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LESSON 141 and FOURTH REVIEW
Introduction
1. We now begin a new review, this time with the awareness that we are preparing for the second part of a teaching through which we learn how truth can be applied.
²Today we begin to focus on becoming willing to receive what follows.
³This is our goal for this review and for the lessons to come.
⁴Therefore, we review the recent lessons and their central thoughts to help cultivate the willingness we now seek to achieve. I
2. There is one central theme that unifies every step of this review, and it can be simply stated in these words:
²My mind holds only what I think with God.II
³This is a fact, and it reflects the truth of what you are and of what your Father is.
⁴This is the Thought through which the Father gave Creation to the Son, establishing him as co-creator with Himself.
⁵This is the Thought that fully guarantees the salvation of the Son.
⁶For in his mind no thoughts can dwell but those his Father shares with him.
⁷It is unforgiveness that keeps this Thought from reaching his awareness.III
⁸Yet it remains eternally true.
3. Let us begin our preparation by seeking to understand the many forms in which the lack of true forgiveness can be carefully hidden.
²As illusions, they are not recognized for what they are.
³These forms taken by unforgiveness are defenses that protect your thoughts of grievance, keeping you from seeing them and recognizing them as such.
⁴Their purpose is to show you something else, so that instead of correcting them, you deceive yourself. IV
4. Yet your mind holds only what you think with God.
²The lies you tell yourself cannot take the place of truth.
³No more than a child who throws a stick into the ocean can alter the rhythm of the tides, stop the sun from warming the waters, or prevent the moon from silvering them by night.
⁴Thus, in this review we begin each practice period by preparing our mind to comprehend the lessons we read, and to understand the meaning they offer us.
5. Begin each day by taking time to prepare your mind to discover the freedom and peace the idea you will review can offer you.
²Open your mind, clear it of every deceptive thought, and devote it fully to this single Thought:
³My mind holds only what I think with God.
⁴Five minutes with this Thought will be enough to set the day in motion with God, and to let His Mind take charge of all the thoughts you will receive.
⁵They will not come from you alone, for you will share them with Him.
⁶And thus, each one of these thoughts will bring the message of His Love, and express your love for Him.
⁷In this way, you will enter into communion with the Lord of Hosts, just as He Himself has willed it to be. V
⁸And just as His own completion joins with Him, He will join with you, who are made complete as you unite with Him, and He with you.
6. After your preparation, simply read each of the two ideas assigned to you for review that day.
²Then close your eyes and repeat them slowly in silence.
³There is no rush now, for you are using time for the purpose for which it was created.
⁴Let each word shine with the meaning God has given it, for it has been given to you through His Voice.
⁵Accept the gift He has placed for you in every idea you review.
⁶And we will carry out all our practice in this one way:
7. Bring to mind each hour the Thought with which you began the day, and rest in it.
²Then slowly repeat the two ideas for the day, taking as much time as you need to see the gifts they hold for you, and let your mind receive them and place them where they belong.
8. We will add no other thoughts, but let the messages be what they are.
²We need no more than this to bring us happiness, rest, boundless quiet, perfect certainty, and everything our Father wills for us to receive as His inheritance.
9. We will conclude each daily review just as we began it, first repeating the Thought that made the day a special time of blessing and of happiness for us, and that through our renewed devotion has brought the world from darkness to light, from suffering to joy, from pain to peace, and from sin to holiness.
²God thanks you who practice in this way the keeping of His Word.
³And then, as you once again give your mind to the ideas of the day before sleeping, His gratitude will enfold you in the peace in which He wills for you to abide forever, and which you are now learning to reclaim again as your inheritance. VI
I Notice the emphasis placed on reaching a state of willingness to undertake the steps that follow. Jesus asks you to place all your good will in this task. Remember that this Course revolves around will, and now you are told that you must make use of it to approach the new objectives.
Be very honest with yourself and tell yourself the truth about what your priorities are in this life. Then, place your work with this Course within that scale of values you consider important: your family, your friends, your body, your work, your hobbies, your expectations—whatever they may be. Be completely sincere in doing this.
Realize that all those things you consider valuable are, in truth, illusions: they change with time, and a moment will come when they disappear from your life. They all form part of the bouquet of special love relationships the ego offers to distract your mind from the Love of God—the only Love that exists. All the love you think you see in those fantasies is nothing but an infinitesimal reflection of that Love, yet enmeshed in suffering, conflict, and lack.
Now do the following: regardless of the place you have thus far assigned to your Course practice, with the power of your will—and without regard at all for your preferences, desires, or likes—place your commitment to these practices at the very top of that scale; put it above everything else.
Again: it does not matter if you do not feel inclined or pleased to do so. It also does not matter if you think it is inconvenient, inappropriate, or will not benefit you. It does not matter. Do it!
Assign these practices the highest priority. Consider them more important to you than everything you possess—more important than your health, more important even than your life itself—and give them the corresponding treatment.
Exert yourself fully to do the exercises exactly as instructed, and to that end use solely and exclusively the power of your will. Do not worry at all if you believe you lack faith, trust, or devotion. That is of no importance whatsoever, because if you put your will to it as directed, it means you already possess great faith, trust, and devotion—even if you do not yet know it.
From now on you will begin to apply everything you have learned, and the most important thing of all is your willingness to listen to the Voice for God by silencing your mind, ceasing to give importance to your own thoughts. These will continue to come, but that does not matter either: simply pay them no attention and listen in the stillness. It is a very simple thing—but how hard it is to be simple, isn’t it? Do not worry: you have the rest of your earthly life to learn it. And be absolutely certain that it is the most joyous learning you have ever undertaken, and that it will bring you results beyond the reach of words.
You are beginning to relate to the unlimited part of your mind—the source of miracles, the dwelling place of God’s Love. You are taking your first steps into infinity. Prepare your heart for the most blissful surprise.
How blessed you are, my God!
II My mind holds only what I think with God, for that is the only real content that truly exists in the mind. Anything else your mind entertains is but an insubstantial fantasy; it is nothing.
Remember what is said in Lesson 8, paragraph 3: “The purpose of today’s exercises is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. If you are thinking without meaning, you are blocking the truth. The first step in the undoing process is to recognize that your thoughts are meaningless, rather than to believe that they are real.”
The reason for this is clearly stated in the central idea of Lesson 10: “My thoughts do not mean anything.”
III This is because lack of forgiveness gives value and importance to resentful thoughts—fantasies, illusory interpretations of perception—that are without substance. The mind cannot simultaneously hold both truth and falsehood, and though this does not eliminate truth from the mind, it veils it with a dense covering and drives it into unconsciousness.
IV The sick mind’s will to separate from what it perceives requires a justification that form provides. Thus, the mind deceives itself by disguising what it perceives under multiple appearances whose purpose is to camouflage that single, permanent will to be separate from everything. The various forms, then, cannot be part of the perfect unity of the One Being and are perceived as something alien to oneself.
V Psalm 46:7 “The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
The expression “Lord of hosts,” also translated as “Lord of armies,” is repeated throughout the Bible on numerous occasions and refers to the Power of God to command the angelic hosts of Heaven.
VI Here Jesus gives us a very simple and unequivocal instruction. It is simply to sink into stillness, calmly repeat the two ideas of the day, and allow them to settle in your mind. There is very little to do here—only to be willing and trusting that it will happen; nothing more.
That is why, throughout the next ten days, there will also be no supplementary explanatory notes.
In a way, this review marks a turning point in the practice of the Workbook, which now shifts from being speculative to being assertive. You are no longer asked to involve your mind in considerations belonging to your old way of thinking. It is assumed that you have done good work undoing your former thought system, and from now on you are invited to begin building upon the solid foundations of Reality.
LESSON 141
My mind holds only what I think with God.I
1. W-121 “Forgiveness is the key to happiness.”
2. W-122 “Forgiveness offers me everything I want.”
I Do not forget to repeat each hour: “My mind holds only what I think with God,” and say quietly to yourself the two ideas for today. Do not speculate about them; simply contemplate them calmly and offer them your love and your care. Do not judge them. Welcome them with tenderness of heart, and they will find their home in your mind.
Also, let these three ideas be your last thought before you fall asleep.
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LESSON 140
Salvation is the only cure.
1. No remedy the world considers helpful can truly be called a cure.
²The world’s therapeutic remedies merely “improve” the body.
³When they attempt to heal the mind, they treat it as though it were part of the body, and located within it.
⁴Their methods of healing only exchange one illusion for another.
⁵The belief in sickness now takes a different form, and the patient sees himself in this new way. I
2. But he has not been healed.
²He merely dreamed he was sick, and in the dream, he found a magic formula for a cure.
³Yet he has not awakened from the dream, and so his mind remains exactly as it was before.
⁴He has not seen the light that would awaken him and end the dream.
⁵What does the content of a dream truly matter? II
⁶For one is either asleep or awake.
⁷There is no in-between.
3. The happy dreams the Holy Spirit offers are different from the dreams of the world, where all one can do is dream of being awake.
²The dreams forgiveness brings to the mind do not reinforce the sleep, and so the dreamer can dream a different dream.
³Now his happy dreams are messengers announcing the dawn of truth in his mind.
⁴They lead from sleep to gentle waking, until all dreams vanish.
⁵And in this way, these dreams do heal for all eternity.
4. Atonement heals with certainty and cures all sickness.
²For the mind that understands sickness can only be a dream is not deceived by any form the dream may take.
³Where there is no guilt, there can be no sickness, for sickness is but another form of guilt.
⁴Atonement does not heal the sick, for that is not healing.
⁵Atonement undoes the guilt that made sickness possible.
⁶And that is true healing.
⁷For now sickness has disappeared, and there is nothing left for it to return to. III
5. Peace be with you, who have been healed in God and not in idle dreams.IV
²For healing comes from Holiness, and Holiness cannot be found where sin is valued.
³God dwells in holy temples.
⁴He is forbidden entry where sin has entered.
⁵Yet there is no place where He is not.
⁶Therefore, sin can have no home where it hides from His Lovingkindness.
6. There is no place where Holiness is absent, nor any where sin and sickness can abide.
²This is the thought that heals.
³It makes no distinctions between one unreality and another.
⁴Nor does it attempt to heal what is not sick, for it knows where healing is truly needed.
⁵This is not magic.
⁶It is simply an appeal to truth, which cannot but heal, and heal forever.
⁷It is not a thought that judges an illusion by its size, its seeming gravity, or by anything that pertains to how it appears.
⁸It focuses only on what is real, and in truth, it knows no illusion can be real.
7. Let us not attempt to heal today what cannot be sick.
²Surely healing must be sought, but only for what can be sick—and then it must be applied, that it may be healed. V
³None of the remedies the world provides can change anything at all. VI
⁴What truly changes is the mind that brings illusions to the truth.
⁵There is no other change but this.
⁶For how is one illusion different from another, except by attributes that lack all substance, reality, essence, or anything truly distinct?
8. Today we seek to change our thoughts about the source of sickness, for we seek a cure for every illusion, not the exchange of one illusion for another.
²Today we will attempt to find the Source of healing, which lies within our mind, because our Father placed it there for us.
³As close to us as we are to ourselves.
⁴As near as our own thoughts, as immediate as breath itself—impossible not to see. VII
⁵We need only seek it, and we will find it.
9. Today we will not be deceived by what seems to be sick.
²We go beyond appearances to reach the Source of healing, which affects all things.
³We will succeed to the extent that we realize there is no meaningful difference between what is false and what is equally false.
⁴There are no degrees here, and we will not believe that what does not exist can be more real in some forms than in others.
⁵All are false, and all can be healed, because none are true.
10. So we lay aside our talismans, our charms and medicines, our spells and tricks of magic—whatever form they take. VIII
²Today we enter deep stillness, and listen to the Voice of healing, which will cure all ills as one, restoring sanity to the Son of God.
³No voice but This can truly heal.
⁴Today we listen to one Voice alone, Which speaks of truth where all illusions end, and peace returns to God’s eternal, quiet home.
11. We awaken by hearing that Voice, and we let It speak to us for five minutes.
²And we close the day by listening once again for five minutes before we go to sleep.
³We prepare by letting go of every interfering thought—not one by one, but all at once.
⁴For they are all the same.
⁵There is no need to distinguish them, and so delay the moment when we can hear our Father speak to us.
⁶We hear Him now.
⁷Today we go to Him.
12. Holding nothing in our hands, with hearts uplifted and minds attentive, we pray:
²Salvation is the only cure.
³Speak to us, Father, that we may be healed.
⁴And we shall feel salvation cover us in gentle protection and in peace so deep that no illusion can disturb our mind or prove to us it is real.
⁵This is what we will learn today.
⁶We will repeat our healing prayer each hour, and give one minute to hearing the response that is given us in answer to our prayer, waiting in happy silence.
⁷Today is the day when healing comes to us.
⁸This is the day when separation ends, and we remember who we truly are.
I The world is an illusion, and every experience you have of it arises from what the mind believes, for illusions are nothing but beliefs.
Thus, the world believes in illness, believes in health, and also believes that a certain product or intervention can cause the body—also a belief—to heal (which is another belief), or not to heal (also a belief).
The world is built upon beliefs, for everything that exists within time and space—also beliefs—is illusory. The world “exists” in the mind that believes in it, for that is how the mind conceives and perceives it.
To believe is the power to create the impossible: what neither exists nor can exist, because it is different from its maker.
II This is precisely the foundation of forgiveness, the true reason why you must forgive the world: because it is a dream, and dreams are but dreams. So let them pass; no matter what form they take, they are not reality and therefore irrelevant. This is also the reason why the second principle of miracles says that they are not important.
III Notice that, although this Course constantly uses the verb to heal, it employs to cure only on very few occasions—and almost all of them in this Lesson. This is because this is a Course about causes, not about effects, which are irrelevant. The term to cure refers to symptoms—that is, the manifestation in the body (an idea in the mind) of the opinion the mind holds about itself. And that is always false—an illusion.
Curiously, the Spanish edition of the FIP reverses these terms. The word sanar (to heal) comes from the Latin sanare (to restore health), and this from sanus (sound, sane, not insane). The word curar (to cure), however, comes from the Latin curare, meaning to care for, to attend to; it has a more physical character. Thus, when you “cure” (care for, attend to) a wound, it “heals.”
IV John 20:19 “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’”
John 20:26 “And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace be with you.
V What cannot be sick is the body, for the simple reason that the body does not exist. The body is an illusion dreamt by the mind, which is real; therefore, the mind is the only thing that can be healed.
Today’s Lesson is unequivocal regarding what true healing is. Healing has nothing at all to do with curing the body, because this Course is about truth, not about improving illusions—even though that is what most of its students initially seek when they first approach it.
At this point, having accepted to some degree that the world is an illusion and that the idea of being a person is a consideration of the mind stressed by the idea of separation, it is understandable that the body is only a symbol the mind uses to articulate its dream of independence from God.
The body, in itself, is nothing. It is but a fabrication of a mind terrified by a truly frightening idea: the idea of being alone—separate from everything and confined within a fragile, temporary container. If you identify yourself with that idea, you cannot help but feel threatened and endangered. The story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is precisely the teaching that this is not true—that death is but an unfounded fear and that the body has no importance whatsoever.
This Course is about the healing of the mind. The curing of the body and the miracles that may occur as a consequence of that healing are but symbols within the dream, signifying that the mind is awakening to its true identity. That is why the second principle of miracles says that miracles are not important; illusions never can be. The purpose of this Course is not to perform miracles—though you will see them everywhere around you—but to heal the confused mind. Miracles are the effect of that healing, of that new way of understanding your reality and that of your brothers.
Notice how the Course uses the word healing when referring to what is real, and curing when referring to what is illusory. The body is an effect whose cause is the mind. A sick mind, harboring feelings of guilt and unworthiness, will conceive a sick and distorted body, for it projects in its dream something that reflects the idea it holds of itself.
A mind that is healing and awakening will see itself in a healthy, functional body, wholly dedicated to the healing of a world as illusory as the body in which it perceives itself.
A perfectly healthy mind is perfectly awake and does not dream at all. It conceives no forms nor relates to them in spatiotemporal terms; a healed mind creates in eternity.
VI Because the remedies of the world are illusions—effects—just like the symptoms they intend to cure, which are also effects, manifestations of the mind’s idea of itself. And effects do not relate to other effects, for they can do nothing of themselves.
Effects merely bear witness to what the mind thinks, and they have no power in themselves to accomplish anything. All power belongs to the mind.
VII Deuteronomy 30:11–14 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”
VIII Jesus knows perfectly well that as long as you are identified with the idea of being a person, you are prone to fear. In fact, that tendency has made you addicted to frightening yourself, and you will find it difficult to let pass any opportunity to instill fear and guilt within yourself. You will even use this Course to do so. Try to restrain yourself a little, and do not punish yourself for failing to meet the lofty goals this Course proposes.
If your body falls ill, look within your mind—without obsession and with detachment—for possible unforgiveness your mind may have been harboring. It is a good opportunity to review your life and heal guilt, sin, and old grievances. Let them go. Do not hold them against anyone. Let them pass, and ask with all your heart for Jesus and the Holy Spirit to remove them from your mind forever. They cannot remain there without your active participation. Be very honest about this.
Pray, forgive, and trust. If you do this rightly, you will not heal—you are already healed—and the symptoms will disappear. Yet if doubt and fear still linger in your mind—even in their mildest form—do not worry, and resort to whatever curative (magical) means seem reasonable and appropriate to you. But above all, do not stress or feel guilty.
Be sure of two things: you are not yet ready for miraculous healing, but you are walking in the right direction. Relax and persevere. Jesus needs miracle workers like you—those who can face any difficulty and are not stopped even by their own weaknesses.
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LESSON 139
I will accept the Atonement for myself.
1. With this, all decisions come to an end.
²For in doing so, we choose to accept ourselves exactly as God created us.
³And what is choosing, if not entertaining uncertainty about what we are?
⁴All doubt rests on this.
⁵There is no doubt that does not reflect uncertainty about one’s own identity.
⁶There is no conflict that does not contain the single, simple question: “What am I?”
2. Yet who could ask this question except one who has refused to recognize himself?
²Only the refusal to accept oneself could make the question seem sincere.
³The only thing any living being can know with certainty is what he is.
⁴From this single certainty, he perceives other things as being just as certain as himself.
3. Uncertainty about what you are is such an enormous self-deception that its magnitude is almost beyond conception.
²To be alive and not know yourself is to believe that you are actually dead.
³For what is Life but to be yourself?
⁴And what else but you could possibly be alive in your place?
⁵Who is the one who doubts?
⁶What is he doubting?
⁷Whom is he asking?
⁸And who could possibly answer?
4. This uncertainty merely states that he is not himself; and so, believing he is something else, he becomes the one who asks what that something is. I
²Yet he could not be alive if he did not know the answer.
³If he asks as though he did not know, he is merely demonstrating that he does not wish to be what he is.
⁴Yet he must have accepted what he is, because he is alive.
⁵But he has condemned it, denied its worth, and chosen to believe he does not know the one certainty by which he lives.
5. That is why he doubts his life, for he has denied what his life is.
²This denial is why you need the Atonement.
³Your denial has not changed what you are in the least.
⁴But you have split your mind in two: one part that knows the truth, and one that does not.
⁵You are yourself.
⁶And that is beyond all doubt.
⁷Yet you do doubt it.
⁸But you do not ask which part of you could truly doubt yourself.
⁹That part which is questioning cannot really be part of you.
¹⁰For it is questioning the one who does know the answer.
¹¹If it were truly part of you, it would not doubt. II
6. The Atonement corrects the strange idea that it is possible to doubt yourself and not be certain of what you truly are.
²This is the height of madness.
³Yet it is the universal question of this world.
⁴And what could this possibly mean except that the world is insane?
⁵Why share in its madness by believing that what is so widespread here must be true?
⁶Nothing the world believes is true.
⁷The world is a place whose purpose is to be the home where those who claim not to know themselves can come to question what they are.
⁸And they will keep coming until the Atonement is accepted, and they learn that it is impossible to doubt themselves and not be aware of what they are.
7. You can only be asked to accept this, for what you are is beyond all question.
²It is forever established in the holy Mind of God and in your own.
³It lies so far beyond all doubt and questioning that to ask what you are is the only proof you need to recognize you believe in a contradiction: that you do not know what it is impossible not to know.
⁴Is this truly a question, or rather a statement that denies itself by being asked?
8. Let us not allow our holy minds to dwell on such absurd reflections.
²We have a mission to fulfill in this world.
³We did not come to reinforce the madness in which we once believed.
⁴Let us not forget the goal we have accepted.
⁵We came to reach far more than our own happiness.
⁶What we accept as being proclaims what everyone else cannot help but be along with us.
⁷Do not fail your brothers, or you will be failing yourself.
⁸Behold them with Love, so they may know they are part of you, and you of them.
9. This is what the Atonement teaches, and it proves that the oneness of the Son of God is untouched by his belief that he does not know what he is.
²Accept the Atonement today—not to change reality, but simply to accept the truth about yourself—and then go forth rejoicing in the infinite Love of God.
³This is what we are asked to do.
⁴And this is all we will do today.
10. Today we will devote five minutes in the morning and five minutes at night to this task.
²We begin by reviewing our mission with these words:
³I will accept the Atonement for myself.
⁴For I remain as God created me.
11. We have not lost the Knowledge God gave us when He created us like Himself.
²We can remember it for everyone, for in Creation all minds are one.
³And we retain in our memory the remembrance of how deeply we truly loved our brothers; of how all minds are part of us; of how faithful they truly have been to us; and of how the Love of our Father embraces us all.
12. Grateful for all of Creation, and in the Name of its Creator and His Oneness with every aspect of Creation, we reaffirm today our dedication to our cause each hour, letting go of every thought that would distract us from our holy purpose.
²Clear your mind for a moment of all the foolish cobwebs the world has spun around the holy Son of God, and see how fragile are the chains that seem to keep the knowledge of yourself beyond your awareness, as you say:
³I will accept the Atonement for myself.
⁴For I remain as God created me.
I Were it not for the apparently tragic consequences of this split in the mind, you would have to admit that, though the situation has dramatic overtones, it also has its comic side: a subject wanders through an imaginary world—product of a myriad of beliefs he blindly upholds without question—yet harbors enormous uncertainty about himself, which, ironically, is the only thing of which he should be certain.
II Perhaps, when you read this paragraph explaining that your mind is divided into two parts, it occurs to you to think that human beings have their minds divided into two parts. That is not so. The concept of “human being” is an idea that appears precisely in one of those two parts into which your mind, Son of God, seems to be divided. You have only one mind, which you share with all the Sonship, and that mind is whole and not divided at all, for God created it perfect. That division is not real, but purely imaginary. Were it real, the mind would be split for all eternity, for that would be its condition.
The human being—the concept of person or individual identity—is that virtual part of the mind that questions its own identity. You, as a person, as a human being, therefore do not have a mind divided into two parts. No. When you identify with your body and believe yourself to be in the world living a temporal life, you are experiencing yourself as the effect of that imaginary part of the mind that entertains the idea of separation.
What you understand as a “person” is a concept conceived by your hallucinated mind; it is the expression of the sick part of the mind’s vocation to be separate. Persons, from a strictly ontological standpoint, are effects, not subjects; they are not the cause of anything. That is why “persons” cannot be guilty: they have no entity and do not exist in reality.
If you have some understanding of computer science, you will grasp the following allegory, which is quite accurate. You can interpret the mind of the Son of God as the hard drive of a computer. Just as that hard drive is physically real, the mind of the Son of God is absolutely real. Now, perhaps you know that you can partition your hard drive to generate a virtual drive. It is still the same hard drive—nothing has changed—but you have given it instructions to interpret itself as if it were two. Now your computer apparently has two hard drives, the sum of which equals the total capacity of the physical drive. You can use one of those partitions for one purpose—for example, for applications and work documents—and the other for games.
The mind of the Son of God functions similarly: one part creates in eternity, and the other believes in the idea of separation and conceives imaginary worlds. The purpose of this Course is the integration of the mind and the end of that virtual partition; and the strategy it proposes to achieve this is to convince the imaginary part to stop engaging in unsatisfying pursuits and return to the fullness of which it is part.
For that integration to take place, the will must be involved. But since the will is always involved—being one of the three aspects of Being—it must now change: from desiring separation to choosing Heaven.
This Lesson, as indeed all the Lessons of this Course to some degree, appeals to your will so that you may be firmly willing to cease questioning your identity and to accept your condition as the Son of God. That is healing, and that is the Atonement. That is why you need to repeat to yourself that you accept the Atonement for yourself.
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LESSON 138
Heaven is the choice I must make.
1. In this world, Heaven is something that must be chosen, because here we believe there are alternatives from which to choose.
²We think that all things must have an opposite, and then we choose the one we want.
³If Heaven exists, then hell must exist as well, for contradiction is the way we fabricate what we perceive and believe to be real.
2. Creation has no opposite.
²Yet here, the opposite of what exists is also considered part of what is “real.” I
³This strange perception of truth is what makes choosing Heaven seem like giving up hell.
⁴In truth, it is not so.
⁵But what is true in the Creation of God cannot be made manifest here unless it is reflected in a form the world can understand.
⁶Truth cannot enter where it is feared.
⁷For this is the error of thinking truth can be brought to illusion.
⁸The very act of regarding what is opposite to Reality as real is an attack upon the truth.
⁹And that is why truth cannot come here.
3. Choosing is the obvious escape from all opposing thoughts. II
²To make a choice means that you invest your effort and your time in only one of two conflicting goals.
³If you do not choose, you waste your time, and your efforts go nowhere.
⁴Your investment is in vain.
⁵And time slips by without result.
⁶You feel you have gained nothing, for you have neither achieved nor learned anything.
4. You need to be reminded that although you believe you face a thousand choices, there is only one you need to make.
²And even that one only seems to be a choice. III
³Let not the host of doubts that a thousand decisions would induce confuse you.
⁴You are making but one.
⁵And once you make it, you will realize that it was not a choice at all.
⁶For only truth is true, and that is all there is to reality.
⁷There is nothing opposed to truth for you to choose instead.
⁸There is nothing that contradicts it.
5. Decisions are made based on what has been learned.
²But truth cannot be learned.
³Truth is simply recognized.
⁴And when you recognize it, you accept it.
⁵And in accepting it, you know it.
⁶Yet Knowledge lies beyond the goals we seek to teach within the framework of this Course.
⁷Our teaching goals are attained through learning how to reach them, what they are, and what they offer you.
⁸Your decisions result from what you have learned, for they reflect what you have accepted as the truth of what you are, and thus of what your needs must be.
6. In this insane and twisted world, Heaven seems to be a choice you make instead of something that simply is.
²Of all the choices you have tried to make, this is the simplest, the most definitive, and the prototype that resolves them all.
³Even if you had made every other choice, this one would still remain to be made.
⁴But when you make it, all others are resolved with it, for they are but veils that hide it under different forms. IV
⁵This is the final choice, the one in which the truth is either accepted or denied.
7. And so today we begin to look upon this choice.
²Time was made for this, to be the aid in helping you to make this choice.V
³This is its holy purpose, now transformed from what you made it for.
⁴You made it as a means to prove that hell is real, that hope turns into despair, and that life itself must ultimately give way to death.
⁵You believed that death alone could resolve the conflict of opposing values, for ending opposition was to you the same as dying.
⁶And so you saw death as salvation, for you believed life was conflict.
⁷To you, to end the conflict was to end life as well.
8. These mad beliefs can lie entrenched so deeply in the mind’s unconscious that they grip it with such terror and anxiety that it cannot abandon the ideas it made to save itself.
²It now believes it must be saved from salvation, feel threatened to be safe, and be protected from the truth through magic.
³And to protect such thoughts, these decisions are made unconsciously, without awareness, reason, or doubt. VI
9. But Heaven is consciously chosen.
²It is a choice that cannot be made until alternatives are accurately perceived and clearly understood.
³All that is hidden in the shadows must be raised to understanding to be judged again, this time with the help of Heaven.
⁴And all the errors of judgment the mind made before can now be corrected, for the truth dismisses them as having no cause.
⁵They now have no effects.
⁶They cannot be concealed, for their lack of substance is now recognized.
10. To choose Heaven consciously is as sure as ending fear of hell, once its unconscious shield has been removed and brought into the light.
²Who could decide between what he clearly sees and what he does not even recognize?
³But who could fail to choose between alternatives when only one of them is seen as having any value at all, and the other is seen as wholly worthless—nothing but a source of illusions, guilt, and pain?
⁴Who would hesitate to make such a choice?
⁵Shall we now hesitate to choose today?
11. We choose Heaven as we wake, and devote five minutes to ensuring we have made the only sane decision.
²We recognize that we are making a conscious choice between what really exists and what only seems to be.
³And when we bring its seeming reality to what is real, its weakness and transparency become clear in the light of truth.
⁴Now it no longer frightens, for what seemed enormous, vengeful, and with merciless hate requires darkness to be feared.
⁵Now it is seen as nothing but a foolish error, trivial and meaningless.
12. Throughout the day, we reaffirm our choice each hour, with a brief moment of quiet dedicated to preserving sanity.
²And as we go to sleep tonight, we once again confirm the choice we made each hour, and devote the final five minutes of our day to remembering the decision we made upon awakening.
³And we end the day by acknowledging we have simply chosen what we truly want, saying:
⁴Heaven is the choice I must make.
⁵I choose Heaven now, and I will not change my mind,
⁶Because Heaven is the only thing I want.
I This refers to the profoundly important cognitive bias of granting reality to absences—something that has already been discussed at length, yet can never be emphasized enough, for it is the core mechanism of the perception of the imaginary. This is not a cognitive bias formally identified by academic psychology, for it is so absolutely universal that it may be said to be part of the very condition of being human. Everything human, everything “physical,” the entire universe itself, arises into “existence” in the alienated mind by giving entity to what is absent.
Perception can take place only through contrasts, through distinctions, through separation. In order to perceive anything, you must contrast it, distinguish it, and separate it from everything else. For something to “exist” in your perception, it must necessarily be surrounded by the “nonexistence” of itself. In the perceptual realm, the absence of something is what gives that something its meaning. You call “space” what does not exist—what is not—and yet, for you, it is an extraordinarily significant concept, because it is what enables you to perceive.
What is, is; and what is not, is not. But in this deceitful world, what is not also is. In this insane world, it is believed that what is missing—the negative—has an existence of its own, and thus it is treated and attacked as such. This is why, here, evil is fought against—though it is nothing but the absence of good—for it is regarded as a fearsome and threatening enemy, instead of supplying the good that is plainly lacking. This is what illusion is: an ontological perversion—a play of shadows and voids within the fullness of love.
When you go to the cinema, a play of light and shadow produced by the interposition of the film’s frames against the projector’s light gives form on the screen to stories that make you laugh and cry. On that screen you see nothing but light and shadow in rapid succession—yet you are moved. It is nothing but a play of light and darkness, and your mind does the rest.
Realize that what happens in the cinema is an allegory of what you believe you see in your imaginary world. Think of God as the projector, whose light is His Love; the screen as consciousness; and the film as the will to be separate from God. The frame projected in an instant you call the present; those that precede it, the past; and those that follow, the future. Thus you construct your world. That film is not true, yet you have paid a high price for the ticket.
At some point, the possibility that there could be something other than the Love of God crossed your mind, and you began to imagine a world of shadows. Shadows are only the absence of light—but there you are, hunched in the seat of a dark theater, watching fantasies and believing them to be true. Yet, if you became aware of what was happening, how could you possibly suffer?
Realize that it makes no difference whether you are in Heaven or believe yourself to be in the world: a lucid mind cannot suffer—ever, under any circumstance.
II This entire Lesson revolves around the choice between what exists and what does not exist, between what is real and what is illusory. Obviously, only what is real exists, and it is perfectly abstract, limitless, and eternal; but the mind’s will to choose the impossible leads it to perceive a world of illusions that will never satisfy it, because they are not in accord with its own nature, which is real and, therefore, perfectly abstract, limitless, and eternal as well.
This is why the world does not know the meaning of love and is perplexed by the notion of consciousness, which it cannot locate within its material, concrete universe.
Now the sense of self-identity confuses the subject who questions it, and expressions such as “Know thyself” become true riddles. Which is surprising—were it not still more surprising that such a crucial question should be asked and left unanswered.
III Can choosing what alone exists even be called a choice?
IV The world’s purpose is precisely to distract the mind from the truth. That is the only purpose illusions have: to deceive the subject who entertains them.
An illusion that fails to deceive its maker is a poor illusion—or else it faces a subject who has set his will not to be deceived. One must keep in mind that an illusion “works” only with the consent of the one who beholds it; the subject must want to be deceived for the illusion to be effective.
V This is one way of reinterpreting personal life and understanding it as a path toward awakening to the truth—the Atonement—instead of a dreary journey toward death.
VI The ego’s true fear—the fear of the separate personal identity—is the fear of its own annihilation. There is nothing the ego fears more than the Love of God; that is why it keeps the mind entertained by proposing magical solutions to nonexistent problems of its own invention. Thus it keeps the mind busy improving the world or glorifying and protecting the body.
All this happens automatically and unconsciously, because the mind takes for granted the “reality” paradigm it faces. It does not question it at all, for it cannot conceive that everything it is telling itself is not true. The hypnotic power of beliefs is absolute in the mind that does not question. And how could the mind question the reality of what it perceives if it regards perception itself as something unquestionable a priori?
The mind that cannot distinguish between being and seeming to be cannot be free. Realize that this Lesson deals, above all, with the exercise of will.
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LESSON 137
When I am healed, I am not healed alone.
1. The idea for today remains the central thought upon which salvation rests.
²For healing is the opposite of all the world’s ideas, which are centered on sickness and states of separation.
³To be sick is to turn away from others and refuse to join with them.
⁴Sickness is a door that locks away a separate being, keeping him isolated and alone.
2. Sickness is isolation. I
²For it seems to keep one separate from the rest, so that he suffers what no one else can feel.
³Sickness gives the body the ultimate power to make separation real, and to keep the mind confined in solitude, divided and held in fragments by a solid wall of sickened flesh from which there is no escape.
⁴The world abides by the laws that sickness serves, but healing works beyond them.
3. It is impossible for anyone to heal alone. II
²In sickness, one can only be apart and separate.
³Healing, however, results from his own decision to be made one again, and to accept his Self with all its parts intact and unassailable.
⁴In sickness, his Self seems torn apart and lacking the unity that gives it life.
⁵But healing comes through the understanding that the body holds no power to attack the universal Oneness of the Son of God.
⁶Sickness seeks to prove that lies must be the truth.
⁷But healing proves that truth is true.
4. The separation that sickness tries to impose has never truly happened.
²Healing is nothing but the acceptance of what has always been the simple truth, and what will remain exactly as it always was.
³But to eyes accustomed to illusions, it must be shown that what they see is false.
⁴This is why healing—though never needed by the truth—must show that sickness is not real.
5. Healing, then, might be seen as a “counter-dream,” something that undoes the dream of sickness in the name of truth, though not truth itself.III
²Just as forgiveness overlooks all sins that never were committed, healing merely removes illusions that never happened.
³And just as the real world will arise to take the place of what never was, healing repairs imagined states and false ideas that dreams have made appear as images of the truth.
6. Yet do not think that healing is unworthy of your function here.
²For the anti-Christ becomes more powerful than Christ to those who dream the world is real. IV
³The body appears more solid and more stable than the mind.
⁴And Love becomes a dream, while fear remains the only reality that can be seen, justified, and fully understood.
7. Just as forgiveness makes all sin disappear, and the real world will replace what you have made, healing must take the place of sickly fantasies that you oppose to the simple truth.
²When sickness is seen to vanish despite all laws that claim it must be real, then all questions have been answered.
³And such laws can no longer be respected or obeyed.
8. Healing is freedom.
²For it shows that dreams cannot prevail against the truth.
³Healing is shared.
⁴And this quality proves that its laws are stronger than their sickly opposites, which claim that sickness must be inevitable.
⁵Healing is strength.
⁶For through its gentle hand, weakness is overcome.
⁷And minds once walled within a body are set free to join with other minds, and to be strong forever.
9. Healing, forgiveness, and the joyful exchange of the world of pain for one where sorrow has no place are the means the Holy Spirit gives you to follow Him.
²His gentle lessons teach how easily salvation can be attained, and how little you need do to let His laws replace the ones you made to keep you prisoner to death.
³Your life becomes the one He offers you when you give the little help He asks, that you may free yourself from all that ever caused you pain. [v]
10. And when you let yourself be healed, you see that all those around you are healed with you—those you think of, those beside you, and even those who seem to have no contact with you.
²You may not recognize them all, nor realize how great the gift you give the world when you allow healing to come to you.
³For you will never heal alone.
⁴When you are healed, a countless number of your brothers receive the gift you have received.
11. Those who are healed become healing instruments.
²And in the very instant they are healed, all the Grace of healing is bestowed upon them to be given.
³What stands against God does not exist, and the one who does not welcome illusions into his mind becomes a refuge where his weary brothers may find rest.
⁴For there is where the truth is given, and where all illusions are brought to it. VI
12. Would you not offer refuge to the Will of God?
²For in so doing, you invite your Self to dwell in Its home.
³Could such an invitation ever be refused?
⁴Ask for what is inevitable, and you will never fail.
⁵The other choice is but to ask for what cannot be, and this can never succeed.
⁶Today we ask that only truth inhabit our minds; that on this day, thoughts of healing move from what is already healed to what must still be healed, knowing both will occur at once.
13. When the hour strikes, we will remember that our function is to allow our minds to be healed, so we may bring healing to the world, and thus exchange curse for blessing, pain for joy, and separation for the Peace of God.
²Is it not worth one minute of each hour in exchange for such a gift?
³Is that not a tiny investment for a gift that gives everything?
14. Yet for such a gift we must prepare.
²Therefore, we will devote ten minutes at the start of the day, and another ten at night, to these thoughts:
³When I am healed, I am not healed alone.
⁴And I would share my healing with the world,
⁵That sickness may be banished from the mind of God’s One Son,
⁶Who is my only Self.
15. Let healing come through you today.
²And as you rest in quiet, prepare to give what you receive.
³Be ready to retain only what you give.
⁴And be prepared to receive the Word of God, to take the place of all the senseless thoughts you ever held.
⁵Now we join in healing all that was sick, and bringing blessings where there once was attack.
16. We will not let ourselves forget this function through the day, remembering our purpose with this thought:
²When I am healed, I am not healed alone.
³And I will bless my brothers,
⁴For I would heal with them,
⁵As they will heal with me.
I Few ideas are as hard to accept as this: illness is voluntary. And yet, this Lesson cannot be learned without assuming it. Whereas other teachings of the Course—regarding relationships, attitudes, or perceptions—seem more accessible or at least symbolic, when the Course states that the healing of the body is also a matter of decision, many begin to grow suspicious.
But here we are not asked to believe just like that. We are invited to observe, with radical honesty, the mental mechanism by which we choose to make ourselves sick and then forget it. That is the key: we make the decision quickly—out of fear, guilt, or a desire for specialness—and then we hide it. Thus illness becomes an alibi of the ego to reinforce separation: “my pain sets me apart,” “my case is different,” “no one can understand what I’m going through.” And in that self-image, the ego is strengthened.
Healing, in this context, does not consist in doing anything physical, nor even in achieving a clinical outcome. Healing is ceasing to lend yourself to the ego’s game. For this reason, the first step proposed to us is very concrete: to minimize the body and its symptoms. Do not dramatize. Do not talk about it. Do not make it identity. Not even with yourself. Illness has power only if we give it a purpose. If we take that purpose away, it loses strength.
This teaching is not aimed at perfect mystics, but at sincere students who, although they still doubt, are willing to stop deceiving themselves. And that is already a big step. Physical cure is not promised to us, but something more important is: to expose the ego’s trick, to stop using the body as an excuse not to love, and to approach that other, more real and deeper healing, which is peace.
To heal is to stop justifying separation and to choose, at last, peace.
II No one heals alone, because no one is alone except in dreams. Healing is, precisely, the recognition that you are not separate.
Careful: do not confuse healing with ceasing to have symptoms of illness; you can lose the symptoms and still be sick. Symptoms are the way you articulate the dialogue you maintain with yourself regarding your body; they are the manifestation of the things you tell yourself.
There is only one mind that dreams it is fragmented into a myriad of separate forms. The mind attacks itself by sickening the bodies it conceives and, in the same way, heals them when it regains sanity and returns to love—its true identity—by forgiving its illusions.
That mind is you. That is what you are. And both in the dream and in reality you have all the power God granted you in your creation. And thus you will believe or create, according to what your holy mind conceives.
III This illusory character of healing—as the repair of something that in reality never occurred—places it on a par with miracles, as seen in Miracle Principle 8 (T-1.P.8): “Miracles are a form of healing.”
It is crucial that you understand that miracles are not meant to “improve” anything that is “wrong” in the world, just as healing is not meant to heal the body. The world does not exist, and neither does the body! What sense can there be in healing an illusion? Healing, if it is true, occurs in the mind, which is the only thing that exists and, consequently, the only thing that can be healed. The wonders that miracles can accomplish in the world—or the healing of the body—are the results beheld in its dream by a mind that has been healed but has not yet awakened.
Therefore, it is essential that you understand that the mind should never seek healing or miracles with the purpose of healing the body or improving something in the world. That is not the purpose of miracles or of healing at all; for if it were, the mind would still be dreaming, believing its dream is real, and it would not truly have been healed. Miracles and healing are effects whose cause is the recognition of the simple truth: you remain as God created you.
Child of God, do not be afraid! Do not let the world’s dream frighten you. The world has no power over you, nor does it contain anything that could interest you in the least. The world is nothing! You, however, are real; you are the beloved Son of your Father. Become perfectly aware that you have every right to claim your divine heritage at any moment—right now, if you so wish—but also realize that it must be the only thing you want: the Love of God, and nothing else.
You may recall these words of Jesus in the Text: “There is nothing about me that you cannot attain. I have nothing that does not come from God. The main difference between us, for now, is that I have NOTHING ELSE. That leaves me in a state of true holiness, which in you is only a POTENTIAL.” (T-1.P.84.3).
Seek clarity of understanding, seek comprehension, seek the Light and Love of God—nothing else. If you set your mind to it, your world will improve, your body will heal—but that is of no importance whatsoever. If you make it important, you will have erred again. Your body is not important; the world is not important: they are only the representation of your fears and apparent lacks.
As long as you believe you are in time, look at them askance—just enough to meet your worldly obligations; nothing more. Devote yourself solely and exclusively to being happy. Remember that you will be guided as to what is most fitting regarding “what is not important.” That is the Holy Spirit’s task in the world. Surprising as it may seem, He concerns Himself only with what has no importance; He takes care of the minutiae so that you may be carefree—even in this world—and devote yourself to what does matter: your function, which is to enjoy the happiness that is yours as the Son of God and to extend it to others.
That is why God placed His Guide to serve His Holy Son in his derangement.
IV 1 John 2:18 “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”
1 John 2:22 “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.”
V Notice how important what is said here is. Reflect on it. Realize that it is crucial for you to learn to develop communication between the lower part of your mind—in which you are normally installed all the time—and the higher part, where the Voice for God resides. To this end, you will have to learn to ask from mental silence and to develop a trusting listening.
VI That place is the mind that does not accept illusions.
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LESSON 136
Sickness is a defense against the truth.
1. No one can heal unless he understands what purpose sickness really serves.
²For then he understands as well that it has no meaningful purpose.
³Lacking cause and holding no real goal, sickness is impossible.
⁴Once this is seen, healing is automatic.
⁵This recognition dissolves the meaningless illusion by the same approach that brings all illusions to the truth, and simply lays them down to disappear.
2. Sickness is not an accident.
²Like all defenses, it is a mad device for self-deception. I
³And like all of them, its purpose is to hide reality, attack it, change it, render it useless, distort it, twist it, or reduce it to a little pile of disconnected fragments.
⁴The aim of all defenses is to split the truth.
⁵Each fragment is seen as if it were the whole within itself.
3. Defenses are never made unconsciously, nor are they unintended. II
²They are secret, magic wands you wave when truth appears to threaten what you would believe. III
³They seem to be unconscious simply because of how quickly you decide to use them.
⁴In that instant, even less than a second, you are fully aware of what you are trying to do, and then you simply forget.
4. Who but you evaluates a threat, decides escape is necessary, and sets up a series of defenses to meet the threat you judge as real?
²All this cannot be done unconsciously.
³But afterward, your plan requires that you forget you made it, so it seems to be outside your own intent—a happening beyond your state of mind, an outcome with a real effect on you, instead of something you yourself caused.
5. The speed with which you choose to forget the role you play in shaping your “reality” is what makes defenses seem beyond your own control.
²But you can remember what you have forgotten if you are willing to reconsider the decision which is doubly shielded by oblivion.
³The fact you do not remember is merely the sign that this decision still remains in force, because you still desire its effects.
⁴Do not confuse this with fact.
⁵Your own defenses have obscured the truth.
⁶That is their purpose, and they accomplish it well. IV
6. Every defense takes fragments from the whole, assembles them without regard for how they are truly related, and thus constructs the illusion of a wholeness that does not exist.
²This process is what produces the sense of threat, not any consequence that might result.
³When you tear parts away from a perfectly unified whole and see them as separate things with meaning in themselves, they become symbols representing an attack on what is complete—and believing you have succeeded, you can no longer see the whole as one.
⁴And yet you have forgotten that these fragments represent nothing but your own decision about what should be real in order to replace what truly is. V
7. Sickness is a decision.
²It is not something that happens to you unwillingly, weakening you and causing you to suffer.
³It is a choice you make yourself—a plan you devise when, for an instant, the truth arises in your deluded mind, and your entire world seems to tremble and threaten to collapse.
⁴And so you become sick, that the truth may leave and no longer threaten your beliefs.
⁵What leads you to believe that sickness can succeed in protecting you from the truth?
⁶Simply this: sickness proves that the body is not separate from you, and that means you must be separate from the truth. VI
8. You suffer pain because the body feels it, and in that pain you become one with it.
²In this way your “true” identity is preserved, and the strange and troubling thought that you might be more than that little pile of dust is silenced and suppressed.
³For behold, that handful of dust can make you suffer, twist your limbs, stop your heart, and command you to die and cease to be.
⁴Thus, the body is stronger than the truth, which asks you to live but cannot override your decision to die.
⁵And this proves that the body is more powerful than Eternal Life, that Heaven is more fragile than hell, and that God’s plan for the salvation of His Son is opposed by a will stronger than His.
⁶The Son is nothing but dust, the Father is incomplete, and chaos sits triumphant upon the throne of God.
9. This is the plan you have made to defend yourself against the truth.
²And you believe that Heaven cowers before such insane attacks as these—attacks that blind God with your illusions, turn truth into lies, and enslave the entire universe to the laws your defenses seek to lay upon it.
³But who believes in illusions except the one who made them?
⁴Who but he could see them and respond to them as if they were true?
10. God knows nothing of your plans to alter His Will.
²The universe remains untouched by the laws you thought you placed upon it.
³And Heaven has not bowed to hell, nor has Life succumbed to death.
⁴You can only choose to believe that you die, think you suffer illness, or imagine that you have somehow succeeded in distorting the truth.
⁵What was created remains beyond all this.
⁶Defenses are plans to overcome what cannot be attacked.
⁷The unchangeable cannot change.
⁸And what is absolutely sinless cannot sin. VII
11. This is the simple truth.
²It does not seek to impose itself or triumph over anything.
³It does not demand obedience, nor does it try to prove how feeble and useless are your efforts to construct defenses meant to change it.
⁴Truth only seeks to make you happy, for that is its purpose.
⁵It may sigh gently when you reject Its gifts, but It knows with perfect certainty that what God wills for you must be received.
12. This fact is what proves time to be an illusion.
²For it is time that lets you think what God has given you is not true right now, exactly as it must be.
³God’s Thoughts are completely independent of time.
⁴For time is just another senseless defense you have built against the truth.
⁵Yet what God wills is what exists here and now, and you remain exactly as He created you.
⁶The power of truth lies far beyond your defenses, for no illusion can remain where truth has been allowed to enter.
⁷And truth comes to every mind that lays down its arms and ceases to play with madness.
⁸You can find it at any moment—today, if you choose to welcome it.
13. This is our goal for today.
²We will devote two fifteen-minute periods to asking truth to come and set us free. VIII
³And truth will come, for it has never left us.
⁴It merely waits for the invitation we extend to it today.
⁵We offer it as a prayer of healing, that it may help us rise above our defensive posture and allow the truth to be as it has always been:
⁶Sickness is a defense against the truth.
⁷I will accept the truth of what I am today.
⁸And let my mind be wholly healed.
14. Healing will shine through your receptive mind, and peace and truth will replace conflict and vain imaginings.
²There will no longer be dark corners where sickness can conceal itself and defend against the light of truth.
³Nor will the shadowy figures from your dreams remain in your mind—those distorted and senseless pursuits with hidden purposes, born of madness.
⁴And so your mind will be healed of every sick desire you had commanded the body to obey.
15. By relieving the source of sickness, the body is healed. IX
²And you will know you have practiced well because the body will feel nothing at all.
³If you have succeeded, there will be no sense of sickness or of wellness, no pain and no pleasure.
⁴Now the mind no longer responds at all to what the body does.
⁵Only its usefulness remains, and nothing more.
16. You may not realize that this removes the limits you had placed upon the body by assigning it the purposes you made up.
²Once those are laid aside, the body’s strength will always be enough to serve the goals that are truly useful.
³The body’s health is now fully guaranteed, for it is no longer governed by time, by weather, by fatigue, by food or drink, nor by any law you used to place upon it.
⁴You need do nothing now to make the body well, for sickness has become impossible.
17. Yet this protection must be preserved through careful watchfulness.
²If you allow your mind to entertain thoughts of attack, to judge, or to make plans to protect itself against the future, you have once again mistaken yourself, and formed a bodily identity that will attack the body—for the mind has become ill.
³In such a case, remedy it at once, and do not allow your defensive posture to go on harming you.
⁴Be not confused about what must be healed, and say to yourself: X
⁵I have forgotten what I really am,
⁶for I mistook my body for myself.
⁷Sickness is a defense against the truth.
⁸But I am not a body.
⁹And my mind cannot attack.
¹⁰So I cannot be sick.
I This Lesson can only be understood in the context that to perceive is to dream, and that what you perceive is what you are dreaming. The dream is the result of the will to be separate and apart from what is Real. As a result of that strange vocation, you place your will in making the impossible real, and what you achieve is a notion of reality exclusive to yourself. This is how you become a subject separate from all that you perceive; this is how the Mind of the Son of God dreams an imaginary universe.
If your eyes see something your hands can touch, if your ears perceive sounds, and if you feel yourself within a body, you can be absolutely certain that you are dreaming, that what you behold is not real, and that your mind is deceiving itself because, in truth, it understands nothing of what it is imagining. That is not reality; that is nothing. It is the sad condition of a mind that has exchanged the glorious state of Existence for limitation, ignorance, and forgetfulness.
This may remind you a little of Chico Marx disguised as Groucho in the film Duck Soup, saying: “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?” But look deep into your heart, and you will understand that this is the truth.
It is important that you recognize where the difficulty lies in believing that what you perceive is not real. Your perception is a mental construct shaped by a belief: you believe in what you perceive precisely because you have perceived it through a belief that is entirely chosen and accepted. If you are now told that what you perceive is not real, you are, in fact, being asked to believe something that contradicts your beliefs. In other words, a conflict of beliefs appears. In reality, these are opposing concepts your mind treats on the same level, and they contradict each other; they cannot coexist. You have no other way out of the conflict than to choose one of those beliefs and abandon the other.
This is what this Course is proposing to you at all times: that you replace one set of beliefs with another. This is a change you cannot make lightly or partially. You must do it with full awareness, absolutely and with all its consequences. Therefore, you would do well to think about it carefully, to weigh the arguments for and against, and to begin putting it systematically into practice in all aspects of your life; only experience will bring you certainty. Now observe impartially the effects that this change of paradigm has in your personal life, and conclude with honesty whether they truly benefit you. If it is evident that it is an improvement, deepen and intensify its application; if not, ask yourself whether you have interpreted this teaching correctly, or simply abandon the attempt.
To exist, to Be, Reality—it is all exactly the opposite of what you perceive, and it is something you know very well, for you vaguely remember it and constantly seek it in everything you undertake—you, separated mind.
Reality is not experienced nor perceived: Reality is what you are. Reality is what you know and what you love. Reality is perfectly abstract, absolute, whole, and total. It has no separate parts, for it is One. It harbors no conflict, nor is it open to doubt or uncertainty, for it has no opposite. There is nothing that is not It—that is, you. Peace, Love, the infinite Light of Knowledge, and the absolute Power of Its Will are Its eternal condition.
Anything that is not that is not real and does not exist. Therefore, it can only be an illusion—something you imagine, just like the idea you have of yourself, which is nothing but the vocation to be separate, to be an ego.
Illness is one of the many resources of the dream to make the experience of separation seem realistic. To separate is to attack the integrity of reality; thus, illness serves to separate the subject into his particular suffering and exclusive condition. No one suffers illness as he does, nor experiences his pain, which is his own and unique.
The notion of sin is a similar resource to foster separation. Illness is physical and affects the body; sin is more abstract, for it is moral and refers to behavior. Yet, at bottom, they are the same, for they have the same purpose: they are forms of attack that serve to separate and to consolidate the dream—defenses against truth.
II Both the notion of sin and that of illness are voluntary decisions of the mind. The mind’s responsibility in establishing guilt is evident; that of illness is less so, but that is simply because the mind decides to hide that decision from itself in order not to assume responsibility for its own suffering—which is, clearly, a completely absurd act.
Yet, if you look closely, the mind does something very similar with sin: it always refers guilt to a “moral” instance higher than itself, and considers itself merely the innocent spectator and victim of that intolerable transgression of a “law” it has itself written.
The mind also suffers when it condemns sin, but it will never admit that it has been a gratuitous pain it has also granted itself. It will always seek to justify guilt through something “objectively” evil.
III Realize that illness and sin are the most “dynamic” and effective defenses for keeping the world’s thought system in place.
IV You do not perceive facts, but interpretations. Read again these last three paragraphs very slowly and carefully; they are crucial. They explain to you with absolute clarity the mechanism by which you deceive yourself—how you “hallucinate.” If you wish to know the truth, it is essential that you discover how you are deceiving yourself now.
V This is how stories are constructed: you fragment the perfect unity of all that is, you assign exclusive functions and attributes to each of the resulting parts, and you relate them to one another in a deranged way, introducing absurd bipolar notions to contrast what does not exist—attack and alliances, sin and forgiveness, love and hate, success and failure, illness and health. Yet all these are but stories dreamed by your hallucinated mind.
VI Illness is one of the most effective resources for preserving individual identity. Do you not want to be you? Do you not want to be special, unique, and exclusive, capable of making your own decisions and controlling what you call your life? How do you think you will achieve that with a mind whose very nature contradicts that idea? Now you know how you do it: by attacking—and attacking yourself, which are equivalent terms. But, obviously, that has a price: you will dream of the results of your attack on the world, your brothers, and yourself—you will dream of death.
It is certain that what is said here is very difficult for you to assimilate, and even more so to accept. You need not force yourself to believe it. Simply be respectful toward this definition of illness and consider it carefully. Then think about it often, and keep it in mind whenever you see someone ill or fall ill yourself. Reflect, then, whether it is possible that this perspective on illness explains the situation. You will probably realize that it fits perfectly, and you will probably also need many such confirmations before you are able to integrate it into your new thought system.
But remember: never force yourself to believe what this Course tells you; that is not the way. This is a Course about truth, and you will reach it—or rather, it will reach you—gladly and by your own will.
VII Rejoice that the world you believe you live in is nothing but a dream, as was said at the beginning. That is the context in which you must interpret this Lesson. None of it is true, nor has it ever been. The only thing that apparently remains, at least for now, is your will to be yourself.
Well then, until you finally abandon that inconvenient idea, better dream of what is kind and beneficent. Dream that you forgive the world and your brothers; dream that you forgive yourself and love yourself even in this particular form. Dream that, on your way to awakening, you are accompanied by a love reflected in everything, because you have placed it there through the power of your will.
And when that light you project upon the world becomes so intense that it nearly blinds you, you will realize that it comes from beyond the gates of Heaven, which have always stood open for you.
VIII John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
IX By relieving the mind of the absurd belief that truth is to be feared.
X Never forget: the only thing that must be healed is the mind. The mind is the only thing that can be sick, for the mind is the only thing that exists.
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LESSON 135
If I defend myself, I am attacked.
1. Who would defend himself unless he believed he were being attacked, that attack is real, and that by defending himself he can be saved? I
²And this is precisely where the senselessness of defense lies, for it gives full reality to illusions and then attempts to handle them as if they were true.
³This only adds illusion to illusion, making correction doubly difficult.
⁴And this is what you do when you try to make plans for the future, reactivate the past, or organize the present according to your wishes.
2. You operate under the belief that you must protect yourself from what is happening, because it contains something that threatens you. II
²To feel threatened is to admit an inherent weakness in yourself—to believe there is a danger with the power to require your appropriate defense.
³The world is built upon this insane belief.
⁴And all its structures, all its thoughts and doubts, its punishments and mighty armaments, its legal definitions and its codes, its ethics, its leaders and its gods—all of it exists to uphold this sense of threat.
⁵For no one would walk the world with heavy armor unless his heart were gripped by terror.
3. Defenses are frightening.
²They arise from fear, and every new defense only adds to it.
³You think they offer safety.
⁴Yet they proclaim that fear is real, and that terror is justified.
⁵Does it not seem strange to you that when you make your plans, reinforce your armor, and secure your locks, you never stop to ask what it is you are defending, how you defend it, and against what?
4. Let us first consider what it is you are defending.
²It must be something very weak and vulnerable.
³It must be easy prey, something unable to protect itself, and thus in need of your defense.
⁴What else but the body is so fragile that it requires constant care and watchful concern to protect its little life?
⁵What else but the body fails and is unworthy to be the holy home of God’s Son?
5. And yet the body in itself cannot be afraid, nor is it something to be feared.
²It has no needs but those you assign to it.
³It requires no elaborate structures of defense, no healing medicines, no care, no concern at all.
⁴If you defend its life, adorn it with gifts, or build walls to protect it, you merely proclaim that your home is vulnerable to the thief of time, corruptible, decaying, and so insecure that you must guard it with your very life.
6. Is this not a frightening picture?
²How can you be at peace with such a concept of your home?
³Yet what but your own belief has given the body the right to serve you in this way?
⁴It was your mind that gave the body all the functions you see in it, and that placed its value far above the little heap of dust and water that it is. III
⁵Who would defend something he recognized as merely that?
7. The body needs no defense.
²This cannot be too strongly emphasized.
³The body will remain strong and healthy if the mind does not abuse it by assigning it roles it cannot fulfill, purposes beyond its scope, and grandiose goals it cannot accomplish.
⁴Such attempts—foolish, yet deeply cherished—are the source of the many insane attacks you make upon it.
⁵For you see the body as frustrating your hopes, your needs, your values, and your dreams.
8. That “self” which needs protection is not real.
²The body—this worthless thing that is not worth defending at all—needs only to be perceived as separate from you to become a healthy, useful instrument through which the mind can operate until it is no longer needed.
³Who would want to keep it once it has no use?
9. Defend the body, and you have attacked your mind.
²For you have seen in it the faults, the weaknesses, the limits, and the lacks from which you think the body must be saved.
³You will not see the mind as separate from bodily conditions.
⁴And you will impose upon the body all the pain that comes from your belief that the mind is limited, fragile, apart from other minds, and separate from its Source.
10. These are the thoughts that need healing, and once they have been corrected and replaced with truth, the body will respond with health.
²This is the only real way to defend the body.
³But is this the way you try to defend it?
⁴The protection you offer it is of no benefit at all; it only increases your mental distress.
⁵This is not healing, but the denial of healing, for it places your hope where hope does not belong.
11. A healed mind does not plan.
²It carries out the plans it hears, through listening to the Wisdom that is not its own.
³It waits until it is taught what should be done, and then proceeds to do it.
⁴It does not depend upon itself for anything except its adequacy to fulfill the plans assigned to it.
⁵It is secure in certainty that obstacles cannot impede its progress toward the goal that serves the greater plan established for the good of everyone.
12. A healed mind has relinquished the belief that it must plan, though it cannot know the outcome, nor the means by which the goal is best achieved, nor even how to recognize the problem that the plan is made to solve.
²Until it does this, it will misuse the body in its plans.
³But when it has accepted this as true, then it will heal, and let the body go.
13. Enslaving the body to the plans the unhealed mind sets up to save itself must make the body sick.
²It is not free to serve the plan for which it was created, one that far exceeds its own protection and requires its service for a little while.
³In this capacity, health is assured.
⁴For everything the mind employs for this will function flawlessly, and with the strength that has been given it, it cannot fail.
14. It is perhaps not easy to perceive that self-initiated plans are defenses, and all of them have but this one intent:
²They are the means by which a frightened mind would undertake its own protection at the cost of truth.
³It is not difficult to recognize in some forms that this is so, where the denial of reality is very obvious.
⁴Yet planning is not often recognized as a defense.
15. The mind engaged in planning is unwilling to allow for change.
²It does not believe that God will give it everything it needs unless it makes its own provisions.
³It emphasizes the future, based on past experience and learning, and it believes it must control future events.
⁴This leads it to overlook the present, for it bases its faith on what the past has taught, in order to control what is to come.
16. The mind that plans is thus denying the opportunity to change.
²It relies on what it has learned to set the goals for future outcomes.
³Its past experience dictates its choices for what will happen.
⁴And it fails to see that here and now is everything it needs to guarantee a future quite unlike the past, one free of the continuity of old ideas and sick beliefs.
⁵No longer does it anticipate, for present trust directs the way.
17. Defenses are the plans you undertake against the truth.
²Their aim is to select what you approve, and disregard what you consider incompatible with your imagined self.
³Yet what remains is meaningless indeed.
⁴For it is your own reality that your defenses are designed to attack, conceal, dissect, and crucify.
18. Yet what would you not accept if you knew that everything that happens, all events past, present, and to come, are gently planned by One whose only purpose is your good?
²Perhaps you have misunderstood His plan, for He would never offer pain.
³But your defenses did not let you see His loving blessing shine in every step you ever took.
⁴While you made plans for death, He led you gently to Eternal Life.
19. Your present trust in Him is the defense that promises a quiet future, a future untouched by any trace of sorrow, and filled with ever-increasing joy, as this life becomes a holy moment set in time, yet heeding only immortality.
²Let no defenses direct the future.
³Place it in the hands of your present trust, and this life will become a meaningful encounter with the truth, which was all your defenses were meant to hide.
20. Without defenses, you become a light that Heaven gratefully acknowledges as its own.
²That light will lead you through the paths prepared for your happiness, according to the ancient plan begun when time was born.
³Your followers will join their light to yours, and it will grow until the world is lit with joy.
⁴And gladly will our brothers lay aside their cumbersome defenses, which only kept them terrified.
21. Today we will anticipate that moment with present trust, for it is part of what was planned for us. IV
²We rest in the certainty that everything we need is given us to accomplish this today.
³We make no plans for how it will occur, but realize that in our defenselessness, the truth will dawn upon our minds with certainty.
22. For fifteen minutes, twice today, we rest from senseless planning and from every thought that blocks the truth from entering our minds.
²Instead of planning, we will receive, that we may give; instead of organizing, we will be guided.
³And we are given as we say:
⁴If I defend myself, I am attacked.
⁵But in defenselessness I will be strong,
⁶and I will learn what my defenses hide.
23. That is all.
²If there are plans to be made, you will be told of them.
³They may not be the plans you thought you needed, nor the answers to the problems you believed you faced.
⁴They are answers to a different kind of question—one that remains unanswered but needs to be resolved until the Answer finally comes.
24. All your defenses have been aimed at not receiving what you are given now.
²And in the light and joy of the simple truth, you will wonder how you ever thought you had to defend yourself against your own release.
³Heaven asks nothing.
⁴It is hell that demands outrageous sacrifice.
⁵Today you give up nothing when you come defenseless to your Creator, just as you really are.
25. He remembers you.
²And today we will remember Him.
³For this is the Eastertime of your salvation. V
⁴It is the time when you arise from what seemed like death and hopelessness.
⁵Now light is born again in you, for now you come without defenses to learn your part in God’s plan.
⁶What trivial plans or magical beliefs can still hold value once you have received your function from the Voice for God Himself?
26. Do not try to shape this day as you believe would benefit you most.
²For you cannot conceive of the happiness that comes to you without your planning.
³Learn today.
⁴And the world will take this giant step and celebrate your Eastertime with you. VI
27. When petty things appear to raise defensiveness in you, and tempt you to make plans, remember this:
²Today is Eastertime. I would keep it holy.
³I will not defend myself,
⁴because the Son of God has no need to be defended against the truth of his Reality.
I The very length of this Lesson—the longest in the Workbook—is itself a sign of its importance. You will see that, apparently, it speaks about the defenses you design to protect yourself from the dangers of the world and the body, and, above all, about the “plans” you make. In a sense, it is true that it deals with those subjects, and it does so brilliantly and aptly; yet, in reality, it speaks of exactly the same thing as the preceding Lesson: how you react to the apparent demands of the illusory world. And it proposes exactly the same thing to you: that you do not get involved, that you forgive them, and that you place yourself in the hands of the Holy Spirit.
For this reason, this Lesson—like this entire Course—is also about forgiveness. See it that way, and you will understand it perfectly.
II When you wake in the morning, you open your eyes and behold a world in which your brother offends you, and you blame and condemn him. You consider the world to be a dangerous place and build all kinds of defenses to protect yourself from it. You look at yourself and see a body that you strive to enhance and care for, because it is the image you have of yourself and you think it is fragile. And finally, you place yourself in a condition of existence within an irrevocably linear time, making plans to organize your future lest something occur that might cause you to suffer.
Your guilty brother, the dangerous world, your vulnerable body, and the uncertain future exist only in your mind, and they have no more reality than what you confer upon them.
You are dreaming, and your dream is populated by uncertainty and threat. It is a bad dream from which it would be wise to awaken.
But how will you achieve that?
Try to see it this way:
Imagine yourself outside your body, watching yourself asleep in bed. That you who sleeps is dreaming, and in his dream he, too, sees an imaginary world full of threats that terrify him. Now think that this you who dreams cannot awaken, because he knows no other condition—he has forgotten that he was once awake—and besides, the light terrifies him because it would dispel the only thing he now knows. What would you advise him?
Consider that he can only faintly hear you in the distance, and he is incapable of interpreting anything that is not expressed in the same terms in which his own dream is structured. You can only speak to him using the symbols he knows.
Do you see that if he reacts with fear to what he is beholding, his dream will become even deeper, more “real” to him? Would you not tell him to relax a little, not to take it seriously, and that all that which he believes he faces is not real? Would you not advise him to forgive and let pass what he believes he sees? Can you think of better advice?
Now imagine that your sleeping self has managed to hear you and has obeyed. What do you think would happen to his dream? He is still dreaming; he has not awakened. But his expression has certainly changed. You cannot see what he is dreaming now, yet from his face you infer that his dream must be better, for you see him calmer.
Keep speaking to him. Now you can shift somewhat from that emergency discourse you used to draw him out of terror and begin to teach him how to shape a happier dream. You cannot lead him directly from fear to love; first you must teach him to forgive his fantasies, or he will remain trapped in them due to the power fear has to bestow reality upon illusions. Now you can begin to explain to him the power his mind also has to create worlds, and you will also teach him to distinguish pleasure from pain, fear from love, and peace from distress.
Now he is ready to reconcile himself with the idea that everything he gives, he is giving to himself, for in his dream there is nothing but himself. You will explain to him, in simple terms, that giving and receiving—or teaching and learning—are the same, and if he listens and puts it into practice in his fantasies, he will see that it is true. For you, who are outside watching him sleep, the matter is more than evident, since you know that everything he experiences is occurring within his sleeping mind, even though to him that is not yet so clear.
When you see that he has been calm for a while and has acquired some skill in handling his illusions, you will go a little further and begin to teach him to manage the dream itself. You know that he could make any change he wished, for it costs the same to dream one thing as another. Yet you also understand that his dream is still structured around values, categories, merits, importance, and difficulty. That is the world in which he believes he lives: a world full of different things—some desirable and others fearful—but to him all are very real and distinct from each other. To you, however, they are all the same; they are only fantasies.
Now that you see him calm and fairly centered, you will teach him to make changes in his dream that will seem to him surprising and wonderful. He will call them miracles. You will simply smile. You have done a good job with him. He is now ready for you to awaken him.
III Genesis 2:6–7 “But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
IV Realize that you are not taking this Course by chance; it is part of the plan designed for your salvation and for the world’s with you. You are now beginning to be centered, and your eyes are starting to open little by little. Do not lose focus, and put all your will into strengthening your present trust; the rest will be given to you as you go. Open your eyes and ears, and let yourself be guided. You are in good hands—the best.
V Easter is the central feast of Christianity, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. It marks the end of Holy Week, which recalls His passion and death.
VI Do not be surprised that this is yet another of those Lessons that constitute a “giant step” in your learning.
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LESSON 134
I want to perceive forgiveness as it is.
1. Let us review today what it means to “forgive,” for it is a concept prone to distortion, often seen as involving the unjustified sacrifice of legitimate indignation, an unearned and undeserved gift, and a total denial of the truth. I
²From this perspective, forgiveness must appear to be nothing more than extravagant foolishness, and it makes it seem as though this Course bases salvation on whimsy.
2. This distorted view of what forgiveness means is easily corrected when you can accept the fact that you are not being asked to forgive what is true.
²Forgiveness is limited solely to what is false.
³Forgiveness applies only to illusions.
⁴Truth is the Creation of God, and forgiving that makes no sense.
⁵All that is true belongs to Him, reflects His Laws, and radiates His Love.
⁶How could this require forgiveness?
⁷How can you forgive what is sinless and eternally kind?
3. Your greatest difficulty in truly forgiving is still the belief that you must forgive what is true, and not illusions. II
²You see forgiveness as a futile effort to ignore what is really there, to overlook the truth in a misguided attempt to deceive yourself by affirming an illusion.
³This mistaken perspective merely reflects how firmly the idea of sin still grips your mind, as you see yourself.
4. Since you believe your sins are real, you see forgiveness as deception.
²For it is impossible to believe that sin is real and not believe forgiveness is a lie.
³Thus, forgiveness becomes just another sin like all the rest.
⁴It declares truth to be false, and smiles upon the corrupt as if they were as guiltless as grass, as white as snow. III
⁵Forgiveness fools itself about what it thinks it can achieve.
⁶It wants to see what is clearly wrong as right, and the despicable as good.
5. From this perspective, forgiveness does not set free.
²It is merely another sign that sin is unforgivable—something that, at best, must be concealed, denied, or called by another name, for forgiveness is seen as betrayal of the truth.
³Guilt cannot be forgiven.
⁴If you sin, your guilt is everlasting.
⁵Those you forgive suffer twice the mockery and the condemnation if you believe their sins are real.
⁶First, their own, for what they believe they have done.
⁷And then yours.
6. It is the unreal nature of sin that makes forgiveness a natural and entirely sane response.
²A deep relief for those who offer it, and a quiet blessing for those who receive it. IV
³True forgiveness does not support illusions; it gently lays them down, with a light smile, at the feet of truth. V
⁴And there they disappear completely.
7. Forgiveness is the only thing that stands for truth in the illusions of the world.
²It sees their insubstantial nature, and looks past all the thousands of forms they may appear in.
³It sees the lies, but is not deceived by them.
⁴It pays no attention to the screams with which sinners, mad with guilt, accuse themselves.
⁵It looks upon them with calm eyes and simply says:
⁶My brother, what you think is not the truth.
8. The strength of forgiveness lies in its honesty, which, being incorruptible, sees illusions as illusions and not as truth.
²Because of this, when it faces lies it becomes the great disillusioner, the mighty restorer of simple truth.
³Through its ability to overlook what does not exist, forgiveness opens up the way to truth, which was blocked by dreams of guilt.
⁴Now you are free to walk the path true forgiveness opens.
⁵For if a brother has received this gift from you, the door is open to yourself.
9. There is a very simple way to find the door to true forgiveness and to see that it stands wide open in welcome.
²Whenever you feel tempted to accuse someone of any kind of sin, do not allow your mind to dwell on what they did, for that is self-deception.
³Instead, ask:
⁴Would I accuse myself of doing this?VI
10. In this way, you will see the alternatives in terms that make sense, and you will keep your mind as free from guilt and pain as God Himself intended it to be, and as it truly is.
²Only lies condemn.
³Innocence is the only thing that truly exists.
⁴Forgiveness stands between illusions and the truth, between the world you see and what lies beyond, between the hell of guilt and the gates of Heaven.
11. Across this bridge, as powerful as the Love that blessed it, all dreams of evil, hatred, and attack are quietly brought before the truth.
²They are not kept to swell and roar and terrify the helpless dreamer who believes in them.
³He has been gently awakened from his dream by recognizing that what he thought he saw never truly existed.
⁴And now he can no longer believe escape is denied to him.
12. He no longer has to struggle to be saved.
²He does not need to slay the dragons he imagined pursued him.
³He does not need to build strong walls of stone or iron gates he thought would keep him safe.
⁴He can now lay down the heavy, useless armor made to chain his mind to fear and misery.
⁵Now his step is light, and each time he lifts his foot to go ahead, a star is left behind to guide the ones who follow.
13. You must practice true forgiveness, for the world cannot grasp its meaning, nor will it offer you any guidance to help you understand its blessings.
²There is not a single thought in all the world that leads you to comprehend the laws forgiveness follows or the Thought it mirrors.
³Forgiveness is as foreign to this world as is your own reality.
⁴But it is what links your mind to the reality that lives in you.
14. Today we practice true forgiveness so that the moment of union may no longer be delayed.
²For we wish to meet our Reality in freedom and in peace.
³Our practice becomes the footsteps that illuminate the path for all our brothers, who will follow us to the Reality we share with them.
⁴To make this so, let us spend fifteen minutes twice today with the Guide Who understands the meaning of forgiveness and Who was sent to teach it to us.
⁵Let us then ask Him:
⁶I want to perceive forgiveness as it is.
15. Then choose a brother as He directs, and list his “sins” one by one as they cross your mind.
²Be sure not to dwell on any of them in particular.
³Realize you are using his “offenses” to save the world from all belief in sin.
⁴Briefly consider each of the negative things you have thought about him, and ask yourself each time:
⁵Would I condemn myself for doing this?
16. Release him from all the thoughts of sin you held about him.
²And now you are prepared for freedom.
³If you have practiced with willingness and sincere intent, you will begin to feel a sense of lifting, a lightening of the chest, a deep and unmistakable sense of relief.
⁴Use the rest of the time to feel yourself being freed from all the heavy chains you tried to lay upon your brother, but which were binding only you.
17. You must practice forgiveness throughout the day, for there will still be many times when you forget its meaning and attack yourself.
²When that happens, let your mind see beyond that illusion, while saying to yourself:
³I want to perceive forgiveness as it is.
⁴Would I accuse myself of doing this?
⁵I will not chain myself to this.
⁶And in everything you do, remember this:
⁷No one is crucified alone.
⁸And no one enters Heaven by himself.
I This is an especially magnificent Lesson among the magnificent Lessons of this Workbook. It is very clear, simple, and it precisely describes the most powerful resource you have at your disposal to free your mind from the insidiousness of the world’s thought. Read it very slowly, with great attention, and, after each line, ask yourself whether what you have just read is true. Take all the time you need to study this Lesson in depth—it will be time very well spent.
II The world is a story.
Stories are narratives that describe concepts related to each other in a coherent way. We could say that the story is the form, the container for the content that one intends to explain. When someone believes in something, it is because he thinks that the content of a given story is real—that it exists on its own, independently of the story told about it. To believe or not believe a certain story is a decision of the mind made through the will.
From the standpoint of the world’s science, to perceive is to imagine—that is, to construct images, sounds, and sensations in the brain from electrochemical impulses coming from certain bodily organs called “senses.” This is something science today is quite clear about, although it still does not understand it, for there is no consensual description to believe in regarding how the pure cognitive process of becoming aware of that sensory information works to turn it into a coherent whole—a story. In any case, no scientist doubts that the perceptual and cognitive process is the brain’s interpretation of physical signals coming from the external world.
According to the “cognitive sciences,” the brain is a biochemical machine capable of translating “reality” into consciousness and knowledge. What science still does not understand is the concept of “subject” or “self-awareness”—which, moreover, is quite surprising and somewhat disturbing, since that is precisely what the scientist himself identifies with, he who studies and develops cognitive science. The scientist believes that the story he tells himself, although perhaps incomplete, is true—that is, that the contents of that story have an existence independent of himself. You, though you may not be able to articulate a story as detailed and precise as his, also believe that: the world is real, you live in it, and you are something separate and apart from everything you perceive.
It is evident that this story has many dark spots, but it is also clear that you believe it wholeheartedly and organize your life according to that belief. By now, you are probably able to admit that the description of the world you believe you live in is a story. The question is: is it a true story?
Before answering this question, take a close look at how your mind works.
When you deeply question any story you tell yourself—especially one you still want to believe in—what you usually do is overlook, forget, or set aside any uncomfortable issue that might endanger its truthfulness, and you move on without further ado. That allows you to remain functional and operative within your belief system, but that voluntary forgetting creates in you an underlying and permanent unease, because in truth you are unable to face your lack of honesty. That is why you do not fully trust yourself; deep down you know that, when fear presses upon you, you are prone to lie, deceive, and deceive yourself. Only partial forgetfulness of your “sins” provides you some relief and allows you to carry on as if nothing had happened.The world you believe you live in is a purely formal story: it has no real content. Its content is also form; its content is not real. You have confused form with content; you believe that the content is the form the story describes, and now you think the content is real—but it is not. Perception is not cognitive, because through perception nothing is “known”: things are merely imagined and believed in. To grant reality to the content of perception is a whim of the ego. Forgiveness, however, is no whim: it is what a sane mind does when confronted with something empty of content. To forgive is the healthiest and most rational thing the mind can do in a world of illusions.
III Isaiah 1:18 “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’”
IV Realize that when you condemn something, someone, or yourself, you are telling yourself a story of guilt that you believe to be true. But is it true? You certainly insist that it is, and that you are right, and to that end you set your mind to elaborate a series of arguments to justify your indignation. And though you may not be very aware of it, that requires support from a complex and absolutely artificial moral construction to which you subject your thinking.
Wanting to be right is nothing but stubbornly insisting that the story you tell yourself is true. That is the epitome of arrogance, an expression of utter lack of honesty, the most flagrant proof that you are using your mind in a profoundly irrational way, and that you not only do not know—you do not even know that you do not know.
It is very important that you become fully aware that forgiveness feels good to you. You must forgive not only because what you see before you is not real; you forgive because every time you do, your heart rejoices and confirms that your mind has made the right decision. You do not need to involve yourself in complex ontological reasoning to determine the nature of what is real. Your heart will show you in a very simple way.
T-29.VII.1:9 “Would you rather be right or happy?”
V Understand that forgive comes from the Latin per donare. Donare means “to give,” and the prefix per indicates that the giving is done completely and in a permanent, final, and total way. You forgive and give the world you see because it is unreal and not for you; it does not belong to your holy mind, which is real. The proof that this is so is in your heart, which clearly tells you that your mind becomes indigestible when it holds onto the things of the world, because they do not sit well with it. Therefore, forgive the world—truly forgive it; give all your interpretations to the Holy Spirit so that He may purify them and return them to you with precise instructions on how to manage them.
VI You are not yet fully aware that you only relate to the contents of your own mind; you only relate to yourself. Yet you can test this statement and see whether it is true. Do so, and you will understand that it is. Do you not realize that when you condemn, accuse, and attack someone, it hurts you? How could that be possible unless what you are attacking is your very own self?
When you see someone doing something wrong from your point of view, do the following:
First, think that that person is you.
Second, if something is being done wrong, it is either out of ignorance or out of fear—and most often due to both. Ignorance is lack of light, and fear is lack of love. From this it follows, with perfect clarity, that what you must do there is provide the light and love that are missing—nothing more and nothing less.
Now ask for help in managing that provision of light and love that is required, do as you are guided, and do not forget that everything you do, you are doing to yourself. So you had better do it well.
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LESSON 133
I will not value what is valueless.
1. In the process of teaching, it is sometimes helpful to return to practical matters, especially after addressing subjects that seem too theoretical and far removed from what the student has already learned.
²That is what we shall do today.
³We shall not speak of lofty ideas with global implications, but focus instead on the benefits this teaching holds for you.
2. You do not ask too much of life. On the contrary, you ask far too little.
²When you allow your mind to dwell on matters of the body, on things you can buy, or on how others see you, you are inviting suffering—not happiness.
³This course does not aim to take from you what little you have.
⁴Nor does it seek to replace the satisfactions the world offers with utopian ideals.
⁵There is no satisfaction to be found in the world. I
3. Today we list the true criteria by which all things you think you want must be tested.
²Unless they meet these sound requirements, they are not worth desiring at all, for they would only serve to replace something that offers you far more.
³The laws that govern this choice do not come from you, nor do you set the alternatives from which you choose.
⁴But you can choose—and in fact, you must.
⁵However, it is wise to understand the laws you set in motion when you choose, and what the options are.
4. We have already emphasized that there are only two, although many may appear to exist. II
²The range is fixed, and this cannot be changed.
³It would not be merciful to you if there were limitless alternatives, for that would delay your choosing until you had considered them all.
⁴This is not the case; you stand now at a point where only one decision must be made.
5. Another equally kind law is that there can be no compromise in what your choice will bring.
²What you choose cannot give you only a little, for there are no in-betweens in this.
³Every choice you make brings you everything or nothing.
⁴Therefore, if you learn the criteria that distinguish all from nothing, you will choose well.
6. First:
²If you choose something that will not last forever, what you have chosen has no value.
³A fleeting value is not worth anything.
⁴Time can never take away what is truly valuable.
⁵What decays and dies never truly existed, and offers nothing to the one who chooses it.
⁶They are deceived by something that is nothing, simply because they see it in a form they believe they like.
7. Second:
²If you choose to take something from another, you will have nothing.
³This is because when you deny someone their right to everything, you also deny it to yourself.
⁴Therefore, you will not recognize what you truly have, and you will deny that it exists.
⁵He who takes from another deceives himself into believing he can gain at another’s loss.
⁶But loss can only bring loss, and nothing more.
8. The next criterion is the one on which the others rest.
²Why does what you choose have value to you?
³What is it that draws your mind to it?
⁴What is it for?
⁵Here is where self-deception is easiest, for the ego does not recognize what it wants.
⁶Nor does it tell the truth, even as it sees it.
⁷For it needs to preserve a certain appearance of dignity to shield the filthy and grimy goals it truly pursues, so you can see how “innocent” it is.
9. Yet its camouflage is a thin veneer that can only deceive those who prefer to be deceived.
²Its goals are quite obvious to anyone who takes the time to look at them.
³Here, the deception is twofold, for the one who is deceived will not realize he has gained nothing.
⁴He will also believe he has served the ego’s hidden goals.
10. And though he may try to keep his focus on that protective sheen, he cannot help but notice its sordid edges and unclean core.
²His own mistakes, which had no real effects, now seem like sins to him, for he believes that filth is his own, and sees in impurity the unmistakable sign of deep unworthiness within.
³He who serves the ego’s goals and adopts them as his own is not mistaken, according to the ego’s dictates.
⁴For the ego teaches that the true mistake is believing sins are merely errors—for who would suffer for their sins if that were so?
11. And now we come to the most difficult criterion for choosing to believe, though it is perfectly clear.
²If you feel even the slightest trace of guilt about what you have chosen, it is because you have allowed the ego’s goals to cloud the true alternatives, and thus you do not realize there are only two.
³And now the choice you think you made appears fearful and too dangerous to be the nothing that it truly is. III
12. All things are either valuable or valueless; worthy of pursuit or not worth any effort at all; completely desirable or not worth the smallest wish to have them.
²Choosing is easy just because of this.
³Complexity is nothing but a smoke screen that hides the very simple fact that no decision can truly be difficult.
⁴And what do you gain by learning this?
⁵You gain far more than just the ability to choose with ease and without pain.
13. Heaven itself is reached with empty hands and open minds, which come with nothing to find everything and claim it as their own. IV
²Today we will try to reach that state by not deceiving ourselves, and by being fully willing to give value only to what is truly valuable and real.
14. Our two fifteen-minute practice periods will begin with this:
²I will not value what is valueless.
³And I will seek only what is truly valuable,
⁴for that is all I really want to find.
⁵And then you will receive what awaits everyone who comes without burdens to the gates of Heaven, which open wide at their approach. V
15. If you find yourself burdening your mind with needless weight, or think you face a difficult decision, respond immediately with this simple thought:
²I will not value what is valueless,
³for only what is valuable belongs to me.
I For what is said here to make sense to you, it is essential that you understand what “satisfaction” means and what it entails. It is a word that comes from Latin, composed of satis (enough) and the verb facere (to do). You feel satisfied when you consider that you have what you need according to how you conceive of yourself. That is why, if you identify with the idea of the body, you will interpret satisfaction as pleasure; if you see yourself as an individual belonging to a social group, you will see it as recognition; and if you believe yourself to be a wretched sinner, you will seek it in the redemption of your faults. What is important for you to understand is that it is a concept that derives directly from the idea you have of yourself—from your ego. It is always the ego that experiences itself as satisfied or lacking.
The truth, however, is that you are not an ego: you are the Son of God, and in that sense you, Son of God, will never find anything in this world that satisfies you. This is a Course about truth, and if you interpret it on the basis provided by your beliefs, you will not be able to understand it. That is why it is essential that you be willing, at least, to question everything you now believe, because otherwise this Course will not make much sense to you. Never forget that everything you might believe about yourself is false.
Another matter that also has you very confused is your tendency to equate pleasure, or any other type of satisfaction, with happiness. Careful! Do not do it! These are concepts that have nothing to do with each other. One could say that satisfaction is the substitute the ego proposes to you for happiness—which, obviously, it cannot provide you, since the ego is precisely the absence of happiness. The ego is an absence of reality, because happiness and reality are indeed equivalent terms.
Satisfaction is the “happiness” of illusions, and therefore it shares their attributes: it is fleeting and changeable, and extremely prone to quickly turning into its opposite. The ego also has a party going on in this world, in imitation of Heaven, but, as might be expected, it is very different from the one you celebrate with your Father and with your Creations. To begin with, here you have to pay to take part in the feast; the victuals barely remain on the table for an instant, for they quickly disappear, since greedy hands snatch them away if you do not hurry, and they are indigestible besides. That is what this world offers you. Do not continue deceiving yourself by thinking you will find anything else here. Stop seeking satisfaction in the things of the world; for although you will find it on some occasions, it will never be anything even remotely related to the happiness you deserve.
II W-130.5 “It is impossible to see two worlds that have nothing in common. If you pursue one of them, the other disappears. Yet the one you seek is always there. These two worlds are all you can choose between, for there are no others. You can choose only between the real and the unreal, and only that.”
III The laws of choosing and the criteria for evaluation that this Lesson presents are as follows:
LAWS OF CHOOSING:
• You choose only between the real and the illusory.
• You choose only between what is everything and what is nothing.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION:• What is not eternal is worthless.
• To take is to lose.
• Only what is consistent with your true identity has value.
• When something arouses guilt, it is because it is not in accord with your true identity.
If you look closely, you will see that both the laws and the criteria are based on the concordance between what you are going to choose and what you truly are. If you choose something to make it yours, you had better ensure that what you choose is in accord with your true identity, because if it is not, you will be mistaken, and you will soon realize that you have made a bad choice, since what you have chosen is different from you and does not belong to you.
• You must not go after what is illusory, because you are real.
• The temporal should not interest you, for you are eternal and it will end up disappointing you.
• Anything whose magnitude can be measured will not satisfy you, because you are absolute and whole, and you will never settle for less than that.
• If your choice implies taking something from someone, you will end up losing it. Everything you do, you do to yourself, because you are everything.
• You always desire what you believe yourself to be. Choose well, for your opinion of yourself is at stake.
• If you feel guilty about your choice, it is because, deep down, you know that you have betrayed yourself.
IV If the world is a dream, and what you want is to awaken, do not fix your attention on the dream, for that way you will never achieve it. Forgiveness, which is what this Course constantly proposes to you, is nothing more than that: not entertaining yourself with the things of this world and letting them pass, because they are not real, they are not like you, and the only thing you will achieve, if you do, is to prolong an illusion that, at best, prevents you from enjoying your immeasurable condition, and at worst, makes you suffer.
Do not waste time on what has no value. By now, you ought to begin to consider yourself an expert in disappointment and disillusionment. The world is absolutely incapable of providing you anything you truly want. If you think it does, it is because all the value you saw in it you placed there yourself.
The world is a very simple illusion. You have been told repeatedly how it works. You are the source and origin of all value, but you have decided to ignore this and seek what is valuable outside yourself. Then you project your own value onto something external and feel drawn to it, and you call that desire. But when you go after it, it slips through your fingers, because, obviously, it was not there. It has always been in you, and so it will be forever. Stop seeking and go within, where the Kingdom of God certainly is. But first, remember: stop seeking here, because all you are doing is buying time at a high price. Be glad that it is so. That is what it means that Heaven is reached with empty hands and an open mind.
The disillusionment the world provokes in the confused minds of men is not a matter unique and exclusive to this Course; it is the intrinsic character of the human condition, experienced and expressed with greater or lesser success in all its stories and narratives. It is the description of the impossibility of attaining happiness through the concrete, the illusory. It is the marrow of all the films, novels, and songs that move you so deeply. It is the same old story. If you want a fairly precise description of that feeling of helplessness, just take a look at a cry of dismay that already has a few thousand years behind it. Read Ecclesiastes, probably the most bitter book in the Bible—and one of the most enlightening. You will find it very familiar.
V Genesis 28:17 “He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God, and this is the gate of Heaven.’”
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LESSON 132
I release the world from all I thought it was.
1. What keeps you bound to the world but your own beliefs?
²And what can save the world but your Self?
³Beliefs are indeed powerful.
⁴Your thoughts hold power, and illusions produce effects as potent as those of truth. I
⁵The insane believe the world they see is real, and they do not question it.
⁶They cannot be persuaded by challenging the effects of what they think.
⁷Only when the source of those effects is questioned does the hope of freedom finally come to them. II
2. Yet salvation is easily attained, for anyone is free to change their mind, and when they do, all their thoughts change accordingly.
²Now, the source from which your thoughts arose has changed, for if you change your mind, it means you have changed the origin of all the ideas you think, have ever thought, or ever will think.
³This is how you release the past from what you thought it was.
⁴And this is how you release the future as well from all your former thoughts, which urged you to pursue what you truly did not want to find.
3. The only time that remains now is the present.
²And here, in the present, the world is set free.
³For when you let the past go and release the future from your old fears, you find the way to escape and offer it to the world.
⁴You have enslaved the world with all your fears, your doubts and sorrows, your pain and tears, and all your suffering has weighed it down and kept it prisoner to your beliefs.
⁵Death strikes everywhere because you hold in your mind the bitter thought of death.
4. The world itself is nothing.
²Your mind must give it meaning.
³And what you behold in it are your wishes acted out, so you may see them and believe they are real.
⁴You may think you did not make this world, but merely came into something already made, which waited not for your thoughts to give it meaning.
⁵But the truth is that you found exactly what you were looking for when you arrived.
⁶There is no world apart from what you wish, and in this lies your ultimate release.
⁷You need only change your mind about what you want to see, and all the world will change accordingly.
5. Ideas do not leave their source.
²This fundamental idea appears often in the Text, and you must keep it in mind if you are to understand today’s lesson. III
³It is not pride that tells you it was you who made the world you see now, and that this world changes as you change your mind.
⁴But it is pride that argues you came into a world completely separate from you, unaffected by what you think and wholly alien to anything you might think it is.
6. The world does not exist!
²This is the central thought this course seeks to teach.
³Not everyone is ready to accept it, and each one will go as far as they are able to be led along the path of truth.
⁴They will return to it and go farther still, or they may retreat for a while, only to return again.
⁵Yet healing is the gift of those who are willing to learn that the world does not exist, and who can accept this lesson now.
⁶Their willingness will bring the lesson to them in some form they can understand and recognize.
7. Some see it suddenly as they are about to die, and they rise to teach it. IV
²Others find this understanding in an experience not of this world, which shows them the world does not exist, for what they behold must be the truth, though it clearly contradicts the world. V
³And some will find it in this course and in the exercises we do today.
8. Today’s idea is true because the world does not exist.
²And if the world is indeed a product of your own imagination, then you can release it from all you thought it was simply by changing all the thoughts that gave it its appearance.
³The sick are healed when you give up every thought of sickness, and the dead arise when you allow thoughts of life to replace all thoughts of death you ever held. VI
9. We must again emphasize a lesson already mentioned once, for it lays the solid foundation for today’s idea. VII
²You are as God created you.
³There is no place where you can suffer, no time that can alter your eternal state.
⁴How could a world of space and time exist if you remain as God created you?
10. What can today’s lesson be but another way of saying that to know your Self is the salvation of the world?
²To release the world from every kind of pain is nothing more than to change your mind about yourself.
³There is no world apart from your ideas, because ideas do not leave their source, and you hold the world within your mind by thinking it.
11. But if you are as God created you, you cannot think apart from Him, nor make anything that does not share His Timelessness and His Love.
²Do you believe those are the attributes of the world you see?
³Do you believe the world creates as He creates?
⁴For if it does not, it is not real, and it cannot exist at all.
⁵If you are real, then the world you see is false, for God’s Creation differs from the world in every way.
⁶And as you were created by His Thought, so must your thoughts have made the world, and so must they set it free, that you may know the Thoughts you share with God.
12. Release the world!
²Your true Creations await this release to grant you fatherhood—not of illusions, but of Truth, as God’s.
³God shares His Fatherhood with you, His Son, for He makes no distinction between what He is and what is still Himself.
⁴What God creates is not apart from Him, and there is no place where the Father ends and the Son begins as something separate from Him.
13. The world does not exist because it is a thought apart from God, made to separate the Father from the Son, and tear a part of God Himself away, destroying thus His Wholeness.
²Can a world arising from such a thought be real?
³Where could it be?
⁴Deny illusions, but accept the truth.
⁵Deny that you are a shadow briefly cast upon a dying world.
⁶Free your mind, and you will behold a world set free.
14. Today our purpose is to free the world from all the idle thoughts we ever held about it and about all living things we see within it.
²They cannot be there, and neither can we.
³For we are in the home our Father set for us, along with them.
⁴And we, who are as He created us, would free the world this day from every one of our illusions so we may be free.
15. Begin today’s two practice periods of fifteen minutes each with this:
²I, who remain as God created me,
would release the world from all I thought it was.
³For I am real because the world is not,
and I would know my own reality.
⁴Then rest simply, alert but without strain, and let your mind be changed in stillness so the world may be released along with you.
16. You need not realize that when you send these thoughts to bless the world, healing comes to many brothers across the world, as well as to those nearby.
²But you will feel your own release, though you may not yet fully understand that you could never be released alone.
17. Increase throughout the day the release you send to all the world through your ideas. And whenever you feel tempted to deny the power of this simple change of mind, say:
²I release the world from all I thought it was,
and choose my own reality instead.
I Today’s Lesson is crucial in the learning process of this Course, for it gathers together everything you have learned so far and uses it as the instrument that will allow you to free your mind, imprisoned by the beliefs of the past. Therefore, take it calmly and seriously, pause for a moment, and pay attention.
The function of will is to create. The Will of the Mind of God, of the Son of God, and of the Creations of the Son of God creates without ceasing throughout all eternity. It is one Mind, for it is one Existence. It is pure, infinite, unlimited, and timeless being—indistinguishable, full, perfectly abstract, absolute, and shared.
To believe, however, is to make something real exclusively for oneself. But in this case, you must keep in mind that now the notions of “making real,” “something,” and that “oneself” as the subject who believes are false; they are three illusions—they do not exist, they are not true. This is because they are notions that do not share the attributes of Existence as described before. A subject cannot exist apart from its creation, for both notions must necessarily exist within the same realm, since to create is to extend, and what has been extended must share the same attributes as its creator. This is the reason why ideas do not leave their source. Ideas are creations that exist in the same realm in which they originated: the mind.
In this Lesson, that “oneself” is the idea you have of yourself; the “something” is the world you believe you see; and “making real” is believing that the world is real. “You” believe that “the world” “is real.” These are the three illusions this Course intends to dispel.
The first illusion: you. You are not that tiny idea you have of yourself, according to which you interpret yourself as a fragile and vulnerable body destined to suffer and die. You are the Son of God who harbors a senseless belief derived from the idea of being separated from God. You, Son of God, do not harbor only that false idea in your holy mind; you hold a myriad of similar ideas derived from it, in the sense that, though they seem different, they are all equally false.
These illusions your mind harbors are effects; therefore, they cannot be the cause of anything. Yet, since you have granted them your own identity, you interpret them as active and autonomous subjects capable of making their own decisions. They are not. They do not exist. It is you, Son of God, all the time—or, rather, you in the present—because the notion of time, too, is something you invented to separate yourself even further from the spurious ideas you conceive. They are not true ideas; they are illusions. Were they real, they would be eternal, as you are.
The second illusion: the world. The world is an idea—false, indeed. This is something so obvious that its very simplicity confuses you. You have built a complex story composed of countless aspects, details, contrasts, and differences; then you have forgotten that you conceived all of it yourself, and now you think that story is true. To believe is nothing more than that. But notice the power you have given it over you by labeling that story as true. The grip that idea now has on you is absolute, though its scope lies solely within your own hallucinated mind.
You—the idea you have of yourself—are not in the world; you are in your mind. The things you believe you see are also there. The body, the senses you have given it to perceive, and the messages they bring to you are also ideas in your mind. The space in which you think they exist is nothing more than an opinion you hold about how separate those ideas are from the idea you have of yourself. And time is nothing but a trick you have devised to make it impossible for you to reach them unless they are in the present.
Do you see? Everything is in your mind. And this should fill you with immense joy, because it means you have absolute control over all of it—and it is something you can change and undo whenever you wish. But be careful how you interpret this, for if you think this is a task that belongs to that sick part of your mind that believes in separation—your ego—you will do nothing but continue dreaming. And if you leave control to it, it will frighten you, for that is its function.
The third illusion: the “reality” of the world. Now pause for a moment and consider what the word “real” means to you. No doubt it is a term that evokes in your mind materiality, concreteness, form, and above all, existence apart from your mind. To everything that has those characteristics, you give the name “real.” Well, get used to thinking that all those attributes belong precisely to illusions.
Everything is exactly the opposite of what you believed it to be. Although there are many solid ontological arguments that could explain this to you, there is one you will understand very well because it affects you deeply, and it is this: all those things you call real are exactly the opposite of what you are.
The awareness you have of yourself is not material, nor concrete, nor does it have form—and it is, of course, in your mind. So if the world is real, you are not; and vice versa. Here the trap your mind has set for itself has simply been to corrupt language and then forget that betrayal of truth. Realize that words are symbols invented to tell stories, fables, falsehoods.
Nothing you can articulate with words is strictly true, for words are precisely the language of illusion: at best, they can only point to truth. You have all power. You always have and always will, for God ordained it to be so when He created you. Therefore, you can falsely create for yourself, or you can drop the stories and begin to heal your holy mind and restore your own dignity before yourself—for before God, you never lost it. In truth, you do not even need to heal anything, for you were created perfect—failure-proof.
Where, then, does the problem lie? If you are perfect, why are you hallucinating? The key to that question lies in your will. Your will is always fulfilled, and, as you have already seen, you can use it either to create or to believe. How you use it depends on you. The attraction you now feel toward the idea of being separate, of being “yourself”—which is precisely what has caused all this mess—is the very same that captivated you since time immemorial and that you renew in the present every time you refer to yourself as “I” or ego.
Perhaps that surprises you, but, as it says in the Text: “Your present state is the best concrete example of how the mind could have made the ego. If it can occur that way in the present, why should it be surprising that it occurred that way in the past?” (T-4.III.3).
Be honest. The world—the dream—is as it is because you want it that way. Your mind is stressed, and that has caused it to split into two completely different and opposing parts. One of them is real, whole, and happy, and remains in perfect communion with all that exists; the other dreams of being “I.” This part of your mind, deluded with the idea of false autonomy, is the one taking this Course and saying it wants to heal—but that is not strictly true: you are still quite self-deceived.
You say you want to return to the Heart of God and to perfect Amorphousness, but half-heartedly. In truth, what you want is to eat a hamburger, win the lottery, or who knows what other madness. Acknowledge it, but do not be disheartened by it. Honesty will always serve you well in the long run, for in the present it tends to sting a little.
Rejoice that such a mental delusion is nearing its end. If it brings you comfort, that specific “I” reading these lines does not have much confusion left. You are already beginning to glimpse, though still very faintly, that there is an immense joy very near you, merely waiting for your sincere decision. So use time well, get moving, and forgive the world. That is the way home.
II These effects arise from erroneous conceptions, and questioning them is what is known as cognitive therapy: a set of psychotherapy modalities that seek to bring about changes in patients’ perceptions or thoughts about the circumstances of their lives. The central postulate of cognitive therapy is that people suffer because of how they interpret events, not because of the events themselves. The therapist seeks to help the patient make the attribution of meaning more flexible and find interpretations that are more functional and suitable for himself.
III T-5.VIII.6:1 “Ideas do not LEAVE the mind that thought them to have a separate existence.”
T-26.VII.7:1-3 “Ideas do not leave their source, and their effects only SEEM to be separated from them. Ideas belong to the realm of the mind. What is projected OUTWARD, and seems to be something EXTERNAL to the mind, is NOT outside at all, but is an effect of what is within, for it has NOT left its source.”
And many other references.
IV This may be a reference to near-death experiences, which first gained public attention in 1975 (five years after this material was dictated) through the book Life After Life by Raymond Moody. Near-death experiences share many characteristics with the scenario described earlier: they are life-changing events occurring at the threshold of death, in which the person sometimes sees that the world is an illusion, after which they recover—sometimes miraculously—and, filled with a profound sense of purpose, often teach others the truths they have learned through that experience.
V This refers to experiences of heightened consciousness in which a direct understanding of truth occurs. They are ineffable revelations in which the knower and the known are one and the same, and it cannot be said that there is a “subject” experiencing “something” different from itself. Such experiences may occur in moments of wakefulness or during sleep, when consciousness is not so strained by the notion of personhood. The physical world—including the notions of separation, time, space, or form—reveals itself as completely illusory in contrast to the absolute certainty that is experienced.
VI Isaiah 26:19 “Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”
Isaiah 35:5–6 “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute shall sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.”
Matthew 10:1 “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.”
Matthew 10:8 “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”
Matthew 11:5 “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
There are numerous references in the Bible to healing and to the resurrection of the dead.
VII See Lessons 94 and 110.
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LESSON 131
No one who asks to reach the truth can fail.
1. If you pursue unattainable goals, you will continue to meet with failure.
²You are seeking permanence in the impermanent, love where it cannot be found, safety in the midst of danger, and immortality in the grim dream of death.
³Who could succeed when the setting of his search and the place he turns to for stability contradict the very thing he seeks?
2. Goals that have no meaning cannot be achieved.
²There is no way to reach them, for the means used in their pursuit are equally meaningless.
³Who could expect to succeed using such senseless means?
⁴Where could they lead you?
⁵And what could they attain that holds any hope of being real?
⁶To go after the imaginary leads only to death, for it is the search for what is nothing.
⁷And even when you think you seek life, what you are truly asking for is death.
⁸You wish to feel safe and secure, while in your heart you pray both for danger and for protection within the petty dream you wove yourself.
3. Yet here, to search is inevitable.
²You came for that, and surely you will do what you came to do.
³But the world cannot dictate the goal you are to seek, unless you give it that power.
⁴For if you do not give it, you remain free to choose a goal beyond this world and every worldly thought.
⁵It is a goal born of an idea you once abandoned but still remember—ancient and yet new.
⁶It is the echo of something you inherited and then forgot, yet it contains everything you truly long for.
4. Rejoice that you must seek.
²Rejoice as well that what you seek is Heaven.
³And that the goal you truly want is surely yours to reach.
⁴Heaven is a goal no one can fail to want.
⁵And no one can fail to reach it in the end.
⁶The Son of God cannot seek in vain.
⁷He may delay himself.
⁸He may deceive himself.
⁹And he may even believe that what he seeks is hell.
¹⁰But when he errs, he will find correction.
¹¹And when he strays, he is gently led back to the task assigned to him.
5. No one remains in hell.
²For no one can forsake his Creator, nor alter His perfect, timeless, and unchanging Love in any way.
³You will find Heaven.
⁴And everything you seek except that will fall away.
⁵Not because it is taken from you,
⁶But because you will cease to want it.
⁷You will reach the goal you truly long for.
⁸And this is as certain as that God created you sinless. I
6. Why then wait for Heaven?
²Heaven is here, right now.
³Time is the grand illusion that Heaven is either in the past or yet to come.
⁴But that is impossible, if God has placed it where His Son is.
⁵How could it be that the Will of God is in the past, or still to be fulfilled?
⁶What God wills is here now, with no past and no future at all.
⁷It is as far removed from time as a tiny candle is from a distant star, or as what you have chosen is from what you truly desire.
