and apply the idea to any person you think of saying "My holiness blesses you_______".  (this is about healing our special relationships where we withhold forgiveness/blessing) It is important to see that this is not just an exercise of affirmation but of forgiveness with the goal of allowing the blessing to naturally come through us as a result of forgiving our expectations and demands of our special relationships.  5. Conclude by repeating the idea with eyes closed and then again with eyes open.

Again, we are asked to repeat the idea often throughout the day and to also use the lesson by applying it to anyone you meet or think about throughout the day. As the lesson says "it is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet using his name as you do so. It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately, that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness" This is such a powerful part of the lesson and I really urge you to work with this idea throughout the day. It can shift everything for you. It means that you must stay vigilant throughout the day watching your ego in action with its demands and requirements of others on behalf of your own happiness as you define it.

Also use the lesson as a response to temptation when you have an adverse reaction to anyone you think of or meet. " Refuse to accept anyone as without the blessing of Atonement, and bring him into it by blessing him." (T.14.V.11.5) It is a day to pay attention to our thoughts and notice our inclination to keep others separate from us and be willing to accept correction for our mind. It is about looking at our demands of others today both in terms of seeing our overt demands that we make in our minds as well as the more subtle forms. It is always based on our perception that we are lacking and need something from others. When we identify with our holiness, there is no scarcity in us because we are everything and have everything. When we make demands of anyone we hold the belief that we are not whole.

Love and blessings, Sarah

Sarah's Home Page

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A Course in Miracles   
TEXT  

Chapter Three     

Retraining the Mind 

IX. Creating Versus the Self-Image             

⁷² Every system of thought must have a starting point. It begins with either a making or a creating, a difference which we have discussed already. Their resemblance lies in their power as foundations. Their difference lies in what rests upon them. Both are cornerstones for systems of belief by which men live. It is a mistake to believe that a thought system which is based on lies is weak. Nothing made by a Child of God is without power. It is essential to realize this because otherwise you will not understand why you have so much trouble with this course and will be unable to escape from the prisons which you have made for yourselves.

⁷³ You cannot resolve the authority problem by depreciating the power of your minds. To do so is to deceive yourself, and this will hurt you because you know the strength of the mind. You also know that you cannot weaken it, any more than you can weaken God. The "devil" is a frightening concept because he is thought of as extremely powerful and extremely active. He is perceived as a force in combat with God, battling Him for possession of the Souls He created. He deceives by lies and builds kingdoms of his own in which everything is in direct opposition to God. Yet he attracts men rather than repels them, and they are seen as willing to "sell" him their Souls in return for gifts they recognize are of no real worth.

⁷⁴ This makes absolutely no sense. The whole picture is one in which man acts in a way he himself realizes is self-destructive but which he does not choose to correct and therefore perceives the cause as beyond his control. We have discussed the fall, or separation, before, but its meaning must be clearly understood without symbols. The separation is not symbolic. It is an order of reality or a system of thought that is real enough in time, though not in eternity. All beliefs are real to the believer.

⁷⁵ The fruit of only one tree was "forbidden" to man in his symbolic garden. But God could not have forbidden it or it could not have been eaten. If God knows His Children, and I assure you that He does, would He have put them in a position where their own destruction was possible? The "tree" which was forbidden was named the "tree of knowledge." Yet God created knowledge and gave it freely to His creations. The symbolism here has been given many interpretations, but you may be sure that any interpretation which sees either God or His creations as capable of destroying their own purpose is in error.

⁷⁶ Eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge is a symbolic expression for incorporating into the self the ability for self-creating. This is the only sense in which God and His Souls are not co-creators. The belief that they are is implicit in the "self concept," a concept now made acceptable by its weakness and explained by a tendency of the self to create an image of itself. Its fear aspect is often ascribed to fear of retaliation by a "father figure," a particularly curious idea in view of the fact that no one uses the term to refer to the physical father. It refers to an image of a father in relation to an image of the self.

⁷⁷ Images are perceived, not known. Knowledge cannot deceive, but perception can. Man can perceive himself as self-creating, but he cannot do more than believe it. He cannot make it true. And, as we said before, when you finally perceive correctly, you can only be glad that you cannot. But until then, the belief that you can is the central foundation stone in your thought system, and all your defenses are used to attack ideas which might bring it to light. You still believe you are images of your own creation. Your minds are split with your Souls on this point, and there is no resolution while you believe the one thing that is literally inconceivable. That is why you cannot create and are filled with fear about what you make.

⁷⁸ The mind can make the belief in separation very real and very fearful, and this belief is the "devil." It is powerful, active, destructive, and clearly in opposition to God because it literally denies His Fatherhood. Never underestimate the power of this denial. Look at your lives and see what the devil has made. But know that this making will surely dissolve in the light of truth because its foundation is a lie.

⁷⁹ Your creation by God is the only foundation which cannot be shaken because the light is in it. Your starting point is truth, and you must return to this beginning. Much has been perceived since then, but nothing else has happened. That is why your Souls are still in peace, even though your minds are in conflict. You have not yet gone back far enough, and that is why you become so fearful. As you approach the beginning, you feel the fear of the destruction of your thought system upon you, as if it were the fear of death. There is no death, but there is a belief in death.

⁸⁰ The Bible says that the branch that bears no fruit will be cut off and will wither away. Be glad! The light will shine from the true Foundation of Life, and your own thought system will stand corrected. It cannot stand otherwise. You who fear salvation are willing death. Life and death, light and darkness, knowledge and perception are irreconcilable. To believe that they can be reconciled is to believe that God and man can not. Only the oneness of knowledge is conflictless. Your kingdom is not of this world because it was given you from beyond this world. Only in this world is the idea of an authority problem meaningful. The world is not left by death but by truth, and truth can be known by all those for whom the Kingdom was created and for whom it waits.