SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14, 2016
Miracles are expressions of LOVE
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A COURSE IN MIRACLES
CH 4 "THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL"
V. THE ESCAPE FROM FEAR 
 
I know that miracles are natural because they are expressions of love.

A COURSE IN MIRACLES
WORKBOOK Part I
INTRODUCTION
WorkBook Intro
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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.
 
  ~ Original Hand Script of ACIM    

  
CIRCLE OF ATONEMENT ~ COMMENTARY
          
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DAILY LESSON
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 L e s s o n 45
God is the Mind with which I think.
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1 Today's idea holds the key to what your real thoughts are. They are nothing that you think you think, just as nothing that you think you see is related to vision in any way. There is no relationship between what is real and what you think is real. Nothing that you think are your real thoughts resemble your real thoughts in any respect. Nothing that you think you see bears any resemblance to what vision will show you. 
 
2 You think with the Mind of God. Therefore you share your thoughts with Him, as He shares His with you. They are the same thoughts because they are thought by the same Mind. To share is to make alike or to make one. Nor do the thoughts you think with the Mind of God leave your mind, because thoughts do not leave their source. Therefore your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you are. They are in your mind as well, where He is. As you are part of His Mind, so are your thoughts part of His Thoughts. 
 
3 Where, then, are your real thoughts? Today we will attempt to reach them. We will have to look for them in your mind because that is where they are. They must still be there because they cannot have left. What is thought by the Mind of God is eternal, being part of creation. 
 
4 Our three five-minute practice periods for today will take the same general form that we used in applying yesterday's idea. We will attempt to leave the unreal and seek for the real. We will deny the world in favor of truth. We will not let the thoughts of the world hold us back, and we will not let the beliefs of the world tell us that what God would have us do is impossible. 
 
5 Instead, we will try to recognize that only what God would have us do is possible. We will also try to understand that only what God would have us do is what we want to do. And we will also try to remember that we cannot fail in doing what He would have us do. There is every reason to feel confident that you will succeed today. It is the Will of God. 
 
6 Begin the exercises for today by repeating the idea to yourself, closing your eyes as you do so. Spend a fairly short period in thinking a few relevant thoughts of your own, keeping the idea in mind as you do so. After you have added some four or five thoughts of your own,  repeat the idea again, and tell yourself gently: 
 
7 My real thoughts are in my mind. I would like to find them.  
 
8 Then try to go past all the unreal thoughts that cover the truth in your mind, and reach to the eternal. 
 
9 Under all the senseless thoughts and mad ideas with which you have cluttered up your mind are the thoughts which you thought with God in the beginning. They are there in your mind now, completely unchanged. They will always be in your mind, exactly as they always were. 
 
10 Everything that you have thought since then will change, but the foundation on which they rest is wholly changeless. It is this foundation toward which the exercises for today are directed. Here is your mind joined with the Mind of God. Here are your thoughts one with His. 
 
11 For this kind of practice, only one thing is necessary-approach it as you would an altar dedicated in Heaven itself to God the Father and God the Son. For such is the place you are trying to reach. You will probably be unable as yet to realize how high you are trying to go. Yet even with the little understanding you have already gained, you should be able to remind yourself that this is no idle game but an exercise in holiness and an attempt to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
12 In using the shorter form for applying today's idea, try to remember how important it is to you to understand the holiness of the mind that thinks with God. Take a minute or two as you repeat the idea throughout the day to appreciate your mind's holiness. Stand aside, however briefly, from all thoughts that are unworthy of Him Whose host you are. And thank Him for the thoughts He is thinking with you.
   
          ~ Original Hand Script of ACIM   
  
  
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Lesson 45
God is the Mind with which I think. 
 
Sarah's Commentary: 
 
Beneath what we think we think are our real thoughts. Our only real thoughts are those we think with God. What goes on in our day-to-day thinking diminishes the quality of our lives and relationships and limits our joy, success and happiness because these are thoughts based on sin, guilt and fear, which translate as past, present and future. We believe we did something wrong in the past, hold guilt in the present and now fear punishment in the future. These thoughts are the cause of our unhappiness because we are holding onto painful memories and unhealed conflicts from the past or we are consumed with concerns, plans, and worries regarding the future. Our mind is cluttered with all kinds of senseless thoughts and mad ideas. They are about beliefs we hold, judgments we have, grievances, plans, fantasies, hopes, dreams, memories, interpretations, opinions, viewpoints, reactions, emotions, all conditioned by the past and attributed to our upbringing, culture, and family background, but all based on our belief in sin.
 