7. Heaven remains your only choice, your only alternative to this strange world you made, with all its ways and forms, its shifting patterns and uncertain goals, its painful pleasures and its tragic joys.
²God made no contradictions.
³What denies itself and attacks itself cannot come from Him.
⁴God did not create two minds—one whose happy effect is Heaven, and the other, whose sad result is earth, the opposite of Heaven in every way.
8. God is not in conflict.
²Nor is His Creation split in two.
³How then could His Son be in hell when God Himself has placed him in Heaven?
⁴How could he lose what the Eternal Will gave him to be his eternal home?
⁵Let us no longer try to impose a will upon God’s only purpose.
⁶The Son of God is in Heaven because his Father wills it so, and what God wills is here now, beyond the reach of time.
9. Today we will not choose a paradox instead of truth.
²How could the Son of God make time take from him the Will of God?
³In doing so, the Son denies himself, and contradicts what has no opposite.
⁴He thinks he has made a hell opposed to Heaven, and believes he dwells in a place that does not exist.
⁵And so Heaven has become the place he cannot find.
10. Lay down those senseless thoughts today, and instead direct your mind toward truthful ideas.
²No one who asks to find the truth can fail, and that is what we ask today.
³We will devote ten minutes, three times today, to this goal, and ask to see before us the real world—
⁴A new world that replaces the absurd images we once held dear with thoughts of truth.
⁵And these arise in our restored vision to take the place of thoughts that held no meaning, no effects, no true origin, and no substance.
11. This is what we acknowledge at the beginning of our practice,
²Which starts with this:
³I ask to see a different world,
⁴And think a different kind of thought than those I made.
⁵The world I seek I did not make alone,
⁶And the thoughts I want to think are not my own.
12. For several minutes, observe your mind and look upon the senseless world you think is real, though your eyes are closed.
²Also examine those thoughts that seem to go with it—thoughts you believe are true.
³Then let them go, and sink below them to the holy place within your mind where those thoughts cannot enter.
⁴Beneath them lies a door in your mind you could not entirely close, though you tried to hide what lies beyond.
13. Seek out that door and find it.
²But before you try to open it, remember that no one who asks to find the truth can fail, and that is what you ask today.
³Nothing else now has any meaning for you.
⁴You assign no value to any other goal, and you do not even seek them.
⁵There is nothing left on this side of the door that you truly want.
⁶Now you seek only what lies beyond.
14. Reach out your hand and see how easily the door swings open with your intent to go beyond.
²There, angels light the way, dispelling every trace of darkness, and you stand in a light so bright and clear that you can understand all you see.
³Perhaps a moment of surprise will make you pause before you realize that the world you see in the light reflects a truth you already knew—one you never fully forgot, even as you wandered in dreams. II
15. You cannot fail today. III
²At your side walks the Spirit Heaven sent you, that one day you might approach this door and, with His help, pass through it easily into the light.
³That day has come today.
⁴Today God keeps His ancient promise to His holy Son, and His Son remembers the promise he made to Him.
⁵This is a day of joy, for we have come to the appointed time and place, where you will find the goal of all your seeking here, and all your striving in the world.
⁶For when you pass beyond the door, all searching ends.
16. Remember often today that this is a time of special gladness, and do not entertain discouraging thoughts or pointless sorrow.
²The hour of salvation has come.
³Today is the day Heaven has appointed to be a time of grace for you and for the world.
⁴If you forget this happy fact, bring it back to your awareness, saying:
⁵Today I seek and find all that I want.
⁶My one purpose offers it to me.
⁷No one who asks to find the truth can fail.
I Perhaps it must be said once more: you are not you. The “you” you imagine yourself to be is a contraction of your mind, Son of God. The idea of separation that once briefly crossed your holy mind seemed to fragment it as it passed, into countless figures to which you gave your own identity. Each of them believes itself to be its own limitation, and in a sense that quality of reality they inherited from you is true, though not in its limited expression. You are real; your limitations are not. And now you wander confusedly, trying to recover your infinite reality.
Each of those contractions of your strained mind is seeking you, your Self. Poor thing, it tries to find what it so sorely misses in the rest of the figments your mind has conceived. But that, obviously, is not the way; it is illusion seeking truth within illusion. Again: you are not a person; you are the Son of God dreaming that he is a person, many persons, many things, many illusions.
Relax. What do you want to do—search or find? It is true that the search is attractive and calls to you strongly, for your longing to awaken is sincere and justified. But realize that the search itself is the great illusion that sustains all the rest. You have no need to search for anything because you have lost nothing, except in fantasies. Become aware that the search is a need you have imposed upon yourself in order not to awaken to your reality, in order not to stop searching.
It may surprise you to hear that if you wish to find God, you must stop looking for Him. It may sound like wordplay to hear that if you wish to find something, you must find it, not search for it. The reason lies in the very nature of your will.
Your will, Son of God, is always fulfilled, and it is always fulfilled in the present—the only real time—because your will is real. When you place your will on seeking, you seek; when you place it on finding, you find. Your will is always fulfilled because it is the Will of God: the Same.
When you place your will on loving, you love and are happy. When you place your will on hating or fearing, you suffer. When you set your will upon something, not even God changes it; He cannot. God cannot alter your will, for it is His Own. Thus you will create whatever accords with your shared will, make it real, and name it “Creation of the Son of God.” And what you have created in perfect union with the rest of Creation will inherit your common heritage of infinitude. However, if you set your will on making something impossible real—because you want it to be deprived of the very qualities you enjoy as the Son of God, that is, to be separate, concrete, limited, and exclusive—you will also succeed, but that will be separate, concrete, limited, and exclusive for you. Therefore, it will not be real, though to you it will seem so. That is why the world you behold appears so real to you, and no one will convince you otherwise… until you change your will.
Perhaps you have also wondered why Jesus, God, or the Holy Spirit have not already saved you from this sad situation you believe yourself to be in. Now you know: no one can oppose you; you are the Son of God. They know that what you think is not true, but you believe otherwise—and that is the power of your will applied to your beliefs. You believed yourself to be in this condition by believing in the impossible—believing that you separated from God, your Father, to have an existence separate, autonomous, and independent. You granted it to yourself by your own will, and now you proudly drag and include your “I” in every sentence you utter: “because I think…,” “because I believe that…,” “because I this,” or “because I that.” But do you see? You never let go of that tiresome “I.” You still do not want to; therefore, you still continue “being” that little self.
II You are very fortunate, and that must be because you deserve it. Today you have another spectacular visualization exercise. Do it with devotion, reverence, and with absolute confidence that your efforts will be rewarded one way or another, for no one who sincerely seeks the truth with all his heart can fail.
III This Lesson conveys a message of profound hope: no one who truly seeks the truth can fail to find it. But the teaching goes even further: in reality, the truth has already been attained.
According to A Course in Miracles, a mad idea—the separation from God—crossed the mind of the Son of God, but it was answered and corrected in the very same instant by the Holy Spirit. This response occurred outside of time, in eternity. Yet within that corrected instant arose the entire illusion of cosmological time: the whole history of the universe and of humanity.
You are now moving through that temporal illusion, experiencing a script that is already completely written. Though from your perspective salvation seems to lie in an uncertain future, in reality atonement is an accomplished fact. The separation never truly occurred, and your awakening is assured.
You can picture this situation as if it were a novel already written that you found open on a park bench. The entire plot—with its characters, conflicts, and resolution—is already there. You are inside that story, but its happy ending is inevitable.
Time, though illusory, serves a purpose within the plan of salvation. And most important of all: it is not necessary to wait. At any instant you can choose to step out of the dream.
This teaching is also reflected in the teaching of Lester Levenson, a contemporary engineer and spiritual master who, after attaining a state of lasting inner peace, taught that at any moment it is possible to be freed from suffering. Levenson described the soul’s journey through different states of consciousness—physical, astral, and causal—and pointed out that the physical body, though the densest and most painful, is also the one that offers the greatest motivation to awaken.
In his view, much aligned with A Course in Miracles, at any point along the way you can “leap upward” toward freedom. You are not condemned to follow a long linear process: you can choose the miracle now.
Thus, the essential message of this Lesson is clear: do not be afraid, for your awakening is certain. Salvation is guaranteed, and time is only a stage you can leave behind at any moment through your sincere decision to return to the truth.
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LESSON 130
It is impossible to see two worlds.
1. Perception is consistent.
²What you see reflects what you are thinking.
³What you think merely reflects what you have chosen to see.
⁴And what you want to see is determined by your values.
⁵For you will surely want to see what you value.
⁶And then you will believe that what you see is really there.
⁷No one can see what his mind does not value.
⁸And no one can fail to see what he believes he wants. I
2. But who can truly hate and love at once?
²Who can desire what he does not want to be real?
³And who can wish to see a world that frightens him?
⁴Fear necessarily blinds, for that is its weapon; you cannot see what you are afraid to see.
⁵Love and perception go hand in hand.
⁶But fear hides in darkness what is really there. II
3. What then can fear project upon the world?
²What can be seen in darkness that is real?
³Fear eclipses truth, and only what you imagine remains.
⁴But what can be real in blind imaginings born of panic?
⁵What is it, then, that you want, that this be shown to you?
⁶What do you wish to keep in such a dream?
4. Fear has forged everything you think you see.
²Every separation, every distinction, and the countless differences you believe make up the world do not exist.
³The enemy of love invented them.
⁴Yet love can have no enemy.
⁵And so they have no cause, no being, and no consequence.
⁶They can be valued, but they remain unreal.
⁷They can be sought, but they cannot be found.
⁸Today we will not seek for them, nor waste the day in search of what cannot be found.
5. It is impossible to see two worlds that have no overlap.
²If you pursue one, the other disappears.
³But the one you seek is always there.
⁴These two worlds are the only choices you can make, for there are no others.
⁵You choose between the real and the unreal, and nothing else.
6. Today we will try not to make a compromise between the two, for that is impossible.
²The world you see is proof that you have already made a choice as vast as is its opposite.
³Today we want to learn more than just the lesson that you cannot see two worlds at once.
⁴This lesson also teaches you that the world you have chosen is entirely consistent from your point of view.
⁵It is all of one piece, because it arises from a single emotion, and reflects its source in everything you see. III
7. Gratefully and gladly, six times today we dedicate five minutes to the thought that wipes away all compromise and transcends all doubt.
²We will not make thousands of meaningless distinctions, nor attempt to carry with us a scrap of unreality as we devote our mind to finding only what is real.
8. Begin your search for that other world by calling on a Strength far greater than your own, and know what it is you seek.
²You no longer want illusions.
³And you prepare for these five minutes by emptying your hands of all the trivial treasures of this world.
⁴And so, you wait for God to help you, saying:
⁵It is impossible to see two worlds.
⁶I accept the strength God offers me.
⁷I will not value what is valueless.
⁸And thus I will find my freedom and my salvation.
9. God will be there waiting for you.
²For you have called upon the great unfailing Power, and gratefully He will take this mighty step with you.IV
³You will see His gratitude expressed in a new perception, clear and true.
⁴And you will not doubt what you behold.
⁵For though it is still perception, it is a kind your eyes have never seen before.
⁶And you will know that the Strength of God Himself has supported you in your choice.
10. Easily dismiss temptation today whenever it arises, simply by remembering the choices you are making.
²For you can see only the unreal or the real, the false or the true, and nothing else.
³Perception aligns with your choice, and thus you will see either Heaven or hell.
11. If you accept but a tiny part of hell as real, you have condemned your eyes and cursed your sight, and what you will behold will indeed be hell.
²But you can choose to free your mind and claim the Heaven of release instead of all the hell the world would show you.
³To every glimpse of hell, no matter what its form, respond with these words:
⁴It is impossible to see two worlds.
⁵I seek my freedom and my salvation,
⁶And this is not a part of what I want.
I First you think, and then you see — not the other way around. Perception is the result of your will. And you inevitably direct your will toward attaining what you value. That is why it is essential to choose carefully what is valuable to you, for that is what will appear before you. This is how you “create” the world you believe you see.
The perceptual process unfolds like this:
IDEA OF VALUE
↓
CONCEPTION OF A FORM THAT MATERIALIZES IT
↓
PERCEPTION OF THE ILLUSION THAT REPRESENTS ITFirst you ascribe value to something. Because you value it, you desire it. Because you desire it, you want to see it. And because you want to see it, you project it onto the screen of your consciousness. In other words: you see it. That is the power of your will in action.
This process occurs in your mind — both with the perception of illusions that represent what you value, and with those that represent the absence of value (what you fear). And unfortunately, this latter process happens far too often, for you have grown accustomed to perceiving an imaginary world built from absences of love — the dream that hypnotizes the mind that feels alone in the universe, enchanted by the notion of possessing an individual identity separate from everything.
And then you tell yourself that you have no will, that your mind is powerless — which is astonishing. How you deceive yourself!
You think of your will as nothing more than a wavering wish, at best a frail mental push that urges you to laboriously perform the tiresome tasks imposed by your desires. And you are unaware that it is, in fact, your will that has shaped the entire stage on which this sad drama is enacted.
Wake up and learn Who You Are! You are everything. You are the absolute author of your personal life. Everything you perceive is in you — but you are none of it.
You are only experiencing your own beliefs, for the mind that believes it is separate can experience nothing else. And of all those beliefs, the most absurd is the pitiful idea you have of yourself.
That “you” you think you are is nothing but this: a belief taking place in your mind — the mind of the Son of God.
Notice that what you do here, in this imagined mental space you call “the world,” is a reduced, illusory version of what you do in the Reality of Heaven, where you truly abide.
In Heaven, You Are.
To Be is to Love.
And to Love is to Give.
What you are, you give — you extend.
And that is to create.
And what you create are your Creations: the Reality your Being extends through Creation, just as Itself — you — was created by your Father.
II The world you believe you see is the world of the ego — that sickness of the mind born of the strange idea that you are “something” different from everything else, different from God. And that “something” — the ego — is also subject to the laws of perception when it denies reality.
The ego fears love, for the reality of love dispels the unreality of the ego. Since it fears love, it does not want to see it. And since it does not want to see it, it hides it. That is why you cannot see the real world through the eyes of the ego, for the real world reflects the Love of God. But it takes only the removal of the ego from the equation of perception for the real world to appear before your eyes. And that is as simple as ceasing to give importance to the idea you have of yourself — your ego. When the mind ceases to take that personal identity into account, the ego vanishes.
The dream that your still-sleeping mind believes it perceives is no longer affected by the notion of absence, and what it sees reflects the love underlying every illusion. Your eyes, for a brief time, still retain the memory of the old symbols that once told stories of separation, but now they appear outlined upon a background of radiant love. And that vision, having no further purpose, finally dissolves into the glorious vastness of Existence.
III The emotion that makes you see the world of the ego is fear, and the one that shows you the real world is love. It is impossible to see both worlds simultaneously, for emotions are unique and mutually exclusive. The mind can hold many ideas at once — even contradictory ones — but the heart offers you, in the present moment, only one emotion: the direct result of the relationships formed among the ideas in your mind.
The heart is the great simplifier, and its dictates are the conclusion of what the mind proposes. Do not look with the mind at what is in the mind, for you will get lost; look with the mind toward the heart, and there you will find the answer to what is occurring in your mind. The emotion of your heart is the sound generated by the interplay of ideas in your mind, and your Soul knows well how to interpret it.
IV This Lesson is another of the “giant steps” in the Workbook. The other Lessons in which they are mentioned are: 66, 94, 127, 130, 135, and 194.
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LESSON 129
Beyond this world there is a world I want.
1. This is the thought that follows the one we practiced yesterday.
²You cannot hold to the idea that the world is worthless unless you also see that there is something else in which to place your hope, or you will only become depressed.
³We are not emphasizing the idea of giving up the world, but of exchanging it for something far more satisfying, filled with joy, and capable of offering you peace. I
⁴Do you really believe this world can give you that?
2. Perhaps it is worth reflecting once again on the value of this world.
²You may be willing to admit that you lose nothing by giving up all thoughts of value here.
³The world you see is surely merciless, unstable, and cruel; indifferent toward you, quick to take revenge, and relentless in its hatred.
⁴It gives, only to take away again, for it takes from you all the things you thought were precious for a time.
⁵You will not find lasting love in it, for none is here.
⁶This is the world of time, where all things come to an end.
3. How then can it be a loss to replace it with a world where loss is impossible, where love endures forever, where hatred cannot exist, and vengeance has no meaning?
²How can it be a loss to find all things that you really want, and know they have no end, and will remain exactly as you want them throughout time?
³Even so, these too will finally be exchanged for that of which we cannot speak, for from there you go where words no longer serve, and you enter the silence of a language not spoken, yet perfectly understood. II
4. Communication, clear and certain as the light of day, continues without limit and without pause for all eternity.
²And God Himself speaks to His Son, just as His Son speaks to Him.
³Their language has no words, for what They share cannot be symbolized.
⁴Their Knowledge is direct, completely shared, and wholly One.
5. How far from this are those who are still bound to this world!
²Yet how near you are when you exchange it for the world you truly want!
³Now the final step is certain.
⁴Now you are but an instant from timelessness.
⁵From here, you can only look ahead.
⁶For you will not look back to see a world you do not want.
⁷This is the other world that comes to take its place when you release your mind from the trifles the old one offers to trap you.
⁸Give them no value and they will disappear.
⁹But if you value them, they will seem real to you.
6. This is the choice you have before you.
²What can you lose by choosing not to value what is nothing?
³This world holds nothing that you truly want.
⁴But the one you choose in its place is the one you truly do.
⁵Let it be given you today.
⁶That world is merely waiting for your choice, to take the place of all the things you sought before, but never really wanted.
7. Practice your willingness to make this exchange for ten minutes in the morning, ten at night, and once again at midday.
²Begin with this:
³Beyond this world there is a world I want.
⁴I choose to see that world instead of this,
⁵For here there is nothing that I really want.
⁶Then close your eyes to the world you see, and in the quiet darkness of your mind, watch as lights begin to appear, one by one, that are not of this world, until there comes a moment when you can no longer tell where one ends and another begins, for they all merge into one. III
8. Today the stars of Heaven bend to you to cast their light upon your closed eyes, while you rest beyond the world of darkness.
²This is a light your eyes cannot perceive.
³But your mind can clearly see it and understand it.
⁴Today a day of grace is given you, and for this we give thanks to God. IV
9. Today you understand that the only loss there ever was, was your own fear of losing.
²But now you see that loss is impossible. V
³For at last we have seen its opposite, and we are thankful for the choice we made.
⁴Each hour remember the decision you have made, and take a moment to confirm your choice, laying aside all thought and focusing briefly only on this:
⁵The world I see holds nothing that I want.
⁶But beyond this world there is a world I want.
I Today’s Lesson serves to reconcile your mind with yesterday’s idea and to give meaning and purpose to your renunciation of a world of forms. Now it is explained that it is not a matter of renouncing, but of exchanging what is worthless for what has true value—and, moreover, is exactly what you have been seeking. You are not being asked to make sacrifices—quite the opposite. You are being lovingly advised not to sacrifice your happiness in exchange for disappointment. You renounce only the illusion of value, not true worth.
II These lines describe the three symbols through which salvation unfolds. The first is the illusory world of sin, guilt, and suffering, which, when reinterpreted correctly by a trained mind, becomes the real world—still an illusion, but one that reflects only the Love of God. And finally, there is Heaven, the symbol of Reality, where Love is no longer reflected in anything, for it is the very substance of all that Exists.
Notice that you do not exchange the illusory world for Heaven, but for the real world. Heaven is not the result of your efforts but something into which you are gently drawn once you reach the real world. Atonement is a process that takes place within the world of suffering, according to God’s Plan for salvation, which leads you to the real world—where awakening occurs.
In this Lesson, Jesus offers a fundamental alternative: where to focus the mind. He invites you to direct your attention toward a real world, beyond the world the senses perceive. Yet when He speaks of real concepts, the content can seem difficult to grasp from the usual, worldly perspective.
An important question arises from this reflection: why does the Mind of the Son of God pass through a human experience? According to A Course in Miracles, the world is a voluntary dream. So what purpose does existence in this dream serve?
To understand this, it is essential to grasp the difference between states of consciousness. The state of true Reality—where Christ abides—is a timeless state, outside of time and change. In that state there is no movement or transformation; everything is fullness and eternity. Therefore, there it is not possible to learn or change, since learning implies modification—an evolution of the mind.
The “mad idea” of separation, arising in the Mind of the Son, needs to be corrected. And for correction to be possible, a context must exist in which change can occur—that context is time. Time, though illusory, becomes the setting in which learning can take place, where the mind can shift its perception and heal.
Thus, time has a redemptive function. It is used by the Holy Spirit to facilitate Atonement. Without temporal experience, there would be no opportunity to correct the belief in separation, for outside of time there is no possibility of changing one’s mind.
That is why human experience makes sense within the plan of salvation. It is not a purposeless mistake, but a precious opportunity. Here, within time, one can unlearn separation, recognize true identity, and rediscover the meaning of love and being.
The world, therefore, should neither be idolized nor feared, but understood as a temporary means that serves the recovery of the remembrance of God. Beyond this world of change lies another—the real world—which truly deserves your heart’s desire and attention.
III This is a visualization exercise that requires a clear mind combined with your willingness to see. You will see what you want to see. Here Jesus makes you a proposal: simply empty your mind and very gently invoke the vision of the lights He mentions. Do not strain. Just relax, and ask.
IV The lights you see in this visualization are symbols of the love that is reflected in the things of the real world—and that love is the only real component of what you perceive there. Then you begin to become aware that those tiny lights merge into one, expressing the all-encompassing and total nature of Love—the only thing that exists. It is all an allegory of the Atonement.
V Yesterday your heart tightened a little, for you thought you were going to lose something by having to renounce the things of the world. Now you realize that is impossible. You cannot lose anything of value, for the simple reason that you are the source of all value. And although you do not yet understand this well—since the idea you have of yourself is rather pitiful—you will soon begin to grasp it.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, outside you has value, because in truth there is nothing outside you. The very idea of value is something you tear out of yourself and project “outward” to see it as something external and then go searching for it there. It is a trick of illusion you play on yourself. You delude yourself by projecting your own worth onto a nonexistent “outer space,” as if that were possible. Then, deceived and enchanted—which are the same—you rush to seize it, only to find it slips through your fingers. There was nothing there—only a belief.
Now you are beginning to realize that, in truth, you cannot lose anything. Well… except perhaps your sanity—but even of that, you too will eventually grow weary.
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LESSON 128
Here there is nothing I want.
1. The world you see can offer you nothing that you need. I
²It holds nothing that you can use in any way.
³Nor anything at all that can bring you happiness. II
⁴Believe this idea and you will save yourself many years of suffering, countless disappointments, and hopes that turn into bitter ashes of despair.
⁵If you would leave this world behind and rise above its petty reach and meanness, you must understand that this is true.
2. Everything you value here is nothing but a chain that binds you to the world, and that is its only purpose.
²For everything serves the purpose you have given it, until you see in it another one.
³The only purpose in this world worthy of your mind is to let it pass, without wasting time in search of hope where there is none.
⁴Do not continue to deceive yourself.
⁵The world you see holds nothing that you want. III
3. Escape today from the chains with which you bind your mind when you believe salvation can be found here.
²For whatever you give value to, you make a part of you, as you perceive yourself.
³All the things you chase to reinforce the image you have of yourself limit you even more, obscure your true worth, and place another lock on the door that leads to true awareness of your Self.
4. Let nothing connected with the body delay your salvation.
²Nor let yourself be tempted by the belief that the world has something you desire.
³There is nothing here worth having.
⁴There is nothing here worth one instant of delay and pain, one moment of uncertainty and doubt.
⁵What is valueless offers nothing.
⁶Nothing truly valuable can be found in what has no value.
5. Our practice today is to give up every thought of value you have ever placed upon this world.
²We withdraw all functions we have assigned to its aspects, its features, and its dreams.
³We assign no purpose to the world in our mind, and we release it from everything we ever wanted it to be. IV
⁴And in this way, we break the chains that kept us bound to the world, and rise beyond its petty values and its miserable goals. V
6. Quiet your mind and be still for a moment, and see how you rise above the world as you release your mind from its chains.
²Let it seek by itself the higher planes where it finds its true home.
³Your mind will be grateful to be free for a little while.
⁴It knows where it belongs.
⁵You need only free its wings, and it will fly in confidence, in joy, and in trust, to join its holy purpose.
⁶Let it rest in its Creator, where it is restored to sanity, to freedom, and to love.
7. Give it ten minutes of rest today, three times.
²And when you open your eyes again, you will not value what you see in quite the same way as before.
³Your perspective on the world will shift a little every time you release your mind from its chains.
⁴It does not belong to the world.
⁵And you must be where it goes to rest, when you set it free from this world.
⁶Your Guide is infallible.
⁷Open your mind to Him.
⁸Be still and rest.
8. Guard your mind throughout the rest of the day as well. VI
²And whenever you think you see some value in an image or aspect of the world, refuse to lay that chain upon your mind, and say to yourself with quiet certainty:
³This will not tempt me to delay.
⁴Here there is nothing I want.
I Today’s Lesson is one of the most beautiful, one of the bitterest, one of the most difficult, one of the most joyous, and perhaps the most liberating.
Prepare your mind, then, and render it every honor.
II When you read these first three lines, it is essential that you understand that at the end of these sentences Jesus has not added “…truly,” because at this point He already assumes that you know what He is referring to.
The “you” to whom Jesus is speaking here is your true Self, the very One He knows and enjoys as His true identity—the Self that you are and with which you are already beginning to grow familiar.
You have probably begun to suspect that the “you” with which you have identified until now is nothing but a bundle of shifting fears and desires, orchestrated by the ego to prevent the dawning awareness of its own nonexistence.
That bouquet of cravings and fears certainly finds some of the proposals of this illusory world satisfactory. But, for God’s sake, realize that you are not that, and to think that the Son of God can be herded through darkness with a stick and a carrot is such a debased notion of your true identity that it is not even worth refuting.
The aim of this Course is to lift you out of so shameful a condition and lead you to the dignity that is yours by right.
III Now read carefully what Jesus wants to tell you, because if you do not, this Lesson will frighten you and you will end up depressed. Obviously, that is not its purpose, so listen attentively. This Lesson seems very harsh to you because, even though you have intellectually accepted that the world is an illusion, you have not yet accepted what that entails.
The world does not exist! The world is an illusion! The world is nothing but the projection of your own expectations. You project your desires outside yourself and see them there, in the imaginary space of your consciousness. You think you enjoy for a while what you longed for when you believe you have attained it, and then, suddenly or little by little, it ceases to interest you—or you think it betrays you. Then the illusion turns into disillusionment, bitterness, or tedium.
Jesus begs you, entreats you, and counsels you to follow His example. The path He walked filled His mind with light and His heart with love to a degree that is impossible to describe or imagine. He knows and lives His Self in perfect fullness. He is One with His Soul. And, knowing that you are exactly the same as He is, and that you now find yourself as lost as He once was, He only wants to counsel you so that you may walk safely along the same path that led Him to remember our Father. Nothing more than that—but nothing less, either.
Jesus does not ask you to clothe yourself in sackcloth, put ashes on your forehead, and walk through the world with downcast eyes so as not to fall into temptation. Do not even let that cross your mind, because it is foolishness. Jesus does not ask that of you. Jesus knows you well, for there was a time when He was just like you. And this, together with the fact that He succeeded in transcending the very limitations you now believe you have, is what authorizes Him to be your teacher. Had it not been so, He could not guide you.
Do you think Jesus did not love His parents and His brothers? Do you think He was not happy with His friends? Do you think He did not eat, did not drink, did not laugh? Can you imagine Him indifferent and impassive before a beautiful dawn, the fragrance of a flower, or a caress? Of course not!
The only difference from the rest of humanity is that there came a time when He stopped deceiving Himself with forms and effects. From then on, He saw only the one Cause of all that is good: the infinite Love of God present in everything that exists and underlying all that seems to exist. And then His joy in this world did not diminish one iota; rather, it multiplied infinitely. That is what He wants you to learn. That difference in interpretation may go unnoticed by an inattentive eye, but it imposes the vision of one world—or of a very different one.
Jesus wants you to know, to love, and to do—but at the level of causes, not of effects, which are nothing. He wants what is best for you, because He knows better than anyone that He can only be happy by making you happy. And if there is anything you can be certain of, in this life and the next, it is that Jesus knows perfectly what Happiness—with a capital H—means.
Now, look closely at how today’s thought begins: “The world I see…”
Do you see? This is about the world “you” see, not about what is actually there. The world itself is not bad, nor does it intend to deceive you. The problem is the interpretation you make of it.
That is why in 2:2 it says: “For everything serves the purpose you have given it, until you see in it another purpose.”
The problem is that you are confusing form with content.
The problem is that you are completely lost when managing what you perceive. You are interpreting the world wrongly.
IV By withdrawing your desires from worldly things, you stop demanding that the world give them to you, and now the world owes you nothing.
You free it from all your expectations, and thus, in offering the world release—and since giving and receiving are the same—you also receive release and free yourself from your own senseless desires.
The chains that imprisoned your holy mind have been loosed. Nothing holds you.
The heavy gravity that bound you to the earth no longer exerts any pull on you; now you are ethereal and free to ascend to infinitely higher heights.
V This is not a Course on behavior but on the interpretation of perception. This Course does not tell you what you have to do; it is a Course on Truth. What you do with what you perceive will be the inevitable conclusion of how you interpret.
People behave as they do for a simple reason: they believe that everything they see exists, that the forms they contemplate are real, and that they themselves are vulnerable bodies, granted a little time to enjoy a few crumbs of happiness until their inevitable end arrives. Given this interpretation of what they believe they perceive, it is understandable that they behave thus.
But Jesus teaches you that this is not the truth; reality is otherwise. The personal mind, at first, must believe Jesus if it hopes to advance along the path to salvation, because the fragmented and sick mind can do nothing but believe. Its devotion, its trust, and its faith will sustain it in the beginning, until its accomplishments and experience confirm the new and glorious expectation. Yet one need not be overly credulous to understand that Jesus is right. The proofs that His arguments are true are not long in coming; some, in fact, are instantaneous. Nevertheless, deep training and purification are required to reach indisputable experience.
Do not seek comfort in the things of the world, for there is none, as you are now seeing the things of this world. It is enough that you be a little honest with yourself for your past experience to confirm it. The investment the world demands for the little it gives is not worth it, and its gifts scarcely last a breath. The astonishing thing in all this is that it is still able to deceive you. Realize that this would not be possible if you yourself were not an active collaborator in the construction of the illusion. You see what you want to see. You perceive what you send your eyes to seek, and you deceive yourself, consumed by the force of your legitimate longings, which you misinterpret.
If you think this is a very lopsided Lesson, that it has shrunk your heart, you are right. But wait for tomorrow’s Lesson, which restores the balance. Today, simply acknowledge the plain truth: this world contains nothing you truly want.
When Jesus points out that all the things you deem important will end up causing you suffering, He is inviting you to review your value system deeply. Why do you deem those things important? Because you have attributed to them a value outside yourself, displacing the sense of importance that naturally belongs to your being.
Personal importance is the ego’s food. It consists in giving value and importance to the image you have of yourself—an image that, though false, becomes the source of all your attributions of value. Thus you transfer the sense of importance from one illusion—the idea you have of yourself—to other illusions: people, objects, situations.
Value itself is not the problem. What happens is that it is misplaced. Real value resides neither in the image you have of yourself nor in the things of the world to which you attribute importance. The only true value is your being, which shares the same nature as God and is existence itself.
It is not a matter of renouncing the world or the things of the world, as though there were something wrong with them. It is a matter of ceasing to grant them importance. It is not a renunciation of the use of things, but of elevating them to the rank of essential to your well-being.
A simple example is the care of the body. You can care for your body the way you care for a car: changing the oil, checking the brakes, keeping it operational. Not because it is important in itself, but because it serves a function. The body is a vehicle for communication, just as a car is a means of transport. It is not a matter of idolizing it or despising it, but of using it with detachment.
The body has a function in God’s plan: to facilitate the communication of love among brothers. That function is important. The body as an object is not. And when you attend to it for its function and not for its illusory importance, the emotional burden associated with its care or deterioration disappears.
Likewise, it is also essential to care for your mind. Not only your body needs attention. The mind as we live it here—a personal, fragmented mind—is also an instrument. And it requires purification, not as a heavy task, but as an act of love. Caring for your mind means being attentive not to sustain toxic thought patterns, not to perpetuate inner dynamics of attack, guilt, or fear.
Society devotes enormous resources to the care of the body, but very little attention to the care of the mind. However, in the context of A Course in Miracles, caring for the mind—purifying it and keeping it at the service of truth—is infinitely more essential. For it is through a clear, clean, and detached mind that love can extend.
Remember: it is not about neglecting anything, but about placing each thing in its proper place. Ceasing to grant value where there is none, and recognizing true value in your being.
VI Extremely important. Do not get distracted. Today—especially today—watch over and protect your holy mind with infinite care, attention, and tenderness. Your mind is extraordinarily sensitive and delicate. Everything affects it. Do not allow it to be poisoned with base desires or foolish passions. It cannot digest them, and it falls ill. Then it is indisposed and convalescent until it can regain strength and heal again. Do not allow it. A craving for the world’s forms does it great harm. Your mind was not created to feed on something so coarse. That is why you must watch it constantly, as you would an unconscious little animal you take out for a walk.
Today watch your holy mind with utmost care, and closely observe its true appetites. You will see it easily when you notice how it rejoices and rises in bliss when it is nourished by the beautiful flowers of love that grow everywhere—though they must be found. Notice also how it sniffs curiously and tends to pounce upon forms empty of all content, yet enticing, which will make it sick. Do not allow it. Care for it well. It is your vehicle to Heaven.
But do not misinterpret these words, for the mind in truth cannot fall ill. The only thing that “falls ill” is the idea you have of yourself—and that is precisely the instrument you are using for the redemption of that very idea.
One last observation. This is a Course in mind training, and you must understand that the very idea of “training” is tied to the notion of time. Training your mind is going to take some time—probably much more than you now think you need, although surely far less than it would take to discover truth by yourself through countless sufferings and disappointments. Therefore, arm yourself with patience and be gentle with yourself. Do not judge or condemn yourself. It is inevitable that you will still make many mistakes, that in some instances you will backslide, and that you will fall into old habits again.
For the love of God, let none of that stop you! Do not be discouraged or fall into despair. Handle your new mistakes “professionally,” and give them no importance, because in truth they have none. The only thing that matters is precisely that you not give them importance, for that is what true forgiveness is.
The egoic mind has a certain “elastic” nature, which makes it resist every change with reactions contrary to your new aims. Do not worry about it. Persevere, and finally, one day, without realizing it, you will notice that at last you have freed yourself from your old addictions. Your will and your prayer are invincible, for they are sustained by the Power and the Love of God.
With such Helps, failure is simply inconceivable. Your awakening is inevitable. Your faith and your efforts will shorten the process and spare you pain. So why delay?
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LESSON 127
There is no other love but the Love of God.
1. You may think it is possible that there are different kinds of love.
²You may believe there is one kind of love for this, and another for that; that some can be loved in one way and others in another.
³Love is one. I
⁴It has no separate parts and no degrees.
⁵It has no kinds and no levels.
⁶In love there are no divergences, and love makes no distinctions.
⁷It is identical to itself, and it is forever unchanging.
⁸It does not shift with a person or a circumstance.
⁹It is the Heart of God, and also the Heart of His Son. II
2. Those who believe that love can change do not understand what love means.
²They do not see that a changing love is impossible.
³That is why they think they can love at times and hate at others.
⁴And they also believe they can love some and deny love to others, without this affecting what love is.
⁵To believe this about love is not to understand it at all.
⁶If love could make such distinctions, it would have to judge between the righteous and the sinners, and perceive the Son of God as fragmented.
3. Love cannot judge.
²Because it is one, it sees all as one.
³Its meaning lies in Oneness. III
⁴And it escapes the mind that believes it can exist in parts or fragments.
⁵There is no love but the Love of God, and all love comes from Him.
⁶No principle governs where love is absent.
⁷Love is a law that has no opposite.
⁸Its very completeness is the power that makes all things one; it is the bond between the Father and the Son that makes Them forever the Same.
4. No course whose purpose is to teach you what you truly are could fail to emphasize that there is no difference between what you are and what love is.
²The meaning of love is your own meaning, and God Himself shares it with you.
³For what you are is what He is.
⁴There is no love but His, and what He is is all that truly exists.
⁵God has no limits, and therefore you are also unlimited.
5. None of the laws the world obeys can help you understand the meaning of love.
²What the world believes was made to hide the meaning of love, and to keep it in darkness and secrecy.
³There is not a single principle the world upholds that does not contradict the truth of what love is, and of what you are as well.
⁴Do not seek your Self in the world. IV
⁵Love is not found in darkness and in death.
⁶Yet it is perfectly evident to the eyes that see and the ears that hear His Voice.
6. Our practice today is to release your mind from all the laws you think you must obey, from all the limits you have imposed upon yourself, and from all the changes you believe are part of human destiny.
²Today we take the greatest step this Course requires to move toward the goal it sets.
³If today you gain the slightest glimpse of what love means, you will have made an immeasurable leap forward on the path to your release and saved yourself time beyond all measure in years.
⁴Let us then be glad to give a little time to God today, and understand there is no better way to use time than this.
7. Spend fifteen minutes twice today escaping from all the laws in which you now believe.
²Open your mind and rest.
³Anyone can escape from this world that seems to hold him prisoner if he ceases to value it.
⁴Value not its pitiful offerings nor its senseless gifts, and let the Gift of God replace them all.
8. Call upon your Father with the certainty that His Voice will answer you.
²He Himself has promised it.
³And He Himself will place a spark of truth in your mind each time you give up a false belief, a dark illusion about your own reality and about what love means.
⁴He will shine through all your idle thoughts today and help you understand the truth of love.
⁵He will dwell with you in loving tenderness as you allow His Voice to teach your clean and open mind the meaning of love.V
⁶And He will bless that lesson with His Love.
9. Today, the legion of years spent waiting for salvation in the future disappears before the timelessness of what you are learning.
²Let us give thanks today that we have been released from a future that would have been like the past.
³Today we leave the past behind, never to recall it.
⁴And we lift our eyes to a present very different from the past, where shines a future unlike the past in every attribute.
10. The world that has just been born is still in its infancy.
²And we shall see it grow strong and whole, to pour its blessing upon all who come to learn to set aside a world they once believed was born of hate, to be the enemy of love.
³Now all of them are freed along with us.
⁴Now all of them are our brothers in the Love of God.
11. We will remember them throughout the day, for if we would know our Self, we cannot leave a part of us outside our love.
²At least three times an hour, think of someone who walks with you upon this journey, for he came to learn the same lesson you must learn.
³And when he comes to mind, give him this message from your Self:
⁴I bless you, brother, with the Love of God,
⁵Which I would share with you,
⁶For I would learn the joyous lesson
⁷That there is no love but the Love of God,
⁸Which is your own, as well as mine and everyone’s.
I It is probably impossible to speak of love without saying something inappropriate. Perhaps that is why this Course—which is, ultimately, a Course on love—does not usually address that idea directly. In fact, it is quite explicit in stating in its very Introduction: “This is not a course in the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught.” (T-In.2:1)
And if it says that love cannot be taught, it is because it also cannot be learned. Love can only be, for love is existence itself. To love is to exist, and to exist is to love.
This Course also says that loving is one of the three functions of the Soul: “The true functions of the Soul are knowing, loving, and creating” (T-3.IX.1:2), because the three aspects of the One Being are Knowledge, Love, and Will. And this does not mean that from a strictly ontological standpoint they are three, for the three are One and the Same, just as God and His Son are. To formulate it in that way simply means that we have chosen to contemplate Being from this triple perspective.
Notice how Jesus—like many other teachers of the nondual paradigm—approaches the true concept He seeks to explain by means of the negative, that is, by explaining what the concept is not. Look at all the negative statements contained in this Lesson—have you seen how many? This is because Jesus, as He Himself declares, is the teacher of the ego: “Belief certainly does apply to me because I am the teacher of the ego” (T-4.III.7:4), for the ego can only “believe,” and it is familiar only with the negative—with what is not.
That you cannot be taught—and cannot learn—the meaning of love should not trouble you in the least, because, although your personal mind cannot grasp that concept, you can live it, experience it, and be it. In fact, when you do not live it, do not experience it, and do not be it, you are not living, not experiencing, and not being anything at all. Love is all that exists. Love is the only reality.
The “life” of the ego—that imaginary experience of the mind—is a most curious and astonishing phenomenon: it conceives illusions of reality by deeming the notion of absence to be “important.” It is obvious that what is missing does not exist, yet the mind is perfectly capable of forgetting that little detail and focusing exclusively upon it.
How does it do so? Why? For what purpose? All of these are meaningless questions—asked and answered by a deluded mind that entertained the idea of being separate from God. But since the impossible is not possible, it never happened.
Perhaps the only thing that may have some relevance for the personal mind is becoming aware that the imaginary world it believes it lives in is “built” out of absences of love—absences of reality. And it may also be helpful for that mind, which has not yet decided to stop dreaming, that its dream becomes more benevolent when it is devoted to supplying the love it believes is lacking in a given situation.
Each time you respond with love to an attack—an absence of love—you illuminate and straighten that story of pain, that fearful dream.
Remember: the power of love is absolute. There is no darkness that love cannot dispel, no circumstance it cannot heal.
This Lesson ends with a blessing: “I bless you, brother…” —and I bless you because I love you; because I love myself. My will is to love you because I know you, and now I know myself. And that is my fullness.
II In this Lesson, Jesus introduces a fundamental idea about love: love is one. It has no separate parts; there are no different kinds or levels of love. It does not change according to people or circumstances. Love is identical to itself and remains forever unalterable.
At first this may seem strange, for we are accustomed to speaking of different kinds of love—maternal love, romantic love, fraternal love. Yet all of this arises from an emotional view of love, not from the reality of what love truly is.
Love, as Jesus teaches it, is not an emotion. It is not an emotional response tied to memories or expectations. Emotions are effects, and love is cause. Love is an aspect of your being. It is what you are. It is the natural quality of the simple fact of existing.
You might understand it more easily if you look at it this way: to be and to love are inseparable. There are no different ways of being, just as there are no different forms of love. You are, and in that being, you dwell in love. Love is the living expression of your existence—the way the consciousness of being feels itself.
If you understand it thus, the statements of the Course read quite differently: it is not that there is a love for each thing, but that love is your essence—an essence without parts or differences, a perfect unity.
It is true that in this world we perceive love relationally, as an exchange or connection between beings. But that is simply an expression of the natural extension of being. Being, by its very nature, extends—and love is that extension.
Though here you still perceive separation and appear to dwell in a world of appearances, love remains what you truly are. Your being extends toward what you see as “others” because, in truth, all is one.
To help you recognize it more easily, you can remember that love is the state opposite to fear. In this world, where we tend to notice absences more than presences, it is often easier to recognize love through its absence: where there is fear—or hatred, which is the same—love is lacking.
Thus love, which is your true nature, could be described as an exultant state of infinite peace, completely opposed to any form of fear. It is not a fleeting emotion but a state of complete, constant, and eternal being.
III The quality of oneness—love is the epitome of simplicity, one of the very aspects of existence itself.
IV John 5:44 “How can you believe, when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
V John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.”
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LESSON 126
All that I give is given to myself.
1. Today’s idea is entirely alien to the ego and to the way the world thinks.
²This idea is key to reversing your thought system, which is precisely what this Course is designed to do.
³If you believed what today’s idea says, you would have no difficulty in forgiving completely, you would have absolute certainty about your goals, and you would clearly understand the direction in which you are going.
⁴You would also understand the means by which salvation comes to you, and you would make use of it without hesitation. I
2. Let us now consider what you believe, instead of what this idea teaches.
²You believe that others are separate from you, and that their behavior and their thoughts have nothing to do with what you think.
³You also believe that what they think does not affect your thoughts nor your behavior.
⁴Therefore, you believe that your attitudes have no effect on them, and that their calls for help have no connection with your own.
⁵You also believe they can sin without affecting your own self-image, and that you can judge their sins and remain without condemnation and at peace.
3. For this reason, when you “forgive” a sin, you believe you are gaining nothing directly.
²In such a case, you are simply being charitable toward someone who, in truth, does not deserve it.
³And so you are confirming that you are better and on a higher level than they are.
⁴They have not earned your merciful tolerance, for you are offering it to someone who clearly does not deserve it, since their sins have placed them far beneath true equality with you.
⁵You believe they have no right to expect your forgiveness.
⁶Your forgiveness is a gift you give them—but it gives nothing to you.
4. From this point of view, forgiveness appears to be a somewhat absurd and unfounded gesture.
²It is a capricious act—perhaps generous, but certainly undeserved.
³It is a gift that is sometimes given and sometimes withheld.
⁴And since it is undeserved, to withhold it seems entirely justified.
⁵Surely it would not be fair for you to suffer if you refuse to give it.
⁶For the sin you forgive is not your own; it was committed by someone completely apart from you.
⁷And while you are being generous in giving them what they do not deserve, the gift they receive is no more connected to you than is their sin.
5. If all this were true, then forgiveness would have no solid, dependable foundation to rest upon.
²It would be nothing more than a whim, a passing indulgence where you sometimes choose to grant an unearned reprieve.
³But you would still be justified in not letting the sinner escape the rightful payment for their guilt.
⁴Would the Lord of Heaven let the world’s salvation depend on this?
⁵Would it not be utterly unloving of Him to base your own salvation on a whim?
6. You do not understand what forgiveness is. II
²As you see it, forgiveness is merely restraint from overt attack—something that requires no true correction in your own mind.
³As you understand it, forgiveness cannot give you peace.
⁴It is not a means of release from what you see in another.
⁵It has no power to help you realize that you are truly joined to them.
⁶But that is not what God intended forgiveness to be for you.
7. When you deny the gift your Father asks of you, you cannot recognize His gifts, and so you believe He has not given them.
²But would He ask you for something unless it were for you?
³Would He be content with empty gestures, and see such meager offerings as worthy of His Son?
⁴Salvation is a far greater gift than that.
⁵True forgiveness—which is the means by which salvation comes—must heal the mind of the one who gives it, for giving is receiving.
⁶What is not received has not been given.
⁷But what is truly given is always received.
8. Today we will try to understand the truth that giver and receiver are the same.
²You cannot grasp this without help, because it is so far removed from your usual way of thinking that you cannot comprehend it.
³But do not be concerned—you have the Help you need.
⁴Place your trust in the Holy Spirit today, and ask Him to help you understand the truth.
⁵And if you catch even the faintest glimpse of the release this idea holds, this will be a day of glory for the world.
9. Give fifteen minutes twice today to trying to understand the idea for today.
²It is the thought that places forgiveness at the center of your priorities.
³It is the thought that will release your mind from every obstacle that blocks your understanding of forgiveness and help you recognize its great worth to you.
10. In mental silence, close your eyes to a world that does not understand forgiveness and retreat into the quiet place where thoughts are transformed and false beliefs are left behind.
²Repeat today’s idea and ask for help in understanding what it truly means.
³Be willing to let Him teach you.
⁴Be glad to hear the Voice of truth and healing, for you will understand what It says, and you will recognize that It speaks to you with your own words.
11. Remind yourself as often as you can today that you have a goal, a purpose that makes this day especially valuable to you and to all your brothers.
²Do not let your mind forget this goal for long, and say to yourself:
³All that I give is given to myself.
⁴The Help I need to understand that this is true is with me now.
⁵I will trust in Him completely.
⁶Then take a moment of stillness to open your mind to His correction and His Love.
⁷And you will believe what you hear from Him, for what He gives you will surely be received.
I Giving and receiving are the same, because what you see “out there” is also you. There is nothing outside you; you are everything.
If you could only understand and accept that what you know as your “personal existence” is nothing but a belief you hold in your mind, two things would happen. The first is that your mind would expand and become aware of its true magnitude; the second, that your thoughts concerning your personal life would cease to have any meaning for you. In fact, there would no longer be a “you” to conceive them.
Do you find it hard to understand that you believe you are you? Obviously not. That is evident, even to the personal mind. What you find hard to accept is that you are nothing more than that belief—that you are not a body with an existence independent of what your mind may think or believe.
You have not yet become fully aware of the incredible power of beliefs. And the term “incredible” is fitting here, for beliefs are nothing apart from themselves; they have the “power” to “create” an imaginary world all on their own. That is the “power” of the god of illusion.
It is true that you recognize there are beliefs that are not true, for you have seen that many times in yourself, realizing that countless things you once believed were not true. But it is usually easier for you to see that in others. People believe in so many foolish and absurd things, don’t they?
What you find difficult to accept—not to understand—is that ALL your beliefs are false, and that to believe is simply to deceive yourself for a while. Well, perhaps you are willing to admit that possibility. But what you find totally unacceptable is that the “you” you think you are is also a belief—and nothing but that: a belief.
But do not be disheartened, for that is only part of the story. The truth is that the mind that sustains that belief is real—and that is precisely what you truly are. Understand this, and understand it well: with this recognition you are losing nothing; you are gaining everything.
Although, to be fair, there is something you do lose: you lose the limits that you—the mind—have imposed upon yourself, your self-definitions. Remember that to define, from the Latin definire, means “to set limits.” You are no longer limited. You can now believe something else—or you can cease to believe and simply be all that exists, for those are the only two options there are.
Even if only for an instant, reflect on why you insist so much on being what you believe you are. It is obvious that if you believe it, it is because you want to believe it. Otherwise, why would you believe it? Could it be because you want to be limited, because you want to suffer?
Do you not see that believing has an enormous cost—that you must pay a price for every belief you hold? Do you want to pay it? … Why?
Perhaps what happens is that the belief the mind—you—holds in being that particular person you think you are still does not wish to renounce the limits it has imposed upon itself. Do not worry; there is time for that. In fact, there is all the time you wish to invent.
But perhaps you would like to open yourself to the possibility that, for those still attracted to the stories they tell themselves, there are beliefs more “benign” than the ones they now hold. Today’s idea is such a belief: a statement aligned with the truth:
“All that I give I give to myself.”
Practice that idea in your particular world, and you will see that it works.
By the way, try to give yourself only good things—unless you prefer to go on hurting yourself. Choose well, love, and trust. Your days of fear are numbered. You are moving toward the Heart of God, where His Love abides, which is all that exists and all that you are.
Smile: the sad dream is coming to its end.
Give yourself good things by giving them to others, and enjoy a little more of the dream of your personal life… but do not linger too long. All that you busy yourself with here is not even the shadow of the celebration that awaits you in Heaven—your Home—when you decide to return.
II All this matter of forgiveness, in truth, is nothing but the particular application of today’s idea. You think you see sin outside yourself, but it is in you. You think you forgive it in another, but you are forgiving yourself. You think you are doing a poor sinner a favor—and you are right; you are doing yourself an enormous favor.
Only forgiveness can give you the peace you so deeply long for… and it will do so by your own hand.
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LESSON 125
Today I receive God’s Word in stillness.
1. Let today be a day of quiet and gentle listening. I
²Your Father wills that you hear His Word today.
³He calls to you from the depths of your mind, where He abides.
⁴Listen to Him today.
⁵There will be no peace until His Word is heard around the world—until your mind, in stillness, receives the message the world must hear to usher in the quiet time of peace.
2. This world will change because of you.
²It cannot be saved by any other means, for God’s plan is simply this:
³The Son of God is free to save himself,
and he is given God’s Word to be his Guide,
always in his mind and always by his side,
to lead him safely to his Father’s house by his own will,
as free forever as is God’s.
⁴He is not led by force, but only by Love.
⁵He is not judged, but only sanctified.
3. Today we will listen to His Voice in stillness, with no interference from our petty thoughts, no personal desires, and no judgment upon His holy Word.
²We will not judge ourselves today, for what we are is beyond all judgment.
³We step away from every judgment the world has laid upon the Son of God.
⁴For the world does not know him.
⁵Today we will not listen to the world, but wait in silence for the Word of God.
4. Listen in quiet, holy Son of God, your Father speaks to you!
²His Voice would bring you His holy Word, to spread throughout the world the glad tidings of salvation and the sacred time of peace. II
³Today we gather around the throne of God—the quiet place within your mind where He abides in the eternal holiness He created and will never leave.
5. He has not waited for you to return your mind to Him before He gave His Word to you.
²God has not hidden from you while you strayed a little from His side.
³He holds no illusions you have made about yourself.
⁴He knows His Son and wills that he remain a part of Him, despite his dreams; despite his madness in believing that his will is not his own true Will.
6. Today, God speaks to you.
²His Voice awaits your silence, for His Word cannot be heard until your mind is quiet for a while and senseless longings have been stilled.
³Wait then in stillness for His Word.
⁴Today you will call upon the peace within you to help prepare your most holy mind to hear the Voice of its Creator.
7. Three times today, at times most suited to quiet listening, reserve ten minutes to stop hearing the world and instead choose calmly to listen to the Word of God.
²He speaks to you from nearer than your heart. III
³His Voice is closer than your hand. IV
⁴His Love is all you are, and all that He is.
⁵His Love is the same as you, and you are the same as He.
8. It is your own voice you hear when He speaks to you. V
²It is your own words He utters.
³It is the Word of freedom and of peace, of unity of will and purpose, with no separation or division in the one Mind the Father and the Son share.
⁴Today, listen to your Self in the quiet of your mind, and let It tell you that God has never left His Son, and that you have never left your Self.
9. Simply be still.
²You will need no rule but this to let your practice lift you high above the thinking of the world and free your vision from the body’s eyes.
³Just pause for a moment and listen.
⁴You will hear the Word in which the Will of God’s Son joins with the Will of His Father and becomes one with It, with no illusion standing in between what is forever indivisible and true.
⁵Each hour today, find a moment to remind yourself that you have a special purpose for this day: to receive in stillness the Word of God. VI
I Quiet your thoughts today and listen to the Word of God. Nothing else.
Today is a day of inner rest—a true day of “vacation” for the soul. The practice consists in receiving the Word of God in stillness, with no need to do anything, simply keeping silence within.
But what does a day of stillness really mean? Jesus defines it with great clarity: it is a day in which you issue no judgment, in which you renounce all personal opinion. And, above all, it is a day in which you do not judge yourself.
The key to this Lesson is not to focus so much on whether judgments toward others arise, but to place all your attention on not judging yourself. That is the true essence of the practice.
You will notice that as you maintain inner vigilance—as you prevent judgments about yourself from arising—the tendency to judge others will automatically diminish as well. The external world will cease to be a problem when you stop attacking yourself within.
So simplify the practice: forget about the world and focus solely on not judging yourself. You will see that in doing so, everything else naturally falls into place. It may not be entirely easy, but it is an enormous simplification of inner work.
When the day of this Lesson arrives, remember: do not judge yourself. And if a judgment does appear—as it will—simply let it pass, without dwelling on it or giving it importance.
II Luke 1:19 “The angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you these good tidings.’”
Luke 8:1 “After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him.”
III Deuteronomy 30:14 “But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”
IV Perhaps a reference to the beautiful poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Higher Pantheism, imbued with concepts echoed in this Course:
“The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills and the plains—
Are not these, O Soul, the Vision of Him who reigns?
Is not the Vision He, tho’ He be not that which He seems?
Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?
Earth, these solid stars, this weight of body and limb,
Are they not sign and symbol of thy division from Him?
Dark is the world to thee; thyself art the reason why;
For is He not all but thou, that hast power to feel “I am I”?
Glory about thee, without thee; and thou fulfillest thy doom
Making Him broken gleams, and a stifled splendour and gloom.
Speak to Him thou, for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet—
Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.
God is law, say the wise; O Soul, and let us rejoice,
For if He thunder by law, the thunder is yet His voice.
Law is God, say some; no God at all, says the fool;
For all we have power to see is a straight staff bent in a pool;
And the ear of man cannot hear, and the eye of man cannot see;
But if we could see and hear, this Vision—were it not He?”
V That is the voice of your Self—your true will.
VI Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
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LESSON 124
Let me remember I am one with God.
1. Today we give thanks once again that our identity is found in God.
²Our home is safe.
³Our protection is guaranteed, no matter what we do.
⁴And we are given the Power and the Strength of God to carry out whatever we undertake.
⁵We cannot fail in anything. I
⁶Everything we touch takes on a shining light that blesses and heals.
⁷In union with God and with the universe, we walk in joy, remembering that God Himself walks with us always. II
2. How holy are our minds!
²Everything we see reflects the holiness of a mind joined with God and with itself.
³How easily do errors vanish, and death gives way to everlasting life!
⁴Our radiant footprints point the way to truth, for God is our Companion as we walk the world a little while.
⁵And those who come to follow us will recognize the way, because the light we carry stays behind and yet remains with us as we move forward.
3. What we receive is the eternal gift we give to those who follow us, to those who came before, and to all who stay with us a while.
²And God, Who loves us all with the same Love in which we all were created, smiles on us and offers us the happiness we gave.
4. Today we will not doubt His Love for us, nor question His Protection and His Care.
²No foolish fears can come between our faith and our awareness of His Presence.
³Today we are one with Him in certainty and in remembrance.
⁴For we feel Him within the depths of our hearts.
⁵Our minds hold His Thoughts, and our eyes behold His Loveliness in everything we see.
⁶Today, we see all things as kind and beautiful.
5. We see Him in all that seems to bring us pain, and we see pain give way to peace.
²We see Him in the frantic, in the sad and anxious, in the lonely and afraid; and He restores to all of them the peace of mind in which they were created.
³We see His Love in those who die and in the dead, a Love that brings them back to life.
⁴And we see all this because we saw it first within ourselves. III
6. To those who know they are one with God, no miracle is denied.
²Their thoughts can heal all pain in any form, in anyone, in any time, past or future, just as easily as in those who walk beside them now.
³Their thoughts are timeless, and they reach beyond all limits of space and time.
7. We join this understanding as we say that we are one with God.
²For in these words, we say as well that we are safe and healed, and can heal and save.
³We choose to give what we have received, for we would keep the gifts our Father gave.
⁴Today we would experience ourselves as one with Him, so that the world may share our recognition of reality.
⁵In our experience, the world is freed.
⁶And as we deny our separation from our Father, the world is healed with us.
8. Let peace be with you today. IV
²Secure your peace by remembering you are one with your Creator, just as He is one with you.
³At any time today, whenever it seems best, devote half an hour to the thought that you are one with God.
⁴This is our first attempt at an extended period of practice, and we offer no rules nor special words to guide your meditation. V
⁵We trust God’s Voice will speak to you as He deems best, certain He will not fail.
⁶Remain with Him this half hour.
⁷He will do the rest.
9. The benefit of this practice will not be lost on you, even if you believe that nothing happened.
²You may not be ready to accept it now.
³But what you receive will surely come to you, in time and place unknown to you as yet.
⁴This half hour will be framed in gold, with every minute like a diamond set around the mirror that this exercise will offer you.
⁵And in that mirror, you will see the Face of Christ reflected in your own.
10. Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you will see your own transfiguration in the mirror that this holy half hour holds before you, to be seen at last. VI
²When you are ready, you will find it in your mind, awaiting your discovery.
³And you will remember then the Thought to which you gave this half an hour, grateful and aware that never was a time more gladly spent.
⁴Perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow, you will look into that mirror and behold the light that sinlessness reflects, the beauty that is yours.
11. Let this half hour be the gift you give to God, and be assured He will return to you a sense of Love so deep, so tranquil and so vast that it surpasses all understanding; a holiness so perfect it defies all vision of the body.
²And yet you can be sure that you will someday—perhaps today, perhaps tomorrow—understand and see it.
³Keep adding jewels to the golden frame that holds the mirror offered you today, and every hour repeat within yourself:
⁴Let me remember I am one with God.
⁵I am one with all my brothers and my Self,
⁶In everlasting holiness and peace.
I In this Lesson, Jesus takes a further step and raises the level of His teachings. It is natural that some of the statements He proposes now should be harder to follow, for they speak to us of states of consciousness we have not yet fully reached. Jesus utters thanksgivings for gifts and realities that, in many cases, we are still unable to see or feel with the heart.
This should not trouble us. Faced with such statements, it is important to remember that the Lessons must be adapted to our measure—to our present capacities. Some Lessons will fit us like a glove: we will understand them, feel them deeply, and make them our own without effort. Others, on the other hand, will feel uncomfortable because we have not yet come to live what they express.
In those cases, instead of repeating the statements mechanically or feeling like impostors, we can reformulate them sincerely. A practical way to do this is to add expressions such as: “I want to believe that…,” “I want to feel that…,” “I desire to see this in this way.” Thus we do not force our mind to affirm something that is not yet true for us, but we do align ourselves honestly with our desire to reach that truth.
For example, if the Lesson states, “I cannot fail at anything,” and we do not yet feel that certainty, we can say: “I want to come to believe, to feel, and to live with absolute certainty that I cannot fail at anything.” In this way, our words are joined to the truth of our genuine desire and to our heart.
This attitude allows us to practice with integrity and strengthens the bond between our intention and the truth Jesus points out to us. It is not a matter of forcing a faith we do not yet have, but of being honest about our present state and offering our desire to move forward.
Thus each statement, though not yet fully realized in us, becomes an act of authenticity—and that has enormous transforming power.
Just as yesterday we gave thanks to God for the gifts He has granted us, today we rejoice in our condition: for being who we are.
II We are One with God—and that lies infinitely beyond any marvel we could imagine. Yet you do not feel that way. Why? If you look carefully at what is happening in your mind, you will understand.
Take a close look: your mind is always busy; your mind is ceaselessly buzzing. You say you are thinking, but that is not thinking; it is simply imagining. Your mind is extremely busy imagining things you yourself invent. And then, automatically and without any questioning, you tell yourself that all you have imagined is true or believable. Which, if you examine it closely, is quite surprising, because your imaginings have no foundation whatsoever. You make them real for you based on the simple fact that they just occurred to you. Does it not strike you as rather strange that you believe all that you yourself tell yourself?
In a sense, one could say you are an artist, for what you do is very difficult and very costly; it requires a great deal of energy and determination—and you do it very well. To hide the glorious reality of your Self is no small task, and you have achieved it. You are not aware that you are One with God, and that is why you are told here that you have to remind yourself of it all the time. How have you managed to forget it? What have you placed between the magnificence of your Self and your awareness of it?
This Course calls that the “veil that covers the Face of Christ.” And how have you managed to weave that veil?
Now take a good look at how you do it. The veil that hides the Face of Christ is made up of absences. Yes, absences! Absences of reality, absences of love. Absences do not exist, but you have made them real for yourself in your mind. They are shadows, darkness, sins, desires, guilt, fears, suffering and hopelessness, or vain expectations; they are the absence of light, the absence of reality. What has happened is that you have considered them, given them value, and made them important to you. Moreover, you have decided to invite them into your holy mind and allowed them to settle there, occupying the entirety of your holy home.
Absences? And what shape do those absences of reality take? What are they?
Consider this: it is evident that you know the word “story.” And it is also undeniable that you believe you know what it means. But it is very likely that you have never stopped to consider exactly what those “stories” you tell yourself or are told consist of. Pay attention: a story is a concatenation of ideas apparently related to one another that captivates your mind and keeps it fixed and absorbed in a narrative you deem plausible.
Listen well: none of that is true; none of that exists; it is only a story! It is not real! All the veracity you think it contains you have bestowed upon it yourself for the simple reason that you want it to be true. And realize that it does not matter whether what that story describes pleases you or displeases you—you want it to be true, you give it your attention, and you hand over your Soul to it.
Today’s Lesson is for you to rejoice and be happy. Do not allow your eyes to rest on what is nothing. That alone is enough. You do not need to imagine anything marvelous; rather you need to stop imagining. Stop telling yourself stories of fear and vengeance—or of absurd “loves”—and stop believing them. You need do nothing more than that. Truth will come to you of its own accord, if you do not block its way with your imaginings.
Rest your mind. And when the tiniest spark of light comes to you, the smallest sign of love, run to give it to someone who is near you. At once you will realize that you return with far more than you gave. Then take that and give it to another, and then to another. Do not stop until your heart can hold no more love. And then, rest a while.
Live this way—without imagination. You do not have to strive. You only have to stop telling yourself lies and wait for the recognition of the truth and of the love that already dwell in you.
Trust—It will not delay.
III It is as impossible to see the miracles of love with an empty heart as it is not to see them with a heart brimming with love. The awareness of God’s Love is the Source of every miracle; in It, all things are possible, and without It, nothing is.
IV Luke 24:36 “As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
Pause a moment and quiet your mind to read attentively the beautiful paragraphs that follow.
Take a pause and become aware that the words you are reading are holy and true. Open your mind and your heart to them, and allow them—if only for an instant—to carry you to the truth they contain. That is enough.
V These practices in which “there are no rules and no special words to guide your meditation” are part of a gradual process in the Workbook, in which fewer and fewer specific instructions are given for each day of practice. In their place, reliance is placed on your inner Guidance, your prior experience, and your individual needs for the specific content of your practices.
This absence of explicit instructions appears again in tomorrow’s Lesson:
“Simply be still. You need no rule but this to let your practicing today lift you above the thinking of the world, and free your vision from the body’s eyes.” (W-125.9:1–2)VI Matthew 17:2 “And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light.”
1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know just as I also am known.”
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LESSON 123
Thank You, Father, for Your gifts.
1. Let us be grateful today.
²We have come to gentler paths and smoother ways.
³We no longer think of turning back, nor do we resist the truth with bitter opposition.
⁴There is still a trace of hesitation, a few remaining objections and a little wavering, but you can be grateful for all you have achieved, which is far more than you realize.
⁵To spend one day in gratitude will bring you the benefit of at least partly understanding the true extent of all the gains you have made and the gifts you have received. I
2. Rejoice today in loving thankfulness that your Father has not left you to yourself, nor let you wander in the dark alone.
²Give thanks that He has saved you from the self you thought you made to take the place of Him and of His Creation.
³Give Him thanks today.
3. Give thanks that He has not abandoned you, and that His Love will shine on you forever, changeless through all eternity.
²Give thanks as well for your own changelessness, for the Son He loves is just as changeless as Himself.
³Be grateful you have been saved.
⁴Rejoice that you have a function in salvation.
⁵Be thankful that your worth transcends your meager gifts and petty judgments of the one whom God established as His Son. II
4. Today, in gratitude, we lift our hearts above despair and raise our thankful eyes, no longer looking downward to the dust.
²We sing a song of thankfulness today in honor of the Self that God has willed to be our true Identity in Him.
³Today we smile on everyone we see and walk with lightened footsteps as we go to do what has been given us to do.
5. We do not walk alone.
²And we give thanks that in our solitude a Friend has come to speak the saving Word of God to us.
³And thank you, too, for listening.
⁴His Word is silent if it is not heard.
⁵Therefore, your thanks are due to you as well.
⁶A message not received cannot bring salvation, no matter how powerful the Voice that speaks, nor how loving the message is.
6. Thanks to you who have heard, for you become the messenger who brings His Voice with you and lets It echo round the world.
²Receive the thanks of God, as you give Him yours.
³He wants to offer you His gratitude in return for yours, for He receives your gifts with loving gratitude, and gives you thanks a thousand and ten thousand times more than you gave.
⁴He will bless your gifts by sharing them with you.
⁵And so they grow in power and in strength, until they fill the world with joy and gratitude.
7. Receive His thanks, and offer Him your own during fifteen minutes, twice today.
²And you will understand to Whom you offer thanks, and Who it is Who thanks you when you give thanks to Him. III
³This holy half hour given Him will be returned to you in years for every second—powerful enough to save the world eons of time.
8. Accept His thanks, and you will understand how lovingly He holds you in His Mind, how deep and boundless is His Care for you, how perfect His Gratitude toward you.
²Remember to think of God each hour, and give Him thanks for everything He gave His Son, so he might rise above the world remembering his Father and his Self.
I Few things are more powerful than gratitude. Or rather, there may be nothing more powerful, for there is no difference between gratitude and love. Creation was an act of pure love—the expression of God’s Joy in Being—the Gratitude of God made Son. The Son of God imitates His Father and gratefully returns to Him the joy of being in His own Creations. And that is in eternity, and eternity is That. And that is true prayer.
The Song of Prayer reminds us of it in the Introduction: “Prayer is the greatest gift with which God blessed His Son when He created him. It must become once again as it was then: the one Voice the Creator and the Creation share; the song the Son sings to the Father, Who returns to His Son the thanks that the song brings to Him. Endless harmony, and perpetual as well the joyous concord of Love They offer each Other forever. And thus is Creation extended. God gives thanks to His extension in His Son, and His Son gives thanks for having been created in his creative song in the Name of his Father. The Love They share is what all prayer will forever be for all eternity, when time has ended. For so it was before time seemed to be.”
Today’s Lesson is about that. It is a Lesson on true prayer.
Gratitude is simply the natural and inevitable expression of awareness of what has been received and is enjoyed. To give thanks is to give—that is, it is also to receive. Each time we give thanks for something, we strengthen in our mind the very idea we are thanking for. The gift we have received multiplies, because we give it.
Through today’s Lesson we strengthen in our mind the awareness of being the Son of God and bring the fragmented mind a little closer to its final integration.
When, with your tiny, particular mind, you pray in gratitude to God for the faint glimpse of the gifts you have received from His Love, you open your eyes a little wider to your true identity.
Gratitude is love, and love is Reality. This means that it exists and is experienced in real time—the only time there is: the present. And the proof of it is that every time you give thanks, your gratitude returns to you and fills you—in the present. You need nothing else to know that it is real, that it is love.
Therefore, dedicate this day to thanking God for being His Son. For you live in Him, breathe in Him, love in Him, and exist in Him. How could you not be grateful? Today will be a day of gratitude. Today will be a truly wonderful day.
II As we work with the expressions of gratitude Jesus offers us in these Lessons, it is important to keep one fundamental criterion in mind: it is not a matter of forcing ourselves to be grateful for what we are not yet able to recognize.
Many of the reasons for gratitude presented to us we will not yet be able to see clearly. Others, however, we will. And it is precisely those we can perceive—even partially—to which we should direct our gratitude.
We see only a little, but the little we see is enough. Let us therefore give thanks for that little which we can truly recognize, sincerely and from the heart. That small act of genuine gratitude will bring us another glimmer of light.
It is not about giving automatic or formal thanks for gifts we are not yet able to experience. There is no hurry: the time will come when we will see and give thanks for what now seems beyond our reach. For now, what matters is that our gratitude be true, heartfelt, and real.
When Jesus invites us to give thanks, we can respond to Him with complete honesty: “This I do not yet see, but this other I do.” For example, we may feel grateful for already having recognized our true function, even if deeper understandings have not yet arrived. And that single, sincerely experienced reason for gratitude is enough. We need no more.
Jesus does not ask us for empty words or formal gestures. He asks only for a sincere spark of gratitude, an authentic feeling that arises from the heart. So let us focus on what we can truly recognize and give thanks for, and leave aside—without any concern—what we cannot yet see. Each step will come in its own time.
III God gives thanks to your Self—the only Son He knows.
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LESSON 122
Forgiveness offers everything I want.
1. What could you want that forgiveness cannot give you?
²Do you want peace?
³Forgiveness offers it.
⁴Do you want happiness, a quiet mind, certainty of purpose, and a sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world?
⁵Do you want to feel cared for and safe, always sheltered by the warmth of sure protection?
⁶Do you want a quietness that cannot be disturbed, a gentleness that never fades, a deep, abiding comfort, and a rest so perfect nothing can disturb it?
2. Forgiveness offers all this to you, and more.
²It brightens your eyes as you awaken and fills you with joy to face the day.
³It soothes your brow as you sleep and rests upon your eyelids so you do not see dreams of fear, of evil, malice, or attack.
⁴And when you wake again, it offers you another day of happiness and peace.
⁵Forgiveness offers all this to you, and more.
3. Forgiveness lets the veil be lifted that hides the Face of Christ from those who look upon the world with eyes of hate.
²It lets you recognize the Son of God and clears your memory of all dead thoughts, so that the memory of your Father may cross the threshold of your mind.
³What could you want that forgiveness cannot give?
⁴What other gifts worth having can be found?
⁵What fancied value, trivial effect, or fleeting promise, never to be kept, can hold more hope than what forgiveness brings?
4. Why would you seek another answer, when this one answers everything?
²Forgiveness is the perfect answer to all imperfect questions, meaningless requests, half-hearted willingness, and insufficient trust.
³This is the answer.
⁴Do not seek for more.
⁵You will not find another better than this. I
5. God’s plan for your salvation cannot change, nor can it fail.
²Be thankful it remains exactly as He planned it.
³It stands before you like an open door, with warm invitation calling from beyond, inviting you to enter and be at home, where you belong.
6. This is the answer.
²Would you remain outside while all of Heaven waits for you within?
³Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
⁴As you give, you will receive. II
⁵There is no other plan but this for the salvation of the Son of God.
⁶Let us rejoice today that this is so, for here we have a simple, clear solution, whose simplicity is not deceiving.
⁷All the complexities the world has woven with its fragile webs will vanish before the power and the majesty of this extremely simple statement of the truth.
7. This is the answer.
²Do not continue to wander aimlessly.
³Accept salvation now.
⁴This is a gift from God, not from the world.
⁵The world can offer nothing of value to a mind that has accepted what God has given it as its own.
8. God wills that you receive salvation today, and that the dream’s complexity no longer hides the nothingness it hides.
²Open your eyes today and look upon a happy world, where peace and safety reign.
³Forgiveness is the means by which this world replaces hell.
⁴The real world rises in quiet to greet your sight and fill your heart with deep tranquility as ancient truths rise quietly into your awareness, reborn forever.
⁵What you will remember then is beyond description.
⁶Yet this you will remember—forgiveness offers it to you.
9. Today we begin our practice by remembering the gifts that forgiveness brings us, with hope and faith that this will be the day salvation will be ours. III
²We seek it earnestly and joyfully today, aware that we hold the key to happiness in our hands, and accept Heaven’s answer to the hell we made—but no longer want.
10. In the morning and at night we gladly give a quarter of an hour to the search that ends in finding.
²Begin in hopefulness, for we have reached the turning point at last, where the road becomes far easier.
³And now the way is short that yet we travel.
⁴We are truly near the end of the dream. IV
11. Sink into happiness as you begin these practice periods, for they hold out the sure rewards of questions answered, and what your acceptance of the answer brings. V
²Today you will experience the peace forgiveness offers, and the joy the lifting of the veil provides.
12. The world will fade into nothing before your eyes, and you will see another rise in its place, one no words can describe.
²We go directly toward the light today, and receive the gifts that have been kept in store for us since time began, waiting for this day.
13. Forgiveness offers everything you truly want.
²Today all things you want are given you.
³Do not let your gifts recede throughout the day as you return again to a world of shifting change and bleak appearances.
⁴Keep your gifts in clear awareness, as you see the changeless in the heart of change, the light of truth behind appearances.
14. Be not tempted to let them slip away and drift into forgetfulness.
²Hold them firmly in your mind, and try to think of them at least a minute every quarter hour.
³Remember how precious are these gifts with this reminder, which has power to hold them in your awareness throughout the day:
⁴Forgiveness offers everything I want.
⁵Today I have accepted this as true.
⁶Today I have received the gifts of God.
I It is not only a matter of giving the Holy Spirit the responsibility of teaching us to forgive. This, of course, is fundamental and has already been clearly stated. But the scope of this teaching is much broader: we must entrust to the Holy Spirit everything that involves, for our mind, any kind of effort, stress, or disturbance.
Forgiveness is only one of the most obvious cases in which we recognize this effort. Forgiving can be an extreme act of mental tension when we feel that an offense has been serious. However, it is not limited to situations of forgiveness. Any circumstance that stresses the mind, even if apparently unrelated to forgiveness, must also be entrusted to the Holy Spirit.
Whenever we experience mental strain or effort, it means we are asking something of our mind that does not belong to it. To carry that responsibility is inappropriate. Each time we take responsibility for something beyond our capacity, what we are really doing is assuming a burden the mind is not designed to bear. That is where discomfort comes from.
Thus, any situation that causes mental unease—whether a daily decision, a personal concern, or any other source of stress—is a signal that we must hand that matter over to the Holy Spirit. It is not an optional gesture, but something necessary to maintain inner peace. The suffering mind is telling us: “This is not my business. This must be surrendered.”
Let us remember something fundamental: whenever we feel bad, it is because what we are thinking is not true. Likewise, whenever we experience mental effort, it is because we are trying to assume a responsibility that is not ours. When we move with ease, peace, and happiness in a matter, we may go on. But the moment effort or disturbance arises, it is the unmistakable sign that we must stop and hand it over.
This surrender does not imply negligence or passivity. It implies recognizing that we are not alone, that we have not been abandoned to our limited strength, and that no sacrifice of any kind is being asked of us. Jesus teaches us that sacrifice has no place on the way to God. We are not asked to suffer or struggle to reach peace.
What is proposed to us is something incredibly simple and liberating: every burden, every decision that exceeds the natural peace of our mind, must be offered to the Holy Spirit. And then, from that surrender, the answer will come effortlessly, guiding us toward peace and true happiness.
II Luke 6:37–38 “Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.”
The previous phrase also seems to echo Galatians 6:7: “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
III To forgive—that is, to overlook your own malicious interpretations of the world—gives you everything you truly desire.
Surely, you spend your days striving to obtain specific things the world offers you, things that this Course calls “idols.” They are things you believe will bring you certain satisfactions.
Perhaps, at times when you study this Course, the thought crosses your mind that you actually lack faith. You may think that if you had more faith in Jesus’ teachings, it would not be so hard for you to follow His guidance. Be careful: do not be mistaken. You do not lack faith. All human beings are filled with faith to overflowing. It is impossible to live without faith. The issue is not whether you have faith or not—you have plenty! What you truly lack is good sense, not faith.
What happens is that you have placed practically all your faith in the things of this world and left very little for God. Your behavior is profoundly irrational, utterly contradictory, and extremely unwise. Yours is not a problem of disbelief—on the contrary, you are excessively credulous. You believe everything, and that’s how things go for you.
Pay attention, observe carefully, and try to reason the situation out. Look closely at your life. Examine in detail what things you pursue and where you dedicate your efforts. List them, name them, measure the energy you devote to them, and then, beside each one, write down the amount and kind of satisfaction they give you and how long their effects last. It’s a simple accounting exercise that should not be difficult for you.
Realize that the reason you pursue the idols of the world is that they promise to provide some desirable mental and emotional state. You do not seek the things of the world for their own sake—you seek them for their effects on you. Do you still think you lack faith? Don’t you see that you are actually wasting it on things that are not worth it? Wouldn’t you like to try something different, just to see what happens?
Jesus proposes something very simple: that you forgive. If you look closely, you will see that He is not really asking you to do anything. What He is actually asking is precisely that you not do what you are tempted to do—to judge, condemn, attack, and hold grievances. How can this seem so difficult to you? Why is “not doing” so hard for you? Are you beginning to perceive your own lack of sense?
Today’s Lesson consists mainly in keeping in mind at all times the gifts that forgiveness brings you, so that you may be encouraged to practice it. And realize, too, that forgiveness gives you those gifts immediately and without exception—you do not have to wait to enjoy them. You will experience them the very instant you forgive.
To make it easier for you, here is the list of gifts mentioned at the beginning of the Lesson. They are only part of what you will gain through forgiveness, but that will probably seem more than enough. So take heart—and go for it.
THE GIFTS OF FORGIVENESS
• Peace
• Happiness
• A tranquil mind
• Certainty of purpose
• A sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world
• The feeling of being cared for and safe, always sheltered by the warmth of sure protection
• A calm that cannot be disturbed
• A gentleness that never fades
• A deep and lasting well-being
• A rest so perfect it can never be undone
• Joy with which to meet each of your days
• Peaceful and happy dreams
• The lifting of the veil that hides the Face of Christ
• The recognition of the Son of God
• The cleansing of all dead thoughts from your memory
• The remembrance of your Father
IV Notice this promise Jesus gives you: the end of the dream is very near, for now you hold the key to salvation, and you need only use it.
V You have laid before the Holy Spirit all your sins, your fears, your resentments, and your desires. There you have abandoned them, and He has lifted your poor offerings to Heaven and returned them to you transformed into the sweetest gifts of love and peace.
Take them from His Hands, for that is what you deserve—not what you once had given yourself.
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LESSON 121
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
1. This is the answer to your search for peace. I
²This is the key to finding meaning in a world that seems to have none.
³This is the way to safety amid the seeming dangers that appear to threaten you at every turn, and bring uncertainty to all your hopes of ever finding peace and rest.
⁴It answers every question.
⁵Forgiveness guarantees the end of all uncertainty. II
2. The unforgiving mind is filled with fear, and gives no room for Love to be Itself—no place where It can spread Its wings in peace and rise above the turmoil of the world. III
²The unforgiving mind is sad, with no hope of relief or release from pain.
³It suffers and dwells in misery, groping about in darkness, blind, yet convinced that danger lurks nearby.
3. The unforgiving mind is torn by doubt, confused about itself and everything it sees—afraid and angry.
²It is weak and boastful, as fearful of moving forward as it is of staying still, as terrified of waking as of going to sleep.
³Every sound alarms it, yet it dreads the silence even more.
⁴It is afraid of the dark, but it fears the approach of light even more.
⁵What can the unforgiving mind perceive but its own damnation?
⁶And what can it behold except the proof that all its sins are real?
4. The unforgiving mind sees no errors, only sins.
²It looks upon the world with blind eyes, and shrieks in terror as it sees its own projections rising to attack the wretched parody it calls its life.
³It wants to live, yet it longs for death.
⁴It wants forgiveness, yet sees no hope.
⁵It wants escape, but does not know how, for it sees sin everywhere.
5. The unforgiving mind is in despair, with no prospects for a future that can offer anything but more despair.
²Yet it believes its judgment on the world is final, and does not realize it has condemned itself to this hopeless state.
³It thinks it cannot change, for what it sees bears witness that its judgment is correct. IV
⁴It does not ask, because it thinks it knows. V
⁵It does not question, because it is certain it is right. VI
6. Forgiveness is learned.
²It is not inherent in the mind, which cannot sin.
³As sin was an idea you taught yourself, so must you learn forgiveness—but from the Teacher Who represents the other Self in you. VII
⁴Through Him, you learn to forgive the self you made, and let it disappear.
⁵Thus you return your whole mind to the One Who is your Self, Who cannot sin.
7. Every unforgiving mind offers you the chance to teach your own how to forgive itself.
²Each one of these condemning minds is asking you to set it free from hell, and is turning to you for Heaven here and now.
³It has no hope, but you become its hope.
⁴And by becoming its hope, you also become your own.
⁵The unforgiving mind must learn, through your forgiveness, that it has been saved from hell.
⁶And by teaching salvation, you will learn it.
⁷But all that you teach and learn will not come from you, but from the Teacher Who was given you to show the way.
8. Our practice today will be to learn forgiveness.
²If you are willing, today you can learn to use the key to happiness for your own benefit.
³We will devote ten minutes in the morning and another ten at night to learning how to give and to receive forgiveness.
9. The unforgiving mind does not believe that giving and receiving are the same.
²But today we will try to learn they are by practicing forgiveness with someone you think of as your enemy, and someone you consider a friend.
³And when you learn to see them both as one, we will extend the lesson to ourselves, and recognize that their release brings ours with it. VIII
10. Begin the longer practice periods by thinking of someone you dislike, who irritates you, or whom you would rather not meet; someone you despise openly or would prefer to ignore.
²It does not matter in what form your hostility appears.
³You probably already know whom you are thinking of.
⁴That one will do.
11. Now close your eyes and see him in your mind for a while.
²Try to find some light in him somewhere—a little gleam you never noticed.
³Try to find some small spark of brightness shining through the ugly image you hold of him.
⁴Look at this image until you see a light somewhere within it, and then let that light expand until it covers him, and makes the image beautiful and good.
12. Look at this transformed perception for a while, and then turn your mind to someone you call a friend.
²Try to transfer the light you saw around your “enemy” to him.
³See him now as more than just a friend to you, for in that light his holiness shows you your Savior—saved and saving, healed and whole.
13. Then let him offer you the light you see in him, and let your “enemy” and your friend unite in blessing you with what you gave to them.
²Now you are one with them, and they with you.
³Now you have forgiven yourself.
⁴And throughout the day, do not forget the role forgiveness plays in bringing happiness to every unforgiving mind—including your own.
14. On the hour, say to yourself:
²Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
³I will awaken from the dream that I am mortal, fallible, and full of sin.⁴And I will know I am the perfect Son of God.
I “Forgiveness is the key to happiness” is an idea you must never forget. Do not allow it to slip from your mind. Keep it present, and always forgive everything and everyone—including yourself, of course. If you simply do that, you will never again have a single worry, a single doubt, nor will you ever know anger. You will be happy all your life on earth until you exhale, joyfully, your last breath.
You need nothing else. Forgiveness is the answer that responds to all your questions and resolves all your apparent problems. When you forgive everything, you become invulnerable to the world’s vicissitudes. You no longer crawl upon the earth but move weightlessly above all that you once perceived as burden and threat. You have nothing to fear, for you no longer attack or accuse anyone of anything—not even yourself, of course.
To forgive is to take no account of evil—that is, not to condemn the absence of good. Why do you focus so much on what is lacking and so little on what is present? To forgive is to realize that it is not up to you to decide how a given situation should be. To forgive is to stop playing God.
Open your eyes and learn that you have not come here to judge anything or anyone—not even yourself, of course. You have come to be happy, and to fulfill that function perfectly you need do nothing, absolutely nothing. In fact, you should not even have the need to forgive. What happened is that you conceived the strange idea that it was up to you to decide how everything should be. Then you began to interpret what you perceive absurdly and finally concluded that things are wrong. Has it never occurred to you that perhaps the only thing that is wrong and inappropriate is that strange idea of yours?
To be happy you have to do nothing. The state of being is fully satisfying. If you are not happy, it is because you have been doing a lot of things you should not have done—things that do not concern you. Now you, Son of God, face the painful task of cleansing your mind again and undoing all that mess. Forgiveness is for that. Only those who have erred need to forgive.
II To forgive is to undo a mistaken interpretation. There are two ways of doing this, and which one you choose will depend greatly on the disposition of your mind. Either one will serve, for both will bring you to the same end: not to condemn.
You may wish to straighten out your interpretation of that situation and adjust it to how the Holy Spirit sees it. It may also be helpful to think how Jesus would interpret it in your place. And if you have any doubt about it, ask Him. In any case, the right answer will come to you, and you will know it because your heart will rejoice and your mind will be at peace.
It is possible, however, that you do not need further explanations and may find it enough simply to let the whole matter pass and take no account of it. Realize that none of it is real. Nothing you perceive is real. If you find any love in it, celebrate it; if not, why take it into account? What could there be there for you that might be of interest?
It is also quite possible that what confronts you is a brother asking for help—and very likely he is doing so in the confused way that his fear and madness impose on him. In that case, ask Jesus what you should do. Be assured that He will tell you. He is there with you precisely for that—well, also to keep you company.
When you find yourself in a specific situation in which you have to forgive a brother whom you think is attacking you, rejoice. And rejoice greatly. Heaven has granted you an invaluable gift. You will have noticed how easily you fall asleep when everything “goes well.” It is wonderful when the winds blow in your favor, but haven’t you realized that on such occasions you have never “grown”? At best, when all goes well, you have stayed as you were—but more often you have ended up shrinking and losing yourself in trivialities.
A brother—or a demanding situation—is offering you the opportunity to expand your heart, to grow, to mature, and to strengthen yourself. The apparent conflict has come to rescue you from limbo. So get to work, lift your spirit, and forgive with all your soul. The fire of your will to forgive burns away every difficulty and opens the gates of Heaven to you. That is why you must rejoice when life requires your forgiveness. Remember that you are the savior of the world.
III In this Lesson, each paragraph begins with the phrase “the mind that does not forgive.” Yet it is much more illuminating to read it as “the mind that does not want to forgive.” This small nuance significantly changes the perception of the entire content.
It is not simply a mind that does not forgive out of inability, but a mind that has decided not to forgive. This distinction is essential. Many times we think of ourselves as not forgiving, or not forgiving enough. However, the description Jesus gives here does not refer to that feeling. It is not describing someone who sincerely wishes to forgive more and feels unable to reach it, but a truly pathological, deeply disturbed mind.
It is important to recognize that we do not identify with this description, because it is not speaking of us in our desire to heal, but of those specific moments when we decide not to forgive. And that attitude we do know: we have all experienced moments when, consciously, we did not want to forgive. In those moments, we do see ourselves reflected in what Jesus describes.
Therefore, when reading these Lessons, we must remember that Jesus is not speaking of our sincere struggle to forgive, nor of our sense of inadequacy. He refers to the state of mind in which we actively refuse to forgive—and that is where the true state of madness manifests.
IV John 1:7–8 “This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”
John 18:37 “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’”
V As has been said before, this is one of the most insidious cognitive biases of the human mind. It is a mental illness so widespread that it has not been identified as such. It is the cognitive bias of double ignorance: not knowing, and not knowing that one does not know. Deep down, it is nothing but arrogance—attributing to oneself a quality or capacity one does not possess; in this case, knowledge. By thinking one already knows, one does nothing to learn or to change, and that gives extraordinary stability to that condition of ignorance.
The true suffering of Jesus on the cross had nothing to do with physical pain. Jesus was a consummate master of the mind, and He knew perfectly well that pain is an illusion and did not affect Him at all. His true sorrow He proclaimed in His next-to-last words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” His accusers and executioners, in their arrogance, certainly thought they did—but they were unaware that they were crucifying their brother, the Son of God. Had they known, they would not have done it; they would have remembered God at that very instant and awakened themselves to their true identity. Socrates was one of the very few men who became aware of that universal affliction, and for denouncing it he was condemned to death in the first fully democratic decision ever recorded in history. There is no quality more intrinsically human than arrogance; in fact, “human” and “arrogant” are equivalent terms denoting the same concept.
VI T-29.VII.1:9 “Would you rather be right or be happy?”
VII Another fundamental idea in this Lesson is the following: just as sin was a lesson we taught ourselves, forgiveness, on the other hand, must be learned—but not from ourselves, rather from the Teacher who represents the true Self that dwells within us.
This is essential to understand. Many times, when we try to forgive, we act as though we had to teach ourselves how to do it. We say to ourselves: “So-and-so has done such a thing to me, and I must forgive him.” We look within for our own resources to achieve it, but we usually discover that we are not very convincing to ourselves. It is difficult for us to forgive what we judge as unforgivable, because within us the condemnation seems fully justified.
How, then, can one who has condemned teach his own mind to forgive? The answer is: he cannot. And yet we forget this fundamental truth time and again. We force ourselves to forgive, as though sheer personal effort were enough. But it is not.
The key is to acknowledge humbly: “I have to forgive this, but I do not know how.” We cannot be the teachers of our own forgiveness, because the one who condemns cannot at the same time be the one who releases. This is the great imposture that creates resistance in our mind.
This is where the Holy Spirit truly comes into play. When, instead of trying to forgive on our own, we ask the Holy Spirit, “Show me another way of seeing this, for I do not see it,” then the miracle of forgiveness occurs. And not because we have succeeded in doing it, but because we have relinquished the desire to do it alone.
Genuine forgiveness is a transpersonal act: it comes from the Holy Spirit when we ask from the heart. It is important to understand that Jesus is not asking the impossible or anything excessive of us. He reminds us that forgiveness is easy—but it is easy only when we do not attempt to do it with our ego.
Forgiveness is not a doing. It is not an effort. It is a miraculous change in perception that happens when we let go—when we cease assuming the responsibility of teaching ourselves how to forgive. Our ego cannot teach us forgiveness, because it only knows how to condemn.
True forgiveness occurs when we yield control to the Holy Spirit, when we allow Him to transform our mind. In that instant, forgiveness ceases to be a burden and becomes something natural and simple, precisely because it does not depend on us.
The Lesson expresses it clearly: “Just as sin was a thought you taught yourself, so must forgiveness be learned—but not from you, rather from the Teacher who represents the other Self within you.”
VIII Here Jesus offers us a spectacular mental technique based on visualization and transference. The exercise is very well explained. If you do it well, you will obtain a magnificent result that will surprise you.
If you encounter any difficulty in carrying it out, ask sincerely for help, and it will be granted. Make an effort today to do this exercise well, for it will allow you to glimpse the extreme flexibility and power of your mind.
Realize that it is a technique that serves to correct many other perceptions that cause you pain, anguish, or fear. Notice that, instead of an “enemy,” you can beautify a job you dislike, or any other matter your mind rejects. The possibilities are limitless.
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LESSON 120
For morning and evening review: W-109 and W-110
1. W-109 “I rest in God.”
²Today I rest in God, and allow Him to work in me and through me, as I rest in Him in stillness and perfect certainty.
2. W-110 “I am as God created me.”
²I am the Son of God.
³Today I lay aside all sick illusions about myself, and let my Father tell me Who I really am.
3. On the hour:
²“I rest in God.”
4. On the half hour:
²“I am as God created me.” I
I Today is the last day of review. Try to do it well and make an effort to remember, throughout the day, these two powerful ideas. Today it’s time to rest. Do not make any effort at all. Today make no decisions whatsoever—simply rest in God and enjoy His Peace. Today you are on vacation.
If the world requires you to make some decision, don’t do it. That’s not your job today. Tell your mind that, since you are on vacation, it will have to take care of everything in your absence. So your mind will have to make all the decisions while you rest peacefully. Then say or do the first thing that comes to you, without thinking about it or questioning it at all. Be assured that it will be the best thing. Your mind is very good at taking care of those small, unimportant tasks; you are not. Besides—what the hell!—you’re on vacation today.
If the world becomes a bit demanding, stay calm. Say to yourself: “I am as God created me, and I am on vacation, resting in God.” Don’t worry at all, don’t think up any solutions on your own, and say and do the first thing that comes to your mind. If you manage to hold firmly to these ideas, you’ll see that you’ll have a spectacular day. It’s quite likely that people will even congratulate you—but don’t take that too seriously either. Remember that you’re on vacation and that you have time for nothing else but being happy.
If you do it well, you’ll probably decide to extend your vacation indefinitely—and you know what? That will be a very good decision: the only one you’ll have left to make.
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LESSON 119
For morning and evening review: W-107 and W-108
1. W-107 “Truth will correct all errors in my mind.” I
²I am mistaken when I believe I can suffer any kind of harm.
³I am the Son of God, Whose Being rests safely in the Mind of God.
2. W-108 “To give and to receive are one in truth.”
²Today I will forgive all things, so I may learn to accept the truth about myself and come to recognize my sinlessness.
3. On the hour:
²“Truth will correct all errors in my mind.”
4. On the half hour:
²“To give and to receive are one in truth.” II
I In the Lesson “Today I will be still and listen to the truth,” the truth that is mentioned is light. It is the luminous aspect of being, as real and essential as love and happiness are in previous Lessons. Here, the focus is on that component of being which illumines and corrects.
When one becomes still, seeks the truth, and receives it, what comes is light.
And light corrects everything.
The errors of the mind are not realities, but shadows—absences of truth, imaginary constructions. Light does not struggle against them; it simply dispels them.
An example of such errors is the thought: “I can suffer some kind of harm.” Jesus presents it as an illustration of a mental error. But there are many others: “Something is missing in me,” “I am in danger,” “I need to do something to be complete.”
When light is present, all of that disappears. In that timeless instant in which the mind grows still and truth is revealed, all errors are corrected.
II “To give and to receive are in truth the same.”
This idea, so simple in appearance, contains a profound understanding of the nature of being. Giving and receiving are, in reality, a single act, because being, by its very positive and expansive nature, must express itself. And that expression is giving.
Being, in order to be, must give. And in the act of giving, it is. Not to give would be to deny existence. Each time something of real value is offered—love, peace, understanding, light—it is not only given; it is received immediately.
This is key: there is no temporal separation between giving and receiving.
It is not a matter of giving now and receiving later. In the exact moment you give love, you are feeling it. In the moment you offer peace, you experience it. In the instant you share a luminous idea, that light also reaches you. This is more than giving; it is sharing the extension of what is.Giving is what keeps being alive. Therefore, when we give love, peace, or light, we experience what we truly are.
These three—love, peace, and light—are, once again, the three essential aspects of being. And by expressing them, we recognize them as our own. That is the nature of true giving: an act that affirms being, that expands the eternal, that reveals truth.
Because you believe you live in time, you think time has the power to separate things. It is not true, but it seems so to you. You believe causes are separated from their effects. But that is to be expected; in your imaginary world, everything is separate from everything else. The idea that everything is in everything, and that time does not exist, cannot be comprehended by a fragmented mind.
This Course uses words, speaks to you of things of this world in its own terms, only because they are relevant to you and you understand no other language. It speaks to you of “giving” and “receiving” because, for you, these are different and meaningful concepts. In Heaven, that distinction is not understood at all; in Reality there exists only what is—which is so overwhelmingly obvious that your limited mind cannot grasp it. That is why this Course speaks to you as to a small child: it uses symbols that, though not real, aim to bring you closer to the truth.
Here you are told that when you want to have something, give it, for that is how you will receive it. Grow up a little and realize the effort Jesus is making with you through that allegory, so that your infinitely diminished mind may understand the obviousness of what is Real.
To be, to give, to receive, to love, to create, and to know are all the same—but not for you. Well, do not worry; for now, it is enough that you keep to Jesus’ words and practice them here below, and you will see that they are true. Choose anything that seems very good to you—such as love or peace—and begin to give it to everyone, abundantly. That will be enough for you to begin to understand.
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LESSON 118
For morning and evening review: W-105 and W-106
1. W-105 “God’s Peace and Joy are mine.” I
²Today I will accept God’s Peace and Joy in place of all the substitutes I have made for happiness and peace.
2. W-106 “Let me be still and listen to the truth.”
²Let my own weak voice be quiet now, and let me hear the mighty Voice of Truth Itself assuring me that I am God’s perfect Son.
3. On the hour:
²“God’s Peace and Joy are mine.”
4. On the half hour:
²“Let me be still and listen to the truth.” II
I The peace and joy of God are mine.
No.
The peace and joy of God are not something that belongs to me. Rather, they are what I am.
I am the peace and joy of God. I am made of that. That is my substance—the only reality in me. It is not something I possess, but what I essentially am.
When you read this Course, try to remove the possessives and shift the statements to the level of being. You will see how that represents a step up in understanding. The Course, in many passages, uses language adapted to those who are just beginning. Jesus speaks to us as to little children—with tenderness, but also with simplicity.
However, when one has walked some distance, one can allow oneself to look from a higher level. Instead of “The peace and joy of God are mine,” we can clearly affirm: I am the peace and joy of God.
Just as before we said I am spirit, now we can say: I am peace and joy. That is the substance of my being.
II This is one of the most beautiful and profound exercises. The invitation is simple, yet powerful: to allow the weak voice of the ego to be silenced so that truth may speak.
Each day, find a moment—no matter when or how—to become still and listen. There is no need to plan it. In the midst of whatever you are doing, if you feel the impulse, simply stop for an instant and say:
“Now I become still and listen.”
It does not matter if you are busy, if there is noise, if you are between tasks. Be spiritually ambitious—grant yourself the best. And the best you can reach in this world is that instant of receptive silence, that moment in which you decide to open yourself to the Word of God.
The experience comes when you quiet the mind—or, rather, when you desire to quiet it. The only thing needed is the sincere wish to enter silence, to be answered.
You don’t even need to achieve it fully. It is enough to truly want it.
And do not expect it to be something long or extraordinary. Sometimes half a second is enough. But that half second contains everything. It is not a matter of quantity, for what is experienced there has a timeless quality. It is, literally, a fragment of eternity.
All the confusion that reigns in this world comes from the strange idea that there is something here to decide, and that such a decision belongs to you. The world imposes upon you the task of constantly deciding about matters and among options of which, in truth, you know absolutely nothing. That confuses you, creates doubts, anxieties, and an extreme sense of insecurity. You feel stressed and overwhelmed by such responsibility, which is very understandable.
In truth, there is nothing to decide. God already made the only possible decision when He created you. God decided that you would be happy. That was, is, and will be His Will forever, and it is unalterable and impossible to contradict.
Be still, listen to the truth, and understand your reality. You are Love created by Love Itself. God’s Peace and Joy are yours. That is unchangeable for all eternity. But you are also free: you can believe whatever you please, though you cannot make your imaginings true.
Everything that departs from God’s Will does not exist, and the awareness of what is nothing—the absence of love—you find fearful and call fear. God does not know that, because it is not true and does not exist, but you are amusing yourself with your absurd beliefs and asking for the impossible. You are deciding that you do not want to be happy—but that, besides being absurd, is not optional.
Why don’t you quiet yourself a little, listen to the truth, and stop contradicting God? Stop deciding, be happy, and give your happiness to others through your love. You need do nothing more to fulfill your function.
Is that asking too much?
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LESSON 117
For morning and evening review: W-103 and W-104
1. W-103 “As God is Love, He is also happiness.”
²Let me remember that Love is happiness, and that nothing else can make me happy.
³Therefore, I choose not to be distracted by any substitute for Love.
2. W-104 “I seek only what truly belongs to me.”
²Love is my inheritance, and with it, joy.
³These are the gifts my Father has given me.
⁴I will accept all that is truly mine.
3. On the hour:
²“As God is Love, He is also happiness.”
4. On the half hour:
²“I seek only what truly belongs to me.” I
I If someone told you that the only thing you have to do in this life is to love, it would probably sound good to you, but you would not understand it or know what to do. Yet if that person then added that, moreover, you cannot do anything other than that, you would understand even less. Well then, understand that you are here precisely to understand that. When you learn it, you will have completed your function.
Open your mind today to the idea of love, and to do so begin by letting go of all your beliefs. When none remain, you will find that idea in your mind shining in all its splendor, for that is what you are.
Since God is love, He is also happiness. Therefore, when Jesus states that God’s Will for me is perfect happiness, He is using an accessible way to express a reality that goes far beyond concepts.
Because love and happiness are real ideas—that is, absolute, eternal, and irrefutable—it is not possible to elaborate much further on them from the dual mind. That is why Jesus begins to work with their opposites. Unable to say more about what love is, He begins to point out what it is not. Thus He helps us recognize that only love can make us happy, and that no substitute can offer true joy.
The teaching is clear: I choose not to be distracted by any substitute for love. And this requires remembering constantly that nothing outside of love can make us happy. In a world so confused about the source of happiness, this is vital.
If you ask people what would make them happy, most will answer: money. It is a common answer, especially from a materialistic point of view. But Jesus warns us: do not be mistaken. Nothing but love can make you happy. And that love is found in relationships—but not in the relationships themselves, rather in the love that one gives within them.
Relationships bring joy only to the extent that they are expressions of love. They are not valuable in themselves, but for what is given within them. And there a virtuous circle is created: the love you give, you receive, you return—and in that exchange you recognize what you truly are.
The love you give is the love you are. Therefore, giving love is a way of experiencing your being. And when you are in contact with your being, you come closer to true happiness, because you are recognizing and expressing your essential nature.
To be is to love, and any experience that allows you to live from that Being will be profoundly fulfilling—not only because of the act of loving itself, but because of all the light that radiates in doing so. To give light is to recognize oneself as light.
When Jesus says, “Remember that nothing else can make me happy,” He is guiding us toward this understanding: that the only real source of happiness is love, and that everything else is a failed attempt at substitution.
The following Lesson states: “I seek only what rightfully belongs to me.” In truth, this expression can be better understood as “I seek only what I truly am.” For in the language of the Course, to have and to be are the same. What belongs to me is, in reality, what I am.
Lesson 104 puts it clearly: “I seek only what I truly am. Love is my inheritance, and with it, joy. These are the gifts my Father gave to me.”
That is to say, this is what we are. These are the attributes with which we were created. Therefore, to accept what belongs to me is to accept what I am.
Jesus uses language that adapts to our egoic mind—which tends toward possessiveness—but what He points to is a deeper truth: it is not about possessing anything, but about recognizing oneself as what one truly is.
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LESSON 116
Morning and Evening Review: W-101 and W-102
1. W-101 “God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”
²God’s Will for me is that I enjoy perfect happiness, and I cannot suffer unless I believe there is another will apart from His.
2. W-102 “I share God’s Will for my happiness.”
²I share my Father’s Will for me, His Son.
³What He has given me is all I want.
⁴What He has given me is all there is.
3. On the hour:
²“God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”
4. On the half hour:
²“I share God’s Will for my happiness.” I
I To speak of happiness, or to theorize about it, is not easy. In truth, to speak of happiness is to speak of existence itself. When Jesus states that God’s Will for me is perfect happiness, He is using a simple way to communicate a truth that, in its essence, is ineffable.
The Will of God is not something complicated; it is, ultimately, Being itself. God is Being, and His Will is that Being be. Existence is not a symbolic concept: it is what is real, the absolute, that which has no opposites, that which cannot be debated or limited.
And, at the core, there is only one real concept: God, who is Being, who is Existence. It is difficult to express what this means, for it cannot be fully grasped by a limited mind. Being is not an idea that can be encompassed within dualistic thought. And yet, it is the only essential idea, the foundation of Reality.
We can say that Being is an idea, but that falls short. Being is pure positivity, fullness, light. Existence itself is bliss, joy, jubilation. That is Heaven. And there are no words that can convey it adequately.
