ACIM Workbook Lesson 152 - for Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Affirmation:  "The power of decision is my own."

"No one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision.  No one suffers pain
except his choice elects this state for him.  No one can grieve nor
fear nor think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants. 
And no one dies without his own consent.  Nothing occurs but represents
your wish, and nothing is omitted that you choose.  Here is your world,
complete in all details.  Here is its whole reality for you.  And it is
only here salvation is.  (WB281)"

Reflections:

This passage is difficult to understand.  This short quotation does not make
clear that it is the Higher Self which makes these decisions of life
and death.  The little self, ruled all too often by the ego, does not
make these choices.  The ideas given in this quotation have led to many
misconceptions among people who read New Age literature.  If we
"choose," then we are to "blame" if something goes wrong.  Not so!  To
say such indicates a lack of not only sympathy but also empathy for the
victim.  In essence, such thoughts indicate that our next step is to
"blame the victim" in something goes wrong in his/her life.  A lack of
compassion from others is then the lamentable next step.

The Higher Self never incarnated (though this is not stated in A Course in Miracles). 
The Higher Self watches over us, so to speak, seeing that the decisions
that this Higher Self make are in our best interests.

There is some comfort in this passage, though.  If we are in charge of our pain
and suffering, we can do something about it.  Most definitely we cannot
blame our pain and suffering on God, and this in itself is a great step
forward.  Otherwise, we are caught in a bind in which we try to see God
as loving, but we wonder if we are right.  We are.  God does not want
our pain and suffering, and in the Text, Jesus assures us that we do not have to learn through pain.  He says that learning through rewards is more lasting, because learning through pain can only be temporary.

The passage concludes, "And it is only here salvation is."  This is a magnificent restatement of the fact that we ourselves (led by our Higher Self) are in charge of our destiny.  ACIM makes this fact clear in other passages as well.  We do not have to
remain in suffering.  Our minds and spirits can be free, even if our
bodies are not.  We can rise above the pain, if we will it.  (This is a
bold statement, but completely in line with ACIM.)  And sometimes, as Eckhart Tolle learned, our pain is the catalyst for Awakening (Enlightenment).

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would be in charge of my destiny today.  By "I," I mean that I would
invite my Higher Self to make life decisions for me.  I would not
listen to the ego's litany of meaningless pain and suffering.  I would
not turn any pain into suffering.  Be with me as I attempt to fulfill
these aims today.

Thank You, as always.  I know that You have always been there for me, and that You will always be there for me in the future.

Amen.

ACIM Workbook Lesson 147 - for Friday, May 27, 2011

Affirmation:  "My mind holds only what I think with God."

Selected Passage:

"I will not value what is valueless.
"Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.  (WB276)"

Reflections:

Real thoughts are the thoughts that we think with God.  Mistaken thoughts
partake of the ego.  In distractions of this world, we may not always
discern the difference.  Go within to God, and let Him tell us what to
say or do.

There may be some confusion about the difference between God and the Holy Spirit.  Indeed, some students/teachers of ACIM believe that God does not even know about us!  I do not subscribe to this belief, because it is not true to my experience.  God is within, and nothing is without (a Text tenet).  We project the world
that we see from within.  If we are at the moment overtaken by the ego,
we will project a world that is filled with attack and anger.  If we
are in touch with God within, we will project love to the surrounding
world, and this love will return to us, multiplied.  The Holy Spirit is
the communication link between God and ourselves (a Text
tenet).  The Holy Spirit acts as our guidance (an oft-repeated refrain
in this blog).  The Holy Spirit was given as the Answer as soon as the
idea of separation entered the mind.  The solution is always with the
problem (an ACIM tenet).  And God gave His Answer immediately.

We can realize that our own little problems have immediate solutions as
well.  Only a distracted mind fails to find the way out of any given
maze in which we find ourselves.  We do not wish to value that which
has no value, and that includes the egoistic world.  We do need to
realize that we are all innocent of sin, and that our mistakes can be
easily rectified.  Then we will know the joy that is ours for the
asking (and taking).

Prayer:

Dear Mother/Father,

May
I turn to You, within me, often today.  May I also turn to You that I
perceive as being "without," meaning my brothers and sisters, as well
as this world in which we live--whether we are living in illusion or in
the real world at the moment of noticing.  Be with me constantly.  I
need You.

Thank You for the guidance that comes to me
throughout the day.  Forgive me for my confusion about what that
guidance really is.  I confuse myself.  And I would not confuse myself
today.

Amen.