This belief in sin is based on the ego's myth accepted into the mind, which is the unconscious belief we have left God, destroyed our home in Heaven, gone off on our own, and now we will be punished. We mostly aren't aware of all these thoughts, which translate into a constant feeling of unworthiness. However, we can't heal anything we don't bring to awareness. This is where mind watching becomes so important. Paying attention to our thoughts is the only way healing can happen. Otherwise, they keep running in the background and keep us invested in the world. The essence of forgiveness is to bring our untrue thoughts to what is real in us, which is God's Love in our right minds. We are essentially being asked to expose our thoughts and see them as having no reality. Jesus says, "There is no relationship between what is real and what you think is real." (W.45.1.3) What we think is real is our thoughts about the world, our relationships, how we define who people are, and our difficulties, but all of this is part of the dream. It is all illusion. If I think someone in my life has hurt me, I am not seeing correctly. To see as God sees is to see this one is His Son who has forgotten who he is, just as I have. He is a brother calling for understanding and love, just as I am. Thus, my responsibility is to bring my judgments of my brother for healing, so I can know myself by seeing my brother as God sees him. This is what forgiveness is.
 
Yes, it can be challenging. This morning I felt attacked when my partner reacted very negatively to a reminder of what he had to accomplish today. In my mind it was a gentle reminder, but it elicited a very angry response from him. The first thought I had was how unfairly I was being treated by him. But as I went into the silence, I realized that under my seemingly kind and helpful remarks was an underlying judgment. It seemed very subtle, but it was clear that if I was getting such an angry response, something in me needed to be looked at. To exhume our judgments takes great self honesty as they can be deeply hidden in the mind. The reaction of my brother was my invitation to look more deeply. Initially we may resist, decrying our own innocence yet we can't heal what we keep hidden from ourselves.
 
Jesus is reminding us we are still one with God because "thoughts do not leave their source," (W.45.2.5) and we are a thought in the Mind of God. What that means is we have never left God's Mind. In other words, the separation never happened. We are still with God, dreaming of exile in this body and this world. "Therefore, your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you are." (W.45.2.6) We think we have separated from God, yet His thoughts can still be reflected here in this world because His thoughts are still in our minds "A blindfold can indeed obscure your sight, but cannot make the way itself grow dark. And He Who travels with you has the light." (T.31.II.11.8-9)(ACIM OE T.31.II.25) In order to connect to the real thoughts in our minds, our job is to become aware of our dark thoughts, and bring them to the light. These are fearful thoughts, thoughts of self-hatred and unworthiness, grievances and anger, but they do not reflect who we are. They are not our true thoughts.
 
Even though we believe we have left God, the reflection of His Love is still available to us in this dream. While we believe we are here in this world, the truth is we have never left the Mind of God. "Therefore, your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you are. They are in your mind as well, where He is." (W.45.2.6-7) But the world is not real. It is a projection of the guilt in our minds, so now it seems ideas in the Mind of God have left their Source. Now we seem to be separate from God in a world of separate parts. "Each one peoples his world with figures from his individual past, and it is because of this that private worlds differ. Yet the figures that he sees were never real, for they are made up only of his reactions to his brothers, and do not include their reactions to him. Therefore, he does not see he made them, and that they are not whole. For these figures have no witnesses, being perceived in one separate mind only." (T.13.V.2.1-4)(ACIM OE T.12.V.34) "It is through these strange and shadowy figures that the insane relate to their insane world." (T.13.V.3.1)(ACIM OE T.12.V.35)
 
Our thoughts are fear-based, frantic, anxious, changeable, senseless, obsessive, and clutter up our minds. They are what keep us from the awareness that we are indeed in constant communication with our Source, One with God. The thoughts we are thinking are therefore unworthy of who we are as God's Son. They keep us from awareness of our holiness. Jesus tells us to reach our real thoughts is an exercise in holiness. It may seem challenging right now to reach the truth of who we are as an idea in the mind of God. Changeless foundation is already part of us, in us, and can be readily reached with willingness, practice, effort and confidence.
 
Why should we be so confident? Jesus gives us the following reasons. 1) "What God would have us do is what we want to do." 2) "We cannot fail in doing what He would have us do." 3) "There is every reason to feel confident that we will succeed today." 4) "It is the Will of God." (W.45.5.1-4) If God Wills it and we want it, what can stop us? What can stop us is the thought we aren't very good at this, aren't worth the effort and won't succeed. Further, we also drag our feet because of our fear and resistance of waking up from this dream. On the other hand, we are doing these Lessons because part of us wants to learn what Jesus is teaching us on behalf of our own peace and happiness. When we acknowledge how miserable we really are, we will be highly motivated to do these Lessons. We are still One with God and have not left His Mind. We have just become unaware of our reality. As we apply these Lessons to our lives, we experience more of the constancy, harmony, peace, benevolence, and stability of our true Self.
 