That is why Jesus presents this truth to us in an accessible way: “Your Father wants you to be happy.” It is a symbolic form, almost childlike, but useful. Though limited, this statement points to a deeper reality. Not because God has desires in the human sense, but because existence can be nothing other than perfect joy. It cannot will otherwise, because there is nothing else to will.
Happiness, light, power, and will are in fact aspects of one same Being. Throughout the Course, these Lessons work with those fundamental aspects: now it is happiness, but we will also be told about light, about will, about power. All are part of the same core: Being.
It is true that putting this into words will always be insufficient. But there is something one can do: to ask sincerely what it means to be. Not to seek an intellectual answer, but simply to pose the question and remain silent. If it is asked with openness, an answer will come—a spark of light, of joy, of power. That is the direction toward which revelations point. And that is, without doubt, the transpersonal experience par excellence.
To exist is to be in the fullness of happiness, and that condition cannot change. God is absolute simplicity. And from there, everything is sustained. Everything that seems to have taken form remains united to that Source. For to be is to remain in Being.
Therefore, when one inwardly asks the question What does it mean to be?, if it is asked from a sincere place, the answer will not be intellectual, but experiential. A spark of light, a feeling of joy that cannot be explained or reasoned, but only recognized. It is an experience that transcends the mind: the experience of the eternal.
That is the experience toward which the Course points. That is the direction of every true revelation.
All that God wants for you is to be happy. Don’t contradict Him. Be a good Son today and make your Father happy by being happy yourself. He does not ask too much of you, does He? He asks for very little—but realize that that little is everything.
Do not forget to be happy today.
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LESSON 115
Morning and Evening Review: W-99 and W-100
1. W-99 “Salvation is my only function here.”
²My function here is to forgive the world for all the errors I have made.I
³For thus I am released from them along with all the world.
2. W-100 “My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.”
²I am essential to God’s plan for the salvation of the world, for He gave me His plan that I might save the world.
3. On the hour:
²“Salvation is my only function here.”
4. On the half hour:
²“My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.” II
I My only function here is salvation, and that, in concrete terms, means forgiving the world for the mistakes I believe I have made. Through that forgiveness, I am freed along with the world.
This principle leads us to review the mechanism of projection. As the Course teaches: to perceive is to project. Everything we perceive is, in truth, a projection of our own state of mind. Although it may sound drastic to say it this way, we can express it more simply: we perceive the world as we perceive ourselves. The image we hold of ourselves determines the color with which we see everything.
Thus, when we are at peace and open to love, the world appears to us as a kind place. But if we are irritated, sad, or resentful, we project that state and see a world that is hostile, confusing, or threatening. The world then becomes the stage on which we see our state of mind reflected.
That is why judging and condemning what we see outside is meaningless: the world is not cause but effect. What is seen in it is only the manifestation of what is occurring within our own mind. Instead of trying to correct what is external, the invitation is to change the idea we hold about ourselves, for every judgment toward the world is, in essence, a judgment toward oneself.
To forgive the world is, therefore, to forgive oneself. But not through the effort to “fix” oneself on a personal level—which is impossible if attempted from the ego—but by using forgiveness as a tool. Jesus proposes a profoundly wise strategy: instead of trying to forgive one’s own errors directly, it is enough to forgive the errors seen in others, since those projected errors represent, at their core, our own shadows. By forgiving them outside, they are healed within.
This method allows the phenomenon of projection to be used constructively. We project what we cannot bear in ourselves, place it outside, and by doing so, believe we see it in others. Jesus tells us: once it is projected, simply forgive it where you see it. Thus, the world becomes a tool for healing: the dream of the world can be used to heal the mind. Even knowing that the world is an illusion, as long as it continues to be perceived as real, it can and must be used in favor of truth. To forgive someone not only frees him in our mind, but also frees us. It is an indirect way of healing the mind.
II Remember that you have already been hired and have already committed yourself to this enterprise. Doing patchwork jobs on your own would not be well regarded, because it would damage the reputation of the company you work for, and in the long run you would gain no benefit. Now your only function is the salvation of the world in your mind. Do not forget it: remind yourself of it constantly. Your role in that task is essential, for if you do not do it, who then will save the world?
This implies recognizing that each one has a specific and necessary function. It is not a matter of waiting for salvation to come from outside, but of accepting that there is work to be done, and that this work depends on our active participation.
Jesus does not present Himself here as a distant savior, but as a guide who invites us to get to work. If one’s function were not essential, what sense would there be in being here? The very fact that we are in this world—or believe we are—indicates that we have a purpose.
Even within the dream, apparent existence has meaning. And although this existence is illusory from an absolute level, it is not so for the one who believes in it. Many may think: “I don’t want to be here,” or “I don’t want to reincarnate,” but the fact is that we apparently are here. And that points to a reason: the role each one plays in God’s plan is essential.
Without that function, we would not exist as characters within the dream. The illusion itself is in the service of something greater. Therefore, accepting that one has an essential role not only gives meaning to life in this world, but reconnects one with the true reason for being here. And that role is clear: to participate in the salvation of the world. Not as something heroic or grandiose, but as part of a shared will—to remember the truth, forgive, heal the mind, and extend happiness.
Without that role, the plan is not complete. That is why each one is indispensable. Accepting that truth is an act of liberating humility and responsibility.
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LESSON 114
Morning and Evening Review: W-97 and W-98
1. W-97 “I am spirit.” I
²I am the Son of God.
³No body can contain my spirit,
nor impose on me any limitation God did not create.
2. W-98 “I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.” II
²What function can be mine but to accept the Word of God,
Who has created me to be what I am and forever will be?
3. On the hour:
²“I am spirit.”
4. On the half hour:
²“I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.”
I Although the human experience is lived from a personal identity, the truth is that this identity—the character you believe yourself to be—is nothing more than a mental construct based on beliefs. The individual mind, being limited by its separation, can operate only within the realm of belief, never within that of knowledge. For this reason, every thought that arises from the idea of “I” is, in reality, an interpretation—a belief more or less useful, but always provisional.
The Course proposes mental training that helps distinguish between personal and transpersonal experiences. The latter—such as a revelation, for example—are uncommon, since the voice of the ego is usually more present and active. Therefore, much of spiritual practice involves working with beliefs which, though imperfect, can be aligned with truth and serve as temporary guidance.
A clear example is the statement “I am spirit.” From the perspective of the Course, this is not yet a certainty based on direct experience, but a useful belief that directs the mind toward truth. To affirm “I am spirit” does not mean that this knowledge has already been attained, but that one has decided to place the will in alignment with it. It is a voluntary step within the process of transformation, sustained until the belief becomes experience.
These kinds of true beliefs act as provisional supports. They are consciously chosen, even when other, more deeply rooted beliefs—such as identification with a role or a bodily image—still operate in the background. Often one simultaneously wishes to be spirit and to maintain an identity in the world, which creates inner conflict. This division is part of the healing process and requires patience, honesty, and compassion toward oneself.
Spiritual practice does not demand the abandonment of worldly activity, but rather the relinquishment of the importance attributed to it that reinforces the idea of being a body. What transforms is not what is done, but the meaning assigned to what is done. Change begins when those actions are no longer performed to reaffirm an egoic identity, but as part of a more conscious and detached movement.
To accept one’s role in God’s plan means to recognize that the essential function is to be happy and to extend that happiness. When that priority becomes genuine, it reorders the internal hierarchy of values and gives meaning to the practice. It is not a matter of forcing oneself to be happy at all times, but of remembering that this is the direction—without guilt for not always achieving it.
Ultimately, transformation is a matter of focus. The more present the idea of being spirit is, the more one reacts and lives from that awareness. To repeat, remember, and apply these ideas with intention is part of a profound mental hygiene: a daily work of cleansing, surrender, and return to truth.
II Not only are you Spirit; you also have work to do. You’ve just been hired.
At last, you’re no longer unemployed. One could say that now you’re a Spirit with quite a lot of work. The task you’ve been given is actually quite simple: you’re only asked to save the world. Seen rightly, it’s not such a difficult job—it’s a simple job of demolition. Moreover, you’ve been told that as soon as you’ve dismantled everything, you can return home to join a party that’s already in full swing. So get to work—and quickly. You’ve already been given all the tools you need and the instructions for using them. If you have any doubts, ask the foreman.
To begin, you may remind yourself of the following:
“My role in God’s plan for salvation is to be happy and to contribute to the happiness of others. That will be my priority. I will remain attentive to it, for that is my deepest desire.
And what will I do, then? Whatever I can. Always whatever I can. But without guilt. If at any moment I do not feel happy, I will not punish myself for it, because doing so would undo the progress made. Guilt only adds more unhappiness. This is not about demands, but about direction—about maintaining the right Course.”
Do not forget it today. You already know what your task is.
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LESSON 113
Morning and Evening Review: W-95 and W-96
1. W-95 “I am one Self, united with my Creator.”
²Perfect serenity and perfect peace are mine,
because I am one Self, wholly complete,
united with all creation and with God.
2. W-96 “Salvation comes from my one Self.”
²From my one Self, Whose knowledge still remains within my mind,
I see God’s perfect plan for my salvation perfectly fulfilled.
3. On the hour:
²“I am one Self, united with my Creator.”
4. On the half hour:
²“Salvation comes from my one Self.” I
I “I can’t live with myself anymore.” This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then, suddenly, I became aware of how peculiar that thought was. “Am I one or two? If I can’t live with myself, there must be two: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ with whom the ‘I’ cannot live. Maybe,” I thought, “only one of the two is real.” The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle.
Everything you think about yourself is false. Recognize that you made it up, based on things that occurred to you or that others told you. All of that is just a story that someone is believing. What are you—the story itself, or the one who believes it?
If only for today, stop telling yourself stories about who you are, and keep in mind only these two ideas proposed to you here.
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LESSON 112
Morning and Evening Review: W-93 and W-94
1. W-93 “Light and joy and peace abide in me.” I
²I am the dwelling place of light, of joy, and of peace.
³I welcome them into the home I share with God,
because I am a part of Him.
2. W-94 “I am as God created me.” II
²I will remain forever as I was created by the Changeless,
in His likeness.
3And I am one with Him and He with me.
3. On the hour: III
²“Light and joy and peace abide in me.”
4. On the half hour:
²“I am as God created me.”
I If this statement seems somewhat excessive to you and you feel uncomfortable saying it, it is because you recognize that, at least for now, that is not the case. Formulate it slightly differently and say:
“It is my will to acknowledge that light, joy, and peace dwell in me, although I know that is not what I now feel and believe; yet surely that is what I want to see in myself.”
You have reason to be happy, for you are still exactly as you were when God created you. Nothing has changed in you since then: you remain absolutely perfect, the holy Son of God.
II What has happened is that a very strange idea has gotten into your head, and you don’t know how to get rid of it. You think you are a human being—which you don’t even know exactly what that means—and that you are in a place called the world. The situation is rather uncomfortable. You feel chills when you think about it, and that’s normal, because everything here is very strange. You vaguely remember your former condition, because you spend your life trying to recover it, only through the things you find around here. And of course, that doesn’t work very well.
In any case, and for as long as this strange dream lasts, it is good for you to remind yourself constantly of the truth. Each time you do, your heart will rejoice, and you will behave more sensibly. So do not forget: light, joy, and peace truly dwell in you because you are still as God created you.
III Again: today, too, try to keep to these reminders.
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LESSON 111 and THIRD REVIEW
Introduction
1. Today we begin our third review.
²Each day we will review two of the last twenty ideas, until we have reviewed them all.
³For these exercises, we will follow a special format that you are urged to follow as faithfully as you can. I
⁴We understand, of course, that it may not be possible for you to carry out each day and every hour exactly as suggested.
2. Your learning will not be hampered when you miss a practice because it is genuinely impossible to do it at the appointed time.
²Nor is it necessary to make excessive efforts to compensate for missed sessions.
³Our goal is not to make a ritual of these practices, for that would defeat the purpose of what we aim to accomplish through this learning.
⁴But if you miss a practice period simply because you are unwilling to give the time, your learning will be affected.
⁵Do not deceive yourself about this.
⁶Your lack of willingness may be carefully disguised as situations you tell yourself you cannot control.
⁷Learn to distinguish those situations that are truly unfit for practice from those you set up yourself to conceal your unwillingness. II
⁸Any practice periods you missed because you were unwilling to do them, for whatever reason, should be done as soon as you change your mind about your goal.
3. You show reluctance to cooperate in practicing salvation when it interferes with other gods you value more. III
²Only when you withdraw your value from them will your practice be able to replace the litany you offer to those idols.
³Those idols have never given you anything.
⁴But your practice sessions offer you everything.
⁵So accept their offering, and be at peace.
4. The format you should use for these reviews is as follows:
²Devote five minutes twice a day—or more if you prefer—to reflecting on the assigned ideas.
³Begin by reading the ideas and the comments included in each day’s exercises. IV
⁴Then close your eyes and think about them quietly, allowing your mind to relate them to your needs, your apparent problems, and all your concerns.
5. Place the ideas in your mind, and let it use them as it chooses.
²Trust it will use them wisely, for the One Who gave you these thoughts is helping it to make its choices. V
³What else can you trust but what is in your mind?
⁴Have faith that the means the Holy Spirit uses in these reviews will not fail.
⁵Your mind’s wisdom will come to your aid.
⁶Give it direction at the start, and then step back in quiet faith, letting it use the ideas you have given it, as they were given to you for this purpose.
6. They have been given you in perfect confidence, in perfect certainty that you will use them well, in perfect trust that you will understand their messages and use them for your own benefit.
²Offer them to your mind with the same trust, certainty, and faith.
³Your mind will not fail you.
⁴It is the means the Holy Spirit has chosen for your salvation.
⁵And since it is trusted by Him, it deserves your trust as well. VI
7. We emphasize once again how helpful it is to give the first five minutes of the day to these reviews, as well as the last five minutes before you go to sleep.
²If this is not possible, at least try to divide these periods so that you do one session in the morning and one in the evening.
8. The shorter practice periods throughout the day are just as important—and perhaps even more so.
²You are inclined to do the exercises and then go about your day without applying what you have learned to what you do.
³By doing this, you fail to reinforce your learning and miss the opportunity to see its value in your practical life. VII
⁴You now have another chance to do better.
9. In these reviews, we stress the need not to let your learning stall between your longer practice periods.
²Try to review each hour the two ideas of the day, briefly but with sincerity.
³Use the first idea on the hour, and the second one half an hour later.
⁴You only need a moment for each of them.
⁵Repeat the idea, then let your mind rest in silence and peace for a little while.
⁶Then return to your activities, but try to keep the thought with you, and let it help you maintain your peace throughout the day.
⁷If you feel disturbed, return to the thought again.
10. These exercises are designed to help you develop the habit of applying what you learn each day to everything you do.
²They are not meant to be repeated and then forgotten.
³Their usefulness to you is limitless.
⁴And they are intended to serve you in every way, at all times and places, and whenever you need any kind of help.
⁵Try, then, to keep them in your awareness in your daily affairs, so that they may sanctify your day, making it worthy of the Son of God and acceptable to God and to your Self.
11. Each review should end with a reaffirmation of the two ideas of the day.
²Do not forget them.
³This second opportunity to consider each of these ideas will bring enormous advances, and you will emerge from this review with such strengthened learning that you will move forward from there on much firmer ground.
⁴Do not forget how little you have learned.
⁵Do not forget how much you can now learn.
⁶And do not forget how much your Father needs you, as you review these thoughts that He has given you.
I That’s right. Take this review very seriously and do exactly what is being proposed. You have ten very interesting days ahead of you, during which you will consolidate what you have learned. If you do it well, you will benefit enormously by applying the proposed ideas to your daily affairs. The result is spectacular.
II Jesus knows very well how your mind works because He knows perfectly how the ego works.
That which you proudly call “my mind” is nothing more than the infinite diminishment of the Mind that God created perfect, devastated by the idea of separation. Even so, with that you can still function and restore it to what it truly is.
The ego, which is nothing more than the false identity you have of yourself as a result of that perverse idea, will try by all means to keep you from doing these practices. In your mind, in your heart, and in your gut, thousands of excuses will appear not to do what is being asked of you. Do whatever you please, because, in the end, that is what you are going to do anyway. If you wish, do the exercises; if not, listen to the voice of your ego. It doesn’t matter much, because, ultimately, that is what you have been doing all your life.
What is important is that you watch your mind, open your eyes wide, and carefully observe what happens afterward. Be very honest about that. Only your honesty will allow you to interpret correctly what happens and learn from the consequences of your behavior.
If you are truly honest with yourself and look at reality impartially, no one will need to convince you of anything; you will see it for yourself, and soon you will realize what is most beneficial for you.
Learning that is imposed is not pleasant for anyone, and it is not very effective. It is essential that you feel free when making the necessary changes in your mind and not coerced by anything or anyone. Thus you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
Realize that in these lines Jesus is appealing to your will, which is the only thing that matters, and He urges you to align it with His. What your will has been “until now” is irrelevant; what counts here is what it will be “from now on.”
Place your will on doing these Lessons well. Whether you later do them or not is not what matters most; what truly is crucial is that you have the will to do them. Remember: this, above all, is a Course about will.
Be very honest about that. If you do these Lessons with a poor will, they are of no use. If that is your case, stop at once and place your will on recovering your will. That is how will works: it ignites itself.
III That thing called “salvation” sometimes seems too abstract an idea to take seriously, doesn’t it? It certainly is a beautiful idea, but the world also offers us very interesting things, we must admit that. But think about it carefully: salvation is nothing more than a somewhat grandiose expression for a concept that is much more familiar to you—happiness. Moreover, here we are not speaking of just any kind of happiness, but of absolute and everlasting joy: your total liberation.
Salvation is exactly the same thing you are seeking behind all those things the world offers and that seem appealing to you; but by now, you must be quite clear that they do not give you at all what they promise. And you know that well, because it has never—ever—been so. Do you want to be mistaken again? There’s no problem with that: you have all the time in the world to do so. In fact, that is exactly the purpose of time—to give yourself time to make the decision that renders it unnecessary.
In this life, everything is a matter of priorities. Again: be very honest with yourself and carefully observe how you have built your pyramid of priorities. Surely you have found something in the world that seems more interesting to you than truth, love, and the remembrance of God. Something you value more than all that, when, in reality, every value you see there is nothing but a projection of a small aspect of your Self onto that thing, for that, in itself, is nothing.
You are always seeking your Self, whether you seek it within you or in something of this world. But when you seek it outside yourself, you are simply wasting time. Nothing external to you can make you truly happy, because this world is nothing but a dream built out of fears and desires, and your happiness is real: it is what you are.
Save time and choose well. When you feel tempted to abandon a practice, rationalize the situation and take responsibility for the commitment you made when you decided to do this Course. Give it the opportunity to show you that everything it proposes is true, beneficial, and timely.
Listen to Jesus; rest absolutely assured that He knows best.
IV The way to carry out this review is as follows:
① In the morning, when you are completely awake—and, if you wish, after breakfast—read the entire Lesson, that is, the two ideas and their comments. If you have more time and feel inclined, you may look at the original Lessons to which they refer and their notes, but that is not essential.
② Place the ideas in your mind gently and with confidence. Release the ideas into your mind and tell them to go by themselves, on their own, to meet the problems and difficulties that are already there. They are dark places in your mind that displease and disturb you. Tell your mind to direct the day’s ideas to those corners, so they may illuminate them with their light. The ideas will go forth, guided by the Holy Spirit, seeking those distressing situations and engaging with them without your having to do anything. Watch carefully and with detachment what happens. What you see will depend greatly on your particular type of mind. You may see images; you may hear answers; something will happen—just observe.
③ During the next ten days, you will need to keep a close eye on the clock. Do not fit your practices into your workday; no, do it the other way around—fit your day into the practice. You will not use the proposed ideas to live that day; no, you will use the day to practice the ideas. During the next ten days, what happens in your day is not what matters; no, what matters are the ideas, and everything your mind perceives is merely material to feed those ideas, to nourish them, for them to digest it, process it, and give you something in return. Do it that way and you will see that, if you adopt that point of view, it will be much easier for you to stick to the routine of recalling the first idea every hour on the hour, and the second idea at the half hour.
④ At the end of the day, consider again the two ideas. Now look back at how the day went, how those two ideas served you, how they related to the day’s events. Notice where you failed and realize why it happened. In this review, you must not allow yourself to be carried away by guilt at any time. We already know how much you enjoy feeling guilty, but you are preparing yourself to become a master of forgiveness, and you cannot afford the luxury of drugging yourself with that garbage. Don’t you dare fall into such nonsense! You made a mistake, and you will make many more, but that doesn’t count at all; the only thing that matters is your firm determination to reach your goal—nothing else. Then go to sleep peacefully and happily, feeling within you forgiveness and your essential innocence. Tomorrow awaits you with another exciting day, full of interesting challenges.
V Pay close attention to what is being said here, for it is very important and will help you understand a bit how God’s plan for salvation works.
The Holy Spirit relates directly to your mind—without your intervention!—and guides it in making the most appropriate decisions for each circumstance.
You do not have to do anything! Simply offer your good will and gratitude for that to be so, and trust. Do nothing more than that. That is the most that can be asked of you, because it is the most you can give.
It may seem very little to you, but don’t be mistaken: it is immense.
VI This is a new and very powerful idea. A new ally has just been presented to you: your own mind. Now, in addition to God’s Love, the Guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the unconditional help, counsel, and companionship of Jesus, you also have your own mind. But this is not a capricious invitation made to you without reason. You have spent one hundred and ten days working with your mind, training it, purifying it. It is no longer the same instrument you had at the beginning of this Course; now you can begin to trust it.
Now you can. You trust your mind because you have treated it with respect and dedication. You have worked hard at it, and you have done so in the company of a consummate master of the mind: Jesus has been your teacher. Now you can entrust your mind with specific tasks for it to carry out on your behalf. You have made a great investment in your mind, and you have every right in the world to reap the results of your work. That is why you can trust completely that it will fulfill perfectly whatever you assign it, and your mind will surprise you. Put it to the test.
VII Do you remember how in Lesson One Hundred Eight you learned that giving and receiving are the same? What do you think that means? What is the use of receiving an idea from this Book if you do not give it? Don’t you realize that if you do not give it, you will lose it? To be able to keep the ideas offered to you here and strengthen them in your mind, you must give them. Of course, that does not mean you have to go out into the street, climb on a pedestal, and proclaim to the four winds how wonderful the teachings of this Course are. If you do that, most likely they’ll throw eggs and tomatoes at you, and you’ll end up a mess. And you know what? You’d have it well deserved—for being arrogant and foolish. No. You do not need to do any of that to give the ideas of this Course. It will probably be a long time before the Holy Spirit indicates that you must teach this Course explicitly—and that, if it ever happens.
Life is demanding, haven’t you noticed? It is always asking you for something. Life is always asking you to give something or to do something. And what will you give it? What do you think life needs if not the ideas you are learning here now?
Every day, every hour, every minute, life places a challenge before you. Take it as an opportunity to practice what you have just learned, as a plea, as a call for help—take it as you wish—but rest absolutely assured that everything life requires of you, you are learning in this Course. That is what you must give to life: the ideas you need to give in order to strengthen them in your mind and make them yours forever. “Life” will take many different forms; it may present itself as a hostile brother, as a bill to be paid, or as a pain in your side—who knows! For that, life is very creative. But don’t worry; now you already have with you a good arsenal of ideas and a trained mind that can use them effectively. You only need to offer a little good will… and a lot of trust.
Let your mind use the day’s ideas in any disturbing situation that arises. To do this, you need only keep very present in your mind that you have been assigned a transcendent and supremely important function: you must save the world. Do not forget it. Now you know who you are, why you are here, and you also have the necessary means to perform your role, so go ahead. Do not be afraid. You are incredibly fortunate to have all this. Unfortunately, in this world, that is a rare privilege. Be aware of it, get to work. If you do not do it, who, then, will save the world?
LESSON 111
Morning and Evening Review: W-91 and W-92
1. W-91 “Miracles are seen in light.” I
²I cannot see in darkness.
³Let the light of holiness and truth illuminate my mind,
⁴that I may see the innocence within me.
2. W-92 “Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one.” II
²Through strength, I see the Gift God gave to me.
³My weakness is the darkness His Gift dispels, for He gives me His Strength to take its place.
3. On the hour: III
²“Miracles are seen in light.”
4. On the half hour:
²“Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one.”
I Miracles are always there; the light that allows you to see them is also always present. The only thing that may or may not be there is your will to see them. Decide what you want to see: miracles or desolation.
II The term closest to “strength” is “power,” and the aspect of your Self that best evokes it is the will. Your will is not the mother of miracles, but it is the midwife that makes their birth in your mind possible. Put your will to work, and let it fulfill its function..
III Strive to follow this program faithfully. Remember: what matters here is not so much what you do, what you achieve, or what you experience, but the will you put into doing it.
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LESSON 110
I am as God created me.I
1. Today’s idea will be repeated from time to time.
²For this one thought would be enough to save you and the world, if you believed that it is true.
³Its truth means that you have made no real changes in yourself, nor changed the universe to replace what God created with fear and evil, misery and death.
⁴If you are still as God created you, fear has no meaning, evil is not real, and suffering and death do not exist.
2. Therefore, today’s idea is all you need to let complete correction heal your mind and give you perfect vision.
²It will heal all the errors any mind has ever made at any time or place. II
³It is enough to heal the past and free the future.
⁴It is all you need to accept the present as it is.
⁵It is enough to let time be the means for all the world to learn how to escape from time, and every change that time appears to bring.
3. If you are as God created you, appearances cannot replace the truth, health cannot turn to sickness, nor can death be substitute for life, or fear for love.
²None of this has happened, if you remain as God created you.
³You need no thought but this one to bring redemption to the world and free it from the past.
4. With this one thought is all the past undone, the present saved to quietly extend into a timeless future.
²If you are as God created you, there has been no separation of your mind from His, no split between your mind and other minds.
³And only unity has ever existed in your mind.
5. The healing power of today’s idea is limitless.
²It is the birthplace of all miracles, the great restorer of the truth to the awareness of the world. III
³Practice today’s idea in thankfulness.
⁴This is the truth that makes you free.
⁵This is the truth God promised you. IV
⁶This is the Word in which all sorrow ends.
6. Begin your five-minute practice periods with this quotation from the Text:
²I am as God created me.
³His Son can suffer nothing.
⁴And I am His Son. V
⁵Then, with this statement firmly in your mind, try to find the Self Who is the holy Son of God Himself.
⁶Seek Him within you—the Christ in you, God’s Son and Brother to the world;
⁷the Savior Who has been forever safe;
⁸the One with power to save whoever touches Him, however lightly, and asks for the Word that tells him he is his brother. VI
7. You are as God created you.
²Honor your Self today.
³And let not any images you made to be the Son of God instead of Him arise in your mind to hide what truly is there. VII
⁴Deep in your mind, the holy Christ in you is waiting your acknowledgment as your Self.
⁵And as long as you remain unaware of Him, you are lost and do not know yourself.
8. Seek Him today and find Him.
²He will be your Savior from all the idols you have made.
³For when you find Him, you will understand how worthless are your idols, and how false the images you believed about yourself.
⁴Today we make a great advance to truth by letting idols go and opening our hearts and minds and arms to God. VIII
9. With gratitude and joy we quietly remember Him today, and give His Word to all we see, that we may recognize our Self in everyone we meet.
²And thus we say with confidence and love:
³I am as God created me.
⁴Let us declare this truth as often as we can.
⁵This is the Word of God that sets you free. IX
⁶This is the key that opens Heaven’s gate and lets you enter into the Peace of God and His Eternity.
I This is the talismanic idea of this Course; the whole of its teaching revolves around it. It is important that you understand it well, or it will serve you little. But if you comprehend what this idea means and accept it as true, it will come to your aid whenever you feel tempted to believe that you are vulnerable or in any kind of danger. It is enough to declare this idea in moments of disturbance for your mind to be restored, for peace to return, and for you to rest in God.
But first, realize that right now you have not the slightest idea of what you truly are. Acknowledge this. You cannot conceive what you are, because you use your mind to imagine things, and you are not an image. You are pure Being—and Being cannot be imagined; it can only be being. The very fact that you have worries already reveals your total ignorance of your own identity. Be very careful when you think about yourself, for you must know that only the ego entertains such foolish notions.
Be completely unconcerned with any concept about yourself that passes through your mind. Rest assured that it has arisen only to deceive and confuse you. Do not follow it.
You are as God created you, for God creates perfectly and forever.
The Being that you are is perfect and can never change.
That Being exists beyond space and time, which are illusory concepts.
That Being is real.
But that is not the being you think you are. You believe you are something else precisely because you are using your mind in “believing” mode. And remember: everything you believe is false. You are nothing that you can “believe.” One can only believe in illusions—and you are no illusion.
It is true that you can believe you are as God created you, and it is also true that believing this will help you in your dark moments, for right now you are so confused that this is the only thing you think you have. But it is not true. You do not even need to believe it; you do not deserve to. You are the Son of God, and you deserve to know that you are His Son.
Forget your beliefs. Stop even believing that you are the Son of God—and pray. Pray from the heart, for indeed you have a great need to pray. You will not reach the knowledge of your true identity through your beliefs—not even through the loftiest or the most “true.” They will not serve you. God did not create you to believe; He created you to create. You are His beloved Son, Whom He loves in such a way that the faintest breath of His Love sweeps away all confusion. You will not reach your Father by your own means; prayer is the call for Him to come to your rescue.
Pray. Pray passionately. And when you say, “I am as God created me,” let it not be an opinion or a belief, but a declaration that arises from the depths of your heart—a prayer you raise to Heaven to claim the end of a dream of anguish you do not deserve.
Never forget today’s idea. Keep it always on your lips, in your mind, and in your heart. It is pure truth. It is salvation.
And when you see all your brothers as you now see yourself, you will be ready to recognize that you are in your Father’s Heart, where you have never ceased to be.
II John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
III Realize that, with the awareness of being the Son of God—and the fact of continuing to be so, no matter what appearances may tell you—your perception of the world must inevitably change. To perceive is to imagine what you wish to see, and one who knows he is his Father’s Son can only wish to see miracles—and he will see them.
IV Again, here is John 8:32. Today’s idea sums up the entire gospel of Jesus: you are the Son of God. And His crucifixion, in this time of Easter, is the testimony that this is true and that death does not exist.
V This is stated exactly the same in theText, in T-31.VIII.5:2–4.
VI Mark 5:27–29 “When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.”
VII Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”
VIII This is another of the Lessons that can be considered a “giant stride” in learning, for its statement is the same as that of Lesson 94, which is also one.
IX John 1:1–5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
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LESSON 109
I rest in God.
1. Today we ask for rest, and for a quietness unshaken by the world’s appearances.
²We ask for peace and stillness, in the midst of all the turmoil born of dreams of conflict.
³We ask for safety and for happiness, though we seem to look on danger and distress.
⁴And with our asking, we are given the thought that answers it:
2. I rest in God. I
²This thought will bring you rest and quiet, peace and stillness, and the safety and the happiness you seek.
³I rest in God.
⁴This thought has power to awaken truth asleep within you.
⁵The vision that this thought will bring gives eyes to see beyond appearances to that same truth which is in everyone and everything there is.
⁶Here is the end of suffering for all the world, the healing of all pain for everyone who ever came and everyone who yet will come to linger for a while.
⁷This is the thought in which the Son of God is born again, to recognize himself. II
3. I rest in God.
²This thought, serene and unshakable, will carry you through storms and strife, past misery and pain, past loss and death, and onward to the certainty of God.
³There is no suffering it cannot heal.
⁴There is no problem that it cannot solve.
⁵And no appearance but will turn to truth before the eyes of you who rest in God.
4. This is the day of peace.
²You rest in God.
³And while the world is torn by winds of hate, your rest remains completely undisturbed.
⁴Yours is the rest of truth.
⁵Appearances cannot intrude on you.
⁶You call to all to join you in your rest, and they will hear and come to you because you rest in God.
⁷They will not hear another voice but yours, because you gave your voice to God, and now you rest in Him and let Him speak through you.
5. In Him you have no cares and no concerns, no burdens, no anxiety, no pain, no fear of future and no past regrets.
²You rest in timelessness while time goes by without its touch upon you, for your rest can never be disturbed.
³Today you rest.
⁴And as you close your eyes, sink into stillness.
⁵Let these periods of rest and respite reassure your mind that all its frantic fantasies were but the feverish dreams of a delirium now past.
⁶Let it be still and thankfully accept its healing.
⁷No more fearful dreams will come, now that you rest in God.
⁸Take time today to slip away from dreams and into peace.
6. Each hour that you take your rest today, a tired mind is suddenly made glad; a bird with broken wings begins to sing; a stream long dry begins to flow again.
²The world is born again each time you rest, and hourly remember that you came to bring the Peace of God into the world, that it might rest with you.
³With every five minutes that you rest today, the world is nearer waking.
⁴And the time when rest will be the only thing there is comes closer to all worn and tired minds, too weary now to go their way alone.
⁵And they will hear the bird begin to sing, and see the stream begin to flow again.
⁶With hope reborn and energy restored, they walk with lightened steps along the road that suddenly seems easier, as they go.
7. You rest today in God’s Peace, and call to all your brothers to rest with you.
²You will be faithful to your trust today, forgetting no one, bringing everyone into the boundless circle of your peace, the holy sanctuary where you rest.
³Open the temple doors and let them come from far and near—your distant brothers and your closest friends.
⁴Bid them all enter here and rest with you. III
8. You rest today in God’s Peace, calm and unafraid.
²Each of your brothers comes to take his rest and offer it to you.
³We rest together here, for thus our rest is made complete.
⁴What we give today we have received.
⁵And time is not the guardian of what we give today.
⁶We give to those unborn and those passed on, to every Thought of God, and to the Mind in which these thoughts were born and where they rest.
⁷And we remind them of their resting place each time we tell ourselves:
⁸I rest in God.
I Another absolutely marvelous Lesson of this Workbook. In a way it recalls Lesson 100. That one was centered on happiness, and this one on rest and peace.
Peace is like truth; in fact, peace is the condition of truth; it need not be sought, for it is always there because it is real. Rest is the state enjoyed by those who have peace because they know the truth.
Although we could say that rest is the “effect” of peace, in this Lesson we proceed the other way around. We begin by evoking the effect and follow the river upstream to the cause that produces it: peace. And once established in peace, we naturally gain access to truth, which is its cause. This Lesson works “against the current”; it works in reverse; here we travel to the cause from the effect. This approach has the advantage of employing a concept that is well known because it is associated with the body—rest—to reach another—truth—which, though also known, lies hidden beneath a dense veil of beliefs.
In this Lesson, Jesus is inviting us to a fait accompli: “I rest in God.” But if that seems a bit excessive to you and you feel unable to grant it to yourself, you may frame the idea in another way that may feel more accessible: “I want to rest in God.”
II John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”
John 3:7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
III Pay close attention to this Lesson’s proposal. It is very simple: first you evoke an idea aligned with truth—rest in God—and hold it firmly in your mind. Then you share it with others so as to strengthen it in yourself and keep it. And from now on you generalize it and apply it to every circumstance life sets before you, so that you may learn it well.
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LESSON 108
Giving and receiving are the same in truth.I
1. Vision depends upon today’s idea.
²In it is light, for it reconciles all apparent opposites.
³And what is light but the resolution born of peace, which brings together all your conflicts and mistaken thoughts into one concept that is wholly true?
⁴Even this one will disappear, for the Thought behind it will appear instead to take its place. II
⁵And now we are at peace forever, for the dream is over.
2. The true light that makes true vision possible is not the light the body’s eyes behold.
²It is a state of mind so unified that darkness cannot be perceived at all.
³Thus what is the same is seen as one, while what is not the same remains unnoticed, for it is not there.
3. This is the light that shows no opposites, and healed perception now has power to heal.
²This is the light that extends your peace of mind to other minds, so they can share it and rejoice in their oneness with you and with themselves.
³This is the light that heals, because it brings a single perception, based upon one frame of reference from which one meaning comes.
4. In this light, giving and receiving are seen as different aspects of one Thought, whose truth does not depend on which is seen as first and which as last.
²Now it is understood that both occur at once, so that the Thought remains complete.
³And in this understanding lies the basis on which all opposites are reconciled, because they are perceived from the same frame of reference that unifies this Thought.
5. One single Thought, completely unified, will serve to unify all thought.
²This is the same as saying that one correction is sufficient for all error, or that forgiving one brother completely is enough to bring salvation to all minds.
³For these are but special cases of one law that applies to all learning, when it is directed by the One Who knows the truth.
6. Learning that giving and receiving are the same has special usefulness, because it can be tried so easily and seen as true.
²And once this special case has proved it always works, in every circumstance where it is tried, the thought behind it can be extended to other areas of doubt and double vision. III
³And from there it will expand, and finally arrive at the one underlying Thought that unites them all.
7. Today we practice with the special case of giving and receiving.
²We will use this simple lesson in a setting that is obvious, because it produces results we cannot miss.
³Giving is receiving. IV
⁴Today we will offer peace to everyone, and see how quickly peace returns to us.
⁵Light is tranquility, and in that peace is vision granted us, and we can see.
8. So we begin the practice periods with today’s idea, saying:
²Giving and receiving are the same in truth.
³I will receive what I am giving now.
⁴Then close your eyes and think for five minutes of what you would hold out to everyone, to have it as your own.
⁵You might say, for example: V
⁶I offer serenity to everyone.
⁷I offer peace of mind to everyone.
⁸I offer gentleness to everyone.
9. Say each thought slowly, then pause a while and let the gift return to you in the measure that you gave it.
²You will find you have exactly what you gave, because that is what you asked for. VI
³It may also be helpful to select one person in particular to whom to offer your gifts.
⁴He represents the others, and through him you give to all.
10. Our simple lesson for today will teach you much.
²You will begin to understand the law of cause and effect, and you will progress much faster now. VII
³Think of today’s exercises as quick advances in your learning, made still faster and more secure each time you say:
⁴Giving and receiving are the same in truth.
I Today’s Lesson is beautiful. It is such a powerful, clear, luminous, and self-evident Lesson that it is exceedingly easy to comment on—and for that very reason, it needs no comment at all. Simply read it with great attention, do exactly what it tells you, and you will see for yourself the immense power it has to open your mind. Indeed, you are very fortunate to be doing this Lesson; take that into account. You will see. Read, do, and awaken!
II The Thought that underlies the notion of the unity of opposites is the awareness of Being.
III “Double vision” is where pairs of opposing, or dual, ideas are perceived—usually consisting of one real concept and another imaginary one that refers to the absence of the real concept. For example: love–fear; light–darkness; joy–suffering; having–lacking; reality–illusion…
IV To give is to extend one’s own being, and, as you already know by now, the world you perceive is a world of ideas—a world of ideas symbolized in forms you call “things.” All those “things” you “see” outside yourself are, in truth, ideas that remain in your mind, for that is the only “place” that exists in the universe. Nothing has ever left it, because there is nothing else: everything happens within your mind.
Giving something you love is a beautiful gesture, for in doing so you are extending love. But to whom or to what could it go if there is nothing outside you? To yourself, of course! And as you will see when you do the exercise that is proposed, it is you who are there to receive it. Nothing could be more evident. It is something you constantly experience throughout your “life” in this world—in fact, you have never experienced anything else.
V Today it is especially interesting that it is you who choose the mental state you wish to enjoy. Choose the one you prefer, evoke it, visualize it clearly, feel it within you, and then offer it to the entire world.
And then you will see how it returns to you multiplied. In truth, what returns to you is exactly what you gave, but it will seem to have increased, because you were not aware of all that was within you. That is why the best way to enjoy something is to give it.
VI Realize that this works for both good and bad alike. You will experience in yourself, instantly, both the good and the evil you offer another—exactly in the same terms and in the same measure—for, in the end, the one to whom you offer it is your very own self (though that may still be a little hard for you to accept).
VII Although the expression is not mentioned specifically, this is another of the “giant strides.”
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LESSON 107
Truth will correct all errors in my mind.
1. What can correct illusions but the truth?
²And what are errors but illusions that have not yet been recognized as what they are?
³Where truth has entered, errors simply vanish.
⁴They fade away, leaving not a trace by which to be remembered.
⁵They are gone because, without belief to support them, they have no life.
⁶And so they disappear, returning to the nothingness from which they came.
⁷From dust they come and unto dust they return, for only truth remains. I
2. Can you imagine what a state of mind without illusions would be like? II
²How would you feel?
³Try to remember a time—perhaps just for a moment, maybe even less—when nothing came to interrupt your peace, when you felt certain that you were loved and safe.
⁴Now try to imagine how that moment would extend to the end of time and into eternity.
⁵Then multiply that feeling a hundredfold, and then a hundred more.
⁶And now you have a hint, no more than just the faintest glimpse, of the state in which your mind will rest when truth has come.
3. Without illusions there could be no fear, no doubt, no attack.
²When truth has come, all pain is over, for there is no room left in your mind for passing thoughts or dead ideas.
³Truth takes up your whole mind, freeing you from all beliefs in the temporary.
⁴There is no place left for them because truth has come, and they are nowhere to be found.
⁵They cannot be found, for truth is everywhere and forever.
4. When truth has come, it does not stay a while to disappear or change to something else.
²It does not shift or alter in its form.
³It does not come and go and go and come again.
⁴It stays exactly as it always was, so you can count on it in every need and trust it with a perfect certainty in all apparent difficulties and doubts that come from the appearances the world presents.
⁵All these will simply fade away as truth corrects all errors in your mind.
5. When truth has come, it brings with it the gift of perfect constancy and a Love that looks on pain but does not flinch.
²Here is the gift of healing, for truth needs no defense, and thus no attack is possible.
³Illusions may be brought to truth to be corrected.
⁴But truth stands far beyond illusions, and cannot be brought to them to turn them into truth.
6. Truth does not come and go.
²It does not change or shift.
³It does not take one form and then another.
⁴It does not hide from being found.
⁵It does not try to escape.
⁶It stays in full light, clearly accessible.
⁷It is impossible for anyone to seek it truly and not find it.
7. This day belongs to truth.
²Give truth its due, and it will give you what is yours.
³You were not made to suffer and to die.
⁴Your Father wills these dreams be gone.
⁵Let truth correct them all.
8. We are not asking for what is not already ours. III
²We merely ask to recognize what is already given, so we may acknowledge we already have it.
³Today we practice in the happy certainty that comes from truth.
⁴We do not walk with hesitant steps of illusion today.
⁵We are as sure of success as we are of life, of trust, of breathing, and of thought.
⁶We have no doubt today that we walk with truth, and we rely on it to carry us through every practice period we do.
9. Begin by asking Him Who goes with you in this undertaking to make Himself known to you as you follow Him. IV
²You are not made of flesh, of blood, and bone, but were created by the very Thought that gave Him life as well.
³He is your Brother, and so like to you your Father knows that both of you are one.
⁴It is your Self you ask to go with you, and how could He be absent where you are?
10. Truth will correct all errors in your mind—all the thoughts that tell you you can be apart from Him.
²Speak to Him today, and promise that you will let His function be fulfilled through you.
³To share His function is to share His joy.
⁴His confidence is with you as you say:
⁵Truth will correct all errors in my mind,
⁶And I will rest in Him Who is my Self.
⁷Then let Him lead you gently to the truth, which will enfold you and bring you peace so deep and quiet that you will find it hard to return to the familiar world you know.
11. And yet you will rejoice to look upon that world again.
²For you will bring with you the promise of the changes truth will bring to it, as you allow truth to be corrected in your mind.
³These changes will multiply with every five minutes you give, and the errors that cover the world will be corrected as you allow them to be corrected in you.
12. Do not forget your function today.
²Each time you say with confidence, “Truth will correct all errors in my mind,”
you speak for all the world, and for the One Who would release the world by setting you free.
I If you feel inclined to think about truth—if the idea of truth arises in your mind—it means you have a serious problem. Only a sick mind can consider the idea of “truth.” For what is truth? Obviously, truth is what is, what exists; that is what you call “truth.” Truth is your Being. You are the truth. Truth is what you are. That is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
Then what makes the notion of truth meaningful to you? Why should it be? How is it that the mind seriously entertains the idea of “seeking the truth”? Why would anyone ever need to seek what is, what exists? Do you realize that this very fact already shows that something is wrong?
If you believe you must seek the truth, that can only mean that your mind is not functioning properly. If truth is something to be sought, it means that the mind does not know reality—and if the mind does not know reality, what does it know, then? With what does it relate? That mind must be engaging with something unreal, with something that is not true. And what sense does that make? What purpose could it serve?
A mind that seeks the truth is a mind relating to illusions—to ideas devoid of real content, to imaginations. And how does it do this? How can the mind become interested in something that is nothing, that does not exist? All this is explained in Section VIII of Chapter 7 of the Text: The Ego’s Use of Projection.
Though words fall short—for they are symbols used to describe reality, which itself is not symbolic—we could put it this way: in this Course, the word “mind” is used to refer to the active principle of “spirit,” which may be understood as the condition of “Being,” of “reality,” of what “exists.” Reality is spiritual. It can be intuitively understood that the terms “being,” “manifesting,” “giving,” “loving,” and “extending” are closely related, and that is why the Text says that the fundamental law of the mind is the law of extension.
We can grasp the idea that “Being,” through the “mind,” manifests by giving or extending its own existence—what Being itself is—and that this is what is called “creation.” Everything related to Being is purely real, that is, entirely abstract, limitless, and timeless, and it cannot be understood by the concrete or personal mind, for they belong to different realms, of which only one is real, while the other is imaginary.
The mind creates when it extends its own entity, its own being—and this is intrinsically logical. However, it also happens that the mind can project—if it so wills—what it itself is not, what does not exist. To this surprising fact, this Course gives the name “believing,” which could be understood as the spurious form of creating.
In this case, the mind projects outside itself what does not exist, what is nothing, and believes in it—that is, it regards it as real and even fears it, though it also feels drawn to it, for although it is unlike itself, it is its offspring, and thus it calls that belief its “child.” Obviously, that quality of reality is exclusive to the mind that conceived it, and to no one else. Thus, the mind believes that what is not itself—and does not exist—is real and true.
Since being and loving are the same, when the mind projects what it is not (believing), it is projecting what it does not love—it is projecting absences of love. In fact, in such a case, the mind is not truly projecting anything at all, for love is the only thing that is real and that exists. In this confused state, the mind projects outside itself (rejects) the opposite of what it is, and that is why the illusions the mind believes in are concrete and frightening. They are not real, yet to the mind that conceived them they are, because it believes in them. This multitude of illusions constitutes the imaginary world in which the mind that seeks the truth believes it exists.
It is perfectly understandable that a sick mind would seek the truth, for everything it thinks it perceives feels profoundly unsatisfying—precisely because it constructed it by projecting absences of love, and now that fearful landscape fills its awareness.
This is a Course for sick minds that seek the truth. They are minds submerged in a permanent hallucination, populated by fearful illusions—among them their own imagined identity, which is itself an illusion. The mind that believes in all these falsehoods cannot find the truth by itself, for it was the cause of that confusion, and therefore its “doing” will not save it. But the opposite—its “not doing”—will. This is why this Course constantly urges you not to do, for you do not know how to do; you do not know how to extend love; you have forgotten how to create and are focused instead on believing. Yet you can—and must—stop believing in your illusory offspring.
Perhaps at this point you are wondering what on earth you must believe in to be saved, to know the truth, and to enjoy the infinite joy of being. Well, the answer is very simple: you do not need to believe in anything. Believing is a misuse of the mind; it is precisely what has led you into this miserable state. But there is something very important you must never forget, for in it lies salvation: to think that you are in a miserable state, in a fearful world, and in need of seeking the truth is also a belief—and it, too, is not true. Rejoice, then, and realize that, in truth, you have no need to be saved from anything, nor to seek the truth; it will find you, because the truth is you.
But until you realize this—and if you wish to take some time for that discovery—you may begin to dismantle that intricate scaffolding of beliefs you have built little by little, yet relentlessly. To begin with, you should look with a touch of disbelief at anything that comes to your mind: you can be absolutely certain that it is false. Nothing you think with your personal mind is true, nor will it ever be. Perhaps some things that occur to you may be somewhat aligned with truth, but it is better not to take them too seriously or give them much importance. Remember that whenever you have given importance to something, you have ended up suffering, so better not go down that road. Stop giving importance to things—to everything—even to the idea of the salvation of your immortal soul. Do not worry about that; rest assured that it does not. Empty your mind of everything and adopt a receptive attitude. That will always do you good.
Practice the exercises of this Workbook with detachment, yet with good cheer and confidence, and be happy in the present—right now.
Genesis 3:19: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
II In this Lesson, the term “illusions” is not used in the usual sense it often has in the Course, where it refers to false or distorted perceptions of reality. Here it refers instead to another kind of deception: the expectations you have placed upon idols—the forms of the world—in the hope that they will fill your supposed lacks and provide what you think you need. This semantic nuance comes closer to the everyday meaning of the expression “to build illusions,” that is, to form unfounded hopes or to trust in something that in reality lacks substance or true capacity to satisfy you. Therefore, in this context, “illusions” does not refer to what you see, but to what you mistakenly expect to receive from the world and its forms.
This Lesson associates peace and truth with the absence of expectations—that is, with the transcendence of every sense of lack. To understand it this way is to recognize that expectations arise from a perception of insufficiency—from the belief that something external must come to complete you. When that demand disappears—that yearning projected toward the future—a direct and present experience of fullness opens, where there is no longer any search, for nothing is missing. It is there that peace reveals itself as a natural state, and truth as something that has always been present but was veiled by the desire for things to be different.
III Of course! When it speaks of truth, it is speaking of you—of your essential reality. Truth is one of the three aspects of Being (Truth–Love–Power).
IV “The One Who walks with you” is your Self—Christ—Who accompanies you on the journey Home as Companion and Brother, yet when you awaken, you will recognize Him as your very Self.
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LESSON 106
I will be still today and listen to the truth.
1. If you set aside the ego’s voice today, no matter how loudly it may seem to call to you,
²If you do not accept its petty gifts that bring you nothing you really want,
³If you listen with an open mind that does not tell itself what salvation is,
⁴Then you will hear the mighty Voice of truth: quiet in Its power, strong in Its stillness, and absolutely certain in Its messages. I
⁵Listen—and hear your Father speak to you through the Voice He appointed, which silences the meaningless and shows the way to peace to those who cannot see.
2. Be still today and listen to the truth. II
²Do not be fooled by the voices of the dead, who claim to bring you life and offer it to you as if you should believe in them. III
³Pay them no heed.
⁴Listen to the truth.
⁵Be not afraid today to bypass the voices of the world.
⁶Walk lightly past their meaningless persuasion.
⁷Do not listen.
3. Be still today and listen to the truth.
²Go past all things that do not speak of Him Who holds your happiness within His Hand, and offers it to you in love and welcome.
³Listen to Him alone today.
⁴Delay no longer in going to Him.
⁵Listen today to one Voice alone.
4. Today the promise of God’s Word is kept.
²Listen in silence.
³He will speak to you.
⁴He comes with miracles a thousand times more joyful and more wonderful than anything you ever dreamed or wished for in your dreams.
⁵His miracles are true.
⁶They will not fade when dreaming ends.
⁷For they are the ones that end the dream and last forever, sent from God to His beloved Son—whose other name is what you are.
⁸Prepare yourself today for miracles.
⁹Let the ancient promise of your Father be fulfilled today, to you and all your brothers.
5. Hear Him today, and listen to the Word that lifts the veil that covers earth, and wakes all those who sleep and cannot see.
²God calls to them through you.
³He needs your voice to speak to them, for who but your Father could reach His Son except by calling to him through your Self?
6. Hear Him today, and offer Him your voice to speak to all the multitudes who wait to hear the Word He will speak today.
²Be ready for salvation.
³It is here, and it will be given you today.
⁴And you will learn your function from the One Who chose it in God’s Name for you.
7. Listen today, and you will hear a Voice that echoes through the world through you.
²The Bearer of all miracles needs you to first receive them, so you may become the joyous giver of what you received.
³This is how salvation begins, and this is how it ends:
⁴When all is yours, and all is given away,
it remains with you forever.
⁵And thus you learn the lesson. IV
8. Today we practice what it means to give, not in the way you understand it now, but as it truly is.
²Begin each hour’s exercise with this request for enlightenment:
³I will be still today and listen to the truth.
⁴What does it mean to give and to receive?
⁵Ask, and expect an answer.
⁶The answer to your asking has been waiting long to come to you.
⁷With this answer begins the ministry for which you came to this world, and which will set it free from thinking giving is a way to lose.
⁸And thus the world is made ready to understand and to receive.
9. Be still today and listen to the truth.
²For each five minutes that you spend in listening, a thousand minds are opened to the truth, and they will hear the holy Word you hear.
³And when the hour passes, you will once again release a thousand more who pause to ask that truth be given them, as you receive it now. V
10. Today, the holy Word of God is kept, for you receive it to give it, so you may teach the world what giving means—by listening and learning it from Him.
²Do not forget today to reinforce your choice to listen and receive the Word by repeating to yourself as often as you can:
³I will be still today and listen to the truth.
⁴I am God’s messenger today.
⁵My voice is His, to give what I receive.
I Jesus has just made you a very interesting proposal. He tells you that if you turn a deaf ear to the voice of the ego, you will hear the Voice of your Father—the Voice of Truth. Stop for a moment. Let us see what we are talking about.
By now you will have practiced a little of what the Course calls “mental vigilance,” and you will have begun to learn how to identify the voice of your ego. It is that voice which articulates all your desires and all your fears, no matter whether they are great or small, mild or intense; all of that is part of the voice of your ego. And you will also have realized by now that this is your usual mental state, which means that you hear the voice of your ego constantly and probably pay attention to it most of the time.
Let us do the math. If you hear the voice of your ego many times per minute—which is certainly true—it means that you hear it thousands of times a day. Multiply that, and throughout your life you may have heard the ego’s proposals more than a hundred million times. Think about what that represents, and realize that you should not take lightly what the ego is doing with your mind. If you truly want to hear the Word of God, you must understand the kind of opposition the Voice of the Holy Spirit faces within you. Jesus does not offer you much; Jesus offers you everything. But become fully aware of the challenge before you.
This Course speaks constantly of forgiveness. It urges you to forgive your brother, to forgive the world, to forgive yourself—to forgive everything and everyone, all the time. The truth is that it may seem like there are countless different kinds of forgiveness. Do not be mistaken. Simplify: the only thing you have to forgive—to let pass—is the voice of your ego. Do not concern yourself with your brothers, or your problems, or your circumstances; in truth you do not know what they are, because you do not see them as they truly are. What you are dealing with are only your interpretations, and that is precisely the voice of the ego. That is the only thing you have to forgive.
Observe carefully and you will see where the problem truly lies. Certainly it is not in the world you see outside. The problem is always found in your problematic interpretations. The problem is what Jesus calls “the voice of the ego.” That is what you must forgive—but do not be overwhelmed. Now, at least, you have simplified the problem. Now you have only one problem. Celebrate it! For now you need only one solution—and you already know it: you need only stop paying attention to the voice of the ego. Nothing else.
However, telling you not to do something is a negative statement, and like everything negative, it can be discouraging. You may have felt your heart sink a little when you heard that you must not listen to that voice which has spoken to you and will speak to you so many times. Do not be distressed; it need not be so. This is an extraordinarily positive Course. In fact, it is so positive that it tells you that the negative does not truly exist, and therefore you need neither fear it nor attend to it. Remember, “…nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.”
II Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
III Matthew 8:18–22 “When Jesus saw the great crowds around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.’ Another disciple said to Him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus told him, ‘Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’”
IV This is the second part of today’s Lesson: listen to the Truth. This is the positive part—the only part that truly exists. You need only quiet your mind so that the truth may reveal itself. Do not be afraid. You need do nothing—simply listen in the silence of your mind. Quiet your mind and trust. Do nothing more, and wait in happiness.
And this is the truth; this is the holy Lesson that ends the greed of the ego, the mother of all perversions. Giving is the greatest happiness, for giving is loving, and loving is being love—and to Be, to Know, and to Create—and there is nothing greater than that, nothing you long for more, nothing you deserve more. You are love, born of Love. You were created to love… and you had forgotten it… though only to a certain extent, for, without being aware of it, that is exactly what you have always been seeking among illusions.
Do you see that this is the Truth? And do you see that to recognize it is salvation?
V Jesus has told you that your mission is very simple and very easy: you have come into this world to save it, for you are the savior of the world. Do you see now how easy it is? You need only quiet your mind to know the truth! And to know the truth is to save the world.
You need do nothing more. The rest will be done for you, through you, and because of you. Pay no attention to the ego. Quiet your mind, hear the Truth, and save the world.
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LESSON 105
God’s Peace and Joy are mine.I
1. God’s Peace and Joy are yours.
²Today we will accept them, knowing they belong to us.
³And we will try to understand that they increase as we receive them. II
⁴They are not like the gifts the world can give, where the one who gives loses by the giving, and the one who receives is richer for another’s loss.
⁵Such gifts are not real gifts, but bargains made with guilt.
⁶A true gift entails no loss.
⁷It is impossible for one to gain at the expense of another.
⁸For this would mean that limits and lack are real.
2. No gift is given in that way.
²Such “gifts” are but deals to gain a greater return; loans with interest that must be paid in full; temporary credits with a promise to repay more than what was received.
³This strange distortion of what it means to give prevails at every level of the world you see. III
⁴It robs all giving of its meaning and renders anything you receive worthless.
3. One of the major learning goals of this Course is to reverse your view of giving, so you may receive.
²For giving has become a source of fear, and thus you cannot receive by means of it.
³Accept God’s Peace and Joy, and you will see giving in a different light.
⁴God’s Gifts never diminish when they are given.
⁵Instead, they increase.
⁶Just as the Peace and Joy of Heaven grow when you accept them as God’s Gift to you, so does your Creator’s Joy increase when you accept His Joy and His Peace.
4. True giving is Creation.
²It extends the limitless to the limitless, the eternal to the timeless, and Love to Itself.
³True giving adds to a fullness already complete—but not by adding more, for that would imply it lacked before.
⁴It adds in the sense that it allows what cannot be contained to fulfill its purpose of giving all of Itself away, increasing and preserving Itself forever.
5. Accept God’s Peace and Joy as yours today.
²Let Him complete Himself as He defines completion.
³You will understand that what completes Him must also complete His Son.
⁴He cannot give through loss.
⁵And neither can you.
⁶Accept today His Gift of Joy and Peace, and in doing so, He will thank you for the gift you give to Him.
6. Today our practice sessions will begin a little differently.
²Begin the day by thinking of those brothers to whom you have denied the peace and joy that rightfully belong to them under God’s just and equal Laws.
³In doing so, you denied them to yourself.
⁴And that is where you must return to reclaim them as your own.
⁵Think for a while of your “enemies,” and say to each one who comes to mind:
⁶My brother, I offer you peace and joy,
⁷That God’s Peace and Joy may be mine.
7. In this way you prepare yourself to recognize God’s Gifts to you, and let your mind be freed of everything that might prevent success today. IV
²Now you are ready to accept the gift of peace and joy that God has given you.
³Now you are ready to experience the joy and peace you have denied yourself.
⁴Now you can say: God’s Peace and Joy are mine, for you have given what you wish to receive.
8. If you prepare your mind as we suggest, today will be a day of success for you, for you will have removed all obstacles to peace and joy, and what is truly yours will come to you at last.
²So say to yourself: God’s Peace and Joy are mine, close your eyes for a while, and let His Voice assure you that the words you speak are true.
9. Give Him five minutes as often as you can today. But if you cannot, do not let that thought discourage you.
²At the very least, remember to say each hour the words that call Him to give you what it is His Will to give, and yours to receive. V
³Resolve not to interfere today with His Design.
⁴And if a brother seems to tempt you to deny the Gift of God, see it as another chance to let yourself receive the Gifts of God.
⁵Then bless your brother gratefully, and say:
⁶My brother, I offer you peace and joy,
⁷That God’s Peace and Joy may be mine.
I The Peace and Joy of God are what I am, for to have and to be are the same.
II The Gifts of God are ideas, and they increase both when they are given and when they are received, because ideas grow through awareness, which occurs in both instances.
III Perhaps the most surprising thing about the thinking that governs the world is that no one realizes how absurd it is. Everyone thinks more or less the same way and believes more or less in the same things. That is what we could call “the human condition.” The variations among people’s ways of thinking are minimal, yet their vision is so incredibly focused on this shared madness that those variations seem significant, though in truth they are not at all.
One of the characteristics of this shared insane thought system is that the less meaningful an idea is, the more important it becomes.
Think, for example, of the notion of “having.” Certainly, “having” is an extremely important idea in the world’s thought system—but what does it mean “to have”? Have you ever asked yourself that? What does it mean to “have” something?
Now think of the richest man in the world. What does it really mean that he has so much money? If he does nothing with that money, then having such a fabulous amount means nothing at all; we could say that, in that case, he is just like you, who do not have what he has. If that millionaire does not spend his money, you are exactly the same—which means that the notion of “having,” in itself, has no meaning at all. Yet the world gives it enormous importance.
The difference between that person and you is that he can give much, and you cannot. But again, notice that the difference between you and him manifests only when he gives, not because he has. The only way to become aware of what one has is to give it.
Only “giving” makes “having” meaningful. The value and the power of “having” do not lie in possession but in giving—that is, precisely in the opposite of “having,” in ceasing to have.
This may at first appear to be a play on words, but it is not. The value lies in giving, not in having—and that is why happiness is found in giving, not in having. Yet the world sees it the other way around. The world interprets “having” as a happy fact, and “giving” as something stressful.
Do you see now that this is madness? The more absurd an idea is, the more important it is to the world.
And indeed, the opposite is also true. The ideas that are fully meaningful are those the world does not understand at all, and its thought system does not know what to do with them. Do you think there is anything more meaningful than the idea of “being”? But do you understand what “being” means? Probably not.
The first two paragraphs of this Lesson may seem attractive to you and you may sympathize with what they say, but acknowledge that you are still among those who, when they give something, experience a certain sense of loss.
This happens because you still do not understand what it means to “give,” and this, in turn, is because you do not yet understand the idea of “being.” If you understood it, you can be sure that you would never again experience any sense of loss. Indeed, you would never have any problem or any concern, and you would know with absolute certainty that the Joy and the Peace of God are yours.
To put the idea of “being” into words is not difficult—it is impossible. To understand the idea of being collapses perception, and then the world disappears. And that may frighten you a little; you close your eyes and say to yourself, “My God! I don’t want the world to disappear!” But do not worry—when you open them, the world will still be there. Such is the power of your will, and your will is always fulfilled, for you are the holy Son of God and have the power to perceive the world if that is your will. And since it seems that it is—voilà—there is the world!
IV Few exercises in this Workbook have greater power than this one. Recognize that this is an incredibly powerful practice when done wholeheartedly, and that it produces immediate effects. If you perform it correctly, at the very moment you offer peace to your brother, you will feel it yourself and emerge from the practice strengthened, serene, and joyful.
When you practice it honestly, you are proclaiming with all your strength, and in the most radical way, that you would rather be happy than be right; that you are willing to stop listening to your ego when it tells you all those awful things your brother has done to you, because you desire peace and joy more than paying attention to it.
Practice sincerely, and be certain that you are already on the path to happiness. Do not turn away from it.
V Perhaps, having read the previous note, you are now more willing to reconcile yourself with the idea of giving. That is good—but it is only half the story.
It is also essential that you acknowledge, and make your own in mind and heart, the notion of receiving, which is equally valuable. In fact, giving and receiving are the same.
In this world, very few know how to give wholeheartedly, but even fewer know how to receive naturally.
Now, in your present condition, before giving, it is essential that you learn to recognize and receive your Father’s Gifts, for unless you open yourself to receive them, you will never be able to give them.
Everything you have and can give is borrowed; it has been given to you so that you may receive it with gratitude and give it with joy, for thus does the extension of love work in Creation.
Look around you and notice how few people you know who are willing to be loved, how few believe they deserve God’s Love, your own, or that which life itself feels for them.
The poor opinion they hold of themselves has made them ungrateful, withdrawn, cynical, and resentful. Be not among them, and heal them by showing yourself willing to receive the love they have, so that they may thus become aware of the love they are.
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LESSON 104
I seek only what truly belongs to me.I
1. Today’s idea continues the thought that joy and peace are not idle dreams.
²You are entitled to them because of what you are.
³They come from God, Who cannot fail to give you what He wills.
⁴But there must be a place made ready to receive His Gifts.
⁵For His Gifts are not welcomed by a mind that has instead accepted the gifts it made for itself, to take the place of His.
2. Today we would set aside all the foolish gifts we gave ourselves, and place upon the holy altar—where God’s Gifts belong—those very gifts that are truly ours. II
²These are the gifts that truly belong to us.
³These are the gifts we inherited before time was, and that will still be ours when time has passed into eternity.
⁴These are the gifts that dwell within us now, for they are timeless.
⁵And we do not need to wait to have them.
⁶They are ours today.
⁷And so we choose them now, knowing that in doing so we simply join our will with what God wills, and recognize that His Will and ours are One.
3. Our longer practice periods today—the five minutes each hour we dedicate to the truth for our salvation—should begin with this:
²I seek only what truly belongs to me.
³Joy and peace are my inheritance.
⁴Then set aside all worldly conflicts that offer other gifts and other goals—gifts and goals that witness to illusions and are found only in a world of dreams.
4. Today we let all that go, and seek instead what is truly ours by asking to recognize what God has given.
²We clear a sacred space in our minds today before His altar, where His Gifts of peace and joy are welcomed, and where we come to find what He has given us.
³We come in confidence today, knowing that what truly belongs to us is what He gives.
⁴And we will want for nothing else, for nothing else truly belongs to us.
5. Thus, today we clear the way for Him, simply by acknowledging that His Will has already been fulfilled, and that joy and peace belong to us as His eternal Gifts.
²We will not let them slip from our awareness during the time between our practice periods of seeking where He placed them.
³To do so, we will bring this reminder to mind as often as we can:
⁴I seek only what truly belongs to me.
⁵The only things I want are God’s Gifts of joy and peace.
I I seek only what I truly am.
This Lesson speaks of how the mind can focus in two opposite directions in its search for what it so deeply longs for. One of these is outward, into an imaginary realm it calls the world, where it has projected its supposed lacks onto symbols it calls “things” or “circumstances,” and which this Course calls “symbols.”
The other direction is inward, into itself, to find the reality of its own Being.
II This is the most important part of today’s Lesson.
You may sincerely say that you seek the gifts God gave you, but in truth you do not seek them; rather, you search for them among all those things you have gathered for yourself and that now clutter your mind. “My God,” you ask, “where could those gifts that they say God gave me possibly be? Surely they must be somewhere—but there are just so many things here!”
Do you really believe you must search for God’s Gifts? Do you think He hides from you the things He gives you? The truth is you do not have to search for anything; you only need to let go of all that you have been accumulating in your mind because you thought it would make you happy. But realize that these are not objects, but ideas; the material things that may come to mind are nothing more than “idols,” physical symbols to which you attributed the underlying ideas you were truly seeking. Those things, places, circumstances, or even people, merely represented your own deep longings, which, if you reflect a little, you will have no difficulty identifying.
Anything you imagine and find attractive is an idol to you; it is what the world offers so that you may find the joy and peace you so greatly desire. The list is nearly endless. The first things that may come to mind are likely physical—beautiful clothes, delicious food, a comfortable home, or a body that attracts you. But to that list you may also add more abstract things, such as a spectacular sunrise, inspiring music, social prestige, greater intelligence, or romantic love… And also included are those spiritual qualities you believe would make you a better person, which, indeed, they would—virtues such as kindness, patience, generosity, or even trust.
Notice how, without realizing it, you have built a pyramid with a base grounded in the coarser things—those you might be ashamed of—and with upper levels increasingly abstract.
The world has the lower ones for sale; the higher ones you search for within yourself, and there are many that you find in between. But all of them share one thing: you desire them because you believe you do not have them and that you need them.
But do you truly believe that God created His Son to concern himself with such things?
You do not need to search for anything—not even for the gifts God has given you. Jesus, in truth, does not want you to search for them; He wants you to find them. He tells you to seek them only to draw your attention, to make you realize that you already have them, that all of this is already within you. Notice how He speaks of “recognizing what God has given us.”
What is imperative is that you stop searching for anything else, because you would only be wasting your time and the little energy you believe you have. That is why He exhorts you to clear “a holy place.”
Do not be distressed, and do not blame yourself when you find yourself searching for something you think you need and want, even that distressing problem that torments you or someone you love.
Forgive yourself, but become fully aware that you are losing direction and wasting time in this world of illusions.
You need nothing—except perhaps a miracle for yourself that brings you this understanding. You need nothing! Well, perhaps only a little faith.
Be at peace.
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LESSON 103
As God is Love, He is also happiness.
1. Happiness is an attribute of Love.
²It cannot be apart from It, nor can it be experienced where Love is not.
³Love has no limits, for It is everywhere.
⁴And therefore, joy is everywhere as well.
⁵But the mind can deny that this is so by believing there are gaps in Love through which sin can enter, bringing pain instead of joy. I
⁶This strange belief seeks to limit happiness by redefining Love as something limited, and by introducing opposites into that which has no limits and no opposite. II
2. Fear is then associated with Love, and its effects become the inheritance of minds that think what they have made is real. III
²These images, which are truly unreal, bear witness to the fear of God, forgetting that since God is Love, He must also be Joy.
³Today we will once again bring this fundamental error to the truth, and teach ourselves:
⁴As God is Love, He is also happiness.
⁵To fear God is to be afraid of joy.
⁶Begin your longer practice periods today by joining these ideas, which correct the false belief that God is fear.
⁷And they also affirm the idea that happiness is yours because of what God is. IV
3. Let this correction enter your mind every hour today.
²Then welcome all the happiness that comes from replacing fear with truth; and joy will become what you expect to take the place of pain.
³And since God is Love, that is what will be given you.
⁴Strengthen this hope often throughout the day, and quiet all your fears with this gentle and entirely true assurance:
5As God is Love, He is also happiness.
6And happiness is what I seek today.
7I cannot fail, because I seek the truth.
I As theText points out, the “gaps in love” are the apparent “gap between you and your brother” (T-28.VII.3:1) and the world itself: “What is the world except a tiny gap that seems to tear eternity apart and fragment it into days and months and years?” (T-28.III.6:4).
Review also the first section of Chapter 29 of the Text: “The Closing of the Gap.”
II The “strange belief” is to conceive, value, and uphold the idea that absences exist, which has already been discussed in the previous Lesson and in many others.
However, because it is the root idea of all illusions, it will continue to appear frequently throughout the Workbook.
Becoming aware of this harmful cognitive bias is crucial for the healing of your mind. Try to remain aware that everything you perceive, feel, or think is in continual change; therefore, it has no reality and, in truth, does not exist: it is illusion—everything is.
In this world of illusions, the only thing that saves you from it—from believing it is real and allowing it to affect you—is your forgiveness.
Forgive everything. Let it pass, for it is not real.
III Questioning the message that comes from a perceptual system that regards absences as entities is the next step in freeing your mind from the terrifying stories you now tell yourself. What you see and what you think you did are not real. You are misusing your mind; therefore, the conclusions you reach are mistaken, and your heart warns you of this at every moment.
Pay attention to your heart and understand that an absence of love is not to be permitted. Do not allow it; do not fall into the self-absorption of the world; there is nothing for you in what does not exist.
Your heart will warn you of this, for when you do not feed it with something real—with love—it goes hungry and protests: your heart reacts like a baby when you stop feeding it… with the Love of God.
IV Jesus speaks to you as to a frightened little child because, in truth, that is what you now are because of the way you think. Mature a little, be reasonable, order your mind, think clearly. Quiet your mind and become aware of your own existence; think of nothing else. Stay only with that—with your very existence—rest in existence.
Existence is your Mother, it is your Father, and it is what you are: the infinite fullness of your Being. Do not be afraid; mature, grow, do it by giving, by loving.
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LESSON 102
I share God’s Will for me to be happy.
1. You do not want to suffer.
²You may think that suffering brings you something, and you may still believe, to some extent, that it can give you what you want. I
³Yet it is likely that this belief is now beginning to waver—at least enough for you to question it and suspect that it truly makes no sense.
⁴It has not yet disappeared, but it no longer has the deep roots that once held it firmly in the dark and hidden places of your mind.
2. Today we will try to loosen its weakened hold even more, and realize that pain has no purpose, no cause, and no power to accomplish anything at all.
²Pain can bring you nothing.
³It offers you nothing, and it does not exist.
⁴And all that you believe it offers you is equally unreal.
⁵You have been enslaved by nothing. II
⁶Be free today to join in the joyful Will of God.
3. For several days we will continue devoting our longer practice periods to exercises designed to help you reach the happiness God’s Will has placed in you.
²There is where your home and safety lie.
³There is your peace, and there is no fear.
⁴There is salvation.
⁵There is where you finally find rest.
4. Begin today’s longer practices by accepting what God’s Will provides for you:
²I share God’s Will for me to be happy.
³And I now accept happiness as my function.
⁴Then seek this function deep within your mind, for there it is, awaiting only your decision. III
⁵You cannot fail to find it once you realize that your function is also your will—the same will you share with God.
5. Be happy, for your only function here is happiness.
²Be not less loving to the Son of God than He Whose Love created him as loving as Himself.
³In addition to your five-minute rest each hour, take frequent pauses today to remind yourself that you have now accepted happiness as your only function.
⁴And you can be sure that in doing so, you are joining with God’s Will.
I Today we continue to go deeper into the world’s concept of morality.
It may seem unnecessary to you to repeat ideas already covered, but make no mistake: reversing your way of thinking is such an immense task that it cannot be achieved through mere intellectual acceptance. Your mind has a strong tendency to fall back into its old habits, and if you are not very watchful, you will soon find yourself thinking as you did before. The repetition of fundamental ideas is, for a while, a necessary pedagogical tool.However, there is an even more effective way to anchor these new concepts in your mind: teach them to others. You will see how, in doing so, they truly become yours.
The idea that suffering is redemptive is deeply rooted in almost everyone’s consciousness. The origin of this strange belief lies in the assumption that evil exists—that is, that the absence of good exists.
Human beings are essentially utilitarian; they understand everything in terms of usefulness. Therefore, if evil exists, they reason that it must serve some purpose and must somehow be positive.
According to this insane logic, the negative must also be positive—which is, of course, absurd. From there, attributing to God the creation of evil and its function is but a small step. Now God has not only created good but also evil—probably for some obscure reason.
Thus, God must will evil, and it must be His Will that His Children suffer for their wickedness. Suffering becomes the medicine that will heal the Son of God so that he will not transgress His Laws again. And from all this, pure logic concludes that if God has created defective creatures, God Himself must be a clumsy craftsman, for He makes things that do not work properly.
As can clearly be seen, the entire preceding reasoning—deranged as it is—arises from conceiving the existence of evil, from thinking that the absence of something that exists must also exist. Once again: the cognitive bias of believing in the existence of absences is so widespread that it cannot even be recognized. Human beings think that what is missing is real, and they treat it as though it existed—and thus absences rule their sad lives.
When this Course tells you to fix your gaze on light and love, and not to consider sin because it does not exist, it is simply trying to heal that cognitive distortion which afflicts your mind with terrible consequences. That is why it is important that you pay attention and recognize in yourself this pernicious distortion.
The idea that suffering is redemptive also derives from the idea of sacrifice. In a world where everything has a price, and where to obtain something one must lose something else, it is inevitable to conclude that the cost of salvation must be suffering.
Thus, suffering becomes a revered and precious concept that, sadly, has managed to penetrate the very core of many religions.
II Pain, evil, suffering, darkness, separation, and death—these are all negative concepts, and therefore imaginary. They are not real; they are interpretations, not facts.
They do not exist, but the mind is free to consider them, and from there, it can either entertain them or reject them.
Therefore, you must watch your mind carefully and be conscious of what you accept and what you choose to dismiss. Choose wisely, for anything unreal that you allow to dwell in your holy mind will cause you suffering—and then you will likely blame God for it.
God has created only the positive. Do you not see that it is impossible to create otherwise? God has not created evil for the simple reason that He cannot. No one can create the impossible—neither can God. That is precisely why it is called impossible.
The Will of God is that you be happy—not because God is “good,” but simply because God is God.
It is not that God is good because He is not evil; He is good because to be evil is to not be, and God Is.
The same is true of you—and of your brother. To be “evil,” to suffer, to die, or to be alone are not realities—they are merely considerations of the condition of non-being.
For God’s sake, do not think such madness! Do not torture yourself anymore. It serves no purpose—and besides, it is not the Will of Him who created you.
Quiet your mind, look within, and become aware of your own existence—and of the fact that existence itself is utterly satisfying and is happiness.Rejoice and delight in your Being, for when you become fully aware of It, you will realize that you need nothing else—and that there is nothing else.
In any case, do not become anxious, depressed, or distressed over your apparent inability to be happy. Realize that when this happens, it is simply because you have returned to your favorite activity: hurting yourself. You have long confused pain with pleasure, and that is why you need to train your mind into healthier habits.
You can be absolutely certain that you will succeed. Your happiness is not only possible—it is inevitable, because it is timeless, and your confusion exists only within an illusory, transient time.
All the suffering you experience comes from your great efforts to protect error. A moment will come when you will cease to do so and finally rest in truth. This Course merely aims to hasten that process.
III The happiness you so deeply long for lies in the very depths of your mind, waiting for you to accept it, claim it, and enjoy it forever.
Happiness is not something you have, but what you are.
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LESSON 101
God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.
1. Today we will continue with the theme of happiness.
²This is a key idea for understanding what salvation really means.
³You still believe that salvation demands suffering as penance for your “sins.”
⁴But it does not.
⁵Yet that is what you will surely think as long as you believe that sin is real and that the Son of God can sin.
2. If sin is real, punishment is both just and unavoidable.
²Therefore, salvation can only be attained through suffering.
³If sin is real, then happiness must be an illusion, for both cannot be true.
⁴Sinners deserve only death and pain; and this is what they seek.
⁵For they know this is what awaits them, what will pursue them, and what will find them in the end.
⁶It will come for them somewhere, sometime, in some way that will settle the debt they owe to God.
⁷They want to escape Him out of fear.
⁸But He will hunt them down, and they cannot escape.
3. If sin is real, salvation must be pain. I
²Pain is the cost of sin, and if sin is real then suffering is inevitable.
³Salvation must be feared, for it will kill—but slowly—taking everything before granting its victims the pleasant mercy of death, when they are little more than bones and dust.
⁴Its wrath is vast and ruthless, but entirely just.
4. Who would seek such savage punishment?
²Who would not run from salvation and try in every way to silence the Voice that offers it?
³Why would anyone try to listen and accept its gift?
⁴If sin is real, then what that Voice offers is a cruel death, in keeping with the twisted wishes in which sin was born.
⁵If sin is real, salvation has become your fiercest enemy—God’s curse upon you, for having crucified His Son.
5. Today you must practice with all your heart.
²These exercises are teaching you that sin is not real, and that all the things you think must come from sin will never happen, for they have no cause.
³Accept the Atonement with an open mind—one that does not hold to the persistent belief that you have turned the Son of God into a devil. II
6. Sin does not exist. III
²Today we will practice this thought as often as possible, for it is the foundation of today’s idea.
³God’s Will for you is perfect happiness, because sin does not exist and suffering has no cause.
⁴Joy is wholly fitting; pain is only a sign that you have misunderstood yourself.
7. Do not be afraid of God’s Will.
²Instead, go toward it with full confidence, knowing it will free you from all the consequences that sin has brought about in your feverish imagination.
³Say:
⁴God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.[iv]
⁵Sin does not exist, and it has no effects.
⁶This is how your practice sessions should begin.
⁷Then, once again, try to find the joy these thoughts will bring into your mind.
⁸Gladly give five minutes to lifting off the heavy burden you laid upon yourself with the mad belief that sin is real.
8. Escape from madness today.
²You are already on the path that leads to freedom, and now today’s idea gives you wings to quicken your advance, and hope to go still faster toward the goal of peace that waits for you.
³Sin does not exist.
⁴Remember this today, and tell yourself as often as you can:
⁵God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.
⁶This is the truth, because sin does not exist.
I If the sin (of my brother) is real, then salvation (mine) must be his pain.
This is the world’s way of thinking; but if history has proven anything, it is that this way does not work. It resolves nothing: the fear of punishment does not dissuade the guilty from doing evil; on the contrary, it fuels them. The most punitive societies are also those that harbor the greatest number of criminals.
It is obvious that we must think differently.
II This is an extremely important point in the ontology of this Course and one that must be well understood.
The “moral” reasoning of the world’s thought system runs more or less as follows: your sins deserve punishment in the form of suffering so that you may learn not to sin again; and sinning means doing wrong deliberately—voluntarily breaking the laws of the world.
Those who sin believe that the world is real, that their wrongful actions are real, and they also hold an ingrained sense of “justice,” which leads them to believe that their wrongdoings deserve a just punishment that will cause them real suffering.
Everyone believes and accepts—even the vast majority of students of this Course—that those who do evil suffer and that those who do good are happy, because deep down, everyone assumes there is a kind of retributive system that punishes the wicked and rewards the good. And isn’t that, after all, what our life experience constantly seems to confirm? Do we not feel good when we act rightly and bad when we act wrongly?
The moral principle of good and evil is so deeply rooted in our consciousness that it is almost impossible to see that, in truth, morality is the foundational structure of the ego—its nourishment. Recall how Genesis describes the birth of the ego and of guilt after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
This Course, very gently and tenderly, urges you—vehemently—to discard the idea of evil, and, in a far subtler way, it also encourages you to forgive the idea of good as something relative to the world.
What do you think it means when it says that the world is an illusion? What could you possibly find in an illusory world but illusions of evil and illusions of good?
You will not find anything real in this world, because this world is not real. Reflect deeply and recognize that this Course is not moral. How could it be, if God is not? Do you see it now?
Morality is a dualistic code that presupposes the existence of good and also of its opposite—its absence: evil.
You probably remember that absences do not exist. How could they? Only a confused mind could take them into account.
This Course constantly urges you to forgive—to forgive everything—because everything you will let pass was never really there: neither evil nor good.
Your best experience in this world is to witness the miracles that your healed mind will perceive, but understand that even those miracles you see will be illusions—the only real component in them is the Love that inspires them.
Remember the third principle of miracles. Only from this perspective will you understand expressions such as “sin is not real” or “sin does not exist.”You probably make a great effort to be a good person—but wake up! You are not a person! You are the Son of God!
When this Course tells you to forgive, it is not so that you may become a better person; it tells you this because there is nothing to forgive. Sin, offense, harm, resentment, and pain are not real. That is why you must forgive everything. It has nothing to do with good or evil—it has to do with the unreality of evil.
This is not a moral Course, but neither is it amoral. This is a Course on Truth, and Truth is Goodness—Reality—the infinite Love of God, your unlimited Self, the only thing that exists.
Yet as long as you believe yourself to be in this world, all that will be, for you, little more than beautiful words. That is why what you need now is to train your personal mind with patience and perseverance, so that little by little it may be purified of the fearful beliefs that now enslave it.
III 1 John 3:5 “You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.”
IV Today’s idea is very simple, very beautiful, and very obvious—but notice that it is supported by a basic premise: sin is not real, and therefore it has no consequences. And perhaps you ask again: how, then, is it possible that when I act wrongly, I feel bad, and when I act rightly, I feel good?
Again, none of that is real. Everything you interpret as something happening in your mind or your emotional system is a projection of beliefs arising in the mind of the Son of God.
The first belief—derived from the idea of separation—is that you are a person, a separate being. To this belief—false, like all beliefs, and mother of illusions—are added countless others that, although not truly related, appear to be: the moral beliefs.
Now, the belief in being a person becomes the belief in being a good or bad person, a happy or suffering one, and that is why you always feel as the mind believes it ought to feel. It is the moral principles that feed the ego principle, which cause what you—as a now-separated person—interpret as your emotions. All this is nothing but a fable of the mind. None of it is true. You are the holy Son of God.
The ego will always recoil in horror at the notion of being an effect and not a cause. But trust—you are not an ego, nor a person. You are the holy Son of God, and the sins you believe to be real—yours or anyone else’s—are not real.
To accept this, the separated mind requires the Grace of faith. The real Self that you are, however, knows nothing of such intrigue.
Yet as a separated mind, you will need all your good will and constant practice to heal your nightmare and turn it into a happy dream—a fiction that serves as the antechamber to your true awakening.
Rejoice, then, for you are walking in the right direction.
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LESSON 100
My part is essential in God’s plan for salvation.
1. Just as the Son of God completes His Father, your contribution completes your Father’s plan.
²Salvation must reverse the insane belief in separate thoughts and separate bodies, living separate lives and going their separate ways.
³When separate minds share one single function, they are united in one purpose, for each of them is equally essential to all the rest.
2. God’s Will for you is perfect happiness.
²Why would you choose to go against His Will?
³The role He has assigned to you in His plan was given so you could be restored to what He wills.
⁴That role is as essential to His plan as it is to your happiness.
⁵Your joy must be complete so that those to whom He sends you may understand His plan. I
⁶They will see their own function in your shining face, and hear God calling to them in your happy smile.
3. Indeed, you are essential to God’s plan.
²Without your joy, His is incomplete.
³Without your smile, the world cannot be saved.
⁴As long as you remain sad, the Light God Himself appointed as the means to save the world is dim and without brilliance.
⁵And no one smiles, for all laughter is but an echo of your own.
4. Truly, you are essential to God’s plan.
²Just as your Light increases the radiance of every Light that shines in Heaven, your joy on earth calls all minds to leave behind their sorrow and take their place with you in God’s plan.
³God’s messengers are joyful, and their joy heals all sorrow and despair.
⁴They are the proof that God wills perfect happiness for all who will accept their Father’s gifts.
5. Today we will not allow ourselves to be sad.
²For if we are, we are failing to assume our role, which is essential to God’s plan and to our vision.
³To be sad is to signal that you would prefer to play another part, rather than the one God has given you.
⁴In that way, you are unable to show the world how great is the happiness He wills for you.
⁵And so, you do not recognize that it is already yours.
6. Today we will try to understand that our function here is to be happy.
²If you are sad, you are not fulfilling your role, and then the whole world is deprived of joy along with you.
³God asks you to be happy so that the world may see how much He loves His Son, and that His Will is that no sorrow shall diminish his joy, nor fear disturb his peace.
⁴Today you are God’s messenger.
⁵You carry His Happiness to everyone you look upon, and His Peace to all who gaze on you and see His message in your happy face.
7. Today we will prepare for this in our five-minute practices, feeling happiness rise within us, just as it is the Will of our Father—and our own.
²Begin the exercises with the thought that contains today’s idea.
³Then realize that your role is to be happy.
⁴This is the only thing ever asked of you or anyone who wants to take their rightful place among the messengers of God.
⁵Think of what this means.
⁶Truly, you were very mistaken in believing that you were asked to sacrifice.
⁷According to God’s plan, you only receive, and never lose anything, nor sacrifice, nor die.
8. Now let us try to find that joy which proves to us—and to the world—the true Will of God for us.
²Your function is to find it here and now.
³This is why you came. II
⁴Let this be the day you succeed.
9. Look deep within yourself, undismayed by all the foolish thoughts and meaningless goals you pass as you rise to meet the Christ in you.
²He will be there.
³And you can reach Him now.
⁴What would you rather look upon instead of Him Who waits for you to see Him?
⁵What petty thought could hold you back?
⁶What foolish goal could keep you from success, when it is God Himself Who calls to you?
10. He will be there.
²You are essential to His plan.
³Today you are His messenger.
⁴And you will surely find what He would have you give.
⁵Do not forget today’s idea between your longer practice periods.
⁶It is your Self Who calls to you today.
⁷And it is to Him you answer each time you remind yourself that you are essential to God’s plan for the salvation of the world.
I John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”
John 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
II At last we are told what our function and our role are in God’s plan for the salvation of the world! This is the answer to that fundamental question that few ever ask: What am I living for?
Perhaps you have never asked yourself this question so directly, and it is curious that, although everyone recognizes the importance of asking it, the world offers no satisfactory answer—and probably no one has ever offered you one. It is also quite surprising that, while you can find endless manuals explaining the purpose of every object imaginable, not one of them explains what you are for—what your function is, the reason you have come.
Well, now you know why you were created; now you know what your role is—which should not surprise you either. Is it not precisely what you have instinctively sought throughout your existence: to be happy? For it is perfectly evident that everything you do and have ever done—absolutely everything—has always had exactly that purpose: happiness. You will find nothing truer than this—you were born to be happy.
Therefore, when you are not happy, it is also evident that you are malfunctioning, just like any mechanism with a broken internal part. In fact, when you are sad, depressed, or feel fear, anger, or any state of mind other than happiness, it is because you too have a damaged internal mechanism—your mind. Whenever you are not happy, it is because your mind is functioning wrongly; it is because you are thinking things that are not true. It is as simple as that.
Perhaps you understand this reasoning, which is perfectly logical, and probably you agree with it, and yet you will often find yourself feeling bad—fully aware that you are not happy—and unable to escape that situation.
When that happens, remember that it is because your mind is conceiving falsehoods, erroneous thoughts, and unjust condemnations. At times these are conscious contents—and those are relatively easy to address, as long as you have the humility to recognize that you must have been mistaken when you thought that way. Only your pride can prevent the healing of such thoughts; only if you cling to the need to be right can you deprive yourself of happiness in that instant.
But other times—and this happens with most human beings, most of the time—it is old mental contents buried deep in consciousness which, though not surfacing in identifiable form, manifest as nameless depression, anonymous apathy, or a tendency toward anger that betrays hidden fears. These are ancient habits of erroneous thinking, forgotten by the conscious mind, yet still active in its depths.
This Course heals in both cases, and if practiced wholeheartedly, it always heals. Be honest and courageous with the first kind. Acknowledge the harmful thought that poisons your heart and correct it at once. You can be healed of that in an instant. It is very easy. Look upon the situation with clean eyes and correct it. Change your way of thinking by seeking the light present in every circumstance—you already know how; you need only place your will in it. And of course it is worth it! The relief is immediate and the reward immense. As said: this is very easy and requires only honesty, humility, and courage.
The old hidden resentments require another strategy. Here patience, perseverance, and faith are needed. You will have noticed the great emphasis this Course places on mental discipline. You will also have noticed that you are asked to do the same thing, many times, and over many days. Changing your old mental habits requires deep work over a long period. Understand that you have been deceiving yourself for most of your life. This is not about a single specific error that you can easily identify and immediately correct—it is about completely reversing an entire thought system. It is no trivial task. Still, you will accomplish it.
You may recall that at the beginning of the Text of this Course you were told that everyone is entitled to miracles, but that purification must first come. This is precisely that: the purification your mind needs in order to work miracles as a natural habit—because of your miracle-mindedness, and because you are happy. You always see the luminous side of life because you live in the certainty of being the Son of God—you know it, you live it, and you are joyful. You have been healed, and now you inevitably heal others. You need not even try to—you heal because you are happy and have become a healer.
Rejoice that you are practicing today’s Lesson of happiness—number one hundred. Never forget it. Think of how far you have come and how much you have discovered about yourself and about truth. It is a genuine privilege and an honor to be where you are and to be doing what you are doing. Make no mistake: you did not arrive here by chance—you have earned it.
Take this opportunity and recognize what true happiness is: joy in the heart, peace in the mind, and the absolute certainty that it will always be so.
How simple it is to be happy!
But how difficult it is to be simple!
(Gururaj Ananda Yogui)
Being happy is very easy, but it requires a condition that is often difficult to meet: you cannot focus on or follow the world’s interpretation of reality. You need another—one that is almost its opposite.
This individual who has said “yes” to God’s plan for salvation and who has found happiness—what must he do to maintain that happiness and bring and offer it to others?
He must completely disregard all the world’s stories and keep his mind fixed on God. If this is not the case, it is utterly impossible to be truly happy in this world.
If you believe the story the world tells about itself, how could you be happy?
How could you be happy if you believe the stories you see on television, those you read in newspapers, the misfortunes your friends, neighbors, or family recount—or those you tell yourself most of the time?Believing those, how could you possibly be happy? Thus, to be happy is impossible.
How can you be happy if, after hearing those stories, you believe that they are true, that they are important, and that they concern you?
For, look closely: all the world’s efforts at communication are aimed at involving you in its insane way of interpreting reality.
Do you see now why happiness is impossible that way?
In that discouraging situation, the first thing you must tell yourself is: those problems are not real, they are not important—but they do concern me, because I have the responsibility of assuming my role in God’s plan for salvation. And next: the remedies the world proposes are not the solution. They will never work. They will only perpetuate and worsen the problems.
God’s plan for salvation is spiritual, because the problem is spiritual. The world is disturbed by effects but knows nothing of the true cause. The world’s problem is separation, and by addressing that single cause, all the world’s problems are resolved.
The mind of the Son of God is fractured, like two tectonic plates colliding deep beneath the sea. The world is concerned with the devastating effects of the waves that the quake causes on the surface, but the problem lies at the depths.
Heal that—and you will have healed everything.
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LESSON 99
My only function here is salvation.
1. Salvation and forgiveness are the same. I
²Both imply that something has gone wrong—something from which you need to be saved or forgiven; something mistaken that calls for a corrective shift; something apart from or different than the Will of God.
³Both terms, therefore, imply the impossible, yet something that seems to have occurred, now resulting in a state of conflict between what is and what could never be.
2. Truth and illusion are now placed on equal footing, for both appear to have occurred.
²The impossible becomes that which you must forgive or be saved from.
³Salvation is the borderland between truth and illusion.
⁴It reflects truth, for it is the means by which you can escape illusions.
⁵But it is not the truth, because it undoes what never happened.
3. How can there be a meeting place where earth and Heaven may be reconciled within a mind that holds both?
²The mind that sees illusions believes they are real.
³They exist, in that they are thoughts.
⁴But they are not real, for the mind that thinks such thoughts is separate from God. II
4. What could join a separated mind and its thoughts with the Mind and the Thought that are forever One?
²What plan could preserve truth untouched, while also recognizing the needs that arise from believing in illusions, and provide the means to undo them without attack and without pain?
³What plan could this be but a Thought of God by which what never happened is overlooked, and sins that never were are gently left behind?
5. The Holy Spirit holds this plan of God exactly as He received it from Him, within the Mind of God, and also within your own.
²This plan is not bound by time, because its Source is timeless.
³Yet it works within time, because you believe time is real.
⁴The Holy Spirit is unmoved by all you see—sin, pain, death, grief, separation, and loss.
⁵For He knows one thing remains forever true: God is still Love, and what you see is not His Will. III
6. This is the Thought that brings illusions to the truth and sees them as appearances behind which lies what is changeless and sure.
²This is the Thought that saves and forgives, for it places no faith in anything not created by the only Source it knows.
³This is the Thought whose function is to save, by offering you Its Function as your own.
7. Salvation is the function you must fulfill, together with Him to Whom the plan was given.
²Now that plan is entrusted to you, along with Him.
³He has one answer to all appearances, regardless of their form, their size, their intensity, or any attribute they seem to have:
⁴My only function here is salvation.
⁵God is still Love, and this is not His Will.
8. You, who are destined to work miracles, be sure to practice today’s idea well.
²Try to feel the strength in what you say, for these words hold your freedom.
³Your Father loves you.
⁴That world of pain is not His Will.
⁵Forgive yourself for believing that He wanted that for you.
⁶Then let the Thought with which He has replaced all your errors enter the shadowed places of your mind that gave birth to such thoughts, which were never His Will.
⁷That part of your mind belongs to God, as does the rest.
⁸It holds no private thoughts, nor makes them real by hiding them from Him.
9. Let the Light come in, and you will see no obstacles to what He wills for you.
²Open your secrets to His gentle Light, and see how bright this Light still shines in you.
³Practice His Thought today, and let His Light seek out and light up all your darkened corners, shining upon them to unite them with the rest of your mind.
10. God’s Will is that your mind be One with His.
²God’s Will is to have one Son.
³God’s Will is that His only Son is you.
⁴Reflect on this during today’s practice, and begin the longer sessions with this teaching that leads the way to truth:
⁵My only function here is salvation.
⁶Salvation and forgiveness are the same.
⁷Then turn to Him Who shares your function with you, and let Him teach you what you need to learn to leave behind all fear, and know your Self as Love, which has no opposite within you.
11. Forgive all thoughts that stand in opposition to the truth of your wholeness, your oneness, and your peace.
²The gifts your Father gave you cannot be lost.
³You do not want to be someone else.
⁴You have no function but the one God gave you.
⁵Forgive yourself the function you believed you made for yourself.
⁶Forgiveness and salvation are the same.
⁷Forgive what you think you have done, and you will have been saved.
12. Today a special message has been given you that holds the power to remove all doubt and fear from your mind forever.
²If you are tempted to believe your doubts and fears are real, remember that no appearance can withstand the truth contained in these mighty words:
³My only function here is salvation.
⁴God is still Love, and this is not His Will.
13. Your only function tells you that you are One.
²Remind yourself of this often when you are not spending five minutes with the Voice that speaks for God.
³Remind yourself:
⁴My only function here is salvation.
⁵In this way, you place forgiveness in your mind, and gently lay all fear aside, so that Love may find Its rightful place in you and show you that you are the Son of God.
I Forgiveness is the act of ceasing to give importance to illusion—that is, to what does not exist—and in that very instant… you have already been saved, for from then on you remain only with what is real. How, then, could forgiving and being saved not be the same?
II Without a doubt, this is the most difficult Lesson in this Course. It is so difficult, in fact, that it cannot be understood. It is impossible for your particular mind to understand it for the simple reason that your particular mind does not exist—it is illusory. And this statement is also impossible to understand, and the personal mind will never understand it, because mind is not personal. This is the ontological principle upon which this Course is based: you are not the being you believe yourself to be, and the place in which you think you find yourself is an illusion conceived by a confused mind. You are everything you long for and believe you lack.
Acknowledge that it is difficult for you to accept that the world you perceive is an illusion, even though reason confirms it, for you see nothing permanent in it—everything changes. What is now soon ceases to be, and that disturbs you. You cannot halt that constant change which time imposes upon matter; physics itself confirms it. On the microscopic level, everything moves at dizzying speed. Then, what does it mean “to be”? For in that way of being there is no being, only becoming—but Heraclitus said that long ago. Parmenides, the enlightened one, on the other hand, says that this is not existence, that it is an illusion of existence—it is not being, but only seeming to be. What, then, could it be but a deception of the mind?
At this stage of the Course, though you may not have fully accepted the illusory nature of the world, you have opened your mind to the possibility, and perhaps even regard it sympathetically, for you understand that your liberation lies precisely in that. Yet what triggers all the alarms is the realization that your personal mind—the “instrument” with which you perceive this illusory world—is itself an illusion, and therefore does not exist. The being you believe yourself to be does not truly exist. And your mind rebels against that—how could it not?
Indeed, that which so fervently resists acknowledging its own nonexistence is precisely your ego. But is it not perfectly legitimate for something to refuse to recognize that it does not exist? Could anything be more legitimate than that? What is happening here? Where is truth? Do you now understand why this is the most difficult Lesson of the Course? Now, probably, you do.
The idea you hold of yourself is false. You are not what you think you are. How, then, can this be?
Try to see it this way: you are, indeed, real—you are a real mind; you exist. What has happened is that this real mind that you are conceived a thought whose content is untrue: the idea that it is a separate being. And it has identified itself with the content of that idea which it itself conceived. Now the mind no longer believes itself to be the mind that conceived the thought, but the very content of that false idea—that separate being.
The situation is simple yet utterly perverse. The mind has remained fixated on that bastard conception for an illusory span of time seemingly immense. And now that mind lovingly “nurtures” that aberrant “creature”—alone and separate—for it gave birth to it. That ghastly content is the idea the confused mind harbors. Is the mind separated? No! But it believes it is.
This is the tangle Jesus seeks to undo with this Course: the restoration of the mind to its natural state by dissolving the fictitious idea of separation. This he calls the healing of the mind. Realize, however, that Jesus invites you to heal a mind that in itself is perfectly whole, for it remains exactly as God created it. But since that mind believes in the madness it conceived, Jesus has no choice but to relate to it on its own terms, for in order to communicate with a mind that believes itself an individual, alone and separate, he must use its own language.
This Course does not operate within a real realm—it operates within an illusory one, for that is where it is needed, since the individual mind to which it is addressed does believe that what it perceives in its hallucination is real. Within the realm of the world, everything this Course says is strictly true and absolutely helpful—therefore, you would do well to give it your full attention. Yet in Reality, this Course is completely superfluous, for there it is not only unnecessary but inconceivable. But remember: your personal mind does not know Reality—it perceives only illusions. And as long as you believe yourself to be an individual in this world, so it will seem to be. That is why Jesus urges you to “forgive,” to disregard what you perceive—even your own thoughts.
Do not worry if you do not understand all this; it is not understandable, nor do you need to understand it. Nevertheless, you will probably grasp intuitively the idea that the Mind of your One Self—which is the Mind of God—does not “comprehend” anything. To comprehend is to grasp and incorporate, and the real mind does not do that; the real mind is everything. So return to your affairs, joyful in your new consecration, and celebrate that you are on the path to peace. Nothing more is needed.
A time will come when time itself will end for you—and with it, all your fears and doubts. Remember these words you will find in T-7.I.7: “We have said that the final step in the reawakening of knowledge is taken by God. This is true, but it is hard to explain in words, because words are but symbols, and what is true needs no explanation. Yet the Holy Spirit always has the task of translating the useless into the useful, the meaningless into the meaningful, and the temporal into the timeless. He therefore can tell you something about this last step. But this you must know: through this step you know what you are. This step is your being.”
III 1 John 4:8 “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” -
LESSON 98
I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.
1. Today is a day of special dedication.
²Today we take a stand on one side only.
³We align ourselves with Truth and abandon illusions.
⁴We will not waver between these two choices, but instead take a firm position in favor of what is One.
⁵Today we devote ourselves to Truth and to salvation as God has planned it.
⁶We will not argue that it is something else, nor will we seek it where it cannot be found.
⁷We gladly accept salvation as it is, and take on the role God has given us.I
2. How joyful it is to be certain!
²Today we set aside all our doubts, and take our stand with clear purpose, grateful that doubt has vanished and certainty has come. II
³We have a mighty purpose to fulfill, and all that we need to reach the goal has been given to us.
⁴Not a single mistake stands in our way.
⁵For we have been absolved of every error.
⁶All our sins have been forgiven in the understanding that they were nothing but mistakes.
3. Those who are guiltless are unafraid, for they feel secure and know they are safe. III
²They do not turn to magic, nor invent ways of escaping from imagined threats.
³They rest in the quiet certainty that they will do what has been given them to do.
⁴They do not question their own ability, for they know they will fulfill their function perfectly, in the perfect time and place.
⁵They made the choice we make today, that we may share their certainty, and so increase it by accepting it for ourselves.
4. All those who have taken the stand we now take will be with us, and gladly offer us all that they have learned and every gain they made.
²Those who still feel uncertain will also join us, and by sharing our certainty will make it stronger still.
³Even those yet unborn will hear the call we heard, and answer it when they come to choose once more. IV
⁴Today we do not choose for ourselves alone. V
5. Is it not worth five minutes of each hour to accept the happiness God has given you?
²Is it not worth five minutes of each hour to recognize your special function here?
³Do you not think five minutes is a small request in exchange for such a great reward it cannot be measured?
6. You have made thousands of bargains in which you gave away everything.
²Yet here is an offer that guarantees your full release from every kind of pain, and joy not of this world.
³You are asked to exchange a little of your time for peace of mind and certainty of purpose, with the promise of complete success.
⁴And since time means nothing, you are being given everything for nothing.
⁵This is a bargain you cannot lose. VI
⁶And what you gain is truly unlimited!
7. Give Him your small offering of five minutes each hour today.
²He will infuse the words you use in practicing today’s idea with deep conviction and the certainty you lack.
³His Words will join with yours, making each repetition of today’s idea a full dedication, with faith as perfect and as firm as His in you.
⁴His trust in you will light up every word you speak, and you will go beyond their sound to what they truly mean. VII
8. Practice with Him today, saying:
²I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.
³In every one of the five minutes you spend with God, He will accept your words and give them back to you radiant with faith and trust, so firm and sure they will light the world with hope and joy.
⁴Miss not one chance to be the happy bearer of His Gifts, that you may give them to the world today.
9. Offer your words to God, and He will do the rest.
²He will help you understand your special function.
³He will open the path to happiness, and peace and trust will be His Gifts and His answer to your words.
⁴God will respond with all His faith, His joy, and His certainty that what you say is true.
⁵And then you will possess the same conviction as He Who knows the function given you, both on earth and in Heaven. VIII
⁶God will be with you in every practice you share with Him, and He will exchange every moment you offer Him for timelessness and peace.
10. Spend the rest of each hour joyfully preparing for the next five minutes you will spend again with Him. IX
²Repeat today’s idea as you wait for this happy time to come.
³Repeat it often, and remember that each time you do, you prepare your mind for the joyful moment that approaches.
11. And when the hour has passed, and He is there once more to spend another moment with you, be grateful and lay aside all worldly tasks, all petty thoughts and limited ideas, and enjoy another blessed moment with Him.
²Tell Him once again that you accept the role He would have you take, and that He helps you to fulfill, and God will give you the certainty that you truly want this choice He has made with you, and you with Him.
I Today’s Lesson is a firm declaration of will. You are urged today to place your will wholly and exclusively in one direction: to fulfill the role assigned to you by God for the salvation of the world.
You do not yet know exactly what is required of you. Do not worry: in two Lessons you will. In the preceding Lessons we have learned who we truly are, and now the time has come to begin the work. We have moved from contemplation to being called to action—to profess our newfound faith.
II Since you have chosen, the alternatives have vanished from your mind, and with them, all doubts. You can now rest relieved of all tension. There are no longer any conflicts draining your energy. Today you have consecrated yourself to a single cause.
III You will not only cease attacking yourself with your doubts—you will, above all, stop attacking yourself by feeling guilty. What for? Under the new interpretation you have already recognized that guilt serves no good purpose. You have realized that guilt does not make you a better person—quite the opposite. Now you know that you have never sinned. Now you understand that, yes, you have made mistakes—but to sin? Never!
You can now use all your energy to correct your mind, and even to repair whatever harm your errors may have caused—but you will do so joyfully and relieved, for you no longer feel guilty. Now you will truly be effective.
IV This is a veiled allusion to the illusory process of reincarnation in bodies.
V With today’s consecration you enter the company of God’s messengers. You are not alone; you join with many others who have made the same decision you make today. With the Love of God in your heart and your mind radiant with light, you embody in yourself the gospel of Jesus.
Now you have chosen the salvation of the world, for that is the mission entrusted to you. And to fulfill it you need neither speak a word nor act on your own. In a couple of Lessons your single role will be clearly defined.
VI It is indeed touching how Jesus presents salvation to you in almost mercantile terms. Moreover, it is a genuine offer! Give that little bit that is asked of you with all your heart, and you will see what happens. Nothing more need be said.
VII The support given to your little faith is entirely real—it is no abstraction. You need only give it a chance to manifest itself, and it will appear in your awareness. All that is asked of you is a little willingness on your part, and you will see how the path to a new understanding opens in your mind. Try it. It costs you nothing, and you will see it for yourself.
VIII The function that has been assigned to you will soon be revealed.
Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
IX During those five minutes you reaffirm your consecration to your new function, and for the rest of the time you enjoy the certainty and peace that come from having unified your will. You do not need to neglect your worldly affairs—on the contrary, you carry them out joyfully and impeccably, applying your new way of seeing. You will find that everything goes much better for you. You are no longer alone. You walk through the world performing your tasks accompanied by Jesus, for he goes beside you and is at your disposal for all that you may need.
And when doubts assail you and you feel without strength, recognize that:
① Your consecration is an idea.
② Your doubts are also an idea.
③ Feeling that you have no strength is also an idea, which you may associate with either of the other two.
And then…
④ Associate the idea of lacking strength with the idea of harboring doubts, and you will find you have no strength left to doubt.
Then rest your mind, reaffirm your special consecration, and move forward.
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LESSON 97
I am Spirit.
1. Today’s idea identifies you with your one Self. I
²It accepts no split identity, nor attempts to weave opposing factors into unity.
³It simply states the truth.
⁴Practice this truth today as often as you can, for it will bring your mind out of conflict and lead it into the calm fields of peace.
⁵Now no fear can enter, for your mind has been absolved of madness by abandoning the illusion of a divided identity.
2. Today we reaffirm the truth about your Self, the holy Son of God Who rests in you, whose mind has been restored to sanity.
2You are the Spirit, lovingly endowed with all the Love, the Peace, and the Joy of your Father.
3You are the Spirit Who completes God Himself, and Who shares His function as Creator.
4He is always with you, as you are always with Him.II
3. Today we seek to bring reality still closer to your mind.
²Each time you practice, you become at least a little more aware, and sometimes thousands of years or more are saved. III
³The minutes you give are multiplied again and again, for the miracle makes use of time but is not ruled by it.
⁴Salvation is a miracle—the first and the last.
⁵The first is also the last, for salvation is a miracle that is one.
4. You are the Spirit in Whose Mind the miracle in which all time stands still abides, the miracle in which one moment spent in using these ideas becomes a time of timelessness and infinite release.
2Give these minutes gladly, and count on Him Who promised to infuse them with eternity. IV
3He will strengthen every little effort you make with all His Strength.
4Give Him the minutes He needs today, that He may help you understand with Him that you are the Spirit who abides in God, who calls through His Voice to every living thing.
5He offers His Vision to all who ask, and replaces error with the simple truth.
5. The Holy Spirit will be glad to take five minutes of each hour from your hands and carry them around this aching world, where pain and misery seem to rule.
²He will not overlook one open mind that is ready to accept the healing gifts your practice brings and He will place them everywhere He knows they will be welcomed. V
3And every time someone accepts them as his thoughts and uses them to heal, their healing power will grow.
6. Thus will every gift you give be multiplied a thousandfold and tens of thousands more.
²And when it is returned to you, it will surpass in might the little gift you gave, just as the sun outshines a fading spark from a firefly that only lives a moment and is gone.
³The lasting brilliance of this light will stay with you, guiding you out of darkness, and you will never forget the way again.
7. Begin these happy exercises with the words the Holy Spirit speaks to you, and let them echo throughout the world through Him:
²I am Spirit,
³A holy Son of God,
⁴Free of all limits,
⁵Safe, healed and whole,
⁶Free to forgive,
⁷And free to save the world.
⁸And once you have expressed this, the Holy Spirit will accept the gift you received from Him, increase its power, and return it to you.
8. Gladly give Him each practice today.
²And He will speak to you, reminding you that you are Spirit, that you are one with Him and with God, with your brothers and with your Self.
3Listen to His promise every time you speak the words He gives you today, and let Him tell your mind they are the truth.
4Use them in every moment of uncertainty, and you will escape the mournful consequences of believing you are something else.
5The Holy Spirit brings you peace today.
6Receive His words, and offer them to Him.
I This is the fifth and final consecutive Lesson devoted to your One Self—a sign of the crucial importance the Course gives to this concept. This term expresses the consistency and integrity of your reality. You are much more than merely analogous to God; you are identical to Him, for you were created exactly in His image and likeness. You are His Extension, His beloved Son.
Being One—identical and forever unchangeable—alternatives are impossible, and with them, conflict and doubt. This is the perfect monopolarity of Existence, of What Is, of God, of what you are.
You are That: pure Being, Being pure. Your only function is to be What You Are—the perfect and sole expression of the three aspects of Being: Love, Knowledge, and Will, manifested without limit, infinitely and eternally. You love Reality with infinite love—all that exists—which is what you are and which you know perfectly, because it is your own Self, which you create in eternity by extending your own existence without end.
Words fall far too short to describe your Reality. That is your One Self. Your ego is utterly dazzled by even the faintest vision of your Self. And it cannot even be said that your light “dispels” the darkness of your ego, for there never was any darkness—only the faint belief that once there had been, in an illusory time. That is what you are: all that is, has been, and ever will be.
II Matthew 28:20 “…and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Amen.
III In the dream, a thousand years of sleep are saved; Reality continues within its own continuity. Reality is forever and ever.
IV Here—and in the three lines that follow—the reference is to the Holy Spirit.
V These lines highlight the importance and profound value of time dedicated to sincere contemplation and prayer. They remind us that any moment given to the Holy Spirit becomes a powerful instrument of healing for the world. Every receptive mind receives the benefit of such dedication, for mind—being shared—is positively influenced by the spiritual practice of a few.
In this sense, the quiet yet extraordinarily effective work of those who, like cloistered monks and nuns, offer their entire lives in contemplation and prayer stands out in particular. Their silent, constant, and humble commitment contributes significantly to transforming and healing the collective consciousness, thus expanding peace and alleviating suffering in a world where pain seems to predominate.
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LESSON 96
Salvation comes from my one Self.
1. Though you are one Self, you experience yourself as if you were two.
²You see yourself as both good and evil, loving and hating, mind and body.
³This sense of being split into opposites induces constant conflict within you, and leads you to try frantically to reconcile the opposing views of what you think you are.
⁴You have sought many such solutions and none has worked.
⁵The opposites you see in you will never be compatible.
⁶Only one of them is true. I
2. To be saved, you must accept the fact that truth and illusion cannot be reconciled.
²No matter how you try, what means you use, or where you see the problem,
³Until you accept this, you will pursue a countless string of goals that you cannot reach.
⁴You will invest in time and effort, in hopes and doubts, over and over again.
⁵And each attempt will fail as the one before, and as the one to come.
3. Nonsensical problems cannot be resolved within the frame in which they are set.
²Two selves in conflict is a condition that cannot be resolved.
³There is no meeting ground between good and evil.
⁴The self you made can never be your Self.
⁵And your Self cannot be split in two and still remain what It is and must forever be.
4. Mind and body cannot both exist.
²Do not try to reconcile the two, for one denies the other’s presence as reality.
³If you are physical, your mind has disappeared into a concept of yourself in which it has no meaning.
⁴But if you are Spirit, then the body must be meaningless to your concept of yourself.
5. The mind is the means by which Spirit expresses Its Self. II
²And the mind that serves Spirit is at peace and full of joy.
³Its power comes from Spirit, and it fulfills its function gladly.
⁴Yet mind can also see itself divorced from Spirit, and believe it dwells within a body, confused and limited.
⁵In that case, it does not fulfill its function, is not at peace, and cannot even grasp the idea of happiness.
6. Moreover, a mind apart from Spirit cannot think.
²It has denied its Source of strength and sees itself as helpless, limited, and weak.
³Dissociated from its function, now it thinks it is alone and separate, attacked by enemies it cannot understand, and hiding in the fragile shelter of a body.
⁴Now it must reconcile the different with the same, for it believes that is its function. III
⁵Waste no more time on this.
⁶Who can resolve the senseless conflicts a dream presents?
⁷What could their resolution mean?
⁸What purpose could it serve?
⁹What use could it be?
7. Salvation cannot make illusions real, nor solve a problem that does not exist.
²Perhaps you hope it can.
³But would you have God’s plan for your deliverance be only painful, and not release you?
⁴Your Self retains God’s Thoughts, and They remain within your mind and in the Mind of God.
⁵The Holy Spirit holds salvation in your mind and offers it the way to peace.
8. Salvation is a Thought you share with God, because His Voice accepted it for you and answered in your name that it is done.
²Thus, salvation is among the Thoughts your Self cherishes and keeps for you.
³Today we will try to find this Thought, whose presence in your mind is guaranteed by Him Who speaks to you from your one Self.
⁴Our five-minute practices each hour will be devoted to the search for your Self within your mind.
⁵Salvation comes from this one Self, through Him Who is the bridge between your mind and It. IV
9. Wait patiently and let the Holy Spirit speak of your Self and what your mind can do, restored to It and free to serve Its Will.
²Begin by saying:
³Salvation comes from my one Self.
⁴Its Thoughts are mine to use.
⁵Then seek Its Thoughts, and claim Them as your own.
⁶These are your real thoughts, which you have denied while you wandered aimlessly through a world of dreams in search of substitutes.
⁷Here are your Thoughts—the only ones you have.
⁸Salvation is among Them.
⁹Find it there.
10. If you succeed, the Thoughts that come to you will tell you you are saved and that your mind has found the function it had sought to lose.
²Your Self will welcome it and give it peace.
³And after its strength is restored, it will flow from Spirit to Spirit, throughout all creation, in loving blessing and perfect union.
⁴Your mind will bless all things.
⁵And now that confusion has ended, you are restored to your Self, for you have finally found It.
11. Your Self knows that today you cannot fail.
²Perhaps your mind is still uncertain for a time.
³Do not be dismayed by this. V
⁴The joy your Self experiences It will save for you, and you will come to be fully aware of it once more.
⁵Each time you devote five minutes of each hour to seeking the One Who joins your mind to your Self, you add another treasure to the store He keeps for you.
12. Each time today you remind your restless mind that salvation comes from your one Self, you add another treasure to your growing store.
²And all of it will be given to anyone who asks and will accept the gift.
³So think of how much you can give today, so that it may be given you.
I The fundamental idea of this Lesson is the monopolarity of existence, which, from a strictly ontological standpoint, is self-evident: existence is one and positive. This is the foundational idea of the non-dualistic paradigm, which in itself is a tautological declaration: only what exists, exists. Yet the simplest and truest ideas are often inaccessible to minds that function poorly.
The world’s thought system, adhering to a dualistic paradigm, is complex, magical in nature, and, at its core, extraordinarily naïve. The world—though for no clear reason—assumes that if something exists, its absence must also exist, and on that assumption it builds its entire thinking. To accept the existence of absences is the conclusion of a sick mind, and it constitutes in itself a disastrous cognitive bias. It is a bias so universally shared that the world does not recognize it as such. This belief is devastating to the mind, which then derives from it an imaginary world based on something that is not there—and does not exist.
Only what is exists, what is there, and that is always positive. This is a truth so simple that any small child can understand it. But when people grow up, sadly, they begin to see phantoms, for they have trained their eyes to show them what is not there. Thus they go mad and begin to dream and to fear.
To consider the existence of the nonexistent is the mental illness of this world. To think that if love is real, its opposite—its absence, fear—must also be real is madness. Yet that is how everyone thinks. And then they call the absences of light “shadows,” seeing them everywhere and fearing them—for are they not “there,” they say? But shadows neither are nor exist, for they are the absences of what does exist. And so they build in their fragmented minds a world made of absences of love, and they believe they see it—and live in it. Does it seem logical to think in that way? Probably not. You are too accustomed to it, and to you the sole existence of love seems an appealing proposal, but nothing more than a fantasy.
The idea of separation in the mind of the Son of God—the ego as cause—has led him to regard the absence of being as a real possibility, one that has now become significant. Now the egoic mind—the ego as effect—believes in absences, perceives itself as lacking, and projects, and believes it lives, in an imaginary world constructed from absences of love.
For God’s sake—absences do not exist! Only what exists, exists. What is real is not, has never been, and can never be in danger. And all that you think is in danger is not real and should not concern you at all. That is why the peace of God is guaranteed.
You are a Single Being—what else could you be? Something that simultaneously is and is not? Stop dreaming that you are evil or that you lack something. Existence is a strictly positive condition, and that is so evident that it is almost embarrassing to have to declare it. Only Existence exists. You may regard it, if you wish, as love, as light, or as will—but that is only a way of conceiving it, for in essence, Existence is One and ineffable. What exists cannot be perceived, because that is Reality, and that can only be known. And indeed, that is what you know well, and, moreover, you know nothing else. Everything else is addition—fabrications of your own invention that dull your mind with sinister imaginings. That is your eternal reality, and it is not “experiential,” for only subjects (note the word) perceive and experience—but you are not a subject; you are Existence Itself.
You, as a subject—to your own interpretations of reality—will perceive this Course as something profoundly negative precisely because this Course is absolutely positive. Here error is denied, everything that is not true is denied—and that includes everything you now believe in, for belief is what has led you to that pitiful condition. You need believe in nothing! You do, however, need to stop believing. When you do, suddenly and for a brief instant, you will understand your immense mistake with astonishment—and then you will see it dissolve into the nothingness that never was.
It is also true that, from the conflicted thought of the world, these statements are incomprehensible—but what is truly incomprehensible is the world’s thought. Now, in your present state of confusion, simply allow for another possibility—another way of seeing. Practice these Lessons of light diligently, and trust. The Love of God and your One Self await that small gesture of yours.
Read this Lesson with gentleness and attention. Each of its lines is filled with light and truth. Relax your mind and seek understanding. Do not struggle, do not defend, do not attack, and do not believe anything—simply open your mind and trust.
II In very few instances of this Course is the ontological nature of the mind discussed. This is one of them. Another appears in the Glossary: “The term ‘mind’ is used to represent the active principle of spirit, which supplies it with its creative energy.” (G-2.1:1)
Mind here is not the ultimate origin, but an instrument, a channel, a medium of communication. Spirit—the spiritual essence—is the true nature of Being: eternal, unlimited, and perfect. Yet to manifest its identity, Spirit uses the mind, which functions as a medium capable of reflecting, recognizing, and expressing its authentic reality.
To put it abstractly, mind would be the vehicle of Will; Love, its content; the light of Truth, its direction; and Creation, its destination.
Thus mind has no autonomy or independent power, for it is a potential realm that acquires meaning only when it is placed in service to Spirit, allowing Its Light, Its Love, and Its Truth to flow through it. When the mind recognizes and accepts this role, it becomes a transparent instrument that facilitates the manifestation of the true Self. Conversely, when the mind mistakenly identifies with the ego, it blocks that communication and obscures the knowledge of our real identity.
The fundamental teaching implied here is that healing and spiritual awakening occur when we consciously allow our mind to fulfill its true function: to express faithfully the Self we are—that is, the perfect presence of Spirit.
III Mind, which is spiritual in nature, differs from all the things of the world, which are alike among themselves because they are “physical.” The mind believes its function is to manage its interests with the things of the world—something impossible, for they belong to completely different realms. The mind is abstract and real, whereas the things of the world are concrete and illusory.
IV The Holy Spirit is the bridge uniting your mind—divided and afflicted by the ego—with your Self.
V The phrase “Do not be dismayed” appears several times in the Bible. For example, Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
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LESSON 95
I am one Self, united with my Creator.
1. Today’s idea accurately describes how God created you.
²You are one within yourself, and One with Him.
³Yours is the unity of all creation.
⁴Your perfect oneness makes change in you impossible.
⁵Yet you do not accept this, and you fail to realize that it must be so.
⁶This is only because you believe you have changed yourself already.
2. You see yourself as a ridiculous parody of God’s creation: weak, vicious, ugly, and sinful, miserable and beset with pain.
²This is your version of yourself—a self divided into many warring parts, separated from God, and held together by a capricious and unstable maker, to whom you pray.
³He does not hear your prayers, for he is deaf.
⁴He does not see your oneness, for he is blind.
⁵He does not understand that you are the Son of God, for he is senseless and understands nothing. I
3. Today we will try again to be aware only of what your Self can hear and see, and what makes perfect sense. II
²Once again we direct our exercises toward reaching your one Self, united with Its Creator. III
³With patience and hope, we try again today.
4. Devoting the first five minutes of each waking hour to practice today has certain advantages at the stage of learning in which you are currently.
²It is difficult for you not to let your mind wander during a longer practice period. IV
³You must already have noticed this.
⁴You have seen how much you need discipline for your mind.
⁵It is necessary that you be aware of this, for it is a real obstacle to your progress.
5. Frequent, shorter practice periods also have distinct advantages for you at this stage.
²Besides recognizing your difficulties with sustained attention, you must also have noticed that unless you are reminded of your goal frequently, you tend to forget it for long periods.
³You often forget the brief applications of the idea for the day, and you have not yet developed the habit of using it as a constant response to temptation.
6. Therefore, now you need a carefully structured approach, including frequent reminders of your goal and regular attempts to reach it.
²A set schedule, as such, is not the ideal requirement for your training in salvation.
³It is, however, advantageous for those whose motivation is inconsistent and who still resist learning.
7. So we will continue for a while with the five-minute-an-hour practice format, urging you to omit as few as possible.
²Using the first five minutes of the hour will be especially helpful, since it imposes a more structured discipline on your mind.
³But do not use your lapses from this schedule as an excuse not to return to it as soon as you can.
8. You may be tempted to view the day as lost because you failed to do what was required.
²But this should merely be recognized as what it is: a refusal to correct your mistake and a lack of willingness to try again.
³Your errors do not delay the Holy Spirit in His teaching.
⁴Your unwillingness to let them go does.
9. Let us therefore be determined, especially for the coming week, to be willing to forgive ourselves for our lack of diligence and our failure to follow the instructions for practicing today’s idea.
²This tolerance for weakness will enable us to overlook it, rather than give it the power to delay our learning.
³If we give it that power, we will see weakness as strength, and we will be confused about what strength is.
10. When you fail to meet the requirements of this course, you are merely making a mistake.
²This calls for correction, and nothing more.
³To allow the mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes, which are based on the first and reinforce it.
⁴It is this process that must be laid aside, for it is nothing but a defense of illusion against the truth.
11. Let all these errors go by simply recognizing them as what they are.
²They are attempts to keep you unaware that you are one Self, united with your Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace.
³This is the truth, and nothing else is true.
⁴Today we will affirm this truth again, and try to reach the place in you where there is no doubt that only this is true.
⁵Begin today’s longer practice periods by giving your mind this assurance, with all the certainty you can give:
⁶I am one Self, united with my Creator,
At one with every aspect of creation,
And limitless in power and in peace.
12. Then close your eyes and repeat this statement slowly to yourself, letting its meaning sink into your mind and replace your false ideas:
²I am one Self.
³Repeat this several times, then try to experience the meaning that the words convey.
⁴You are one Self, united and secure in light and joy and peace.
⁵You are the Son of God, one Self with one Creator and one goal: to bring awareness of this oneness to all minds, so that true creation may extend the totality and unity of God.
13. You are one Self, complete, healed and whole, with the power to lift the veil of darkness from the world and let the light in you shine forth to teach the world the truth about itself.
²You are one Self, in perfect harmony with all there is and all that will be.
³You are one Self, the holy Son of God, united with your brothers in that Self, united with your Father in His Will.
14. Feel this one Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and your doubts.
²This is your Self, the Son of God Himself, sinless as His Creator, with His strength within you and His Love forever yours.
³You are one Self, and it is this Self you can feel within you and free the world from all illusions through this one Mind which is this Self—the holy truth in you.
15. Do not forget today.
²We need your help, your little part in bringing happiness to all the world.
³And Heaven looks to you in confidence that you will try today.
⁴Share its certainty, for it is yours.
⁵Be vigilant.
⁶Do not forget today.
16. Throughout the day, keep your goal in mind.
²Repeat the idea for today as often as you can, and understand that each time you do, someone hears the voice of hope, the stirring of the truth within their mind, the gentle rustling of the wings of peace.
³Your own acknowledgment you are one Self, united with your Father, is a call to all the world to be at one with you.
17. Be sure to offer the promise of today’s idea to everyone you meet, by saying silently:
²You and I are one Self, united with our Creator.
³I honor you because of what I am, and because of what He is,
Who loves us both as one.
I This is, more or less, the idea you hold of God in your innermost being. Notice that your prayers are usually filled with instructions and imperatives. In them you “inform” God of your apparent needs, assuming that He is ignorant and unaware of what is happening, and you find it entirely natural that you should be the one to tell Him what is going on. Moreover, you also assume that God is at your service and ready to carry out your commands.
You tend to conjugate the verbs in your prayers in the imperative mood: “Give, forgive, listen, heal…” Reflect on the immense insanity of your ego which, on the one hand, tells you that you are a wicked sinner—wretched, limited, powerless before the hazards of this world, and doomed to die—yet, on the other hand, urges you to address your Creator with astonishing arrogance.
II Today you are going to learn to relate to the things of the world from your Self. And that manner makes perfect sense because of what you truly are. To establish any other kind of relationship would be an imposture and a betrayal of your true identity.
Prepare yourself to know how a Being who possesses the dignity of the holy Son of God—no more and no less—relates to the world.
III You will see that throughout this Lesson great emphasis is placed on the idea that your Self is One. This idea contrasts radically with the one you now hold of yourself, for you believe you are a being scattered among many aspects, often in conflict with one another—that one part of you wants one thing and another part wants something else—and that stresses you and produces great tension.
That is nothing but a fantasy, an illusion, and the result of the attention you give to the voice of your ego. You are not like that at all. You are perfectly unified and absolutely whole, full, and complete. You have one single purpose and one single will, and that is the very Will of God.
IV Pay close attention to what is said in this paragraph and the next six. Notice how well Jesus knows you. The counsel he gives you there is crucial for your learning. Jesus warns you of the difficulties and temptations your poorly trained mind will experience. Read carefully, and heed him. Keep in mind that it matters less how precisely you follow the instructions for the day’s practice than your willingness to fulfill your function.
If your will to reach the goal is genuine but your mind is weak, do not worry; you will progress. But if your practice does not arise from a sincere and deep longing to change your mind, you will still advance, though not very far. Be honest. Search within yourself for the best in you and lay it upon the altar of your devotion. The angels of God will descend to lift you far beyond where your small strength could take you. Remember, Jesus is always by your side. Persevere with all your soul. Much is at stake.
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LESSON 94
I am as God created me.I
1. Today we continue with the idea that alone brings complete salvation.
²It is the statement that renders all temptation powerless.
³It is the thought that silences the ego and completely undoes it.
⁴You are as God created you.
⁵This one idea silences the sounds of the world, removes all thoughts it ever held, and makes the world disappear entirely from sight.
⁶With this, salvation is accomplished.
⁷With this, sanity is restored.
2. True light is strength, and strength is sinlessness.
²If you remain as God created you, you must be strong, and the light must be in you.
³He who guaranteed your sinlessness must also be the guarantee of your strength and your light.
⁴You are as God created you.
⁵Darkness cannot obscure the glory of the Son of God. II
⁶You are in the light, and you are strong in the sinlessness in which you were created, and in which you will remain for all eternity.
3. Today we will again devote the first five minutes of every waking hour to attempting to feel the truth about you.
²Begin each hour with these words:
³I am as God created me.
⁴I am His Son eternally.
⁵Now try to reach the Son of God in you.
⁶This is the Self that never sinned, nor made an image to replace reality.
⁷This is the Self that never left its home in God to walk the world uncertainly.
⁸This is the Self that knows no fear, and cannot conceive of loss or suffering or death.
4. Nothing is asked of you to reach this goal except to lay aside all idols and images you have made of yourself;
²To go beyond the long list of traits, both “good” and “bad,” you have assigned to yourself;
³And to wait in quiet expectancy for the truth. III
⁴God Himself has promised that it will be revealed to all who ask for it. IV
⁵You are asking now.
⁶You will not fail, because He cannot fail.
5. If you do not meet the requirement of practicing the first five minutes of every hour, at least remind yourself hourly:
²I am as God created me.
³I am His Son eternally.
⁴Tell yourself often today that you are as God created you. V
⁵And be sure to respond to anyone who seems to irritate you with these words:
⁶You are as God created you.
⁷You are His Son eternally.
⁸Make a strong effort today to do the hourly exercises.
⁹Each one you do will be a giant step toward your release and a landmark in learning the thought system this course sets forth. VI
I This statement perfectly and succinctly summarizes all the teachings of this Course. This is the luminous evangelical message of Jesus. This is the single thought the sleeping mind must remember in order to transcend the dream of separation. Nothing else is needed.
But to accept a new idea, it is necessary to abandon the one that asserts its opposite. Thus, this is a Lesson for replacing beliefs.
I have spent more than ninety days training my mind to use it differently from how I was using it before, and at last I understand the purpose of all that practice. All that work was simply to understand who I truly am and why I believed myself to be something else. Today’s idea explains it to me: “I am the holy Son of God.” This is the answer to the famous question: What am I?
Now I understand why nothing I see means anything: I have been the author of those insubstantial meanings. Yet this disturbs me, because deep within I know they are not true. I have believed my own stories, and now I constantly recall them by bringing them into the present—but what is really happening is that my mind is absorbed in what I once imagined in the past.
Those stories—my thoughts—certainly have no intrinsic meaning, but to me they are very important, because I invented them and thought they were true, and all that I have imagined frightens me.
Now I want to see everything differently, for I have realized that everything I think I see is a form of vengeance against myself. That does not serve me, for it makes me suffer—but now I know that if I relinquish my own interpretations, I can escape all that madness. I need do nothing more than that.
In truth, I do not know what anything is for—but because I am afraid of that emptiness, I try to fill it with my own content.
I want to see! I want to see everything differently!
If God created me perfect, as His holy Son, my mind is the Mind of God; my mind is holy, and I am blessed. My holiness is omnipotent, and in my mind there is only Peace, Light, and Love. What else could there be?
If I think I see something else, it can only be illusions—things that are not true and that I can, and must, let pass; things I must forgive.
The Love of God sustains me, and I am the Love of God.
Because I am the Love of God, I am the Light of the world. My only function in this illusory world is to forgive the illusions I think I see.
It is very important that I do not forget that function; if I do, I will again believe that illusions are real and will harbor resentments—and that is terrible, for resentments completely obscure the Light in me, and I want there to be Light.
There is no Will but God’s Will, for God is all that exists.
God does not command, but in this world of light and shadow it is wise for me to focus my attention on the Light, which is the only real component of my mind, for shadows have no substance.
Before every scene, I will fix my gaze on the Light, not on the shadows, and then I will see miracles. Thus will I become aware that truly there is no problem, nor has there ever been one.
I thought I saw conflict everywhere because I believed that shadows had meaning. Now I know they do not.
Now Light, Joy, and Peace dwell in me.
II Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.”
III Like most of the five-minute-per-hour practices, today’s is a meditation exercise. Here you set aside all the attributes you have assigned to yourself, and then, instead of diving into your mind—as in most previous meditations—you simply wait in a state of stillness in which the only thing that occupies your mind is expectancy: the anticipation that your true Self will be revealed to you.
This is the first appearance of a meditation method that will become the predominant form of the Workbook during the second half of the year.
IV Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
V Whenever something disturbs you, say to yourself, “I am as God created me,” and you will witness a titanic struggle. You will witness your ego battling against the truth. The moment you pronounce those words, you will see how the ego, in a thousand different ways, will try to convince you that it is not true.
The first thing it will do is try to persuade you that it is you. That is the hardest part of its entire strategy to overcome, for although its only argument is that it is a voice in your mind—which is true—it in no way follows that this voice is what you are. You are not that voice. In fact, you are no voice at all. That is absurd. It is crucial that you understand this, because if you cannot disassociate yourself from the thought that you are that voice you hear in your mind, you are lost. From that point on, you will begin to see everything on its own terms, thinking that it is you who is thinking—which is not true at all. That is merely the ego manifesting in your mind the very idea that conceived it: the idea of separation.
To understand what is happening, you must notice that in the process of hearing that voice, your will plays no part at all. The voice of the ego always arises in your mind of its own accord, entirely unbidden—it comes suddenly, uninvited, and by itself. And that is what you call thinking. In reality, you are not thinking at all. You are merely witnessing madness; the fact is, you are so accustomed to that voice that you believe it is your reality. Recognize that although that voice appears constantly in your mind and is your most familiar personal experience, it in no way means it is valid, real, or well-guided. That phenomenon merely indicates that you have been deceived all along—nothing more. The proof is that that voice has never given you anything it promised and has never truly made you happy.
Again, be prepared, and you will see that when you say, “I am as God created me,” the voice of the ego will try to convince you that this is fantasy—and that what it says, on the other hand, is as real as the world you see, as all your memories, all your fears, and all your desires. It is not so. All that is as real as the dream you had last night, and now you think your waking dream is reality—just as you thought your nighttime dream was real while you were dreaming it. It is almost the same dream, with small variations, but its substance is identical: this one, too, is made of lies.
Awakening to your true Self may be very easy or very hard—it depends on you. As long as you believe you are in this world, you will always hear the voice of your ego. That will always happen—but it depends on you whether you listen to it or not. Hearing and listening are two very different things, and the only thing that distinguishes them is your will. Your ego wants to hijack your will. Do not let it. You are your will, and your will is free—precisely because you are as God created you.
You are not at all defenseless against the ego; you still have all the power. Use it well, and do not let yourself be deceived by its proposals. Be steadfast in your purpose, and inevitably you will awaken. Moreover, if you choose rightly, while you still dream you will have complete control over your dream and will witness many miracles. You will not awaken by your own effort, but you will be awakened—for that is your will, and your will is always fulfilled, for you are as God created you.
VI This Lesson is the third “giant step” of the Workbook. See the note for Lesson 61 for the list of all the giant steps.
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LESSON 93
Light and joy and peace abide in me.
1. You think you are the home of evil, darkness, and sin.
²You believe that if anyone could see the truth about you, they would recoil in horror, as if from a poisonous snake.
³You believe that if the truth about you were revealed, a terror so intense would seize your heart that you would rush to death by your own hand, unable to bear to live after seeing such a thing. I
2. These beliefs are so firmly fixed in your mind that it is difficult to help you see they are based on nothing. II
²That you have made mistakes is obvious.
³And, given what you now believe about yourself, it is also true that you have sought salvation in strange ways;
⁴That you have been deceived, and have deceived;
⁵That you have been afraid of foolish fantasies and savage dreams,
⁶And have bowed down to idols made of dust.
3. Today we question all of this, not from your point of view, but from a very different one, one that makes such silly beliefs quite meaningless.
2These thoughts do not agree with the Will of God.
3He does not share these strange ideas with you.
4This alone is proof enough that they are wrong.
5But you do not see it so.
4. How joyful is it to know that you are not what you think you are.
²That all the evil you believed you did was never done.
³That all your “sins” are nothing.
⁴That you are as pure and holy as you were created.
⁵That light and joy and peace abide in you.
⁶You think God’s Will is death, but it is life.
⁷You think you are being destroyed, but you are being saved.
5. The self you made is not the Son of God.
²Therefore, it does not exist at all.
³And anything it seems to do or think means nothing.
⁴It is neither good nor bad.
⁵It is unreal, and nothing more than that.
⁶It does not fight against the Son of God.
⁷It does not hurt him or attack his peace.
⁸It has not changed creation, nor reduced eternal sinlessness to sin, and love to hate.
⁹What power can this self you made possess, when it would contradict the Will of God?
6. Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
²This needs to be repeated often, until it is accepted.
³It is the truth.
⁴God Himself guarantees your sinlessness.
⁵Nothing can touch it or change what God created eternal.
⁶The self you made, evil and full of sin, is meaningless.
⁷Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God, and light and joy and peace abide in you.
7. Salvation requires the acceptance of but one thought—
²You are as God created you, not what you made of yourself.
³Whatever evil you may think you did, you are as God created you.
⁴Whatever mistakes you made, the truth about you has not changed.
⁵Creation is eternal and unalterable.
⁶Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
⁷You are, and always will be, exactly as you were created.
⁸Light and joy and peace abide in you because God put them there.
8. In our longer sessions today, which would be most beneficial if practiced during the first five minutes of every hour, we will begin by affirming the truth about our creation:
²Light and joy and peace abide in me.
³My sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
⁴Then lay aside the foolish images you hold of yourself, and spend the rest of the practice period trying to experience what God has given you in place of what you have made.
9. You can only be either what God created or what you made.
²One Self is true; the other is not there.
³Try to experience the unity of your One Self.
⁴Try to appreciate Its holiness and the Love from which It was created.
⁵Try not to interfere with the Self which God created as what you are, by hiding Its majesty behind the tiny idols of evil and sin you made to replace It.
⁶Let It be Itself.
⁷Here you are.
8This is you.
9And light and joy and peace abide in you because that is so.
10. You may not be willing or able to devote the first five minutes of every hour to the exercises today.
²Try, however, to do so when you can.
³At the very least, remember to repeat these thoughts each hour:
⁴Light and joy and peace abide in me.
⁵My sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
⁶Then close your eyes for a moment and realize that this is a statement of the truth about you.
11. If any situation arises that seems to disturb you, quickly dispel the illusion of fear by repeating these thoughts again.
²And should you be tempted to become angry with someone, tell them silently:
³Light and joy and peace abide in you.
⁴Your sinlessness is guaranteed by God.
12. Today you can do much for the world’s salvation.
²You can do much today to bring yourself closer to accepting the role God has given you in salvation.
³And you can do much today to convince your mind of the truth of today’s idea. III
I It is quite possible that this statement may seem somewhat exaggerated to you. Perhaps you think that, although you are not perfect, you are, deep down, a good person—that you do not seem to yourself as bad as it paints you there.
Open your mind to the possibility that, rather, that is the idea of yourself that allows you to keep going—the one that makes you still trust your own judgment, that allows you to get up in the morning to attend to your tasks and to relate to other people who are more or less like you, the one responsible for your judging others and everything from a position of a certain superiority.
Have you ever wondered why the idea of opening your mind completely to others repulses you so much? Not to mention your heart. Have you ever wondered why you fear heights, darkness, or death?
Why do you think there is so much evil and suffering in the world? Why are you terrified by pain, loss, and loneliness? Why does your heart shrink when someone does not love you? Why do you sometimes feel a murderous rage over a small offense?
Just as you think the world is a dangerous place with areas you would never dare to go, your mind too is full of deep shadows you prefer not to visit.
Where have you known all the evil you have believed you saw in the world? Where have you experienced all the pain and fear you have ever felt? Has it not been in your mind? And what is your mind, if not yourself?
If all the horror you have witnessed—and all that you are capable of imagining—has been or is in your mind, and if your mind is you, then it is evident that you have quite a problem.
Moreover, if you are cause, effect, or condition of so much evil, it is rather unlikely that the solution to such abomination is also within you—at least not as you have been managing it until now.
It would seem most prudent to seek it elsewhere, or by some other method. Could that be possible?
II Last night I had a terrible dream. The very embodiment of horror was pursuing me, and I ran absolutely terrified, trying to escape, until a moment came when it caught me, cornered me, and I could no longer flee. The horror hurled itself upon me, and in a desperate effort to free myself, I turned quickly—and fell out of bed.
I do not think I have ever been so happy, despite the pain I caused myself. Then I climbed back into bed, but I could no longer sleep. I began to think about how ridiculous the whole situation was, and then I asked myself, “What if all that I call ‘my personal life’ were nothing but a dream—a dream from which, for some reason, I cannot awaken?” After all, that is what dreams are: something that seems very real and from which you cannot awaken, for if you awaken, it is no longer a dream.
On closer inspection, the question itself makes little sense, for if it truly is a dream, and if while dreaming you cannot—or will not—wake up, what can you do?
Since I was wide awake and could not fall asleep again, I began to reflect on what I would say to my other self who was immersed in that terrible nightmare—to that very self from a short while before whom I still remembered with chills.
I thought long about the matter, and in the end I arrived at two possible strategies.
The first, what seemed essential to me, was to whisper to that frightened character not to worry—that it is all a dream—and that all he needs to do to escape that dire situation is to wake up. That is obvious.
As I thought about this, imagining how to whisper it to my other self, I realized that it was not as simple as it seems.
What if my other self becomes frightened by that whispering voice? What if, instead of helping, what I am doing is driving him into a deeper panic? Perhaps now he thinks that, in addition to the horror chasing him, there is some strange being from another dimension trying to confuse him with dark intent.
Or worse, perhaps my poor sleeping self thinks he is going mad. It certainly is not an easy situation to resolve.
Besides, waking up is easier said than done. How does one wake up? I do not recall ever having done anything to wake myself up. It is something that simply happens.
The second thing I thought, if that waking up did not work, was to advise my frightened self at least to handle the situation well—to understand that all the evil threatening him is not real, that it is only the product of his imagination, and that if he wishes, he can control it.
I would tell him not to worry—that in reality he is lying peacefully in his bed, and that sooner or later he will awaken. That is inevitable.
Because my nightmare was so recent, it was easy for me to foresee my sleeping self’s reactions to my comments from outside the dream, and after much consideration, I could think of little else to say to him.
Finally, I lost patience and blurted out, “You know what? If you can’t wake up, and you can’t or won’t do anything to change that horror, let it catch you—after all, nothing will happen to you. Maybe that way you’ll wake up at last!”
I think I now understand better how difficult Jesus’ work is.
III Dictated on September 24, 1969.
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LESSON 92
Miracles are seen in the light, and light and strength are one.
1. Today’s idea is an extension of the previous one.
²You do not associate light with strength, nor darkness with weakness.
³This is because your idea of what it means to see is tied to the body, and to its eyes and brain.
⁴That is why you believe you can change what you see by placing small pieces of glass or other transparent material before your eyes, held in a frame or placed against the eye.
⁵This is one of the many magical beliefs that arise from the conviction that you are a body, and that the body’s eyes can see.
2. You also believe that your body’s brain can think.
²If you understood the nature of thought, you would laugh at such an insane idea.
³It is as if you believed you hold the match that lights the sun and gives it all its heat, or that you kept the world imprisoned in your hand, firmly grasped, until you let it go.
⁴Yet this is no more insane than believing that the body’s eyes can see, or that the brain can know.
3. The Strength of God in you is the light in which you see, and His is the Mind with which you think.
²His Strength denies your weakness.
³It is your weakness that looks through the body’s eyes, that peers into the darkness to behold what is like itself: the small, the weak, the sick and dying, the needy, the helpless and afraid, the sad, the poor, the hungry, and the unhappy.
⁴This is what is seen through eyes that cannot see and cannot bless. I
4. Strength overlooks all these things by looking past appearances. II
²It keeps its gaze fixed on the light that lies beyond them.
³It joins with the light, of which it is a part.
⁴And it beholds itself.
⁵It is this that gives you the light in which your Self appears.
⁶In darkness you perceive a self that does not exist.
⁷Strength is the truth about you.
⁸But weakness is the idol you falsely worship and revere, that light may be displaced by darkness, where God intended there be light. III
5. Strength comes from truth and shines with the light its Source has given it.
²Weakness, on the other hand, reflects the darkness of its maker.
³It is sick and sees only sickness, which is like itself.
⁴Truth is a savior, and it can only create happiness and peace for all the world.
⁵And it gives its strength in limitless supply to everyone who asks.
⁶It sees that if anyone lacks anything, then all must lack.
⁷And so it gives its light, that all may see and benefit as one.
⁸Truth shares its strength, that miracles may be offered to all, in unity of purpose, forgiveness, and love.
6. Weakness, which looks in darkness, sees no purpose in forgiveness or in love.
²It sees all others as different from itself, and finds nothing in the world it wants to share.
³It judges and condemns, but does not love.
⁴It stays hidden in the dark, and dreams it is strong and victorious, a conqueror of ever-mounting limitations that grow huge in the dark.
⁵Weakness fears itself, attacks itself, and hates itself.
⁶Darkness covers all it sees, leaving it in dreams as fearsome as itself.
⁷There are no miracles here, only hatred.
⁸Weakness separates from what it sees, while light and strength perceive themselves as one.
7. The light of strength is not the light you see.
²It does not shift, nor waver, nor go out.
³It does not pass from night to day and back to darkness until the morning comes again.
⁴The light of strength is constant, sure as Love, and always glad to give, for what It gives is always given to Itself.
⁵No one can ask to share Its vision in vain, and none who enter Its dwelling can leave without a miracle before their eyes and strength and light within their heart.
8. The strength in you will offer you the light, and guide your seeing so that you do not dwell on idle shadows the body’s eyes provide to fool the mind.
²Strength and light unite in you, and where they meet, your Self awaits to welcome you as Its own.
³This is the meeting place we try to find today.
⁴Here we will rest, for in the Peace of God does your Self, His Son, await to meet Itself again and become as One.
9. Let us devote twenty minutes, twice today, to joining in this meeting.
²Let yourself be led to your Self.
³Its strength will be the light in which the gift of vision will be given you.
⁴So leave the darkness for a little while today, and practice seeing in the light.
⁵Close the body’s eyes and ask the truth to show you how to find the meeting place where Self and self unite, and where light and strength are one. IV
10. We will practice this in the morning and again at night.
²After the morning session, use the day to prepare for the evening one, in which, full of hope and confidence, we will meet again with our Self.
³Repeat today’s idea as often as you can.
⁴Realize that you are being introduced to the gift of vision. ⁵And recognize that you are being led from darkness to the light, where miracles alone can be perceived.
I Jeremiah 5:21 “Hear now this, O foolish people without understanding, who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not.”
Mark 8:18 “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?”
II You see everything backwards because you are looking wrongly—and the proof of this is that what you see displeases you. When your heart is uneasy, it is warning you that your mind is malfunctioning.
Your “emotional system” is the “resonance” of your “intellectual system.” The heart—the symbol of love—is the “organ” that reflects the state of the mind—the symbol of knowledge.
Remember again the functions of the soul: to love, to know, and to create. These functions are attributed to the heart, the mind, and the will. In this world, every person possesses a functional heart—an “organ” that responds faithfully and reliably to his or her mental states. Yet it is no less true that their minds are sick and malfunctioning.
This is because they are affected by the idea of separation. In fact, the very belief in having an individual mind is the result of that perverse idea.
That is why this Course places immense emphasis on healing the mind, and to achieve this, it proposes that you place it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Voice of the Holy Spirit—Teacher of Knowledge and therefore of the mind—aligns your perception with Knowledge and allows you to interpret the dream in the most helpful and benevolent way possible. The proof of this is that when you follow His guidance, your heart is joyful and your mind is at peace.
This means that now your emotional and intellectual systems are functioning “properly.” The work this Course does with the mind has as its goal to open it to the “light” of knowledge, which is the natural state of the Mind of Being.
All this concerning the heart and the mind, by now, you more or less know. But now something more is proposed to you. This Lesson introduces the idea of strength. Strength is precisely the condition of will—that which makes Being a “creator.”
Understand that a sick mind—without light, malfunctioning—implies a fearful heart and a weak will.
This represents the perfect inversion of the joy, light, and strength—or peace, which is the same—of Being.
It is essential to understand that the central element in this equation is the mind. That is why this is a Course in mind training, which, through symbols—since that is the only way your fragmented mind can relate—provides you with a perfectly integrated vision of your present condition and your future goal—to be the Son of God—which is also your past and your eternal present.
For all these reasons, pay close attention to the idea of strength presented here. Strength is your natural condition, and the idea of weakness is an aberration that has entered your mind hand in hand with that other insane idea of being separate.
Your present condition—completely artificial—you yourself maintain in your mind through an endless stream of falsehoods you compulsively repeat to yourself.
You are unaware of doing this, yet it is enough to analyze honestly the language you use to communicate, and you will see that its very syntax, crowded with personal pronouns—mostly in the first person—is a constant reaffirmation of your dual mind.
Try to understand—though it will be very difficult—that all of this is completely fictitious, and that is why it requires your constant effort to remain in your holy mind as a hypnotic belief that diminishes you infinitely.
In reality, it would not even be necessary to evoke what you truly are in order to be it; it would be enough simply to stop deceiving yourself. But since you are so unwell, any means is useful for bringing light into your mind so that you may again enjoy what you have always been—and still are.
III Genesis 1:3 “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
IV If fortune is kind to you, and even for the briefest instant you so much as brush lightly against the experience of Being proposed here, your doubts will be gone forever. From that moment on, you will live in a state of permanent incredulity toward what the eyes of your body report.
You will not understand how any of it is possible—and indeed, it is not. Yet you will no longer lose the disposition, now natural within you, to be patient and to practice forgiveness.
Now everything will make sense, and you will need no one to convince you of anything—not even to undertake a Course like this. It will no longer be necessary; you will have become the Course itself.
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LESSON 91
Miracles are seen in the light.
1. It is important to remember that miracles and vision always go together.I
²This needs to be repeated, and repeated often.
³It is a central idea in your new thought system and the perception it produces.
⁴Miracles are always there.
⁵It is not your vision that brings them about.
⁶Your vision is not their cause.
⁷And if they are not seen, it is not because they are not there.
⁸They are not the effect of your seeing.
⁹You are simply unaware of them.
¹⁰You will see them in the light.
¹¹But you will not see them in darkness. II
2. Light, then, is essential for you.
²As long as you remain in darkness, you will not see miracles.
³And so you will be convinced they are not there.
⁴This conclusion follows from the premises that produce darkness.
⁵Denying light leads to the failure to perceive it. III
⁶And by not perceiving light, you perceive darkness instead.
⁷Thus, the light becomes useless to you, though it is there.
⁸You cannot use it because you do not know it is there.
⁹And the apparent reality of darkness makes the idea of light seem meaningless.
3. To be told that what you do not see is there sounds like insanity.
²It is very hard to be convinced that what is truly insane is not seeing what is there, and instead seeing what is not. IV
³You do not doubt that the body’s eyes can see.
⁴You do not doubt the reality of the images they show you.
⁵You have placed your faith in darkness, not in light.
⁶How can this be reversed?
⁷By yourself, it is impossible.
⁸But you are not alone in this. V
4. Your efforts, however small, are strongly supported.
²If you realized how great this strength is, your doubts would vanish.
³Today we will devote the day to trying to feel that strength.
⁴When you feel the strength in you that easily makes all miracles accessible, you will no longer doubt.
⁵The miracles your sense of weakness hides will rise to your awareness as you feel that strength in you.
5. Set aside about ten minutes, three times today, for a quiet time in which you will try to leave your weakness behind.
²This is easily achieved by telling yourself that you are not a body.
³Faith goes to what you want, and you will train your mind to go where you choose.
⁴Your will remains your teacher, and it has all the strength needed to do what it wills. VI
⁵You can escape the body if you choose.
⁶You can experience the strength within you.
6. Begin the longer practice periods with this statement of true cause and effect relationships:
²Miracles are seen in the light.
³The body’s eyes do not perceive the light.
⁴But I am not a body.
⁵What am I?
⁶The question that ends this statement is absolutely essential for today’s exercises.
⁷What you think you are is a belief to be undone.
⁸But what you truly are must be revealed to you.
⁹The belief that you are a body must be corrected, for it is a mistake.
¹⁰The truth of what you are calls upon the strength in you to bring into your awareness what error has concealed.
7. If you are not a body, what are you?
²You need to become aware of what the Holy Spirit uses to replace the image of a body in your mind.
³You need to feel something to place your faith in, as you withdraw it from the body.
⁴You need a real experience of something else—something more solid and more secure,
⁵Something more worthy of your faith, and truly there. VII
8. If you are not a body, what are you?
²Ask yourself this question sincerely, and then spend a few minutes letting your mistaken thoughts about your attributes be corrected, and their opposites take their place.
³Say, for example:
⁴I am not weak, but strong.
⁵I am not helpless, but all-powerful.
⁶I am not limited, but unlimited.
⁷I am not doubtful, but certain.
⁸I am not an illusion, but a reality.
⁹I cannot see in darkness, but in light.
9. In the second phase of the exercise, try to experience these truths about yourself. VIII
²Focus especially on experiencing strength. IX
³Remember that every sense of weakness is associated with the belief that you are a body—a belief that is wrong and unworthy of your faith.
⁴Withdraw your faith from it, if only for a moment.
⁵As we go along, you will become more accustomed to placing your faith in what is truly worthy in you.
10. Relax for the remainder of the practice period, trusting that even your smallest effort is fully supported by the Strength of God and all His Thoughts.
²Your strength will come from Them.
³With Their mighty support, you will feel the strength in you.
⁴God and all His Thoughts join you in this practice, in which you share a purpose like Their own.
⁵Theirs is the Light in which you will see miracles, for Their Strength is yours.
⁶Their Strength becomes your eyes, so you may see.
11. Five or six times an hour, at reasonably regular intervals, remind yourself that miracles are seen in the light.
²Also be sure to respond to any temptation with today’s idea.
³This form may be helpful for that specific purpose:
⁴Miracles are seen in the light.
⁵I will not close my eyes because of this.
I This Lesson was dictated on September 21, 1969.
Miracles are what you perceive when you look in a certain way. They are nothing special and, in reality, they change nothing. They simply show you what was already there but what you had not seen before. For the truth is that before, you were not seeing anything either—you were merely imagining things, building stories in your mind from the shadows that the eyes of your body brought you, and which made you believe that what you thought you saw was real. And what you believed you saw, you called “reality.”
Now think of a whiteboard on which is written in black ink the following phrase: “The sky is blue and the sea is vast.” What happens in your mind when you see that? Most likely, you begin to imagine a blue sky and a wide marine horizon. It is also possible that you start speculating that someone with a poetic inclination must have passed by, and perhaps you wonder what led them to write that. It may even be that your mind takes flight and goes further still—you might feel the desire to see the sea, to meet that person, or who knows what else!
Now consider the situation differently—this is an allegory. What are you actually seeing? The truth is that your eyes have merely conveyed to the optic nerve, through the pupils, a certain quantity of photons coming from the white surface of the board. Certain areas of the board—where the black ink was—reflected no photons, and your brain did the rest.
A story appeared in your mind! You might even begin a discussion with the person beside you about your interpretation. But what is intrinsically true is that you have merely witnessed a play of light and shadow, and your mind has chosen to create a story based solely on the darkness—on that where nothing was.
The illusion of the world works in much the same way. Your will can decide what you will focus on: on the light or on the darkness, on what is there or on what is missing. The world you see you build in your mind from absences of light—from absences of love. You do not realize it, but the truth is that your mind is enchanted by things that do not exist, yet which you believe you see.
And the convincing power of your belief is such that you are willing to fight to defend that what you interpret is true; in fact, that is what you do all the time, though you are unaware of it.
This is a Course in mind training so that, by beginning to look differently, you begin to see everything differently. In a sense, what it proposes is that you reverse the mechanisms governing your perception—hence the Course speaks of “reversing” the thought system.
Where before you saw a grievous offense, it tells you it is only an illusion; where before you perceived an attack, it proposes that you interpret it as a call for help; and of the one you consider your enemy, it tells you he is your Savior. Do you see? Everything reversed.
This Course also tells you that it is not necessary at all to believe its proposals. It only asks that you consider them respectfully and put them to the test; then, you yourself will decide by their results.
Indeed, it even warns you against any belief—“good” or “bad.” It cautions that to believe is to misuse the mind, and that you are better guided only by certainty, always distrusting your “good” intentions.
You have never been a good guide for yourself—and you never will be.
II This meaning of the term “miracle”—as something you see—is the same as in Lesson 78. The Course usually uses the term miracle as an agent (a cause), something that brings about a perceptual change; but here, it is what true perception beholds (an effect).
III Realize that the reason you do not see the light is because of your will to deny it. The light is indeed there, but you deny it, and therefore you do not see it. Remember, you perceive what you will to see and have.
IV Notice that although it is said constantly that this Course is very simple, it does not necessarily follow that it is easy.
Here, Jesus tells you that seeing the light is difficult—but not because it is difficult in itself, for seeing the light is natural. It is difficult because you have identified with the ego, and that makes it practically impossible to see the light of which he speaks.
To achieve it, you must break with that identification. Seeing the light is as easy—or as hard—as letting go of your ego.
V Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
VI Realize that this is primarily a Course about will. You will notice that throughout it you are constantly urged to forgive illusions and are often taught about love—but you are exhorted even more insistently to use your will and align it with the Will of God, following the guidance of your inner Voice and your heart.
VII It is crucial that you recognize that what you are seeking is an experience, not an explanation. Do not attempt to conceptualize what you are by assigning it attributes or images drawn from the storehouse of memory. None of that is real.
If you wish to take a journey, you need a car—not a drawing of a car. Do not settle for anything that comes to your mind while you still cling to the idea you have of yourself. Those are merely artificial attributes that will further burden your troubled, little self.
The experience of being is without attributes—it is absolute.
VIII Strictly speaking, Being is an absolute idea and has no attributes. Yet the ideas mentioned above are characteristic traits of Being—as considered from the individual mind—with which it is beneficial for the mind to associate itself.
In truth, this is an exercise in straightening or aligning the individual mind with its true identity. Do not think that what is being proposed to you is a well-intentioned, idealistic abstraction devoid of substance. Nothing could be further from the truth. The ideas proposed here will become for you experiences as real as your will allows them to be.
You can use your mind to grant yourself the small or the limitless—such is the power of your mind. Choose wisely, and do not allow yourself to think thoughts that make you feel bad.
Remember that your heart will always alert you by its mood to whether you are using the mind rightly or not. It is very simple: attend to its guidance.
IX This is a fundamental mental technique that should be practiced as often as possible throughout the day. It consists, first, of evoking in your mind the idea of strength in the most vivid and authentic way you can; it is not enough merely to think it—you must feel it within yourself.
To do so, bring to mind an image that represents energy and power: a raging sea, a hurricane wind, the engines of an airplane roaring at full power before takeoff—any scene that awakens in you the sense of immense force.
Then, expand that sensation as much as you can and remain in it, fully enjoying it.
Finally, claim that idea and make it yours permanently, as something that belongs to you forever. This is the closest the individual mind can come to what true creation really is.
Be extremely careful not to allow the ego to seize upon the powerful ideas you evoke. The ego covets them with all its might; do not let it.
Remember: you, as an ego, are not that. Rather, that is what you are—the Son of God.
Throughout the day, you will inevitably find yourself in situations that tempt you toward weakness, smallness, or helplessness.
Do not yield.
Focus on experiencing the strength within you—which, in truth, is you. In the next Lesson, you will understand why.
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LESSON 90
Today’s review covers these ideas: W-79 and W-80
1. W-79. “Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.”I
2. Let me understand today that every problem is always some form of grievance I want to keep. II
²Let me also understand that the solution is always a miracle I allow to take the place of that grievance. III
³Today I want to remember the simplicity of salvation by applying the lesson that there is only one problem and only one solution.
⁴The problem is a grievance, and the solution is a miracle.
⁵And I welcome the solution as I forgive the grievance and invite the miracle to take its place.
3. These specific applications of the idea may be helpful:
²This presents a problem to me, and I want it to be resolved.
³The miracle behind this grievance will resolve it for me.
⁴The solution to this problem is the miracle the problem hides.
4. W-80. “Let me recognize my problems have been solved.”IV
5. I believe I have problems only because I misunderstand time.
²I think the problem comes first, and that time must pass before it can be resolved.
³I do not see that the problem and the solution arise together.
⁴This is because I have not yet realized that God has placed the solution right beside the problem, so they cannot be separated in time.
⁵The Holy Spirit will teach me this, if I allow Him to.
⁶And then I will understand that it is impossible for me to have a problem that has not already been solved.
6. These expressions of the idea will be helpful for specific applications:
²I do not need to wait for this to be resolved.
³The solution to this problem has already been given me, if I am willing to accept it.
⁴Time cannot separate this problem from its solution.
I In Lesson 79 we learned that the problem is separation. But in truth, that is not exactly the problem, for if separation were real, the problem would be irresolvable. Separation is not real.
The real problem is the desire to be separate from everything—the desire lodged in the mind to encapsulate itself, the desire to construct an identity apart, the desire to be me and nothing else. That is the problem: the desire to place the will in service of an impossible idea—the belief that I am alone.
That inward contraction of the mind upon itself creates a black hole in consciousness, as imaginary as the mind itself—a hole of darkness in which the immense gravitational pull of the ego’s shadowy center prevents the light of love from extending beyond its own limits and turns it toward that pit of nothingness. The ego, enamored of itself, consumes the love of the mind.
The belief in the idea of separation is nothing but an act of selfishness—the basic condition of a depressed mind, anguished by an essential fear that hurls it into the nothingness of the ego: the idea of the separate self. It is the condition of a sick mind incapable of love. The mind abhors the idea it has itself conceived and hates itself for it. Sick, insane, and terrified, it projects its fear and fragmentation into a frightening world, a dream of hardship and punishment.
That is the original sin—the voluntary abandonment of paradise by a confused mind that misinterpreted the idea of freedom and used it to enslave itself under the yoke of a spurious identity. There is only one problem, and moreover, it is an artificial one—a problem that exists only for the mind that believes it does. The mind absorbed in the idea of self cannot free itself, cannot save itself, for the simple reason that it is not itself; it never has been.
There is no such thing as “an individual mind.” What exists is the belief that there can be one—and that malignant conception gives rise to an illusory world that is real only to the mind itself. Such is the nature of black holes.
The rescue of the sick mind must be as imaginary as the idea that sickened it. The black hole collapses when the idea of the personal self weakens enough for the light to dispel it with its radiance. Salvation is not real. Separation never occurred. Salvation is experienced only by the individual mind—which does not exist.
Humility and honesty are the way. Forgiveness and charity are the tools that allow the mind to break the chains that bind it to a perverse idea. The Love of God is the panorama the mind beholds when it lifts its gaze, absorbed no longer in the impossible.
II May I understand today that the real problem is that my will is misdirected, for I have focused it on some form of resentment.
Why would I have that resentment if it were not because I want to have it?
Do you realize it is impossible to be angry unless you want to be?Resentment, anger, fear, and guilt are self-inflicted sufferings, though unrecognized as such.
Guilt is always someone else’s fault; I always find a justification for my distress. But that is not reality—that is my reality.
III To understand this line, and the one before it, look at the effects, for that will allow you to identify the causes.
Notice the similarity between the emotions that arise when harboring resentments and when feeling burdened by a perceived problem.
Can you see that it is the same discomfort? A resentment certainly constitutes a serious problem in the happy flow of your life, and any problem will make you feel resentful toward life.
Problems and resentments are the same.
And in the same way, notice also that a miracle is the solution to a painful situation—and that whenever you solve a problem, you see things differently, which is precisely what a miracle does.
Therefore, whenever you think you have a problem, realize that you are resentful about your interpretation of what you perceive—and that to solve it, you need to see it differently, that is, you need to invoke a miracle.
IV My problems will never be solved. That is impossible. How could a problem that does not exist be solved!? Problems are not resolved; they dissolve.
Nothing you regard as important will ever cease to be a problem for you—but the truth is that nothing is important. Importance is the way the ego relates to its false creations—the “love” it bestows upon its offspring. The mind, having granted importance to the conflicting idea of a personal self, projects that same importance as conflict onto everything it perceives.
Without a sense of importance, there is no problem. That is forgiveness: to stop considering something important—nothing more than that. My problems have already been resolved because nothing is important to me anymore.
To give importance to something is to separate it from all that exists, to single it out as special and value it more highly. Why would I do that? Why would I choose to remain with a tiny fragment of all that exists? What could I possibly do with that trifle? Would it satisfy my longing to have it all? Perhaps for a time the formula works—but soon a new desire, a new illusion, will arise.
The problem and the solution are coetaneous, for both are fruits of my imagination—just like the time and space in which I place them. Granting importance to something should not in itself constitute a problem, unless it is linked to the perverse idea of powerlessness.
First I regard something as separate and single it out; then I regard it as threatening; and finally I consider myself powerless to resolve the situation: thus have I invented a fine problem.
For me to believe that whole story, it is essential that I project it outward and completely disown all my considerations. It wasn’t me! Don’t blame me for what appears in my mind!
Apparently, important things are like strange mushrooms sprouting of their own accord from dung in the dark vaults of my self-absorbed mind.
Let there be light! And the problems will vanish inevitably.
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LESSON 89
Today’s review covers these ideas: W-77 and W-78
1. W-77. “I am entitled to miracles.” I
2. I am entitled to miracles because I am governed only by the Laws of God.II
²His Laws release me from all grievances and replace them with miracles.
³And I want to accept miracles instead of grievances, which are nothing but illusions hiding the miracles that lie beyond them.
⁴Now I want to accept only what the Laws of God entitle me to have, so I may use it in service of the function He has given me.
3. These suggestions may be helpful for applying this idea specifically:
²Behind this is a miracle to which I am entitled.
³I will not hold any grievance against you, (name), but offer you the miracle to which you are entitled.
⁴This offers me a miracle, if I will see it rightly.
4. W-78. “Let miracles replace all grievances.”
5. With this idea I join my will with the Holy Spirit’s, and see them as one.
²With this idea I accept my release from hell.
³With this idea I express my willingness for all my illusions to be replaced by truth, according to God’s plan for my salvation. III
⁴I will make no exceptions and no substitutions.
⁵What I want is all of Heaven, and only Heaven, exactly as God wills it to be.
6. These specific forms may be useful for applying this idea:
²I do not want this grievance to keep me from my salvation.
³Let our grievances be replaced by miracles, (name).
⁴Behind this is the miracle that replaces all my grievances.
I If you do not understand the word “miracle” well, you may better grasp its synonym—another term that means the same: “solution.” A miracle is the solution to a perceptual problem based on truth. And when that truth reaches you completely, even appearances change.
For what is perceived to change through the power of your will to see the light—because now you have willed to see things differently—you must have passed through those clouds made of imaginary fears that the Course mentions; then it is that you perceive miraculously. And if your brother joins your vision, what is perceived changes for both of you.
II Miracles are not strange; they are the most natural thing there is. Just as the laws of the world lead to fear, the Laws of God lead to miracles. Both fear and miracles occur in the realm of perception. They are merely different ways of perceiving.
To perceive is to interpret—it is the language through which the “things” that the perceiver regards as separate from himself communicate. Syntax is the set of laws that organize the various elements of a language to make the message comprehensible to the receiver.
In the world there is spoken a universal language: the language of the ego. And though there are many different dialects, the syntax of all of them is essentially the same.
In Heaven no language is spoken—none is needed there, for message, content, communication, sender, and receiver are all the same—but if there were one, the syntax of that language could be called “the Laws of God.”
These laws in Heaven are utterly unnecessary, but here on earth they serve to interpret the hallucinatory experience in terms that do not clash with true celestial identity.
It is not that Heaven takes any account of the things of the world, but the Laws of God are very useful to keep human beings from getting entangled in the jargon of the ego in their interpretations.
Indeed, the first rule of this divine syntax reads: “Turn a deaf ear to any interpretation that does not come from God.”
III In reality, truth replaces nothing, substitutes for nothing, goes nowhere, and does nothing. Truth simply is—of course! There has never been anything but truth, there never will be, nor could there ever be. The mere temptation to think otherwise is a shameful absurdity and a great foolishness.
To come to think that it is possible for truth to be hidden or absent, to have degrees, or for some to possess it while others do not, requires a sick mind, a heap of lies, and a great desire to suffer.
The mind can estrange itself through illusions, tell itself terrifying stories, deceive itself, blame others, and deny its own identity—but it cannot in any way alter reality.
Indeed, it can distort truth—but only for itself.
When the mind grows weary of suffering, it need only stop granting itself illusions and collecting resentments. It needs to do nothing more. It need only cease defiling reality with sordid interpretations.
None of that has ever been true. It has not had nightmares because it accidentally fell asleep—that is impossible. The mind plunged into the dream of death by its own will, and as it did so, so too will it awaken—by its own will.
The mind must express its innermost desire unmistakably, and its will shall be fulfilled, for its will is its very reality.
There is no need to fall to your knees and cry to Heaven for salvation; a little honesty is enough.
Here, as in all the Lessons, Jesus always urges us toward the same thing: that we place our will in a specific direction—a very precise one, the same in which he places his. And thus, when our will is exactly that, our problems and resentments disappear—miraculously.
It is the will to desire what he desires, but from the very depths of our hearts—truly and sincerely. To do the Lessons and repeat their ideas routinely and mechanically is worthless. Only what is genuine counts; only your heartfelt will counts.
These practices are effective because of their quality, not their quantity. And the proof that they have been done well lies always in the present, for if the benefit is real, it can only be found in the only real aspect of time: the present.
It makes no sense to think, “I am going to do the Lessons, and after a year I will have become a better person.” It is not so. Salvation can occur only here and now. Anything else is merely buying time.
Instant salvation is a wholly legitimate aspiration, because it accords with the Laws of God.
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LESSON 88
Today’s review covers these ideas: W-75 and W-76
1. W-75. “The light has come.”
2. By choosing salvation instead of attack, I am simply choosing to recognize what is already there. I
²Salvation is a decision that has already been made.
³Attack and grievances are not an option.
⁴Thus, I am always choosing between truth and illusion, between what is there and what is not.
⁵The light has come.
⁶I can only choose the light, because there is no other alternative.
⁷Light has replaced darkness, and darkness has disappeared.
3. These are some helpful ways to apply this idea specifically:
²This cannot show me darkness, for the light has come.
³The light in you is all I want to see, (name).
⁴I only want to see what is really there in this.
4. W-76. “I am under no laws but God’s.”
5. This is the perfect statement of my freedom.
²I am governed by no laws but God’s.
³I am constantly tempted to invent other laws and give them power over me. II
⁴I suffer only because I believe in them.
⁵But in truth they have no effect on me at all.
⁶I am perfectly immune to the effects of any law except God’s.
⁷And His are the laws of freedom.
6. The following statements may be helpful for applying this idea specifically:
²My perception of this shows me I believe in laws that do not exist.
³I see only the Laws of God at work in this.
⁴Let it be the Laws of God that operate in this, and not my own.
I The light has come! It is the exclamation of a sound and happy mind; it is what is declared by one who has forgiven the world in order to grant salvation to himself.
He apparently had before him two options: to condemn or to forgive. But he has chosen well—he has chosen not to listen to that furious voice that shouted from his gut how “reality” was supposed to be, and how flawed it was.
Until now, without realizing it, he had accepted the precepts of that harsh voice, because it was the first thing that came to his mind. He had never questioned the appropriateness of that interpretation; in fact, in his hallucination, he had not even noticed that it was only that—a story being told to him, or rather, a story he was telling himself, because he believed it was he who thought that way. But was it?
One day, perhaps tired of so much suffering, he began to question his own judgment—he began to doubt himself. Which, on the other hand, is quite surprising, because whoever doubts must be different from that which is doubted.
What confusion! Am I one or two?
The light has come! I am not two! I am not that voice that dictates how reality must be. I am not that voice that tells me I am right. Nor am I the one that tells me I am wrong. I am no voice at all, nor am I anything any voice tells me I am.
I am. Period. The light has come!
I no longer believe that voice. I no longer believe in anything. Now the light has come, and I no longer need beliefs, interpretations, or stories to be told.
Now I see! Now I see the light, and I am left speechless—I am left without stories, and without them I cannot judge or harbor resentments.
Now my heart overflows with joy, and my mind is at peace. I am one. I am He Who Is.
II Once upon a time there was a man who searched. Once upon a time there was a collector of rules, of stories, and of descriptions. Once upon a time there was a legalist. Once upon a time there was a fearful man who sought laws to govern him.
Nothing in particular was happening in his mind; only the strange idea had entered that he needed explanations, and so he had gone out into the world to find them.
Things—he told himself—are not just things; they are things with explanations, but these are not evident—they are hidden and must be found. Thus, he wandered restlessly through the world in search of the descriptions of things.
Things—he also told himself—come with rules and instructions that tell you what they are, what they are for, and how to use them, like the inserts that come with medicine.
The poor man was somewhat lost. He felt uncertain and insecure without something to tell him how he should live. He was afraid of freedom, and responsibility was a concept that made him ill. He was terrified of making mistakes. He was afraid of life. He was afraid to create. He was afraid of love. He was afraid of himself.
His first instinct was to find a hole to hide in, and he only dared go out at night, in dim light, frantically scanning the ground in search of some scrap of paper with instructions about something.
When he found one, he would rise up excitedly and begin to shout to the four winds what was written there, so that everyone might hear of his happy discovery and celebrate with him that from now on they would know exactly what to do about some trivial matter.
And that was not the worst. At times he would join up with another lunatic he found somewhere, burdened with bags of grimy papers scribbled with rules and instructions, and together they would build a strange friendship based on shared values such as intolerance, rigidity, and fanaticism.
Shared madness multiplies and becomes cruel and aggressive. And it is then that the raging madmen hurl themselves upon the ignorant, who have not yet discovered the perverse pleasure of fearing freedom.
The Laws of God are the anti-laws of the world. They are laws that grant omnipotence and limitlessness; Laws that categorically forbid anything less than everything, and that, indispensably, apply equally to all that exists.
They are the euphoric Laws of God—and moreover, they are inviolable.
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LESSON 87
Today’s review covers these ideas: W-73 and W-74
1. W-73. “I will that there be light.”
2. Today I will use the power of my will. I
²It is not my will to grope about in darkness, fearful of shadows and frightened by unreal and unseen things.
³Today my guide will be the light.
⁴I will follow it wherever it leads, and I will look only upon what it shows me.
⁵Today I will experience the peace of true perception.
3. These expressions of the idea will be helpful for specific applications:
²This cannot hide the light I will to see.
³You are with me in the light, (name).
⁴In the light, I will see this differently.
4. W-74. “There is no will but God’s.” II
5. Today I am safe because there is no will but God’s.
²I can only be afraid when I believe there is another will.
³I attempt to attack only when I am afraid.
⁴And only when I attempt to attack can I believe that my eternal safety is threatened.
⁵Today I will recognize that none of this has happened.
⁶I am safe because there is no will but God’s.
6. These are some useful ways to apply this idea specifically:
²I want to see this in accordance with the Will of God.
³The Will of God is that you, (name), are His Son, and that is also my will.
⁴This is part of God’s Will for me, no matter how I may see it.
I Will is one of the three aspects of Being we learned about in theText (T-3.IX.1:2): “The true functions of the Soul are knowing, loving, and creating.” Will is the aspect through which Being creates. Creation is the function of will. In these Lessons, the three aspects are mentioned in relation to one another, for they are consubstantial with Being. The light referred to here is the symbol of knowledge.
When the human being integrates the mind, he uses his functions harmoniously within the perceptual realm and directs his will to see the love that light reveals to him. It is essential to highlight the crucial role of will in this process, for we will perceive that which it is our will to perceive.
It is also important to understand that what we are going to see is not something we must decide ourselves. Our function is to place our will on there being light—on nothing else. However, our first impulse will be to direct the will toward achieving our expectations, which is nothing but the voice of the ego manifesting once again.
Remember that you do not know what is in your best interest. Ask only for light; ask only for understanding.
Now reflect: who is it that is here asking for light? Obviously, the one who does not have it. This Lesson is not about light itself but about will. It is a Lesson for training the will—the most basic aspect of Being. First comes the will to Be, which extends Itself in Its loving and fulfills Itself in the knowledge of Its own creation.
In the esoteric and spiritual tradition of Hinduism and yoga, will is represented by the Manipura chakra, located at the solar plexus, above the navel and just below the diaphragm, marking the boundary with the higher chakras. Above it lies Anahata, which symbolizes love, and higher still, Ajna, which represents the light of knowledge. This arrangement suggests a natural progression: from will, which is the foundation, through love, to the light of knowledge.
This fundamental character of will is the reason why this Course insists so much upon it as an essential aspect of Being. From will, the following aspects manifest in an ascending progression. For this reason, it is imperative to rescue will from the clutches of the ego, for it is presently confused, hijacked, and lost in paths that lead nowhere.
II This is not a commandment nor an order, but the affirmation of a fact: the Will of God is the aspect of Being that creates reality. And Reality is that which is—that which exists. Its essential quality is immutability. To be and to be immutable are, ultimately, synonymous. Change implies ceasing to be something in order to become something else. Therefore, what changes is that which simultaneously is and is not—an ontological impossibility, an absurdity.
In this world—the realm of the illusory—being is confused with seemingto be. Everything that merely seems to exist is called being, though in reality it is not, because when you look closely, it has already transformed into something else. Illusions are so named precisely because they are illusions of being: they appear to exist, but they are nothing, unreal, and therefore do not exist, though they may seem to.
Time belongs to the domain of illusion, for it is the awareness of change—the perception that the impossible, the becoming of the immutable, appears possible. The human mind, operating within time, thus projects illusory conceptions, and all its cause-and-effect relationships are likewise illusory.
The awareness of change generates a deep fear in the human mind, for it introduces the idea of loss of being—the notion of death. But that is impossible, because what truly exists cannot cease to exist. The Will of God creates only what is real: what does not change, what is, what remains.
When the human mind aligns with the Will of God, fear disappears. But for that to happen, it must overcome its authorship problem: the belief that it created itself, that it is separate from God, and that it acts autonomously. That idea is the root of fear, for it gives rise to the feeling of being alone, separate, and devoid of Love.
Ultimately, it is a false conception of freedom: the belief that the human will can “create” the imperfect, the limited, or the lacking—that is, something intrinsically different from its Author, the Self, the only thing that truly exists.
The human mind cannot conceive what is real in the strict sense, because it is itself a demented illusion. Yet it can align with Reality and come to perceive accurately. Neither can it heal itself, for by nature it is an existential contradiction. Its redemption consists in awakening to the awareness of its true identity—but even that transcends the notion of awareness, for it occurs when the direct knowledge of being is reached.
Human beings are not saved from anything, for illusions cannot be saved. The illusion of being human simply dissolves. That, which terrifies the ego, is at the same time the source of immense joy for you.
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LESSON 86
Today’s review covers these ideas: W-71 and W-72
1. W-71. “Only God’s plan for salvation will work.”
2. It makes no sense for me to keep searching desperately for salvation everywhere. I
²I have looked for it in many people and things, but when I tried to grasp it, it was not there.
³I was mistaken about where it is.
⁴I was mistaken about what it is.
⁵I will undertake no more useless journeys.
⁶Only God’s plan for salvation will work.
⁷And I will rejoice that His plan can never fail.
3. These are some suggestions for specific applications of this idea:
²God’s plan for salvation will save me from the way I see this.
³This is no exception in God’s plan for my salvation.II
⁴I want to see this only in the light of God’s plan for salvation.
4. W-72. “Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.”
5. Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God’s plan for salvation will not work.
²Yet only His plan will succeed.
³Therefore, by holding grievances, I exclude from my awareness my one and only hope of salvation.
⁴I do not want to continue attacking my own best interests in such a senseless way. III
⁵I want to accept God’s plan for salvation and be happy.
6. Specific applications of this idea might be:
²As I look upon this, I am choosing between misperception and salvation.
³If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for my salvation.⁴This is a call for salvation, not for attack.
I In this Course, the term “salvation” is aptly used to denote that which completely fulfills all your longings, perfectly answers all your doubts, and, as a result, floods your heart with joy and sets your mind in peace forever; that is, it restores your mind to the original state in which God created it.
To be saved is to remember who you are.
Does what God created perfect need to be restored, healed, or saved in any way? Obviously not. That is impossible.
Does the mind of God’s Son need to be saved from the impossible—from what never occurred? Of course not! That cannot be, and if it cannot be, it never has been.
That is why this Course begins by saying: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God.”
The very idea of salvation is an incomprehensible concept, because it is the answer to an impossible idea: the idea of separation. An unreal concept can only be corrected by another operating at the same level—also unreal.
This Course operates in a realm as unreal as the idea that conceived it. And its strategy—the plan of God for salvation—is as incomprehensible as the idea of separation it seeks to heal; hence its proposal is purely negative: forgiveness, that is, the mind’s refusal to heed the unreal and its dismissal of illusion.
Yet, as this Course also warns, no teaching can be purely negative; it must point toward some positive content—hence the notion of levels: one unreal and nonexistent, within which it operates, and another real, absolutely full and positive—the idea of Being.
To confuse and intermingle the two levels is the basic error of the mind absorbed in the first; that is the sole temptation—that is the wrong-mindedness.
What you seek—recovering your true identity by ceasing to believe in the impossible—is not found in the perceptual realm, which arose precisely to support that perverse idea of being separate.
God’s plan for salvation works for the simple reason that it denies error. Nothing more is required.
II Everything I perceive is a projection of the fragmented mind meant to support the mistaken idea it has of itself. Nothing you perceive is real. What is real cannot be perceived; it can only be known—and since knowing is the same as being, knowledge cannot occur within a false identity.
You never know from your human perspective; only Being knows—and that Being is what you truly are. But do not be deceived into believing that, as a person, you can know; at the personal level you can only hold beliefs.
What you now behold as a human you cannot know, but you can dismiss it as a means to salvation, which will be the first idea to arise in your mind when you perceive it. Dismiss it, for the voice that seeks to convince you that your salvation lies there is the ego’s.
Look carefully, ask for a different interpretation, quiet your mind, and listen. You will receive a better proposal, and you will recognize it because it is peaceful, benevolent, and beneficial.
What you will hear is not the truth in the strict sense either, but it is the best you can access within the realm of perception, and the Course calls this “true perception.”
If to be saved is to remember who you are, then God’s plan for salvation consists in using all the things life sets before you to foster that remembrance—and this occurs when you behold them with true perception.
In God’s plan for salvation, everything that happens to you is interpreted positively, because everything can be seen as serving that plan. Thus, when events accord with your longings and expectations, they are cause for celebration; and when they contradict them—the difficulties of life—they become opportunities to learn and to change.
Life is the perfect school, and everything that occurs is for your good. When something disturbs you, do not say: “Life is wrong; I have to change it.” Say rather: “Life is right; I have to change the way I see it.” This does not mean you should refrain from doing what is appropriate, but do not attempt to do so before you have changed your interpretation and regained peace.
Remember that the world you believe you perceive is an illusion and means nothing in itself; thus it is irrelevant. But your peace is indeed meaningful and necessary. You have come here precisely for that.
III Harboring resentments is simply arrogance. It occurs when you ascribe to yourself abilities you do not have. In this case, you believe you are qualified to judge what is before you and condemn it. It is not so, but you believe it.
Since you do not like what you see, according to your own reasoning—the ego’s—you condemn it and attack it.
First, consider that what is before you is not real; and then consider that the way you are regarding it is unhelpful—as your heart makes known to you—and that is why you feel bad.
Moreover, harboring resentments is a negative emotional state—an attack against yourself—that will not help you at all to attain what you truly want: peace of mind. Remember this fundamental ontological principle: means cannot contradict ends. If you want peace, do not prepare for war.
You are probably convinced that the only way to attain that peace is to achieve certain goals that lie outside you. Do not deceive yourself. You will not find peace in anything external; peace is a real idea and is found in your mind, which is also real. In fact, peace is your mind’s natural condition when it is not deceived by the false promises of external idols.
Do not persist in that path; correct it. Quiet your mind and pray. Ask for help.
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LESSON 85
Today’s review covers these ideas: W-69 and W-70
1. W-69. “My grievances hide the light of the world in me”.I
2. My grievances show me something that is not there and hide from me what I want to see.
²If I recognize this, why would I want my grievances?
³My grievances keep me in darkness and hide the light.
⁴Grievances and light cannot coexist, but light and vision must be joined for me to see.
⁵In order to see, I must let go of all grievances.
⁶I want to see, and this is how I will succeed. II
3. Specific applications of this idea might be:
²Let me not allow this to keep me from seeing.
³The light of the world will shine away all this.
⁴I have no need for this; what I want is to see.
4. W-70. “My salvation comes from me.”
5. Today I will recognize where my salvation is.
²It is in me, because its Source is there.
³My salvation has not left its Source, and so it cannot have left my mind.
⁴I will no longer seek it outside myself.
⁵It is not something outside that I must bring within.
⁶Instead, it will extend from within me to everything I see, and all I look upon will reflect the light that shines in me and in what I behold. III
6. These expressions of the idea are suitable for more specific applications:
²Let me not be tempted to seek my salvation outside myself.
³I will not let this interfere with my awareness that I am the Source of my salvation.
⁴This has no power to take salvation away from me.
I Today you will not concern yourself with whether your resentments are justified or not, because if you do, the voice of the ego within you will provide an endless array of false arguments to justify them, which will overwhelm you. Be wise and humble. Simplify. Focus on the effects those resentments are having on you, and become aware that they harm you, hurt you, and make you ill.
Never argue with your ego, for you are bound to lose. The ego is clever and devious; you are innocent, and your natural realm is not cleverness but truth. So do not listen to it—look with childlike honesty within yourself, consult your heart, and you will have no doubt about what you must do with your resentments.
This is a path of choices that must be made. To some you must say yes, to others no, and the contrast between them is so great that the choice cannot be difficult unless you allow the ego to ensnare you with its cunning tricks.
II I am absolutely certain that I want to see a radiant world that floods my heart with joy and my mind with peace, yet that is not what I see. I now behold something else. I see a sad, dark, loveless, and dangerous world.
But am I really seeing? Could it be that I am not seeing what is truly there? What, then, am I seeing?
What does it mean to harbor resentments? What happens in my mind when I am resentful? When and why does that occur?
To harbor resentments, it is essential that I have condemned something or someone. It is essential that I have declared something to be wrong. It is also essential that I firmly believe my evaluation of that thing to be absolutely true and appropriate. To harbor resentments, I must have absolute faith in my own judgments.
If I have absolute faith in my judgments, it is evident that I am absolutely insane. Moreover, mine is no ordinary insanity—it is the deranged state of a furious madman attacking himself, for he tells himself only stories that make him suffer.
When I look at the world, all I see are my resentments. Yet in reality, I am seeing nothing at all; I am merely listening to the opinions of my ego—indeed, the opinions of a madman. It is no wonder I do not see a radiant world out there.
For that terrible condition of my hallucinating mind to change, it is unquestionable that I must stop paying attention to terrifying stories about the world, about people, and about myself.
I simply have to stop believing that any nonsense that comes to my mind is true. I must open my mind to the possibility that the judgments I hear about everything I behold are mistaken—that in truth, I know nothing about anything.
I must quiet my mind and ask that I be granted a better way of seeing. The one I am using now is doing me terrible harm, and for that reason, it would be better to have none at all. I will remain still and see what happens.
III The truth is that I am not completely convinced that my salvation lies within me. If I were, I would already have gone within, accepted that I am saved, and would not be doing this Course.
What I am absolutely certain of is that my salvation is not outside me, for I have been searching for it out there for a very long time and have not found the slightest trace of anything that could be called true salvation. Moreover, this is not something that happens only to me; I do not know anyone at all who has found it outside themselves.
However, I have read some quite reliable testimonies from people who claim to have found it, and they all agree on the same thing: they found immense joy by going within, and there they experienced something they could not put into words—something more real than anything they had ever known.
On the other hand—and thinking about it more carefully—to some extent it has also happened to me. There have been times when, without knowing how or why, I have felt very happy. I did nothing to make it happen; it simply occurred. I believe this is something everyone, to some degree, has also experienced.
Moreover, it is quite logical that salvation should be found within, because, evidently, it is there that its fruits are experienced. What is truly surprising is that, after such a simple reasoning—accessible to anyone—people still insist on seeking joy and peace outside themselves. It is indeed striking.
I think it is worthwhile, at least for a while, to reverse the direction of my efforts. From now on, I will pay little attention and give little importance to what happens outside me—only what is strictly necessary—and I will travel quietly and silently within myself, with a still mind, wide-open eyes, and without expectation.
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LESSON 84
Today’s review covers these ideas: W-67 and W-68
1. W-67. “Love created me like Itself.”
2. I am like my Creator. I
²I cannot suffer, I cannot experience loss, and I cannot die. II
³I am not a body. III
⁴Today I want to recognize my reality.
⁵I will not worship idols, nor raise the self-made images I have of myself to replace my Self. IV
⁶I am like my Creator.
⁷Love created me like Itself.
3. These specific forms may be helpful in applying the idea:
²Let me not see in this an illusion of myself.
³Let me remember my Creator as I look upon this.
⁴My Creator did not create this as I see it.
4. W-68. “Love holds no grievances.”
5. Grievances are entirely foreign to Love. V
²Grievances attack Love and veil Its light.
³If I hold grievances, I am attacking Love and therefore attacking my Self.
⁴In doing so, my Self becomes something unknown to me.
⁵I am determined not to attack my Self today, so that I may remember who I am. VI
6. These specific forms of applying this idea may be helpful:
²This does not justify denying my Self.
³I will not use this to attack Love.
⁴I will not let this tempt me to attack myself.
I Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…’”
Rather, God said, “I make My Son in My image and likeness,” and thus God created His Son. And then the ego said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness…” and man appeared in the sleeping mind of the Son of God.
II Suffering, loss, and death are but ideas that my real Self has never experienced in Reality. My awareness of being has always been the same and has never changed, though it is true that upon that pure awareness of being myself I have superimposed ideas of suffering, loss, and death; yet even in those moments, my awareness of being has remained unaltered.
III Throughout my personal life my body has changed dramatically, but my awareness of being has not. What does not change in me must be real, and what changes must be illusion. The only plausible explanation is that my fragmented mind conceives these ideas of suffering, loss, death, and body; yet they are nothing but that—changing ideas that I imagine and take to be real, but which are merely illusions.
IV All the ideas my personal mind conceives change: first they appear in my mind; then, with time, they evolve and change; finally, I no longer regard them as “existing” and call them “memories.” But while they are in my mind I consider them real, true, and of great value—so why do I constantly deceive myself in this way?
Why do I call that living? Could it not be that I am merely absorbed in a story I tell myself?
V Resentments are entirely foreign to what I am: the Love of God. Why else, do you think, do resentments make you uneasy and cause you to feel bad? Simply because they are unnatural—ideas incompatible with what you are.
Do not tolerate discomfort. Be sensitive to every disturbance and uncompromising with it. Do not allow it into your mind; if it has already entered, expel it quickly, and above all, do not welcome or nourish it, for you will be harboring a stranger who has settled in your home for the sole purpose of embittering your life.
You do not deserve that. You were created in Happiness and for happiness. Anything less than genuine happiness is unworthy of your glorious condition, and you do not deserve it.
Make no compromise with this. The worst thing that can happen to a human being is to grow familiar with suffering and to accept it without protest.
Learn to be outraged by all those mental positions that do not belong to a Son of God. Learn to live as your Father lives; learn to live as God.
VI The image I have of myself—which I accept as true with a mixture of astonishing credulity and arrogance—is so distorted that it is almost impossible for me to recognize myself as Love and Light. Yet I understand perfectly well that resentments are forms of attack and that they make me feel profoundly miserable. It is evident that when I hold resentments, I am attacking myself, for I am the only one who suffers.
If harboring resentments is my decision, and if they harm me so much, why do I keep them? For what purpose do I maintain them? Perhaps it is because my mind is not functioning correctly. It is urgent to put an end to this madness. I do not want to keep suffering.
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LESSON 83
Today we will review these ideas: W-65 and W-66
1. W-65. “My only function is the one God gave me.”
2. I have no function but the one God gave me. I
²Recognizing this frees me from all conflict, because it means I cannot have conflicting goals.
³With one single purpose, I am always certain of what to do, what to say, and what to think.
⁴All doubt disappears when I acknowledge that my only function is the one God gave me. II
3. More specific applications of this idea might be:
²My perception of this does not change my function.III
³This does not assign me a different function than the one God gave me.IV
⁴Let me not use this to justify a function God did not give me.V
4. W-66. “My happiness and my function are one.”
5. All things that come from God are one. VI
²They come from Oneness, and must be received as one. VII
³Fulfilling my function is my happiness, because both come from the same Source. VIII
⁴And to find happiness I must learn to recognize what makes me happy.
6. Some helpful variations for applying this idea more specifically are:
²This cannot separate my happiness from my function.
³The oneness of my happiness and my function is in no way affected by this.
⁴Nothing, not even this, can justify the illusion that I can be happy by failing to fulfill my function.IX
I The function of anything is assigned by its creator. I cannot have a function different from the one assigned to me by Him Who created me. It is obvious that I did not create myself—though I sometimes have the temptation to believe it, so great is my confusion—therefore, I cannot assign myself my own function.
I do not now remember Who created me, how He created me, or why He created me, but those questions must have an answer, because I exist. The only thing I know for certain is that when I have tried to assign myself my own function, I have failed, for I have not achieved my purpose; I have not succeeded in being happy. Now I want to try something different.
Simplifying is always good, and here I am told that I have only one function. At least this is simple and clear. Moreover, I am also told that my function is to be happy and to make my brothers happy—that is, to heal them—because I am also told that to heal is to make happy (T-5.I.1:1). Then, if my function is so simple and so aligned with my deepest desires, why do I not set about it immediately?
II This too is obvious. If I focus all my efforts on doing one single thing, my mind will not be scattered, and I will experience no conflict, for thus I will not be attacking myself, and in this way I am also sure that at the very least I will have peace. I am going to try to fulfill impeccably this function that is said to have been assigned to me by God, because it seems quite likely that I will also find happiness.
III I am still interpreting every event through my old thought system, and it is normal that I experience the temptation to assign myself a function once again.
IV If I look carefully, I can apply my new function even to this; therefore, I must interpret it differently from how I was accustomed to.
V I will not allow myself to be tempted by that old habit; it would ruin my new purpose.
VI God is very simple. Nothing is simpler than God. God is the epitome of simplicity.
VII God is One, and everything that comes from Him is like Him. Everything that comes from God is one.
VIII How could God have arranged anything for me other than my happiness? Since I began to believe that I was separate from God, I have done nothing but seek happiness.
Is it so difficult to conclude that my happiness lies in God?
IX Everything I have done throughout my personal life has had no other purpose than to try to attain a little more happiness.
I will also try to be happy with what I now have before me. Let me not be tempted by the idea of seeking happiness by any means other than the one that has been proposed to me: forgiveness. If I do, I will fail once again.
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LESSON 82
Today we will review these ideas: W-63 and W-64
1. W-63. “The light of the world brings Peace to every mind through my forgiveness.”I
2. My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world expresses itself through me.
²My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the light of the world within me. II
³My forgiveness is the means by which the world is healed along with me.
⁴Therefore, let me forgive the world so that it may be healed along with me.
3. Some specific suggestions for applying this idea are:
²Let Peace extend from my mind to yours, (name).
³I share the light of the world with you, (name).
⁴Through my forgiveness I can see this as it is.III
4. W-64. “Let me not forget my function.”
5. I will not forget my function, because I want to remember my Self. IV
²I cannot fulfill my function if I forget it.
³And if I do not fulfill my function, I will not experience the joy that God has intended for me. V
6. Some specific variations suitable for this idea are:
²Let me not use this to hide my function from myself.
³I want to use this as an opportunity to fulfill my function.
⁴This may seem to threaten my ego, but it in no way alters my function.VI
I Just as judgment inevitably generates conflict, fear, and anger, the direct effect of forgiveness is peace.
This Lesson is a logical and natural continuation of the previous one: the light within me is the cause of forgiveness, and peace is its immediate consequence, both for me and for those to whom I extend that forgiveness.
In today’s practice, do not focus too much attention on yourself, on your own problems, or on your personal need for peace. Instead, direct your thoughts toward your brothers. Reflect on the transforming effect that your sincere acceptance and forgiveness can have upon them. Do you believe that your forgiveness will have no effect on their minds? If you doubt this, it is because you have not yet fully understood the extraordinary and irresistible power of forgiveness.
To truly forgive your brothers’ supposed offenses and to accept them deeply from the heart generates a powerful and irresistible force that no one can reject or avoid. When you offer acceptance instead of judgment, you inevitably transform those you once regarded as enemies into valuable allies. By forgiving and accepting, you release the energy you would have used to defend or attack, and that same energy now becomes cooperation and mutual support.
The conversion of enemies into allies is not only a lofty spiritual practice but also the wisest and most rewarding investment you can make in any area of life. In forgiving, you choose to live from peace and cooperation, and you discover that the support and collaboration of your brothers lead you more easily toward the fulfillment of your highest goals.
II When I forgive, my mind is illumined and my heart rejoices.
III By forgiving, the world remains the same and so do I, but I now perceive clearly that there is no real problem. Forgiveness does not change external reality but my perception of it. When I stop projecting my judgments onto what I see, I can behold the world as it truly is, free from the distortion produced by my mind.
In other words, forgiveness removes erroneous interpretations, revealing a clear, simple, and authentic vision. Thus, although externally nothing may have changed, internally everything is transformed, and the sense of conflict, anxiety, or unease disappears. Seeing clearly, I experience true and constant peace, for I recognize that what I once considered a problem was merely a mistaken judgment in my mind.
IV If I forget my function, I do not know who I am or what I am doing here. If I forget my function, nothing makes sense.
Remember: In this Course it is explicitly stated that the function of God’s Son is to be happy. This is found in the Workbook, Lesson 66, where it says:
“My happiness and my function are one. […] The ego constantly battles the Holy Spirit on the fundamental question of what your function is. And also what your happiness is. […] God gives you only happiness. Therefore, the function He gave you must be happiness, even though it may appear to be something else.”Also, in Lesson 101 it is emphasized: “God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”
In other sections of the Course, it is reinforced that the purpose of God’s Son is to fulfill the function given him, and that in that fulfillment lies his inevitable happiness.
Thus, according to the Course, your function is to be happy, and this happiness is attained through forgiveness and alignment with God’s Will. The only thing that can separate you from your happiness is your lack of forgiveness.
V It is as impossible to experience joy while condemning as it is inevitable to experience it when forgiving.
VI Forgiveness is the most powerful means of transcending the ego, for the ego has no access to it. The ego never forgives—it only knows how to judge, blame, and divide. Forgiveness, therefore, is an act that undoes it, a gesture arising from a higher dimension of mind, where love and understanding replace judgment and fear.
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LESSON 81 and SECOND REVIEW
Introduction
1. We are now ready for another review.
²We will begin where the last review left off and take two ideas each day.
³The first part of the day will be devoted to one of these ideas, and the second to the other. I
⁴Each of these periods will include one longer practice period, supported by shorter and more frequent sessions dedicated to each idea.II
2. The longer practice periods will follow this general format:
²Spend about fifteen minutes with each one, beginning with the idea and the accompanying comments.
³Spend three or four minutes reading them slowly, several times if you wish, and then close your eyes and listen.
⁴If your mind wanders, return to the idea and reflect on it again, but try to devote most of the time to listening silently and attentively. III
3. There is a message waiting for you.
²Trust that you will receive it.
³Remember that it is your right and that you want it.
⁴Do not let your will be weakened by thoughts that seek to distract you.
⁵Realize that whatever form those thoughts may take, they mean nothing and have no power. IV
⁶Replace them with your determination to succeed. V
4. Do not forget that your will is stronger than fantasies and dreams. VI
²Trust it to carry you through and beyond all of them. VII
³Consider these practice periods as devoted to the way, the truth, and the life. VIII
⁴Refuse to be pulled into distraction, illusion, and thoughts of death. IX
⁵You are committed to salvation.
⁶Be determined to fulfill your function each day. X
5. Reaffirm your determination in the shorter practice periods, using the original form of the idea for general application, and adapting it when needed.
²The accompanying comments include some specific variations.
³But these are merely suggestions.
⁴The actual words you use do not matter.
I In the morning we practice one idea, and in the afternoon the other.
II Both morning and evening, devote fifteen minutes to reflecting on the corresponding idea, and then take brief moments throughout the rest of the day as often as possible. Above all, keep those ideas in mind whenever the circumstances of the day offer you opportunities to practice them.
Without any doubt, this will happen, and applying an idea to a specific problem is the best way to assimilate it, thus turning that application into a mental habit. That automatic response will benefit you in ways beyond description throughout your life and will become a new, benevolent habit. Nothing will ever be the same again.
This way of living is simply the practical application of your new thought system—the goal of this Course.
III This is a receptive, expectant mental attitude. It is a way of praying: first you ask; then you wait for the answer. The most important part is the second, obviously.
In fact, with these practices you are training your mind to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, and that should be the natural stance of your mind for the rest of your life on earth.
A serene, disciplined mind—at peace, attentive to the inner Voice, and in harmony with its own heart—is a right, sound, miracle-minded mind. That is the mind of a miracle worker.
Realize that this Course is mental training that will lead you to live from a new definition of yourself. But to achieve this, you must first relinquish the prior idea with which you have identified. That process entails renouncing and leaving behind what you believe to be your true will. However, because you are so immersed in that false identity, it will likely be very difficult for you to take that step.
At the end of the Text, there is a specific practice that represents the culmination of all you have learned up to that point: the first section of chapter 30, “Rules for Decision”, where you learn to let yourself be guided by the Voice of the Holy Spirit. This part of the Workbook marks the beginning of your training in that direction, which will be consolidated in the Second Part of the book, which begins with Lesson 220.
IV Your old thought system will try constantly to interfere with your learning. Pay no attention to it. That is not you. It is only the automatic mechanism your mind has been using until now.
It has embittered your life, and you do not want it. Do not allow it to intrude now. The only real content of your thoughts is the infinitesimal amounts of love they may have harbored. That has, in any case, been their only microscopic meaning.
As for their power, in themselves they have never had any—only what you have conferred upon them by believing in them.
V It is an answer to which you are fully entitled. Remember, it has been promised to you: “Ask, and it shall be given.” And you can be sure it is so.
But note that it must also be an answer you truly want. This is the most important part, for it is what allows the results of your will to manifest.
Jesus does not deceive you; you can trust Him—but you do not need to do so blindly. Do what He tells you and look with absolute honesty at the results.
VI Notice the emphasis placed on will. Your will is the only thing that exists, and the fantasies and dreams you have had have been the result of misapplying your will.
VII Many students of this blessed Course, when practicing listening to the Voice of the Holy Spirit in their mind, experience doubts about the truthfulness of the answers they receive. They often suspect that what they hear could be coming from the ego and not from the Holy Spirit—especially when those answers prove uncomfortable or challenging. It is important to understand that this doubt is precisely the ego’s voice, for the ego is always the one who questions and generates uncertainty.
To carry out this exercise correctly, it is essential, from the heart and with absolute honesty, to relinquish any personal expectation and every prior interpretation of the circumstances. Only in this fresh and fertile ground, free of conditioning, can the true answer manifest.
What you hear in itself is not the most important thing. What truly hallows the answer is the trust with which you receive it. Trust fully in the Holy Spirit; trust also in yourself, and thus hallow what you receive through the transforming power of your trust. Trust is holy, it possesses power, and it hallows whatever it is placed upon.
Ultimately, what is decisive is not so much what you do as the attitude from which you do it. Authentic trust fosters a state of mind this Course calls “miraculous.” In that state, the mind—freed from the ego and from doubts—rests constantly upon trust. For that reason, it has continual access to the Power of God, lives from innocence, expresses benevolence, and experiences an absolute sense of protection and invulnerability.
That is the state of mind you deserve.
VIII John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
These practices guided by Jesus are your way to the Truth and the Life.
IX Whenever you feel tempted, realize that it is always a struggle of you against yourself, and, if you think about it, you will understand that temptations are nothing but sheer foolishness and a lack of honesty, consistency, and commitment.
You still have a mind split between two opposing thought systems, and that is stressing you. Simply choose one and abandon the other.
X Not every day; every minute, every second. Realize that you are not a child of the past; you are born anew and innocent in the present instant. The you who inhabits the present is always new and immaculate. In the present you are affected only by your present thoughts, though these may refer to the past or to the future; yet they are always of the present, offspring of your will.
Be impeccable; exercise your will; listen, and trust.
LESSON 81
Our ideas for today’s review are: W-61 and W-62
1. W-61. “I am the light of the world.” I
2. How holy I am, for the function of lighting the world has been entrusted to me!
²Let me remain calm in the presence of my Holiness. II
³Let all my conflicts vanish in Its quiet Light. III
⁴And in Its Peace, let me remember who I am. IV
3. Some specific forms of applying this idea when difficulties seem to arise could be:
²Let me not obscure the light of the world in me.
³Let the light of the world shine through this appearance. V
⁴This shadow will vanish before the light. VI
4. W-62. “Forgiveness is my function because I am the light of the world.”VII
5. As I accept my function, I will see the light in me. VIII
²And in that light my function will appear clear and perfectly unambiguous before my sight.
³I do not yet need to understand what my function is in order to accept it, for I do not yet know what forgiveness is. IX
⁴But I trust that in the light I will see what it is. X
6. Specific phrases for using this idea could be:
²Let this help me learn what forgiveness means. XI
³Let me not separate my function from my Will. XII
⁴Let me not divert this toward a purpose that is not my function.XIII
I I—my true Self—am the light that dispels the shadows of a darkened world made of absences of light, of absences of love.
II In my quiet holiness, the stories I tell myself about the “reality” of the world come to an end.
III Without my own descriptions—without my inner dialogue—conflicts simply disappear.
IV And I remember and am the Self that I am.
V I ask that the light behind that form be shown to me.
VI The form disappears, and what lies beyond the form is revealed to me: the Love of God underlying all appearances.
VII I will not be deceived by the sinister descriptions the voice of the ego places in my mind; I will forgive them all.
VIII I cannot see my own light because I am the emitter of light, but I will see the effects of my light, for the shadows I see around me will fade away.
IX The proof that I still do not understand what forgiveness is lies in the fact that I still see a world; I have not yet forgiven it.
X By forgiving I will understand what forgiveness is, for I will see the effects of my forgiveness as it illumines the world with the light of my forgiveness. Forgiving will allow me to see the world transformed by my light.
XI This is an opportunity to exercise my forgiveness and to understand that to forgive means to be freed from painful interpretations.
I will turn this situation of conflict into an opportunity to learn to free myself from suffering. Each time I forgive, I take one more step along the path to the Peace of God, which I deserve.
I will not waste this opportunity. I will learn this Lesson for my own benefit.
I was born to be happy, and forgiveness is the way to achieve it.
XII My function and my will are the same. I only want to forgive.
XIII I will allow myself to see in this nothing but an opportunity to practice my function and forgive.
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LESSON 80
Let Me Recognize That My Problems Have Been Solved.
1. If you are willing to recognize your problems, you will recognize that you have none.
²Your one great problem has already been solved, and you have no other.
³Therefore, you must be at peace.
⁴Salvation, then, depends on recognizing that this is the one problem and understanding that it has already been resolved.
⁵One problem, one solution. I
⁶Salvation is accomplished.
⁷Release from conflict has been given you.
⁸Accept this fact, and you are ready to take your rightful place in God’s plan for salvation.
2. Your only problem has been solved!
²Repeat this within yourself today, again and again, with gratitude and conviction.
³You have recognized your one problem, opening the way for the Holy Spirit to give you God’s answer.
⁴You have set aside deception and seen the light of truth.
⁵You have accepted salvation for yourself by bringing the problem to the answer.
⁶And you can recognize the solution because you have identified the problem. II
3. Today you are entitled to peace.
²A problem that has been resolved cannot trouble you.
³Just be certain you do not forget that all problems are the same.
⁴Their many forms will not deceive you if you remember this.
⁵One problem, one solution.
⁶Accept the peace this simple statement brings.
4. In our longer practice periods today, we will claim the peace that rightfully belongs to us when problem and answer are brought together.
²The problem must vanish, for God’s Answer cannot fail.
³Having recognized the problem, you have recognized the solution.
⁴The solution is inherent in the problem.
⁵You have been answered, and you have accepted the answer.
⁶You are saved.
5. Now let the peace that comes from your acceptance be given you.
²Close your eyes and receive your reward.
³Acknowledge that your problems have been solved.
⁴Acknowledge that you are out of conflict, free and at peace.
⁵But above all, remember that you have only one problem, and that problem has one solution.
⁶In this lies the simplicity of salvation.
⁷This is the reason it is guaranteed to work.