In the Lesson yesterday, we were told we don't see, and now we are told we don't think. We must begin to recognize, however dimly, we are totally delusional. There is not much to hold onto in the world! We have been told our eyes don't see, our minds don't think, and our entire experience in the world is one of hallucination! It is all insanity. None of it is real, yet to us it is the known, so we have made an adjustment to it all. As you go through the undoing of the thought system of the ego, it is not unusual to experience some disorientation. Jesus is constantly reminding us our current state does not bring us the happiness and peace we seek.
 
What are these thoughts we think with God? Jesus tells us, "The Thought God holds of you is like a star, unchangeable in an eternal sky." (T.30.III.8.4)(ACIM OE T.30.IV.45) This is the thought we also share with God about our reality, and in this thought we think with God, we will know "the truth in you remains as radiant as a star, as pure as light, as innocent as love itself." (T.31.VI.7.4)(ACIM OE T.31.VI.67) This is the Atonement Principle, which is our assurance we have not changed ourselves. We are still the radiant, eternal, innocent, and pristine Son of God. We can only block the awareness of this truth from our experience, which is exactly what we have done.
 
While we yearn for the peace of God, we still have a lot of fear and resistance about what will happen to who we think we are. Clearly, we all want to escape from the frantic thoughts that occupy our minds and our experiences, but we don't want to let go of our separate identity, which is defined by the thoughts we hold. Thus, we want to alleviate our suffering, but still keep our self-concept. We can recognize this tension, and remember that no one will be hurled into Heaven, so there is no need for fear. We can go as slowly or quickly as our fear will allow. We are in charge of this process. The power is in our own minds to choose.
 
The practice today is all about making space for our real thoughts. They are still in our right minds. God has not changed His Mind about His Son, even if we have forgotten who we are. By doing our practice daily in watching our thoughts and bringing them to the light of Truth within, we are taking steps toward increased peace and joy. A sure sign we are listening to the ego is when we are not at peace. When this is the case, we can decide, "Perhaps there is another way to look at this. What can I lose by asking?" (T.30.I.12.3-4)(ACIM OE T.30.II.26) There is always an answer within when we turn to the Holy Spirit. The answer is always some form of peace.
 
Once more, as we did yesterday, we practice the quiet sinking down, going past all the unreal thoughts that cover the truth in our minds, and reaching to the eternal within us. This is a holy endeavor and one we should take very seriously, although not somberly for it is a joyous experience. Within me there is a place that never changes, a place always at peace, always brilliant with love's shining glow. And today, O God, yes today, I want to find that place! Today I want to touch that solid foundation at the core of my Being and know its stability. Today I want to find my Self.
 
My experience with this meditation has had profound results. I see my thoughts as dark dense clouds. As a thought stops me, I remind myself I want to let it go. With each thought that comes up, I stay detached. I try not to engage with it. If I get off track, I remind myself my mind can hold only what I think with God. After a while, a peace descends, which is like a beautiful, gentle, warm, and welcoming light. When another thought draws me back into the world, I remind myself I don't want it, and so I can let it go. I express gratitude for the peace and that I can return to it with His help. I feel the power of the support that is available every step of the way. Jesus says, if it helps us, we could ask to take his hand on this journey through the obscuring clouds. I find it does help me to let all the problems go. I choose to disconnect myself from the worries and concerns of the day. Let us take the time necessary today for this work. We are worth it.
 
Repeat the idea as you close your eyes, adding 4-5 related thoughts (remember the instruction in letting related thoughts come that you received in Lessons 42 and 43). Repeat the idea again and say: "My real thoughts are in my mind. I would like to find them." (W.45.6.4)
 
If it feels good, express gratitude in whatever way is meaningful to you. God's Thoughts are with you and He has never left you. He shares His mind with you, shares His thoughts of your loveliness and innocence, knows you are a spotless mind never apart from Him.

Love and blessings, Sarah

PAUSED FOR WEEKEND
V. The Escape From Fear 

56
If you cannot hear the Voice of God, it is because you do not choose to listen. The fact that you do listen to the voice of your ego is demonstrated by your attitudes, your feelings, and your behavior. Your attitudes are obviously conflicted, your feelings have a narrow range on the negative side but are never purely joyous, and your behavior is either strained or unpredictable. Yet this is what you want. This is what you are fighting to keep and what you are vigilant to save. Your minds are filled with schemes to save the face of your egos, and you do not seek the Face of God. The glass in which the ego seeks to see its face is dark indeed. How can it maintain the trick of its existence except with mirrors? But where you look to find yourself is up to you.
 