6. State often today that all your problems have been solved.
²Repeat the idea with absolute conviction as often as possible.
³And especially remember to apply today’s idea to any specific problem that may arise.
⁴Say quickly:
⁵Let me recognize that this problem has been solved.
7. Today, let us choose not to accumulate grievances.
²Let us choose to free ourselves from problems that do not exist.
³The key to this is simple honesty.
⁴Do not deceive yourself about what the problem is, and you will recognize that it has been solved.
I Jesus tells us:
THE PROBLEM:
“Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny, mad idea at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh.” (T-27.X.6:1)
The problem is you. The problem is your self—the ego in you. Problems will continue to haunt you as long as you insist on wanting to be you.
The problem is that you believe you are a person living in a world with other persons—bodies, like you. The problem is that you believe you have a mind for your own private use, with thoughts that are always appropriate and true. The problem is that you believe you are separate from God, from your brothers, and from all the things that populate your world—and that all of this is something distinct from you.
The problem is that you feel alone, helpless, and powerless before the things that happen to you; that you are fragile, subject to all kinds of harm, and destined, in the end, to die.
The problem is that your mind is constantly absorbed in things you think happened in something you call the past, and you fear what you think may occur in a time yet to come that you call the future.
The problem is that in your mind there arise incessantly and uncontrollably stories you tell yourself—stories that, though you know to some extent are not true, you cannot help but consider important, because you, who also consider yourself important, are the protagonist of them all.
The problem is that, although you are beginning to realize that all this is nothing but madness, you do not know how to bring it to an end.
THE SOLUTION:
“The Holy Spirit was God’s Answer to the separation; the means by which the Atonement could heal the mind until the whole of it returned to creating.” (T-5.II.10:5)
The problem is not real. None of it is true. What is real is not in danger, and what you think is in danger is not real. In this lies the Peace of God.
And Jesus tells us:
“Do not be afraid, beloved brother. It is only a dream. I know you are dreaming; you do not yet. I now take your hand and accompany you in your nightmare. That is all I can do—but it is enough.
I cannot awaken you from your dream because you do not yet wish to wake, but I do know that with all your soul you long for a better dream, and that I can help you to attain.
Listen to me. Do as I say and trust. My voice accompanies you always, for your mind is also mine, and I have already awakened—but I still behold your dream, and that is why I can guide you. I always speak to you of what I did, for thus I awakened. You and I are the same, and therefore there is nothing in me that you cannot achieve.
The dream is already over, and with it, the world and time. We are together, as we have always been—together in the Heart of God. Have faith, open your eyes, and you will see.”
II Perhaps it will help you to ask yourself these questions: Is there any problem outside myself? Who really has a problem?
Problems have no existence of their own outside the mind that perceives them; they possess no real ontological being. We might even say they are illusions in the highest degree, for they cannot even be perceived objectively.
Problems are, in essence, opinions, beliefs, or attacks directed against the idea one holds of oneself. If you abandon or diminish this idea, lessening the sense of personal importance—which is the ego’s nourishment—you will see how the problem naturally fades away.
You will experience problems to the same extent that you remain identified with your ego: the stronger the ego, the greater and more numerous the problems you will perceive. To regain peace of mind and cease suffering from painful interpretations of reality does not necessarily require a lofty spiritual vision; it requires only a little genuine humility.
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LESSON 79
Let Me Recognize the Problem So It Can Be Solved.
1. You cannot solve a problem if you do not know what it is.
²Even if it is already truly solved, you will still have it because you cannot recognize that it has been resolved.
³This is the situation of the world.
⁴The problem of separation, which is really the only problem there is, has already been solved.
⁵But the solution is not recognized because the problem itself has not been recognized. I
2. In this world, each person seems to have their own special problems.
²But they are all the same, and they must be recognized as one if the one solution that solves them all is to be accepted.
³Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else?
⁴Even if he is given the answer, he cannot see its relevance.
3. This is the situation in which you find yourself now.
²You have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is.
³You think you are dealing with a long list of different problems, and as one is resolved, another appears, and then another.
⁴It seems to have no end.
⁵You never feel completely free of problems and at peace.
4. The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the problem of separation unsolved.
²The world seems to present you with a vast array of problems, each requiring a different answer.
³This perception places you in a position in which your way of solving problems must be inadequate, and failure is inevitable.
5. No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold.
²They seem to be on so many levels, in such varied forms, and with such differing content, that they seem to confront you with an impossible situation.
³As you perceive them, discouragement and depression are inevitable.
⁴Some arise unexpectedly, just when you thought you had resolved the previous ones.
⁵Others remain unresolved beneath a cloud of denial and emerge from time to time to haunt you, only to hide again, still unsolved.
6. All this complexity is but a desperate attempt to not recognize the problem, and therefore not allow it to be solved.
²If you could recognize that your only problem is separation—regardless of the form it takes—you could accept the answer, because you would see its relevance.
³If you could see the underlying sameness of all the problems you face, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all.
⁴And then you would use those means, because you would have recognized the problem.
7. In today’s longer practice periods, we will ask what the problem is, and what the solution is.
²We will not assume we already know.
³We will try to let go of all the kinds of problems we think we have.
⁴We will try to realize that we have only one problem, which we have not yet recognized.
⁵We will ask what it is, and wait for the answer.
⁶It will be told to us.
⁷Then we will ask for its solution.
⁸And that, too, will be given. II
8. Today’s exercises will be successful to the extent that you do not insist on defining the problem yourself.
²You may not be able to let go of all your preconceptions, but that is not necessary.
³All that is required is that you question the reality of your version of what your problems are. III
⁴You are trying to realize that in recognizing the problem, the answer has been given—so that the problem and the answer can be seen together, and you may be at peace.
9. Today, the shorter practice periods will not follow a fixed schedule, but will be used as needed.
²You will see many problems today, and each one seems to require a response.
³Try to recognize that there is only one problem, and only one answer.
⁴In this recognition are all problems resolved.
⁵In this recognition is peace.
10. Do not let yourself be deceived today by the form in which problems appear. IV
²Whenever difficulty arises, say immediately:
³Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.
⁴Then try to suspend all judgment about what the problem is.
⁵If possible, close your eyes for a moment and ask what it is.
⁶You will be heard, and you will be answered.
I Here we are told that the problem is separation—but what does that really mean? In what way can knowing that separation is the problem help me here and now, in daily life?
It is quite likely that today’s Lesson will seem very difficult to you; that is normal. Perhaps the best approach is simply to read it carefully, do the practice as instructed, and see what happens. In tomorrow’s Lesson you will find an explanatory note on the nature of the problem mentioned here.
It is important that your experience today not be influenced by the descriptions of others. Work through the Lesson with kindness, an open mind, and all your good will.
Be certain that you are loved to a degree you are incapable of conceiving or imagining. You are looked upon with infinite tenderness and protected at every step you take, even though you do not yet know it.
Work well today and expect an answer; but if it does not come, do not worry.
II Do not expect the answer to come to you in a particular way that you have imagined. Who knows how the answer will reach you! It will come in a form specific to you. It will be an absolutely personal experience.
III This line is important. Realize that, in order to hear the answer, a receptive mind is necessary. If your mind is clinging to its own interpretation of reality, it will hardly be able to hear an answer—and if it does, it will very likely perceive it as an attack on its beliefs and respond with a counterattack.
All that is asked of you is to question your way of describing the problem, not to deny or reject it; doubting it is enough—nothing more is required.
Bring to mind any problem you tell yourself you have. You certainly have an explanation to justify your disturbance about that situation, but ask yourself: what is it that makes this a problem? Why does it disturb you?
Do not answer yourself. Keep your mind open and receptive to an answer that must come from beyond yourself.
IV This, too, is very important: do not confuse form with content. The problem is not the form it takes, but that which makes it a problem. All the problems of the world are nothing more than different manifestations of the idea of separation. That is the root of the problem. When you recognize it, you will be able to resolve them all, for they are children of the same mother.
As an exercise, try to observe the different problems you believe the world has from this perspective. It will not take you long to see that the idea of separation underlies them all. Nothing more is required. Simply recognize what the real problem is. This Lesson asks nothing more of you than that.
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LESSON 78
Let Miracles Replace All Grievances.
1. You may still not fully understand that in every decision you make, you are choosing between a grievance and a miracle.
²Each grievance stands as a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal.
³And by raising it before your eyes, you do not see the miracle that lies beyond.
⁴The miracle remains there, waiting for you in the light, but you behold your grievances instead.
2. Today we will go beyond grievances to behold the miracle in their place.
²Today we will reverse your way of seeing, and we will not let your sight stop short before you truly see.
³We will not linger before the shield of hate, but let it fall, and gently lift our eyes in silence to behold the Son of God.
3. The Son of God awaits you beyond your grievances, and when you let them go, He will appear in radiant light where each one stood before.
²For every grievance is a block to vision, and when it is gone you see the Son of God where He has always been.
³He is in the light, but you were in the dark.
⁴For every grievance deepened the darkness, and you could not see.
4. Today we will try to see the Son of God.
²We will not allow ourselves to be blind to Him.
³We will not look upon our grievances.
⁴For it is in this way that the vision of the world is reversed: by looking toward the truth beyond fear. I
5. To do this, we will choose one person who has been the target of your grievances and, laying those grievances aside, we will look upon them.
²Someone you fear, or even hate.
³Perhaps someone you think you love, yet who angers you.
⁴Someone you call a friend, but who is difficult to please or understand.
⁵Or someone who seems demanding, irritating, or who does not live up to the image you have assigned them.
⁶You already know who it is.
⁷Their name has already come to your mind.
6. This is the one we ask to be shown to us as the Son of God.
²As you look upon this person without the grievances you have held, you will discover that what was hidden when you did not see them this way is present in everyone, and can be seen.
³When you release the one who was your enemy to take the holy role the Holy Spirit has assigned, they become more than just a friend.
⁴Let them be your Savior today.
⁵Such is their function in God’s plan, your Father.
7. In today’s longer practice periods, you will see them in this role.
²First, try to see them in your mind as you now regard them.
³Review their faults, the difficulties you have had with them, the pain they have caused you, their neglects, and all the small and great offenses they have brought.
⁴Consider their body, its imperfections and its more appealing traits.
⁵Think also of their mistakes, even their “sins.”
8. Then, ask the One who knows this Son of God in truth and in reality that you may see them differently, and behold in them your Savior shining in the light of the true forgiveness that has been given to you.
²In the Holy Name of God and of His Son, as holy as Himself, we pray:
³Let me behold my Savior in this one
you have appointed as the one to ask
to lead me to the holy light in which he stands,
so I may join with him there. II
4Now close your eyes, and as you think of the one who injured you, let the light that shines in them beyond your grievances be shown to your mind.
9. What you have asked cannot be denied.
²Your Savior has long been waiting for this.
³He longs to be free, and for his freedom to be yours as well.
⁴The Holy Spirit extends from him to you, for He sees no separation in the Son of God.
⁵And what you see through Him will set you both free.
⁶Be very still now, and behold your radiant Savior.
⁷No dark grievance clouds the vision you have of him.
⁸You have allowed the Holy Spirit to express through him the role God gave him for your salvation.
10. God gives you thanks for these moments of quiet today, in which you lay aside the images you made and behold instead the miracle of Love the Holy Spirit shows you. III
²The world and Heaven join in giving thanks to you, for there is not a single Thought of God that does not rejoice in your salvation and the salvation of the world with you.
11. We will remember this throughout the day, and take our part in God’s plan for salvation—not our own.
²Temptation fades when we allow everyone we meet to be our Savior, and refuse to hide their light behind the shield of our grievances.
³Give the role of Savior to all those you meet, to everyone you think of or remember from the past, that you may share it with them. IV
⁴For yourself, for them, and for all who cannot see, we pray: V
⁵Let miracles replace all grievances.
I This is the central message of this Lesson: whenever you feel disturbed, do not settle for it; call upon a new way of perceiving the situation. Ask for a miracle that allows you to see it differently and inspires peace in you. What you will behold with those new eyes will not be the Truth, which is ineffable, but it will be what most accords with God’s plan for your salvation. You need nothing more than that.
So remember: you have every right in the world to be intolerant of discomfort. You are the Son of God and you do not deserve it, so never justify or accept it; call upon a miracle. God has given you the mission of being happy wherever you believe yourself to be. If you think you live in the world, then it is here that you can and must claim your happiness. Do not wait to experience it in the future; ask for it now.
II This is the first Lesson written in iambic pentameter. Twenty more Lessons will pass before the Workbook shifts to continuous iambic pentameter.
Since the Manual for Teachers adopts this meter in passages of special importance, such as the final verses of a section, the fact that blank verse was chosen for this Lesson seems to lend it special significance—perhaps because of the powerful meaning contained in seeing an enemy as the Son of God and as our savior.
III The use in this Lesson of the word “miracle” as something we behold—specifically, the true nature of our brother—is not the usual use of the term in the Course.
In the ordinary language of this dictation, the miracle is an agent: it corrects, undoes, dissolves, reorganizes, adjusts, changes, induces, and reverses. Thus, it leads us—or someone through us—from false perception to true perception.
This is different from the usage in this Lesson, where the miracle is what true perception beholds. This may reflect the less common use the Course makes of the term “miracle” to refer to the Son of God: “It is true that YOU are a miracle” (T-1.P32.3:1), or to children: “Children are miracles in their own right.” (T-1.P25.1:1)
IV Today’s Lesson goes a step beyond simple forgiveness of any perceived offense. It is no longer merely about letting go of grievance because it is not real, but now, in addition, we ask to behold a miracle in its place. The miracle we ask for is none other than to see the Son of God in our enemy, to see him as our Savior. But not only that—the Lesson concludes by asking us to try to see every person we know, or have ever known, as our savior.
Keep in mind that what you regard as your personal life is an illusory experience—a dream—and as such, all the elements that appear in it are symbols. Symbols are images that represent something other than themselves, and they are always objects of interpretation. The message you derive from them will shape the character of that dream for you. Remember that it is not the dream itself that makes you happy or unhappy, but how you interpret it, and that depends entirely on you. That is the key to your happiness and your liberation. The keys to the gates of Heaven are in your hands; they have always been there.
Now think of the extraordinary transforming power this practice has in your life and in your personal relationships. The human mind is strictly utilitarian; for your mind, the meaning of everything derives from the function you assign to it. The practice of today’s Lesson is an absolute reversal of the functions you have assigned to everyone with whom you relate. Thus, from now on, their role is no longer the one you gave them in the past, whatever that may have been; their only function now is to be your Savior.
All those with whom you deal are there, at that very moment, to save you from the condemnation you have imposed upon yourself. And in the light of this new respect, treat them as they deserve. They are the Son of God, who has come to save you from death and to take you with him to your Father. What a function!
V “Those who cannot see” are those whose eyes are blinded by resentment.
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LESSON 77
I Am Entitled to Miracles.
1. You are entitled to miracles because of what you are.
²You will receive miracles because of what God is.
³And you will offer miracles because you are one with Him.
⁴Once again, how simple salvation is! I
⁵It is merely a statement of your true identity.
⁶And this is what we celebrate today.
2. Your entitlement to miracles is not based on the illusions you hold about yourself.
²It does not depend on any magical powers you have ascribed to yourself, nor on any rituals you have devised. II
³It is inherent in the truth of what you are.
⁴It is implicit in what God, your Father, is.
⁵Your entitlement to miracles was established in your creation, and it is guaranteed by the Laws of God.
3. Today we will claim the miracles to which you are entitled, for they belong to you.
²You have been promised full release from the world you made.
³And you have also been assured that the Kingdom of God is within you, and that you can never lose it. III
⁴Today we ask only for what truly belongs to us.
⁵But we will also make sure we do not settle for less.
4. Begin the longer practice periods by telling yourself with absolute confidence that you are entitled to miracles.
²Close your eyes and remember that you are only asking for what is rightfully yours.
³Remind yourself, too, that miracles are never taken from one to give to another, and that by claiming your rights you are upholding the rights of everyone.
⁴Miracles do not obey the laws of this world.
⁵They simply arise from the Laws of God.
5. After this brief introductory phase, wait in silence for the assurance that your request has been granted.
²You have asked for the salvation of the world and for your own.
³You have requested the means by which this can be accomplished.
⁴It is impossible that this be denied you.
⁵You are merely asking that God’s Will be done.
6. In doing this, you are actually asking for nothing.
²You are simply stating an undeniable fact.
³The Holy Spirit can only assure you that your request is granted.
⁴The fact that you accepted this entitlement confirms it.
⁵There is no room today for doubt or uncertainty.
⁶At last, we are asking for something real.
⁷And the answer is the simple statement of a very simple fact.
⁸So you will receive the confirmation you seek.
7. Our shorter practice periods will be frequent, and will also serve to remind us of this simple fact.
²Repeat often today:
³I am entitled to miracles.
⁴Ask for them whenever a situation arises in which they are needed. IV
⁵You will recognize these situations perfectly. V
⁶And since you do not rely on yourself to find the miracles, you are fully entitled to receive them whenever you ask.
⁷Also remember that you must not be content with anything less than the perfect answer.
⁸If temptation strikes, do not hesitate to tell yourself at once:
⁹I will not trade miracles for grievances.
¹⁰I want only what is mine.
¹¹For God has established that I am entitled to miracles.
I W-76.2:3 “Today’s idea tells you once again how simple salvation is.”
II Here, you ascribe the magical powers to yourself—to your ego—instead of to matter (see the explanatory note on magic from the previous Lesson). To believe that you (the ego) possess the “magical power” to work miracles (for example, to heal a body) is essentially the same as thinking that a certain medicine can heal it. Both your ego and the medicine are illusions, just as the body that the mind considers sick is an illusion. There is no other relationship among them than the one the mind itself establishes by believing in it.
You do not have, nor can you have, “magical powers.” The only real power of the mind is the power to create, which God endowed it with at its creation. The mind can pervert that power of creation and, instead of extending its own loving identity, it can believe whatever it wishes and make the effects of its belief—the illusions—“real” to itself.
The “magical rituals” are the fanciful stories the mind tells itself, describing the supposed cause-and-effect relationships in which it believes. These stories may be of a metaphysical nature, and we call them “witchcraft,” or of a physical nature, and we call them “science.”
In both cases, they could be regarded as a form of literature or poetry that reveals the creative character of the mind; they are descriptions of the cause-and-effect relationships the mind arbitrarily establishes and believes in because of their reliability. This reliability is grounded in their repetitive character and is the result of the mind’s own persistence in its narrative.
Obviously, this reliability in no way establishes their validity (review Chapter 2 of the Text to recall the concepts of reliability and validity).
These rituals—these descriptions—require a certain consistency and stability in order to be believable, though they are usually of an “evolutionary” nature. In scientific terms, that evolution is called “scientific progress.”
III Luke 17:21 “Neither shall they say, ‘Lo here!’ or ‘Lo there!’ For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
IV Pay very close attention to today’s Lesson! It is very different from all the previous ones. Today marks the beginning of a new phase of our learning.
Remember Miracle Principle 7: “Everyone is entitled to miracles. But before this is possible, a purification is necessary.” Well then, that purification is precisely what we have been doing throughout the preceding Lessons.
Today Jesus releases us into the world for the first time and encourages us to ask for miracles. But notice carefully—it is about asking for a miracle in a situation of conflict; you are not told to go and perform one on your own, for if you did so, it would be the ego attributing to itself “magical powers.”
Today is a very special day. Until now we have been preparing; today we begin to act as miracle workers.
The situation is very simple: we are always choosing between two options. On the “passive” level, we choose between listening to the ego’s voice or the Voice of the Holy Spirit; on the “active” level, we choose between “fixing” what seems to be “wrong” or performing miracles.
In reality, it is a single choice concerning our very identity, concerning the idea we hold about ourselves. We choose between truth and error, between light and darkness, between joy and suffering, between being a body or being the Son of God.
The choice is very simple, very easy, and very clear—can there be any doubt about it?
Today’s Lesson is a true marvel that calls you to trust and to faith in God’s Power to resolve every situation. Do not be afraid; trust. The world you see is a dream of the mind.
What the mind beholds “outside” itself is, in reality, its own attitude—a projection of itself that appears “out there,” yet in truth is “within,” for there is nothing that is not the mind. Therefore, after asking for a miracle, what you will behold is your own flawless attitude.
It is reasonable to tell yourself that all this, for now, is only a hypothesis. It is legitimate to think so and absolutely understandable. What is not reasonable, logical, or understandable is to fail to put all your heart and all your will into trying.
Try it today with all your heart. Refuse to condemn, and ask that a miracle perfectly resolve every problematic situation that arises for you—and then remain very alert and wait.
Be very honest and try to be a little lucid in evaluating the results. They may not be what you expected, but a pure heart always calls forth Heaven’s light, and Heaven always responds.
V These are all the situations in which you perceive conflict. Obviously, the conflict is in your mind, and you experience discomfort. Your heart warns you: “Something is wrong in your mind.” Your mind needs healing—and then you ask for a miracle, that is, you ask to see it differently.
Realize that the miracle is not to heal the world, because the world does not exist! Miracles are to heal your mind; then your mind will change, and you will think differently. And since you are not the only one who experiences the effects of your way of thinking (W-18), everything will change with you.
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LESSON 76
I am under no laws but God’s.
1. We have already seen how many meaningless things you have thought would bring you salvation. I
²Each one has imprisoned you with laws as senseless as itself.
³You are not bound by them.
⁴But to realize this, you must first recognize that salvation is not found there.
⁵If you seek it in things that mean nothing, you bind yourself to laws that have no meaning.
⁶In doing so, you try to prove that salvation is where it is not.
2. Today we rejoice that you cannot prove this.
²For if you could, you would seek salvation forever where it is not, and you would never find it.
³Today’s idea tells you once again how simple salvation is. II
⁴Seek it where it is waiting for you, and there you will find it.
⁵Do not seek it anywhere else, for it is nowhere else.
3. Think of the freedom that comes when you recognize that you are not bound by all the strange and twisted laws you have set up to save yourself.
²You truly believe you would starve if you did not have piles of colored paper and round bits of metal.
³You truly believe that a tiny pill you swallow or a fluid pushed into your veins through a slender needle will ward off death.
⁴You truly believe you are alone unless another body is with you.
4. It is madness that thinks these things.
²You call them laws and place them under many names in a long catalog of rituals that have no use and serve no purpose.
³You believe you must obey the “laws” of medicine, of economics, and of health.
⁴Protect the body and you will be saved.
⁵These are not laws, but madness. III
5. The body is endangered by the mind that hurts itself.
²The body suffers only so the mind will not see it is its own victim.
³The body’s suffering is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers.
⁴It does not want to understand that it is its own enemy, that it attacks itself, and that it wants to die.
⁵It is from this that your “laws” would save the body.
⁶This is why you think you are a body.
6. There are no laws but God’s.
²This must be repeated again and again until you recognize that it applies to everything you have made in opposition to His Will.
³Your magic has no meaning.
⁴What you think you are saved from does not exist.
⁵Only what your magic tries to hide can save you. IV
7. God’s Laws can never be replaced.
²Today we will rejoice that this is so.
³This is no longer a truth we want to hide.
⁴Instead, we recognize it is a truth that keeps us free forever. V
⁵Magic imprisons, but God’s Laws set free.
⁶Light has come, because there are no laws but His. VI
8. We will begin the longer practice periods today by briefly reviewing the different kinds of “laws” we have believed we must obey.
²Among them, for example, are the laws of nutrition, immunization, medication, and the countless ways of protecting the body.
³Think even further; you also believe in the laws of friendship, of “good” relationships, and of reciprocity. VII
⁴You may even believe there are laws that define what belongs to God and what belongs to you.
⁵Many “religions” have been based on this. VIII
⁶They do not save, but damn in Heaven’s Name.
⁷Yet they are no stranger than other “laws” you believe you must obey to ensure your safety.
9. The only laws that exist are God’s.
²Let go today of all these foolish magical beliefs, and keep your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice that tells you the truth.
³You will hear One who tells you that under God’s Laws loss is impossible.
⁴There are no payments given or received.
⁵There is no exchange, no substitutes, and nothing is replaced by something else.
⁶God’s Laws always give and never take.
10. Listen to the One who tells you this, and realize how senseless are the laws you thought upheld the world you see.
²Then listen even more closely.
³He will tell you more.
⁴He will speak to you of the Love your Father has for you.
⁵Of the endless joy He offers you.
⁶Of His longing for His only Son, created as His channel of Creation, whom His Son’s belief in hell has denied Him.
11. Today let us open the channels of God and allow His Will to extend through us to Him.
²Thus is Creation endlessly increased.
³His Voice will tell us of all this, as well as of the joys of Heaven, which His Laws forever keep unlimited.
⁴Now we will repeat today’s idea until we have listened and understood that God’s Laws are the only laws that exist.
⁵And then, as a conclusion to the practice, we will say to ourselves:
⁶I am under no laws but God’s.
12. We will repeat this idea as often as possible today; at least four or five times an hour, and also in response to any temptation to feel subject to other laws throughout the day.
²In this way we declare our freedom from all danger and all tyranny.
³It is our acknowledgment that God is our Father, and that His Son is saved.
I W-50.1:3 “You place your faith in the most trivial and absurd symbols: in pills, money, ‘protective’ clothing, ‘influence,’ ‘prestige,’ being well liked, knowing the ‘right’ people, and in an endless list of forms that are nothing, to which you ascribe magical powers.”
T-27.X.2:1-3 “…the body tries in many ways to PROVE that it is autonomous and real. It puts on things it has bought with little metal discs or strips of paper that the world proclaims as valuable and good. It works to get them by doing senseless things, and wastes them on senseless things it neither NEEDS nor even WANTS.”
II T-12.II.7:1 “How simple, then, is God’s plan for salvation!”
T-15.X.11:6 “Being of God, salvation is simple, and therefore it is VERY easy to understand.”
T-31.I.1:1 “How simple is salvation!”
Salvation, indeed, is something very simple, but that does not mean it will necessarily seem easy to you, for you can make it as difficult for yourself as you wish. Keep in mind that the determining factor in this, as in everything, is your will.
The problem is that you believe you know your individual will and claim not to know God’s, when in truth, because of your legendary lack of honesty, the situation is exactly the opposite. You know perfectly well what God’s Will is, for your heart constantly tells you through your moods. Yet the intense fear that God’s Love awakens in that small ego with which you have identified leads you to deceive yourself about what you truly want. You say you desire Heaven and the Love of God, but be honest with yourself: in reality, you do not wish to stop being you. And that is what makes such a simple Course seem so difficult to you, because the squaring of the circle you attempt to achieve is impossible.
The real difficulty of this Course lies in the intense fear that the Truth arouses in you. Acknowledge, at least, that although you deeply long to attain knowledge, you are also terrified of losing your cherished world.
Do not take this lightly, nor pretend to want what you truly do not want. The reality is that your will is always fulfilled, and therefore, you always have what you truly desire. Work humbly and face your essential fears. They are, in truth, nothing—but the fear you feel toward your own fear prevents you from recognizing this.
The paradox is that with your little will you will achieve only fantasies of salvation; renounce it, and you are already saved. Ultimately, forgive also your efforts at holiness. You do not need them; you are already holy.
In the last analysis, salvation is not even something simple—it is a myth belonging to a world of illusions, for in truth it has never existed, just as that world which so greatly needs it does not exist. To be saved is simply to realize that you have always been in the Heart of God and that everything else has been but a bad dream.
III From the perspective of the Course, “magic” is the belief that one illusion possesses the intrinsic capacity to affect another illusion. This belief is inherent to the thought of the world, which interprets relationships among illusions as though they were true cause-and-effect relationships. But they are not.
Illusions cannot be the cause of anything, because they themselves are effects. They are projections of the mind, and only the mind is cause. Therefore, illusions bear no real relationship to one another: each exists solely as a reflection of the thoughts that engender it. The only ontological “reality” of matter consists precisely in being an illusory projection of the mind that conceives it; and only for that mind does it have any sort of reality.
To think that a “thing” in the world—a dream image—can affect or alter another is to think magically. It is like believing that a figure projected in a film frame can influence, by itself, another figure in the same or a later frame. In truth, there is no causal relationship between them: both depend entirely on the projector that produces them.
That is what Jesus means when He says that a medicine—an illusion—cannot heal a body—another illusion. There is no real cause-and-effect relationship between them; they are merely symbols generated by the mind. It is the mind that decides what “relationship” they will have with each other, according to the belief it holds at that moment.
“Magical thinking,” therefore, is the exact opposite of the “miracle-mindedness.” It is the thought system of the world, the way in which you—and everyone here—interpret what you perceive. This way of thinking encompasses everything and completely conditions your understanding of the processes and relationships you believe you observe. It is the very basis of the world’s causal interpretation and the foundation of what is called “scientific thinking,” which ultimately seeks to predict the future through the application of so-called “physical laws.” Yet these “laws” do not exist in Reality: they are only agreements within the fragmented mind of the Son of God, affected by the belief in separation.
Consider this example: you are asleep and dream of a man in the jungle. Suddenly a tiger appears, pounces upon him, and devours him. When you awaken, you have no doubt that both the man and the tiger were projections of your imagination—symbols you placed there. But notice this: the way they related—the tiger devouring the man—was also your creation. You imagined the outcome, and you could have dreamed anything else: that the man escaped by climbing a tree, or that he simply rose into the air. In dreams, all things are possible, and you accept this without difficulty.
Well then, what you call your “real” life works in exactly the same way. You project everything you perceive and also the way those elements relate to each other.
You might object that this is hard to accept, since you feel incapable of altering the physical laws that seem to govern everything and everyone equally. But that “you” to which you refer is merely an expression of the fragmented mind of the Son of God, which shares those mental agreements—those “laws”—that appear to affect everything equally. That is the “reliability” of which the text speaks, as opposed to “validity”: the laws of the world are reliable only within the dream, but they are not valid in Reality.
Most Course students readily accept that taking a pill to cure an illness is magical thinking. However, they find it much harder to admit that believing they need to breathe to live is also magical thinking, or that if they let go of an object it does not necessarily have to fall to the ground. It could remain suspended in the air, for Newton’s laws are nothing but agreements within the shared mind. If you could descend into the depths of your true Self and free yourself from those collective beliefs, you would understand that you could walk on water or move mountains, just as Jesus said.
It is essential to understand this, for only thus will you comprehend the nature of miracles and why they can transcend the so-called “physical laws.” The Course expresses it with absolute clarity:
“Miracles place man beyond the laws of physics and raise him into the sphere of celestial order.” (T-1.P-54.1)
“Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love—which are always miraculous in the true sense—the exchange reverses the physical laws.” (T-1.P-9)
IV What magic seeks to conceal is “…that it (the mind) is its own enemy, that it attacks itself and wants to die.” (5:4)
V John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
VI This Course often refers to life in this world, to personal life, as a journey back to the Heart of God. It speaks constantly of walking a path, of your steps being guided by the loving Voice of the Holy Spirit—a path along which you walk hand in hand with Jesus. This is the part of the Course you enjoy and read with enthusiasm.
At other times—as in this Lesson—Jesus describes with great precision your worldly beliefs, the values of your thought system, and those very human desires that arise from the needs you perceive. Jesus knows you very well. He was human, like you. But then, to those beliefs so intimate, so common, and so absolutely widespread, Jesus calls them absurd and meaningless; He even tells you they are born of madness.
That other part of the Course certainly disturbs you; it touches you deeply and leaves you somewhat uneasy, for you fully identify with that character described in such a degraded manner. Do you not worry, after all, when your body or that of your loved ones falls ill? Do you not feel anxious when you do not know how to pay the bills at the end of the month? Then you ask yourself: where am I on that path? Am I near the end or still at the beginning?
Understand this well: you will never know. And moreover, it does not matter. It does not matter at all where you are; the only thing that matters is where you are going. Realize that everything you tell yourself about what you are or where you are is false; all that consists of the thoughts the early Lessons taught you mean nothing, and therefore are not important and require only your forgiveness—they are illusions.
The only thing that matters is your attitude. Do not worry about what you desire, nor blame yourself for still seeing yourself as having needs to satisfy. Instead, concern yourself with what you want to want. Concern yourself with where you place your will in the present. Detach completely from your past and your future, and with your feet firmly planted in the now say: “I have no laws but God’s,” and be free right now. There is no other time, nor any other you than this one.
VII Jesus asks you to realize that your life is governed not only by the laws you use to manage fear but also by others you use to manage love—and He calls them all perverse. Then, in the next paragraph, He will explain why.
The laws of the world are double-edged swords; they serve both to defend and to attack. In truth, they were conceived only to imprison you. God’s Laws, however, are perfectly univocal: they only give, always.
Realize that the laws that govern you in matters of “love” are as cruel as the others. Woe to him who does not return your love! You will destroy him. Forget the laws that govern your personal relationships; they contain the seed of hatred. See it clearly.
VIII The word “religions” appears in quotation marks—as it does in the Notes—because Jesus does not regard formal, institutionalized religions as true spiritual paths. According to His teaching, these structures tend to “humanize” God, projecting upon Him the traits of the ego: anger, punishment, favoritism, or guilt. Thus they transform the natural longing for union with the Creator into a system of human mediations and hierarchies that ascribe to themselves a spiritual power they do not possess. They are, in reality, attempts to bring truth to illusions instead of bringing illusions to truth.
Jesus alludes to this distortion in chapter 3 of the Text when He comments on the traditional view of the crucifixion: “…God permitted, and even encouraged, one of His Sons to suffer BECAUSE he was good” (T-3.IV.2:1), and He adds: “This particularly anti-religious concept occurs in many religions, and this is not by chance or coincidence.” (T-3.IV.2:4) Such beliefs reflect the irrational projections of the ego, which pervert the image of Divine Love and transform the message of salvation into a discourse of guilt and condemnation. That is why Jesus warns that those “religions” do not save, but condemn in the name of Heaven.
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LESSON 75
The light has come.
1. The light has come.
²You have been healed, and you can heal.
³The light has come.
⁴You have been saved, and you can save.
⁵You are at peace, and you bring peace with you wherever you go.
⁶Darkness, conflict, and death have disappeared.
⁷The light has come.
2. Today we celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster.
²No more dark dreams will now be yours.
³The light has come.
⁴Today begins the era of light for you and for everyone.
⁵It is a new era, in which a new world is born.
⁶The old one has left no trace upon it.
⁷Today we see a different world, because the light has come.
3. Our exercises for today will be joyous ones, in which we give thanks for the fading of the old and the beginning of the new.
²There are no shadows from the past to cloud our sight or hide the world forgiveness offers us.
³Today we will accept the new world as we want to see it.
⁴What we desire will be given us.
⁵It is our will to see the light.
⁶The light has come.
4. We will devote our longer practice periods today to looking at the world that our forgiveness shows us.
²That is what we want to see, and only that.
³Our single purpose makes our goal inevitable.
⁴Today the real world rises before us in gladness, to be seen at last.
⁵Vision is given us now that the light has come.
⁶Today we do not see the shadow of the ego upon the world.
⁷We see the light, and in it Heaven’s reflection shining on the world. I
5. Begin the longer practice periods by telling yourself the glad tidings of your release: II
²The light has come.
³I have forgiven the world.
6. Do not dwell on the past today.
²Keep a completely open mind, washed of all past ideas and cleared of every concept you have made.
³You have forgiven the world today.
⁴You can now look upon it as if you had never seen it before.
⁵You do not yet know what it looks like.
⁶You merely wait to have it shown to you.
⁷As you wait, say this several times, slowly and with great patience:
⁸The light has come.
⁹I have forgiven the world.
7. Realize that your forgiveness entitles you to vision.
²Understand that the Holy Spirit never fails to give the gift of sight to those who forgive.
³Trust that He will not fail you now.
⁴You have forgiven the world.
⁵The Holy Spirit will be with you as you watch and wait. III
⁶He will show you what true vision sees.
⁷This is His Will, and you have joined with Him.
8. Wait patiently for Him.
²He will be there.
³The light has come.
⁴You have forgiven the world.
⁵Tell Him you know you cannot fail because you trust in Him.
⁶And tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He promised you.
⁷From this time on, you will see differently.
⁸The light has come today,
⁹And you will see the world that has been promised since the beginning of time and in which time itself will end.
9. The shorter practice periods will be joyful reminders of your release.
²Remind yourself about every fifteen minutes that today is a time for special celebration.
³Give thanks for God’s Mercy and His Love.
⁴Be glad you have the power to release your vision completely through forgiveness. IV
⁵Be confident that today marks a new beginning.
⁶Without the darkness of the past upon your eyes, you cannot fail to see today.
⁷And what you see will be so welcome that you will gladly extend today forever.
10. Then say:
²The light has come.
³I have forgiven the world.
⁴If you are tempted, say to anyone who seems to pull you back into darkness:
⁵The light has come.
⁶I have forgiven you.
11. Let us devote this day to the serenity in which God would have us be.
²Keep it in your awareness of yourself, and see it everywhere.
³Today we celebrate the beginning of your vision of the real world, which has come to take the place of the one you made and thought was real.
I It is quite possible that the statement in today’s Lesson may at first seem to you an abstraction—a lovely affirmation describing a somewhat fanciful experience filled with good intentions. It may give the impression that Jesus is an idealist who expresses Himself poetically to encourage you toward the achievement of something that, deep down, you consider impossible.
Nothing could be further from the truth. His statement is absolutely precise, completely true, and unfailingly fulfilled. The problem is that you have not read it carefully. You have not noticed what Jesus is actually saying. Read again the first line of this paragraph. Notice that it says we will see “…the world that our forgiveness shows us.” The key to everything is “our forgiveness.”
It is impossible to see the light of Heaven shining upon the world unless you forgive it—but it is also impossible not to see it if you do.
Then read carefully the next line: “That is what we want to see, and only that.” If that is indeed your will, remember that your will is always perfectly fulfilled. You are the Son of God, and such is your power.
If you choose to believe that you are a fragile and vulnerable human being, condemned to die, that is what you will believe you see, for that is the power of your beliefs. But if you assume your true identity, you will work miracles within the dream of the world, and while your eyes are not yet fully open, you will behold a world upon which the light of Heaven shines.
It is still a dream, but through your forgiveness the light has entered your nightmare and transformed it completely; now it is a happy dream. That is what Jesus calls “the real world.” It is certainly not real, but it had to be given a name. In it you still see changing forms and contrasts, yet now the light is reflected in everything, and all begins to taste of Heaven, where all is one.
Understand well that this Course is very simple. It offers you only one idea: place all your will in forgiving absolutely everything, and place it only there. And you can be sure that the third line of this same paragraph is completely true: “Our single purpose makes our goal inevitable.” And then the light comes.
This Lesson is the logical conclusion of the preceding ones: W-pI.72: “I want to forgive, and I do forgive”; W-pI.73: “I want there to be light”; W-pI.74: “God wants there to be light”; W-pI.75: “The light has come.” Today’s Lesson is cause for celebration—the natural result of having forgiven illusions and aligned the mind with truth.
II Luke 1:19 “And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.’”
III You may think that forgiving from the heart is very difficult, but that is the opinion of your egoic mind, which is completely irrational and utterly false. Your ego is deceiving you. You are deceiving yourself.
The situation is exactly this: imagine a person who, with his right hand, is squeezing his own throat while crying out with tears in his eyes, “Help! I’m choking!” Well, that is precisely your situation. Of course you are choking! You are choking yourself!
You say that forgiving is very difficult. You are aware that your judgments are embittering your life. You know perfectly well that your own judgments depend solely on you.
What is happening there? Look closely, for there lies the key to your liberation.
IV Notice once again that the key to your salvation lies in your hands—in your own forgiveness.
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LESSON 74
God’s Will is the only Will there is.
1. Today’s idea can be regarded as the central thought toward which all our exercises are directed.
²God’s Will is the only Will.
³When you have recognized this, you will have recognized that your will is His.
⁴The belief that conflict is possible will have disappeared.
⁵Peace will replace the strange idea that you are torn by conflicting goals. I
⁶As an expression of God’s Will, you have no goal but His. II
2. Today’s idea contains immense peace.
²And today’s exercises are directed toward finding it.
³The idea itself is wholly true.
⁴Therefore, it cannot give rise to illusions.
⁵Without illusions, conflict is impossible.
⁶Let us try today to recognize this, and so experience the peace this recognition brings.
3. Begin the longer practice periods by slowly repeating these thoughts several times, with firm determination to understand their meaning and hold them in your mind:
²God’s Will is the only Will there is.
³I cannot be in conflict.
⁴Then spend a few minutes adding some related thoughts, such as:
⁵I am at peace.
⁶Nothing can disturb me.
⁷My will is God’s Will.
⁸My will and God’s Will are one.
⁹God’s Will for His Son is peace.
¹⁰During this introductory phase, be sure to resolve any conflicting thoughts that may cross your mind. III
¹¹If any arise, say immediately:
¹²God’s Will is the only Will there is.
¹³These conflicting thoughts are meaningless.
4. If some specific conflict seems particularly difficult to resolve, bring it to mind briefly and very concretely.
²Name the people involved and the situation, and say silently to yourself:
³God’s Will is the only Will there is.
⁴And I share it with Him.
⁵My conflict about ___ cannot be real.
5. Once your mind has been cleared in this way, close your eyes and try to experience the peace your reality entitles you to. IV
²Sink into it, and feel it surrounding you.
³You may be tempted to confuse these attempts with withdrawal, but the difference is easily recognized.
⁴If you are succeeding, you will feel a deep sense of joy and heightened alertness, rather than a feeling of drowsiness and dullness. V
⁵Joy is what identifies peace.
⁶When you experience it, you will know you have found it.
6. If you find yourself slipping into withdrawal, repeat today’s idea immediately and try again.
²Do this as often as necessary.
³It is essential that you not give in to distraction, even if the peace you seek eludes you.
7. In the shorter practice periods, which you should undertake at regular and pre-determined intervals today, say to yourself:
²God’s Will is the only Will there is.
³And I seek His peace today.
⁴Then try to find the peace you are seeking.
⁵Spending one or two minutes every half hour doing this, preferably with eyes closed, will be an excellent use of time.
I The conflict here lies between the goals you believe reflect the Will of God and those you believe satisfy your own desires—the ego’s desires in you. Both wills have the same objective: salvation. The Will of God is found in your awareness of your true Self—within you. The ego, however, insists that the bearers of your salvation are a series of idols that have nothing to do with you and that are outside you.
II It is not that the Will of God is the same as yours and that you share it with Him; no, it is much more than that: you are the expression of the Will of God.
It is very likely that you will find today’s idea somewhat excessive, and certainly it is… for your ego. Remember one thing, and remember it well: everything you believe you think, you in fact think with your ego. And undoubtedly, this idea will strike you as unsettling—because it is. Why do you think, otherwise, that you had to learn in Lesson 10: “My thoughts do not mean anything”?It is also quite possible that you accepted that idea to some extent at the time and repeated it to yourself with discipline, but there is no doubt that you have not yet fully embraced it. If you had, your mind would now be perfectly receptive to today’s idea, for the mind cannot remain blank. Your mind cannot reject the ego’s thoughts as unworthy and yet be reluctant to accept in their place the Thought of God. Your mind will, unfailingly, align itself with one thought system or the other, although it is also possible that for a time you may oscillate between them—which is quite uncomfortable and most common.
Do not worry about that, nor despair. Jesus knows very well the difficulty His proposal entails, as well as your reluctance to accept it. Why do you think He so often uses expressions such as “try…,” “seek…,” “endeavor…?” Because He knows that you have a very well-trained mind—in the ego’s thought system—and that changing it is no small task. The key to bringing about that change is to want it with all your heart.
But why would you want, with all your heart, to adopt a new way of thinking? That will occur only under two circumstances. The first—and most favorable—is that you see with absolute clarity that everything Jesus tells you is true, and that this stirs in your heart a great enthusiasm to embrace His teachings. This is the path of discernment, the easiest and fastest way, but it is a path that requires great lucidity and deep humility.
The other option is that you find yourself utterly desperate and profoundly disillusioned with the world’s promises. Your suffering will lead you to embrace, with the hope of the desperate, any alternative to the pain of the past—in which you are an expert—and this Course will find in you a good student, and you too will advance quickly.
The situation, however, becomes somewhat more complex when you do not find yourself clearly in either of those two conditions. This is because you lack the “helps” of either the call of certainty or the aversion to pain. You are a more or less “normal” person, with a more or less “normal” life, but with a certain inclination toward spiritual matters. In that case, prepare yourself to take certain measures in order to practice this Course effectively.
First of all, and before anything else, you will have to be very honest with yourself and decide whether or not you are willing to undertake the titanic task of changing your thought system, for you can be certain that what you are undertaking is a true feat.
If, despite that, you decide to go forward, you must focus your entire will on this purpose and, with firm determination, impose upon yourself a strict discipline that you will have to maintain for quite some time. One of the key aspects of this new discipline is to keep your eyes always wide open to see what is happening in your mind and how it relates to the world you perceive. Do not find this strange, for we are on a path that leads us to awakening, and awakened people have their eyes open, do they not?
It is also extraordinarily important that you open your eyes not only to watch your mind but also to observe the effects that the practice you are engaged in has upon your life. This is crucial, because, lacking the “helps” already mentioned, you must provide your own. These helps, which will prove precious to you, are your achievements. Your achievements will bring you certainty, strengthen your confidence, and quickly make your efforts cease to feel like effort, for is it an effort to do what brings you joy?
As time goes on, the path becomes easier. Your new way of interpreting reality becomes a habit and arises automatically in your mind. The temptation to follow your old guide grows weaker, for you have become more sensitive and intolerant to suffering. You do not want it for yourself or for anyone, and what now feels uncomfortable are your old habits of judgment.
You have tasted the sweetness of walking safely through an uncertain world, hand in hand with a powerful guide who resolves all conflicts for you; you need only place your trust—everything else follows naturally. And although life still gives you the occasional slap—there are so many lessons to learn!—you generally walk with a smile on your face.
Now no one needs to convince you that there is no will but God’s Will; now you know it.
III Conflicted thinking appears when what you perceive contradicts your own expectations. The conflict arises when you interpret a situation or another person’s behavior as adverse. This disturbs you because it contradicts your interpretation of reality.
IV Realize that your small egoic mind knows only how to manage beliefs. Your decision to want to be separate from God in order to “live” your own “life” has caused you to forget your true function: to create. Therefore, as long as you continue to embody that false identity, your only option is to believe.
Understand that your beliefs are not neutral. Although none of them are the absolute truth, some are aligned with the essence of your Being, for they reflect the Love, the Truth, and the Power from which you were created; others, on the contrary, reflect the opposite and induce in you fear, confusion, and weakness. Thus, as long as you believe yourself to be human, your only alternative is to choose between these two groups of apparent truths.
It is not a complicated choice. You need only be attentive to how they make you feel, for you will find with absolute certainty that they generate in you opposing emotional states, which will help you discern what is best for you.
V Jesus warns you not to fall into a drowsy, lethargic, and enervated “peace.” This would turn meditation into “self-absorption,” a withdrawal from the conflicts of life into a sleepy false peace.
In contrast, the peace we seek—the peace characteristic of fruitful meditation—is distinguished by “deep joy and heightened alertness.”
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LESSON 73
It is my will that there be light.I
1. Today we will look at the Will you share with God.
²This Will is not the same as the idle wishes of the ego, from which darkness and nothingness arise.
³The Will you share with God holds all the power of Creation.
⁴The idle wishes of the ego cannot be shared; therefore, they hold no power.
⁵They are not without effect, in the sense that they can produce a world of illusions in which you may believe blindly.
⁶But they are utterly useless to Creation,
⁷For they create nothing real.
2. Idle wishes and grievances work together to form the world you see. II
²The ego’s desires gave rise to it.
³And the ego’s need for grievances—essential to sustain it—fills this world with figures who seem to attack you, thus “justifying” your judgments.
⁴These figures become the “middlemen” the ego uses to traffic in grievances, which stand between your awareness and the reality of your brother. III
⁵In seeing them this way, you do not know your brothers, nor your Self.
3. In this strange bargain, you lose awareness of your Will, for guilt is traded back and forth, and grievances grow with every exchange. IV
²Could such a world have been created by the Will the Son of God shares with his Father?
³Could God have created disaster for His Son?
⁴Their Will together is Creation.
⁵Would God have created a world that seeks to destroy Himself?
4. Today we will once again attempt to reach the world that aligns with your true Will.
²In that world there is light, for it does not oppose the Will of God.
³It is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines upon it.
⁴It is a world where darkness has been dispelled and the ego’s idle wishes have withdrawn.
⁵And the light that shines there reflects your Will.
⁶That is why we must look for it in you.
5. The image you hold of the world can only reflect what is within you.
²The source of light or darkness is not outside you.
³Your grievances cloud your mind, and so you see a world of shadows.
⁴Forgiveness, however, clears the darkness, affirms your Will, and lets you see a world of light.
⁵We have said many times that it is easy to move past the barrier of grievances, for it cannot truly stand between you and your salvation. V
⁶The reason is very simple.
⁷Do you really want to be in hell?
⁸Do you really want to weep, to suffer, and to die?
6. Forget the ego’s arguments that try to convince you this is really Heaven.
²You know perfectly well it is not.
³You cannot want this for yourself.
⁴There is a point beyond which illusions cannot go.
⁵Suffering is not happiness, and what you really want is joy.
⁶That is truly your Will.
⁷And your Will is also salvation.
⁸You want to succeed in what we undertake today.
⁹So we begin with your blessing and your joyful agreement.
7. Today we will surely succeed if you remember that what you truly want is salvation.
²You will align your Will with God’s plan, for it is your own.
³There is nothing in your Will that truly opposes His, nor do you want there to be.
⁴Salvation is for you.
⁵Above all else, you want the freedom to remember who you really are.
⁶Today it is the ego that stands helpless before your Will.
⁷Your Will is free, and nothing can prevail against it. VI
8. Therefore, we undertake today’s exercises with gladness and confidence, certain that we will find what it is your Will to find, and remember what it is your Will to remember.
²No idle wish can stop us or mislead us with the illusion of its strength.
³Let your Will be done today. VII
⁴And bring to an end the foolish belief that you would choose hell over Heaven.
9. We begin the longer practice periods by recognizing that God’s plan for salvation, and His alone, is wholly in agreement with your Will.
²It is not the purpose of a foreign power forced upon you against your Will.
³You and your Father are in perfect accord in this goal.
⁴You will succeed today.
⁵Today is the appointed time for the liberation of the Son of God from hell and from all idle wishes.
⁶His Will has returned to his awareness.
⁷Today he is ready to behold the light in him and be saved. VIII
10. Once you have reminded yourself of this, and have resolved to keep your Will clearly in mind, say to yourself with gentle firmness and quiet certainty:
²It is my will that there be light.
³I want to behold the light that reflects God’s Will and mine.
⁴Then let your Will be reaffirmed, united with the Power of God and your Self.
⁵Let the rest of the practice be guided by Them, and join with Them who lead the way.
11. In the shorter practice periods, declare again what it is you truly want by saying: IX
²It is my will that there be light.
³Darkness is not my will.
⁴Repeat this several times each hour.
⁵But most importantly, apply today’s idea the moment you are tempted to hold any kind of grievance.
⁶This will help you let go of all grievances, instead of clinging to them and hiding them in the dark.
I Genesis 1:3 “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”
II This is similar to Freud’s observation in his celebrated work The Interpretation of Dreams, when he correctly identified fears and desires as the generators of the symbols we contemplate in our nightly dreams. Here, Jesus tells us the same thing, except that He applies it to the perception of the waking world. When we believe we awaken in the morning, we are in fact still dreaming, and the elements of the world we see with the body’s eyes are likewise symbols of our desires and resentments.
III A middleman is someone who buys goods from a producer and sells them to consumers. In this case, the ego (the producer) makes use of attacking bodies (the intermediaries)—whose behavior demands a “just” judgment—to deliver to you (the consumer) resentments (the merchandise).
In other words, those who attack you are the means the ego employs to get you to acquire what it sells: the suffering and pain of your resentments.
IV You blame them, and they blame you, in a process that increases the resentments between you.
V W-pI.69.5:2–5 “Resolve to go past these clouds. Reach out and touch them in your mind. Brush them aside with your hand, and as you pass through, feel them touching your cheeks, your forehead, and your eyelids. Go on; the clouds cannot stop you.”
W-pI.70.8:1–2 “Since all illusions of salvation have failed you, surely you do not want to remain in vain pursuit of idols in the clouds, when you could so easily reach the light of true salvation. Try to go past the clouds in whatever way appeals to you.”
VI Matthew 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
VII Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In this case, instead of asking God that His Will be done, Jesus asks that ours be done: the Will to save ourselves.
VIII Notice carefully here that the one who is saved is not the “you” you believe yourself to be, the one to whom you give a name and surname; it is the Son of God who is saved—that is, your true Self.
You do today’s Lesson, and the one who is saved is the Son of God in you. Do not be mistaken about that.
IX Although throughout today’s Lesson there is much talk of light and also of resentments, the true protagonist of today’s practice is the will. The entire Lesson is designed first to make you aware of what it is you truly want, and then to have you place your will in achieving it. First you gain clarity, and then you go for it.
Jesus begins by showing you how miserably you waste your time embittering your life with absurd resentments toward brothers who, though they are Children of the same Father and seek in this life exactly what you do—to be happy—you have turned into your enemies, thereby thwarting every expectation of attaining the happiness you long for. For this reason, and above all, it is essential that you renounce your resentments so as to cease sabotaging your legitimate goal of reaching happiness.
It is very important that you realize that if you reproach your brothers for anything, it is because you have a poor opinion of yourself. You think they can effectively harm you because you see yourself as fragile and vulnerable, and you believe you can lose something from the only and paltry inheritance you recognize as yours: your body.
It is obvious that your body can suffer and be diminished, and it is also true that your opinions and values can be outraged; but has that ever truly had anything to do with what you really are? Has that ever affected you in any way? Throughout your personal life, your body, your ideas, and all external circumstances have constantly changed, and if that is indeed so, you can conclude that none of that can be related to your true identity.
However, there is something that has never changed one bit throughout all that time, for it has always remained exactly the same: your awareness of being yourself. That awareness of being, of existing, has remained forever unaltered, and it is the fine thread that unites your personal mind with your immortal soul. That consciousness of pure being, which is the source of all love and happiness, is invulnerable and eternal; it is the only vestige of reality in your egoic mind, the seat of your will and the dwelling place of the light. That is what is real. How could you harbor resentments if the only attacks you can suffer can affect only illusions?
Remember: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists…”
The second part of today’s Lesson is the most important, for it is a true declaration of intent and the reaffirmation of your real will, which you have identified in the first part. Now you repeat to yourself constantly throughout the day what it is you truly want. This is a long process whose purpose is to crystallize your mind in a single direction in order to establish a new habit.
If your mind were virgin, that process would be quite simple and brief, but it is not. Your mind is conditioned by an insidious automatic mechanism: the world’s thought system that has governed your mind until now. If you become aware of how much time and effort you have devoted to “educating” yourself and imposing upon yourself that painful way of thinking, you will understand the difficulties you will encounter in changing it.
But that is not all. You must also become aware of something that makes the situation even more complicated: you gratify your anger and resentments with pleasure. The ego is a mental illness that perverts the mind, and one of its most perfidious devices is the inversion of your cognitive system to interpret your feelings and sensations. Thus, what harms you, you interpret as pleasurable, and feeling bad attracts you. Realize that you will have to resist that temptation.
You become angry, blame, and attack because you are drawn to it. Each time you do so, the ego gives you its poisonous reward. This may shock you, but it requires little honesty to acknowledge that it is so. Why else would you do it? But do not worry: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Well then, now you know the truth.
Be realistic. Become aware and accept that you stand at the beginning of a long process of undoing old patterns. This is a prerequisite for establishing within your mind the new thought system that will make you happy. Be patient and persevere. If you follow the path with faith, always walking in the same direction, the result is certain. Do not be discouraged. You will find many rewards along the way, and increasingly you will be accompanied first by confidence and then by the certainty that your life now has a true purpose and that you are finally fulfilling your function. Rejoice. In truth, all is good news. That, precisely, is the gospel.
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LESSON 72
Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.
1. Although we have recognized that the ego’s plan for salvation is the opposite of God’s, we have not yet emphasized that it is also a direct attack on His plan, and a deliberate attempt to destroy it.
²In this attack, God is given the attributes of the ego, while the ego is viewed as having the qualities of God. I
2. The ego’s fundamental wish is to replace God.
²In fact, the ego is the embodiment of that wish in physical form.
³For it is this wish that makes the mind appear to be enclosed within a body, kept isolated and alone, and unable to reach other minds except through the body that was made to imprison it. II
⁴To impose limits on communication cannot be the best means of extending it.
⁵Yet the ego would have you believe that it is.
3. While it is clear that this is an attempt to maintain the limitations the body must impose, it may not yet be as obvious why holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.
²But consider the kinds of things that lead you to hold grievances.
³Are they not always associated with something a body does?
⁴Someone says something you do not like, or does something that displeases you.
⁵In either case, it is always the body’s behavior that you see as proving the person’s guilt.
4. It is not what the person is that concerns you.
²Instead, you are preoccupied with what the person does with the body.
³In doing so, you not only fail to help that person escape the body’s limitations,
⁴you actively reinforce those limitations by identifying the person with the body. III
⁵This is an attack on God, for if His Son is only a body, then so must God be.
⁶And it is inconceivable that a Creator could be entirely unlike what He creates.
5. If God were a body, what would His plan for salvation be?
²What could it be but death?
³And in presenting Himself as the Author of Life and not of death, He would have to be a liar and a deceiver, full of empty promises—one who offers illusions in place of truth.
⁴The apparent reality of the body makes this view of God seem quite convincing.
⁵Indeed, if the body were real, it would be difficult to avoid drawing this conclusion.
⁶And every grievance you hold insists that the body is real.
⁷Your grievances cause you to overlook entirely what your brother is.
⁸They reinforce your belief that he is a body and condemn him for being one.
⁹They declare that his salvation must be death, and in doing so project this attack onto God, blaming Him for it.
6. To this carefully constructed nightmare—where angry beasts hunt their prey and mercy cannot enter—the ego comes as your savior.
²God made you a body.
³Very well, let us accept that and rejoice.
⁴Since you are a body, do not deprive yourself of anything the body can offer.
⁵Take what little you can get.
⁶God gave you nothing.
⁷The body is your only savior.
⁸It is the death of God and your salvation.
⁹This is the universal belief of the world you see.
7. Some hate the body and seek to harm and debase it.
²Others idolize it and try to glorify and exalt it.
³But as long as the body remains the center of your self-concept, you are attacking God’s plan for salvation and holding grievances against Him and His Creations, in order not to hear the Voice of Truth or welcome It as your Friend.
⁴The savior you have chosen has taken His place.
⁵That savior is your friend, and God your enemy.
8. Today we will try to end these senseless attacks on salvation. IV
²Instead, we will try to welcome it.
³Your upside-down perception has devastated your peace of mind.
⁴You have seen yourself within a body, and the truth outside you—blocked from your awareness by the body’s limitations.
⁵Now we will try to see this differently.
9. The light of truth is in us, where God placed it.
²The body is outside us and does not concern us.
³To be without a body is to be in our natural state.
⁴To recognize the light of truth in us is to recognize ourselves as we are.
⁵To see our Self as something apart from the body is to end the attack on God’s plan for salvation, and to accept it instead.
⁶And wherever His plan is accepted, it has already been accomplished.
10. Our goal in today’s longer practice periods is to become aware that God’s plan for salvation has already been fulfilled in us.
²To achieve this goal, we must replace attack with acceptance.
³As long as we continue to attack, we cannot understand what God’s plan for us is.
⁴Thus, we are attacking what we do not understand.
⁵Now we will try to lay judgment aside and ask what God’s plan is for us:
⁶What is salvation, Father?
⁷I do not know.
⁸Tell me, that I may understand.
⁹Then wait in silence for His answer.
11. We have attacked God’s plan for salvation without waiting to hear what it is.
²We have shouted our grievances so loudly that we have not listened to His Voice.
³We have used our grievances to blind our eyes and close our ears.
⁴Now we want to see, to hear, and to learn.
⁵What is salvation, Father?
⁶Ask, and you will be answered.
⁷Seek, and you will find. V
12. We no longer ask the ego what salvation is, or where to find it.
²We ask the Truth.
³Be confident, then, that the answer will be true—because of the One to Whom you have asked.
⁴Whenever your confidence falters, and your hope of success begins to dim and die, repeat the question and your request, remembering Whom you are asking: the infinite Creator of the infinite, Who created you like Himself:
⁵What is salvation, Father?
⁶I do not know.
⁷Tell me, that I may understand.
⁸He will answer you.
⁹You need only be willing to listen.
13. Today, one or perhaps two brief practice periods per hour will suffice, since they will be somewhat longer than usual.
²Each exercise period should begin like this:
³Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.
⁴Instead of attacking it, I will accept it.
⁵What is salvation, Father?
⁶Then wait quietly for about a minute, preferably with your eyes closed, and listen for His answer.
I To the ego, embodied in a body, are assigned the aspects of being—the attributes of God: to create, to love, and to know. God manifests them in a perfectly abstract and unlimited way; He creates His Son as an extension of His Love and knows Him, for His Son is Himself.
Bodies “create” other bodies through what is called “making love,” and they “know” one another through the senses of their bodies. The ego is not creative but merely a clumsy counterfeit of Being—an inept imitation.
II There is a fundamental, generic question that, at some point, crosses every human mind, consciously or not. While most people ignore it and forget it, for some it becomes a source of constant concern. The question is: What is all this about?
This question can be approached from many angles and can take more specific forms. It can be phrased in philosophical terms—What is reality?—in scientific terms—What is matter?—or in psychological terms—Who am I? In any case, such questioning reveals an unease, a restlessness that seeks to be appeased in some way, or else must be forgotten altogether.
Basically, there are two paradigms that address this question, and they are perfectly antithetical—each is a mirror image of the other; the statements of one are the inversion of those of the other. Thus, one says: “I am real, and the idea of God is a sublimation of my desires.” The other—the paradigm of this Course—states that God is the only reality, and the ego—symbolized in the body—is the embodiment of the idea of being God.
Both paradigms are perfectly consistent within themselves, yet they lead to different conclusions and experiences of being. It is also important to recognize that the mind cannot operate under both paradigms simultaneously, nor can it alternate between them, for doing so stresses and depresses it.
For the mind to function efficiently and achieve any kind of result, it must choose one of these two descriptions of what is real and adhere to it consistently.
This Lesson describes the world’s paradigm as seen from the perspective of the Course. Perhaps the most relevant point here is to become aware of the consequences of believing in the ego’s proposal for salvation. It must be understood that Jesus’ description of what the ego asserts is absolutely accurate, and it is something every human being knows perfectly well, for in one way or another, each has subscribed to it throughout personal life.
Jesus now offers a very different proposal, one that will obviously lead to a very different experience. He understands that His proposal cannot be lightly accepted as true; He merely asks that we give it a chance and verify its truth for ourselves.
III To stop harboring resentments is an unavoidable requirement for transcending identification with the body. The practice of this teaching—forgiving our resentments—is essential to embrace the premise of Workbook Lesson 97: I am spirit.
IV Jesus’ reasoning for demonstrating that harboring resentments is an attack on God’s plan for salvation exposes the unconscious mechanism that governs your mind, which is essentially as follows:
PREMISES:
• Your resentments are caused by the behavior of others toward you.
• Behavior belongs to bodies.
• Harboring resentments reinforces in your mind the idea that bodies are your only reality and that of others.
• If you are a body, your Creator must be one too. This idea is unconscious but fully operative in your mind.
• To be saved from something means to cease being that something; therefore, the body’s salvation is death.
• God lies; He says He creates life, yet the life He creates always ends in death.
• Your brother’s salvation and your own is death, for that is what that lying God has established.
• In this world of death, everyone kills to go on living, and everyone ends up dying.
• Your body is all you have—your only comfort and the place where you experience pleasure by satisfying your perceived needs.
CONCLUSION:
Identifying with your body and seeking your salvation in it sabotages God’s plan for salvation as this Course teaches it. Every time you harbor a resentment, you reinforce in your mind this bleak view of yourself and of everything.
V This version of the Gospel quotation is repeated throughout the Course on many occasions. Jesus constantly urges you to pray sincerely and wholeheartedly, assuring you that all your desires will be fulfilled. This is not because, in some lofty realm or hypothetical Heaven, there exists a being who watches you, listens to your petitions, and then capriciously decides whether to grant them or not.
God has created His Son perfect, and so it shall remain forever. He is real and unchangeable.
The mechanism by which your prayers seem to manifest within the illusory dream of bodily life is, in truth, quite different. That illusory dream is of your own making—a projection of your fears and desires. It is the mind of the Son of God, confused because it believes itself to be a body in time and space. That mind, infinitely powerful, converses with itself through the characters with which it identifies in that illusory realm, for it has become fragmented by believing in the impossible idea of separation, which in itself is fragmenting.
Thus, it conceives a dream of sin and guilt, which, through forgiveness and prayer, it transforms into redemption and salvation.
The mind of the Son of God—which is the Mind of God—grants itself all that it asks for from the heart: the good and the bad, illusions as well as salvation. Such is its power to create, for such is its power to believe.
Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
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LESSON 71
Only God’s plan for salvation will work.
1. You may not realize that the ego has devised a plan for salvation that is the opposite of God’s.
²This is the plan in which you believe.
³And because it is the opposite of God’s, you also believe that accepting God’s plan in place of the ego’s is to condemn yourself. I
⁴This may sound absurd, of course.
⁵But after looking at the ego’s plan, you may realize that, however absurd it seems, you do believe in it.
2. The ego’s plan for salvation centers around holding grievances.
²According to this plan, if someone else were to speak or act differently, if some external circumstance or event were to change, you would be saved.
³So the source of salvation is constantly perceived as outside of yourself.
⁴Every grievance you hold is a declaration, an assertion in which you believe, saying: “If this were different, I would be saved.”
⁵The mental shift that is necessary for salvation is thus demanded of everyone and everything—except yourself. II
3. The role your own mind plays in this plan, therefore, is simply to determine what must change—everything but itself—in order for you to be saved.
²According to this insane plan, anything that you perceive as the source of salvation is acceptable, as long as it does not work. III
³This guarantees that you will keep searching in vain, for the illusion is sustained that although this one has failed, there is still hope in other places and things.
⁴Perhaps another person will be better, or another situation more successful.
4. Such is the ego’s plan for your salvation.
²Surely you have recognized that this plan aligns perfectly with the ego’s central doctrine: “Seek but do not find.” IV
³For what better way to ensure you never find salvation than to direct all your efforts toward seeking it where it is not?
5. God’s plan for salvation, by contrast, does work—simply because, when you follow His guidance, you seek salvation where it truly is.
²But if you wish to succeed, as God has promised you will, you must be willing to seek it only there.
³Otherwise, your purpose will be divided, and you will try to follow two plans for salvation that are completely opposed in every way.
⁴The result can only be confusion, misery, and a deep sense of failure and despair.
6. How can you escape from all of this?
²Very easily.
³Today’s idea is the answer: Only God’s plan for salvation will work.
⁴There can be no real conflict about this, because there is no possible alternative to God’s plan that can save you.
⁵His is the only plan whose outcome is certain.
⁶His is the only plan that will succeed.
7. Let us practice today by recognizing this certainty.
²And let us rejoice that there is an answer to what seems to be an insoluble conflict.
³With God, all things are possible. V
⁴You will attain salvation through His plan, which cannot fail.
8. Begin the two longer practice periods by reflecting on today’s idea and recognizing that it contains two parts, both equally important.
²The first is that God’s plan for your salvation will succeed.
³The second is that all other plans will not.
⁴Do not let yourself become depressed or angry over the second part, for it is inherent in the first. VI
⁵And in the first lies your complete release from the insane attempts and mad schemes you made to free yourself.
⁶All of them brought you only misery and pain, but God’s plan will lead you to release and joy.
9. With this in mind, devote the remainder of the longer practice period to asking God to reveal His plan to you.
²Ask Him very specifically:
³What would You have me do?
⁴Where would You have me go?
⁵What would You have me say, and to whom?
⁶Let Him take charge of the rest of the practice session, and let Him tell you what your part is in His plan for your salvation.
⁷He will answer, to the extent that you are willing to hear His Voice.
⁸Do not refuse to listen.
⁹The mere fact that you are doing these exercises proves that you have some willingness to hear.
¹⁰This is enough to claim your right to God’s answer.
10. In the shorter practice periods, repeat frequently that only God’s plan for salvation will work.
²Be alert to any temptation to hold grievances, and respond to such impulses with this variation of today’s idea:
³Holding grievances is the opposite of God’s plan for salvation.
⁴And only His plan will succeed.
⁵Try to remember today’s idea six or seven times an hour.
⁶There is no better way to spend half a minute—or less—than to remember the Source of your salvation, and to see it where it truly is.
I Here, Jesus uses the terms “salvation” and “condemnation” from the ego’s perspective. For the ego, to “be saved” means to get its own way and obtain what it desires, while to “be condemned” means the frustration of its expectations. For example, accepting God’s plan for salvation in the face of a perceived offense leads to forgiveness, but this frustrates the ego’s expectations, for it seeks vengeance. Thus, the ego interprets forgiveness as condemnation.
Simply put, the ego urges you to seek salvation outside yourself—where it is not—for outside you there is nothing but illusions. True salvation, in this world (for in Reality it is not needed), consists in the opposite: to look within and recognize that you remain as your Father created you. It is understandable, then, that the ego interprets this inward journey as condemnation. And, in a sense, it is not wrong, for it marks its own condemnation—though not yours.
You may often think that accepting God’s plan for your salvation means giving up the search for it in the things the world offers—and in that, you are right. You cannot serve two masters at once. But this leads you to believe that following God’s plan condemns you to the permanent frustration of your deepest desires, which until now you have tried to appease, more or less successfully, with trivialities. In this, however, you are completely mistaken.
The truth is that you have never consistently accepted and followed God’s plan; you have always kept one eye on the ego’s gifts. This lack of consistency and determination has divided your mind and created an entirely avoidable tension. It is absolutely impossible for you to feel any sense of lack or need of any kind if you embrace God’s plan with all your heart. And here lies the key: to do it with all your heart and with all your mind.
Unity of purpose means focusing the mind in only one direction. This causes the mind to devote all its energy to achieving a single goal; in doing so, it forgets everything else, which then disappears for it—it no longer considers it, takes no account of it, and it simply fades from awareness because it has ceased to matter. The mind has become devoted to a single love, and thus, how could it possibly miss anything?
II The ego is a mental illness. It is the condition of a mind so immersed in arrogance that it cannot even conceive of the possibility that its assumptions might be wrong. For this reason, it is an extraordinarily stable condition. It is not that the ego thinks it is right; rather, it is the condition of the mind that believes itself to be right—that the last foolish notion it has conceived is perfectly appropriate. When the egoic mind faces adversity, it always thinks that life is wrong; it never considers that its expectations might be misplaced.
The ego is the epicenter of a thought system that manages perception in relation to itself. It is the center of the universe it perceives. The attributes it assigns to its perceptions are the coordinates of a frame of reference that originates within itself. Thus, it interprets everything it perceives according to how that thing relates to it, in either positive or negative terms. When the ego looks at anything, it always evaluates whether what it perceives will bring it something or take something away. It is perfectly utilitarian, manipulative, predatory, and cowardly.
The ego experiences a permanent inner void and lunges voraciously toward what it perceives as an external space in order to fill its appetites, preying mercilessly upon its surroundings. It is restrained only by the fear that its cravings will be seen as excessive and thereby make it harder to achieve the goals of its peculiar sense of salvation. The only direction in which its code of behavior leads is to negotiate an arrangement that will allow it to gain as much as possible in every relationship.
Thus, the ego is incapable of true altruism, for that concept is antithetical to its very essence. It is enough to recall that altruism comes from alter, “the other” in Latin, which is the opposite of ego, “I.” Egoism and altruism are perfect opposites. That is why the ego will always demand change in others, never in itself; that is the principle that sustains its stability and permanence. This makes the ego unwilling to learn anything, for to learn is to change, and the only change it understands and accepts is that which can magnify its own self-image.
III This is an idea repeated frequently throughout this Course, and one that is difficult to grasp or accept, for it is incomprehensible—and indeed it is to any rational mind. Yet it must be understood that the ego uses rationality only for its own benefit and only when it serves its purposes, for its nature is intrinsically irrational.
The “reason” the ego abhors true salvation—which would perfectly fulfill every longing—is precisely its aversion to change. The ego, in truth, does not want to stop seeking. It will proclaim to the heavens, with loud cries and tears, that it is desperately seeking the love that will fill its heart and the peace that will bring rest to its mind—and that is perfectly true. However, remember that the Will of the Son of God is always fulfilled, even that of his sick mind, and it is always fulfilled in the present.
The key to understanding this madness lies precisely there: it is always fulfilled in the present. The ego’s will is to seek salvation, and that is exactly what it attains—the search for salvation. If the ego—this black hole, the symbol of absence, lack, and nothingness—were to find salvation, it would simply disappear, and that terrifies the ego; it terrifies the “I”; it terrifies you who so long to seek salvation. But do you truly wish to find it? For if you did, and desired it with all your heart, it would surely be yours. And when? Now—this very instant. When else could it be?
IV Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
T-12.VI.1:4: “Its dictates, therefore, can be summed up simply as: ‘Seek and do not find.’”
V Matthew 19:26: “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’”
VI If this happens to you—if you feel a twinge of unease when you think that the things of the world might offer some kind of “salvation”—it is because there are still things that delight you, that is, there is still something that creates illusion for you. Do not worry, do not become anxious, and certainly do not feel guilty about it.
This Course is not meant to make you feel bad about anything—quite the opposite! Forgive your illusions, forgive yourself for harboring them in your heart, and forgive yourself for feeling guilty for having them. Forgive everything and move on. You are on the right path. You are doing the best you can, and above all, be absolutely certain that Jesus goes with you.
And even if you do not pay Him much attention, do not be concerned; His patience is perfect, and He will not allow you to stray too far. After all, you have already come too far for that.
Remember what Jesus tells us in the Psychotherapy supplement: “Setbacks are temporary. From a broader perspective, progress is always being made toward truth.” (P-3.II.1:8–9)
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LESSON 70
Salvation comes from me.
1. Every temptation is nothing more than some form of the basic temptation not to believe today’s idea.
²Salvation seems to come from anywhere except yourself.
³The same is true of the source of guilt.
⁴In truth, you see both guilt and salvation only in your own mind, and nowhere else.
⁵When you realize that all the guilt you perceive is merely a product of your own mind, you will also understand that guilt and salvation must be found in the same place.
⁶And when you understand this, you will be saved. I
2. The apparent “cost” of accepting today’s idea is this: it means that nothing outside of you can save you, and nothing outside of you can bring you peace.
²But it also means that nothing outside of you can hurt you, disturb your peace, or upset you in any way.
³Today’s idea puts you in charge of the universe, and places you where you belong as the Son of God. II
3. This is not a role that can be accepted partially, and by now you will likely have begun to see that accepting it is salvation.
²But it may still not be clear to you why recognizing that guilt is in your own mind also entails the understanding that salvation is there as well.
³God would not have placed the remedy for sickness where it could be of no use.
⁴That may be how your mind has worked, but it is not how His works.
⁵He wants you healed, and so He has kept the Source of healing where the need for healing lies.
⁶You have tried to do just the opposite, doing everything you could—no matter how twisted or absurd—to separate healing from the sickness to which it was meant to apply, in order to keep the sickness.
⁷Your goal was to prevent healing; God’s goal was to ensure it.
4. Today we will practice recognizing that the Will of God and our own are truly the same in this.
²God wants us to be healed, and we do not really want to remain sick, for sickness makes us unhappy.
³Therefore, by accepting today’s idea, we are aligning ourselves with God.
⁴He does not want us to be sick.
⁵We do not want that either.
⁶He wants us to be healed.
⁷So do we.
5. Today we are ready to do two longer practice periods, each lasting ten to fifteen minutes.
²But you may choose for yourself when to do them.
³We will follow this pattern for several lessons, and once again you are encouraged to decide in advance the best time for each session, and to follow your own schedule as closely as possible.
6. Begin these practice periods by repeating today’s idea, and then adding a statement expressing your recognition that salvation does not come from anything outside you.
²You might say something like this:
³Salvation comes from me.
⁴It cannot come from anywhere else.
⁵Then spend a few minutes, with your eyes closed, reviewing some of the external things in which you have sought salvation in the past—people, possessions, various situations and events, and self-images you tried to make real. III
⁶Acknowledge that salvation was never found in any of these.
⁷Then say to yourself:
⁸My salvation cannot come from any of these things.
⁹My salvation comes from me, and only from me.
7. Now we will once again try to reach the light in you, where your salvation truly is.
²You cannot find it in the clouds that surround the light, and you must realize that you have been searching for it in those clouds.
³Your salvation is not there.
⁴It lies beyond the clouds, in the light that shines behind them.
⁵Remember, you must pass through the clouds before you can reach the light.
⁶But also remember that you have never found anything lasting or desirable in the cloud formations you imagined. IV
8. Since all illusions of salvation have failed you, surely you do not want to keep searching for meaningless idols in the clouds, when you could so easily reach the light of true salvation.
²Try to pass through the clouds by whatever means appeals to you.
³If it helps, think of me as taking your hand and guiding you.
⁴And I assure you, this will not be a mere illusion. V
9. During the shorter and more frequent practice periods today, remind yourself that salvation comes from you, and that nothing but your own thoughts can hinder your progress.
²You are free from all external interference.
³You are in charge of your salvation.
⁴You are in charge of the salvation of the world.
⁵Then say:
⁶Salvation comes from me.
⁷Nothing outside of me can hold me back.
⁸Within me is the salvation of the world and of my own.
I All the ideas in this Workbook are important, but no words can do justice to the importance of today’s Lesson.
Your entire world is in your mind, because nothing exists outside it. Everything that seems to exist in that world is there because you have placed it there, for no will operates in your mind but your own. Nothing external can affect you, because nothing is external to you. If you now believe this is not true—that you are a body doomed to die, living a brief life marked by limitation and helplessness—it is because you have also placed that idea in your mind. That is precisely your ego—that way of thinking. Your ego is not someone who believes this; your ego is the belief that this is so.
Your life, at its core, is nothing but a story you tell yourself. When someone asks you, “How are you?” and you answer, “I’m very happy!” or “I’m miserable,” you are merely expressing an opinion. Your condition of being happy or unhappy is something you yourself establish, and it will depend on the standard of evaluation you have chosen at that moment. Yet you will insist again and again that this condition is an “objective” fact—but could there be anything more subjective?
The first line of this Lesson is crucial. The basic temptation is to think that you are not responsible for your life and therefore to blame something external. When you feel tempted by something you find morally objectionable, realize that the moral standard that condemns it is one you have created, the desire to uphold it is also yours, and—though it may be hard to accept—the perception of that event is likewise of your own making. You simply take no responsibility for the contents of your consciousness and call “temptation” the relationship between something you label as “external” and impulses you claim come from a dark “subconscious.” Of course, that is one way of telling the story—but it is merely the way you have chosen.
To think of yourself as a helpless being subject to the whims of life is a choice. Jesus now invites you to consider another, entirely opposite one. This Course presents the dilemma very clearly. You now know you can choose between two very different ways of seeing yourself. The first, which you know all too well, is that proposed by the ego and the world. The other is what Jesus or the Holy Spirit offers you. Each will lead you along very different paths through the dream, toward vastly different goals. The ego’s proposal leads you in agony toward death; Jesus urges you to choose better and to recognize your power to shape your reality. That power is absolute because it is the Power of God within you—His Gift. Use it well and do not waste it on dreams of fear.
The entire strategy of the ego in your mind is based on convincing you that you are not responsible for your mental states, making you believe that the cause of your suffering lies in something external, when in truth you are the one who has placed it there. Its aim is to diminish you, to weaken you, and to plunge you into helplessness by projecting its own fragility onto you.
II You are the Son of God, created perfect by your loving Father—free and capable of creating as He creates. In your freedom, you can extend Love infinitely, for that is your very condition. You can do this, and indeed you do, in eternity, for that is your will, identical to your Father’s. But you cannot create the impossible, because the impossible does not exist.
Nevertheless, if that is your desire, you can also “create” the impossible—but in that case such “creation” is not real; it is real only to you, and you then call it “belief.” You can believe in the illusions you yourself have made, and thus you conceive them as absences expressing your longing to regain your true condition. That is why the illusions you seem to perceive on the imaginary screen of your consciousness are inversions of the values you already enjoy in Heaven.
III These “self-conceptions” are roles you have deemed desirable—being a good mother, an excellent professional, a loyal friend, more intelligent, wealthier, more compassionate, or any other appealing idea you may hold of yourself. It has always been your ego that desired all those things. You, as the Son of God, are infinitely beyond any possibility of “improvement.” Remember—you were created perfect. Your salvation lies precisely in remembering that.
IV While the clouds of yesterday’s Lesson were composed of your resentments, today’s clouds consist of “…the things outside you in which you have sought salvation in the past” (6:5).
V Believe Jesus in this. It is impossible that He could be deceiving you. He is here to guide you—that is His function. If you wish, you may travel the path thinking you walk alone, but you do not. Jesus accompanies you at every moment. He speaks to you, counsels you, and comforts you without ceasing. If you do not hear Him, it is because you are not paying attention, and deep down you still trust more in your own judgment. The journey would be far easier if you became aware that Jesus walks beside you.
He is not some imaginary friend nor the voice of a deranged mind. He is your elder brother who loves you, walks with you, and guides you toward your happiness—which is also His. Try it. Give Him a chance to be included in your awareness. He will not disappoint you. It is the best way you can use your mind.
Do not regard forming a personal relationship with Jesus as something strange or different from establishing any other relationship; it is exactly the same—a matter of will, trust, and purpose. And be sensible: use that relationship for its own purpose, not yours. In truth, they are the same—but you are not yet fully convinced of it, for you are still almost blind.
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LESSON 69
My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
1. No one can see what your grievances conceal. I
²Because your grievances are hiding the light of the world in you, your brother dwells in darkness, and so do you beside him.
³Yet when the veil of your grievances is lifted, you are freed along with him.
⁴Now share your salvation with him who stood beside you when you were in hell.
⁵He is your brother in the light of the world that saves you both. II
2. Today we will make another genuine attempt to reach the light within you. III
²Before we undertake this in our longer practice period, let us spend a few minutes reflecting on what it is we are trying to do.
³We are literally trying to reach the salvation of the world.
⁴We are attempting to see beyond the veil of darkness that hides it.
⁵We are trying to let the veil be lifted, and see the tears of the Son of God vanish in the sunlight.
3. Let us begin our longer practice period today fully aware that this is so, and with firm determination, let us try to reach what is more valuable to us than anything else.
²Salvation is our only need.
³There is no other purpose in this world, and no other function to fulfill.
⁴Learning salvation is our only goal.
⁵Let us bring the ancient search to an end today, by discovering the light in us and showing it, so that all who seek along with us may see it and rejoice.IV
4. Now, very quietly and with eyes closed, try to release everything that usually occupies your awareness.
²Picture your mind as a vast sphere wrapped in a layer of thick, dark clouds.
³You can only see the clouds, because you seem to stand outside the sphere and at some distance from it.
⁴From where you are, there is no reason to believe a brilliant light lies hidden behind the clouds.
⁵The clouds appear to be the only reality.
⁶They seem to be all there is.
⁷This is why you do not try to go through them and beyond them, which is the only way you could truly realize their insubstantial nature.
⁸That is what we will try to do today. V
5. After reflecting on how important what you are trying to do is—for yourself and for the world—remain in perfect stillness, remembering only how much you want to reach the light in you today, right now.
²Resolve to go beyond those clouds.
³In your mind, reach out and touch them.
⁴Then brush them aside with your hand, and feel them lightly as they pass across your cheeks, your forehead, and your closed eyelids as you go through them.
⁵Keep moving; the clouds cannot stop you.
6. If you are doing the exercises correctly, you will begin to have a sense of being lifted up and carried forward.
²That tiny effort, and your small determination, call on the power of the universe to help you, and God Himself will lift you from darkness into light.
³You are acting in perfect accord with His Will.
⁴You cannot fail, because your will is His.
7. Trust your Father today, and be certain He has heard you and has answered you.
²You may not yet recognize His answer, but you can be sure it has been given, and that you will receive it.
³Try to hold this confidence in your mind as you attempt to pass through the clouds and reach the light.
⁴Try to remember that at last you are joining your will to the Will of God.
⁵Keep clearly in mind the thought that anything you undertake with God must succeed.
⁶Then allow the Power of God to work in you and through you, so that His Will and yours may be done. VI
8. In the shorter practice periods, which you will want to do as often as possible given the importance of today’s idea for you and your happiness, remember that your grievances are hiding the light of the world from your awareness. VII
²Remind yourself also that you are not searching alone, and that you know where to look.
³Then say:
⁴My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
⁵I cannot see what I have hidden.
⁶Yet for my salvation,
and the salvation of the world,
I want it to be revealed to me.
⁷And if you are tempted today to hold a grievance against anyone, be sure to tell yourself silently:
⁸If I hold this grievance, I will not be able to see the light of the world.
I It is possible that this statement may not make much sense to you, because you may not yet understand how your resentments could conceal anything. You usually think they simply reflect the anger you feel for some grievance. But here Jesus is speaking of realities, not appearances. Remember: only love is real. Anger—or fear—is nothing but the absence of love, and what is absent has no real existence.
The ego will never understand this, for it deals only with absences—with what is not there. That is why this Course is so difficult for it: it speaks a language it cannot comprehend. You, however—Son of God—can understand it. Though the principles of this Course may seem inspiring to you, they can also appear incomprehensible or even unacceptable. Yet such judgments do not come from your true mind, but from the part of your holy mind still under the ego’s domain. And it is precisely that part this Course seeks to heal and reclaim.
A resentful mind cannot express love—the light of the world within you—because it is trapped in the idea of having been attacked or wronged in the past. But all of that is only an illusion, the result of a mistaken self-perception based on the smallness and vulnerability with which the ego deceives you. The foundations of those judgments are false, but if you believe in them, you will make them real for yourself.
Fortunately, you can always turn to your heart as your guide. If you feel bad, it is because what you are thinking is not true, and your resentments are unjustified. If you persist in deceiving yourself and continue to cause yourself moral suffering, it is because your ego has learned to interpret that pain as pleasure. Remember: the ego sees everything upside down. That is how confused and insane it is.
II Remember what you learned in Lesson 19: “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.” Your resentments affect not only you; they also cast a shadow upon others, perpetuating the illusion of separation.
The opposite is equally true. To verify this, practice the following technique:
1) Block the judgment you are directing against your brother.
2) Invoke the idea of peace in your mind.
3) Look for that peace in your brother, the same peace you are claiming for yourself.
4) Look carefully and you will see it. It is there because you have placed it there.
5) Celebrate the peace you have found in your brother and thank him silently.
This technique, if done wholeheartedly, always works, because your will always fulfills itself. If you do it well, the entire process takes only a few seconds. If it takes you longer, ask yourself what it is you truly want to give yourself.
III W-41.4:3: “Today we will make our first real attempt to go beyond this heavy cloud of darkness, and to pass through it into the light beyond.” After this first guided meditation exercise in Lesson 41, similar practices follow in Lessons 44, 45, 47, and 49.
IV In fact, the exercise you are about to do is a kind of prayer: you are going to ask to see the light of the world within you—the love that you are. That is why Jesus now urges you to do it wholeheartedly, for that is the only way prayers succeed. Remember that whatever you ask in prayer is always granted, and that is so not because someone up above is watching you and deciding whether to give you something or not; in truth, everything is granted by you, to yourself.
If you do not grant yourself something, it is because you do not truly want it. Be very honest about this and see that it is so. If you ask for things you do not truly want, you are simply exhausting yourself—you are asking for despair, and that is what you will receive. Again, be honest: if realizing your true identity is not more valuable to you than anything else you think you perceive in the world, you are not ready for this. But do not worry or blame yourself for that; you are simply asking for more time, and that is what you will receive. Remember that life is perfect, and your will is always done.
V Here Jesus suggests that you visualize your mind as a planet completely covered by dense clouds, floating above you. He also tells you that although you cannot see it, beyond the clouds you perceive from outer space there is on that planet—your mind—a bright light: the light of the world. That light is more truly your own identity than anything else you could think about yourself.
The only planet in the solar system that fits that description—a planet covered with dense clouds—is Venus. And, fittingly, Venus is known as “the morning star,” for it appears shining above the horizon at the dawn of a new day.
VI Matthew 6:10: “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.” Here Jesus tells us that “… His Will and yours be done,” for your will perfectly coincides with the Will of God. The perceived world, too, is the result of a will, as it could not be otherwise—for even within the realm of illusion there can be no effects without a cause. The difference is that the will manifested there is the will of the ego.
VII These brief practices will be of great help to you, and they are profoundly healing—especially those you do in response to specific flashes of anger that arise throughout the day. All of this is part of the mental training that is purifying your mind and that will eventually enable you to work miracles.
Changing your mental habits and acquiring new ones usually involves a long process that requires multiple repetitions, until the new habits become automatic and the new way of perceiving is the first thing that comes to mind when something contradicts your expectations. Be patient and persevere.
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LESSON 68
Love holds no grievances.I
1. You, who were created by Love in Its Own likeness, cannot hold grievances and know your Self.
²To hold a grievance is to forget who you are. II
³To hold a grievance is to see yourself as a body.
⁴It is the decision to let the ego rule your mind and to condemn the body to death.
⁵You may not yet realize what holding grievances does to your mind.
⁶It seems to separate you from your Source and makes you different from Him.
⁷It leads you to believe that God is like what you think you have become, for no one can conceive of his Creator as different from himself.
2. Disconnected from your own Self, which remains aware of its likeness to its Creator, your Self seems to sleep, while the part of your mind that weaves illusions in its dreaming appears to be awake.
²Can all of this arise simply from holding grievances?
³Indeed it can.
⁴For one who holds grievances denies that he was created by Love, and in his dream of hate, his Creator becomes fearful to him.
⁵Who can dream of hate and not be afraid of God?
3. It is as certain that those who hold grievances will redefine God in their own image as it is that God created them like Himself and defined them as part of Him. III
²It is just as sure that those who hold grievances will feel guilty as it is that those who forgive will find peace.
³And it is equally certain that those who hold grievances will forget who they are, just as those who forgive will remember.
4. Would you not be willing to let your grievances go if you believed all of this to be true?
²Perhaps you think you cannot give up all your grievances.
³Yet that is simply a matter of motivation. IV
⁴Today we will try to discover how you would feel without them.
⁵If you succeed, even just a little, you will never again find motivation lacking.
5. Begin the longer practice period today by searching your mind for those against whom you hold strong grievances.
²Some will be easy to identify.
³Then think of the seemingly minor grievances you hold against those you like and even those you think you love.
⁴Very soon, you will see that there is no one against whom you do not hold some form of grievance.
⁵This is what has made you see yourself as alone in all the universe.
6. Now resolve to see all these people as friends.
²Say to them all together—thinking of each one individually as you do:
³I would see you as my friend, that I may remember you are part of me, and come to know myself.
⁴Spend the rest of the practice period trying to picture yourself at peace with everyone and everything, safe in a world that protects you, loves you, and that you love in return.
⁵Try to feel safety surrounding you, enfolding you, and holding you up.
⁶Try to believe, even for a moment, that nothing can harm you in any way.
⁷At the end of the session, say to yourself:
⁸Love holds no grievances.
⁹When I let all my grievances go, I will know I am perfectly safe.
7. The shorter practice periods should include a quick application of today’s idea in the following form, and also whenever any kind of grievance arises against anyone, whether physically present or not:
²Love holds no grievances.
³Let me not betray my Self.
⁴Also, repeat the idea several times each hour in this form:
⁵Love holds no grievances.
⁶I want to know my Self. Therefore, I will let all grievances go, so that He may awaken in my awareness.
I Today’s Lesson is the counterpart to the previous one, in which we explored our holiness and what we are naturally meant to feel. Today’s, by contrast, confronts us with the opposite: the apparent vulnerability of the character with whom we have mistakenly identified. While the previous Lesson invited us to celebrate by affirming our true Self, today’s teaches us to discern and reject the voice of the ego in our mind.
II Today’s Lesson revolves around resentments, so it is important to understand clearly what this concept means.
From an etymological point of view, the term resentment means “that which makes me feel again”—that is, it is the remembrance of something that occurred in the past, reappearing in consciousness. A resentment is the persistent feeling of displeasure or anger toward someone or something believed to be the cause of an offense or harm; it is the emotion felt in the present in response to the memory of a perceived attack from the past.
The crucial question to ask is: who or what suffered that attack? For resentment is only possible if that which suffered the perceived attack can in fact be diminished. In truth, a resentment implicitly involves a recognition and definition of oneself as fragile and vulnerable—and that is precisely the idea the ego holds of you. Whenever you harbor resentment, you are affirming that you subscribe to the ego’s concept of yourself and that you are willing to defend it, even if that means losing your peace of mind, suffering, and falling into conflict with your brothers and with the world.
It is essential that you realize something: thinking that you are vulnerable and can suffer from others’ attacks is not a fact—it is an opinion. If holding that opinion carries such serious consequences, and you must pay such a high price for it, it is crucial that you first have absolute certainty that it is true, for otherwise you are paying with your happiness for something that is only an illusion.
Notice how unjust you are in your assessments. You subject the premises of this Course to fierce scrutiny, and your mind carefully analyzes every possibility that you are being deceived by a false proposition—which is perfectly understandable. Yet you accept, with astonishing naïveté and without the slightest caution, the first foolish notion the ego places in your mind. That, in itself, is disastrous recklessness. But given that it is evident the ego has deceived you completely in the past, offering you falsehoods and poisoning your life with its lies, the fact that you still listen to it is the greatest of follies. Don’t you see it?
At the beginning of this Workbook you were told that you do not have to believe the ideas presented here, nor even accept them gladly; you only have to practice what is proposed and see impartially whether they are true or not (W-In.6–7). Read this Lesson attentively and realize that harboring resentments serves no purpose but to sicken your mind, separate you from your brothers, and deprive you of the happiness you deserve. And if, seeing all this clearly, you still find it hard to let go of your resentments, understand that this is because, in truth, you hate yourself and wish to punish yourself, using your brothers and the world as instruments to do so. The Text explains well the reason for this delusion. Do not worry—it will pass. The best thing you can do now is to practice today’s Lesson wholeheartedly.
III Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.’”
Resentment not only separates you from your brothers but also from yourself. Each time you harbor a resentment, you are reinforcing the illusion that you are a separate, vulnerable, and limited being. This illusion not only causes suffering but also prevents you from remembering your true identity as the Son of God, created in the image and likeness of Love.
Today’s practice invites you to release these resentments and to see everyone as friends. In doing so, you are not only healing your relationships but also healing your mind. Each time you choose to forgive, you are remembering that there is no separation between you and your brothers, and that all of you are part of the same unity in God.
Remember that forgiveness is not an act of condescension toward others but a gift you give yourself. In forgiving, you free yourself from the chains of the past and open your heart to the peace and happiness that are your natural inheritance.
IV You may find it difficult to understand, accept, and assume that all the suffering you experience is voluntary—that is, that you have freely given it to yourself because you believe you deserve it. Yet that is the painful “truth” of this world of illusions.
The good news is that, since you are the only one responsible for your mental states, in the same way and with the same ease with which you have given yourself that which harms and causes you suffering, you can also forgive it and free yourself from it in an instant. It all comes down to motivation, to an act of will.
Jesus poses to us a fundamental question: “My brother, what do you want?” and constantly reminds us: “My brother, join your will with Mine and desire what I desire.”
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LESSON 67
Love created me like Itself.
1. Today’s idea is a complete and accurate statement of what you are.
²That is why you are the light of the world.
³That is why God has appointed you the savior of the world.
⁴That is why the Son of God depends on you for his salvation.
⁵He is saved because of what you are.
⁶Today we will strive to reach this truth about you, and to recognize fully—even if only for an instant—that it is indeed true.
2. In the longer practice session, we will reflect on your reality, and on its completely unaltered and unalterable nature. I
²We will begin by repeating this truth about you, and then spend a few minutes adding some related thoughts, such as:
³Holiness created me holy.
⁴Kindness created me kind.
⁵Service created me helpful.
⁶Perfection created me perfect.
⁷Any attribute that aligns with God’s definition of Himself is appropriate to you.
⁸Today we are attempting to undo your definition of God and replace it with His Own.
⁹We are also emphasizing that you are included in His definition of Himself.
3. After reviewing several related thoughts, try to let all of them fall away for a moment, and attempt to go beyond every concept and image you have ever held of yourself, to reach the truth within you. II
²If Love created you like Its Own Being, then that Being must be within you.
³And that Being is somewhere in your mind, waiting to be found. III
4. You may need to repeat today’s idea from time to time to replace distracting thoughts.
²It may also be necessary to continue adding more attributes that reflect the truth about you.
³But perhaps you will succeed in going beyond all of this, and in a moment when your mind is empty of thought, you will become aware of a radiant light in which you recognize yourself as Love created you.
⁴Trust that you are doing much today to bring that awareness nearer, whether you feel you succeeded or not. IV
5. It will be especially helpful today to practice the idea as often as possible.
²You need to hear the truth about yourself as frequently as you can, because your mind is deeply absorbed in false images of yourself.
³It would be very beneficial to repeat to yourself four or five times an hour—perhaps even more often—that “Love created me like Itself”.
⁴Understand that this is where the truth about you truly lies.
6. In the shorter practice periods, try to realize that it is not your small and solitary voice that speaks these words.
²It is the Voice of God, reminding you of your Father and your Self.
³It is the Voice of Truth, replacing everything the ego tells you about yourself with the simple truth about the Son of God.
⁴Love created you like Itself.
I Today’s Lesson employs the technique of evocation, which consists of invoking an idea and focusing the mind upon it.
In the Glossary, the mind is described as the “active principle or agent of spirit,” that is, the potential of spirit to manifest ideas. Put simply, we could say that the mind is an “instrument” that generates reality, operating by becoming that which it evokes through invocation. The mind “produces” reality through will, and it does so by itself and for itself, for nothing else exists.
This Lesson invites you to evoke an idea that reflects various attributes of God, since these coincide perfectly with those of your Self, because your Father created you in His image and likeness. This process allows your individual mind to become familiar with the qualities of your true Self, facilitating remembrance of Him and, ultimately, the direct experience of Him.
II In the first part of the exercise, we have defined ourselves through qualities that reflect the reality of God and of our true Self. To do so, we may recall memories or imagine situations in which we see ourselves manifesting those exalted qualities, allowing ourselves to visualize our holiness as we help others, or in whatever form may arise in our minds.
Now, in the second part of the exercise, we set aside those concrete images that have enabled us to experience beneficial emotional states and turn our attention, not to the effects of holiness, but to its Source: your Self.
The purpose of this mental exercise is to recognize that those sublime qualities do not originate from your personal mind, but from your true essence. In other words, you are using the “acts” of kindness performed by your character as a bridge to connect with the origin of all goodness.
III It is impossible to express in words the crucial importance of the experience described in these lines, which has been mentioned in passing before. This entire Course, all its teachings and practices, have but one purpose—to lead to this experience. Once you have reached it, you will no longer need to study this Course at all, nor to submit to any rule of behavior. Your time in this world will be almost over. You will have seen what you truly are; you will know God. This is the ultimate mystical experience; the ego will no longer even be a memory. You will now know with certainty—you will know—that you are not a human being, that you never were; you are the Love of God.
As stated in G-1.2:5–6: “A universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible, it is necessary. The goal of this Course is to attain this experience.”
This experience is not something you can attain through mental effort or accumulation of knowledge. It is a gift granted when your mind is quiet and open enough to receive the truth. It is not a personal achievement, but a surrender to what has always been true.
IV Do not worry if you do not succeed today. You have all the time in the world—literally. The only meaning of all the countless “lives,” of all consciousness, is to reach this. It is the end of dreams, of time, of space, and of all experience. It is the end of perception and the return to knowledge. It is the return Home.
Remember that this process is not linear, nor does it depend on time. Each moment of practice, each instant in which you choose to remember the truth, brings you closer to this experience. It does not matter how many times you become distracted or feel distant from truth; what matters is that you keep returning to it.
In today’s practice, it is essential to remember that you are not seeking something outside yourself. The truth already resides in your mind, and your function is simply to clear away the obstacles that prevent you from recognizing it. Each time you repeat today’s idea—Love created me like Itself—you are remembering your true nature and undoing the false images the ego has constructed about you.
Do not be discouraged if, at first, it seems difficult or if you do not feel an immediate connection with the truth. Steady practice and the willingness to release your preconceived concepts are key. Trust that, in time, your mind will become more receptive to the light of truth, and that transformative experience will come.
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LESSON 66
My happiness and my function are one.
1. Surely you have noticed the emphasis placed throughout our recent lessons on the relationship between fulfilling your function and attaining happiness.
²This is because you still do not truly see that relationship.
³Yet between these two ideas there is more than just a connection—they are the same.
⁴Their form is different, but their content is exactly the same.
2. The ego wages a constant battle with the Holy Spirit over the fundamental question of what your function is.
²And also over what your happiness is.
³It is not a two-sided battle.
⁴The ego attacks, but the Holy Spirit does not respond.
⁵He knows what your function is.
⁶He knows that your function is your happiness.
3. Today we will try to go beyond this entirely senseless conflict and reach the truth about your function.
²We will not engage in endless arguments about what it is.
³We will not desperately attempt to define happiness or determine the means to attain it. I
⁴We will not indulge the ego by listening to its attacks on truth.
⁵We will simply rejoice that we can discover what the truth is.
4. The goal of today’s longer practice period is to accept the fact that not only is there a very real connection between the function God gave you and your happiness—they are actually identical.
²God gives only happiness.
³Therefore, the function He gave you must be happiness, even if it appears to take a different form.
⁴Today’s exercises are an attempt to go beyond these apparent differences and recognize the shared content that is truly the same.
5. Begin the session by reflecting for ten to fifteen minutes on the following thoughts:
²God gives me only happiness.
³He has given me my function.
⁴Therefore, my function must be happiness.
⁵Try to see the logic of this sequence, even if you do not yet fully accept the conclusion. II
⁶The conclusion can only be false if the first two statements are incorrect.
⁷So let us consider the premises for a while.
6. The first premise is that God gives you only happiness.
²This could be false, of course, but in order for it to be false you would have to define God as something He is not.
³Love cannot give evil, and what is not happiness is evil.
⁴God cannot give what He does not have, nor have what He is not.
⁵If God does not give only happiness, He must be evil.
⁶And if you do not accept that God gives you only happiness, it is because you believe He must be evil.
7. The second premise is that God has given you your function.
²We have seen that your mind has only two parts.
³One is ruled by the ego and made up of illusions.
⁴The other is the home of the Holy Spirit and the dwelling place of truth.
⁵You can choose only between these two guides.
⁶And your choice yields only two possible results: the fear the ego always brings, and the Love the Holy Spirit always offers in its place.
8. Thus, either God established your function through His Voice, or it was set by the ego you made to replace God.
²Which of these alternatives is true?
³If your function was not given by God, then it must be a gift from the ego.
⁴But what can the ego really give you, when it is itself only an illusion and offers nothing but the illusion of gifts? III
9. Reflect on this during today’s longer practice.
²Also reflect on the many forms the illusion of your function has taken in your mind, and on the many ways you have tried to find salvation by following the ego’s guidance. IV
³Did you find it?
⁴Were you happy?
⁵Did it bring you peace?
⁶Today we must be very honest. V
⁷Recall the results with even-mindedness, and also consider whether it was ever reasonable to expect happiness from anything the ego has ever proposed.
⁸Yet the ego is your only alternative to the Voice of the Holy Spirit.
10. You will hear madness, or you will hear truth.
²Try to make this choice by considering the premises on which our conclusion rests.
³We may not agree on anything else, but we can agree on this conclusion.VI
⁴For God Himself shares it with us.
11. Today’s idea is another giant step in learning to perceive what is the same as the same, and what is different as different.
²On one side stand all illusions.
³On the other, all truth.
⁴Let us try today to understand that only truth is true.
12. In the shorter practice periods, which will be especially helpful today if done twice an hour, it is suggested that you apply the idea in this form:
²My happiness and my function are one, because God has given both to me.
³It will take no more than a minute—probably even less—to say these words slowly and think about them a little as you do.
I Happiness is a real concept and, as such, it cannot be defined—that is, it cannot be limited by words. Happiness, like peace, is the condition of Being. Nevertheless, it may be helpful to describe the human resonance of true happiness, which, stated very simply, is characterized by joy in the heart, peace in the mind, and the absolute certainty that this condition is permanent. In this world, everything you do from this state of mind will be right, because you will be fulfilling your function correctly.
Jesus invites us to feel joyous and to share our joy with others; to live in peace and reflect that peace in our relationships; to free ourselves from fear by recognizing that we are safe and protected from all harm, and to transmit that sense of safety to our brothers, healing them by dispelling their fear and guilt.
And all of this—to what extent? As far as it is possible for us. Remember: it is not in your hands to decide how far you will go, but it is in your hands to decide where you are heading.
II It is evident how much importance this Course gives to rational thought and logic. As stated in T-14.I.1:4: “The Holy Spirit uses logic as easily and as well as the ego, except that His conclusions are not insane.” Jesus often uses syllogisms, a form of deductive reasoning derived from Greek logic, consisting of two propositions as premises and another as a conclusion, the latter being a necessarily deductive inference from the former two. Perhaps the most notable aspect of this kind of reasoning is that its conclusions are binding—that is, they require a certain behavior derived from them. To accept the premises, to assume the conclusion as true, and not to act accordingly constitutes a rupture with rational thought, a form of madness, and most likely, an incursion into magical thinking, which is irrational.
All the reasoning that follows aims to convince the mind that consistent forgiveness is the best way to act in every circumstance, and the only one that guarantees happiness. It is no longer merely a matter of following a divine commandment or a counsel from Jesus; here we are shown that we must fulfill the function the Holy Spirit has assigned to us because it is the only thing that will provide what we truly want: happiness.
III Perhaps you are still not fully convinced that the ego’s gifts are nothing but “illusions of gifts,” something without real value. To begin, notice carefully why Jesus uses the term illusion. Realize that it comes from the Latin verb illúdere, which means “to mock” or “to make fun of.” The ego “plays” with you when it offers its “gifts,” because lúdere means “to play,” and illúdere means “to play against”—that is, to mock. The ego deceives you and is laughing at you.
To see the trick the ego uses to deceive you, you can follow a chain of “for what purpose”. When you think something in this world will make you happy, ask yourself what you want it for, and you will probably answer that you want it because it will bring you something else that is also desirable. Then ask again what you want that for, and you will begin to uncover a whole sequence of motives that were not very obvious at first. If you carry out this process flawlessly, the final for what purpose is always to be happy. Also realize that, in fact, the intermediate elements of that sequence are only the rungs of a ladder you think will take you to future happiness. Nothing could be further from the truth. You spend your life building a ladder to nowhere.
Happiness is a real concept, and as such, it exists only in real time, and the only real aspect of time is the present. If you are not happy in the present, you never will be. Fulfilling the function God has given you does make you happy in the present, and fulfilling it perfectly requires nothing external to the function itself; it is something whole, complete, and existing in the present. However, what the ego promises you always lies in the future—that is, never—because the future does not exist. There has never been anything but the present.
IV Just as the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit is one, absolute, and definitive, the ego offers you an endless number of partial “salvations” to the many problems and deficiencies you perceive when your mind interprets reality under its guidance.
V You must always be very honest. Deceiving yourself is the greatest of follies. But today it is especially important that you consider what is being said with great attention and be particularly honest in your response, because what you tell yourself will have important consequences… unless, even knowing the truth, you decide to continue wasting your life. If so, do not worry too much; it only means that you have not yet reached the level of pain that will drive you to change. It is only a matter of time—but remember, this Course is meant to save time, that is, to save you suffering. The decision for true salvation is inevitable.
VI Because there is no other. Remember that there are only two voices: the ego’s and the Holy Spirit’s. If you think there is a third one, and that this other voice is your own judgment, realize that you are deceiving yourself—that is the ego. The ego, the Holy Spirit, and “you” do not coexist. No! In your mind there are only the ego and the Holy Spirit—and the ego is an illusion.
The ego offers you a false sense of control and autonomy, but in reality, it only keeps you trapped in an endless cycle of desires and fears. Every time you follow its dictates, you are renouncing your true power and happiness. By contrast, when you choose to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, you are choosing the peace and clarity that arise from recognizing your true identity as the Son of God.
Happiness is not something to be sought in the future or in external circumstances. It is a natural state that arises when you align your mind with truth and fulfill the function God has given you. In forgiving, you are freeing yourself from the chains of the ego and opening your heart to the joy that has always been present within you.
So today, become aware of the illusions that have distracted you and choose to return to the truth. There is nothing to fear, for happiness and your function are one and the same, and both are a gift from God. By accepting this, you are taking a decisive step toward the peace and fulfillment that are your inheritance.
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LESSON 65
My only function is the one God gave me.I
1. Today’s idea reaffirms your commitment to salvation.
²It also reminds you that you have no other function but this.
³Clearly, both thoughts are necessary in order to reach a wholehearted commitment.
⁴Yet salvation cannot be your only goal while you still assign value to others. II
⁵Fully accepting salvation as your one and only function necessarily involves two phases.
⁶The first is the recognition that your function is salvation.
⁷The second is the relinquishment of all other goals you have invented for yourself. III
2. Only thus can you take your rightful place among the Saviors of the world.
²Only thus can you truly say, “My only function is the one God gave me.”
³And only thus will you find peace of mind.
3. Today, and during the coming days, set aside ten to fifteen minutes for a longer practice period in which you will try to understand and accept what today’s idea really means.
²This idea offers you an escape from all the difficulties you perceive.
³It places in your hands the key to the door of peace, which you yourself have closed.
⁴And it is the answer to all the seeking you have undertaken since the beginning of time.
4. If possible, try to do the longer practice sessions at approximately the same time each day.
²Also try to decide in advance when that time will be, and to adhere to it as best you can.
³The purpose of doing this is to organize your day in a way that sets aside time for God, just as you do for all the trivial goals and pursuits you will follow.
⁴This is part of the long-range training your mind needs so that the Holy Spirit can use it consistently in accordance with the purpose He shares with you. IV
5. Begin this longer practice by reviewing today’s idea.
²Then close your eyes, repeat the idea silently once more, and carefully examine your mind for any thoughts that arise.
³At first, do not try to focus only on thoughts related to today’s idea.
⁴Rather, try to notice any thought that comes up and interferes with it.
⁵Observe each one as it appears, without engaging with it or becoming concerned, and then dismiss it by saying:
⁶This thought reflects a goal that is blocking me from accepting my only function.
6. As time goes on, the interfering thoughts will become harder to find.
²Nevertheless, spend another minute trying to uncover a few of the idle thoughts that may have previously slipped by unnoticed, but do not strain or become anxious.
³Then say to yourself:
⁴Let my true function be written upon this clean slate.
⁵You do not need to use these exact words, but try to reach a state of willingness in which your illusory goals can be replaced by the truth.
7. Finally, repeat today’s idea once more and devote the remainder of the practice to quietly reflecting on how important this is to you.
²Think of the relief you will feel when you accept it, for it will resolve your conflicts once and for all.
³And also realize how deeply you truly want salvation, despite the foolish ideas you may still hold to the contrary.
8. In the shorter practice periods, which should be done at least once every hour, use this form in applying today’s idea:
²My only function is the one God gave me.
³I want no other and I have no other.
⁴At times, close your eyes as you practice, and at others, keep them open and look around you.
⁵What you now see will change entirely when you wholeheartedly accept today’s idea.
I The identity of something is its meaning, and the meaning of something is its function; therefore, the identity of anything is its function. Identity is the same as function.
Your function, then, is to be what you are—to exercise your identity. Your function is to realize and live fully the Love, the Truth, and the Power (the three aspects of Being) with which you came into existence when God created you.
II If you attempt to be something other than what you truly are, you will be completely lost in that peripheral self that is your ego. You will “malfunction,” and your heart—that infallible guide of your mind—will let you know it.
Your function in this world is salvation, which, in reality, is nothing more than recovering your true function: to create in eternity as your Father creates. Thus, we can interpret salvation as a “transitory” function, one that is understandable only in illusory terms. You, Son of God, have no need to be saved from anything, for God created you eternally perfect. But you, ego, are certainly in great need of being saved from that which never happened, but which you believe in within your dream of separation. Realize that this Lesson speaks of the function of the character, of the egoic mind—the one who is doing this Course.
That little self knows and manages only illusions, so what else can you speak to it of but illusions? Salvation, or Atonement, is the benevolent illusion through which the individual mind awakens to its true identity.
Therefore, save yourself by being in this world who you truly are: the Love, the Truth, and the Power of God’s Peace, for that is your happiness.
III The idea for today has a dynamic perfectly opposite to that of the preceding Lessons. It is a Lesson in taking away, not in adding.
Imagine your mind as an untended garden to which you have invited a gardener—Jesus—to make it orderly and beautiful. Now look at what that gardener has done. In Lessons 61, 62, and 63, He planted some seeds that, in time, will become a beautiful plant bearing wonderful fruit—the fruits of your forgiveness. In yesterday’s Lesson, number 64, the gardener devoted Himself to tending the plant and watering it.
Today’s Lesson, however, is very different. The gardener knows that it is now necessary to remove all the weeds growing wild in the neglected garden. The thing is, this gardener cannot perform that task; He can only plant seeds. He cannot remove anything from the garden, because it is you who planted those things—you who are the lord, master, and owner of the garden. He cannot take away anything that you have put there.
It is quite likely that you will deny having planted those aberrant things yourself. Perhaps you will say that others planted them, or that the wind brought them. But that is not true. Only you hold the key to your garden; no one can do anything there without your permission. If you believe otherwise, you do not know yourself well. No one—not Jesus, not even God Himself—can alter your garden in the slightest. In fact, to say that Jesus has planted seeds in your garden or watered them is not exactly true. He has merely brought you the seeds and left them at the garden gate for you to plant, tend, and water. No one can enter your garden or touch anything there; it is strictly private.
Well, that is not exactly so either, because the fence around the garden is something you yourself have put up, and that is precisely what has made that little plot of an infinite landscape that stretches beyond the horizon a private, personal space. And to be even more precise, it must be said that the fence limiting your “property” is imaginary. In truth, that fence is more like a proclamation you made to the four winds, claiming that small space for yourself alone, and, of course, that had to be respected until you decided to revoke it. Such is your power.
Given this situation, in today’s Lesson the gardener tells you, quite sensibly, that unless you uproot those barren plants that have never borne fruit, your new crop will not prosper—it is impossible. The fertile soil of your garden cannot effectively nourish everything you have planted there. All the plants will compete for nourishment. So you will have to choose what to keep and what to remove. And remember, the process of uprooting belongs to you alone, for you have already declared to everyone that not even God may enter your garden.
This process of uprooting the weeds of your mental garden is essential for the seeds of forgiveness and peace to flourish. The weeds represent those thoughts of judgment, resentment, and fear that you have cultivated over time. Though they may seem deeply rooted and difficult to remove, you have the power to choose to release them.
Each time you uproot a weed, you make space for the light of love and truth to shine more brightly in your mind. This act of clearing is not a punishment but a liberation. By letting go of what does not serve you, you allow your garden to become a reflection of the beauty and harmony that have always been within you.
So today, become aware of the weeds that have grown in your garden. Acknowledge that you planted them, but also remember that you have the power to remove them. With each thought of forgiveness, you are pulling up one of those barren weeds and making room for the fruits of peace and happiness to grow in abundance.
The gardener—Jesus—is there to guide and support you, but the choice to clear your garden is yours. Trust that in doing so, you are fulfilling your function as the light of the world and contributing to the salvation of all.
[iv] The truth is that if your little garden is in chaos, it is because you have been lazy and irresponsible. First, you came up with the foolish idea of having a garden just for yourself, and then you did nothing about it. Your power is immense, your will always fulfills itself, but your decisions always carry consequences. If you plant a lemon tree, do not expect to harvest oranges. If you think that is possible, it is because you believe in magic and think you can cheat the sacred law of cause and effect.
The human being is not evil, but childish; he does not need to learn new things, but to mature; he need not seek great revelations, but rather stop drugging himself with childish fantasies. A happy life requires a sound mind—that is, a mind that is ordered and directed toward a single purpose, in which there are not multiple aspirations and opposing desires competing with one another, stressing and weakening it. That is why this Lesson is devoted to making you aware of your mental dispersion and the many interests that fragment your mind and disturb your heart.
The call to discipline may well intimidate you, but be honest—do you think it is possible to achieve anything without it? If you think so, you still believe in magic, and your childish mind harbors fantasies that some fairy godmother will fix the problems you yourself have created. Do not waste time—mature, get to work, choose well, and begin discarding what does not serve you.
If you are still afraid of making such radical changes in your way of thinking, do the following: tell yourself that you will do exactly what these Lessons say, precisely as instructed here, but only for a set period. Put all your will and all your strength into fulfilling what is asked of you scrupulously, and open your eyes wide. Look with absolute honesty at the effects this is having on your life, and then make a decision: continue with this path, now with more confidence and filled with faith; or throw this book away and look for something else; or carry on as before—but never stop halfway.
Remember that the process of bringing order to your mind and your life is not a punishment but a liberation. By clearing the clutter and focusing on what is essential, you are creating space for peace and clarity to blossom. It is not about renouncing everything you love, but about discerning what truly nourishes you and brings you closer to your purpose.
Discipline need not be synonymous with rigidity or suffering. It can be an act of love toward yourself, a way of honoring your potential and your capacity to create a meaningful life. Each time you choose to focus on what truly matters, you are taking a step toward maturity and fulfillment.
So, even if it may seem difficult at first, trust the process. The fruits of discipline and inner order are incomparable: a calm mind, a peaceful heart, and a life aligned with your true Being. Do not fear making radical decisions if necessary; sometimes that is the only path to genuine happiness.
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LESSON 64
Let me not forget my function.
1. Today’s idea is simply another way of saying: “Lead me not into temptation.” I
²The purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of forgiveness and to offer you justification for forgetting it.
³It is the temptation to abandon God and His Son by adopting a physical appearance.
⁴This is what the body’s eyes behold. II
2. Nothing the body’s eyes seem to see can be anything but a form of temptation, for this was the body’s inherent purpose.
²Yet we have learned that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions you have made, and therefore He sees another purpose in them.
³To the Holy Spirit, the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself for what you think are your sins. III
⁴Under this new perception, the physical appearance of temptation becomes the spiritual recognition of salvation. IV
3. Our recent lessons have told you that your function here is to be the light of the world—a function God has given you.
²It is only the ego’s arrogance that leads you to question this, and only its fears that make you believe you are unworthy of the task God Himself has entrusted to you.
³The salvation of the world depends on your forgiveness, for that is how the Son of God escapes all illusions—and therefore, all temptation.
⁴And that Son of God is you. V
4. Only by fulfilling the function God gave you will you be happy.
²And this is because your function is to be happy, using the means that make happiness inevitable.
³There is no other way.
⁴Therefore, every time you choose whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really choosing whether or not to be happy. VI
5. Let us remember this today.
²Let us do so in the morning, at night, and throughout the day as well.
³Prepare yourself in advance for all the decisions you will make today by remembering that each one is really very simple.
⁴Each will lead to either happiness or unhappiness.
⁵How can a decision so simple be difficult to make?
6. Do not let the form of the decision deceive you.
²The complexity of the form does not imply complexity of content.
³It is impossible that any decision on earth have a content different from this one simple choice. VII
⁴This is the only choice the Holy Spirit sees.
⁵Therefore, it is the only choice that exists.
7. Let us then practice these thoughts today:
²Let me not forget my function.
³Let me not try to substitute mine for the one God gave me.
⁴I want to forgive, and be happy.
⁵Spend at least ten to fifteen minutes once today reflecting on this, with your eyes closed.
⁶Thoughts related to these will come to your mind to support you, if you remember how crucial your function is—to you, and to the world.
8. In your frequent applications of today’s idea throughout the day, spend several minutes reviewing these thoughts, and then think about them and nothing else.
²This may be difficult at first, especially since you have not yet mastered the mental discipline it requires.
³You may need to repeat often: “Let me not forget my function” to help you focus.
9. The shorter practice sessions are to be done in two different ways.
²At times, do the exercises with your eyes closed, trying to focus on the thoughts you are using.
³At other times, keep your eyes open after reviewing the thoughts, and then look slowly around you without focusing on anything in particular, and say to yourself:
⁴This is the world I am to save.
I Matthew 6:13: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory forever and ever.”
To fall into temptation is nothing more than to betray yourself by adopting a role that does not belong to you and turning away from your true essence. It is to assume a false identity, a mask that conceals what you really are. The result is always predictable: suffering, confusion, and unrest, for you are trying to be something you are not.
Imagine that you are like a tool designed for a specific purpose. When it is used according to its design, everything flows naturally and efficiently. In the same way, you were created by Love in His likeness, with a single function: to love. In this world of illusions, that function unfolds by loving what is real and forgiving what is not. When you love and forgive, you fulfill your purpose; the result is harmony, peace, and a deep inner satisfaction.
But when you succumb to the temptation to act outside your purpose—when you attempt to attack, judge, or cling to illusions—you will inevitably experience discomfort and conflict. You are simply not designed for that. Always remember your purpose: to love and forgive. Everything else is temptation, a detour that can only lead to suffering.
Review your past experiences and you will have to acknowledge that this logic applies relentlessly. Every time you have strayed from your function of loving and forgiving, the result has been the same: pain, conflict, and a sense of emptiness. On the other hand, when you have chosen to love and forgive, you have found peace and fulfillment. Experience itself is the most compelling evidence of this immutable truth.
II The purpose of what our eyes see, in the form of physical appearance, is to provide an excuse to justify our attacks. The images our eyes perceive shout at us: “Don’t you see this is real? You must protect yourself from it! Attack it or it will destroy you!”
III However, the Holy Spirit tells you: “Forgive it, let it go, it is not real. What you are seeing are your own ‘sins,’ those you believe you have committed, and since you despise them, you project them outside yourself, and that is where you see them. Those sins are imaginary, the threats you believe you see are imaginary as well, and the very body that seems to suffer them is nothing but an illusion of yourself in your holy mind.”
Of course, this seems “incredible” because your mind can only “believe” in illusions. Your mind was not created to believe but to create—and this is not a play on words but the truth. Yet you will never be able to “believe” it; that is what you are. It may be helpful to grow accustomed to the idea that, with your limited mind, you will never be able to “believe” in the truth—and that is so for the simple reason that your mind is not limited. Believing that it is, is merely another belief.
Relax, pray, and trust in the Voice of the Holy Spirit. That is all you need to do. Follow His guidance, forgive, and you will see how the world around you changes by itself and begins to shine. You do not need to believe this either; simply do it and open your eyes.
IV This means that, since you are dreaming—and will continue to do so until the world disappears—you will see the story of your own salvation unfold within your dream as well: images that are nothing more than symbols of your desires and fears.
What else could your salvation, the Atonement, and the miracles be but a happy story within a dark dream? You, Son of God, do not deal in stories; you remain perfect, whole, and complete, just as God created you in eternity.
V Realize that the incessant inner dialogue with which you are always chattering to yourself is precisely the voice of your ego. Those thoughts you cannot stop are the ones that “mean nothing,” as you have learned in previous Lessons. In truth, that is the only thing you need to forgive, the only thing you need to let go of without giving it importance.
Also realize that your thoughts are one thing, and the awareness of those thoughts is another. Both are illusory, but they belong to different orders. You can identify with your thoughts and rush into action, but you can also identify with the part of your mind that is aware of those contents. When you do this, you in some way “step back,” move away from them, and disengage from their dictates. One could say that in this way you free yourself a little from compulsive thinking and its demands. Meditation is nothing more than that—but nothing less.
Therefore, when your ego tries to convince you that seeing yourself as “the light of the world” is madness, pay it no mind. Understand that the ego is simply fulfilling its function flawlessly, for that is why it appeared in your mind: to persuade you that you are indeed separate from God. Let it fulfill its function, and you calmly devote yourself to yours, which is the one God Himself assigned to you.
VI To truly accept this, only a bit of honesty is required—nothing more. Briefly review the story of your life and try to remember those moments when you felt joy in your heart and peace in your mind. Your past will confirm that you reached that state in moments of forgiveness and Atonement with the world. But you need not go that far; forgive now, and the present will confirm it just as surely. And if you keep forgiving, your future will also, without doubt, be joyous and peaceful.
VII At times, you may feel a bit overwhelmed having to choose between two options that appear before you, both of a strongly negative nature: “to condemn or to forgive.” It may help you to interpret forgiveness in a more positive way.
You can also view that duality in terms of “to suffer or to celebrate,” for ultimately, to forgive is to celebrate the truth; it is the joyful celebration that you are innocent, invulnerable, and loved by God—and if you are, then so is everything you behold.
Forgiveness is not an act of condescension or sacrifice, but a celebration of truth. Each time you choose to forgive, you are remembering that love is the only reality and that the illusions of separation and conflict hold no power over you. In forgiving, you not only free yourself, but also radiate light all around you, contributing to the healing of the one mind we all share.
Remember that your function is not to change the world, but to change your perception of the world, for what sense does it make to change illusions? In doing so, you are fulfilling your role as the savior of the world, bringing peace to all minds through your forgiveness. And in that act of love, you find the happiness and peace that are your natural inheritance.
So when you face a situation that challenges you, remember who you are and why you are here. You are the light of the world, and your forgiveness is the means through which that light shines. Choose to forgive, choose to be happy, and let the world see the glory of God through you.
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LESSON 63
The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.
1. How holy you are, who hold the power to bring peace to every mind!
²How blessed, that you can learn to recognize the means by which this comes about through you!
³What other purpose could bring you greater happiness? I
2. With such a function, you are indeed the light of the world.
²The Son of God places his trust in you for his redemption.
³And you can give it to him, for it is yours to give.
⁴Do not accept any trivial purpose or meaningless desire in its place, or you will forget your function and leave the Son of God in hell.
⁵This is not a vain request.
⁶You are being asked to accept salvation, so that it may be yours—and then you may give it. II
3. Aware of the importance of this function, we will gladly remember it often today. III
²We will begin the day by acknowledging our function, and end it thinking of it.
³And throughout the day, we will repeat as often as we can:
⁴The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.
⁵I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world.
4. If you close your eyes, it will likely be easier to let thoughts related to these ideas come to you during the one or two minutes you should devote to them.
²But do not wait for such an opportunity.
³Do not let any chance pass by to reinforce today’s idea.
⁴Remember that the Son of God depends on you for his salvation.
⁵And who is His Son, but your very Self?
I The purpose of forgiveness is to release from guilt and fear. In this world, everyone feels guilty and afraid for countless reasons. How could you not bring peace to your brothers when you forgive them and encourage them to be freed from guilt and fear?
You have the power to bring peace to others! You can learn to do it! It will not be you who does it, but it will be done through you. You are the channel, and the Power of God will do the rest. That is the Will of God, and you can be sure that nothing will make you happier.
This Lesson is a powerful reminder of your true identity and function in the world. You are not a separate and limited being, but the light of the world, a channel through which the love and peace of God can flow to heal all minds. By forgiving, you are clearing away the obstacles that prevent this light from shining, allowing the miracle of salvation to manifest.
The idea that the Son of God entrusts His redemption to you may seem overwhelming, but it is important to remember that you are not alone in this task. The Power of God works through you, and your function is simply to be willing to serve as an instrument of His Love. By accepting this function, you are not only contributing to the salvation of the world, but also acknowledging your own salvation.
The practice of repeating today’s idea throughout the day helps you keep your mind focused on your true purpose. Each time you remember that you are the light of the world and that your forgiveness brings peace to all minds, you are reinforcing your connection with truth and strengthening your commitment to healing.
Thus, this Lesson not only invites you to forgive, but also to recognize the transforming power that resides within you. In doing so, you are taking a crucial step toward fulfilling your function as a teacher of God and toward experiencing the peace and happiness that are your natural inheritance.
II How could you not be the light of the world if you dedicate yourself to it! The angels of God are astonished when they see you act in this way, and they reverently salute the human being who saves the Son of God. What a function lies within your reach! How could you think of doing anything else? Moreover, you are paid for it with your own salvation. And you are not paid in the future—you are paid on the spot! The very instant you forgive, your heart fills with joy. Could there be a better offer?
This passage is a powerful and encouraging reminder of the magnitude of your function and of the immediate reward you receive when you fulfill it. There is no task nobler or more rewarding than to be an instrument of forgiveness and, therefore, of salvation. Each time you choose to forgive, you not only release others from the chains of illusion, but you also free yourself.
The joy you experience in forgiving is tangible proof that you are aligning with the truth of your Being. That joy is not something you must wait for in a distant future; it is a gift you receive the very moment you decide to release judgment and open yourself to love. It is the confirmation that you are fulfilling your function and remem-bering who you truly are.
The angels of God, beings of light and love, celebrate your choice to forgive because they recognize that, in doing so, you are contributing to the healing of the one mind we all share. Your forgiveness not only benefits you but also has a profound impact on collective consciousness, helping to dispel the shadows of separation and restore unity.
So why would you choose anything else? Why settle for trivial purposes or insubstantial desires when you have the opportunity to take part in the salvation of the world? Each act of forgiveness is a step toward peace, both for you and for everyone. And the reward—that joy that fills your heart—is the proof that you are on the right path.
Remember: there is no greater happiness than that which you experience when you forgive, for in that act you are remembering your true nature and your connection with God. Choose forgiveness, choose to be the light of the world, and let your heart be filled with the joy that only love can bring!
III Today, you will indeed rejoice as you remind yourself that your function is to bring peace to others through your forgiveness, but true joy will come when you are blessed with the opportunity to find yourself in a situation that requires your forgiveness. Then you will be able to shine and illuminate the world by doing what God asks of you and for which you are perfectly prepared; then you will truly fulfill your function by forgiving.
When that happens—when something disturbs you, when darkness gathers around you and your heart contracts, wavering between fear and anger—open your eyes and remember: you are the savior of the world, and you are perfectly capable of learning, resolving, and healing that Lesson that life has placed before you and that God wants you to learn.
In that moment, invoke the Power of God within you, and clothed in such magnificence, forgive. And you will see what happens immediately. Your mind will be filled with light, your heart will leap with joy, and the angels of God will join hands, beholding you with reverence. And Jesus will smile—so proud of you!
This passage is a call to action, an invitation to live fully your function as the savior of the world. There is no greater opportunity to shine than when you face a situation that seems dark or difficult. It is in those moments that you can choose to forgive, and in doing so, you not only transform your own experience but also radiate light all around you.
Forgiveness is not an act of weakness but of divine strength. In forgiving, you are choosing to see beyond appearances and to recognize the truth that we are all one in the love of God. This act of courage and faith does not go unnoticed in the heavenly realms. The angels celebrate your choice, and Jesus, your brother and guide, rejoices with pride as He watches you fulfill your sacred function.
So when you find yourself facing a challenging situation, remember who you are and why you are here. You are the light of the world, the savior who brings peace through forgiveness. And each time you choose to forgive, you are remembering your true identity and contributing to the healing of the one mind we all share.
Let your light shine, and let the world see the glory of God through you!
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LESSON 62
My function is to forgive because I am the light of the world.
1. Your forgiveness is what will bring this world of darkness into the Light.I
²Your forgiveness is what allows you to recognize the Light in which you see.
³Forgiveness is the proof that you are the light of the world.
⁴Through your forgiveness, you remember the truth about yourself.
⁵Therefore, in your forgiveness lies your salvation. II
2. The illusions you hold about yourself and about the world are one and the same. III
²That is why all forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. IV
³Your goal is to discover who you are, for you have denied your Identity by attacking Creation and its Creator.
⁴Now you are learning how to remember the truth.
⁵To do so, you must replace all attack with forgiveness, so that thoughts of Life may take the place of those of death.
3. Remember that every time you attack, you are calling upon your own weakness, while every time you forgive, you are invoking the strength of Christ in you. V
²Do you begin to understand, then, what forgiveness can do for you?
³Forgiveness will clear your mind of all feelings of weakness, strain, and fatigue.
⁴It will wash away all fear, guilt, and pain.
⁵And it will restore to your awareness the invulnerability and the power God gave His Son.
4. Let us rejoice in beginning and ending this day by practicing today’s idea, and in calling upon it as often as possible throughout the day.
²This will make your day as joyful for you as God wants it to be.
³And it will also cause those near you to share that joy with you, as well as those who seem far from you in space and time. VI
5. As often as you can, and with your eyes closed if possible, say to yourself:
²My function is to forgive, because I am the light of the world.
³I want to fulfill my function so that I may be happy.
⁴Then spend a minute or two considering your function, and the happiness and freedom it will bring.
⁵Let thoughts related to today’s idea come to you, for your heart will recognize these words, and in your mind lies the awareness that they are true.
⁶And if you become distracted, repeat the idea and add:
⁷I want to remember this because I want to be happy.
I You are here to save the world… in your mind, which is where it truly resides. That is the only world that “exists,” and the only one that needs salvation. And you will save it by forgiving it—by letting go of every judgment you have made about it.
It is a world built on absences of Love, but remember this: absences do not exist. In truth, you are only forgiving—releasing—your mistaken ideas, precisely because they are not true, because they do not serve you, and because they harm you. Your heart reminds you of this constantly. Listen to it. Whenever you “feel” bad, it is because what you are thinking is not true.
Why would you hold on to all those lies in your holy mind?
When you forgive, you feel well. The world becomes bright. Can you not see this? Do you not want to be happy? Would you rather persist in conceiving interpretations that bring you pain?
You have already seen in previous Lessons—and it has been made quite clear—that you relate only to your own interpretations, that what you call “reality” means nothing in and of itself. You are the one who has given everything the meaning it has for you. And the fact that those meanings may seem to match those of many others does not make them valid; it only means they are reliable, because you have agreed upon them together.
You have absolute control over your mind, but you are unaware of it because you deny it—and then use that very power to convince yourself that you are powerless. You can use your mind to interpret in any way you choose, and thereby live in the world you desire.
Therefore, desire wisely. Desire to see differently. Ask for a way of seeing the world that will make you happy, and your heart will tell you that now you are using your mind rightly.
Align yourself with the guidance of your heart, not with the dictates of the world. The world’s dictates were conceived to sustain the disheartening belief that you are separate from everything. That is not true—yet, unfortunately, you can believe it. Once again: that does not serve you.
Trust your feeling. Trust your heart.
By choosing to forgive and to release judgment, you are freeing your mind from the chains of illusion and allowing the light of truth to shine through you.
This act of forgiveness not only transforms your perception of the world, but also draws you nearer to the happiness and peace that are your natural inheritance.
Remember: the world you see is a reflection of your mind, and by changing it, you change everything you experience. Choose to see with the eyes of Love, and the world will become a place of light and harmony.
II Perhaps you recall these words from the Introduction to theText: “This Course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the obstacles to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance.” Well, forgiveness is exactly that: removing the obstacles to the awareness of love’s presence.
Forgiveness is not an act of condescension or sacrifice; it is a process of mental release. In forgiving, you are not justifying or accepting what you consider to be errors or harm, but rather you are letting go of the judgments that cloud your vision and keep you from recognizing the truth. Those judgments are the obstacles that separate you from the awareness of love, which is your essence and your divine inheritance.
When you forgive, in truth, you are forgiving yourself for having condemned your brother, for that has been your “sin”: thinking ill of him; that is the only element in your mental universe that makes sense to call “sin.”
You are saying: “I prefer to see beyond this illusion. I choose to free my mind from the shadows of fear and resentment, so that the light of love may shine unimpeded.” This act of detachment not only transforms your perception of the world, but also brings you closer to the direct experience of love, which has always been present but which you had veiled with your mistaken interpretations.
Forgiveness, therefore, is not something you do for others, but for yourself. It is a gift you give yourself, a conscious decision to leave behind what hurts and limits you, so as to open to the fullness of your Self. In forgiving, you align with the truth that love is the only real thing, and that everything else is mere illusion you can choose to release.
Thus, forgiveness becomes the key that opens the door to the awareness of love, allowing you to remember who you really are: a being of light, love, and peace, eternally connected to the Source of all that is.
III Because the world is nothing but the projection of the idea you hold of yourself.
This assertion is fundamental for understanding the nature of your experience. The world you perceive is nothing but a mirror that reflects the beliefs, judgments, and perceptions you harbor in your mind. If you see yourself as separate, limited, vulnerable, or lacking, the world you project will be filled with conflict, fear, and scarcity. On the contrary, if you recognize your true identity as the Son of God, whole and perfect, the world you experience will begin to reflect that light and that peace.
The world, in itself, has no meaning of its own. It is a blank canvas upon which you project your thoughts and beliefs. That is why Jesus teaches that “the world you see is what you have put there to see.” Each situation, each relationship, each circumstance is an opportunity to observe what is in your mind and to choose to see differently.
When you become aware that the world is a projection of your mind, you understand that you do not need to change the external world in order to be happy. What you need is to change the idea you have of yourself. By freeing yourself from false beliefs and embracing the truth of your Self, the world you project is automatically transformed.
This is the power of forgiveness: by releasing judgments and mistaken interpretations, you remove the obstacles that keep you from seeing the light of love in you and in all that surrounds you. The world then ceases to be a place of conflict and becomes a reflection of the peace and unity that have always been present in your mind.
Remember: the world is nothing but a dream, a temporary projection of the mind. Your true reality lies beyond it, in the eternity of love. In changing your perception, you are not changing the world itself, but awakening to the truth that the world was never real. And in that awakening, you find the peace that has always been your inheritance.
IV You have built an idea of yourself based on limitations, and therefore you limit everything. To limit is to separate. What is functioning now in your mind is simply the fragmenting idea of separation, infinitely fractalized and projected outside you. It is nothing but that, and moreover, it is false; but, once again, you can believe in it and thus lend it a spurious existence.
Each time you forgive, it is a gift you give yourself, and your heart rejoices in it. Your mind is now confused, because it is free and can think whatever it pleases. It can think any nonsense, but it cannot make it true, and it never will be. Your heart is not free, because it is not cause but the effect of your mind’s thinking. You are free to think, but not to feel. You will always feel in accordance with how you think; in this there is no choice.
Forgiveness is a present you give to Heaven and to yourself, and your heart simply confirms it for you. In forgiving, you are choosing to release the illusions that bind you and to open to the truth that you are free, complete, and eternally united to the Source of all love. This act of release not only transforms your perception of the world, but also brings you closer to the direct experience of the peace and happiness that are your natural inheritance.
Remember: forgiveness is not an act of weakness, but of strength. It is the conscious decision to leave behind what limits you and to embrace the truth of your Self. In doing so, you not only free yourself, but you also contribute to the healing of the world, for in changing your mind, you change the world you project.
Thus, forgiveness becomes a bridge between illusion and truth, between fear and love. It is the greatest gift you can give yourself and the world, because in forgiving, you are remembering who you really are: a being of light, love, and peace, eternally connected to the Source of all that is.
V This is the strength of meekness. As mentioned in the Manual for Teachers, in M-5.IV.2:1-2: “… God’s teachers are wholly gentle. They need the strength that gentleness brings, for it is in this that their function of salvation becomes easy for them.” Meekness is not weakness, but a powerful quality that arises from the understanding that there is no need to struggle, defend, or impose. In being meek, you recognize that your true strength does not come from yourself, but from God, and that it is in surrender that you find your most authentic power.
Remember also that, through your forgiveness, you invoke the Power of God. As noted in M-5.I.1:5-8: “… (the world) is governed by a Power that is in them but not of them. This Power is what keeps all things safe. Through this Power, God’s teachers look on a forgiven world. Once this Power has been experienced, it is impossible to trust again in one’s own petty strength.”
Forgiveness is the means by which you connect with this divine Power. In releasing judgments, resentments, and illusions, you open to the presence of God in your mind and allow His Love and His Strength to flow through you. This Power is not something you can generate by yourself; it is a gift you receive when you choose to align with truth and leave behind the ego’s falsehoods.
Meekness and forgiveness go hand in hand, for both require that you relinquish the idea that you are in charge or that you need to control anything. Instead of trusting in your own limited strength, you trust in the Power of God, which is infinite and ever-present. In doing so, you become a channel of His Love and His Peace, and the world you perceive is transformed into a reflection of that light.
Thus, meekness becomes an expression of your true strength, and forgiveness the key that allows you to access the divine Power. Together, they guide you toward the fulfillment of your function as a teacher of God, helping you to see a forgiven world and to remember the unity that has always been.
VI It is important that you realize that forgiveness has the healing power of the miracle. Forgiveness, in fact, is the antechamber of the miracle. By undoing illusions, forgiveness leaves your mind clean and receptive, allowing the light of truth to work the miracle. That is why forgiveness not only induces the healing miracle in your mind, but also in the minds of those who seem to be separate from you in the illusory realm of space-time, because, ultimately, it is the same mind.
Forgiveness acts as a bridge between illusion and truth. By releasing judgments, resentments, and false perceptions, you clear the way for the Love and Light of God to flow freely through you. This act of release not only benefits you, but also has a profound impact on the collective mind, for in reality there is no separation. What you heal in yourself, you heal in everyone.
The miracle is the natural expression of a mind that has been purified by forgiveness. It is not a magical or supernatural event, but a change in perception that allows you to see beyond illusions and recognize the truth. When you forgive, you are choosing to see with the eyes of love instead of those of fear, and that is what makes the miracle possible.
Remember that forgiveness is not an act of condescension or sacrifice; it is a gift you give to yourself and the world. In forgiving, you are affirming that you prefer peace to conflict, love to fear, and truth to illusion. And in doing so, you are contributing to the healing of the single mind we all share.
Thus, forgiveness becomes a powerful tool to transform not only your life, but also the world you perceive. In choosing to forgive, you are choosing light over darkness, unity over separation, and love over fear. And in that choice, you find the peace and happiness that have always been your inheritance.
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LESSON 61
I am the light of the world.
1. Who is the light of the world but the Son of God? I
²This, then, is nothing but a declaration of the truth about yourself.
³It is the opposite of pride, arrogance, or self-deception.
⁴It does not describe the self-concept you have made.
⁵It does not refer to any of the traits you have assigned to your idols.
⁶It refers to you as you were created by God.
⁷It simply states the truth.
2. To the ego, today’s idea is the epitome of self-glorification.
²But the ego does not understand humility, for it confuses it with self-debasement.
³Humility means accepting your role in salvation and refusing to accept any other.
⁴It is not humility to insist that you cannot be the light of the world if that is the function God has given you.
⁵To claim that this cannot be your function is mere arrogance, and arrogance always belongs to the ego. II
3. True humility requires you to accept today’s idea, because it is the Voice of God that tells you it is true. III
²This is an initial step toward accepting your true function on earth.
³It is a giant stride toward taking your rightful place in salvation. IV
⁴It is a clear affirmation of your right to be saved, and a recognition of the power that has been given you to save others.
4. It is helpful for you to think about this idea as often as possible today.
²It is the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore to all temptation.
³This idea brings every image you have made about yourself to the truth, and helps you leave in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose. V
5. As many practice sessions as possible should be undertaken today, although each need not last more than a minute or two.
²You should begin by saying to yourself:
³I am the light of the world.
⁴That is my only function.
⁵That is why I am here.
⁶Then, think about these statements for a short while, preferably with eyes closed if the situation allows. VI
⁷Let related thoughts come to you, and repeat the idea to yourself if your mind begins to wander and drift away from the central thought. VII
6. Be sure to begin and end the day with this practice.
²In this way, you will awaken acknowledging the truth about yourself, reinforce it throughout the day, and go to sleep reaffirming your function and your only purpose here.
³These two sessions may be longer than the others, if you find them helpful and wish to extend them.
7. Today’s idea goes far beyond the petty views the ego holds of what you are and what your function is.
²As the bearer of salvation, this is, of course, necessary.
³This is the first in a series of giant steps we will take in the weeks to come.
⁴Today, try to begin laying a solid foundation for these advances.VIII
⁵You are the light of the world.
⁶And God has built His plan for the salvation of His Son upon you.
I Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying: ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’”
John 9:5 “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”The expression “light of the world” appears 42 times in the Course: 9 in the Text and 33 in the Workbook.
In the following Lessons, the three aspects of the Self, known as the celebrated divine triad, will be addressed consecutively: Light (Lessons 61, 62, 63, and 75), Love (Lessons 67 and 68), and Will (Lessons 73 and 74). The purpose of these Lessons is to help you identify with these three aspects of your true Self.
II Faced with such ideas, you may feel the tendency to look for a curious compromise. You understand and accept the notion of the ego, and also, to a certain extent, you grasp the concept of the Son of God, sympathizing with the idea that this is your true identity. Yet, surprisingly, you conceive of a third identity, to which you give no name but which you consider as “yourself.” This peculiar figure wavers uncertainly between the nefarious ego—when you see yourself thinking or doing something you deem bad—and a “more neutral” or perhaps “more benevolent” state of mind. This arises from the repugnance you feel at fully identifying with your ego, to which you attribute essentially evil qualities.
In reality, this is not so. First, it is important to understand that the ego is not an entity and has no existence whatsoever. The term ego is used in this Course to refer to a misuse of the mind, and that is a matter of degree. Jesus explains to you that a part of your holy mind is malfunctioning; he calls it “the lower or wrong part” of the mind, and he also tells you that this is the ego’s domain, the realm of illusions. Absolutely all your human experience occurs in that realm, in that mind. It is the stage of the world, of time and space. It is the illusion into which the Son of God’s mind plunges when it believes in the idea of separation. The idea itself is madness, and what that mind experiences is not true: it is a hallucination.
You, Son of God, are eternally in the Heart of God. You, as a human being, are always in the ego, in a state of erroneous mentality to a greater or lesser degree. When you condemn, you are absolutely mistaken; when you forgive, you are far less confused, but you are still in your ego. And the Son of God is wholly unaware of what either one means.
This Course is mental training for the ego mind, to help it function better, to stop experiencing nightmares, and finally to awaken to its divine condition. The mental illness you suffer is extraordinarily insidious, and the identity you have built for yourself is completely submerged in it, to the point that you have no valid perspective; fish do not know they live in water. You cannot save yourself. You do not know what is truly best for you. That is why Atonement does not depend on you.
You are the Love of God and you are not in this world, but while you believe you are, it is helpful for you to see yourself as the light of the world, thus dissipating somewhat the shadows of this dark imaginary place.
III Today’s Lesson is of paramount importance, for it opens the way to true humility, the humility of your ego, the only one truly needed. The word humility comes from the Latin humus, which refers to fertile earth produced from the decomposition of living things. Notice the symbol well: the undoing of what seems alive, of apparent “living beings,” fosters a fertile ground for true Life to be born—your Self.
You undoubtedly have a host of opinions about yourself, and it is also evident that you believe those definitions are correct, for otherwise you would not hold them. That omniscient character you ascribe to yourself—believing that what you think is true—is the arrogance of the ego that Jesus exposes here. Your ego, which knows nothing, dictates to you a definition of your own identity that you accept without question, and from that insane idea of yourself you project an equally insane world.
This Lesson offers you a different vision of what you are. You need not believe it immediately, but it is essential that you give it a chance. From humility, open your mind and invite this new perspective to take root in you. Then, observe how you feel when you host such a guest.
True humility does not consist in belittling yourself, but in recognizing that the definitions you have accepted about yourself are illusory, and that in your essence you are something far greater and truer than your ego could ever conceive. By opening to this idea, you allow the light of truth to begin to dispel the shadows of illusion, preparing the ground for the awareness of your real Self to blossom.
IV This Lesson is the first of the “giant steps” in the Workbook. The other Lessons identified as giant steps are 66, 94, 127, 130, 135, and 194.
V Luke 2:29–30, 32 “Lord, now You let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation […] a light to enlighten the Gentiles.”
This is Simeon speaking, who, after having seen the child Jesus—the light of the world—declares that he can now die in peace. Similarly, here, having recognized that your true condition is to be the light of the world, you can take the first giant step and begin to leave behind in peace your false identity.
Just as Simeon found fullness and peace in beholding the divine light, you too can experience a profound release in recognizing your true essence. This recognition is not a mere intellectual act, but a spiritual awakening that allows you to let go of the bonds of illusion and move toward the truth of your Self.
This first step does not involve a titanic effort, but a conscious surrender to the truth that already dwells within you. By leaving behind the false identity you have constructed, you draw near to the peace that arises from knowing who you really are: the light of the world, a pure reflection of divine love and perfection.
Just as Simeon could rest in peace after his encounter with the sacred, you too can find tranquility and certainty by embracing your true nature. This is the beginning of a transformative journey, in which each step takes you farther from the shadows of illusion and closer to the fullness of your Self.
VI This practice of reflecting on the statements is undoubtedly similar to the practice of the First Review you have just completed. In both cases, it is a mental exercise in which you invite yourself to adopt the ideas presented, reminding yourself of their benefits and supporting your decision with clear and conscious reasoning.
During the First Review, you focused on internalizing the key ideas, recalling their meaning and how they can transform your perception. Similarly, by reflecting on the statements presented to you now, you are reinforcing your commitment to a new mental framework, one that frees you from the ego’s illusions and draws you closer to the truth of your Self.
This process is not merely repetitive, but profoundly transformative. By reminding yourself of the benefits of these ideas and supporting your decision to accept them rationally, you are cultivating a mind more open and receptive to truth. Each time you review these concepts, you clear the path a little more toward clarity and inner peace.
In essence, this practice is a mental training that prepares you to live from a higher perspective, where illusions lose their power and the light of truth shines more brightly. Just as the First Review laid the foundation for deep change, this practice continues building upon that foundation, guiding you toward a fuller understanding of your true identity.
VII This is the practice of letting related thoughts come, which was formally introduced in Lesson 42. Consult that Lesson for detailed instructions.
VIII Luke 6:48 “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”
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LESSON 60
These are the ideas for today’s review: W-46–W-50
1. W-46 “God is the Love in which I forgive.”
²God does not forgive because He has never condemned.
³Those who are guiltless cannot blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive.
⁴Yet forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. I
⁵It is the reflection of God’s Love on earth.
⁶Forgiveness brings me so close to Heaven that God’s Love can reach down to me and raise me to my home.
2. W-47 “God is the Strength in which I trust.”
²It is not through my own strength that I forgive.
³It is through the strength of God in me, which I remember as I forgive. II
⁴As I begin to see, I recognize His reflection on earth.
⁵I forgive all things, because I feel the strength of God arise in me.
⁶And I begin to remember the Love I chose to forget, but Which has not forgotten me.
3. W-48 “There is nothing to fear.”
²How safe the world will look to me when I can see it!
³It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now.
⁴Everyone and everything I see will lean toward me to bless me.
⁵I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend.
⁶What could there be to fear in a world that I have forgiven, and that has forgiven me? III
4. W-49 “God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.”
²There is not a moment in which God’s Voice ceases to call on my forgiveness to save me.
³There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions and lead my feet. IV
⁴I am walking steadily on toward truth.
⁵There is nowhere else I can go, because God’s Voice is the only voice and the only guide that has been given to His Son.
5. W-50 “I am sustained by the Love of God.”
²As I listen to God’s Voice, I am sustained by His Love.
³As I open my eyes, His Love lights up the world for me to see.
⁴As I forgive, His Love reminds me that His Son is sinless.
⁵And as I look upon the world with the vision He has given me, I remember who I am. V
I This is a very simple and perfectly accessible idea, for it is easy to experience; it works in every circumstance without exception. Whenever you truly forgive, your heart leaps with joy, freeing itself from a heavy burden and rising light and happy. This always happens, without possibility of exception. If you truly forgive, your heart will confirm with certainty that this profoundly benefits your soul.
Attention! The opposite is also true. Whenever you feel bad, when your heart is heavy and cries out in pain, it is because you are thinking something that is not true and you are harming yourself. Your heart is a sure guide to truth. Listen to it. Pay attention to your emotional states, for they are there precisely to show you how you are using your mind. Do not ignore their warnings. Always choose to be happy. And when you feel bad, when your heart alerts you, remember that what you were thinking must be false; seek a new way of seeing it and correct your mind.
Awareness of your emotions and healthy mental vigilance are indispensable requirements for navigating safely through a world of illusions. Use these resources well, for they will literally save your life.
II These two lines are fundamental because they reveal the key to true forgiveness. You are the one who decides to forgive; that is your choice and your role in the process. Yet forgiveness is carried out through the Strength of God in you.
You cannot forgive on your own, which is logical, for you were the one who condemned. Now you are the one who has chosen forgiveness, who has made a new decision and chosen to free yourself from condemnation. But forgiveness becomes effective through the Strength of God in you, which is infallible.
Therefore, there is no justification for saying “I cannot forgive.” Be honest with yourself and admit, in any case, “I do not want to forgive,” for the only thing required of you in this process is your willingness, nothing more. Once you are willing, the Strength of God will take care of the rest, freeing you from resentment and restoring your peace.
When Jesus mentions here “your own strength,” he refers to that which you ascribe to yourself, the strength of your ego. In reality, your true and only strength is the Strength of God, for He gave you His Own Strength when He created you. You possess no other strength than that, for the one you now think you have belongs to the realm of illusions and exists only in your imagination.
Whenever you think of some quality you assign to yourself, one that can be measured or compared with that of others, realize that you are speaking of your ego, and that what you are thinking of is not real. All those qualities or virtues you perceive in yourself or in others are but your own imaginings; they have no reality. You may speak of exalted qualities you behold with satisfaction, even striving to cultivate them to be more humble, generous, trusting, brave, kind, courteous, or whatever it may be; it does not matter. All of this is imaginary and refers to characteristics of your ego.
And there is nothing wrong with it. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a better person. But notice a small detail: you are not a person, nor will you ever be; you are the Son of God, and you are perfect exactly as you are right now. You do not need to improve; you only need to recognize your rightful glory.
To follow faithfully what this Course proposes may seem to make you a better person, more loving and less critical, but that is because this Course operates within the realm of illusion. Remember G-1.3:1: “This Course operates within the ego’s domain, for that is where it is needed.”
You, Son of God, do not need to improve; you were created perfect… and you remain so in Reality. In truth, the only thing you need is to stop taking seriously that absurd idea that you are separated from your Father. It is not true, and moreover, it harms you; it does you injury.
Notice all the ideas you review today: they are simply statements of the condition of your true identity. They speak of characteristics of different aspects of your own Self, but contemplated from the perspective of illusion. All this is part of your mind training, of the purification of that “lower part” of the mind in which you believe you live, and which will enable you to access miracles. Remember Principle 7 of miracles: “Everyone is entitled to miracles. But before this comes purification.” This purification occurs when these ideas become your habitual way of thinking.
III The result of true forgiveness is the total acceptance of that which you have forgiven. When you truly forgive, you offer unreserved acceptance, and there is no greater power in this world than full acceptance, because there is no deeper yearning in the human heart.
No one can resist your acceptance, for that is precisely what all seek from others and from themselves. In genuine acceptance, fear has no place. That is why, in a forgiven world, there is nothing to fear, for acceptance dissolves all judgment and all fear, revealing the peace that has always been present.
IV Luke 1:79 “To shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
The Voice of God speaks to me all through the day; this is true, but do I listen? Or is it, rather, that my mind is absorbed in the incessant inner monologue, in the ego’s voice?
To hear the Voice of God, it is necessary to quiet the mind. Only in inner silence can His guidance be perceived.
Remember how Jesus reformulates the biblical quotation: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” In reality, it should say: “All are called, but few choose to listen” (T-3.VIII.19:2).
V We conclude today’s Lesson with this beautiful thought, echo of the ancient biblical psalms:
In the stillness of my heart, I recognize Your Presence.
In the light of Your Love, I find my true Self.
No darkness can conceal Your Glory, nor illusion cloud my vision.
You are my strength, my refuge, and my peace.
In You, all fear dissolves, and only the certainty of Your eternal Love remains.
Today I choose to remember who I am in You, and rest in the safety of Your Perfect Creation.
Amen.
This prayer, inspired by the depth and rhythm of the psalms, invites us to connect with the divine essence that dwells within us, reminding us that beyond the illusions of the ego, our true identity is eternal and perfect in God.
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LESSON 59
Today we review the following: W-41 to W-45 I
1. W-41 “God goes with me wherever I go.”II
²How can I be alone when God always goes with me?
³How can I be uncertain and insecure when perfect certainty resides in Him?
⁴How can I be disturbed by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace?
⁵How can I suffer when love and joy surround me through Him?
⁶Let me not cherish illusions about myself.
⁷I am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go.
2. W-42 “God is my strength. Vision is His gift.”III
²Let me not look to my own eyes to see today.
³Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God.
⁴Christ’s vision is His gift, and He has given it to me.
⁵Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity.
3. W-43 “God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him.”IV
²I can see what God wants me to see.
³I cannot see anything else.
⁴Beyond His Will lie only illusions.
⁵It is these I choose when I think I can see apart from Him.
⁶It is these I choose when I try to see through the body’s eyes.
⁷Yet the vision of Christ has been given me to replace them.
⁸It is through this vision that I choose to see.
4. W-44 “God is the Light in which I see.”V
²I cannot see in darkness.
³God is the only Light.
⁴Therefore, if I am to see, it must be through Him.
⁵I have tried to define what seeing is, and I have been wrong.
⁶Now it is given me to understand that God is the Light in which I see.
⁷Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me.
5. W-45 “God is the Mind with which I think.”VI
²I have no thoughts I do not share with God.
³I have no thoughts apart from Him, because I am not apart from His Mind.
⁴As part of His Mind, my thoughts are His and His Thoughts are mine.
I The five ideas for today are absolutely true, but it is also true that they are absolutely incredible. You do not believe them. If you did, you would not be here. In fact, you are not here, but because instead of believing the truth these Lessons express, you have chosen to believe something else, you now believe you are in this world, which is not true at all.
To believe is to think that what you imagine is true. But truth cannot be imagined; truth can only be being, because you are the truth. Yet that, too, is incredible, because you cannot imagine it either. The only thing you can imagine are illusions, because that is precisely what illusions are: imaginings. Images are not real, because reality is perfectly abstract, and you are real; that is why you cannot imagine what you are, you can only be it.
To believe is to misuse the mind. Your mind was created to create, not to believe. Believing is good for nothing, so do not worry at all if you cannot believe the five ideas for today; it is perfectly natural. You will never be able to believe them; they are intrinsically unbelievable because they are the truth. Do not worry. You are the Son of God, even if you do not believe it, nor can believe it. Do not waste time trying to believe; simply trust and work.
Jesus does not ask you to believe in the ideas he proposes. Today it is especially worthwhile to read slowly again the introduction to this Workbook:
“Some of the ideas you will find hard to believe, and others may seem quite startling. This 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 merely asked to use them. Their use is what will give them meaning to you and will show you that they are true. Remember only this: It is not necessary to believe the ideas. It is not necessary to accept them. And it is not necessary to welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter or lessen their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas contained in the exercises. Whatever your reaction to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required.”
II This is a supremely powerful thought. The more you use it, the greater will be its effects. It will transform your life and fill you with trust and certainty. It is not enough merely to repeat it; you need to reflect it in every one of your actions. Strive to embody this powerful idea at all times.
For learning to be truly effective, it must be fully experienced in its two dimensions. The first is receptive: it consists in opening yourself completely to the idea you wish to root in your mind. The second, equally important or even more so, is when you internalize that idea by sharing it with others.
That is why you should not only repeat to yourself that God always goes with you; act as someone who truly feels His presence. Do this and watch the results.
III This thought calls upon humility. With God you can do all things; without Him, you will live only a dream of fear, loneliness, and death. By linking your strength with God, you make yourself invulnerable to discouragement, danger, and temptation.
Apply this idea just as you did the previous one: do not merely repeat it; put the Strength of God into action and use it in everything you do. Always reject any thought of weakness and be realistic: God is with you and infuses His Strength into everything you undertake in faith.
IV To think that you can see something meaningful without God is as illusory as believing you can know reality by watching television. You may convince yourself of it, but it remains an absurd idea. Whenever the world depresses or frightens you, you may be absolutely sure that you are seeing nothing real; you are simply dreaming. You have fallen into a deep hypnotic sleep, and what you believe you see is nothing but an illusion.
The eyes of the body were not made to see reality, but to dream. The problem is that your thought system is inverted and you interpret everything backwards. Reality is not outside you; Reality is the Kingdom of God that dwells within you and that, in essence, you are.
In this world, you can only glimpse “aspects” of Reality in the form of reflections of love in everything you behold. These flashes of love are the echoes of truth that transcend the world’s illusions and remind you of your divine origin. When you succeed in seeing with the eyes of the spirit, you recognize the light behind appearances and perceive the divine essence that connects everything and everyone.
Accepting this requires a deep change in your way of seeing and understanding. It is an inner transformation that leads you to look beyond forms and appearances to recognize the eternal and immutable. In doing so, you begin to awaken from the dream of the world and remember your true identity.
V Notice that everything depends on what you want to see. If you use the world’s light to interpret what lies before you, you will continue to see the sad and guilty world that almost everyone sees here, which is the one you have granted yourself until now. But is that what you want to keep seeing? Is that what you want to keep feeling?
VI Recognize that you still do not understand well what the mind is nor what it means to think. You call thinking the act of relating concepts through preestablished functions. That is not true thinking; that is only processing data.
The world distinguishes between “human intelligence” and “artificial intelligence” and is surprised that a machine can “think” as well as or better than a human. The world has not yet realized that there is nothing surprising about this, that human intelligence is also artificial, and that is why machines can emulate it. That is nothing but algorithmic thinking: applying certain functions to certain concepts. Nothing more.
Thinking is creating, it is engendering Life from Life. Thinking is extending existence; it is what you do when you create in heavenly reality, and thus you bring forth your Creations, Son of God.
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LESSON 58
Today we review the following: W-36 to W-40
1. W-36 “My holiness envelops everything I see.”I
²The perception of the real world comes from my holiness.
³Having forgiven, I no longer see myself as guilty. II
⁴I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me.
⁵When I look upon the world with understanding eyes, I see only its holiness, for I am looking only at the thoughts I hold about myself.
2. W-37 “My holiness blesses the world.”III
²The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone.
³Everyone and everything I see in its light shares in the joy it brings me.
⁴There is nothing that is excluded from this joy, because there is nothing that does not share my holiness.
⁵As I recognize my own holiness, the holiness of the world shines forth for all to see.
3. W-38 “There is nothing my holiness cannot do.”IV
²The healing power of my holiness is limitless, because its power to save is limitless.
³But what is there to be saved from except illusions?
⁴And what are all illusions except false ideas about myself?
⁵My holiness undoes them all by affirming the truth about me.
⁶In the presence of my holiness, which I share with God Himself, all idols disappear.
4. W-39 “My holiness is my salvation.”V
²Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing it is recognizing my salvation.
³And it is also recognizing the salvation of the world.
⁴Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid.
⁵And because I am not afraid, everyone shares my understanding—which is God’s Gift to me and to the world. VI
5. W-40 “I am blessed as a Son of God.”VII
²In this lies my claim to all that is good, and only what is good.
³I am blessed as a Son of God.
⁴All good things are mine because God intended them for me.
⁵I cannot suffer any loss, deprivation, or pain because of Who I am.
⁶My Father supports me, protects me, and guides me in all things.
⁷His care for me is infinite, and it is always with me.
⁸I am eternally blessed as His Son. VIII
I My holiness envelops everything I see because now I see everything from my holiness. It has always been there; the difference is that now I recognize it in myself.
II Forgiveness and prayer are the only resources available to you in this world of illusion. You walk in fear, absorbed in your own thoughts of condemnation, sin, and death; you see them as though they were outside yourself, unaware that they are of your own making. This lack of responsibility for the world you believe you see is what makes you a victim of yourself. Forgive what you think you see, not out of moral superiority and goodness, but because none of it is real; it is the product of your own hallucinations, and you do not want to go on suffering.
The greatest difficulty you will face in approaching your own liberation is that you have not yet truly decided that, indeed, you want to stop suffering. You have confused pleasure with pain, and you perceive them in reverse. Notice the perverse pleasure you find in guilt and vengeance, and you will realize it is so. The suffering of others often consoles you; your own suffering you sometimes find redemptive.
What this Course calls “true perception” will free you from these false interpretations. This is not yet true vision, but it is what leads you toward it. It is the necessary process of purification through which you must pass in order to claim your right to perform miracles.
III My holiness blesses the world because that is what holiness does; that is its condition. Holiness is the condition of existence; existence is holy and creates by extending itself. In the world, that extension, that creation, is called “to bless.”
IV In reality, holiness can only do one thing: extend what it is. Do not ask holiness for anything else, for it cannot give it to you. Do not ask it to “improve” your illusions or to adjust reality to your expectations, for that would only perpetuate the deception. Holiness does not accommodate illusions; it simply dissolves them by affirming the truth.
What it will do, however, is see itself in everything it beholds. By recognizing its own essence in all things, it undoes the false ideas you hold about yourself, freeing you from illusions. The world is not real; it is a mirror in which you see reflected the idea you have of yourself. But when you look with holiness, you no longer see distorted projections, but a reflection of the truth you share with God. Then all idols vanish, and the only thing that remains is what has always been: holiness itself, your true condition.
V My holiness is my salvation because my holiness is my condition. My holiness is the truth about me, whether I recognize it or not.
VI From this side of the mirror, here in this world of illusions, real values such as holiness are incomprehensible to you. You have so limited your mind that you are only able to handle illusory concepts; that is why the notion of holiness seems inaccessible to you. The realm in which you believe you live is a perfect inversion of Heaven, and that is why it is much easier for you to deal with negative concepts.
Given your sad situation, you may better understand this idea if you say: “My innocence is my salvation.” The idea of innocence you understand well, for it is a negative concept. It comes from the Latin innocens, formed from the negative prefix in- and the word nocens, which comes from the verb nocere, “to harm.” Therefore, innocent means “not harmful,” and that you can understand and accept.
Do not be surprised, then, by the “negative” character of this Course, which advocates concepts such as “forgive”—NOT to take into account—, “meditate”—NOT to consider your own thoughts—, or “listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and follow His guidance”—NOT to decide for yourself. The Gospel Jesus already warns: “My kingdom is NOT of this world.”
Heaven and world are antithetical concepts, as are God and self. The inversion of the thought system this Course proposes leads you to reality by the denial of the illusory. If these “negative” postulates inspire you with some fear or sadness, realize that this is because you still harbor some hope of finding something of value in this world you believe you inhabit.
But realize two things: this is NOT life, and your legitimate aspirations to be happy will never be fulfilled in what changes. Not only do you deserve more than you think you want; you deserve everything, for everything was given you, and you will never be content with less than that.
VII I am blessed because God created me through His blessing. This is irrevocable, as is everything God creates; this, too, cannot change. I may tell myself whatever I please and believe it, but that cannot change reality. The only thing that can change, and indeed does change, are my opinions about myself and about everything, which proves their insubstantiality.
VIII These five Lessons, so inspiring, are nevertheless quite difficult to accept from our human perspective of identification with false personal identities. But that is precisely the reason we are doing this Course: to change the idea we have about ourselves.
I will feel as holy as I allow myself to feel, and as I see myself, so will I see everything else. What I behold with benevolent eyes will confirm the holiness I have granted myself. It is a virtuous circle of positive affirmations grounded in a truth I still find difficult to recognize, but which will become more evident as I practice it.
If these five maximalist ideas seem excessive to you because they confront too sharply the image you hold of yourself, do not give up. Use them, but moderate them a degree: instead of reading “holiness,” read “goodness,” and perhaps they will then seem more acceptable to you. Remember: the important thing is not that you come to see yourself as holy—though you are—but that you move in that direction.
If you are still unable to recognize holiness in yourself, at least improve the opinion you hold about others and about the world. Stop thinking about yourself and focus only on the good, on the positive aspects of everything around you. Be grateful to God, to others, and to life, and thus, without realizing it, you will end up reconciling with yourself.
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LESSON 57
Today we review the following: W-31 to W-35
1. W-31 “I am not the victim of the world I see.” I
²How can I be the victim of a world that can be entirely undone by my decision?
³My chains are loosened.
⁴I can drop them off just by desiring to do so.
⁵The prison door is open.
⁶I can leave simply by walking out.
⁷Nothing holds me in this world.
⁸Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner.
⁹I would give up these insane desires and walk into the sunlight at last.
2. W-32 “I have invented the world I see.”II
²I made up the prison in which I see myself.
³Only by recognizing this will I be free.
⁴I have deceived myself into believing it is possible to imprison the Son of God.
⁵I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, but I do not want to continue believing it.
⁶The Son of God must be forever free.
⁷He is as God created him, and not what I would make of him.
⁸He is where God would have him be, and not where I tried to hold him prisoner.
3. W-33 “There is another way of looking at the world.” III
²Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way of looking at it.
³I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are the opposite of truth.
⁴I see the world as a prison for the Son of God.
⁵Then the world must really be a place where he can be set free.
⁶I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds his freedom.
4. W-34 “I could see peace instead of this.”IV
²When I see the world as a place of freedom, I will realize it reflects the Laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey.
³I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it.
⁴And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.
5. W-35 “My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.” V
²As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself.
³The world I look upon reflects the light of my forgiveness and returns that light to me.
⁴In this light I begin to see what the illusions I held about myself were hiding.
⁵Now I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me.
I You are only a victim of yourself: of your own interpretations, of the stories you tell yourself. Take a close look: you spend all your time chattering with yourself in your mind. You sustain your particular description of the world with that incessant talk that consumes you. Observe that compulsive and unstoppable dialogue well: it never ceases. You cannot stop it. It is an endless story you repeat to yourself all the time, reflecting the fears and desires of your ego. It is riddled with small or large resentments and revenges, with small or large gestures through which your ego expresses its sense of grandiosity, retaliation, and vainglory. None of that is you. It is nothing but an immense foolishness that keeps you hypnotized in a nonexistent world.
This is what Jesus refers to when he says in Lesson 10: “My thoughts do not mean anything.” You may know someone who suffers from logorrhea and speaks compulsively and incessantly. They are unaware of others and do not use their words to communicate anything to anyone. They are utterly insensitive to the needs or interests of those before them. Their minds work very, very poorly. It is the tiresome and pitiful monologue of drunkards.
And the same thing happens to you, except that you do not usually voice aloud that boring narrative. Keep in mind that while you are telling yourself all that nonsense—those stories engendered from apparent affronts and desires of the past—you are missing the present right before you. That is why your mind “is preoccupied with past thoughts”; that is why “you have invented the world you see.”
To stop the internal dialogue and to see with innocent eyes what lies before you is a prodigious feat that you are completely incapable of achieving; but if you ask for it with your whole heart, it will be granted. To approach it, you can begin first by becoming aware of that compulsive chatter, which is really a monologue. As soon as you notice it, it will cease, but after a while, without realizing it, it will return. Then, notice it again, and it will once more stop. Do not despair; on the contrary, rejoice. You are simply beginning to become aware of how the ego functions in your mind. This is, no doubt, an unpleasant perception, but it will affect you only if you identify with it. In reality, you are beginning to disassociate yourself from that sickly way of using your mind.
Forgive that dialogue you hold with yourself; let it pass, do not judge it or condemn it: it is not real. In fact, that voice you hear has nothing to do with you; that is not who you are. Yet the discourse contains, woven within itself, the notion that what you hear comes from you and are your own thoughts. And, in truth, it is not so; but that is the reason why it is so hard for you to let it go.
II My mind knows only the stories it tells itself about everything. The world does not exist, but my mind tells itself a story about a world it imagines, just as it does while it sleeps and says it dreams. My mind invents worlds without end. At times, I recognize that those worlds I imagine are fantasies, but most of the time, the stories I tell myself bear a label that says: “This is real.” Once I have read that label and believed what it says, I am utterly lost to truth, and only suffering will lead me to seek an alternative.
Yet suffering is not necessary at all. Train and discipline your mind to systematically forgive the ego’s narrative.
III Indeed there is another way of seeing the world, but it is not up to me to say what it is. In fact, I find myself now in a pitiful situation precisely because I assigned myself that role of deciding what the world is. I do not know, but I will be told. It is a knowledge that will surface in my mind when I simply allow it.
IV Of course! Peace is an absolutely real concept; conflict, however, is an invention. Be radical about this. It is a non-negotiable reality. Always refuse conflictive interpretations; they are unreal and you do not want them.
V This is the only truth. Dare to embrace it, even if only for an instant, and you will have opened the doors of your release. Familiarize yourself with this idea, and it does not matter if you do not yet believe it.
The best way, the fastest and most effective way to embrace it is to ascribe holiness to others. Set your will on seeing your brother as holy, even if your mind and your gut reject the idea. Insist on it with absolute determination.
You may be certain that, in time, your efforts will be rewarded, and you will begin to see the world and everyone in it with benevolent eyes, and at the end of it all, even yourself.
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LESSON 56
Today we review the following: W-26 to W-30
1. W-26 “My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.” I
²How can I know who I am when I see myself under constant attack?
³Pain, sickness, loss, aging, and death seem to threaten me.
⁴All my hopes, desires, and plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot control.
⁵Yet perfect safety and complete fulfillment are my inheritance.
⁶I have tried to exchange my inheritance for the world I see. II
⁷But God has safeguarded it for me.
⁸My own real Thoughts will teach me what it is.
2. W-27 “Above all else I want to see.” III
²By recognizing that what I see reflects what I think I am, I realize that Vision is my greatest need.
³The world I see bears witness to the fearful nature of the image I have made of myself.
⁴If I am to remember who I am, it is essential that I let this image of myself go.
⁵When it is replaced by truth, Vision will surely be given me.
⁶And with that Vision, I will look upon the world and on myself with gentleness and love.
3. W-28 “Above all else I want to see things differently.”IV
²The world I see maintains the fearful image I have of myself and ensures its continuation.
³As long as I see the world as I see it now, the truth cannot enter my awareness.
⁴I will let the door behind this world be opened to me, so I may look past it to the world that reflects the Love of God.
4. W-29 “God is in everything I see.” V
²Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged.
³Behind every veil I have drawn across the face of Love, its Light remains untouched.
⁴Beyond all my insane desires is my will, united with the Will of my Father.
⁵God is still everywhere and in everything forever.
⁶And we who are part of Him will look past all appearances and recognize the truth beyond them all.
5. W-30 “God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.” VI
²In my own mind, behind all my insane thoughts of separation and attack, is the knowledge that all is one forever.
³I have not lost the knowledge of who I am because I have forgotten it.
⁴That knowledge has been kept for me in the Mind of God, Who has not left His Thoughts.
⁵And I, who am among them, am one with them and One with Him.
I To feel vulnerable—that is, to think that you can lose or that something of real value to you can be diminished—undermines the very foundation of trust, which is the fundamental characteristic of God’s teachers. You cannot lose anything real, for everything real was given you by God forever, and this cannot change throughout all eternity.
Yet it is evident that you can be confused about what you are and tell yourself something else. Hence this Course is summed up in the recognition that “Nothing real can be threatened.” Remember that “only your own thoughts can affect you,” and your thoughts of attack and condemnation—which are the same—certainly endanger the idea you hold of yourself in your mind.
In truth, your attacks and condemnations cannot in any way change your true condition as the Son of God, but they do affect your fictitious identity, which is all you know while you believe you are in time. Forgiveness, and even prayer as you now understand it, serve to heal that small part of your holy mind in which your ego resides. That part of your mind is absolutely real, but what it conceives is not.
The purpose of this Course is precisely to heal that. The part of your mind where the Holy Spirit dwells needs no healing.
II In Genesis 25:29–34 we read the story of Esau, who gives up his inheritance in exchange for a bowl of lentils. In this case, your inheritance is the “perfect safety and complete fullness” of Heaven, which you have tried to relinquish in exchange for the world you now behold.
III This is a very serious statement. It expresses the firm will to place true vision before everything to which you assign value in this world. To say this from the heart is the expression of a deep longing; it is the true “spiritual call.” With this—as with everything—you must be very honest.
Vision is unfailingly granted to all who desire it with their whole heart, and in this there are no exceptions. If you do not truly see the Love of God underlying all things, it is because you prefer to see something else. Your lack of honesty, your resistance to recognizing your true desires, is what leads you to attack this Course, which is perfectly honest; you are not.
Honesty is a basic characteristic of God’s teachers; in fact, it is the first within time. Without honesty, nothing can be done. Work on it before all else and ask yourself if, in truth, vision is the most important thing for you. If it is not, it is probably best for you to plunge into the world and try to attain what you consider more important than seeing. Soon you will see that it was a mistake, and you will begin to understand the importance of vision for freeing your mind from the inevitable suffering you will encounter.
It is always better to turn back on your path with your eyes open than to go forward with your eyes closed, deceiving yourself. But this is not necessary. Deep within your heart there is a profound longing to enjoy your rightful heritage. Persevere with humility and trust in finding it, and it will not be hard, for it is what lies behind all your worldly desires. You do indeed want that, but you are a little confused.
IV This is the thought that must arise in your mind whenever your heart indicates, through its unease, that you are misusing your mind. You ask for a new interpretation of the dream you are immersed in because the one your ego has given you makes you suffer. You are perfectly within your rights to do so, and it is what serves you best. If you do not, what you will hear next is the ego’s proposal to “fix” that situation, and that will inevitably lead you to disaster… as it always has.
V Only the innocent, those who know themselves to be sinless, can see God in all things. Those who condemn themselves see only their own “sins” all around them. Do not condemn yourself or condemn others; it is not worth it, it harms you, and it serves no purpose but to make you suffer. Forgive, and you will see God.
VI You may be absolutely certain that this is so; the issue is that you have reserved a part of your mind for yourself alone. What has led you to this is your own sense of personal importance. The idea you have of yourself is not important, for it is absolutely false; do not uphold, support, or defend it. In the very instant you abandon all sense of personal importance, you will become utterly unreachable by suffering and enjoy the safety and peace of the truly humble.
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LESSON 55
Today we review the following: W-21 to W-25 I
1. W-21 “I am determined to see things differently.”II
²What I now see are only signs of sickness, disaster, and death.
³This cannot be what God created for His beloved Son.III
⁴The very fact that I see such things proves that I do not understand what God is.
⁵Therefore, I do not understand what His Son is either.
⁶What I am seeing shows me that I do not know who I am.IV
⁷I am determined to see the witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those that show me an illusion of myself.
2. W-22 “What I see is a form of vengeance.”V
²The world I see is certainly not a picture of loving thoughts.
³It is an image in which everything attacks everything.VI
⁴It is anything but a reflection of the Love of God and the Love of His Son.
⁵It is my own thoughts of attack that produce this image.
⁶My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world and bring me the peace God intended me to have.
3. W-23 “I can escape from the world by giving up attack thoughts.”
²In this, and only this, lies my salvation.
³Without attack thoughts, I could not see a world of attack.
⁴As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace, safety, and joy.VII
⁵And this is what I choose to see, instead of what I look upon now.
4. W-24 “I do not perceive my own best interests.”VIII
²How can I recognize what is in my best interests when I do not know who I am?
³What I think is in my best interests would only bind me further to the world of illusions.
⁴I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me, to learn what is truly in my best interests, for I recognize that I cannot perceive it by myself.
5. W-25 “I do not know what anything is for.”
²To me, the purpose of all things is to prove that my illusions about myself are real.IX
³With this in mind, I try to use everything and everyone.
⁴I believe that this is what the world is for.
⁵And so I fail to recognize its true purpose.
⁶The purpose I have given the world has led me to see it as a fearful place.
⁷Let me open my mind to its true purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and thus learn the truth about the world.
I The five ideas from the reviews can be combined to build meaningful sentences, phrased as you like. For example, today you could say: “I want to see everything differently, because it is evident that what I see now is a form of vengeance, but I am sure I can escape from this wicked world I perceive simply by relinquishing my condemning judgments. It is also perfectly clear that I never perceive what is in my best interests, and this must be so because, in truth, I do not know what anything is for.”
Formulating the ideas of this Course in your own terms, as you understand them, is a very powerful learning tool; it greatly helps to make them your own and incorporate them into your thought system. This is a resource Jesus frequently proposes to us, and its effectiveness lies in the fact that, in doing so, instead of simply learning the Course, you teach it—though in this case, to yourself. Throughout the Course it is repeated that teaching and learning are the same, and that when you teach an idea, you strengthen it in your mind.
It is well to remember that your thoughts are under the Guidance of Christ, but not under His control. This means they are solely and exclusively under your own control. In fact, only you control your mind, and since learning is changing the mind, only you can change yours. If you see this clearly, only you are capable of teaching yourself. Ultimately, this Course is a compendium of proposals to change your way of thinking.
Although the third volume of this work is called the Manual for Teachers, in reality, the entirety of the Course is a true manual for teachers—for you, teacher of yourself. Therefore, every effort you make by taking the content of this Course and transforming it, by putting it in your own words for yourself, will elevate the quality of your learning and take the teaching to a new dimension.
II This is the famous phrase that Bill said to Helen which gave rise to the appearance of this Course in the world.
Jesus found in the minds of the scribes, united in a shared purpose of salvation, the ideal channel to convey His true teaching to the world.
III Matthew 3:17: “And behold, a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
IV I see what I want to see, and “to want” is to place the will in something. If that word existed in Spanish, we could say that “to want” is “to will.” And will is the function of the soul responsible for creating, that is, for extending its own existence. That is why, when we “create” in the illusion, we are projecting the idea we have about ourselves. Hence those who believe themselves innocent extend innocence, and those who feel guilty project their own guilt and see a guilty world.
V I project outward my own guilt and resentments. The mind, being unable to tolerate the weight of its own guilt, throws it outward, constructing a world in which that guilt seems to pursue me. This is what the Course calls the “world’s vengeance”: the projection of my own wickedness upon everything around me, which then seems to attack me. It is a closed cycle: I project my guilt and, seeing it reflected in the world, I perceive it as an external threat. Thus I justify my fear and my defense, reinforcing the belief in a hostile and dangerous world. The world I see is, therefore, nothing but a mirror of my own attack thoughts. That is why, as I perceive it, it is “an image in which everything is attacked by everything.”
This projection mechanism is the same as what happens in night dreams. When dreaming, I visualize my fears and resentments, believing they threaten me from outside, when in fact they are creations of my own mind. The difference is that, upon waking, I recognize that they were not real, but mere projections of my sleeping mind.
In the same way, by practicing this Lesson, I begin to awaken from the world’s dream. I start to realize that the perception of attack and vengeance does not come from the world itself, but from my attack thoughts projected outward. Then I understand that the problem is not in the world, but in my mind.
The solution, therefore, does not consist in trying to change the world or defend myself from its apparent attacks, but in changing my thoughts. “My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world,” because by choosing loving thoughts instead of attack thoughts, I project love instead of guilt. This is what allows me to experience the peace that God intended me to have. By changing my perception, the world I see ceases to be a threat and becomes a reflection of my own love. Thus “what I see” ceases to be “a form of vengeance” and becomes a mirror of God’s Love and the Love of His Son.
VI Because I have first attacked myself by defining myself as guilty.
VII My forgiveness will let me see a forgiven world: the real world, an illusion that reflects the Love of God to the eyes of a mind still fragmented.
VIII What is in my best interests is what I deserve. The problem here is that God and I have different ideas about that.
IX “I do not know what anything is for.” This statement reveals the root of my ignorance: I have assigned meaning and purpose to everything I see in order to uphold my separate and false identity. I have done so without questioning it, believing that the world is here to confirm my illusions about myself. My unconscious purpose is to use everything and everyone to prove that my identity as a separate “self” is real. Thus I justify my personal existence, reinforcing my beliefs about what I am and how the world should be to maintain that sense of identity. Everything and everyone becomes a means to an end: to confirm that my view of myself and of the world is correct.
This egocentric use of everything I see leads me to perceive the world as a constant threat. Why? Because, by projecting my guilt and fear, I see a world that seems to conspire against me, that seems to attack me and challenge my identity constantly. In this way I build a terrifying image of the world, full of competition, conflict, loss, and death.
The purpose I have given the world is, therefore, to maintain my sense of separation. I have unconsciously decided that the world is here to prove to me that I am alone, vulnerable, and in need of defense. This forces me to live in a constant state of alert, seeing threats everywhere.
However, the world has no inherent purpose; every purpose I attribute to it comes from my mind. This is one of the most liberating teachings of A Course in Miracles: purpose is not in things, but in the mind that perceives them. Realizing this, I can choose to set aside the purpose I have projected onto the world.
“Let me open my mind to its true purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it.” This line reveals the path to freedom. Only when I stop projecting my own purposes onto the world can I learn the truth about it. Only then can I allow the Holy Spirit to show me the true purpose of all things: to reflect the Love of God.
The function of the world, according to A Course in Miracles, is to be a classroom. It is not here to confirm my illusions or to attack my identity. It is here so that I may learn to see differently, to learn to forgive, to learn to love. By withdrawing the purpose I have given it, I allow its true purpose to be shown to me, and in doing so, I transform my perception from fear to love.
This change of purpose is the miracle that the Course offers. By ceasing to use the world to confirm my separate identity and allowing it to become a classroom of forgiveness and love, I begin to remember who I truly am. Then the world ceases to be a prison and becomes a bridge to the peace of God.
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LESSON 54
Today we review the following ideas: W-16 to W-20
1. W-16 “I have no neutral thoughts.”
²It is impossible to have neutral thoughts because every thought has power.
³My thoughts either build a false world or lead me to the real one.
⁴But thoughts cannot be without effect.I
⁵Just as the world I see arises from the errors in my thinking, so will the real world rise before my eyes when I allow my errors to be corrected.
⁶My thoughts cannot be both true and false.
⁷They must be one or the other.
⁸What I see shows me what they are.
2. W-17 “I see no neutral things.”II
²What I see is a witness to what I think.
³If I did not think, I would not exist, for life is thought.III
⁴Let me look upon the world I see as the reflection of my own state of mind.IV
⁵I know that my state of mind can change.
⁶And so I know that the world I see can change as well.V
3. W-18 “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.”VI
²If I have no private thoughts, I cannot see a private world.
³Even the wild idea of separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world I see.
⁴But that was a sharing of nothing.VII
⁵I can also call upon my real Thoughts, which share everything with everyone.VIII
⁶Just as my thoughts of separation call to the separation thoughts in others, so too do my real Thoughts awaken real Thoughts in them.
⁷And the world my real Thoughts show me will dawn upon their sight as well as mine.
4. W-19 “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.”
²I am not alone in anything.
³Everything I think, say, or do touches the whole universe.IX
⁴A Son of God cannot think, speak, or act in vain.
⁵He cannot be alone in anything.
⁶Therefore, I have the power to change every mind along with mine, for mine is the Power of God.
5. W-20 “I am determined to see.”
²Recognizing the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see.X
³I want to behold the witnesses that show me the world’s way of thinking has been changed.
⁴I want to see the proof that what has happened through me has enabled Love to replace fear, laughter to replace tears, and abundance to replace loss.
⁵I want to look upon the real world, and let it teach me that my Will and the Will of God are One.XI
I The effect of a thought is the content of that thought—the idea it expresses.
Content, cause, and effect are simultaneous and the same.
Thoughts cannot fail to have effects because they are the expression of the will that sustains them. You have the thoughts you want to have because your will is the cause of everything you perceive.
The question here is: what is your will, Son of God? Remember, even more than a Course about forgiveness, this is a Course about will.
II I do not see neutral things because will is never neutral; it is always positive and assertive.
It manifests what it wants to manifest.
III This is a reference to Descartes’ famous principle: “I think, therefore I am,” only here it is stated in the negative: “If I did not think, I would not exist.”
Jesus comments that this had a positive effect on Descartes: “He no longer really questioned the reality of what he perceived, because he KNEW that he was there” (T-3.XI.11:6).
“Life is thought.” This idea is very difficult to grasp because it is very simple. It cannot be understood, but it can be known and experienced.
To live is to think; to think is to live. There is no life without thought, for without thought there is no reality; there is nothing.
And this is not understood by the mind that believes in the physical, though by now you have already learned that all you call “physical” is nothing but having conferred “non-ideal” attributes onto an idea within the mind itself.
The “physical,” the “material,” does not exist apart from the mind that conceives it, and the individual mind could not have conceived it, for it too remains an idea in the confused mind of the Son of God.
Being, Existence, God, Life… it is all the same: one idea. This idea can be considered from different perspectives and interpreted as different aspects, but from a strictly ontological point of view, all of It is the same, and the denial of that idea is nonexistence—what does not exist.
IV This other idea, however, is fully functional.
The world is in my mind and is of my own making, but the ego always avoids assuming that responsibility.
Yet to assume it bestows upon the mind the natural power of the miracle: the power to transform illusion so that it reflects the Love of God underlying all that exists.
The mind can do all things because the mind is all there is, the only thing that exists.
V Remember: to perceive is to project, so you will see what you want to see.
To understand and exercise this principle requires radical honesty.
VI I am not the only one who experiences the effects of my way of seeing because those “others” I think I see are also the expression of my will, and I see them as I do because I want to see them that way.
VII To share an idea that has no real content is not true sharing, and this gives rise to the notion that thoughts are private and minds are separate.
This is not true, but it can be believed by that part of the mind that considers it true.
You cannot share an idea that has no content and, consequently, no cause and no real effects.
That kind of idea can only operate within the realm of illusion.
VIII My real Thoughts, or true ones, are those I share with God and with all the Souls that make up the Christ Body. Those Thoughts are the Creations of the Son of God and are like the Son and the Father.
However, understood within the realm of the illusory world, this means that only loving thoughts can be effectively shared, because only love is real.
On the other hand, my illusory thoughts, devoid of love, cannot be shared, but they can be “spread.” In that case, nothing is shared, though one may harbor the illusion that it has been.
Particular minds can harbor similar private illusions, but they will always be their own interpretations, distinct and exclusive. It will seem that I am communicating something when I do so, but in truth I am only stirring in that apparent other the same absences I experience, though in this case they are his own.
That is why in the following line the word “appeal” is used.
IX It not only “affects” but actually “shapes” the universe I believe I live in.
That was already seen in the fourth line of the second paragraph.X That is to say, I want to see the Reality before me—the expression of God’s Love underlying this dream of fear I now believe I behold. I do not want to imagine the absences of love that the ego’s voice stirs in me. To see is to Know, and to Be and to Love. The fact that we share one mind is what makes true vision possible, the knowledge of what is real, the love we share.
XI These five Lessons of today are an invitation to watch our mind and be attentive to what we think, since it is our thoughts that shape the reality we perceive and the image we have of ourselves. Yet this task is not exhausting; on the contrary, it is an energizing practice, for it frees you from clinging to a limited and depressing view of reality. What truly exhausts is paying attention to the weary and repetitive thoughts of the ego.
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LESSON 53
Today we review the following: W-11 to W-15
1. W-11 “My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.”
²Because the thoughts I am aware of mean nothing, the world they show me cannot have meaning either.I
³What gives rise to this world is insanity, and so the world it produces is insane.II
⁴Reality is not insane, and I have both real and insane Thoughts.III
⁵Therefore, I can see a real world if I choose to let my real Thoughts guide my seeing.IV
2. W-12 “I am upset because I see a meaningless world.”V
²Insane thoughts are disturbing, and they produce a world where no order can be found.
³Only chaos rules a world that mirrors a chaotic way of thinking, and chaos has no laws.
⁴I cannot live in peace in such a world.
⁵I am grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to give it value.VI
⁶And I choose not to value what is wholly mad and without meaning.
3. W-13 “A meaningless world engenders fear.”
²What is wholly insane engenders fear, because it is completely unpredictable and offers no trust.VII
³In madness, nothing is dependable.
⁴It offers neither safety nor hope.
⁵But such a world is not real.
⁶I have given it the illusion of reality, and I have suffered because I believed in it.
⁷Now I choose to withdraw my belief from it and place my trust in Reality.VIII
⁸By making this choice, I will escape all the effects of a fearful world, because I am recognizing that such a world does not exist.
4. W-14 “God did not create a meaningless world.”IX
²How can a meaningless world exist if God did not create it?
³He is the Source of all meaning, and everything real is in His Mind.
⁴It is also in my mind, because He created it with me.
⁵Why should I continue to suffer from the effects of my own insane thoughts, when my home is the perfection of Creation? X
⁶Let me remember the power of my decision and recognize where I truly dwell.
5. W-15 “My thoughts are images I have made.”
²Everything I see reflects my thoughts.XI
³It is my thoughts that tell me where I am and what I am.
⁴The fact that I see a world of suffering, loss, and death shows me that I am seeing only the image of my own insane thoughts, and that I am not allowing my real Thoughts to cast their loving light on what I see.XII
⁵But God’s way is sure.
⁶The images I have made cannot prevail against Him, because it is not my will that they do so.XIII
⁷My will is His, and I will have no other gods before Him.XIV
I To understand this, it is key to remember that to perceive is to project. The only thing I see, what I call “the world,” is nothing but my own thoughts projected onto the screen of my conscience. And since those thoughts, in truth, have no meaning, what I believe I see—the world—has none either. That is the truth. Yet, if I am honest with myself, I must admit that my mind does not function that way in practice. To me, the world is full of meaning, and although I am willing to recognize—with great effort—that I am the one who has assigned those meanings, the world I live in still seems profoundly meaningful to me.
Think of this: you are on the bus, standing, reading on your phone the Lesson of the day from this blessed Course, which happens to be Lesson 11: “My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.” You think you understand it and are willing to accept that what it says is true. But then someone bumps into you, your phone falls to the floor, and suddenly you are filled with anger. Five seconds earlier, you had assumed that the world means nothing, and yet a small incident is enough for your old thought system to spring instantly into action, implicitly acknowledging that, in fact, even the tiniest trifle has enormous importance to you.
That is why, in practicing these Lessons, it is essential to be honest and realistic. Understand and accept the enormous distance between knowing the statement of truth and fully embracing it. That distance is called learning, and like any process, it requires time, patience, trust, and unwavering determination.
Your main challenge with this Course is not to understand what it says, nor even to recognize it as true, but to find the motivation to apply it at every moment and in every circumstance. But remember this: only accomplishments build certainty, and that certainty is essential for consolidating your learning.
II My insane thoughts, insane because they are generated without love, give rise to an insane world, equally devoid of love.
The opposite is also true: my loving thoughts will let me see a world full of love. My thoughts are the cause, and the world is the effect.
III Reality is the Thoughts I think with God, my Creations.
IV When I rely on my real Thoughts to interpret reality, I see only love, beauty, and peace, which is what I have created with God.
V It deeply disturbs me to see a world that has no meaning because that is utterly at odds with my true identity as the Son of God, which is pure meaning, love, and infinite peace.
VI To give value to the world I behold is what makes it real, but only to me, for in itself that world I see has no reality; it is only the product of my imagination.
I have invented it, I, the Son of God, in the same way that I have invented a spurious personality for myself.
VII Meaninglessness is the opposite of knowledge, just as fear is the opposite of love.
VIII This is the same as saying that, from now on, I choose only to think the Thoughts I share with God, and I will know how to distinguish them from the others because they inspire me with peace, love, and security.
IX Only a demented god could have created a world that means nothing, but such a thing would not even be possible, because that would not be creation, but belief; the fabrication of illusions.
This is how the part of the Son of God’s mind that believes itself separated from its Father operates; that is its demented god in an impossible equation.
X Of course, that makes no sense and would be madness; nevertheless, that is how those who stubbornly cling to their false identities, separate and independent from God’s reality, think: the people who have come to dwell in a demented world.
XI My thoughts shape that incessant inner dialogue with which I tell myself a fantastic story of lacks, sins, guilt, grudges, desires, and vengeance.
Although, from time to time, a loving thought also slips in among them, and then I breathe a sigh of relief.
XII Yet, in that desperate situation, sometimes a thought of forgiveness arises; at times I behold my brothers with tenderness and mercy, and then my heart leaps with joy: the light has come, and the world timidly reflects the Love of God.
I need no other guide than that to know that, in those moments, I am in my Right Mind; the madness has lifted, and now I can truly see.
What other guide do I need?
XIII Matthew 16:18: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
XIV Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
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LESSON 52
Today’s review covers the following ideas: W-6 to W-10
1. W-6 “I am upset because I see what is not there.”I
²Reality is never frightening.II
³It is impossible that it could upset me.
⁴Reality brings only perfect peace.
⁵When I am upset, it is always because I have replaced reality with illusions I made up.
⁶Illusions disturb me because I have given them reality; therefore, I see reality as an illusion.
⁷Nothing in God’s Creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine.
⁸I am always upset over nothing.III
2. W-7 “I see only the past.” IV
²When I look around, I condemn the world I look upon.
³And I call that seeing.
⁴I use the past against everyone and everything, and thus I turn them into my “enemies.”
⁵When I have forgiven myself and remembered who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I see.
⁶There will be no past, and therefore no “enemies.”
⁷And I will look with God upon all that I failed to see before.
3. W-8 “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.”V
²I see only my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past.
³What, then, can I see as it is?
⁴Let me remember that I look upon the past to prevent the present from dawning in my mind.VI
⁵Let me understand that I am trying to use time against God.VII
⁶Let me learn to give up the past, realizing that in doing so I am letting go of nothing.
4. W-9 “I see nothing as it is now.”VIII
²If I see nothing as it is now, then truly I am not seeing at all.
³I can only see what is here now.
⁴The choice is not between seeing the past or the present; it is simply between seeing or not seeing.
⁵What I have chosen to see has cost me Vision.
⁶Now I would choose again, that I may see.
5. W-10 “My thoughts do not mean anything.”IX
²I have no private thoughts.
³Yet I am aware only of my private thoughts.
⁴What can these thoughts mean?
⁵They do not exist; therefore, they mean nothing.
⁶But my mind is part of Creation and of its Creator.
⁷Would I not rather join the thinking of the universe, than obscure all that is really mine with my pitiful “private” thoughts that mean nothing?
I I see “what is not there” because, in truth, I only relate to my own interpretations, the stories I tell myself, which are nowhere but in my mind, for being ideas, they have never left the source from which they came. Out there there is nothing, because there is nothing outside my mind, since my mind, which is God’s, is all that exists. What disturbs me is not anything “out there,” but the story I have just told myself, which is the story of a disturbance.
II I do not yet know this, because I do not remember what “Reality” is, and this is because I have forgotten it by replacing it with the voice of the ego, that which I have called “my thoughts.” Now my mind finds itself in a kind of “hypnotic” state, gazing at images I am projecting onto the screen of my conscience. Something like watching a movie at the cinema. Reality is Existence, a perfect abstraction that we can interpret in its three aspects of Love, Truth, and Power, the divine triad. To exist is an absolutely satisfying condition that inspires not fear, but certainty, love, and infinite power.
III It is nothing because it is an illusion that has no being in itself; it is the symbol of an impossible idea: the notion of being an individual entity separate from God. And what I say I see is nothing but the “story” I am telling myself.
IV “I see only the past” because my mind relates only to meanings I assigned in the past, and the forms I believe I see are symbols of those ancient meanings. It is exactly the same as in night dreams, where everything I see is nothing but formulations of meanings I myself attributed in the past.
V The verb “To preoccupy” is very peculiar, since it means to concern oneself with something before dealing with it, which is absurd. It is a concept that refers to the mental state preceding the decision to act.
For the mind to be absorbed in that “pre-occupation” implies an awareness that something must be changed because it is “wrong,” or at least could be “better.” The perception of that need to change something always entails a certain uneasiness and discomfort—the motivation—that can become very sharp.
In truth, to pre-occupy oneself is nothing other than to suffer while contemplating in fear and helplessness a demand for life’s response that exceeds what you consider yourself capable of.
VI It is important to understand that the mind cannot handle two things simultaneously: either it occupies itself with the past, or it occupies itself with the present. One must choose between those two sole options.
You tend to choose the past because that is where sin and guilt are found, and dealing with them is the ego’s perverse pleasure. In the innocence of the present, the ego dissolves. Guilt is what guarantees the ego’s continuity. The innocence of the present is the price you pay for being absorbed in the past.
VII Time, in its imaginary aspects of past and future, is the gesture the mind makes to separate itself from concepts it denies itself access to.
God is real and exists only in the real aspect of time: the present.
VIII The fundamental characteristics of the present are innocence and peace; the perfect absence of guilt and threat.
The present is always perfectly satisfying. If it is not, it is clear evidence that you are contemplating the past or anticipating the future, the nonexistent aspects of time.
IX Again the idea of Lesson 4 is repeated. It is a crucial idea in the paradigm of this Course. So important is it that it is impossible to be too aware of it, for it is constantly forgotten.
Realize that the mind was created to behold the truth; that is why it considers true whatever appears before it, whether reality or illusion. The mind always tends to regard as truthful what it beholds; hence forgiving is the undoing of that mental impulse.
To forgive, at bottom, is to undo an understandable error, for the mind must deal with strange and improper forms arising from an utterly false primordial idea: that you are separate from God. Once your mind has accepted that monumental error, it is inevitable that phantoms will arise from it, and your poor mind, accustomed to truth, is inevitably deceived by those offspring of madness.
So whenever something disturbs you, remember that the thought which gave rise to that unease—the voice of the ego within you—really means nothing. Forgive it, do not hold it against yourself, and behold the present with the love it deserves.
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LESSON 51-FIRST REVIEW
Introduction
1. Today we begin a series of review sessions.I
²Each one will cover five of the ideas presented earlier, starting with the first and ending with the fiftieth.
³Each idea is followed by a brief comment, which you should consider as you review it.
⁴The exercises are to be practiced as follows:
2. Begin the day by reading the five ideas and the accompanying comments.
²After that, there is no need to follow a specific order in how you think about them, although each one should be practiced at least once.
³Spend two minutes or more in each practice period reflecting on the idea and its related comment.
⁴Do this as often as you can throughout the day.
⁵If one of the five ideas appeals to you more than the others, focus on that one.
⁶But be sure to review them all once more at the end of the day.
3. There is no need to approach the comments in a literal or exhaustive way during the practice periods.
²Try instead to grasp the central point of each idea and think about it.II
³These review exercises should be done with your eyes closed and, if possible, when you are alone in a quiet place.
4. This is especially important for the practice periods at your current stage of learning.
²However, it is equally important that you begin to learn not to require any special setting in order to apply what you have learned.
³In fact, you will need to apply it even more in situations that seem disturbing than in those that appear quiet and peaceful.
⁴The purpose of your learning is to enable you to bring stillness with you wherever you go and to heal distress and turmoil.
⁵This is not achieved by avoiding difficult situations or seeking a place of seclusion.
5. You will learn that Peace is part of you, and only requires your presence to bring peace to any situation in which you find yourself.
²Eventually, you will understand that it does not matter at all where you are in order to see your Peace reflected in everything, just as it is within you.III
6. You will notice that in this review, the ideas are not always presented in the exact form in which they were originally given.
²Use them as they are presented now.
³There is no need to return to their original formulations or to apply them exactly as was suggested at the time.
⁴What we emphasize now is the way in which these first fifty ideas are related and the consistency of the thought system to which they lead you.
I Notice the pedagogy that Jesus is applying in this Workbook. First of all, repetition. When the idea to be practiced during the day is first presented, you are asked to repeat it, bringing it to mind with a certain frequency throughout the day. The reason for this is that, figuratively speaking, for a given stimulus to become a specific response, a particular behavior, or interpretation, it must travel a certain path through the impenetrable jungle of your mind. That is why it is necessary to open a trail between those two points and keep it open, accessible, and familiar by walking it many times. In this way, traveling through it becomes easy and familiar.
Now, with this review, we once again walk the path we have not taken for several weeks, and thus we make sure that we know the way well. But this time we make the journey somewhat differently. Now Jesus adds a new resource: we use different vehicles to travel it, we use slightly different words, and He even encourages us to use the ones that come to us. This way we learn that the wording of the idea is not some kind of magic spell, but that what really matters is the concept the words convey. Thus, we learn to distinguish between form and content.
II Perhaps this is the most important part of the exercise: try to understand the essence of what Jesus is attempting to convey with each idea. Try to express it in your own words, or better still, try to reach the concept itself without any word crossing your mind; try to reach the essence of the idea through a feeling. If you are able to understand the idea without words, then you have truly understood it.
From there, do not treat the idea as a statement or formulation; remain with the pure understanding and recognize that this understanding is the truth. This is the most effective way to incorporate it into your thought system as something functional.
Understand that a thought system is not a set of ideas that must necessarily be formulated in a certain way. It is true that it can be described that way, but also in many others. A thought system, in itself, is a specific “position” of the mind, a mental paradigm; it is a way of using the mind, or rather, the way your mind approaches what it perceives or conceives.
III Take these last lines very much to heart. Remember that this is a Course in mind training. In reality, it is training for the “lower” part of your mind; the other part needs no training, for it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and functions perfectly in eternity. What you are doing now is simply cleaning and ordering the house where the ego dwells, although perhaps it would be more accurate to say that what you are doing with these practices is expelling the ego from that part of your holy mind where it had shamelessly settled. It has no right to be there. You are simply getting rid of an extraordinarily troublesome and disturbing tenant.
You can also interpret the situation in an even more appropriate way. Understand that the ego, in reality, does not exist; it is no one and nothing—it is only a poor way of using your mind. In this Course the term “ego” is used with a purely didactic purpose and as a learning device, but the ego has no entity whatsoever. That is why, when you read of “wrong-mindedness,” it is really referring to the ego: the wrong way of using your holy mind. The problem is that, for now, it is the only one you know; the other way you hardly remember at all, but you certainly yearn for it.
In this process of “cleaning and ordering” your house, it is essential that you use the resources provided as often as possible and, above all, whenever you face a disturbing situation, a problem, or an upset. Remember the introduction to Chapter 30: “These steps are not new to you, but they are still only ideas, and not the rules by which you live. Therefore, we must practice them for a while until they become the rules by which you live. What we are seeking is that these rules become habits to be available for ANY need” (T-30.I.1:6-8).
LESSON 51
Today’s review covers the following ideas: W-1 to W-5 I
1. W-1 “Nothing I see means anything.”
²The reason this is so is that I am seeing what is nothing, and nothing has no meaning.II
³I must recognize this in order to learn how to see.
⁴What I think I see now has taken the place of Vision.
⁵I must let it go by recognizing that it means nothing, so that Vision may take its place.
2. W-2 “I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.”III
²I have judged everything I look upon.
³And it is this, and only this, that I see.
⁴That is not seeing.
⁵It is merely an illusion of reality, because I have made my judgments entirely apart from Reality.
⁶I am willing to acknowledge the invalidity of my judgments because I want to see.
⁷My judgments have hurt me, and I do not want to see through them any longer.
3. W-3 “I do not understand anything I see.”
²How can I understand what I see when I have misjudged it?
³What I see is the projection of my own errors of thought. ⁴I do not understand what I see because it is not understandable.IV
⁵There is no point in trying to understand it.
⁶And yet it is entirely reasonable to let it go, to make room for what can be seen, understood, and loved.V
⁷I can exchange what I see now for that, simply by being willing to do so.
⁸Is this not a better choice than the one I made before?
4. W-4 “These thoughts do not mean anything.”VI
²The thoughts I am aware of do not mean anything because I am trying to think without God.
³What I call “my” thoughts are not my real Thoughts.VII
⁴My real Thoughts are the Thoughts I think with God.
⁵I am not aware of them because I have allowed “my” own thoughts to take their place.
⁶I am willing to recognize that “my” thoughts mean nothing and to let them go.
⁷I choose to replace them with what they were meant to replace.
⁸“My” own thoughts mean nothing, but all of Creation resides in the Thoughts I think with God.VIII
5. W-5 “I am never upset for the reason I think.”
²I am never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to justify “my” own thoughts.
³I am constantly trying to make them true.
⁴I make everything my “enemy” so I can justify my anger and my attacks.IX
⁵I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see by assigning this role to my thoughts.
⁶I did this to defend a thought system that has hurt me and that I no longer want.
⁷I am willing to let it go.
I Helen was a somewhat finicky editor and disliked the idea of repeating the review lesson subtitles. That is why Jesus offered her a different formulation for each one.
II This line explains very well what is happening in your mind. Nothing you see means anything because, in truth, you are not seeing anything at all; you are only projecting images onto the screen of your conscience, and you call that “seeing.” What you believe you see is nothing but an illusion, except that your mind has labeled what it has conceived as “something” or “things.” It has also applied the labels “outside me” and “reality.” And, to complete the process, it has assigned an even longer label describing their function: “what this thing is for.”
What appears on all those labels is not exactly “false,” but rather “fictitious,” entirely whimsical and arbitrary. Of all the labels, the one that harms you the most is the one that says “real,” because that is precisely the one that leaves you utterly confused and the one that most hurts you. If you had not placed that label, nothing could affect or disturb you, and you would understand that everything is the product of your fertile imagination, of your capacity to create imaginary worlds—a kind of artistic production.
III This should be obvious, even to you, as you begin studying this Course. Surely you notice that you interpret the present moment very differently from the person next to you, still more differently than the dog accompanying you, not to mention the ant you just stepped on, for example. In truth, you are not relating to anything but your own interpretations of what you perceive.
Moreover, what you perceive is not even “outside” you; it is in your mind, just like what you call “my body” and the idea you have of yourself. Though this may frighten you somewhat, all of it is fictitious. Yet there is no reason for fear; if you feel afraid, it is a sign that you are doing the exercises correctly.
However, if working with these ideas does not stir up at least a certain uneasiness, it may be that you are not yet fully grasping their meaning. Do not be troubled by this, but seek to go deeper into the true sense of what is being proposed to you.
IV Of course you do not understand anything you see! In fact, you do not even understand what it means “to understand,” since you confuse it with “remembering” your own interpretations and judgments. Yet, if you engage in a small exercise of honesty, you will notice that once you remove from what you see all the “labels” you yourself have placed there, your mind is left blank. Then what you behold evokes nothing that comes from you.
In reality, the only real aspect of the contents of your mind is the love it manifests.
V To understand this line, it may help you to take a quick look at Lesson 29.
VI The magnitude of what this idea implies is such that it can hardly be expressed in words, for the idea itself denies and undermines words altogether. Moreover, if you recall, the idea is reiterated and reinforced in Lesson 10 with a similar statement. This is one of the many devastating declarations for the ego that the student of this Course usually admits and accepts lightly, without major consequences in his personal life.