57 We have said that you cannot change your mind by changing your behavior, but we have also said, and many times before, that you can change your mind. When your mood tells you that you have chosen wrongly, and this is so whenever you are not joyous, then know this need not be. In every case you have thought wrongly about some Soul that God created and are perceiving images your ego makes in a darkened glass. Think honestly what you have thought that God would not have thought and what you have not thought that God would have you think. Search sincerely for what you have done and left undone accordingly, and then change your minds to think with God's.
 
58 This may seem hard to you, but it is much easier than trying to think against it. Your mind is one with God's. Denying this and thinking otherwise has held your ego together but has literally split your mind. As a loving brother, I am deeply concerned with your mind and urge you to follow my example as you look at yourselves and at each other and see in both the glorious creations of a glorious Father.
 
59 When you are sad, know that this need not be. Depression always arises ultimately from a sense of being deprived of something you want and do not have. Know you are deprived of nothing except by your own decisions, and then decide otherwise.
 
60 When you are anxious, know that all anxiety comes from the capriciousness of the ego and need not be. You can be as vigilant against the ego's dictates as for them.
 
61 When you feel guilty, know that the ego has indeed violated the laws of God, but you have not. Leave the sins of the ego to me. That is what Atonement is for. But until you change your mind about those your ego has hurt, the Atonement cannot release you. As long as you feel guilty, your ego is in command because only the ego can experience guilt. This need not be.
 
62 Watch your mind for the temptations of the ego and do not be deceived by it. Know it offers you nothing. When you have given up this voluntary dispiriting, you will see how your mind can focus and rise above fatigue and heal. Yet you are not sufficiently vigilant against the demands of the ego to disengage yourself. This need not be.
 
63 The habit of engaging with God and His creations is easily made if you actively refuse to let your minds slip away. The problem is not one of concentration; it is the belief that no one, including yourself, is worth consistent effort. Side with me consistently against this deception, and do not permit this shabby belief to pull you back. The disheartened are useless to themselves and to me, but only the ego can be disheartened. Have you really considered how many opportunities you have to gladden yourselves and how many of them you have refused? There is no limit to the power of a Son of God, but he himself can limit the expression of his power as much as he chooses.
 
64 Your mind and mine can unite in shining your ego away and releasing the strength of God into everything you think and will and do. Do not settle for anything less than this, and refuse to accept anything but this as your goal. Watch your minds carefully for any beliefs that hinder its accomplishment, and step away from them. Judge how well you have done this by your own feelings, for this is the one right use of judgment. Judgment, like any other defense, can be used to attack or protect, to hurt or to heal. The ego should be brought to your judgment and found wanting there. Without your own allegiance, protection, and love, it cannot exist. Judge your ego truly, and you must withdraw allegiance, protection, and love from it.
 
65 You are mirrors of truth in which God Himself shines in perfect light. To the ego's dark glass you need but say, "I will not look there because I know these images are not true." Then let the Holy One shine on you in peace, knowing that this and only this must be. His Mind shone on you in your creation and brought your mind into being. His Mind still shines on you and must shine through you. Your ego cannot prevent Him from shining on you, but it can prevent you from letting Him shine through you.
 
66 The first coming of Christ is just another name for the creation, for Christ is the Son of God. The second coming of Christ means nothing more than the end of the ego's rule over part of the minds of men and the healing of the mind. I was created like you in the first, and I have called you to join with me in the second. If you will think over your lives, you will see how carefully the preparations were made. I am in charge of the second coming, and my judgment, which is used only for protection, cannot be wrong because it never attacks. Yours is so distorted that you believe I was mistaken in choosing you. I assure you this is a mistake of your egos. Do not mistake it for humility.
 
67 Your egos are trying to convince you that they are real and I am not because, if I am real, I am no more real than you are. That knowledge, and I assure you that it is knowledge, means that Christ must come into your minds and heal them. Although I am not attacking your egos, I am working with your higher mind whether you are asleep or awake, just as your ego does with your lower mind. I am your vigilance in this, because you are too confused to recognize your own hope. I was not mistaken. Your minds will elect to join with mine, and together we are invincible.
 
68 You will yet come together in my name, and your sanity will be restored. I raised the dead by knowing that life is an eternal attribute of everything that the living God created. Why do you believe it is harder for me to inspire the dispirited or to stabilize the unstable? I do not believe that there is an order of difficulty in miracles; you do. I have called, and you will answer. I know that miracles are natural because they are expressions of love. My calling you is as natural as your answer and as inevitable.

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