Perhaps you consider yourself a student of A Course in Miracles, perhaps you say you accept its postulates and are dedicated to its reading; you may even try to practice it with all the honesty of which you are capable, yet you have probably noticed that problems keep arising. Your old thought system has its own inertia and resists change. And that is normal. Do not worry about it. Persevere and trust.
Understand that, although change could be instantaneous, it usually involves a process that unfolds over time. Also remember that, ultimately, your old thought system will not change itself. That is impossible. Jesus tells you that the final step is taken by God. It is up to you to do what you can to create the conditions for this to happen as soon as possible—nothing more.
VII Realize that what you call “my” thoughts is nothing but the ego’s voice in your mind. Do not be afraid to set aside that insidious voice and relinquish those thoughts of “yours.” Do not be possessive, for that greedy impulse is precisely the effect of the ego in your mind. You cannot lose anything real; do not forget that.
VIII “The thoughts I think with God” are Creation itself, all of Creation, and the only thing that exists, in other words, Reality.
IX Do not judge yourself harshly for thinking this way and functioning in this manner. You must realize that you do so because, though you may not acknowledge it, you are deeply frightened; you are very afraid. The profound terror you feel, but conceal from yourself, is so intolerable that you cannot endure it within and try to rid yourself of it by projecting it outward in angry forms. Your attacks on your brothers, and theirs on you, are nothing but this: the projection of an unbearable fear. Both they and you, in truth, are asking for help in that difficult situation. Forgive yourself for this, and forgive them as well. Only forgiveness and prayer will save you. Remember that it does not matter where you are; what matters is where you are headed.
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LESSON 50
The Love of God sustains me.
1. Here is the answer to every problem you will face today, tomorrow, and throughout time.
²You believe that what sustains you in this world is anything but God.
³You place your faith in the most trivial and insane symbols: in pills, in money, in “protective” clothing, in “influence,” in “prestige,” in being liked by others, in knowing the “right” people—an endless list of forms that are nothing, to which you assign magical powers.
2. All these things are your replacements for the Love of God.I
²You give them value to ensure your identification with the body.
³They are hymns of praise to the ego.
⁴Do not put your faith in what is worthless; it cannot sustain you.
3. Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances.
²It will lift you out of every difficulty and raise you above all the dangers you perceive in this world to a place of perfect peace and safety.
³It will carry you to a state of mind in which nothing can threaten, disturb, or interfere with the eternal calm of the Son of God.
4. Do not place your faith in illusions.
²They will fail you.
³Place all your faith in the Love of God within you—eternal, unchanging, and forever unfailing.
⁴This is the answer to whatever you confront today.
⁵Through the Love of God in you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and with complete confidence.
⁶Repeat this to yourself often today.
⁷It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols.
⁸It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.II
5. Let today’s idea sink deep into your consciousness for ten minutes twice—once in the morning and once at night.
²Repeat it, reflect on it, let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow peace to envelop you like a protective cloak.III
³Do not let any foolish or meaningless thought enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God.
⁴For such is the Kingdom of Heaven.IV
⁵Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.
I The world is a pitiful parody of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the world there is nothing intrinsically new or original. All you will find in it is an infinitely diminished version of what you enjoy in Heaven. When the mad idea of being separate from God fleetingly crossed the mind of the Son of God, it created nothing at all, for it is impossible to create apart from God; in fact, it is impossible to be apart from God. Instead of creating, the one who believed himself human began to believe in illusions; the first of these, his own identity: the ego.
This version of himself—also infinitely diminished and qualitatively different, for it is limited and lacking—must be satisfied with the only thing it now knows: illusions. And the substitute illusions it pursues, necessarily and because of its utter lack of creativity, must emulate what the Son of God knows and enjoys in the Kingdom of God.
Thus, in a certain way, it could be said that the world is the sad analogy of Heaven, where the abstract has become concrete, the unlimited, limited, and the eternal, temporal. Nevertheless, even so, the worldly inevitably retains a parallel with the divine. Everything you long for and pursue here you have in Heaven in infinite measure. Here you will find nothing intrinsically original; everything is a poor copy of what you already have and enjoy in your Father’s house.
II The Love of God is something that you, ego, do not understand; yet you, Son of God, know nothing else but that. And note that here it speaks of “apparent” difficulties, because in truth there are none at all. Also realize that this is a Course for you, ego, because the Son of God needs no Course whatsoever—how could he! The Love of God, in reality, will resolve nothing, because there is nothing to resolve. Yet when you feel the Love of God within you, indeed all difficulties will vanish. The problem with your problems is that they are important to you, and again, the only problem you really have is the importance you give them. Change your mind, forgive, place the Love of God above all else, and you will see what happens.
III This line is very important. That letting related thoughts come to you is what will make your mind “take on the color” of the Love of God and resonate with that experience. This is because, as has already been said, the mind is like a chameleon: it has the potential to blend with what it evokes and becomes that very thing. Thinking or reading something that brings to your mind the idea that the Love of God protects and cares for you will lead you to live that experience.
What will lead you to the Love of God is your yearning for Him, not the speculations and ponderings you make in your mind about such a concept. Your yearning, in fact, is a form of prayer. Yearn with your heart and trust. Nothing else is needed. The experience of His Love will be granted to you.
IV Matthew 3:2: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” This has often been understood as “confess your sins because the end of the world is near.” Another way of understanding it, more plausible when we look at the original Greek in the Bible and examine it in the light of this Course, is: “Change your mind; Heaven is as near to you as your hand.”
Matthew 19:14: “But Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.’”
The expression “Kingdom of Heaven” appears 32 times in the Bible, all of them in the Gospel according to Matthew, and it also appears 20 times in the seven volumes of this Course. Elsewhere the expression “Kingdom of God” is used, as in Mark 1:15.
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LESSON 49
The Voice of God speaks to me all through the day.
1. It is quite possible to listen to the Voice of God all through the day without interrupting your usual activities in any way.I
²The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not.
³It is the other part of your mind that functions in the world and obeys its laws.
⁴That is the part that is constantly distracted, disorganized, and very uncertain.
2. The part that is listening to the Voice of God is calm and quiet, always at rest, and completely certain.
²It is the only part of your mind that truly exists.
³The other is a frantic, wild illusion, disturbed and unreal.
⁴Try not to listen to it today.
⁵Try instead to identify with the part of your mind where stillness and peace forever reign.
⁶Try to hear the Voice of God calling to you in love, reminding you that your Creator has not forgotten His Son.
3. Today we will need at least four five-minute practice periods, and more if possible.
²Today we will try to truly hear the Voice of God reminding you of Him and of your Self.II
³We approach this thought with confidence, the happiest and holiest of all, knowing that in doing so, we are joining our will to the Will of God.
⁴He wants you to hear His Voice.
⁵He gave It to you so that you might hear It.
4. Listen in deep silence.
²Be very still and open your mind.III
³Leave behind the strident voices and sick imaginings that hide your real thoughts and obscure your eternal link with God.
⁴Sink deeply into the peace that waits for you beyond the frantic, riotous thoughts and the sights and sounds of this insane world.
⁵You do not live in that world.
⁶We are trying to reach your real home.
⁷We are trying to reach the place where you are truly welcome.
⁸We are trying to reach God.
5. Do not forget to repeat today’s idea often.IV
²Do so with your eyes open when necessary, but close them when possible.
³And be sure to sit quietly, repeating today’s idea whenever you can, closing your eyes to the world and acknowledging that you are inviting the Voice of God to speak to you.
I That is so. That is simply a fact, though you probably don’t see it that way. The reason you do not hear it is also very simple: you are not listening. You do not set your will on hearing it, and that is why you do not hear it. You may also be unaware of the fact that your mind’s power to block the Voice of God is as great as the Power of God to make Himself heard, because the power of your mind is precisely the Power of God. Through that Power He created you and gave it to you wholly, along with the freedom to use it as you would.
You cannot hear two voices at once. Your mind always chooses one and disregards the other. That is inevitable. This Course tells you that one is the voice of the ego and the other, the voice of the Holy Spirit. And perhaps this leaves you somewhat confused, because you are not clear about which voices it refers to. In fact, it is very simple. The voice of the ego is the one you know as your own voice. It is that incessant inner dialogue you maintain with yourself, and also the words that come out of your mouth when you speak, without knowing exactly how they occur to you or where they come from. All of that is the voice of the ego, and it is something that in truth has nothing to do with you, even though you witness it. The sad circumstance is that you confuse being a witness with being an author, and you claim as yours what you hear. The truth is that it is not, but you believe it is.
The voice of the Holy Spirit also occurs in you; it comes from God and is the perfect answer to any matter you consider. In this case, it is not a compulsive voice, like the ego’s, but one you must “activate” through your invitation to hear it. In reality, the Holy Spirit has no discourse of His own: He is your Father’s answer to all your requests, nothing more, but nothing less than that.
To hear the voice of the Holy Spirit is the same as to want to hear it and to believe that it will tell you what is best and what you need because, ultimately, it is a belief resting on reality. Therefore, to hear it requires that you engage your will and your trust. Realize that this, in truth, is a Course in the exercise of the will, and remember that trust is the fundamental characteristic of God’s teachers.
II This is the fourth time you are urged to try to pay attention to the part of your mind where the Voice of God resides. Today’s is an exercise of pure will that requires great determination and honesty, but also great innocence and trust. Realize that you will begin the exercise from the lower part of your mind, which rules the ego, but if you do it well you will find yourself, to your surprise, in the other part, in your higher mind, for both are you.
III Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
IV The fact that you remember to do it will give you an indication of what your heart truly desires. Do not be afraid. You will not hear a resounding heavenly proclamation; you will hear precisely what is most fitting for you in that very moment. The content of what you hear will be determined by the position of your heart at that instant. If you are preoccupied with trivialities, you will hear a wise answer to that triviality. If you are distressed for any reason, you will receive a message of comfort, safety, and peace. Try to remember throughout the day what is truly best for you; listen.
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LESSON 48
There is nothing to fear.I
1. Today’s idea simply states a fact.
²To those who believe in illusions, it is not a fact.
³But illusions are not facts.
⁴In truth, there is nothing to fear.II
⁵This is very easy to recognize.
⁶But it is very difficult to recognize for those who want illusions to be true.III
2. Today’s practice periods will be brief, simple, and frequent.
²Simply repeat the idea as often as possible.
³You can do so with your eyes open at any time and in any situation.
⁴However, it is strongly recommended that you take a minute whenever possible to close your eyes and repeat the idea silently, slowly, several times.
⁵It is especially important to use the idea immediately whenever anything disturbs your peace of mind.
3. The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own strength.IV
²The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows that somewhere in your mind—though not yet fully recognized—you have remembered God and allowed His Strength to take the place of yours.
³In the instant you are willing to do this, you stop being afraid.
I This brief Lesson is one of the most beloved by many students of this Course, and with good reason.
This Lesson is deeply cherished for its simplicity and its profound capacity to console. “There is nothing to fear” speaks directly to the heart, offering a sense of peace and calm in the midst of the challenges of daily life. Its message cuts through the complexity of our worries and anxieties, reminding us that fear is an illusion rooted in the ego. The idea that we are always safe in the presence of God’s Love, beyond the illusions of the world, brings immense relief. Its universal truth resonates with everyone, making it a powerful mantra in moments of doubt, anxiety, or distress.
II Remember the celebrated introductory lines of this Course: “This Course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way: Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Therein lies the Peace of God.”
This statement encapsulates the essence of its teaching: “There is nothing to fear.”
If we interpret it more freely, placing these words on Jesus’ lips, they might sound like this: “My brother, enjoy the Peace of God and do not be afraid, for what is real in you is in no danger whatsoever. Everything you think you could lose, in truth, does not exist and has never been real.”
This is a Course about healing, and as the Text states: “Healing is the removal of fear.”
The evangelical message of Jesus has always been: “Do not be afraid; rejoice, for your true reality abides in God and is therefore unchangeable.”
That is all. It is what the awakened brother says to the brother who is still dreaming, as he watches him suffer in his nightmares: “There is nothing to fear.”
Now, our experience in the world seems to show us the opposite. We feel that danger stalks us continually, we fear the disasters we imagine around the corner, and we live on the edge, afraid of losing something we value. Moreover, the certainty of our future death does not cease to haunt us. This is how most of us perceive “reality.”
The question is: is that really true? Have we ever lost anything that is truly real? Undoubtedly, as time has passed we have watched everything we considered “ours”—body, job, relationships, or ideas—change. Everything keeps transforming. Strictly speaking, time seems to destroy anything we think we possess.
But there is something that never changes: our consciousness of being.
When Jesus tells us there is nothing to fear because what is real in us is not in danger, he is referring to that unchanging awareness, to our true Self. Everything else belongs to the realm of illusion. And it is not merely that we could lose it: in truth, it has never existed. It was an illusion.
The Peace of God protects what He has created, not the illusions our egoic mind fabricates. Every fear of loss is born of the unconscious devotion we keep offering our fantasies—this story of fears, desires, and supposed lacks we have built around ourselves—even though we are glorious Sons of God.
Let us recognize that, ultimately, what frightens us is awakening from a nightmare, and it is worth asking: is it reasonable to fear ceasing to fear and returning to reality?
III Read this line with great attention. Think it over carefully, and then consider whether it is your case.
IV 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will most gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’” Here, Paul recognizes a profound spiritual paradox: it is precisely in acknowledging our human frailty that we open to divine strength. When we stop relying on our limited abilities and instead rest in God’s grace, we discover a power that is not our own, but infinitely greater. This aligns perfectly with the teaching of the Course, which holds that fear arises from trusting in our own strength, while peace comes from trusting in the Strength of God within us.
Similarly, Philippians 4:13 affirms: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This is not a call to ego-driven personal achievements, but an invitation to recognize that through our union with Christ—the symbol of our true Self—we have access to limitless strength. There is no situation we cannot face, no fear we cannot dissolve, because we do not face it alone.
Both verses gently shift our focus from self-sufficiency to reliance on the divine. Once we truly embrace this truth, fear loses its power. After all, if “My grace is sufficient for you” and “I can do all things through Christ,” what could possibly remain to fear?
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LESSON 47
God is the Strength in which I trust.I
1. If you rely on your own strength, you have every reason to be apprehensive, anxious, and afraid.
²What can you predict or control?
³What is there in you that you can depend on?
⁴What gives you the ability to be aware of all facets of any problem, and to resolve them in such a way that only good can come of it?
⁵What is there in you that enables you to recognize the right solution, and ensure that it will be achieved?
2. You can do none of these things by yourself.II
²To believe you can is to place your trust where it is unwarranted, and this results in fear, anxiety, depression, anger, and sorrow.
³Who can put his faith in weakness and feel safe?
⁴And who can put his faith in Strength and feel weak?
3. God is your sure protection in every circumstance.
²His Voice speaks for Him in every situation and in every aspect of each situation, telling you exactly what to do to call upon His Strength and His protection.
³There are no exceptions to this, because God makes no exceptions.III
⁴And the Voice that speaks for Him thinks as He does.
4. Today we will try to go past your weakness and reach the Source of true Strength.
²Four five-minute practice periods are required today, and more and longer sessions are strongly encouraged.
³Close your eyes and begin, as usual, by repeating the idea for today.
⁴Then spend a minute or two searching your mind for situations in your life that you have invested with fear, and dismiss each one by saying to yourself:
⁵God is the Strength in which I trust.
5. Now try to let go of all concerns related to your own sense of inadequacy.
²Clearly, any situation that causes you concern is associated with feelings of insufficiency, for otherwise you would believe you could handle it successfully.
³Placing your trust in yourself is not how you build confidence.
⁴But the Strength of God in you will always succeed.IV
6. Recognizing your own frailty is a necessary step in the correction of your errors.
²But it is not sufficient to give you the confidence you need and are entitled to.
³You must also gain awareness that your trust in your true Strength is fully justified in every circumstance and with respect to everything.V
7. In the final phase of practice, try to go deep within your mind to a place of true safety.
²You will recognize that you have reached it if you experience a sense of deep peace, no matter how briefly.
³Let go of the trivial thoughts that crowd the surface of your mind and sink beneath them to the Kingdom of Heaven.
⁴There is a place in you where perfect peace abides.
⁵There is a place in you where nothing is impossible.
⁶There is a place in you where the Strength of God resides.
8. Repeat today’s idea often.
²Use it as your response to any disturbance.
³Remember that Peace is your right because you trust in the Strength of God.
I Notice how these last Lessons deal with the three aspects of Being, the divine triad of Knowing, Loving, and Creating.
W-44: God is the Light in which I see. (Seeing–Ajna/I understand)
W-45: God is the Mind with which I think. (Mind–Sahasrara/I am)
W-46: God is the Love in which I forgive. (Loving–Anahata/I love) W-47: God is the Strength in which I trust. (Power–Will–Manipura/I can)
II To recognize this is nothing more than an exercise in simple honesty; it is something that not even the Son of God, by himself, can do, for the Son of God, by himself, is nothing but a human being. As Jesus reminds us: “Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever things He does, these also does the Son likewise’” (John 5:19).
III Here Jesus reminds us once again that the Voice of the Holy Spirit is always within our reach. It speaks to us in every circumstance, for it dwells in the right part of the mind, sometimes referred to as the “higher mind.” If at times we do not hear It, it is not because the Voice is absent, but because to hear It we need to be willing to listen and to pause our inner dialogue for a moment. After all, how could we hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit if we do not give It space and go on conversing with ourselves without end?
IV In your present situation, it is natural that this statement—no matter how beautiful and joyful it may seem to you—does not yet strike you as entirely believable. Perhaps you read it with good will, yet still consider it little more than a well-intentioned, somewhat idealistic story.
Listen attentively and open your mind to the truth: nothing is closer to truth than this! To harbor the idea of God in your mind—to think of your Father, even if only for an instant—makes you absolutely invulnerable under any circumstance. To remember Him, even for a brief moment, places you beyond all threat in this illusory dream of death and destruction. To think of God fills you with such power and joy that, even though it does not physically remove you from this world, it protects you with a mantle of sanity and shields you from all harm. Do you not realize that to call upon God is to bring Reality to illusion, Love to fear, Truth to error, and Strength to weakness? But do not rely on these words alone: see for yourself! Think of God when you feel afraid, when doubts assail you, or when you do not know which path to take… and watch carefully what happens. You will be astonished.
V “True strength” refers to the Strength of God that dwells within you, not to that which your ego seeks to claim for itself.
Remember also that trust is the first and most important characteristic of God’s teachers, and it rests precisely upon that Strength. As the Course states:
“God’s teachers trust in the world because they have learned it is not governed by the laws the world made up. It is governed by a Power in them, but not of them” (M-5.1.1:4-5).That Power, in the end, is the Strength of God.
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LESSON 46
God is the Love in which I forgive.
1. God does not forgive, because He has never condemned.
²And before forgiveness becomes necessary, there must have been condemnation.
³Forgiveness is the greatest need of this world, but that is because this is a world of illusions.
⁴Those who forgive are thus released from illusions; those who do not forgive are bound by them.I
⁵Just as you truly only condemn yourself, in the same way, you only forgive yourself.
2. Although God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the foundation of forgiveness.
²Fear condemns, and Love forgives.II
³Forgiveness undoes what fear has made, and brings the mind back to the awareness of God.
⁴For this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation.
⁵Forgiveness is the means by which illusions disappear.
3. Today’s exercises require at least three full five-minute sessions, along with as many shorter applications as possible.
²Begin the longer practice periods by silently repeating today’s idea, as usual.
³Close your eyes while doing so, and spend one or two minutes searching your mind for those you have not forgiven.
⁴It does not matter “how much” you have failed to forgive them.
⁵You have either forgiven them completely, or not at all.III
4. If you do the exercises properly, you should have no difficulty finding many people you have not forgiven.
²A helpful rule is to consider anyone you do not like as a suitable subject.
³Name each one specifically and say:
⁴God is the Love in which I forgive you, [name].
5. The purpose of the first part of the practice is to better prepare you to forgive yourself.IV
²After you have applied today’s idea to everyone who came to mind, say to yourself:
³God is the Love in which I forgive myself.
⁴Then spend the remainder of the practice adding related thoughts, such as:
⁵God is the Love with which I love myself.
⁶God is the Love in which I am blessed.
6. The form of these applications may vary considerably, but the central idea must not be lost.
²You might say, for example:
³I cannot be guilty because I am a Son of God.
⁴I have already been forgiven.
⁵It is not possible to hold fear in a mind that God loves.
⁶There is no need to attack, because Love has forgiven me.
⁷Do not forget that the practice should end by repeating today’s idea in its original form.
7. The shorter applications may simply consist of repeating the idea in its original form, or in a related form if you prefer, or through more specific applications when necessary.
²These specific applications will be needed any time during the day when you become aware of any kind of negative reaction toward someone, whether that person is present or not.
³In such cases, repeat silently:V
⁴God is the Love in which I forgive you.
I Matthew 16:19: “And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”
John 20:23: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
This is the key to forgiveness. When you forgive, you are telling yourself that it is not important, precisely because it is an illusion. Moreover, realize that this is not merely a mental process, for your heart also implores you, through its discomfort, to change your way of thinking.
Forgiveness is healing for your Soul; whenever you forgive, your Soul rejoices, and that is no fantasy, for you feel it in your whole being. Regaining your spiritual health also has repercussions on your body, which heals as well.
Remember that your body is nothing more than an idea in your mind about yourself, and when you force that idea to coexist with other poisonous ones of condemnation, it attunes itself to those malignant ideas and becomes ill.
Condemnation is the judgment that inevitably binds you to illusion—not so much because of its negative character, but because it makes illusion inescapably real to you. You only condemn what you consider certain and real.
This is the great spell of condemnation: granting reality to the illusory. In the same way, but in perfect opposition, the foundation of forgiveness is precisely the recognition that what is being considered is not real, and that is why it is forgiven, let go.
Who would linger with an illusion if he knew it to be one?
II This statement carries extraordinary light and tremendous liberating power.
If you become aware that every condemnatory judgment is, at its core, nothing but an expression of fear, you would not devote yourself so eagerly to your favorite activity: blaming.
Human beings blame with ease because, in condemning, they see themselves as most dignified judges in possession of truth. Yet if they became aware that in condemning they are, in fact, merely expressing their fear, they would be far more cautious in their judgments, for they would hardly find any dignity in being afraid.
III This, like virtually every declaration of this Course, is maximalist and true, in sharp contrast to the relativistic approaches of the world, founded on compromise.
Forgiveness is either total, or it is not forgiveness at all, because to forgive is to release, to let go—and this only occurs when the release is complete.
If you retain something, even in its mildest form, it remains fully with you. Failing to see this is like failing to understand why you are being electrocuted when you touch the electrical wire “just a little.”
Just as error implies separation from truth, forgiveness implies separation from error. And separation is an absolute concept: it either is, or it is not.
IV Today’s exercise is extraordinarily practical and effective, and if done wholeheartedly, it brings great release and healing. But to do it well requires absolute honesty. The way the proposal is formulated has little importance; what is essential is that there be a true willingness to forgive and to let go of past judgments.
V…and wholeheartedly:
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LESSON 45
God is the Mind with which I think.
1. Today’s idea holds the key to understanding what your real thoughts are.I
²They are nothing you think you think, just as nothing you think you see bears any resemblance to true vision.II
³There is no relationship between what is real and what you think is real.
⁴Nothing you regard as your real thoughts resembles your true thoughts in any way.
⁵Nothing you think you see bears any likeness to what Vision will show you.
2. You think with the Mind of God.
²Therefore, you share your thoughts with Him, just as He shares His with you.
³They are the same thoughts, because they are thought by the same Mind.
⁴To share is to make alike, or to make one.
⁵The thoughts you think with the Mind of God do not leave your mind, because thoughts do not leave their source.III
⁶Therefore, your thoughts are in the Mind of God, just as you are.
⁷Your thoughts are also in your mind, where He is.
⁸As you are part of His Mind, so too are your thoughts part of His Thoughts.
3. Where, then, are your real thoughts?
²Today we will try to reach them.
³We must look for them in your mind, because that is where they are.
⁴They must still be there, for they cannot have left.
⁵What the Mind of God thinks is eternal, for it is part of Creation.
4. Our three five-minute practice sessions today will follow the same general form we used when applying yesterday’s idea.
²Today we will try to leave behind illusions and seek the truth.
³Today we will deny the world in favor of truth.
⁴We will not let the world’s beliefs hold us back or convince us that what God wills is impossible.
5. Instead, we will try to recognize that only what God wills for us is possible.
²We will also try to understand that only what God wills for us is what we truly want to do.
³And we will try to remember that we cannot fail in doing what He wills us to do.
⁴There are many reasons to be confident that today you will succeed.
⁵For that is God’s Will.
6. Begin today’s exercises by repeating the idea silently with your eyes closed.
²Then spend a fairly short time considering a few of your own thoughts that are relevant, holding the idea in your mind as you do so.
³Once you have added four or five of your own thoughts, repeat the idea again and say quietly to yourself:
⁴My real thoughts are in my mind.
⁵I would like to find them.
⁶Then try to go past all meaningless thoughts that cover the truth in your mind, and reach toward the eternal.IV
7. Beneath all the senseless thoughts and mad ideas with which you have filled your mind are the thoughts you thought with God before time began.
²Those thoughts are still in your mind now, completely unchanged.
³They will always be in your mind, exactly as they always were.
⁴Everything you have thought since then will change, but the foundation on which they rest is absolutely unchangeable.
⁵Today’s exercises are aimed at reaching this foundation.
⁶That is where your mind is joined with the Mind of God.
⁷That is where your thoughts are one with His.
8. This type of practice requires only one thing.
²That you approach it as you would an altar dedicated in Heaven itself to God the Father and to God the Son.
³For that is the place you are trying to reach.
⁴You may not yet fully understand how high you are attempting to go.
⁵But even with the little understanding you have already gained, you should be able to realize that this is no idle game, but an exercise in Holiness and a reaching toward the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. In applying today’s idea in the shorter practice periods, try to remember how important it is for you to understand the Holiness of the mind that thinks with God.
²When you repeat the idea throughout the day, take one or two minutes to reflect on the Holiness of your mind.
³Lay aside, if only briefly, all thoughts unworthy of the One of Whom you are the host.
⁴And give thanks for the Thoughts He is thinking with you.
I Today’s practice is an exercise in respect for your own mind. The word respect comes from the Latin respectus, the participle of the verb respicere, formed from the prefix re- and the verb specere, which means “to look.” To respect, in its etymological sense, is to look twice, to look attentively.
That is what this exercise proposes: that you contemplate your mind attentively and become aware of its intrinsic holiness, going beyond what you call “my thoughts,” which are nothing more than the voice of the ego in you.
Here Jesus speaks to us of our “true thoughts,” our “real thoughts,” and tells us that they have nothing to do with what we call “thinking.” The difference between the two is that one is form and the other content, with content understood as the “substance” of reality in its three aspects: love, truth, and creative power.
These concepts are abstract and ungraspable to the egoic human mind, which is illusory, limited, and knows only the concrete. Human thoughts, on the other hand, are insubstantial stories woven from absences of love, which is the substance of Reality. One is the opposite of the other.
To understand this, consider the following allegory: imagine a whiteboard on which something has been written in black ink. When you look at it, your mind focuses exclusively on those symbols and constructs a story. In reality, what you are considering is nothing more than the absence of light that the black ink produces on the surface of your retina, for you disregard the underlying light.
Think of the whiteboard as Reality and that light as the Love of God, your real thoughts. The others—what you call “my thoughts”—are the stories the black ink has led you to construct as you interpret the absences of light caused by its staining of the board.
In truth, all that is there is light; yet what you see are shadows. And that you call “thinking.”
II You believe you see and live in a world of forms, but spiritual vision regards the figures you perceive as symbols of causes manifested to you in that way.
Spiritual vision interprets the “dream of the world” in a manner analogous to Freud’s celebrated work The Interpretation of Dreams. Those figures that make up your perception are symbols, effects whose cause lies in the very nature of the ego within you.
Your fears and your desires appear in that “reality” as forms in a world you imagine, Son of God. The mechanism of that “seeing” is the same as that which produces the scenarios you witness in your nightly dreams.
III This is a fundamental notion in the paradigm of this Course. Ideas do not leave the source that conceived them to become “things” in a “space” external to the mind that thinks them.
Recognize that what you call “things” are nothing but ideas whose content is precisely to appear as something outside you. Those ideas, like everything you believe exists in an imagined outer world, are in your mind. The real thoughts, which are the same as you and whose true nature utterly escapes your present understanding because you do not remember Who you are, also remain in your mind, which is one with the Mind of God.
IV The purpose of this part of the exercise is to make you aware of the contrast between your usual thoughts and your real thoughts, which are perfectly abstract and eternal. Later, these thoughts will be called the “Creations of the Son of God.”
It is important that you realize that what you call “my thoughts” have absolutely nothing to do with you and are not “yours” at all. That is precisely the voice of the ego, which you endorse when, confused, you call them “my thoughts.”
You are merely the witness of the stories that voice tells you, woven from ghosts of old grievances and desires born of the ego’s vocation to feel special and lacking. None of that is yours, but the false identity with which you have identified yourself—the ego as effect—has inherited the greedy character of its progenitor—the ego as cause.
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LESSON 44
God is the Light in which I see.
1. Today we continue with yesterday’s idea, adding another dimension to it.
²You cannot see in darkness, nor can you make light.
³You can make darkness and then think you see in it, but light reflects life, and is therefore an aspect of Creation.
⁴Creation and darkness cannot coexist, but light and life must go together, for they are merely different aspects of Creation.
2. To see, you must recognize that light is within you, not outside.
²You see nothing outside yourself.I
³What enables you to see is not outside you.
⁴An essential part of what enables you to see is light.
⁵And the light is always with you, making vision possible under all circumstances.II
3. Today we will attempt to reach that light.III
²To do so, we will use a method of practice we have introduced once before and will use increasingly.IV
³It is a practice especially difficult for an undisciplined mind and represents one of the major goals of mental training.
⁴This practice requires precisely what an untrained mind lacks.
⁵Yet if you wish to see, this is the training you must undertake.
4. Practice at least three times today, for three to five minutes each.
²Longer periods are strongly encouraged, but only if they flow with little or no sense of strain.
³This form of practice is as natural and easy for a trained mind as it is unnatural and difficult for an untrained one.
5. But your mind is already somewhat trained.
²You are quite ready to learn the form of today’s practice, though you may still experience strong resistance.
³The reason is very simple.
⁴When you practice in this way, you leave behind all the thoughts and beliefs you have made.
⁵This is, in essence, the release from hell.
⁶But to the ego, it seems like the loss of personal identity and a descent into hell.
6. If you can step back from the ego even slightly, you will recognize that its fears are meaningless.
²It may help you to remind yourself from time to time that reaching the light is escaping from the darkness, even if you believe otherwise.
³God is the Light in which you see.
⁴And you are attempting to reach Him.
7. Begin the practice by repeating today’s idea with your eyes open, then slowly close them while repeating the idea several more times.
²Then try to sink into your mind, letting go of every kind of interference and intrusion, gently descending beyond them.
³There is nothing preventing your mind from doing this except you.
⁴Your mind is simply following its natural course.
⁵Try to observe the thoughts that come without getting involved in them, and glide quietly past them.V
8. Although this exercise requires no specific focus, it is important that you consider what you are doing to be of great value to you, and that you be fully aware that you are attempting something very sacred.
²Salvation is your happiest achievement and the only one that has real meaning, for it is the only one that truly benefits you.
9. If you encounter any kind of resistance, pause and repeat today’s idea with your eyes closed, unless you feel afraid.
²In that case, opening your eyes briefly will likely reassure you.
³However, try to return to the exercise as soon as possible.
10. If your practice is successful, you should experience a sense of relaxation, a feeling of approaching the light, and even entering into it.
²Leave the thoughts of the world behind and try to imagine a light without form or boundaries.
³And do not forget that they can only hold you back if you give them that power.VI
11. Repeat today’s idea frequently throughout the day, both with eyes open and closed, as suits your needs at the moment.
²And, of course, do not forget it.
³Above all, make a firm resolve not to forget it today.VII
I You see nothing outside yourself because there is nothing outside you. Everything you perceive is within you and made by you; the only thing is that you have convinced yourself that what you have conceived lies outside of you.
Today’s Lesson is meant to help you stop associating the idea of seeing with the experience of perceiving “things.” That is not seeing—that is imagining—because in that experience you are not knowing anything; you are merely projecting images onto the screen of consciousness, and you call that “seeing.”
True vision is a direct relationship with truth, and since truth is precisely what you are, when you truly see something you have the feeling that you have become what you are seeing—that you are that. Which, if you think about it, makes perfect sense, because Knowing is one of the three aspects of Being; that is, Knowing and Being are the same.
Therefore, in the realm of Knowledge there is no distinction between the knower and the known. Only unity exists. What we call “vision” in the Course is the beginning of the return to that unity. It is not about perceiving different objects with a new clarity, but about experiencing the essence behind all appearances, recognizing that what you see is not separate from you.
When you truly “see,” there is no longer any sense of distance between you and what you perceive. There is no “observer” and “observed.” Instead, there is a direct and immediate experience of unity. That is why true vision is often described as a state of deep peace, for there is no conflict in unity: there is no division, no opposition, no “other.”
This is radically different from the perception of the ego, which is built upon duality: subject and object, self and other, inside and outside. The ego’s “vision” is always filtered through judgment, comparison, and interpretation. But real vision transcends all that. It does not interpret; it simply recognizes what is.
The practice of today’s Lesson consists in beginning to loosen the grip of the ego’s way of seeing. You are invited to notice that what you think you see “out there” is, in reality, a projection from within. And by questioning the reality of these external appearances, you open your mind to the possibility of another kind of vision—one that reveals the truth that has always been there, within you.
II The term “light,” which this Course uses so profusely, is a symbol representing comprehension, understanding, and knowledge of the aspects of reality that are reflected and perceived within the illusion.
In the context of the Course, “light” is not merely a metaphor for visual clarity, but a symbol of spiritual awareness: the recognition of truth beyond appearances. It represents the shift from perceiving through the ego’s distorted lens to perceiving through the vision of Christ, which sees beyond form to the eternal essence of all things.
Light represents the state of mind in which the darkness of ignorance, fear, and separation has been dispelled. It is not something external that we must seek, but an inner presence that has always been there, waiting to be acknowledged. The Course reminds us that light is not outside us, because nothing is outside us.
This inner light does not reveal the illusions of the world, but the unchanging reality that exists beyond them. It is the awareness that what we thought was hidden has always been present, and that our true nature is not defined by the forms we perceive, but by the changeless truth that lies beyond perception.
Therefore, when the Course invites us to “reach the light,” it is not asking us to achieve something new, but to remember what we already are. It is about removing the barriers we have placed in our minds—false beliefs and judgments—that block our awareness of this ever-present light.
In this sense, light is synonymous with knowledge—not in the intellectual sense, but as direct, experiential knowing: the kind of certainty that requires no proof because it arises from the recognition of what is eternally true.
III The light we are going to try to reach today is Knowledge, one of the three aspects of your Being (Knowledge-Love-Will) already mentioned—in particular, the light of Knowledge.
If this were a treatise on tantra yoga, it would say that you are going to work with the ajna chakra.
This reference to the ajna chakra, often known as the “third eye,” is symbolic of inner vision and higher perception—qualities closely aligned with what the Course calls true vision or spiritual vision. Just as the ajna chakra represents the capacity to perceive beyond the physical senses, the light of Knowledge in the Course points to an awareness that transcends the limitations of ego-based perception.
However, though the Course does not employ the same framework as tantra yoga, both traditions point to the same essential truth: the shift from external, fragmented perception to inward, unified awareness. In the Course, this process is not about activating energy centers, but about removing the mental blocks that prevent us from recognizing the light that has always been within us.
IV Today’s practice is a variation of the meditation exercise taught in Lesson 41.
In a way, one could say that this Course brings together and requires the practice of various “yogas.” Fundamentally, it is an extraordinary manual of jnana yoga—the yoga of knowledge—through its ontological and epistemological principles, which can be found in the purest form of advaita vedanta. It is also an impeccable proposal of karma yoga—the yoga of action—through its emphasis on detachment from worldly matters and on forgiveness.
Undoubtedly, bhakti yoga—the yoga of devotion—is omnipresent throughout the Course. Yet the different meditation practices proposed in the Workbook are approaches characteristic of raja yoga, the yoga of mental techniques.
This convergence of yogic principles within the Course illustrates its integral approach to spiritual awakening. Like jnana yoga, it guides the mind to question deeply rooted beliefs and illusions, leading us toward the recognition of ultimate truth. Like karma yoga, it emphasizes the transformative power of forgiveness as a means to transcend the ego’s attachments. The bhakti element is expressed in the Course’s recurring call to surrender to divine Love, fostering a profound sense of devotion to God and to our true Self. Meanwhile, the meditative practices reflect the disciplines of raja yoga, training the mind to silence its incessant chatter and open itself to inner stillness. This synthesis allows the Course to resonate with seekers of various paths, for it is not confined to a single method but integrates the wisdom of multiple traditions to support the process of remembering our oneness with God.
V Today’s most important exercise is a guided formal meditation in which the idea “God is the light in which I see” is stated, and then, with the mind utterly relaxed, the pure idea of light is evoked.
It is natural for distracting thoughts to arise; when they do, simply dismiss them without giving them any importance. The only thing that matters is the firm determination to evoke the light and move toward it.
This practice is not about controlling the mind or forcing it into silence, but about gently redirecting your attention each time distractions appear. Each time you notice your mind has wandered, calmly return to the idea of light, as though following a gentle current back to its source.
Allow the concept of light to expand in your mind, not as a physical phenomenon, but as an inner presence—a silent radiance that is already there, waiting to be acknowledged. You do not need to create the light; you only need to remove the veil of thoughts that seem to conceal it.
Approach this meditation with patience and an attitude of openness. Even brief moments of clarity, when you feel the connection with the inner light, are invaluable. Over time, these glimpses will deepen, and the experience of light will become more natural and constant.
Remember, the goal is not to achieve a specific result, but to cultivate the willingness to experience the truth. The light is always there, because it is what you are. This exercise is simply a way of remembering that eternal fact.
VI If meditation practice is not new to you, you will not experience fear at all. The fear in this exercise arises from the dizziness the ego feels at losing its grip on the mind. That is why it is important not to take the exercise personally, for it is not about that at all, but quite the opposite.
You are attempting to transcend the lower mind—the realm of the ego—and rise to the higher part of your mind. And it is essential that you realize you are not going anywhere foreign to yourself; that part of your mind is more truly you than the “self” you think you are. Yet you do not know this clearly yet, for it is not something that is learned, but something that is experienced.
This process is not about facing something alien or unknown; rather, it is about returning to what has always been within you, though forgotten. The ego may resist because it perceives this shift as a threat to its identity, but in truth, nothing real is at risk. What you are moving toward is your true Self: the eternal, changeless awareness that has never been touched by the illusions of separation, fear, or time.
During the exercise, if you feel any discomfort, simply observe it without judgment. Recognize that the fear is not yours; it is merely a temporary reaction of the ego trying to maintain its illusion of control. You need not fight it or analyze it. Simply acknowledge its presence, gently return your attention to the practice, and allow the resistance to dissolve on its own. The key is to approach meditation with trust, openness, and a willingness to let go of the familiar thought patterns that have defined your identity until now. The light you are seeking is not outside you—it is you. The practice is simply an invitation to remember that truth.
VII Today’s exercise is very important and has enormous transformative power, because it unites two fundamental ideas that are absolutely real and true: the idea of God and the idea of the light within you.
To evoke them together is not to imagine any fantasy, but to begin to see reality. Remember that you perceive what you want to see, which is why your desire for light is essential for this exercise to succeed.
This practice is not an intellectual exercise; it is an opening of the heart and mind to the recognition of what has always been present. Light is not something you need to create or reach; it is the essence of your being. When you bring the idea of God into this awareness, you are not invoking something separate from you, but recognizing the Source of that light within you.
The key to this exercise is willingness. Even if you feel resistance or doubt, your sincere desire to experience the light will gently guide you beyond those barriers. The Course reminds us that we do not need perfect faith to begin; we only need the smallest willingness to allow the truth to reveal itself.
As you sit in silence with the idea “God is the light in which I see,” do not try to force an experience. Simply hold the thought gently in your mind, like a silent invitation. If distractions arise, return to the idea with patience and trust. Over time, you may notice subtle changes: a sense of peace, a feeling of expansion, or a serene joy arising without external cause.
These glimpses are signs that you are beginning to see with the light of truth instead of with the eyes of the ego. The more you practice, the more natural this vision will become, until it is no longer something you seek but something you live.
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LESSON 43
God is my Source; I cannot see apart from Him.
1. Perception is not an attribute of God.I
²The realm of God is Knowledge.
³But God created the Holy Spirit as a Mediator between Knowledge and perception.
⁴Without this link to God, perception would have replaced Knowledge in your minds forever.II
⁵Thanks to this connection with God, perception will change so completely, and be so thoroughly purified, that it will lead to Knowledge.
⁶This is the function of perception as the Holy Spirit sees it.
⁷Therefore, this is its true function.
2. In God, you cannot see.
²Perception has no function in God, and it does not exist.III
³Yet in salvation, which is the undoing of what never was, perception has a powerful purpose.
⁴Conceived by the Son of God for an unholy goal, it must now be transformed into the means for restoring the awareness of his Holiness.
⁵Perception has no meaning in itself.
⁶Yet the Holy Spirit gives it a meaning very close to that of God.
⁷Healed perception becomes the means by which the Son of God forgives his brother, and thus forgives himself.IV
3. You cannot see apart from God because you cannot be apart from God.
²Everything you do occurs within Him.
³Everything you think, you think with His Mind.
⁴If Vision is real—and it is, to the extent that it shares the Holy Spirit’s purpose—then you cannot see apart from God.
4. Three five-minute practice periods are required today.
²One as early as possible, and another as late as possible.
³The third should be done at the most convenient time, depending on your circumstances and readiness.
5. Begin the practice by silently repeating the idea with your eyes open.V
²Then look around you, applying today’s idea specifically to what you see.
³Four or five subjects are sufficient for this phase of the exercise.
⁴Say, for example:
⁵God is my Source.
⁶I cannot see this desk apart from Him.
⁷God is my Source.
⁸I cannot see that picture apart from Him.
⁹Although this part of the practice should be fairly brief, be sure to choose the subjects randomly, making no conscious effort to include or exclude anything.
6. For the second and longer phase, close your eyes, repeat today’s idea again, and then allow any relevant thoughts to come, incorporating them into the idea in whatever way feels natural.
²Thoughts such as:
³I see through the eyes of forgiveness.
⁴I see a blessed world.
⁵The world can show me myself.
⁶I see my own thoughts, which are like God’s.
⁷Any thought more or less related to today’s idea is appropriate.
⁸The thoughts need not bear an obvious connection to the idea, but they should not contradict it.
7. If you notice your mind wandering, become aware of thoughts clearly in conflict with today’s idea, or find that no thoughts come at all, open your eyes, repeat the first phase, and then return to the second.
²Do not allow yourself to become caught in irrelevant thinking.
³To avoid this, go back to the first phase as often as needed.
8. In the shorter practice periods, you may vary the form of the idea depending on the circumstances and situations you encounter throughout the day.
²When you are with someone, silently say:
³God is my Source.
⁴I cannot see you apart from Him.
⁵This variation is equally applicable to strangers and to those you know well.
⁶In fact, avoid making distinctions of this kind.
9. Also apply today’s idea to the various situations and events that may arise, especially those that disturb you in any way.
²For this kind of application, use this form:
³God is my Source.
⁴I cannot see this apart from Him.
10. If no specific subject occurs to you, simply repeat the idea in its original form.
²Try not to let too much time pass without remembering today’s idea, for doing so is remembering your function.
I The mind is an abstract potential for creation; by itself it does nothing and creates nothing. It must unite with something in order to generate a proposal.
On the other hand, to perceive is to construct stories by linking symbols through a given syntax. But the mind, by itself, can neither build any story nor perceive. For that it needs a partner, a counselor, a guide, an author who will use its neutral creative potential to elaborate a meaningful proposal.
And in that scenario there are only two possible candidates: the ego and the Holy Spirit. There are no others; do not be mistaken about that.
You are not the third candidate; you are the mind. You do not craft stories nor interpret what you perceive. You merely subscribe to a given interpretation, and your only freedom is to choose to whom you will offer your creative potential so that they may elaborate a story you will call “perceiving.”
Having chosen to separate from God in order to have an individual identity—which is only possible in the illusory world—your perception through time would be forever bound to the authorship of the ego were it not for the presence of the Holy Spirit in you. In that case, you would experience a permanent dream of fear, guilt, and death.
However, the stories—the interpretations of what is perceived—that we build hand in hand with the Holy Spirit are aligned with the truth and lead us toward Knowledge, which is one of the three aspects of Being. These are reflected in the three functions of the Soul: Knowing, Loving, and Creating (T-3.IX.1:2).
In this Lesson we are reminded that, in God’s realm, perception as we understand it does not exist, but Knowledge does: the certainty of perfect Unity and Love.
Yet in the face of the mind that has identified with separation, the Holy Spirit acts as an enlightened interpreter, redirecting perception toward its true function: not to reinforce separation, but to lead back to the fullness of Knowledge.
Without this divine link, perception—conceived by the prodigal Son of God to sustain the illusion of separateness—would have permanently replaced Knowledge. Now, thanks to the Holy Spirit’s intervention, perception is purified and transformed into an instrument of salvation.
In the reality of God, seeing is not required, because nothing there is separate. By contrast, within the process of freeing the sleeping mind, perception takes on a powerful purpose: to become the way of forgiveness.
The Holy Spirit grants it a meaning close to God’s, that is, the meaning of Love that recognizes innocence in all things. Thus, healed perception gives the Son of God the opportunity to forgive his brother and thereby remember himself as part of that same innocence. This reinterpretation of perception is the essence of the Course’s path: it is not about denying what we see, but about reinterpreting it through the lens of forgiveness. Where the ego sees guilt, the Holy Spirit reveals innocence. Where the ego projects fear, the Holy Spirit uncovers love. And through this shift, perception ceases to be a tool of separation and becomes a bridge back to the awareness of our oneness with God.
II This divine intervention—this Answer to the idea of separation—is what guarantees the definitive healing of the Son of God’s mind.
In eternity, this occurred instantaneously, but in time it is called the Atonement and unfolds throughout the entire “history” of time itself. That is the script that is already written and that the Text mentions, for it is written in eternity, even though in time it seems still to be yet to occur.
Atonement is not a corrective process that takes place because something real went wrong. Rather, it is the undoing of what never truly happened: the belief in separation. From the perspective of eternity, the problem was corrected in the very instant it seemed to arise. The Holy Spirit was given as the Answer in the exact instant the illusion of separation was conceived.
However, within the illusion of time, this correction appears to unfold as a process. That is why we experience learning, growth, and stages of healing, although, in truth, we are already healed. The journey we perceive is simply the gradual recognition of what has always been true.
“The script is written,” not because our lives are predestined by some external force, but because time itself is an illusion: a projection of the mind that attempts to explore what it would be like to be separate from God. From outside of time, everything has already happened; the entire arc of perceived history exists simultaneously.
What we are doing in this Course is not rewriting the script, but choosing how we experience it. Events may seem to unfold in a certain way, but the meaning we give them—the perception we maintain—is where our freedom resides. This is the Holy Spirit’s role: to reinterpret the script in a way that leads us back to peace, shifting our perception from fear to love.
Thus, the Atonement is not merely the correction of a past error, but the recog-nition that no real error occurred. It is the acceptance that separation never truly happened and therefore nothing real has been lost.
Through this acceptance, we are not changing the world, but changing our mind about the world. And in so doing, we awaken from the dream, realizing that the journey was only a dream from the beginning, and that we never left Home.
III In God—pure Existence—there is no perception, but a perfect, continuous, and full Being. God is real; perception is not.
To perceive is to consider that there exists something different from the perceiver and that, moreover, this something changes or can change—that is, that it can cease to be and become something else, that it can die and return to existence in a different, always limited, form.
Perception inherently implies duality: subject and object, observer and observed, “I” and “other.” It is based on the illusion of separation, which is the foundation of the ego’s thought system. In contrast, God is One, an indivisible totality in which there exists no “other” to be perceived. Only Being exists: immutable, eternal, and complete.
That is why, in God, perception has no function. There is no need to perceive what is already perfectly known. In the realm of Knowledge—which is God’s domain—there is no subject–object relation, because everything forms part of the same unified reality.
Perception arises only as a substitute for Knowledge when the mind chooses to believe in separation. In this illusion, perception becomes the mechanism by which the mind tries to make sense of a fragmented world that it itself has imagined. It seeks to bestow meaning upon appearances, unaware that the meaning it assigns comes from within itself.
Perception, however, is unstable because it rests upon change. It shifts constantly, influenced by emotions, judgments, and past experiences. What we perceive today we may see differently tomorrow—not because reality has changed, but because our interpretation has. This is a clear sign that perception cannot reveal truth, because truth does not change.
The Holy Spirit’s role is to purify perception, transforming it from a tool of separation into a bridge back to Knowledge. Through forgiveness, we learn to see beyond appearances and to recognize the unchanging essence behind forms. We begin to perceive not through the body’s eyes but by means of the Vision of Christ: a perception that reflects the unity and innocence that still exist beneath the illusion of separation.
Ultimately, the goal is not to perfect perception, but to transcend it altogether. When the mind is fully healed, perception will no longer be necessary, because the illusion of separation will have been undone. What remains is the direct and unquestionable experience of Truth, beyond any need to “see” it, because we will simply be that Truth. In this sense, salvation does not consist in changing the world we perceive, but in undoing the belief in the reality of perception itself. In its place, what has always been true will shine unobstructed: the perfect, eternal, and unlimited reality of God.
IV This Course has a purpose and a strategy to achieve it. Forgiveness is the remedy Jesus proposes to awaken from the death-dream of egoic perception.
In the Course’s context, forgiveness is not what we commonly mean by the term. It is not about absolving others for their supposed errors or offenses. Rather, it is the recognition that there was never anything to forgive, because the offenses we perceive are illusions—projections of our mind’s belief in separation.
The ego’s perception rests on judgment, guilt, and fear. It constantly seeks to validate the illusion of separation by making others responsible for our pain or by reinforcing the belief that we ourselves are guilty and unworthy of love. This dynamic creates an endless cycle of suffering, as we continually project and perceive guilt both within and without.
Forgiveness, as the Course teaches it, breaks this cycle. It is the process of looking past appearances to recognize the truth: that nothing real has been harmed, that no sin has been committed, and that the Son of God remains innocent and whole.
This shift in perception is not something we accomplish by our efforts alone. It requires the Holy Spirit’s guidance, who reinterprets every situation, person, or memory through the lens of love instead of fear. When we allow the Holy Spirit to “judge” for us, we begin to see with the Vision of Christ—a vision that does not depend on the body’s eyes, but on the recognition of our shared divinity.
Forgiveness, then, is not about changing others, or even ourselves. It is about releasing the belief that something has gone wrong. It is the realization that what we thought was real—conflict, loss, betrayal, guilt—was simply a misperception, a dream from which we can awaken.
The Course’s strategy is to guide us through daily practices that help us undo the ego’s thought system. Each Lesson invites us to:
- Recognize the false beliefs we hold.
- Question the reality of these beliefs with the Holy Spirit’s help.
- Choose again: to see through the eyes of forgiveness instead of judgment.
Through constant practice, we begin to experience moments of true peace—glimpses of the reality beyond the dream. These moments grow as our trust deepens, and eventually forgiveness becomes not merely a practice, but our natural way of seeing.
Ultimately, forgiveness leads us to the Atonement, which is the total acceptance that separation never occurred. When we reach this recognition, the dream dissolves and we awaken to the truth of what we are: the eternal, beloved Son of God, forever at peace in His Love.
V The FIP Spanish version here says “with eyes closed” in all its editions, but that is an error. The FIP English version says with eyes open, as do the Urtext and the Notes. This is one of the very few slips in the FIP Spanish translation.
This discrepancy is significant because it alters the practice intended in the Lesson. In the Course, the instruction to keep the eyes open or closed during an exercise is not a trivial detail; it often reflects the specific purpose of the practice.
When the instruction is to keep the eyes open, it is usually related to integrating the Lesson into the outer world, applying the teaching to what we perceive around us. It symbolizes the idea that forgiveness and healing are not limited to meditative states of stillness, but must extend to our daily, waking experiences.
By contrast, practices with eyes closed tend to be more introspective, focused on inner reflection, stillness, and direct communion with the Holy Spirit.
Correcting this detail helps align the practice with its original purpose: to build a bridge between inner awareness and outer perception, reinforcing the idea that God’s Presence is not limited to moments of solitude, but accompanies us at all times—even in the midst of the world we see.
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LESSON 42
God is my Strength; Vision is His Gift.
1. Today’s idea brings together two very powerful thoughts, both of great importance.I
²It also establishes a cause-and-effect relationship that explains why your efforts to reach the goal of this Course cannot fail.
³You will see, because it is God’s Will.
⁴It is His Strength, not yours, that gives you power.
⁵And it is His Gift, not yours, that offers you Vision.
2. God is indeed your Strength.II
²And what He gives is truly given. ³This means you can accept and receive it at any time and in any place, regardless of circumstances.III
⁴Your journey through time and space is not accidental.
⁵You cannot but be in the right place at the right time.
⁶Such is the Strength of God.
⁷Such are His Gifts.
3. Today we will have two longer practice periods, each lasting three to five minutes.
²The first should be done as early as possible after waking, and the second as close as possible to the time you go to sleep.
³It is better to wait until you are ready to sit quietly by yourself than to be overly concerned about the exact time.
4. Begin by repeating today’s idea slowly while looking around you.
²Then close your eyes and repeat the idea again, even more slowly. ³After that, focus only on the thoughts that come to you related to today’s idea.IV
⁴You might think, for example:
⁵Vision must be possible.
⁶God truly gives.
Or:
⁷I must have God’s Gifts, for He gave them to me.
5. Any thought clearly related to today’s idea is suitable.
²In fact, you may be surprised by the deep understanding of the Course’s teachings reflected in some of the thoughts that come to you.
³Do not block them, unless you realize that your mind is simply wandering and has let in thoughts that are clearly irrelevant.
⁴If you reach a point where no thoughts come, open your eyes and slowly repeat the idea while looking around.
⁵Then close your eyes, repeat it once more, and continue searching your mind for thoughts related to today’s idea.
6. Remember that you are not to strain to find suitable thoughts.
²Simply allow them to come.
³If this proves difficult, it is better to spend the practice alternating between slow repetitions of the idea with your eyes open and closed, rather than trying to force appropriate thoughts to appear; just let them come.
7. You may do as many shorter practice periods as you wish; they will be very helpful.
²Today’s idea is a first step toward unifying your thoughts and teaching you that this Course presents a unified thought system, lacking nothing and free of all contradiction.
8. The more frequently you repeat today’s idea throughout the day, the more you will be reminding yourself that the goal of this Course is important to you, and that you have not forgotten it.
I Many spiritual paths, including this Course, recognize the sacred triad—the three aspects of Being (existence): Strength (creating/will), Vision (understanding/knowledge), and Love (loving/bliss). This lesson concerns the first two.
The Course introduces the idea of God as your Strength and Vision as His Gift. Here, “Strength” is not a personal force nor a resource obtained through effort, but the unshakable strength of Love and Truth. “Vision” refers to the mode of true perception that is granted to us when we stop seeing with the ego’s eyes and allow the Holy Spirit to look through us.
The cause-and-effect relationship mentioned is that the Will of God is the Cause, and our new way of seeing (Vision) is the effect. Since that is His Will, it cannot fail. This answers the Course’s central logic: what is born of infinite Love is already accomplished, because in the Mind of God there is no real opposition.
This is the key to understanding why our efforts in this Course are destined to succeed: not because of our personal strength or discipline, but because we are simply aligning with a Will that has already been fulfilled. We are not trying to create vision; we are opening to receive what has already been given.
“God is my strength; vision is His gift.” This is not a promise of something yet to come; it is an affirmation of what already is. Our practice, then, is not about striving, but remembering; not about attaining, but allowing. When we set aside the ego’s frantic attempts to control, fix, and understand through its limited lens, we create space for something far greater to emerge: the effortless clarity of Vision, powered not by us, but by the very Source of all that is true.
II 2 Samuel 22:33 “God is my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect.”
This verse beautifully reflects the essence of today’s lesson: “God is my strength; vision is His gift.” It mirrors the timeless truth that true strength does not arise from personal effort, but from our connection with the Divine. God is the source of all real power—not as a force to be acquired, but as the very foundation of our being.
“He makes my way perfect” alludes to the same principle the Course teaches: when we surrender to God’s Will—when we stop trying to control, judge, and force our path—we discover we have always been guided. Perfection does not consist in avoiding challenges, but in recognizing that every step, every lesson, and even every apparent mistake is part of a larger and loving design.
This aligns with the Course’s teaching that our journey through time and space is not random: “You cannot but be in the right place at the right time. Such is the strength of God. Such are His gifts.” (W-42.2:5–7)
Both the biblical verse and the Course remind us that we are never alone, never without support. Our strength is not fragile because it does not depend on us to sustain it; it is God’s strength in us—immutable and eternal. When we trust this truth, we cease struggling to perfect our path through effort. Instead, we allow the perfection already present to unfold before us, trusting that His vision will guide us where our eyes cannot see.
III This statement is crucial. Believe it and make its content your own, for it redefines the paradigm of your personal life. Believe it, and it will illumine your life.
Now everything makes sense; even the tiniest detail of what happens to you has purpose. Life is perfect, for it is a constant lesson in what you need to learn—that is, everything you must change in your mind so you may come to see it thus.
Everything that happens and displeases you is simply urging you to forgive it and see it differently, in the right way, which is what confers its true meaning. And when this happens, your heart confirms it, because then you “feel” well; then your mind is thinking something that is true.
Do not fear life. In it everything works in your favor, even if you do not believe it. You are constantly being provided the optimal opportunities to learn something essential for your happiness.
Do not be arrogant in thinking you know better than infinite divine wisdom what is best for you. You certainly do not, and by now that should be evident. Never be displeased; always be grateful.
God’s Gifts surround you everywhere, and your Father is in you, just as you are in Him, regardless of what your ego tells you. That bitter voice has always deceived you, and it will do so here as well.
You are not alone; you are constantly guided through life itself—your great teacher of change.
Remember this and never forget it: the measure of your displeasure is always the exact measure of what you have to learn at any given moment.
Our passage through time and space is not accidental. God’s Strength—His loving plan—guarantees that, in each instant, we are offered the opportunity to remember the Truth. Even when we feel lost, we are on the perfect stage to carry out the learning that is ours.
This understanding not only changes how we interpret challenges; it redefines the entire purpose of our life. Instead of seeing problems as obstacles, we begin to recognize them as gifts, each designed to awaken us and guide us back to the awareness of who we truly are.
Nothing is against you. Everything is for you. The question is not, “Why is this happening to me?” but rather, “What is this here to teach me?” When you adopt this perspective, life ceases to feel like a struggle and begins to become a sacred classroom, where every moment, every encounter, and every emotion is part of a divine curriculum designed for your awakening.
IV This is the formal introduction, after a brief appearance in Lesson 38, of letting thoughts related to the idea of the day come freely. It is a practice in which we first repeat the idea and then remain mentally silent, allowing kindred thoughts to arise spontaneously.
It is a very important exercise that greatly fosters and develops creativity, opening the doors to a part of your mind you did not know and that holds immense potential.
The exercise itself has the structure of a prayer, for you begin by invoking in faith the proposed idea and then remain in silence, awaiting the answer. The key to this entire practice lies in the confidence with which you carry it out and in the mental silence you protect from ego intrusions.
If you do it well, you will be inspired with thoughts full of light from the upper part of your mind. This is an exercise that, consciously or unconsciously, all creative people use who are able to bring into this world ideas from beyond, for it is the source of creativity. And, as the lesson says, its results will surprise you.
The mind is chameleonic; it becomes what it evokes and holds as true. Thus, if the idea of weakness reaches it, it weakens; if it brings in the idea of strength, it strengthens. And this occurs with everything it thinks upon.
Now then, can you conceive of ideas more powerful than God’s Strength and Vision? Then imagine the effect of bringing them into your mind, embracing them, and resting in them.
This practice is not about forcing understandings or chasing after deep revelations. It is about creating a space: a silent opening where truth can gently arise without interference. You are not trying to control the process; you are allowing it to unfold naturally, trusting that the light of inspiration will arrive—not because you demand it, but because it is already there, waiting to be received.
Think of it as opening a window in a dark room. You do not have to create sunlight; you simply remove the barrier, and the light enters on its own. In the same way, when you clear the mind of clutter and allow the day’s idea to settle, insights arise effortlessly, like ripples on still water.
This is the doorway both to inner peace and to true creativity.
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LESSON 41
God goes with me wherever I go.
1. In time, today’s idea will help you completely overcome the sense of loneliness and abandonment that all who believe they are separate experience.I
²Depression is an inevitable result of separation.
³So too are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering, and an intense fear of loss.
2. The separated have invented countless “cures” for what they believe are the “ills of this world.”
²Yet the one thing they never do is question the reality of the problem. ³But its effects cannot be healed because the problem is not real.II
3. Today’s idea has the power to end all this foolishness forever.
²For that is what it is: foolishness, no matter how grave or tragic its forms may appear to be.
³At the very core of your being lies everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you to the entire world.
⁴This will heal all sorrow and pain, all fear and lack, because it will heal the mind that thought those things were real and suffered by being loyal to such beliefs.
4. You can never be deprived of your perfect Holiness, because its Source goes with you wherever you go.
²You can never suffer, because the Source of all Joy goes with you wherever you go.
³You can never be alone, because the Source of all Life goes with you wherever you go.
⁴Nothing can disturb your Peace of Mind because God goes with you wherever you go.III
5. We understand that you do not believe all this.IV
²How could you, when the Truth is hidden deep within you, beneath a heavy cloud of insane, dense, and dark thoughts that make up everything you see?
³Today we will attempt for the first time to go past that heavy cloud, to pass through it and reach the Light beyond.V
6. Today there will be only one longer practice session.
²In the morning, preferably as soon as you wake, sit quietly for three to five minutes with your eyes closed.
³Begin by repeating today’s idea very slowly.
⁴Then, make no effort to think of anything.
⁵Try instead to feel yourself going inward, beyond all idle thoughts.
⁶Try to reach the deepest part of your mind, free from any distracting thought.VI
7. If helpful, you may repeat today’s idea occasionally.
²But above all, try to go deep within, away from the senseless thoughts of the world.
³You are trying to transcend all such things.
⁴You are trying to leave appearances behind and move toward Reality.
8. It is perfectly possible to reach God.
²In fact, it is very easy, because it is the most natural thing in the world.
³You could even say it is the only natural thing in this world.
⁴If you believe this is possible, the way will open before you.
⁵This exercise can bring remarkable results, even the first time it is attempted, and sooner or later it is always successful.
⁶As we progress, we will deepen this type of practice.VII
⁷But it will never fail completely, and instant success is possible.
9. Use today’s idea frequently throughout the day, repeating it very slowly and preferably with your eyes closed.
²Think about what you are saying, about the meaning of the words.
³Focus on the Holiness they bestow upon you, on the unfailing Companionship that walks with you, and on the perfect Protection that surrounds you.
10. For you can indeed afford to laugh at thoughts of fear, remembering that God goes with you wherever you go.
I It could be said that this lesson is, in a sense, quite “special,” for it is particularly powerful. It is both an invocation and an affirmation of truth. Its power lies precisely in that, and in the fact that God is included in the idea.
That feeling of loneliness, of abandonment, of depression, are clearly effects of separation. But what exactly is this idea? What is it based on? What feeds it? Think carefully and you will realize it is not an anonymous notion. In reality, it is the will to be separate that sustains it. You feel separate, you believe you are separate, because that is exactly what you want: you want to be you, period.
From the recognition of this premise arises the solution to the problem: the relinquishment of your false identity, the forgiveness of the idea you hold of yourself, and the openness to experience your reality without the conditions imposed by your ego’s interpretation. In other words, you must let go of that story you have told yourself about who you are in order to experience your reality directly.
Remember: you are not a story; you are real, you are Reality Itself.
This is the true power of today’s lesson: it calls you beyond narrative, beyond the roles and identities you have constructed, into the direct experience of what has always been true. “God goes with me wherever I go” is not just a comforting phrase; it is an affirmation of absolute reality. You are not, and never have been, separate. You are not alone, because you cannot be.
The belief in separation is only that—a belief. It has no foundation in truth. The moment you cease feeding it with your attention and desire, it begins to dissolve. What remains is what has always been there: the presence of God, the reality of your being, the simple and undeniable fact that you are, and that in your very existence, God is wholly present. This is not something you need to attain. It is something you need to remember. And today’s lesson is a gentle yet powerful invitation to do so.
II When we take separation (and all its manifestations) as real, we attempt to “resolve” it within a thought system that, rather than correcting it, reinforces it. The ego tries to find countless worldly solutions to address ills like depression, anxiety, or loneliness, but it rests on the premise that separation is real. This Course proposes a radical shift: to recognize that the problem does not exist in God’s reality, but only within an illusion of the mind. Once the illusion is exposed, the problem is undone at its source.
The “problem of evil” has haunted the judging mind throughout history. We say something is “wrong” when it does not meet our expectations, when it does not align with our definition of how things should be. The truly astonishing fact is that, systematically, we question reality itself, yet never question the validity of our own premises.
With our minds, our emotions, and our behavior, we manifest the assumption that our judgment is sound and timely, and that life itself is a regrettable mistake. Do you see the arrogance in such an attitude? It is as if we were saying: “Reality got it wrong, but I know how it should be.” This is the hallmark of the ego: it places itself as judge and jury of existence, assigning meaning based on its limited and distorted perspective. And yet the ego never questions its own authority to render such judgments.
The Course invites us to do exactly that: to question the very foundations of our thought system. What if the problem is not out there, in the world? What if the problem is the lens through which we look? What if the true problem is not the supposed “evils” we see, but our belief that we are separate from the Source of all peace, love, and wholeness?
When we question the validity of our premises, we open the door to a profound shift. We begin to see that the problem was never real in the first place. It was a misunderstanding, a mistaken belief. And in the moment we stop defending that belief, the illusion collapses.
Reality does not need to change. Only our perception does.
III When you read these four affirmations, allow yourself to think they are true, even if you may believe otherwise. Consider this: what you believe or do not believe will not change the truth in the slightest; what it will change is your state of mind. Your heart tells you that what is best for you is to feel well, to experience joy within.
Therefore, even if only for a brief time, set aside your judging mind and give yourself the opportunity to think only of what brings you peace and makes you feel good. Again, for a while, do not ask yourself whether it is true or not; simply welcome these thoughts into your mind and embrace them.
There will come a moment when you will realize, with absolute clarity, that your mind, for now, is incapable of distinguishing truth from error. Your heart, however, knows the difference perfectly. This is the essence of letting go: releasing the need to analyze, dissect, or confirm with logic. Instead, you allow yourself to feel the resonance of truth—not as an intellectual conclusion, but as a silent certainty, an inner recognition that requires no defense.
Truth does not need your belief to be true. But you will find peace when you cease resisting it.
IV Of course you do not believe this. If you did, you would not think you are here, or that you need to learn a Course to return to peace of mind. The egoic mind functions through beliefs. Those aligned with truth draw it closer to the experience of its Self, while false ones lead it away and into depression.
For that reason, and within time, the pedagogy of this Course rests on choosing among beliefs—selecting those that will carry you beyond all belief into the direct experience of your true Self.
This is the key: the goal is not to accumulate “better” beliefs, nor to replace negative thoughts with positive ones as if stacking bricks. The goal is to recognize that belief itself is a temporary tool, a stepping stone. Eventually, you move beyond even the most beautiful beliefs, for truth is not something to believe in; it is something to know, something to experience, something to embody.
Beliefs are like scaffolding around a building. They are useful during construction, but once the structure is complete, the scaffolding is removed. Similarly, the Course invites you to use these ideas not to cling to them forever, but to allow them to carry you to the point where belief is no longer necessary because you have reached knowledge.
Peace does not come from believing in peace. It comes from recognizing that peace is what you already are.
V This “dense cloud of insane thoughts” is what the Course calls the ego’s thought system: the constant mental activity that reinforces our separate identity and generates fear, guilt, and lack. The exercise proposed in this lesson—sitting in silence and trying to sink “deep within your mind”—is a way of moving beyond the confused surface and reaching that “inner space” where oneness with God can be experienced more clearly.
The Course, especially in the second half of the Workbook, places great emphasis on moments of quiet and inner listening. This lesson anticipates what, with practice, will allow us to recognize God’s Voice in us with greater clarity. The ego thrives on mental noise—on the endless chatter of judgments, comparisons, and narratives. It keeps us busy with surface concerns so we never pause long enough to question its validity. But truth does not shout; it whispers in the spaces of silence where the ego’s voice begins to fade.
These moments of stillness are not merely pauses between Lessons; they are the Lessons themselves. In quiet, you are not trying to achieve something, but creating the conditions to receive what has always been there. You are not attempting to make God’s Voice speak; you are realizing it has never stopped speaking.
Stillness is not the absence of activity; it is the presence of awareness. And it is in that awareness that you will remember who you truly are.
VI Repeating slowly, “God goes with me wherever I go”, is not a magic formula, but a way to anchor the mind in a true thought that directly contradicts the feeling of being alone and separate. The exercise suggests not forcing the mind with thoughts, but allowing it to grow quiet. In that silence, we let go of identification with the endless stream of ideas and concerns characteristic of the ego.
This inward turning is essential in the Course: we are invited to discover what lies beyond the mental noise, where the light of Truth shines. The practice is not about creating peace; it is about discovering it. Peace is already there, beneath the layers of fear, guilt, and distraction. The repetition of the idea is like gently parting the clouds to reveal the sun that never left—it was only hidden.
Each time you return to the phrase, you are not trying to convince yourself of something new, but remembering what has always been true. You are not asking for God’s presence; you are recognizing it. You are not seeking connection; you are realizing separation never happened.
In this way, the practice ceases to be mere words and becomes an experience: an experience of stillness, of openness, of feeling held in a truth that requires no defense. And as the mind grows quiet, the heart remembers: you were never alone.
VII This is the first true meditation exercise in the Workbook, and the directions given are foundational for the practices of meditation to come. The text reminds us that we do not need long delays to recognize God’s Presence. At any moment, if we are truly willing, the cloud of thoughts can suddenly part to let us glimpse the peace that already dwells within us.
Yet it is common for the ego to resist such an experience, for it threatens its very existence. That is why daily practice—disciplined yet unforced—accustoms the mind to release the ego’s constant noise.
This lesson teaches us that the central problem—the belief in separation—is not solved by seeking “remedies” in the world, but by recognizing that the problem is not real in the Mind of God. By practicing inner stillness and the constant reminder, “God goes with me wherever I go,” we begin to dismantle the belief in separation and, with it, undo the root of fear, depression, and loneliness.
The essential point is this: we do not need to achieve being with God, because we already are. What we can practice is the willingness to remember this Truth. Each time we do, whether in serenity or in turbulence, we open a space of healing within ourselves. And even if the experience of perfect peace does not seem to come immediately, the Course assures us that the practice “never fails completely,” for nothing can undo the truth that we are one with God.
In sum, this lesson invites us to move beyond the appearance of separation and to rest in the recognition of our inseparability from the Source, of the unfailing companionship and perfect protection this entails. Thus, the experience of loneliness is corrected by remembering that, wherever we go, God and His Love are always with us.
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LESSON 40
I am blessed as a Son of God.
1. Today we begin to affirm some of the happy things to which you are entitled, being what you are.I
²Long practice periods are not required today, but very frequent short ones are necessary.
³A practice every ten minutes is highly recommended, and you are urged to try to adhere to this schedule whenever possible.II
⁴If you forget, try again.
⁵If there are long interruptions, try again.
⁶Whenever you remember, try again.
2. You do not need to close your eyes for the exercises, although it will probably be more beneficial if you do.
²However, you may be in situations throughout the day where closing your eyes would not be appropriate.
³Do not miss a practice period because of this.
⁴You can practice quite well under almost any circumstance, if you really want to.
3. Today’s exercises require very little time and no effort.
²Repeat today’s idea and then add several attributes you associate with being a Son of God, applying them to yourself.
³One practice might, for example, go like this:
⁴I am blessed as a Son of God.
⁵I am happy, peaceful, loving, and content.III
⁶Another might be:
⁷I am blessed as a Son of God.
⁸I am calm and quiet, assured and confident.
4. If only a brief period is available, merely tell yourself that you are blessed as a Son of God.
I Your blessed condition as a Child of God is not a desideratum—it is simply the truth. You are a Child of God because God created you, and therefore you are blessed. Yet this is not at all obvious to you. You think something very different, and the opinion you hold about yourself is rather poor. Not only do you not love yourself, you feel a deep aversion toward yourself. The idea you harbor about yourself is so terrible that it fills you with panic and unbearable shame to share it with others. That is why you do not want to open your mind and truly communicate; instead, you keep it private, even though you do not like what it contains at all.
The most curious part of this situation is that you have never asked yourself whether all that you think about yourself is true. You have never questioned that opinion. You believe that the evaluation you make of yourself is perfectly honest, but you never question your capacity to make it.
Your confusion about your identity arises from the fact that you have indeed witnessed terrible thoughts passing through your mind—sometimes filled with hatred, cruelty, and utter mercilessness. Yet you have never questioned their authorship; you have taken for granted that those were “your” thoughts, and this is not true. What you have heard within has been the voice of your ego—but you are not your ego. In your confusion, you have subscribed to those fearful thoughts and assumed them as your own. That has been your mistake.
You are the holy Child of God, the pure Love of your Father, absolutely innocent and beyond any idea of sin. Yet within you, you can hear two voices offering completely opposite teachings. The Voice of the Holy Spirit always tells you the truth, and the ego always lies. You have no voice of your own, for you have nothing to say; you are the Child of God, and your function is to create, not to speak.
Therefore, in this dream of the world, and in your confusion in believing you are a person, your only freedom is to choose which voice you want to listen to. But understand this: you will never be what the ego says you are. Even if you decide to hear and heed its voice, you will still remain the holy Child of God.
Today, before beginning the practice, open your mind to the possibility that you have been completely wrong. It is not necessary that you recognize this perfectly; simply be receptive to the possibility, begin the practice, and trust.
II Notice that you are being asked to repeat today’s idea about a hundred times throughout the day.
This lesson is about exercising your will—the will to consider yourself blessed. Here you are not being asked to believe that you are blessed as the Child of God; you are being asked to want to believe it. That is enough. It is the most you can do. You cannot be required to believe something, but you can be required to want to believe it. With these repetitions, you are being asked to make a profession of faith.
Many students feel dishonest when practicing this lesson (and others like it) because they do not feel what they are saying. What they must understand is that it is not necessary to believe or feel it, but it is essential that they want to believe and feel it.
Remember the Introduction to this Workbook: “It is not necessary that you believe the ideas. It is not necessary that you accept them. And it is not necessary that you welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter, or reduce their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas. Whatever your reaction to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required.” (W-In.7)
This is the key: the practice is not about instantly reaching a specific mental state. It is about opening the door, even just a little, to the possibility that what the Course says is true. Repetition is not meant to force you into belief, but to create a space in your mind where a new perception can gently settle.
Each time you repeat the idea, even if you neither feel it nor believe it, you are planting a seed. With time, patience, and willingness, that seed will grow—not because you forced it, but because you allowed it. Willingness is the fertile soil in which miracles take root.
III In the next Lesson you will find this warning: “Think about what you are saying, about the meaning of the words” (W-41.9:2). This instruction is especially important when you make statements about yourself. It is not enough to understand intellectually what the words say; it is also essential to feel what they express. Only when thought and emotion unite does the practice become truly transformative.
Isn’t it true that when you reproach yourself you feel bad? That happens because thought and emotion have aligned, but in a negative direction. In the same way, when you introduce into your mind a positive idea about yourself—a true idea—it must be accompanied by the feeling that corresponds to it and by the inner certainty that it is real.
We can understand these declarations as the integration of three fundamental elements:
MEANING + EMOTION + CERTAINTY
Thus, when you say to yourself, for example, “I am peaceful,” you must clearly understand what it means to live from peace, allow yourself to feel the calm and expansiveness that peace generates, and affirm yourself with conviction in that truth, at least in that moment. Only then will the idea cease to be a phrase and become a living experience.
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LESSON 39
My holiness is my salvation
1. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?
²Like the Text for which this Workbook was written, the ideas used in these lessons are very simple, very clear, and entirely unambiguous.
³We are not interested in intellectual feats nor logical playthings.
⁴We are concerned only with the very obvious, which has been overlooked in the clouds of complexity in which you think you think.
2. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?
²Clearly, this is not a difficult question.
³Any doubt you may experience in answering it does not come from the question’s ambiguity.
⁴But do you truly believe that guilt is hell? I
⁵If you did, you would see at once how direct and simple the Text is, and you would not need a Workbook at all.
⁶No one needs to practice to gain what he already has.
3. We have said that your holiness is the salvation of the world.II
²But what about your own salvation?
³You cannot give what you do not have.
⁴A savior must be someone who has already been saved.
⁵How else could he teach what salvation is?
⁶Today’s exercises are for you, recognizing that your salvation is essential to the salvation of the world.
⁷As you apply the exercises to your own world, the whole world benefits.
4. Your holiness is the answer to every question that has ever been asked, is being asked now, or will be asked in the future.
²Your holiness brings an end to guilt, and therefore to hell.
³Your holiness is the salvation of the world, and your own salvation.
⁴How could you, who are holy, be excluded from salvation?
⁵God does not know anything that is not holy.
⁶Is it possible that He does not know His Son?
5. Today you are asked to devote a full five minutes to each of the four longer practice periods, and it is recommended that the sessions be even longer and more frequent than that.
²If you wish to exceed the minimum requirements, it is better to do more frequent sessions rather than longer ones, though both are encouraged.
6. Begin the practice periods as usual, by silently repeating today’s idea.
²Then, with your eyes closed, search your mind for any thoughts that show a lack of love in any form—whether it appears as anxiety, depression, anger, fear, worry, attack, insecurity, etc.
³It does not matter what form it takes. If it is not loving, it is fearful.
⁴And that is why you need to be saved from it.
7. Specific situations, events, or people you associate with any kind of unloving thought are suitable subjects for today’s exercises.
²It is imperative to your own salvation that you see them differently.
³And blessing them is what will save you and give you Vision.
8. Slowly, without making conscious selections or placing undue emphasis on any particular one, search your mind for every thought that stands between you and your salvation.
²Apply today’s idea to each of them like this:
³My unloving thoughts about ____ are keeping me in hell.
⁴My holiness is my salvation.
9. You may find it easier to practice by alternating with short periods in which you simply repeat the idea slowly in silence a few times.
²It may also help to include brief intervals of quiet in which you relax and try not to think at all.
³At first, it is very difficult to maintain concentration.
⁴But it will become much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less distracted.
10. In the meantime, you may vary your practice in any way that appeals to you.
²But do not change the central idea by varying the way you apply it.
³It does not matter how you apply it, as long as it reflects that your holiness is your salvation.
⁴Conclude each practice period by repeating the original idea once more, followed by:
⁵If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?
11. In the shorter applications, to be done three or four times an hour—and more if possible—you can ask yourself this question, or repeat today’s idea, or preferably both.
²If temptations arise, a particularly helpful form of the idea is:
³My holiness is my salvation from this.
I It is evident that you do not believe guilt is hell. In fact, you believe the exact opposite: you think the guilt you feel in yourself, and which you then project onto others, is redemptive—it is your salvation. Guilt is the ego’s way of “atoning” for its “sins.”
When you feel guilty, or when you blame others for something, it is because you are using the ego’s criterion to interpret reality. First of all, you must realize that the ego is not a “something” in your mind. The ego is no one and nothing. It is simply a mistaken way of using your holy mind—nothing more.
That way of thinking is the inevitable result of harboring a false and extremely harmful belief. You think you have separated from God and that you created yourself. Obviously, that is madness, but it is precisely what the sick part of your holy mind believes. The other part of your mind—the sane part—remains united with its Creator, knows perfectly its identity, and is as it always has been and always will be.
That is the only reality; the rest are the delusional illusions you believe affect you. In truth they do not, but the power of belief has lent them the condition of truth… for you.
The judgment of guilt you have passed on yourself, in your arrogance of thinking you actually managed to separate from God, is one of your most cherished beliefs. You are unwilling to relinquish it, and it draws you with an irresistible force. Guilt is a drug that produces a perverse pleasure in the sick mind.
This is why you are unwilling to release it: because it gives you pleasure. If you rationalize the situation, logically you will find that position untenable, and surely you will deny that this way of attacking yourself has been desired and voluntary.
But look closely and ask yourself a very simple question: What is guilt for, whether in yourself or in others? What purpose does it serve? What do you hope to gain from it?
Guilt is the option you have chosen to resolve an evident absence of love. Do you really believe such an attack can be the remedy?
Examine it carefully and recognize that this is not the way. Your true salvation is your holiness.
Stop feeling guilty right now, because guilt, besides serving no purpose, hurts. To feel guilty is masochism, and to blame others is sadism. Do not justify the unjustifiable; do not protect or promote these mental illnesses.
Acknowledge that guilt serves no purpose for you. It does not correct or redeem; it only perpetuates the illusion of separation. In the moment you release guilt, you regain awareness of your inherent holiness—the truth that has never been lost. Your holiness is your salvation.
II W-37.3:1 “Your holiness is the salvation of the world.”
This statement reveals a profound truth: your holiness is not just a personal attribute; it is the key to the world’s salvation. This is because the world you perceive is a projection of your mind. When you recognize your own holiness, you cease to see through the lens of guilt, fear, or separation. Instead, you see the world as it truly is: innocent, whole, and healed.
Salvation does not consist in changing the external world, but in transforming the way you perceive it. When your mind is healed, the world reflects that healing back to you. Thus, your inner peace becomes the peace of the world, your forgiveness becomes the world’s release, and your love becomes the light that dispels all illusions.
This is why your holiness is the salvation of the world. You do not need to fix the world; you need only recognize the truth within yourself. In doing so, you offer the world the greatest of gifts: the reflection of the love and innocence that have always been there.
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LESSON 38
There is nothing my holiness cannot do.
1. Your holiness reverses all the laws of the world.I
²It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance, or any limits of any kind.
³The power of your holiness is absolutely unlimited because it establishes you as a Son of God, in union with the Mind of your Creator.
⁴Through your holiness, the Power of God is made manifest.
⁵Through your holiness, the Power of God is made available to you.
⁶And there is nothing the Power of God cannot do.
2. Your holiness, then, can remove all pain, end all sorrow, and solve all problems.
²It can do so in connection with yourself and with anyone else.
³It can help anyone equally, because its power to save is the same for everyone.
⁴If you are holy, so is everything God created.
⁵You are holy because all things He created are holy.
⁶And all things He created are holy because you are.
3. In today’s exercises, we will apply the power of your holiness to all problems, difficulties, or suffering of any kind that you or anyone else may seem to experience.
²We will make no distinctions because there are none.
4. In the four longer practice periods—each preferably five minutes—repeat today’s idea, close your eyes, and then search your mind for any sense of loss or unhappiness of any kind, as you perceive it.
²Try to make as little distinction as possible between situations that are difficult for you and those that are difficult for someone else.
³Identify each situation specifically, and also name the person concerned.
⁴Apply today’s idea in this way:
⁵In the situation involving ____ in which I see myself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do.
⁶In the situation involving ____ in which ____ sees himself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do.
5. From time to time, you may wish to vary the procedure and add some thoughts of your own that seem relevant.
²You may, for example, include thoughts such as:
³There is nothing my holiness cannot do because the Power of God lies in it.
⁴Introduce any variation that appeals to you, but keep the exercises focused on the central idea: There is nothing my holiness cannot do.
⁵The purpose of today’s exercises is to begin instilling in you the awareness that you have dominion over all things because of what you are.II
6. In the shorter and more frequent applications, use the idea in its original form, unless a specific problem arises for you or someone else.
²In that case, apply the idea specifically to that problem.
I The “laws of this world” are the result of having misunderstood your own identity. They are the natural consequence of considering yourself separate from God and blaming yourself for it. They are the projection outward of this guilt, which now seems to threaten you.
That is not true. It is a situation you imagine and sustain in your mind through the power of your belief. You have imprisoned yourself with that description of yourself you have accepted as true. Again, it is not true.
The truth is that you are holy, because you remain as God created you, even though in your arrogance and confusion you think otherwise and punish yourself for it. Your holiness has the power to undo all this for the simple reason that it is the truth.
To exercise that power, to make it effective in your awareness so it can correct the nightmare you live in, you simply have to believe differently. Until that happens, you will not be able to make effective the power of your holiness, which, though all-encompassing, cannot restrict the freedom God gave you to create as you will.
There is nothing the power of your holiness cannot do, but it is also true there is nothing the power of your belief cannot make you believe. While you do not have the power to change what you are—the perfect Son of God—you do have the power to believe whatever you wish.
II Genesis 1:28: “And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
The word “dominion“ here does not refer to dominion over people or things, but over your own attack thoughts, which shape the world as you perceive it: “…all manner of problem, difficulty or suffering that may occur to you…” (3:1).
“…you have dominion over all things because of what you are”—the creator in your mind of your own thoughts.
Remember that the world you believe you live in is of your own making, for you have created it for yourself by believing in it.
This reinterpretation shifts the focus from an external sense of control to an internal dominion of the mind. To subdue is not to impose will upon the outer world, but gently to reclaim authority over the thoughts that generate illusions of fear, separation, and conflict.
The dominion granted in Genesis is, therefore, a reflection of your innate creative power: the capacity to choose the thoughts you believe in, to discern between truth and illusion. This is the true meaning of creation—not to shape the external world by force, but to shape your inner world through the recognition of your holiness.
In this understanding, the biblical passage transcends its traditional interpretation and aligns with the central teaching of the Course: “You have dominion over all things because of what you are.” This dominion does not refer to power over others, but to the sovereignty of the mind that remembers its unity with God.
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LESSON 37
My holiness blesses the world.I
1. This idea contains the first glimmers of your true function in the world—the reason why you are here.
²Your purpose is to see the world through your holiness.
³In this way, you and the world are blessed together.
⁴No one loses; nothing is taken from anyone.
⁵Everyone gains through your holy vision.
⁶This marks the end of sacrifice, because it gives to everyone what is rightfully theirs.
⁷And everyone has everything, because that is their inalienable right as Sons of God.
2. There is no other way to remove forever the idea of sacrifice from the world’s thinking.
²Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or something.I
³In such a case, and as a result, the one who perceives in this way will lose.
⁴And so the perceiver will lose, and will not understand why he is losing.III
5Yet through your holy vision, his wholeness is restored to his awareness.
6Your holiness blesses him without asking anything of him.
7Those who see themselves as whole make no demands.IV
3. Your holiness is the salvation of the world.
²It enables you to teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it or by telling it anything, but merely by your silent recognition that in your holiness all things are blessed along with you.V
4. The four longer practice periods today, each lasting three to five minutes, begin by repeating today’s idea, followed by about a minute of looking around you and applying the idea to anything you see:
²My holiness blesses this chair.
³My holiness blesses that window.
⁴My holiness blesses this body.
⁵Then close your eyes and apply the idea to anyone who comes to mind, using their name and saying:
⁶My holiness blesses you, [name].
5. If you wish, you may continue the practice with your eyes closed.
²Or you may open your eyes and apply the idea to what you see around you.
³You may alternate between applying it to your external surroundings and to your inner images.
⁴You can use whatever combination of these methods you prefer.
⁵The practice should end with a repetition of the idea with eyes closed, followed by another with eyes open.
6. The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you can.
²It is especially helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using their name as you do so.
³And it is essential to use the idea if you become upset with anyone.
⁴Offer them the blessing of your holiness immediately, so that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness.
I In this lesson we arrive at the culmination of the Course’s learning process. We have healed our mind—or rather, we have recognized that our mind is holy—and now we proclaim our holiness and bless the world.
This change reflects a profound transformation: we are no longer seekers striving to find peace outside ourselves; instead, we recognize that peace has always dwelt within. By acknowledging our innate holiness, we naturally extend that recognition outward—not through grand gestures or words, but through the silent and powerful blessing that emanates from the simple awareness of our true nature.
To bless the world is not an act of superiority or condescension. It is an act of remembrance. Seeing the world through the lens of our holiness dissolves the illusions of separation, guilt, and fear. We do not bless to change the world; we bless because the world is already whole, and in recognizing it, we reaffirm our own wholeness. Thus, this lesson is not merely a practice but a declaration: my holiness blesses the world because that is the natural function of holiness—to extend effortlessly, illuminating everything with the light of truth.
II Whenever you do not see holiness in what you behold, it is because you are unable to see it in yourself. You are looking in the wrong place. Instead of beholding your true Self, you have believed what the ego tells you that you are.
You are not that. You are not the opinion you hold about yourself; you are as God created you. Yet in believing that falsehood, and in your discontent, you project outward the “sins” you have seen in your false identity and think there is something that must change and “improve” in the world.
Every change entails some sacrifice and implies a sense of loss, even if only the loss of a condition once enjoyed. Every “improvement” carries a cost that someone or something must pay.
This is the ego’s logic, rooted in scarcity, conflict, and the belief that value can only be obtained at another’s expense. The truth, however, is that real transformation requires no sacrifice, for it is not about changing what is, but about remembering what has always been true. Holiness is not something to be attained; it is what is revealed when the illusions of lack and separation fall away. When you recognize your own holiness, you no longer see a world that needs fixing, but a world that reflects the wholeness within you. There is nothing to lose, nothing to sacrifice, no price to pay—only the joyful recognition of what has always been, intact and eternal.
III Whoever perceives a lack of holiness in what he beholds will lose, for what he is seeing is, ultimately, a content of his own consciousness, to which he is demanding an “improvement,” a change, a sacrifice, and therefore a payment. That payment is really being demanded of himself, for all you do to others you do to your own mind, to yourself. To understand this, remember that to perceive is to project.
Many who embark on spiritual paths do so with the intent of becoming “better people”—kinder, more loving, more holy. Never attempt to “improve”; it is impossible. You were created perfect by a perfect Father. The idea of improving His Work is sheer folly, and to think you are qualified for such a task—to perfect what your Father created—is the height of arrogance.
This Course has nothing to do with behavior and everything to do with the healing of the mind. Read again T-18.VIII “I Need Do Nothing.”
Doing belongs to the ego; it is the substitute for creating, and creating is the extension of being. To bless the world from my holiness is the closest I can come to creating within this dream.
If you want to affect the world in a real way, you must realize that all reality is abstract, while doing—behavior—is concrete and specific. Blessing, however, is not; it is abstract, it is real, and for that reason it is the only thing that can truly affect the world.
Hold on to this idea and do not forget it, for it contains unlimited healing power: “To bless is the closest thing to creating in this world.” Here you can create only by blessing.
Do not try to improve; that is not your function. You do not change or awaken through your own efforts; that is something given to you, something that happens in you. Your function is rather to desire wholeheartedly a corrected mind and not to interfere with the process of correction. If you do not heed the voice of the ego, you will recognize what has been given you—what you already have and are.
When you notice some tendency, some aspect in yourself, some vice or weakness that displeases you, makes you unhappy, and clearly contradicts the Will of God, do the following: imagine a “heavenly mailbox” in which to deposit your aspirations. Formulate your requests clearly and leave them there. Then calmly return to your affairs and let go entirely of the outcome.
Leave your problems in Better Hands and trust. The changes you long for will happen in you without your intervention. That is the only way to achieve true transformation. And if you do not see those changes taking place, remain at peace and keep sending letters to Heaven with determination. Have faith, trust; you need do nothing else.
Whenever you feel inclined to “improve,” reread carefully the section “Rules for Decision” (T-30.I).
IV When you see holiness, wholeness, and innocence in others, you are working a miracle and healing simultaneously the mind of the one who receives your miracle and your own. Moreover, you are perceiving correctly, for in that case you perceive only the truth, the perfection, and the love that are there and that are the only reality. To see anything else is only to behold absences, which by definition do not exist.
To think this is a fine discourse but unrealistic is to fall prey to a human cognitive bias so utterly widespread throughout the world and so reliable in its expression that it becomes extremely difficult to recognize it as utterly invalid. To perceive is to project. It is your imperfect way of seeing that leads you to perceive an imperfect world. True, or holy, vision sees only holiness and perfection.
This is not about denying the apparent flaws or struggles we observe in the world, but about understanding that such perceptions are reflections of our own mental projections. They are not objective facts; they are interpretations shaped by the filters of the ego. When we shift from this distorted lens to one based on the awareness of our shared holiness, the world itself seems to change—not because the world has changed, but because we have.
True vision requires no effort and no imposition; it arises naturally when we cease to insist on interpreting reality through the ego’s judgments. When we choose to see with the eyes of love, we witness the miracle—not only in others, but also in ourselves.
V This is one of the foundations of this Course, and probably one of the most difficult for students to understand, accept, and apply, even though it is already stated in its introduction. This teaching repeats tirelessly one idea: your mission is to save the world… in your mind. That is, to save the world is to heal the mind that conceived it.
You need do nothing more than this: forgive everything and everyone… in your mind. You do not need to evangelize anyone, or to change or “improve” anything you think you see outside yourself; it is enough to see holiness and to bless. Until that happens, it is better to attempt nothing, for you are unwell and must heal yourself before trying to fix anything.
If the world is an illusion, a dream, attempting to “fix” anything in it will only draw you deeper into the nightmare and consolidate it, because you will be giving reality to what your deluded mind tells you is true. You need change nothing outside yourself because there is nothing outside yourself. And remember: what is real is not in danger, and what is unreal never existed.
To see holiness and perfection, moreover, is not such a foreign idea to your system of thought. It is what happens when you “fall in love.” The beloved appears perfect in your eyes; everything they do, say, or think is right. Furthermore, that person is not only “holy” in your eyes, but also changes the vision they hold of themselves in response to your love.
This shows how powerful perception truly is. When you choose to see someone through the lens of love, it transforms not only your experience, but often theirs as well. This is a glimpse of how healing works—not through correction, criticism, or attempts to change others, but through the simple and radical act of seeing them as they truly are: innocent, whole, and holy.
The Course invites us to extend this way of seeing beyond special relationships, beyond conditions, beyond the limitations of the ego. It asks us to recognize that the holiness we perceive in one person can be seen in all, because it is not in them but in us, reflected outward through the clarity of a healed mind.
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LESSON 36
My holiness envelops everything I see.I
1. Today’s idea extends yesterday’s concept of the perceiver to what is perceived.
²You are holy because your mind is part of God’s Mind.
³And because you are holy, your vision must be holy as well.
⁴“Sinless” means without sin.
⁵You cannot be sinless in part.
⁶Either you are sinless, or you are not.
⁷If your mind is part of God’s Mind, you must be sinless, or a part of His Mind would be sinful.
⁸Your vision comes from His Holiness, not from your ego, and therefore not from your body.
2. Four practice periods of three to five minutes each are required today.
²Try to space them out evenly and use frequent short applications throughout the day to protect yourself.
³The longer practices should follow this format:
3. First, close your eyes and repeat today’s idea slowly several times.
²Then open your eyes and look slowly around you, applying the idea specifically to anything you notice in a casual survey.
³Say, for example:
⁴My holiness envelops that rug.
⁵My holiness envelops that wall.
⁶My holiness envelops these fingers.
⁷My holiness envelops that chair.
⁸My holiness envelops that body.
⁹My holiness envelops this pen.
¹⁰Close your eyes and repeat the idea to yourself several times during these practice periods.
¹¹Then open your eyes and continue naming objects as before.
4. For the shorter applications, close your eyes and repeat the idea, look around you while repeating it again, and conclude with one more repetition with eyes closed. ²All applications should be made very slowly, without effort, and with as little haste as possible.
I The previous lessons have focused on the nature of our mind and its real identity: we are part of the Mind of God, and this makes us holy. Now, this lesson takes a step further and applies that holiness—first recognized in ourselves—to everything we see. If the one who sees (the mind) is holy, what it perceives can only be seen as covered by that holiness. It is the same logic of cause and effect: the cause (our mind in communion with the Mind of God) produces an effect (a holy vision free of sin).
“My holiness envelops everything I see” means, above all, recognizing that our holiness does not depend on personal merit, but on the union of our mind with the Mind of God. That divine root defines us as sinless from the very act of Creation, so that the source of our vision is not the ego but the Holy Spirit. Flowing from this source, everything we behold is inevitably illuminated by that intrinsic holiness. At the same time, this frees us from the need to seek sin or error outside ourselves, for the true starting point is the certainty that we are already innocent. From there, the mind ceases to project guilt onto the world and begins to discover the same innocence in everything it sees.
To practice today’s idea you must detach yourself from the concept you now have of yourself by forgiving it, acknowledging that you do not know who you are, and opening to a new interpretation of yourself. But to accomplish this you will need firm willingness and a little faith. You do not truly know what faith is, you do not know how to increase it, and you do not know how to use it. Do not worry—faith itself resolves all of that.
Practice today’s Lesson with faith. Do not question it; simply do it wholeheartedly, and watch what happens. You will be surprised. You, who have no faith and do not even know what it is, will work miracles… through faith. Faith exists only in action and in the present. It manifests suddenly in the present and transforms everything with its unlimited power. Faith will allow your holiness to envelop everything you see and transform it with its healing power. Simply have faith and look upon the world with new eyes.
This Lesson reinforces the idea that holiness cannot be perceived partially. In affirming “My holiness envelops everything I see,” we declare that nothing and no one is excluded from the vision of Love. It is a total vision, because holiness is neither divided nor “rationed.” With this practice, we train ourselves to recognize holiness within and to extend it to all we behold, undoing the tendency to separate the “sacred” from the “profane,” for all is seen as wrapped in the same Light. At the same time, we integrate mind and external perception, cultivating the experience of being one with God and, therefore, with all of Creation.
The Course thus invites us to a radical change of mindset: to stop seeing the world as something separate or potentially sinful, and to begin beholding it as an extension of the very holiness that dwells in us. In this way, the lesson becomes a practical exercise in unification and forgiveness, reminding us of the power we have to see the world through the loving vision that flows from our true Self.
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LESSON 35
My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.
1. Today’s idea does not describe how you see yourself now.I
²However, it does describe what Vision will show you.
³It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this about himself.
⁴Not believing it is precisely why he thinks he is in this world.
2. You will believe that you are part of the place where you think you are.
²This is because you surround yourself with the environment you desire, and you want it to protect the image you have made of yourself.II
³That image is also part of that environment.
⁴What you see while you believe you are there, you see through the eyes of that image you made.
⁵That is not seeing.
⁶Images cannot see.III
3. Today’s idea presents you with a very different view of yourself.
²In establishing your Source, it also establishes your Identity, and it describes you as you must really be.
³Today we will apply the idea in a slightly different manner, because we will place more emphasis on the perceiver than on what is perceived.
4. Begin each of the three five-minute sessions by repeating today’s idea silently to yourself. Then close your eyes and search your mind for various terms you use to describe yourself.
²Include all the ego-based attributes you associate with yourself—positive or negative, desirable or undesirable, grand or demeaning.IV
³They are all equally unreal, because you do not see yourself through the eyes of Holiness.
5. In the first phase of your mind-searching, you will likely emphasize what you consider your more negative traits.
²Later in the practice period, however, more flattering terms may occur to you.
³Try to understand that the content of the fantasies you hold about yourself does not matter.
⁴Illusions have no meaning in Reality.
⁵They are simply not true.
6. A suitable list for applying today’s idea might include:
²I see myself as subject to obligations.
³I see myself as depressed.
⁴I see myself as a failure.
⁵I see myself as in danger.
⁶I see myself as helpless.
⁷I see myself as successful.
⁸I see myself as a loser.
⁹I see myself as charitable.
¹⁰I see myself as virtuous.
7. You should not think of these terms abstractly.
²They will come to you as particular situations, people, and events in which you figure come to mind.
³Choose any specific situation that occurs to you, identify the term or terms that seem to apply to your reactions, and use them to apply today’s idea.
⁴After naming each one, add:
⁵But my mind is part of God’s Mind.
⁶I am very holy.
8. During the longer sessions, there may be intervals when nothing specific occurs to you.
²Do not strain to find things to fill the time. Simply relax and repeat today’s idea slowly until something comes to mind.
³While you should not leave anything out that comes to you in the exercises, do not force anything to appear.
⁴Use no effort or judgment.
9. As often as possible during the day, take any specific attribute or attributes you are assigning to yourself at that moment and apply today’s idea to them, adding the phrase in the form given earlier.V
²If nothing in particular occurs to you, simply repeat the idea silently with eyes closed.
I Of course your mind is part of the Mind of God! How could it not be? How do you think you came into existence? You do not know what your mind is because you do not recognize it. You live in a tiny part of it and have relinquished its totality. You have decided to “create” a small kingdom in an infinitesimal corner of the Mind of God, just for yourself. Do you not find this at least a little pathetic?
You see yourself as extremely limited in time, space, and in capacities you nonetheless long for. And you certainly do not consider yourself holy. That is your opinion. But the question is: is it true? You are not even in a position to answer that question because you are confused. You even believe you do not know who or what you are. And this is to be expected, since you are not using your mind correctly. If you were, you would be happy. The proof that you are misusing your mind is that you are not.
The reason for what is happening to you could be explained in many different ways. You might, for instance, tell yourself that you are following the wrong guide, that you have identified with your ego, or you might elaborate countless other explanations. But at bottom, the true reason you see yourself as you do is very simple: you see yourself this way because that is exactly what you want.
Be honest. Is it not true that you want to be you? Look at it closely, and then look again, because this is what is happening here: you are as you see yourself because that is what you truly want. And do you know what? Your will is always done because you are the Son of God.
Look carefully: even when you say you want to change and be different, be better, in reality what you want instead is to be the one who says he wants to change, not what that change would actually produce in you. For in that case, you would disappear in order to become that new thing—and you do not want to disappear. Reflect on this, for it is precisely where all resistance to change lies.
Do not worry. You will change, because the idea you have of yourself is an illusion, and if anything defines illusions it is change. For now, all that is asked of you is to have a small willingness to change your way of thinking and to trust. Do not interfere, and the change will happen naturally.
II Here you are given a clear indication of why you perceive what you believe you have before you: because in this way you protect the idea you have of yourself. That is, you have made out of nothing a world in your own image and likeness.
Might it not be, then, that this god of Genesis is none other than the ego?
Realize that at bottom, your entire human experience is related to your false identity; it comes from what you believe you are. Therefore, change the idea you have of yourself and the world you behold will change accordingly.
That is why you have been called to be the savior of the world, for that is nothing other than your own salvation.
III Of course, images can only imagine. If you think you are an engineer, you will see the world through the eyes of an engineer. If you think you are a poet, you will see a poetic world. Different self-concepts lead to different interpretations of reality.
The issue is that the idea you have of yourself is utterly capricious and arbitrary. Yet it is evident you do not consider it so and base that idea on powerful “reasons.” Do not deceive yourself. The proof that this idea of yourself is false is that it changes constantly over time. How could something that changes without ceasing be true?
IV Notice how here personality is equated with ego.
V Realize that, while when you honestly question your identity you are unable to conclude what or who you are, when that sincere questioning attitude relaxes you begin to assign yourself a multitude of attributes you believe yourself to be. It seems as though, throughout the day, you have a very precise opinion of yourself, for you are constantly judging yourself.
Which, if you stop to think about it, should surprise you, for the same being who humbly claims not to know his true identity has no qualms in qualifying, judging, rewarding, or condemning himself—and not only himself but also everyone and everything he beholds. Even more, these judgments change constantly over time, and the last one always seems to be the most valid and accurate.
Do you not see that your mind is simply running a cheap and miserable program written by your ego? How can you be so naïve as to subscribe to its verdicts? And what makes you think those thoughts are “yours”? Certainly, you are the witness to all that delirium, but you can be sure that “that” is not you.
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LESSON 34
I could see peace instead of this.I
1. Today’s idea begins to describe the conditions that prevail in the other way of seeing.
²Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter.
³It must begin with your own thoughts and then extend outward.
⁴A peaceful perception of the world arises from a peaceful mind.II
2. Three longer practice periods are required for today’s exercises.
²One is recommended in the morning, another in the evening, and a third at whatever time seems most suitable between the two.
³All applications should be made with your eyes closed.
⁴Today’s idea applies to your inner world.
3. Each longer session requires about five minutes of mind searching.
²Search your mind for thoughts of fear, situations that cause anxiety, people you find “offensive,” or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts.
³As you see each one arise in your mind, observe it without emphasizing any particular one while you repeat today’s idea slowly, allowing each to be replaced by the next.
⁴If you begin to have difficulty thinking of specific subjects, simply continue repeating the idea silently, without hurrying and without applying it to anything in particular.
⁵Be sure, however, not to exclude anything intentionally.
4. Shorter applications should be frequent and made whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way.
²The aim is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day.
³If a specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, use the exercise in this way:
⁴I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.
⁵If the attacks on your peace of mind take the form of more general adverse emotions—such as depression, anxiety, or vague uneasiness—use the idea in its original form.III
5. If you find that more than one application of today’s idea is needed to help you shift your mind in any specific context, try to take a few minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief.
²It may be helpful to say to yourself:
³I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety, or worry— or my thoughts about this situation or person—with peace.
I Of course you can see peace instead of what you are now seeing! You can see whatever you wish because you can interpret your perception any way you like. But once again—do you really want to see differently? Do you truly want peace? Be completely honest with yourself in answering this question.
Before you do, ask yourself another fundamental question: why are you interpreting your perception in a painful way? Or, more simply: what are you interpreting the situation for? With what purpose?
If you are able to dive into the darkest depths of your mind, you will discover—surprisingly and uncomfortably—that the reason behind your painful interpretations is the “pleasure” you find in them. This idea may scandalize you and you may reject it immediately. Be careful. Look closely. There is nothing you do in your life that is not aimed at seeking pleasure or improving your perceived condition. What happens is that you do not know how to distinguish between pleasure and pain. You are completely confused and, obviously, you do not know what is good for you.
You live your life in a disordered way, guided by your own criteria, and the result is disaster. Yet you find it extremely difficult to renounce those criteria. Your ego has misled you.
You could see peace instead of this, and that truly is to your absolute benefit, because peace belongs to God, just as you do. You are free to go with God’s Laws or against them—you can choose. However, be very honest when you ask yourself what you are actually seeking.
Choose well and choose soon—or not. But remember you have all the power to do with your life whatever you truly want.
II Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter; it depends entirely on you and on the story you choose to tell yourself. Your mental and emotional states are exclusively of your own making.
Repeat the visualization exercise proposed yesterday, but go a little further: sit down, close your eyes, and begin to fantasize, imagining that you are the heroic protagonist of a story in which you bring peace to a conflict situation. Involve yourself in that fantasy in any way that occurs to you and let the story unfold on its own in favorable and benevolent terms. Solve problems in that imaginary world with confidence, and if you do it well, you will end up moved, full of good feelings, and with a certain sense of power. Then, trying to maintain that mental and emotional state, get up and interact with someone close to you in those same terms, bringing them the peace you have developed in your fantasy.
The story you fantasized is an illusion—just as the world you behold when you open your eyes or your brother’s body is. Yet the peace and love you have experienced and are able to transmit to others are absolutely real. Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter and depends on your willingness to have it.
The purpose of this exercise is none other than to make you aware that your peace of mind depends on how you interpret what you perceive. In reality, you do not need to tell yourself fantastic stories to find peace, for it is already within you. But you do need to be willing to listen in your mind to a more benevolent narrative from the Holy Spirit instead of the interpretation your ego suggests. As the teaching says: “I could see peace instead of this.”
III Notice that a vague sense of worry, anxiety, or depression are different degrees of intensity of the same thing: egoic attacks. Panic and deep depressions represent egoic attacks at their maximum, but be certain that every discomfort you feel comes from the ego’s work in your mind.
Depression is a black hole in consciousness that devours the light of your being and plunges you into darkness. Its strong pull arises from an excessive sense of personal importance that reverses the natural, expansive direction of love toward a black inwardness where there is nothing. The experience of that nothingness is profoundly terrifying.
Remember that ego means “I” in Latin, while its opposite is alter, “the other.” Therefore, the opposite of egoism is altruism. Salvation will always be found in your brother; do not look for it in yourself.
Depression is healed by altruism. If you are depressed, stop thinking about yourself. Stop focusing on your unhappiness, your fear, your anguish, or your depression. Do not worry about seeking peace or the salvation of your immortal soul. Forget all that.
What is real in you is in no danger. Your immortal soul is perfectly safe in the Heart of God. Stop feeling important. Forget yourself and try to do something for your brothers. You will soon see how you come out of the darkness.
Invoking peace will certainly help you out of your anxieties and depressions, but bringing peace to others will establish that peace in your mind permanently. Do not doubt it.
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LESSON 33
There is another way of looking at the world.I
1. Today’s idea is an attempt to recognize that the perception of the world can be changed in both its outer and inner aspects.
²Five full minutes should be devoted to the morning and evening practice sessions.
2. During these practice periods, the idea should be repeated as often as feels comfortable, though it is essential that the applications not be done hurriedly.
²Alternate between observing your external and internal perceptions, but try not to switch between them abruptly.
³Look quietly around at the world you perceive as outside yourself.
⁴Then close your eyes and examine your thoughts with the same calmness.
⁵Try to regard them both with equal detachment, and maintain that detachment as you repeat today’s idea throughout the day.
3. The shorter practices should be as frequent as possible.
²The specific application of today’s idea should also be made immediately whenever any situation disturbs you.
³In such cases, say:
⁴There is another way of looking at this.II
4. Remember to apply today’s idea the moment you become aware of distress.
²You may find it helpful to sit quietly for a minute or so and repeat the idea several times in silence.
³Closing your eyes will likely assist you in this kind of application.
I Of course! How could there not be? It is evident that you can interpret your perception any way you like; that much is clear. Yet the fundamental issue is not that. The basic question is: do you want to? Do you want with all your heart to see the world differently? If you truly desire it, you will certainly see it. And if you do not, ask yourself very seriously to what extent you are willing to forgive, to relinquish your former interpretations, and to renounce being “right”—your “right.”
In essence, the ego is nothing more than “personal judgment.” Put that way, it sounds rather innocent, and may even appear to be a concept carrying a certain dignity. Be careful! It is neither innocent nor dignified. The ego is a usurper of God’s functions, though it does not present itself as such.
The ego will try to convince you not only that you are perfectly capable of interpreting reality according to your own judgment, but also that this is your duty and responsibility. It is not. You have not yet realized this because you still believe that what you behold is reality.
There are two ways to reach a deep awareness of this great truth. The simple, easy way is discernment: the light of the obvious. But only the non-arrogant can walk this path, and there are very few of these in the world.
The other way is hard and painful. It is the path of surrender and renunciation, which comes only when suffering becomes so great it can no longer be managed or endured. The good practice of the exercises in this Workbook allows for a joyful transition into the light without suffering, but it demands a great willingness to change. Change will occur to the extent that this willingness is sincere. Remember: you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Take advantage of this opportunity.
In that movie theater that constitutes your individual mind, any kind of film can be projected: sinister films of guilt and condemnation that make you shudder, or happy films of love and forgiveness. The fact is you tend to write scripts of the former and need help to write happy scripts that lead you to awakening. That Helper is the Holy Spirit, and that is precisely His function: to offer you an alternative interpretation of the symbols you project.
In the end, what appears on the screen of consciousness remains an illusion—but what do you prefer? To leave the theater laughing or crying? If what you call “my personal life” is nothing but a story you tell yourself—and this is an evident fact—it is better to be careful in choosing to whom you ask for help in writing that story.
II It is hard to put into words the necessity you have of doing this. Yet if you aspire to accomplish anything with this Course, you should remember this invocation almost constantly: you need to do so. You will realize it with absolute clarity when you experience your first holy instant, for in that moment you will discover, with some surprise, that you no longer need to see the world differently. But until that happens, remember you hold in your hands the perfect tool for straightening out your perception.
To say: “There is another way of seeing this, and I want to find it” is to invoke the Holy Spirit to open your eyes and show you a flawless world. That world has always been there, but you did not know how to see it. Have absolute certainty that He will always answer your request. You only need to clear your mind of every expectation, trust Him, and be willing to hear His Answer.
To demonstrate the subjective and arbitrary character of your interpretation of reality, you may practice the following visualization technique. Find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably and without interruptions. Close your eyes and imagine a fantasy in which you are the protagonist. Allow your mind to construct a narrative where you interact with other people, real or fictional. These interactions may be dramatic, happy, sad, or conflictive; the specific content does not matter. What matters is letting the story flow naturally, without trying to control it too much.
As the story unfolds in your imagination, pay attention to your emotions. Notice how your emotional state shifts according to the events you are imagining, much like when you watch a movie. At the end of the practice, reflect on this: that narrative you created and the emotions it generated are no different from what you call “reality.” Both are manifestations of your mind interacting with stimuli—whether external or internal—and giving them meaning.
If you wish, you can use this technique to deliberately change your emotional state. For example, you may imagine a story that evokes positive or calming emotions when you feel distressed or anxious. This will allow you to understand that your emotions are not fixed, but malleable. This practice not only fosters self-awareness about how our mind shapes the perception of reality, but also provides a useful tool for emotional management and the transformation of inner states.
When you ask the Holy Spirit: “I want to see this differently,” the technique takes on a different dynamic. In this case, you are not the one creating the narrative; instead, you are inviting the Holy Spirit to be the scriptwriter of the story with which you will relate. You also allow Him to use elements of your perception to build His interpretation of the circumstance you are experiencing.
You can be certain that the interpretation He will place in your mind will be the one that produces the best possible outcome for all people involved. It will also be the one most fitting for God’s plan for your salvation. In this way, you not only transform your perception of the situation, but also allow it to align with a higher purpose, trusting fully that the Holy Spirit knows how to use every experience for the benefit of your spiritual growth and that of those around you.
Be honest and recognize that your identification with your own character is absolute. You have an idea of yourself, and that is what you believe you are, no matter how much you repeat to yourself that you are the Son of God. You cannot make yourself holy; that is impossible and, moreover, it is not your task.
Your task is to place your will in service of creating the necessary conditions for your awakening—nothing more. For that to occur, it is essential that you see the world differently: a forgiven world.
That is the fundamental reason why you need to ask the Holy Spirit for an interpretation that brings about in you the happy dreams that will lead you to the real world—the antechamber of awakening.
The difficulty you face now, along with all your problems and sufferings, stems from the importance you grant to the stories you tell yourself, which is in turn a projection of your own sense of personal importance. Those narratives that appear in your mind—your interpretation of what you perceive and the idea you hold of yourself—are false, but they become operative and causal because you believe they are true and important. They are not, but you have forced your mind to think they are.
The word “important,” from the Latin importans (that which carries inward, that which introduces), designates what brings something that becomes fundamental. Realize that this importance is nothing but a gratuitous gesture of the mind, sponsored by the ego. The event itself, the perceived, has no intrinsic ontological meaning; that meaning is your own contribution. The sane response to that hallucination of the mind is forgiveness: the benevolent gesture of mind that frees you from that pernicious fantasy. This Course is precisely about that.
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LESSON 32
I have invented the world I see.
1. Today we continue developing the theme of cause and effect.
²You are not the victim of the world you see because you made it.I
³You can give it up just as easily as you made it.
⁴You will see it or not see it, as you wish.
⁵As long as you want it, you will see it; when you no longer want it, you will not see it.II
2. Today’s idea, like the previous ones, applies both to your inner world and to the outer world, which are actually the same.
²However, since you see them as different, today’s practice periods will also include two phases: one devoted to the world you see outside, and the other to the world you see in your mind.
³In today’s exercises, try to introduce the thought that both are in your own imagination.
3. Once again, begin the morning and evening practice periods by repeating today’s idea two or three times as you look slowly around at the world you see outside yourself.
²Then close your eyes and examine your inner world.
³Try to treat both worlds the same.
⁴Repeat today’s idea slowly to yourself as often as you wish, while you observe the images your imagination presents to your awareness.
4. For the two longer practice periods, three to five minutes are recommended, and no fewer than three are required.
²If you find the exercises comfortable, you may extend them beyond five minutes.
³To facilitate this, choose a time when you are likely to be undisturbed and when you feel reasonably ready.
5. These exercises should also be continued throughout the day, as often as possible.
²The shorter applications consist of repeating the idea slowly while you watch either your inner world or the outer one.
³It does not matter which you choose.
6. Today’s idea should also be applied immediately to any situation that may disturb you.
²Apply the idea by saying to yourself:
³I have invented this situation as I see it.
I You are still in the movie theater, enthralled by the film you are watching, and you laugh or cry because you have forgotten that you yourself were the scriptwriter and the director of the story. But, since you are also the protagonist, in order to play the role well you decide to forget that small detail.
Notice that you have no trouble accepting that this is exactly what happens in your nightly dreams: when you wake up, you know for sure that all the fantasies you experienced while sleeping were the product of your own mind. Well, as Jesus tells us in the Text, when you believe you wake up in the morning, you are in fact still deeply asleep, dreaming a dream of separation created by yourself. “ALL YOUR TIME IS SPENT DREAMING. Your sleeping dreams and your waking dreams take different forms, but that is all. THEIR CONTENT IS THE SAME. They are your protest AGAINST Reality, and represent your fixed and demented desire to CHANGE it to your liking.” (T-18.III.6:6–9)
II This is true, but you do not accept it because you do not want to accept it; you would rather feel yourself a victim of a hostile world than assume you are responsible for such a monstrosity. Yet that “you” which makes imaginary worlds is not the tiny personal mind with which you identify, so prone to blaming and blaming itself for everything it perceives, even for this. The world does not exist, and that personal mind has no other entity than being a delirium within the holy Mind of the Son of God. Nevertheless, given your identification with the ego, it is inevitable that you take everything seriously and personally.
The world you have invented, holy Son of God, is a symbol made up of a myriad of lesser symbols that reflect the imaginary separation from your Father. Your desires and fears appear in that dream in defined forms you consider real, but this should not surprise you, since you recognize their inconsistency in similar manifestations of your own longings and fears. Do not these figures also appear when you close your eyes at night? Do you not see them in your imagination when you daydream? You believe in them while you behold them, and it is precisely because you believe in them that you conceive them. Yet you know they are not true when you regain a bit of sanity or awaken in the morning.
None of those figures is real; no form can be real. Reality is like you, like God: a perfectly abstract idea. The Mind of the Son of God can create—like its Father—by extending its loving existence, but it can also believe in illusions. However, it cannot make them real or create anything different from its own nature. That is the Law of God.
Your personal mind believes it cannot change the forms it sees nor transgress the supposed laws that govern them. This limitation exists because the mind itself has imposed that belief upon itself; it has defined itself as limited. To change a belief is as painful and difficult for that mind as killing a child, because beliefs are the fruit of deep desires. Changing them requires wanting something different with the same intensity with which you once conceived them—or even greater.
This is a Course about will, and in it you are urged to want differently. That is why your honest willingness to change is so important and emphasized. The reason change seems so difficult is that you do not tell yourself the truth about what you really desire. You say you want one thing, but it is not true. The truth is that you want something else: exactly what you are seeing, what you are granting yourself.
The Text also reminds you of this: “This is why it is necessary to answer the question, ‘What do you want?’ You are answering it every minute and every second, and what you decide is a judgment which INEVITABLY has effects. The effects of the decision follow automatically UNTIL THE DECISION IS CHANGED. […] I repeat this statement because you have not learned it. But once again: any decision can be REVOKED in the same way it was once made.” (T-5.IX.10:3–7)
The reason you perceive pain, threat, or lack is very deep and also very hard to accept. This is because, deep down, you feel guilty for your individual identity, exclusive and separate from everything. You intend to atone for that guilt by punishing yourself. You see sin in yourself and project it onto your perceptions.
This idea, like all those contained in this Workbook, does not have to be believed, but it is essential that you respect it and consider it attentively. Careful observation will show you that it is true, and then you will be ready to forgive yourself and awaken from your nightmares.
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LESSON 31
I am not the victim of the world I see.
1. Today’s idea is the introduction to your declaration of release.I
²Once again, this idea is to be applied both to the world you see outside and to the world you experience within.
³We will now begin practicing in a format that will be used increasingly, with some adjustments as needed.
⁴In general, this type of practice involves two aspects: one in which the idea is applied more extensively, and another involving frequent applications throughout the day.
2. Two longer practice periods are required for today’s idea—one in the morning and one at night.
²Three to five minutes for each session is recommended.
³During that time, look slowly around you while repeating the idea two or three times.
⁴Then close your eyes and apply the same idea to your inner world.
⁵You will escape from both at once, because the inner world is the cause of the outer.
3. As you observe your inner world, allow the thoughts that cross your mind to enter your awareness.
²Consider each one briefly, and then replace it with the next.
³Try not to make any distinctions among them.
⁴Watch them pass by as calmly and dispassionately as possible.
⁵Do not dwell on any particular thought; instead, let the stream flow evenly and quietly, without any special effort on your part.
⁶Sit quietly, observing your thoughts as you repeat today’s idea slowly as often as you wish, but without haste.
4. In addition, repeat today’s idea as often as possible throughout the day.
²Remember that you are making a declaration of independence in the name of your own freedom.II
³In your freedom lies the freedom of the world.
5. Today’s idea is particularly helpful as a response to any form of temptation.
²It is a statement that you will not yield to it and chain yourself.
I Continuing with the movie allegory, this Lesson emphasizes the fact that you, as the spectator, are not affected by what happens in the film. Your body, perhaps—but keep in mind that this too is part of the movie and, therefore, not real. The problem lies in that you, the spectator, have identified with that body you see acting in the film, and so everything that happens to that body affects you. This is the classic effect of identity projection, which makes us feel interest in and impact from the movies we watch in theaters, the novels we read, the news on television, or the stories others tell us. We project our own identity onto those characters; we believe we are them and suffer or laugh with them.
But be careful and do not take this lightly: your identification with your body is enormous. Even if you can intellectually accept that you are not your body, you will have serious difficulty forgiving the damage it suffers, whether from external attacks or from illnesses you inflict upon it yourself. Be prepared to face this situation.
You may tell yourself that to completely detach from what you perceive and to forgive it absolutely is unbecoming of you, since it would imply letting go of your own humanity. You are right—but remember: you are not human. You are the Son of God, and you are inappropriately allowing yourself a human experience that pains you deeply. Why else do you think it is so hard for you to accept this Course and to relinquish the world?
The basic criterion of reality is permanence: the impossibility of change. Everything that changes or can change is illusory. Yet you, who are real, have never changed; you have always been yourself. The awareness of being is the only real component of the idea you hold of yourself; it is the only thing that has not changed throughout your personal life. You are not a victim of the world—the movie—because you are real, and what you believe you see outside your mind is not. In your identification with the character, the awareness of being, of existing, is the only direct experience you have of your true Self.
Moreover, if I am the one who gives everything the meaning it has for me, how can I feel victimized by what I see? I perceive only my own interpretations. What I call “my personal life” is nothing but a story I tell myself. Sometimes I say I am happy because I get what I think I need and desire, and in those moments I usually harbor an exalted idea of myself. But at other times I feel miserable and frustrated because the world does not respond to my expectations.
That strange idea—that the world is wrong, but my expectations are right—based on the deepest arrogance, causes me unbearable emotional pain whenever something frustrates them. Instead of changing them and reorienting my interpretations, I project that pain outward, attack what I perceive, and blame it for my suffering: I feel victimized by the world I see.
Have you been offended? Or is it rather that you have told yourself that something is offensive? What freedom do you have if your moods and your behavior depend on others?
The truth is that your mind responds only to itself; it attends to nothing but what it grants itself. It is blind to everything else because, in reality, there is nothing apart from itself. Your mind relates only to its own illusory projections.
Your personal mind is incapable of directly changing the projected world; it cannot work miracles. Yet the truth is that your mind is not personal. Learning that you are not a victim of the world you see is the first step toward returning to the recognition of your true identity.
Right now, you cannot change what you have projected, but it is fully within your reach to change how you interpret it. You can find peace and happiness even in this world, simply by accepting with honesty and clarity that you are only victimized by your own interpretations. For this, it should be enough to become aware that, in truth, you know nothing other than those stories you tell yourself about a world outside you.
II This is another reference to the United States Declaration of Independence (see T-4.V.2:11 for the first). In this context, the declaration of independence of the United States from Great Britain becomes a symbol for you to declare your independence from the tyranny of the world.
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LESSON 30
God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.
1. Today’s idea is the stepping stone to Vision.
²Through this idea, the world will open up before you, and as you look upon it, you will see in it something you have never seen before.I
³What you used to see will no longer even be faintly visible to you.II
2. Today we focus on using a new kind of projection.III
²We are not trying to get rid of what we do not like by seeing it outside of us.IV
³Instead, we are trying to see in the world what is in our own mind, and to recognize that it is truly there.V
⁴In this way, we seek to join with what we see, rather than keep it apart from us.VI
⁵This is the fundamental difference between Vision and the way you see now.VII
3. Today’s idea should be practiced as often as possible throughout the day.
²Repeat it slowly to yourself each time you remember, as you look around and try to realize that the idea applies to everything you see now, or could see if it were within your range of sight.
³True Vision is not limited by concepts such as “near” and “far.”
⁴To help you become accustomed to this idea, when applying today’s lesson, try to include both things that are beyond your physical sight and those you can see directly.
4. True Vision is not only unlimited by space or distance; it does not depend at all on the eyes of the body. ²Its only source is the mind.VIII
³To help you adjust to this idea, apply it also with eyes closed, focusing on whatever subject comes to mind and looking inward rather than outward.
⁴Today’s idea is equally applicable in both ways.
I Imagine your mind as a movie theater, a hall where a film is being projected titled “My Personal Life.” In this theater there is a projector with a powerful lamp that emits a light (the Love of God) which passes through a film composed of frames (moments of the present) marked by stains (judgments) that partially block that light. The result is the projection of the movie (my personal life) onto a screen (consciousness), with which I, the spectator seated in the audience (the idea I hold of myself), completely identify. And thus, depending on the scenes of the movie, I sometimes laugh and sometimes cry. In reality, the eyes of the spectator see only a play of light and shadows, absences of light, absences of the Love of God.
Today’s Lesson proposes that we discard (forgive) those absences, which by their very condition of absence have no real entity, and focus only on the Love of God underlying everything we perceive.
Realize that without absences of light, without absences of love, no story appears on the screen; there is no movie. This is what it means that “the world does not exist,” for the world is precisely the story that arises in consciousness when reality’s absences are regarded as real. The “real world,” that happy world Jesus speaks of, which we will see just before awakening to our true identity and which is the result of seeing a forgiven world, appears in our minds when we remove from the story we are interpreting its components of fear and guilt—the “black ink” that darkens the frames of the film we believe we see.
God is in everything I see because God is in my mind, and that is the only real thing to be found there. The rest are only fantasies conceived by regarding as existent what is in fact absence.
II This does not mean that while you believe yourself to be in the world you will cease to see forms—illusions. What it does mean is that you will forgive them and stop interpreting them in the terms you have until now, and then you will see a forgiven world—a world that appears before you barely outlined in a nearly transparent “gray ink,” the “real world.” Now all your attention is on the underlying light, the only real element of that scene.
When you become fully aware of your true identity as the Son of God, you will finally cease to see forms and the world will disappear, for it was only an illusion—the dream that the Son of God could be separate from His Father.
III The ideas presented in the first Lessons have taught us that the world we think we see is nothing but a “projection” of the desires and fears of our mind: none of this is real; nothing we project is real. In this Lesson we are going to attempt to “project” something real for the first time—indeed, the only thing that is truly real: the Love of God.
IV This is an essential formulation of vision: we believe we see outside ourselves what is unworthy of our holy minds—forms—and what, in truth, we do not want. And the proof that we do not want it is precisely that we see it outside. In truth we do not love illusions; we reject them by regarding them as something alien to ourselves when we see them in an imaginary outer realm. We do not even want our own body, which is why we have expelled it from our mind. In truth, we do not want anything from the world of forms.
V There are no words that can describe the experience of holding the idea of God in the mind. Simply, there are no words. It is an experience so deeply comforting and absolute that it dissolves every concern, and even the sense of personal identity: the ego.
VI “Projection” is a device of the mind for separating from something it conceives by assigning it the attribute of being outside itself. Now, however, this new form of projecting recognizes that what we see is real and within us—in fact, that it is what we are. The Course calls this kind of “projection” extension, and it is the dynamic proper to Creation.
VII The vision of the body’s eyes is nothing but the observation that what you see is different from you, but true vision bears witness that everything you see is yourself, and the Course calls this “Knowing”.
VIII What is understood as “seeing” with the body’s eyes is, in reality, nothing more than believing you see, and to believe is to think that what you imagine is real. Today, for the first time, we are going to imagine something that is true because it is real: the presence of God.
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LESSON 29
God is in everything I see.
1. Today’s idea explains why you can see the purpose of everything in anything.I
²It explains why nothing is separate, or exists by itself or in itself.II
³And it also explains why nothing you see means anything.III
⁴In fact, this idea clarifies all the previous lessons and supports all those to come.
⁵It is the central foundation of Vision.
2. This idea may still seem difficult for you to grasp.
²You may find it absurd, irreverent, meaningless, even amusing or questionable.
³Surely God is not in a table, at least not as you see it.
⁴Yet yesterday we emphasized that a table shares the purpose of the universe.
⁵And what shares the purpose of the universe also shares the purpose of its Creator.IV
3. Today, make a sincere effort to begin looking at all things with love, appreciation, and an open mind.V
²For as you perceive them now, you are not truly seeing them.
³Do you really know what is in the things you look upon?
⁴Nothing is as it appears to you.
⁵Their holy purpose lies beyond your limited understanding.VI
⁶When Vision has shown you the holiness that lights up the world, you will understand today’s idea perfectly.
⁷And you will not understand how you ever found it difficult.
4. Today we will have six two-minute practice periods, following a familiar pattern:
²Begin by repeating the idea silently, then apply it to randomly chosen objects around you, naming each one specifically.
³Avoid the temptation to choose the subjects yourself, which may be especially strong given the completely foreign nature of today’s idea.
⁴Remember that any order you impose is equally foreign to reality.
⁵Therefore, your list of subjects should be as random as possible, free from your own selections.
5. A suitable list might include:
²God is in this coat rack.
³God is in this magazine.
⁴God is in this finger.
⁵God is in this lamp.
⁶God is in that body.
⁷God is in that door.
⁸God is in that wastebasket.
6. In addition to the assigned practice periods, repeat today’s idea at least once every hour.
²As you do, look around you slowly, saying the words unhurriedly.
³At least once or twice, you should experience a sense of rest in doing so.
I W-28.6:1: “By using the table as the subject for applying today’s idea, you are therefore really asking to see the purpose of the universe.”
This statement encapsulates the depth of the exercises in Lesson 28, where even the most mundane object—such as a table—is elevated as a symbol of universal purpose. It underscores the concept that everything, regardless of its apparent simplicity, shares the unified purpose of the universe and reflects the divine intention behind all existence. In practicing this idea, you are learning to transcend superficial perceptions and to open yourself to the infinite depth and holiness present in all things, thus aligning your mind with God’s vision.
II W-28.2:3–4: “Yet what does exist by itself? And what does ‘in itself’ mean?”
These lines challenge the idea of independent existence, a concept deeply rooted in the ego’s framework. They invite you to question the validity of perceiving things as separate and self-sufficient. According to the Course, nothing exists “by itself” because everything is interconnected and shares a single purpose established by its Creator. The expression “in itself” refers to the ego’s tendency to define objects and experiences as isolated from the whole. By posing these rhetorical questions, the Course encourages you to abandon the belief in separation and to recognize the inherent unity and shared purpose of all things in the universe.
III W-1: “Nothing I see in this room… means anything.”
This first Lesson introduces the fundamental principle that meaning is not inherent in the things we perceive. The perception of the world is subjective, based on the mind’s projections. Therefore, everything you believe you see has no intrinsic meaning, but only the meaning you have given it. The Lesson does not expect you to fully understand this idea right away, but rather to begin questioning your assumptions about the world you see. It is a first step toward dismantling the beliefs that reinforce the illusion of separation.
IV It is crucial to interpret this line correctly, as it does not imply that God created the universe as you perceive it. God is Existence Itself and creates everything that is by extending His Own Being; that is God’s true Creation: the Love of God, Reality. The perceptual universe, on the other hand, is a fragmented interpretation of the mind affected by the idea of separation. God’s presence in everything does not mean He created the illusions of the perceptual world. Rather, it points to the truth that beyond your fragmented perception, everything shares the sacred purpose of reflecting God’s Love and leading you back to the awareness of your oneness with Him. Grasping this distinction is key to embracing the transformative path offered by this Course: moving from perceiving illusions to recognizing Reality, which is the Love of God in all.
V Instead of looking at things with greed and evaluating them solely in terms of their usefulness for satisfying your imagined needs, try to behold everything with love and appreciation. Be respectful of what surrounds you, treat it with care, humility, and gratitude, and you will discover that things return the love you give them and reveal their secrets to you.
In truth, nothing is hidden and no mystery exists; it was your rapacious and limited gaze that kept you blind to their beauty. Be generous with the world, offer it your friendship, and you will find yourself surrounded by friends. Even inanimate objects will come alive before your eyes and speak to you with gratitude.
A practical way to apply today’s idea is to integrate it into your daily tasks. For example, if you are hanging clothes, you might say: “God is in this shirt,” “God is in this sheet.” If you are washing, you might say: “God is in this glass,” “God is in this dish.” You will discover, to your surprise, that activities which once seemed tedious or bothersome will now feel much more pleasant and fascinating. Instead of exhausting you, these tasks will fill you with energy and joy.
This exercise is very simple and carries no risk; on the contrary, it is profoundly liberating. The idea of God brings surprising joy wherever you apply it, besides being absolutely true and timely.
Remember that such “open-mindedness” is the last characteristic of God’s Teachers, but it is also the first, for it is what places you in the receptive attitude necessary to undertake a Course on truth.
VI Again, be very careful in interpreting this kind of Lesson, and do not feel frustrated if you cannot see God in that table, because that “is beyond your little reach.” Jesus is not asking you to do that now, because He knows you cannot. What He does ask of you, and what you can indeed do, is simply to want to see God in that table.
That is all. It is enough that this be your desire and your will. With that simple act you are already doing so much, and there is great joy in Heaven for your effort and devotion.
Remember that you are a student in a Course of mind training. You graduate only when your mind is filled with light and joy, and in that moment you will know that you need learn nothing more.
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LESSON 28
Above all else I want to see things differently.I
1. Today we are giving a very specific application to the idea we practiced yesterday.
²During these practice periods, you will make a series of well-defined commitments.
³Whether or not you will keep them in the future is not our concern now.
⁴If you are willing to make them now, you have already begun the path to keeping them.II
⁵And remember, we are still at the beginning.
2. You may wonder why it is important to say something like, “Above all else, I want to see this table differently.”
²Saying it, in itself, means nothing.
³But what really exists in itself?
⁴And what does in itself even mean? III
⁵You see many separate things around you, which means you are actually seeing nothing.
⁶Either you see, or you do not.IV
⁷Once you have seen one thing differently, you will see all things differently.
⁸The light you see in any one of them is the same light you will see in all.
3. In saying, “Above all else, I want to see this table differently,” you are committing yourself to relinquish all your preconceived ideas about the table and to open your mind to what it really is and what it is for.
²You are not defining it in terms of your past.
³Instead of stating what it is, you are asking what it is.
⁴You are not limiting its meaning to your narrow experience of tables, nor restricting its purpose to your own personal thoughts, which mean nothing.
4. You do not question what you have already defined.
²Yet the purpose of these exercises is to ask questions and receive the answers.
³In saying, “Above all else, I want to see this table differently,” you are making a commitment to see.
⁴This commitment is not exclusive.
⁵It applies just as much to the table as to anything else, without distinctions.
5. In fact, you could gain Vision from that one table—if you were to let go of all your ideas about it completely, and look at it with a mind entirely open.
²That table has something to show you—something beautiful, pure, and of infinite value, filled with joy and hope.V
³Hidden beneath all your ideas about it lies its real purpose, which it shares with the entire universe.
6. Therefore, by using the table as the subject for today’s idea, you are actually asking to see the purpose of the universe.
²You will be making the same request of every object you use in today’s practice.
³And with each one, you are committing yourself to allow its purpose to be revealed to you, rather than to impose your own judgment upon it.
7. Today we will have six practice periods of two minutes each, in which you will first repeat the idea for the day and then apply it to anything you see around you.
²You should not only choose the subjects at random, but you should also treat each one with equal sincerity, recognizing that they are all equally valuable in contributing to your attainment of Vision.
8. As usual, the applications of today’s idea should include the name of the object your eyes light upon, while you say:
²Above all else, I want to see this ____ differently.
³Each application should be done slowly and as consciously as possible.
⁴There is no hurry.
I Above all, I want to see things without any component of fear. I have attributed meaning to everything (W-2) based on its usefulness in meeting my needs—that is, the lacks I perceive in myself. Feeling lacking generates fear, and thus, when I affirm that I want to see things differently, I am really asking to stop relating to the world from fear.
Where there is no fear, there is joy and peace.
II These lines make it clear that Jesus understands perfectly your uncertainty about your ability to succeed in practicing this Workbook. Your doubts about yourself are understandable and justified, because, in fact, you are not capable of achieving the goals on your own. That is evident.
Yet do not worry. Your ability is not required to achieve these goals. If you could reach them by yourself, you would not need this practice or the help of the Holy Spirit.
Trust. All that is asked of you is a small willingness to learn and change, and to follow the instructions as faithfully as possible. Nothing more is required. You will not be the author of your own salvation, but you will be saved. You will emerge from your bad dreams, and this will happen without your knowing how.
It is possible that this kind of Lesson, which presents things incomprehensible to you, may feel especially challenging. Do not allow thoughts of discouragement or inadequacy to arise because you consider yourself incapable of achieving certain results. Goals are the ego’s concern, and you, as the Son of God, need achieve nothing, because your Father has already given you everything.
These Lessons are designed for you to cultivate obedience, trust, and willingness. Practice the Lesson with care, remain at peace, and feel fully justified.
III The “self” of a thing is the simplest and purest concept one can conceive about it. That is why it is inaccessible to the egoic mind, just as is the notion of “being,” the foundation of all ontology.
The answer to these two complex, evidently ontological questions will be found in the next Lesson. Be patient and prepare your mind to be completely receptive to tomorrow’s idea.
IV The notion of true vision proposed by this Course far transcends the mere perception of physical objects. It is intrinsically linked to the understanding of their purpose in perfect integration with the observer, the totality of the perceptual environment, and its function in the universe. To see means to know, to be, to love, and to create, all at once; they are inseparable aspects of existence itself.
If you do not understand this, do not worry at all. That is a sign you are on the right path, since it is something entirely inaccessible to the egoic mind. Recognizing that you do not understand means you are not deceiving yourself. A moment will come when you will experience understanding, but the one who understands will not be the same as the one who does not understand now. You will have learned, and in that learning you will have changed. True vision implies the absence of the ego—the absence of “that one who does not understand.”
V This line is crucial because, for the first time, it hints at the content of true vision. Ultimately, what you are beholding, what you have before you, is your own Self.
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LESSON 27
Above all else I want to see.
1. Today’s idea expresses something deeper than a mere decision.I
²It gives Vision the highest priority among all your desires.
³You may feel hesitant to use this idea because you are not sure you can say it with complete sincerity.
⁴That does not matter.
⁵The purpose of today’s exercises is to bring you a little closer to the moment when this idea will be entirely true for you.
2. You may be strongly tempted to believe that you are being asked to make some kind of sacrifice when you declare that, above all else, you want to see.
²If this lack of reservation makes you uncomfortable, you may add:
³Vision costs nothing to anyone.
⁴And if the fear of loss persists, you can also say:
⁵It can only bless.II
3. Today’s idea requires frequent repetition in order to bring you the greatest benefit. ²You should practice it at least every half hour, and more often if possible.III
³Try, if you can, to practice every fifteen to twenty minutes.
⁴It is advisable that, upon awakening or shortly thereafter, you set a specific rhythm for applying the idea throughout the day and commit yourself to following it.
⁵It will not be difficult to do this, even while engaging in conversation or other activities.
⁶You can always repeat a short phrase silently without interfering in any way.
4. The real question is: how often will you remember to do it?
²How much do you want today’s idea to be true?
³Answer either of these questions, and you have answered the other.
⁴You may forget to practice at times—or even many times.
⁵Do not be disturbed by this, but make a genuine effort to return to your schedule each time you notice you have strayed.IV
⁶If only once during the day you repeat today’s idea with perfect sincerity, you can be sure that you have saved yourself many years of effort.V
I This Lesson reinforces the declaration of Lesson 20: “I am determined to see,” and together they mark the culmination of earlier Lessons focused on undoing, of a negative character. These are luminous Lessons that present the solution to the darkness of the world’s thought system: the truth.
It is the will to know the truth that frees you from the illusion of death.
“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:33).
II When you state today’s idea, it is not necessary to use exactly the formula proposed. Avoid falling into ritualism; that is equivalent to believing in magic. What truly matters is that you clearly understand the essence of what the idea conveys. Once you grasp it, express it in your own way. In fact, doing so is more effective, because it feels more natural and encounters less resistance.
For example, you could state today’s idea in this way: “What matters most to me, what I desire above all in this life, is to truly see. Jesus has told me that I do not have to pay any price for this, and that it can only bless me and everything around me, and I believe Him. This is what I truly want, and I want it to happen as soon as possible.”
Formulating the idea in this way—or in another that occurs to you—will make it much more workable. It is also essential that you understand that its effectiveness will increase if you connect it to a sincere emotion, felt from the depths of your heart. Ideas supported by emotions are incredibly powerful. Remember this principle throughout all your practice with this Workbook.
III This is the first time you are asked to use an idea intensively throughout the day, something that will also be required with many other ideas in the future.
IV Throughout the practice of the exercises in this Workbook, it is absolutely essential to banish completely the idea of guilt. You must remember that you always do the best you can and give all the love you have. Even so, always try to give a little more. Remember that no effort, however small, is wasted.
V This line hints that the task of reversing your thought system is a monumental feat that will require time, effort, and tremendous determination. Yet consider the reward: it is infinite. There is no alternative that can compare, nor any way of using your time that could benefit you more.
Moreover, you can be certain that along the way you will encounter innumerable rewards that will surprise you, heal you, and also heal those around you. Remember: this is A Course in Miracles.
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LESSON 26
My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.
1. It is clear that if you can be attacked, then you are not invulnerable.
²You perceive attack as a real threat.
³This is because you believe that you yourself can genuinely attack.
⁴And what can have effects through you must also have effects on you.I
⁵This very law will ultimately save you.
⁶But for now, you are misusing it.
⁷Therefore, you must learn how to use it in your favor rather than against yourself.
2. In projecting your attack thoughts, which is inevitable, you will come to fear attack.
²And if you fear attack, it is because you believe you are not invulnerable.
³Thus, attack thoughts make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where those thoughts reside.II
⁴Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot coexist in your mind.
⁵They are in direct contradiction.
3. Today’s idea introduces the notion that you always attack yourself first.
²If attack thoughts imply the belief that you are vulnerable, then their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes.
³Thus, these thoughts attack your perception of yourself.
⁴And by believing in them, you lose the ability to believe in yourself.
⁵A false image of yourself has taken the place of what you truly are.III
4. Practicing today’s idea will help you understand that both vulnerability and invulnerability are the result of your own thoughts.
²Nothing except your own thoughts can attack you.
³Nothing except your own thoughts can make you believe you are vulnerable.
⁴And nothing except your own thoughts can prove to you that this is not true.IV
5. Six practice periods are required for today’s idea.
²Try to devote a full two minutes to each session, although you may reduce it to one minute if you experience significant discomfort.
³However, do not reduce the time to less than one minute.
6. Begin each session by repeating today’s idea. Then close your eyes and review the unresolved situations whose outcomes concern you.
²This concern may take the form of depression, anxiety, anger, a sense of pressure, fear, apprehension, or worry.
³Any problem that recurs frequently in your mind throughout the day is a suitable subject for the practice.
⁴You will not be able to address many in each period, since you should spend more time than usual on each one.
7. Today’s idea should be applied as follows:
²First, name the situation:
³I am concerned about ____.
⁴Then go over every possible outcome that has caused you anxiety, naming each one specifically by saying:
⁵I am afraid that ____ will happen.
8. If you do the exercises correctly, you should identify five or six disturbing possibilities for each problem, or even more.
²It is far more effective to work thoroughly with a few cases than to skim lightly over many.
³As the number of anticipated outcomes increases, you may find some of them becoming less acceptable to you—especially those that come to mind near the end.
⁴Nevertheless, try to treat them all equally, as much as you can.
9. After naming each feared outcome, say to yourself:
²That thought is an attack on myself.
³Conclude each practice period by repeating today’s idea once more.
I We always relate to everything from the way we see ourselves. We treat things, others, and God in the same way we treat ourselves, and since we do not truly love ourselves, our relationships with the world and with God are loveless. We inevitably project the degree of love—or its absence—that we feel for ourselves onto everything we perceive or conceive, for perceiving and conceiving are essentially the same. Thus, when you attack, you implicitly acknowledge that if such an attack can harm you, it can also harm others. That is why every attack is an admission of vulnerability: if you attempt to destroy, it is because you believe you too can be destroyed.
II Anger and fear are two sides of the same coin. Fear is the side you experience when you attack yourself, and anger is the side you show when you project your attack outward. Yet both are the same thing: absence of love. But can an absence truly exist when what is lacking is something that does not exist, by definition? That is why this Course affirms that fear is an illusion—a perception of something that is not there—since what God has not created cannot exist. Still, it is perfectly possible to believe in it and, in doing so, you make it real for yourself.
If you are afraid, you will attack, and if you attack, you will be afraid. It is an inevitable cycle. You will feel fear because you will believe you are in danger, that you can be harmed, that you are vulnerable to the attack of those you have attacked. You will feel small, weak, and you will lose your peace of mind. Then you will seek to protect yourself, perceiving yourself surrounded by threats and feeling the need to build defenses against your enemies. This happens both individually and collectively. The countries with the most powerful armies are, paradoxically, those whose citizens are most fearful, for they live under a constant sense of threat. Where you see many flags, you will find much fear.
This is yet another example of how God’s law is fulfilled: “You will receive what you give.” And you, who are everything, how could you give anything you do not want for yourself if you know it will return to you?
Recognize that every condemning judgment, even the slightest, is an attack. You may think you cannot avoid judging or condemning, that many of your judgments are unconscious and you cannot even detect them. Do not worry about this; there is a very simple mechanism for knowing if you are attacking someone, something, or even life itself: whenever you feel bad, even the slightest discomfort, you are judging and condemning—that is, attacking. You are not lacking tools to detect when you are misusing your mind; you only need to use them.
The opposite is also true: those who are not afraid do not attack. Gentleness is born of an awareness of invulnerability that can only exist in the absence of fear.
Remember: whenever something displeases or disturbs you, even slightly, say to yourself: “There must be a better way of seeing this, and I am willing to find it.” Be constant and unyielding in this principle. Do not tolerate even the slightest unease. You are the host of God. Keep your house clean.
III First you feel bad, and then you attack. But in reality, the correct order is this: first you attack yourself, which is why you feel bad, and then you attack.
The images you hold of yourself are neither false nor true; they are all false, because you are not an image. You are the Son of God, who conceives false images of himself and of everything he perceives. Moreover, it is important that you understand that your attack thoughts do not affect you at all; they only affect that image you have of yourself, but not your true reality.
In this way, you rule over a small mental kingdom where countless dramatic stories take place—stories you tell yourself, stories in which the characters you have created suffer and struggle, including that “I” you think you are. The goal of this Course is to train your mind to learn to tell yourself a more benevolent story, until the time comes when you cease to believe in any kind of story, and then you awaken.
IV Nothing, except your own thoughts, can affect you, because you relate only to your own thoughts and to nothing else. You know nothing other than your own thoughts.
What happens is that many of your thoughts you call “things of the world,” though they are nothing but your own ideas, to which you have added the belief that they are something external to you, physical and real. This belief, in turn, is nothing but another thought. That is, to a thought about something you wish to relate to, you attribute the notion of being something outside yourself.
When you regard that idea as accessible, you place it in space; and when you regard it as inaccessible, you place it in an imaginary time: the past or the future. The dimensions of space and time are ways of thinking in terms of separation.
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LESSON 25
I do not know what anything is for.
1. The purpose of something is its meaning.I
²Today’s idea explains why nothing you see has meaning.II
³You do not know what it is for.
⁴Therefore, it has no meaning for you.
⁵Everything exists for your own benefit.III
⁶That is what it is for.
⁷That is its purpose.
⁸That is its meaning.
⁹When you recognize this, your goals become unified.
¹⁰When you recognize this, what you see becomes meaningful.
2. You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful according to the goals of the ego.IV
²These goals have nothing to do with what is truly in your best interest, because you are not the ego.V
³This mistaken identification prevents you from understanding the purpose of anything.
⁴As a result, you cannot help but misuse everything you see.
⁵Once you accept this, you will be willing to withdraw the goals you have assigned to the world, rather than to reinforce them.
3. Another way to describe the goals you now value is to say that all of them are related to your “personal” interests.
²But since you have no personal interests in truth, your goals are not truly related to anything.VI
³Therefore, in valuing them, you have no goals at all.
⁴And that is why you do not know what anything is for.
4. Before today’s exercises can make any sense to you, you must be willing to reflect on the following:
²At the more superficial levels, you do recognize purpose.
³However, real purpose cannot be understood at those levels.
⁴For example, you know that the purpose of a telephone is to speak to someone who is not physically present.
⁵What you do not understand is why you want to reach that person.
⁶And that is precisely what determines whether your communication with them is meaningful or not.
5. It is essential to your learning that you be willing to let go of the goals you have set for everything.VII
²Recognizing that they are meaningless, rather than judging them as “good” or “bad,” is the only way to accomplish this.
³Today’s idea is a step in that direction.
6. Six practice periods are required today, each lasting two minutes.
²Begin each session by repeating today’s idea slowly. Then look around you, allowing your gaze to rest on whatever catches your attention—near or far, “important” or “unimportant,” “human” or “non-human.”
³As you observe each object you select, say, for example:
⁴I do not know what this chair is for.
⁵I do not know what this pencil is for.
⁶I do not know what this hand is for.
⁷Say this calmly, without shifting your gaze until you have completed the sentence.
⁸Then move on to the next object, applying today’s idea in the same way.
I Put another way: the meaning of a thing lies in its function, in its purpose. And since the meaning of a thing defines its identity, then a thing’s identity is what it is for.
If my identity in this world is my function, a fundamental question arises: what is my function in this world? This question is crucial, because in answering it I will discover who I truly am. Jesus teaches us that the function God has assigned us is to be happy and to make others happy. We can therefore deduce that our identity is happiness; that is what we truly are: happiness, the Love of God.
Here, in this world, everyone seeks happiness, and the reason for this is very simple: what they are really seeking is their true identity, that which they are in essence—the remembrance of the Love of God they have forgotten by becoming distracted with illusory things.
II “Nothing I see means anything.” (W-1)
III You perceive only illusions. To perceive is to imagine, to conceive illusions, to project what you wish to see. Everything you perceive is the result of what you have projected, and you have projected it because you want it. That is why you relate to everything you perceive in terms of utility.
The meaning everything has for you is determined by the reason—or purpose—for which you conceived it and brought it into your perception.
IV The ego relates to everything from lack, and by identifying with it, you too relate to what you perceive from need or even rapacity. Thus you seek in things, people, or circumstances what you believe you lack. In this way, instead of celebrating life, you consume it—you devour it.
V This is the second time the concept of the ego appears in the Workbook. The first was in Lesson 13, where the challenge between the ego and God regarding what meaning should be assigned to perception was addressed. In this instance, the premise is that the ego has already appropriated all the meanings of the world. The task of this Course is to undo that appropriation and restore true meaning.
VI You have no personal interests because, in truth, you are not a “person”; you are the Son of God.
VII This is an important statement; do not overlook it. Reflect on what it implies and what it entails. Do not take it lightly, for it is asking you—no more and no less—to relinquish all the meanings you have attributed to the world in order to learn to see a new world, a different world. Be aware that this request is enormous, but so is what is offered to you in exchange. Consider that this request is not only logical but necessary. If the aim of this Course is to reverse your way of thinking, you must first undo the former way. For this reason, it is crucial to your learning that you be willing to relinquish the goals—the functions, the meanings—you have set for everything you behold.
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LESSON 24
I do not perceive my own best interests.
1. You are never aware, in any situation, of what outcome would truly make you happy.I
²Therefore, you have no guide for proper action, nor any way of judging the result correctly.
³Your behavior is determined by your perception of the situation, and that perception is wrong.
⁴That is why you will inevitably fail to do what is in your best interest.
⁵Yet that should be your only goal in any situation that is truly perceived.
⁶But if you do not perceive it correctly, you will not be able to recognize what is in your best interest.
2. If you understood that you do not perceive what is in your best interest, it would become possible to be taught.
²But as long as you are convinced that you already know, you cannot learn.
³Today’s idea is a first step in opening your mind so that learning can begin.II
3. Today’s exercises require far more honesty than you are accustomed to using.
²In each of the five sessions you are asked to do today, it will be more helpful to examine a few situations honestly and in depth than to skim lightly over many.
³Spend about two minutes on each mind-searching session.
4. Begin each session by repeating today’s idea. Then, with eyes closed, search your mind for unresolved situations that are currently troubling you.
²Try to uncover what outcome you desire in each of them.
³You will quickly realize that you have many goals in mind related to the desired outcome, and that these goals exist on different levels and often conflict with one another.
5. Name each situation that arises in your mind, and then list as honestly as you can all the goals you would like to achieve in connection with it.
²Your phrasing might be something like:
³In regard to ___, I would like ___ to happen, and ___, and ___, and…
⁴Continue in this format, trying to include everything you honestly desire, even if some of the goals do not seem directly related to the situation or appear to be inherently part of it.
6. If you do the exercises correctly, you will recognize that you are making a large number of demands on the situation that have nothing to do with it.
²You will also see that many of your goals are contradictory, that you do not have a unified outcome in mind, and that you will surely fail to achieve some of your goals, no matter how the situation turns out.
³After reviewing the list of goals you have identified for each situation, say silently to yourself:
⁴I do not perceive what is in my best interest in this situation.III
⁵Then move on to the next.
I The mind, created by the Good—God—naturally tends toward the good and constantly seeks it; in essence, the mind seeks itself. Yet the personal mind, which is the effect of the ego within the holy Mind of the Son of God, becomes caught up in arrogance and masochism. For this reason, it does not truly know what is in its best interest—though it thinks it does, which is arrogance—and furthermore, it gives itself what causes it suffering—masochism.
II It does not take much honesty to recognize that the human being suffers from an essential cognitive bias, so widespread that it is difficult to identify. A cognitive bias is a mistaken way of using the mind, and this is perhaps the most pervasive. We might call it “the cognitive bias of double ignorance”: not knowing, and not knowing that you do not know—that is, arrogance.
Recognition of this fact is the highest level the ego can reach and marks the beginning of true learning. One who does not know that he does not know attributes to himself knowledge he does not possess, and that arrogance is the fundamental cause of human suffering.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” were Jesus’ penultimate words. Those who martyred Him believed they knew what they were doing, but they were merely victims of this devastating bias. Centuries earlier, Socrates too was condemned to death for declaring that the only thing he knew for certain was that he knew nothing, while his accusers were worse off still, for they were not even aware of their ignorance. Arrogance does not tolerate having its deficiencies exposed.
This Course will help you heal that cognitive bias which afflicts humanity. However, to achieve this, it is essential that you cultivate the discernment, honesty, and humility necessary to recognize that you do not know what is in your best interest.
This is not difficult at all; it is enough to practice today’s exercises correctly so that you become aware of this truth, and thus you will be ready for true learning to begin.
To learn is to change the mind, but true change cannot be brought about by the individual mind identified with the ego, which is precisely how the mind operates in all who refer to themselves as “I”—that is, in everyone. For this reason, the engine of true change is transpersonal, something that acts from beyond the person.
This Lesson, like none other in the first part of this Workbook, does not aim to change anything. Its purpose is to undo the old way of thinking. Today you will try to become fully aware that, in fact, you do not know what is in your best interest. That alone is enough.
III Each time we perceive painfully, we fall into the self-deception brought about by our own arrogance. Few traits define the “human” being more clearly than the combination of arrogance and masochism. What is the human being but one who judges and condemns, believing he knows something he truly does not, and who moreover tends to harm himself, refusing to perceive what is in his best interest and rejecting what could make him happy?
Arrogance, derived from the Latin ad-rogare—to attribute to oneself qualities one does not possess—is a form of falsehood which, like all lies, arises from fear. In this case, from the fear of truth, from the fear of facing one’s own ignorance. It is overcome through honesty, humility, and rationality.
Masochism, that tendency to harm oneself, has its origin in a dark feeling of guilt, provoked by the subconscious recognition of the “sin” of having confined an infinite mind within the limits of a false individual identity. This masochism is healed through forgiveness, beginning with forgiving yourself, which naturally leads to forgiving others.
Both arrogance and masochism disappear when the sense of personal importance is abandoned, when you stop believing that the image you have of yourself is relevant. Think about this: what credibility can an idea so volatile and changeable have? Do you not realize that this need to feel important is only a reaction to the falseness of that illusory identity?
To feel important is nothing but the mind’s attempt to reinforce one lie with more lies. That illusory character you think you are is of no importance; it is nothing but a delirium fabricated by your mind.
For the Love of God, you are His Son! Do not confine your greatness within denigrating ideas.
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LESSON 23
I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.
1. Today’s idea offers the only way out of fear that will ever succeed.
²Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless.
³But this cannot fail.
⁴Every thought you hold gives rise to some segment of the world you see.
⁵That is why we must work with your thoughts if your perception of the world is to be changed.
2. If the cause of the world you see is your attack thoughts, then you must learn that you do not want those thoughts.
²There is no point in lamenting the world.
³There is no point in trying to change it.
⁴The world cannot change because it is merely an effect.
⁵But what does make sense is to change your thoughts about the world.
⁶By doing this, you are changing the cause.
⁷And then the effect will change automatically.I
3. The world you see is a vengeful world, and everything in it is a symbol of vengeance.
²Every one of your perceptions of “external reality” is a pictorial representation of your own attack thoughts.
³One might well ask if this can truly be called seeing.
⁴Is not “fantasy” a more appropriate word for this process, and “hallucination” a more fitting term for its result? II
4. You see the world you made, but you do not see yourself as the maker of the images.III
²You cannot be saved from the world, but you can escape from its cause.IV
³This is what salvation means, for where is the world you see once its cause is gone?
⁴True Vision already holds in place what you will see instead of what you see now.
⁵Gentleness can light up your images and so transform them that you will love them, even though they were made from hate.
⁶For that transformation is not yours alone to make.V
5. Today’s idea introduces the notion that you are not trapped in the world you see, because its cause can be changed.VI
²This change requires, first, that you identify the cause, and then, that you let it go so it can be replaced.
³The first two steps in this process require your cooperation.
⁴The final one does not.VII
⁵For the images have already been replaced.
⁶You need only take the first two steps to be shown that this is so.VIII
6. Today’s idea requires five practice periods, as well as frequent application throughout the day as needed.
²Repeat the idea slowly and silently as you look around; then close your eyes and spend about a minute searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as you can find.
³As each one crosses your mind, say:
⁴I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts about ____.
⁵Hold each thought in awareness as you say this, then let it go and move on to the next.
7. In your practice periods, be sure to include both the thoughts in which you attack and those in which you are attacked.
²The effects of both are exactly the same, because they are exactly the same.
³You do not yet recognize this, and you are only asked, for now, to treat them as the same in today’s practice.
⁴We are still in the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see.
⁵When you finally learn that thoughts of attacking and of being attacked are not different, you will be ready to let the cause go.
I This paragraph effectively summarizes the strategy of this Course for reversing your thought system:
First, you become aware that the world is an illusion.
Then, you recognize that the world you behold is a creation of your mind, and you take responsibility for it.
Finally, you relinquish seeing it that way by deciding to change its cause: your attack thoughts.
Then the change occurs. But it is no longer due to anything you do; it is something that is given to you. Your contribution to this process ends with the expression of your firm willingness to see a different world. The rest happens of itself.
II The world is not a “reality” in itself, but the projection of your own thoughts represented in the form of images. All the work you do with this Course consists of becoming aware of this truth and purifying your thoughts, removing from them every component of attack, so as to align them with the truth.
This change is reflected on the perceptual level as the vision of the “real world,” where benevolent thoughts give rise to a happy dream.
III “My thoughts are images I have made” (W-15). This is because you call “world” your thoughts about a world that, in fact, does not exist.
IV You can free yourself from the world of suffering you behold if you relinquish your attack thoughts, since they are the cause of the world you perceive.
V That is the function of the Holy Spirit; your only contribution to that transformation is to invite Him to perform His work… in your mind.
VI You are not trapped in the world you see, but in the one you interpret. Yet since that interpretation depends solely on you, you can change it at will.
VII These three steps are: First, becoming aware of your attack thoughts. Then, forgiving them, which means relinquishing them. Finally, allowing the Holy Spirit to show you that illusion that provoked your fear and anger, now reinterpreted in benevolent terms.
VIII These last lines begin to introduce a powerful idea that, in time, will acquire crucial importance: the notion that you are not the author of your own salvation; it is something accomplished for you.
This idea is fundamental because you—as ego—are incapable of truly changing by yourself, though you probably believe you can. That is why it could be said that this is a Course in not-doing. You will never be the agent of your salvation, since your individual mind is precisely the cause of the apparent separation.
To go deeper into this concept, you may review the first Section of Chapter 30: Rules for Decision.
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LESSON 22
What I see is a form of vengeance.
1. Today’s idea accurately describes the way anyone who harbors attack thoughts in their mind must see the world.
²Having projected their anger onto the world, they see vengeance about to fall upon them.
³Thus, they view their own attack as an act of self-defense.I
⁴This becomes a vicious, escalating cycle until they are willing to change the way they see.
⁵Otherwise, thoughts of attack and counterattack will pursue them and fill their entire world.
⁶What peace of mind could they possibly have, then?
2. This wild fantasy is what you want to escape.
²Is it not good news to hear that it is not real? II
³Is it not joyful to discover that you can escape from this fantasy?
⁴It was you who made what you now wish to destroy; you made all that you hate and want to attack and kill.
⁵But all of what you fear does not exist.
3. Look at the world around you today at least five times, for no less than one full minute each time.
²As your eyes move slowly from one object to another, from one body to another, say silently to yourself:
³I see only the perishable.
⁴I see nothing that will last.
⁵What I see is not real.III
⁶What I see is a form of vengeance.
⁷At the end of each practice period, ask yourself:
⁸Is this the world I really want to see? IV
⁹The answer is obvious.
I At first glance, it may be difficult to accept that the world you perceive is “a form of vengeance.” To better understand this Lesson, it is useful to review Section V of Chapter 31, The Self-Concept, where it is explained that the world you behold is nothing but the reflection of the guilt that lies hidden in the shadowed side of the self-concept you hold.
This hidden side, which the ego strives to keep secret, is laden with fears, judgments, resentments, and deep self-condemnation. By projecting these thoughts outward, you perceive a threatening world that seems to attack you. Remember that to perceive is to project, and thus the world will always confirm and justify your fears and suspicions. This endless cycle of attack and defense aims to perpetuate the false identity the ego has fabricated and you have accepted.
Now you are learning that this perception is nothing but an illusion. By opening to the Holy Spirit’s correction, you can look beyond this mask, release the unfounded guilt, and recognize your true innocence as the Son of God, beloved and at peace.
Seeing yourself from this new, more benevolent perspective, you will begin to project and behold a forgiven, gentle world. This shift in perception is accomplished through your will. The key question you must ask yourself is: What world do I want to see?
II Remember that the word gospel in Greek means “happy news” or “good news.” And that is the true Gospel of Jesus: “The world is not real, and you are the innocent Son of God.” This is a notion every student of this Course must never forget. The world itself does not matter at all, because it is nothing. Be aware that you will always end up “losing” all the things of the world. Most of them will slip from your hands during your apparent stay here, and when you finally leave your body, every last trace of what you called “mine” will vanish. Do you think your Father would allow you to lose anything real that He has given you? And you can be certain that what He has not given you is not real and does not exist.
The human impulse, hijacked by illusion, tends to “improve” a world that always disappoints its expectations. The ego judges and condemns the world, thinking it could do better. “What it wants now is a better illusion” (P-3.In.2:8). But there are no better or worse illusions; they are all falsehoods. That is what the world is: the fictitious manifestation of the idea of separation made form to deceive you. Illusions are not improved; they are forgiven and forgotten. In the blessed present you cannot attend to illusions and at the same time look toward the light. You will have to choose between the two; there is no other alternative. Look at Jesus: when He was in this world, He never sought to improve it. He was a sublime teacher and a healer of the mind who preached the transcendence of the world, not its “betterment.” He did not try to “fix” the illusion, but to show its irrelevance; that is why He is the teacher of forgiveness. “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my people would have fought to prevent me from being handed over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from here” (John 18).
III This line appears in Helen’s Notes, but crossed out. The Urtext does not include it.
IV Once you are settled in the fictitious identity the ego proposes, it becomes extremely difficult not to succumb to the temptation of believing you are a victim of the world you behold, and not its maker. Keep in mind that the phenomenon of projection implicit in perception entails the will not to take responsibility for what is projected on the part of the one projecting, because you project in order to place outside yourself what you conceive. This means you refuse to recognize that, if you are seeing something, you are seeing it because that is precisely what you want to see; you see what you want to see.
But do not let this recognition lead you into guilt and depression. On the contrary, notice the light this discovery holds when interpreted correctly, for it also means that your mind is so powerful that it can create any world it chooses. Your mind is free, it is powerful, and it responds faithfully to the dictates of your will.
So do not waste time judging and condemning a world of your own making. Instead, look within with clear eyes and identify your true will, which is the same as your Father’s.
This Course has been described in many ways: as a treatise on love, forgiveness, the working of miracles, or a program of mind training. Yet as you go deeper into it, you will discover that, at its core, it is a Course on will—a manual designed to teach you to change your wanting so as to align it with your true identity.
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LESSON 21
I am determined to see things differently.I
1. Today’s idea is, of course, a continuation and extension of the previous one.
²This time, however, in addition to applying the idea to specific situations as they arise, designated periods of mind searching are also required.
³You are asked to undertake five practice periods today, each lasting a full minute.
2. Begin each practice by repeating the idea silently.
²Then close your eyes and search your mind carefully for past, present, or anticipated situations that arouse anger in you.
³This anger may take the form of any kind of reaction, from mild irritation to intense rage.
⁴The intensity of the emotion you feel does not matter.
⁵You will increasingly recognize that a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing but a thin veil drawn over seething fury.
3. Therefore, try not to let these “insignificant” thoughts of anger escape you during the practice periods. ²Remember that you do not really recognize what arouses anger in you, and nothing you believe in this regard means anything.II
³You will probably be tempted to focus on certain situations more than others, under the mistaken belief that they are more “obvious.”
⁴This is not so.
⁵This merely proves that you believe some forms of attack are more justified than others.
4. As you search your mind for all the ways in which attack thoughts present themselves, consider each one and say to yourself:
²I am determined to see ____ [name of person] differently.
³I am determined to see ____ [specify the situation] differently.
5. Try to be as specific as possible.
²You may, for example, focus your anger on a particular attribute of a certain person, believing your anger is limited to that aspect.
³If your perception of that person is distorted in this way, say:
⁴I am determined to see ____ [specify the disliked attribute] in ____ [name of person] differently.III
I Although all the Lessons in this Workbook are important and deserve absolute attention, this one is fundamental, and it will become a recurring declaration with which you will face, throughout your life, every circumstance that disturbs you. You will repeat it unceasingly, for it is the necessary invocation of the Holy Spirit to return to sanity. It is what will allow you to escape anger, fear, and depression.
In fact, this phrase from Bill to Helen was what gave rise to the beginning of the dictation of this Course. She answered that she was willing to help him and… shortly thereafter, Helen heard in her mind: “This is a Course in miracles, please take notes.”
Realize that, for this formula to work, it is essential that you “wholeheartedly” want to see whatever disturbs you in a different way. Your will is the only factor that governs your perception; therefore, you will see what you truly want to see. Yet it is certain that, in that moment of anger or distress, you are unable to conceive what you really want to come of that situation. Do not worry, this is not necessary at all, for that is precisely the function of the Holy Spirit. All you need to do is sincerely ask Him to show you a better way to interpret what is before you, and then wait, listen, and open your eyes wide to what will be shown to you.
Practice today’s idea exactly as instructed and with all your heart, whenever something displeases you, frightens you, or makes you angry, however slightly. But since you are only beginning to learn to listen, it may be difficult for you to quiet your mind enough to hear the Holy Spirit.
To hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit within you, keep in mind the following:
The Holy Spirit ALWAYS answers your call.
He does not speak with words, but with pure content; you are the one who translates that content into words.
The Holy Spirit is the Voice of God within the illusion; therefore, the content of that communication is always the resolution of a perceived conflict. The conflict itself is imaginary, and its resolution is also imaginary; it is but a reflection of God’s Love in your dream of death.
The only requirements to hear His Voice are:
- Willingness to hear it.
- Trust that you will hear it.
- Silence to listen to His Word.
Nothing more than that, but nothing less than that either.
However, if it is still difficult for you to hear Him, you have a simpler and more direct resource to dispel that illusion: invoke God. Call upon your Father. Turn your mind to Him. And completely forget the world as you do so. Let nothing matter to you in that moment, for that is a holy time that Eternity Itself and the angels protect.
This is a “shortcut” to leap directly from illusion to holiness that will never fail you. It is a state you will learn to call upon more and more frequently, until the moment comes when it never leaves you.
That direct invocation of God returns you to your natural state of holiness. But now, in this Lesson, you must learn from the Holy Spirit a mastery that will prove essential for you to fulfill your role as savior of the world. So, when something disturbs you, say silently to yourself: “I want to see this differently; show me how.” And listen to His answer.
II W-5: “I am never upset for the reason I think” and W-10: “My thoughts do not mean anything.”
III Of the infinite possibilities for interpreting what is perceived, which in itself means nothing, your ego-mind interprets every situation from a specific viewpoint that reflects the idea you have of yourself—your ego. When you become receptive to seeing things differently, you give up remaining anchored in that fixed position and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to see them from another perspective, which is precisely the one that best aligns with God’s plan for salvation.
What you now see is as illusory as what you saw before, but it will heal your dream of separation by removing its component of anger and fear. This relinquishment of deciding for yourself—for your ego—what is best for you requires no effort on your part, but it does, of course, require great humility, a good measure of trust, and a touch of wisdom.
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LESSON 20
I am determined to see.
1. Until now, we have taken a rather casual approach to our practice.
²No attempt has been made to set a schedule for carrying them out, nor has any minimum effort been required, and you have not even been asked to cooperate or take an active interest.
3This casual approach has been intentional and very carefully planned.
4We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of reversing your way of thinking.
5The salvation of the world depends on it.
6But you will not see if you feel coerced, or driven by resentment or resistance.
2. This is our first attempt to introduce some structure to the way you practice.
²Do not mistake it for an attempt to exert force or pressure.
³You do want salvation.
⁴You do want to be happy.
⁵You do want Peace.
⁶You do not enjoy any of this now because your mind is completely undisciplined, and you cannot yet distinguish between joy and sorrow, between pleasure and pain, or between love and fear.I
⁷You are now learning to tell them apart.
⁸And great indeed will be your reward.II
3. Your decision to see is all that Vision requires.
²And what you want is given you.
³Do not mistake the small effort that is asked of you for a sign that our goal is of little worth.
⁴Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose?
⁵And do you believe the world can be saved if you are not? ⁶God has one Son, and he is the Resurrection and the Life.III
⁷His Will is done, for all power in Heaven and on earth has been given him.IV
⁸It is your determination to see that grants you Vision.
4. Today’s exercises consist of reminding yourself throughout the day that you want to see.
²Today’s idea also implicitly acknowledges that you do not see now.
³Therefore, each time you repeat the idea, you are stating your willingness to change your current state for one that is better—one that you truly want.
5. Repeat today’s idea slowly and with confidence at least twice an hour, aiming to do so every half hour.
²Do not be disturbed if you forget, but make a genuine effort to remember.V
³In addition, repeat the idea whenever any situation, person, or event disturbs you.
⁴You can see all of it differently, and you will.
⁵For you will see what you desire to see.
⁶Such is the true working of the law of cause and effect in this world.VI
I A mind that has not been trained—and that, moreover, is confused because it has listened to the ego’s voice and perceives everything upside down—cannot accomplish anything and lives in a chaotic and dangerous universe. Yet this need not be so.
You are truly fortunate. This Course will train your mind in the truth, and if you apply yourself to it with perseverance and seriousness, you will soon experience the effects of that training. Here you will learn who you are and what your role in this world is. Your task is quite simple, and extraordinarily benevolent and beneficial, both for you and for all those around you.
You may not be very convinced yet, but keep in mind that your eyes are still closed, for you are sunk in a deep sleep. You are only beginning to open them slightly, and it is natural that at first the light dazzles and unsettles you. Do not be afraid; that will change very soon. You will soon begin to experience the effects of this new learning, and you will be surprised—and perhaps even shocked—by the immense delirium of what you called “my life.”
The discipline this training requires has nothing heroic about it: it is simply the honesty of admitting “right now I do not see” and returning—again and again—to the desire to see. To persevere is not to force yourself, but to sustain a gentle, steady decision, like someone who opens a window each morning even if the sky is overcast. Humility is understanding that your current perception is not enough to make you happy, and that Vision—the Vision of the mind at peace—is essential if you desire true and lasting joy. As long as you keep trying to fix the world with the same eyes that made it, you will go on confusing comfort with anesthesia, and relief with distraction.
The practice introduces a rhythm for your benefit, not to coerce you. Rhythm soothes the mind, as waves polish a rock. Each time you remember your decision, you are not “doing something else”; you are releasing a layer of interpretation that weighed upon you. If it helps, you may accompany the idea with a minimal gesture—a deeper breath, a brief silence—that marks the shift from the old habit of seeing against yourself to the availability to see in favor of your peace. Do not look for spectacular results: true correction is discreet and, precisely for that reason, powerful.
Recognizing “right now I do not see” prevents the trap of negotiating with fear. If you do not see, how can you rightly judge what is in your best interest? The discipline of this lesson saves you from that futile litigation: it reminds you that you do not need to be right, but to be at peace. And to be at peace requires learning to see without separating, without prefixed roles, without the haste to label. Perseverance here is the silent keeping of your desire: keeping it alight even when you forget, rekindling it when it seems to go out, and allowing its light to do what you do not know how to do. If you notice resistance, do not make it the protagonist. Acknowledge it kindly and continue. Resistance is only the echo of a habit that is wearing out. Do not fight it; move through its noise remembering that you want to see because you want to be happy, and that the happiness you seek does not depend on partial successes in the world, but on a Vision that does not fluctuate with changes. Discipline sustains that Vision until, effortlessly, it becomes your natural way of looking. Then you will understand that you never lacked the light; you were only training your eyes to receive it.
II Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
III John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.”
IV Matthew 6:10 “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying: ‘All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” God’s Will is always accomplished, and yours, as His Son, is also. This takes place both in the realm of reality and in that of illusion. Your will is always accomplished; that is why you perceive what you want to perceive. The question here is: what is it that you want, Son of God?V If you are doing the Lessons of this Workbook, try to do them well: exactly as instructed. You may forget your practice many times, but be very honest with yourself and acknowledge that this is always due to a conflict of priorities.
Perhaps, at a certain level of your mind, you recognize that saving yourself from a sick way of thinking is fundamental. Yet realize that, at another level—which is just as much the result of your will as the first—you place trifles before that high purpose. Become aware of this and correct it.
Part of your training is to teach you what is important and what is not. The sooner you recognize this, the better.
VI This important assertion arises from the fact that, as we have seen in previous Lessons, perception is an effect whose cause is the will. First the idea of something you want is conceived, and then that is projected and seen outside.
“Thought always precedes vision, despite the temptation to believe that it is the other way around” (W-17.1:3). That is why you see what you want to see.
And then this Course tells you to forgive the world, to forgive everything you behold, to forgive “what you want to see.”
Forgive your fantasies, born of your fears and desires, which are the same. And all of that is precisely what you are not, nor truly want. Forgive it, let it go, and you will find yourself face to face with the truth; you will be left with nothing but the Love of God, which is what you are.
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LESSON 19
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.
1. Today’s idea is, of course, the reason why the way you see does not affect you alone.I
²You will notice at times that the ideas presented to you concerning what you think precede those related to what you perceive, while at other times the order is reversed.II
³This is because the order does not really matter. ⁴Thinking, and its results, are truly simultaneous processes, for cause and effect are never separate.III
2. Today we again emphasize the fact that minds are joined.
²This is an idea that is rarely welcomed at first, as it seems to carry with it enormous responsibility, and may even be seen as a kind of “invasion of privacy.”
³However, it is a fact that there are no private thoughts.
⁴Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will come to understand that it must be true if salvation is to be possible.
⁵And salvation must be possible, because it is the Will of God.
3. The one-minute mind searching required for today’s exercises should be done with eyes closed.
²Begin by repeating the idea, and then carefully search your mind for the thoughts it contains at that moment.
4. As you consider each one, identify it first by the person or theme it centers on, and holding it in your mind, say:
²I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ____.
5. By now, you should be fairly accustomed to the requirement of selecting the subjects for the practice as randomly as possible, and this will no longer be repeated each day, though it will be included from time to time as a reminder.
²Nevertheless, do not forget that it remains essential to choose the subjects for each practice period in a completely random way.
³This absence of degrees of importance will eventually help you recognize that there are no degrees of difficulty in miracles either.IV
6. In addition to applying today’s idea “as needed,” at least three practice sessions are required, shortening the time if necessary.V
²Do not attempt more than four.
I In the preceding Lesson it is stated that others are affected by my manner of seeing; that is, by how I see. Today’s idea is more specific: it now maintains that what affects others are my thoughts—that is, my judgments about what I see. This provides an additional reason to assume responsibility for our judgments, since they not only influence our emotional state and, therefore, our behavior, but also the emotional states and behavior of others. This is evident, for example, in the effect of leadership exercised by politicians, teachers, parents, and even in the salvific action of the Teachers of God that this Course advocates.
As presented here, this idea may seem surprising, but in fact it is something you recognize within and that underlies social organization. The world, indeed, is an agreement among particular minds and the basis of all human communication: the sharing of meanings. Moreover, this communication is not limited to what is perceived through the commonly admitted senses. “…each individual has many capacities of which they are unaware. As their awareness expands, they can develop faculties that seem quite surprising to them” (M-26.1:3-4). Both the knowing of what is not explicit and healing through the power of thought are natural aspects of the shared mind, since ultimately everything is contained within the same mind.
II Notice how you are being taught that cause and effect are not separate by working with pairs of equivalent and alternating ideas concerning what you perceive and what you think:
PERCEPTION (W-1: “Nothing I see means anything”) ↔ THOUGHT (W-3: “I do not understand anything I see” and W-4: “These thoughts do not mean anything”).
THOUGHT (W-5: “I am never upset for the reason I think”) ↔ PERCEPTION (W-6: “I am upset because I see something that is not there”).
Other examples:
PERCEPTION (W-7) ↔ THOUGHT (W-8)
THOUGHT (W-10) ↔ PERCEPTION (W-11)
THOUGHT (W-16) ↔ PERCEPTION (W-17)
PERCEPTION (W-18) ↔ THOUGHT (W-19)
III What you see, how you see what you see, and why you see what you see are all the same. You see what you want to see. Perception is a volitional act; it is the result of your will to see in that way. If you see a fragmented world, made up of things separate from one another, it is because you have accepted as true the idea that you yourself are separate, and thus you perceive everything according to what you believe you are.
Cause and effect are not separate; they occur simultaneously. How, then, can it be surprising to you to see such a world?
IV “The first thing to remember about miracles is that there is no order of difficulty among them. One is not more difficult or greater than another. They are all the same” (T-1.1).
This “indifference” in considering the subjects you use in your practices has a profound ontological justification: if the world is an illusion, any illusion is equal to any other with respect to reality, and therefore: “What is real is not in danger, and what is in danger is not real…” (T-In.3:2–3).
You have constructed a world by dismembering reality and assigning to those pieces different attributes and functions that affect you differently and to varying degrees. For you, there is an enormous difference between a flower and the sick body of a loved one; yet both perceptions are still stories with which your mind engages: illusions conceived by your mind, projected into an imaginary spatial realm and regarded as real within a temporal realm—fleeting and equally illusory. It is imperative that you learn to see as equal what is equal and to distinguish reality from illusion.
V In fact, today’s exercise, more than a practice, ought to be a permanent attitude. Consider the following: if Jesus is right and my thoughts inevitably affect others, I had better watch my mind with extraordinary care and not allow myself to think what I do not wish to share.
A good rule for managing your mind honestly and effectively is to reject any thought you would not like others to know. The advantage of following this selective criterion is that, by placing the censor outside yourself, you become less permissive and less prone to tolerate malicious thoughts, because you already know you are not immune to that social judge. Do not allow your holy mind to harbor anything but the best you are capable of conceiving, for you deserve no less than that.
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LESSON 18
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
1. Today’s idea is another step in learning that the thoughts which give rise to what you see are never neutral or irrelevant.
²It also underscores the idea that minds are joined, which will be emphasized further on.I
2. Today’s idea does not concern what you see so much as how you see it.II
²Therefore, today’s exercises highlight this aspect of your perception.
³Three or four practice periods should be done as follows:
3. Choose different objects at random to apply today’s idea, and look at each one long enough to say:
²I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see this ____.
³Conclude the practice by repeating this more general statement:
⁴I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see.
⁵One minute, or even less, will suffice.
I Separation not only shapes what you believe you see, but also conditions the shared “field of interpretation” in which all minds operate. If “minds are joined,” then your way of seeing does not remain confined to your private bubble: it radiates into that common field and, by resonance, invites others to adopt kindred interpretive frameworks. You do not “force” anyone—no one loses their freedom—but you do offer a reading pattern that others may accept or reject. To see is to teach, because all perception communicates the thought system that sustains it.
When you separate, name, and assign functions, you are not merely telling yourself a story: you are proposing it. Your gaze assigns roles (“this is for…,” “you are…”), and those roles tend to be accepted by those who, feeling seen in that way, seek to fit into the script they perceive. That is why your forgiveness is not an irrelevant inner act; it silently rewrites the scripts available to all. Mental union makes your choice of teacher—the ego or the Holy Spirit—have shared effects: if you choose to see with the ego, you reinforce defensive and blaming interpretations; if you choose the Vision of Christ, you expand the availability of innocent meanings. In a united mental field, offering innocence increases the probability that innocence will be seen.
This is where the so-called “miracles” operate: they do not first change forms, but the framework of meaning you offer to the common field. Your decision not to separate—not to fix identities or functions out of fear—reduces interpretive noise and makes it easier for others to access a simpler, truer reading. Giving is receiving because, in union, what you offer as interpretation returns to you as experience.
Practical implications for today’s lesson:
Remember that each time you apply “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing”, you are acknowledging the teaching character of your perception. Ask yourself: “What am I teaching now with my way of seeing: fear or peace?”
In the presence of a specific person, silently add: “My way of seeing you affects you because our minds are joined. I choose to see you as God created you.” Do not force anything; limit your contribution to withdrawing judgments and offering the availability of innocent meaning.
When you notice yourself assigning a role (“this one is guilty,” “this is dangerous,” “this is worthless”), stop and say: “I am proposing a script to the field we share. I would rather offer one that liberates.” This rectification is enough to clarify the interpretive field.
If conflict arises, do not seek to change another’s behavior first. Change the framework: “I choose the Holy Spirit as my interpreter.” In union, that choice opens an alternative reading for both, where peace becomes coherent.
Thus, the lesson ceases to be an isolated affirmation and becomes a relational practice: your perception is a continual invitation. Each time you choose to see without separating, you lighten the interpretive burden of the world for everyone. That is the real efficacy of your learning: it turns your way of seeing into a shared gift.
II How do you see the world? What are you really doing when you say you see something?
Pay close attention to what happens when you look at a thing and say you see it. In truth, what you do is separate it from the totality of what you perceive, assign it a specific content, tell yourself a story about what you have separated, give it a proper name, and assign it a particular function. For you, seeing is separating; that is the way you see: by separating.
The idea of separation is omnipresent in your particular universe. It applies not only to everything you see, but also to the idea you have of yourself and of others. That way of seeing affects others, for you have turned them into entities as separate from everything as yourself.
In any case, the central point of today’s idea is that everything you call “the other” or “others” is nothing but “contents of your consciousness,” shaped according to your own will. Perception is a function of the mind that is entirely volitional and imaginary.
Do not be alarmed if you are told that to perceive is to fantasize. On the contrary, rejoice, because that means you are not a “victim” of what you perceive, but the “creator” of your perception. And you must also know that you are free and able to change your entire perceptual process at will; that is the foundation of miracles.
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LESSON 17
I see no neutral things.
1. This idea is another step in understanding how the relationship between cause and effect truly works.
²You do not see neutral things because you do not have neutral thoughts.I
³Thought always precedes vision, despite the temptation to believe that it is the other way around.II
⁴The world does not think this way, but you must learn that this is how you truly think.
⁵Otherwise, perception would be without cause, and itself the cause of reality.III
⁶Given how variable its nature is, this is impossible.IV
2. In applying today’s idea, say to yourself with eyes open:
²I do not see neutral things because I do not have neutral thoughts.
³Then look around you, letting your gaze rest on each thing that catches your attention long enough to say:
⁴I do not see a ____ that is neutral because my thoughts about ____ are not neutral.
⁵For example, you might say:
⁶I do not see a wall that is neutral because my thoughts about walls are not neutral.
⁷I do not see a body that is neutral because my thoughts about bodies are not neutral.
3. As always, it is essential not to make distinctions among the things you look at based on their characteristics—whether they are animate or inanimate, pleasant or unpleasant.
²Regardless of what you may believe, you do not see anything that is truly alive and truly joyful.
³This is because you are not yet aware of any thought that is truly true and therefore truly happy.
4. Three or four practice periods are recommended, with no fewer than three being required to gain the maximum benefit, even if you experience discomfort.
²However, if discomfort does arise, the duration of the practice period may be shortened to less than the recommended one minute.
I This is the same as saying that you do not see things objectively because your thoughts are not objective. You are not an object; you are a subject; therefore, your thoughts are not objective but subjective, and, consequently, you see in a subjective manner.
Now, pay close attention: if you call what you see an “object” because you believed you were thinking “objectively,” what will you call what you think you see now that you know your thoughts are subjective? Do you realize the absolute connection that exists between you and what you believe you see outside yourself? Do you think there is any chance that the world in which you think you live is not something absolutely subjective?
Remember: your thoughts are decidedly subjective. What you believe you see bears the imprint of your very being so deeply etched into it that it is hard to conclude that the world you perceive is not something “yours.”
“Understand that every mode of perception is subjective; that what is seen or heard, touched or smelled, felt or thought, expected or imagined, is in the mind and not in reality, and you will experience peace and freedom from fear.” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
II Ask yourself: What is there before thought? Certainly, for you the world does not exist before you think of it. Whether the world exists or not independently of what you think is nothing more than another opinion you hold. In this sense, the concepts of “established fact” and “opinion” are indistinguishable.
The objective of this Course is to completely invert the way of thinking, and this is precisely one of the paradigms on which that inversion rests. It is one of this Course’s basic epistemological principles: to perceive is, in fact, to project. The mind first conceives a thought and then “sees” it projected onto an imaginary world outside itself. But, according to this Course’s paradigm, there is no such thing as a “world outside yourself,” but only the belief that this “exists.” There is only mind conceiving complex thoughts composed of multiple overlapping concepts, of which one is not fully aware.
For example, when you see a table, what you perceive is in reality a multiple thought that incorporates countless meanings within itself. To name a few: the physical, aesthetic, and functional characteristics of the idea conceived; the belief that it is “out there” outside you in a realm you call “space”; the perception that it is present now; the idea that “I” am seeing it… All of this gathers into a single concept that, in simplified fashion, you call “the perception of a table.” By altering any of these parameters, the mind interprets differently. Thus, the table in question may be large or small, ugly or beautiful, seen by you now or remembered, etc.
Perception is the effect of mental elaboration, for mind is the only thing that exists. This is why this Course states that the world is an illusion. Later it will be understood that not only is the world an illusion, but so is the idea you have of yourself. This appears in the mind in the same way the idea of a table arises.
Evidently, this notion terrifies the ego and can be—and indeed is—an almost insurmountable barrier for the student of this Course. However, it is crucial to remember that, on the path toward identifying with your true identity as the Son of God, it is necessary to leave behind a series of dearly held falsehoods, what this Course calls “the obstacles to truth.”
In any case, you are only at the very beginning of the Workbook, and for now it is enough to understand that the things you believe you see outside yourself have no meaning other than the meaning you yourself have assigned to them.
III This line emphasizes that everything we observe is tinged by the way we think, highlighting the cause-and-effect relationship proposed by this teaching: thought (cause) gives rise to perception (effect). From this it follows that perception cannot be neutral, since the mind is always taking sides, whether from the ego or from love. In other words, to believe that the world “out there” dictates our thoughts would imply that perception is the cause of reality. The Course, however, inverts this perspective and asserts that there are no neutral thoughts: what we see is laden with meaning because we have imbued it with the meanings that arise from our own beliefs.
In other words, every time we perceive something, we do so from the inner idea we are accepting at that moment. This mode of reasoning contradicts the world’s logic, which maintains: “I see something and therefore I think X.” The Course proposes the opposite: “I think X, and therefore I see something in this way.” Otherwise, perception would lack a cause and would become the cause of reality, depriving the mind of its true creative power and leading the observer to believe that what is external determines his experience.
Thus, the statement “I see no neutral things” confirms that, in every perceptual experience, the mind always operates as the source of what it sees, and what it sees can only be a reflection of what it truly thinks.
IV You call seeing what is actually thinking you see. If perception were the process of grasping something that exists outside you, that process would be the cause of your seeing, and you would always “see” the same thing when beholding something. However, you must be aware that your perception is highly variable: it changes over time and differs among different individuals. Even the world’s thought system acknowledges as true the expression “You see what you want to see,” and this applies to both objects and circumstances.
In reality, you are seated before the screen of your consciousness, beholding your own projections. This is an idea that may be very hard for you to accept, but that nevertheless holds the key to your release. Do not obsess over it; instead, learn to forgive what you perceive. In this way, you will first find peace and, with it, the truth that accompanies it.
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LESSON 16
I have no neutral thoughts.
1. Today’s idea is an initial step in dispelling the belief that your thoughts have no effect.
²Everything you see is the result of your thoughts.I
³There are no exceptions to this.
⁴Thoughts are not big or small; powerful or weak.
⁵They are simply true or false.II
⁶Those that are true create in their own likeness.III
⁷Those that are false do so as well.IV
2. There is no concept more inherently self-contradictory than that of “idle thoughts.”
²What gives rise to an entire world can hardly be called idle.
³Every thought you have contributes either to truth or to illusion; it either extends the truth or multiplies illusions. ⁴You can indeed multiply what is nothing, but you will not extend it by doing so.V
3. In addition to recognizing that thoughts are never idle, salvation also requires that you acknowledge that every thought you have will bring either peace or conflict, either love or fear.
²A neutral result is impossible, because a neutral thought is impossible.
³The temptation to dismiss fearful thoughts as unimportant, trivial, or unworthy of attention is so great that it is essential to recognize them all as equally destructive, and equally unreal.VI
⁴We will practice this idea in many forms before you come to truly understand it.
4. In applying today’s idea, search your mind for about a minute with eyes closed, and try sincerely not to overlook any “insignificant” thought that tends to elude your search.
²This will be quite difficult for you until you learn to do it.VII
³You will find that it is still very hard for you not to make artificial distinctions.VIII
5. Every thought that occurs to you, regardless of how you may classify it, is suitable for applying today’s idea.
²During the practice periods, repeat the idea first, and then, as each thought crosses your mind, hold it in awareness as you say to yourself:
³This thought about ____ is not a neutral thought.
⁴That thought about ____ is not a neutral thought.
6. As usual, use today’s idea whenever you become aware of a specific thought that causes you discomfort.
²The following form is suggested for this purpose:
³This thought about ____ is not a neutral thought, because I do not have neutral thoughts.
7. Four or five practice periods are recommended, if you find them relatively easy.
²If you experience strain, three will be enough.
³The length of the exercise period should also be reduced if it becomes uncomfortable.ucirse si se vuelve incómodo.
I You are Spirit (W-97),and the mind is the activating agent of the Spirit (G-1.1). You experience yourself in the mind and as mind. You know nothing but mind and you relate to nothing but your own thoughts, for there is nothing else. Some of the thoughts you conceive you call “opinions” and consider very “private.” Others you call “things” or “circumstances,” and you think they are external to you, but that belief is false, for nothing is outside you; if something were, you could neither relate to it nor know it at all. Your own body—or the idea you have of yourself—are your thoughts. The other people you think you relate to, and the world where you think that occurs, are also in your mind—where else would they be? This is why you always relate only to yourself, and the way you treat your thoughts is the way you treat yourself.
There are no neutral thoughts because every one of your thoughts has appeared in your mind for a reason—something has caused it—and that “something” is your will; you have the thoughts you invoke because you want to experience them. Both the world you see (thoughts you call “things”) and the stories you fantasize about (thoughts you recognize as ideas) have arisen in your imagination for some motive that brought them to your awareness. They did not appear out of nothing or at random; rather, they are the symbolic expression of your deepest fears and desires, and all of them serve a function.
The purpose of this Course in mind training is precisely to learn how to manage these thoughts by choosing the ones you do want—loving ones—and by reinterpreting the others according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit so as to remove from them their component of anger and fear, which are the same. Thus you forgive the world by ceasing to fear and attack it, and that is the beginning of living lucidly.
II All the thoughts you are relating to now are false, for you relate to them in terms of “belief,” which is the spurious way of using the mind that was created to “create” in the same way it was created. To believe is merely to assign false attributes to your thoughts and to think that what you think is true and that your thoughts are something they are not.
III Genesis 1:26: “And God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image and likeness.’”
IV Just as true or real thoughts create reality by extending one’s very Being, false thoughts forge illusions. The former extend reality, and the latter shape the world in the ego mind. In every case, thoughts are never powerless, for they are causal and must necessarily have “effects.” Some are conceived within the realm of the real—what the Course calls “the Creations of God’s Son”—and others within the realm of illusion—illusions.
V This, obviously, is a parody of the mathematical principle of nullity resulting from multiplying any number by zero. The Course’s use of the verb “to extend” is very difficult to interpret ontologically, for it is always used to refer to the creation of what is real. Thus, the Course states: “The Son of God is an extension of God.” The human mind—the self-limited mind of God’s Son—is configured to conceive forms, illusions, not real concepts, which are perfectly abstract.
For this reason, reality’s relationship with itself gives rise to the incomprehensible verb “to extend” which, while pointing to the idea of “increase,” cannot literally be taken that way either, since increase implies change and reality is immutable. These are the limitations inherent in language, which, in the end, is an instrument for communicating concepts within the realm of duality, yet proves ineffective for describing reality, which is non-dual.
VI Salvation—the good news, the Gospel—lies precisely in the fact that fear-thoughts, lacking love, are unreal. This is why fear is unfounded. It is comparable to when we have a nightmare and find ourselves threatened in our sleep by a horrifying figure, which will always symbolize some lack of forgiveness. Upon awakening, we understand the fear was unfounded; what frightened us was an illusion.
However, one does not awaken from the dream of the world in the world. If you believe you are in the world, you cannot afford the luxury of blithely dismissing loveless false thoughts, for you will undoubtedly experience their effects in it. It is necessary to recognize the destructive nature of these thoughts and the power they have to embitter “life.”
Although the definitive solution is to awaken from the dream of the world, the strategy is to heal the mind. First, by becoming aware of the power of your “bad” thoughts in the world; then, by asking to “see this differently” in order to remove them. This is precisely the Atonement.
VII This is an important sentence because it points to the Course’s sacrosanct principle of mental vigilance—the fundamental, ongoing task of the student of A Course in Miracles: to watch their mind at all times, to be alert, and to be aware of every thought that arises. As a rule, any thought that pops up unexpectedly is a manifestation of the ego—its grandiose aspirations or its deepest fears. It is essential to become aware of this, and this need can never be overemphasized.
Once you have become aware of such a thought, it is imperative to understand with absolute clarity that it is false and destructive and that, at best, it will only serve to waste time on idle fantasies. The compulsive flow of ego thoughts is always a sign that we find the present reality unsatisfactory and unworthy of our attention or appreciation, so we replace it with fantasies.
The sound mind, lit by the pure awareness of Being, is blissful; and what it beholds—the real world—is always wholly satisfying and evokes joy.
VIII This too is fundamental. It is essential that you become aware that you now relate to your own thoughts according to an artificial scale or yardstick you yourself have established, which classifies them by arbitrarily assigning them a value or relevance. Thus you believe there are thoughts related to certain concepts that are more “valuable” or important than others. In reality, what you are doing is ranking illusions without noticing that all of them are the same: all are false.
One idea that is especially hard for you to accept is that the Holy Spirit does not share your scale of illusory values. You believe that He will surely give you more attention and care if, through tears, you ask Him to heal a malignant, lethal cancerous tumor than if you ask Him which would be better for you, a strawberry ice cream or a lemon one. But He does not see it that way. He sees only that God’s Son is dreaming and needs to awaken. The content of the dream is irrelevant to Him. It is not irrelevant to you, however, and therein lies the problem, because that imaginary contrast among illusions is precisely what sustains your dream.
This is a radical Course. Its goal is not to “improve” your life in this world, but to lead you to awaken from the illusion that you are in it.
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LESSON 15
My thoughts are images which I have made.I
1. Because the thoughts you believe you think appear as images, you do not recognize them as nothing.
²You believe you think them, and so you believe you see them.
³This is how your “seeing” was made.
⁴This is the function you have given to the eyes of your body.
⁵This is not vision.
⁶It is image-making.
⁷And it is what has taken the place of Vision, replacing it with illusions.
2. This introductory idea about the process of image-making, which you call seeing, is likely to hold little meaning for you at the moment.
²You will begin to understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects you see now.II
³That is the beginning of true Vision.
⁴You can be certain that true Vision will soon come when this occurs.
3. As you proceed, you may experience many “light episodes.”III
²These may take many different forms, some of them quite unexpected.
³Do not be afraid of them.
⁴They are signs that you are finally opening your eyes.
⁵They will not last, because they merely symbolize true perception and are not related to Knowledge.
⁶These exercises will not reveal Knowledge to you.
⁷But they will prepare the way that leads to It.IV
4. In practicing today’s idea, repeat it silently at first, and then apply it to anything you see around you, using its name as you look at it and saying:
²This ____ is an image I have made.
³That ____ is an image I have made.
⁴It is not necessary to include a large number of specific objects in each practice period.
⁵However, it is important to look at each one of them slowly as you repeat the idea inwardly.
⁶The idea should be repeated very slowly each time.
⁷Although you will not be able to apply the idea to many things within the recommended one-minute practice period, try to make the selection as random as possible.
5. If you begin to feel uneasy, the exercise should be discontinued before the full minute.
²Do not repeat the idea more than three times today unless you feel perfectly comfortable doing so, and do not exceed four practice periods.
³However, it may be used throughout the day as needed.V
I Taking responsibility for the meaning you yourself have assigned to all things is what this lesson’s practice invites you to do. Most of the time, those meanings are ones you learned from others through the process the world calls “education.” Yet in every case the meaning will always be profoundly personal. An object will never be exactly the same for one person as for another. The proof lies in the specific “emotional resonance” that the things of the world have for each individual.
Perhaps with this practice you will also begin to understand that every experience of which you are aware is, in essence, a mental process. The things you look at, the objects you perceive, and the places where you believe you find yourself are, in fact, ideas in your mind and possess neither meaning nor existence of their own. Without the mind, there is no world; but the mind does not need the world in order to exist. What you call “world” is nothing but an idea in your mind, configured out of a set of shadings, contrasts, and considerations. The world does not exist, yet it is enough for your mind to hold a belief that it exists for you to perceive it as something real and external to you. Still, that is only your opinion—and a mistaken one.
It is not only an error to believe in the existence of a world outside you; your idea of yourself is also completely false. In fact, the world is nothing but a reflection of that other fundamental error.
Your mind cannot hold two contradictory ideas at the same time. As long as you keep clinging enthusiastically to your old beliefs, the truth cannot manifest in your mind. For this reason, Part I of the Workbook is devoted to undoing your mistaken way of perceiving reality. Without this step, it would be impossible for you to open your eyes and leave behind the dream of separation that today seems so convincing.
II These “edges of light” are halos that can be seen around objects. They are borders of light that make objects stand out from their surroundings. This experience is deeply related to your internal dialogue and occurs when you look at something and stop that incessant dialogue you keep with yourself; it happens in the absence of ego, in the absence of “interpretation.” The “glow” you observe fluctuates according to the stress generated by that mental condition of suppressing the ego. Remember that the ego is grasping and will try to appropriate this experience in order to interpret it; however, it is not for that. For now, all you need to know is that these perceptions come from a state of mental silence.
III Ken Wapnick explains that this reference to “episodes of light” and the warning not to fear them was included by Jesus to ease the anxiety of Cal Hatcher, a colleague of Bill and Helen (Absence from Felicity, p. 304). According to Ken, before the Course began to be written down, Cal spoke with Bill about the episodes of light he had been experiencing and that terrified him. At the start of the dictation, Bill told Cal about the Course, and Cal showed immediate interest. As a result, they often met in Bill’s office early in the morning to go over the latest notes.
It is possible that these “episodes of light” also refer to the perception of “auras” and “chakras,” concepts common in India’s culture, or even to the way sorcerers describe human beings as “eggs of light,” as Carlos Castaneda recounts in his works. In any case, this should be neither a concern nor a requirement for the student of this Course. The student’s sole mission is to attain peace, extend it, and save the world in their mind through forgiveness and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, every perceptual experience is illusory and constitutes only a symbolic way of expressing—or translating into sensory terms—“true vision.”
IV Knowing is not a perceptual phenomenon and has nothing to do with acquiring information about something outside yourself, since that is, in fact, impossible—there is nothing outside you. To Know, to Love, and to Create are the three fundamental aspects of Being, and they are one and the same.
Do not obsess over the episodes of light, do not pursue them, and do not desire to experience them. You are not seeking “lights,” but to remember who you are, to remember your Father, and to feel His Love within you. Anything short of that is merely an “anecdote” along your spiritual path.
Remember that you always have a Guide who accompanies you. He will teach you how to interpret everything that happens to you correctly. You only need to be willing to listen to Him, and He will not communicate with you in words, but with certainty.
V This line was added later by hand. It does not appear in Helen’s Notes.
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LESSON 14
God did not create a meaningless world.
1. Today’s idea is, of course, the reason why a meaningless world is impossible.I
²What God did not create does not exist.
³And everything that does exist, exists exactly as He created it.
⁴The world you see has nothing to do with Reality.
⁵It is the product of your own making, and it does not exist.II
2. Today’s exercises should be practiced with eyes closed throughout.
²The period of mental searching should be brief—no more than one minute.
³Do not do more than three practice sessions with today’s idea unless you feel completely at ease.
⁴If you do, it is because you truly understand what the exercises are for.
3. Today’s idea is another step in the process of learning to let go of the thoughts you have written onto the world, and to see instead the Word of God.III
²The early steps in this exchange—which can truly be called salvation—may be quite difficult, and even rather painful.
³Some of them will lead you directly into fear.
⁴But you will not be left there.
⁵You will transcend that fear and go far beyond it, for we are heading toward perfect safety and perfect Peace.
4. With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that come to your mind.
²Name each one as you see it, and then deny its reality.
³God did not create that, and so it is not real.
⁴Say, for example:
⁵God did not create that war in ___, and so it is not real.IV
⁶God did not create the airplane crash in ___, and so it is not real.
⁷God did not create that disaster [specify which] in __, and so it is not real.
⁸God did not create that illness [specify which and name the person], and so it is not real.
5. Suitable subjects for applying today’s idea also include anything you fear might happen to you or to anyone you care about.
²In each case, name the “disaster” very specifically.
³Do not use general terms.
⁴For example, do not say, God did not create illness, but rather, God did not create cancer, or heart attacks, or whatever specifically frightens you.
6. What you are looking at is your personal catalog of horrors.
²These things are part of the world you see.
³Some of them are shared illusions, and others belong to your private hell.
⁴That does not matter.
⁵What God did not create can only exist in your own mind, apart from His.
⁶Therefore, it has no meaning.
⁷In recognition of this fact, conclude each practice period by repeating today’s idea:
⁸God did not create a meaningless world.
7. Today’s idea may, of course, be applied to anything that upsets you during the day, apart from the practice periods.
²Be very specific in applying it.
³Say:
⁴God did not create a meaningless world.
⁵He did not create [specify the upsetting situation], and so it is not real.
I W-13.1:2 “In fact, a meaningless world is impossible.”
II Every human culture has a narrative that explains the origin of the perceived universe, known as a “cosmogony.” It may take a scientific, mythological, or religious form, but in every case it rests on the premise that what you perceive is real. In this sense, all human cosmogonies share an essential similarity—except for those of a non-dual nature, like the one this Course proposes. Here you are taught that the world is an illusion and that everything you perceive is unreal. In fact, this Course holds that perceiving is comparable to dreaming: only the mind is real, and everything you think you perceive is nothing but thoughts you conceived that have never left their source—your own mind.
The Text begins by stating: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.” Although the nonexistence of what is unreal may seem obvious, what is not so clear is that everything you perceive belongs to that category of unreality. The introduction culminates with these words: “Herein lies the Peace of God.”
The Peace of God is precisely the salvation you seek in this world that so upsets you. Yet if the world is not real, why would you grieve? If you were to attain awareness of its unreality, would you not then enjoy the Peace of God?
You suffer, fear, blame, and self-blame because you believe the world you live in is true. But would God create such a world? If God did not create it, then the world does not exist; and if the world exists, then God is not real. Ultimately, there are no alternatives other than these.
Today’s Lesson invites you to choose between these two possibilities and, once you do, to rest and ignore any interpretation the ego’s voice may try to offer you about what you perceive. This Course is extremely simple, and that is its essence. This is the cornerstone on which its entire ontological system—its explanation of what is real—is built.
To adopt this approach, a profound shift in your mind will be necessary. You are only at the very beginning of that process. It is natural that, at this point, the idea that everything you think you love—as well as everything you fear and hate—is not real will be equally unsettling. From the moment you opened your eyes to the world, your mind has been conditioned to accept a certain description of reality. Everything you have been taught and everything you have repeated to yourself since then is false, and that is precisely why you think as you think and believe what you believe.
It has been explained to you—and you are aware of it—that this is a Course designed to train your mind in a new way of interpreting reality. You are only beginning this path. You are not expected to embrace the new proposals enthusiastically from the start, nor do you need to. You do not have to believe blindly in anything taught here, since belief by itself will not lead you to true knowledge.
Simply keep your mind open to a new possibility and begin to experience the effects for yourself. Over time, you will gain a deeper understanding of the truth, without anyone having to convince you of it.
III W-12.6:7–8 “Beneath your words is written God’s Word. The truth now is bewildering, but when your words have been erased, you will see His.”
IV Helen originally wrote “the war in Vietnam”—this was in 1969—but later changed the phrase so it would read this other way. The reference to Vietnam, however, shows you the kind of specificity asked of you in this exercise.
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LESSON 13
A meaningless world engenders fear.
1. Today’s idea is a variation of the previous one, except that it is more specific about the emotion it arouses.
²In truth, a meaningless world is impossible.
³There is nothing that lacks meaning.
⁴However, this does not mean that you do not believe you perceive something that has no meaning.
⁵On the contrary, you are very inclined to think that you do.
2. The recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all who perceive themselves as separate.I
²It represents a situation in which God and the ego appear to “challenge” each other as to the meaning that should be assigned to the empty space that meaninglessness presents.II
³The ego hastens frantically to fill it with its own “ideas,” fearing that the void could be used to demonstrate its own unreality.III
⁴And in this alone is it correct.
3. It is essential, therefore, that you learn to recognize what is meaningless as meaningless, and to accept it without fear.
²If you are afraid, you will certainly endow the world with attributes it does not possess, and fill it with images that do not exist.
³To the ego, illusions are devices of safety, just as they must be to you, who identify with it.IV
4. Today’s exercises, to be done three or four times for no more than a minute at most each time, should be practiced in a slightly different manner than previous ones.
²With eyes closed, state today’s idea.
³Then open your eyes and look around you slowly, saying:
⁴I am looking at a world that means nothing.
⁵Repeat this statement silently as you continue to look around.
⁶Then close your eyes and conclude with:
⁷A meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in competition with God.
5. You may find it difficult not to resist this final statement in some way.
²Whatever form the resistance may take, remind yourself that the real reason you are afraid of this idea is because of the “vengeance” of the “enemy.”
³You are not expected to believe this statement at this point, and you will probably dismiss it as preposterous. ⁴Nevertheless, take careful note of any signs of fear, whether obvious or subtle, that the idea may evoke.V
6. This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause-and-effect relationship of a kind you are still very inexperienced in recognizing.VI
²Do not dwell on the final statement, and do not try to think about it except during the practice periods.
³That will suffice for now.
I If what I perceive in the world is devoid of meaning, then the thought within me that gave rise to it is also meaningless. And since I identify with my thoughts, this implies that I myself lack meaning—that is, that I do not exist.
Anxiety arises because, at some level, I recognize that this lack of meaning extends to my own individual, separate, egoic existence.
II This is one way of explaining what is happening in your mind, although, of course, it is not how you perceive it. Having identified with the ego, you interpret the events in your mind from its perspective.
III This somewhat grotesque figure of the ego, lunging to assign meanings, should not surprise you, for that is precisely what is happening in your mind constantly. That is what you call “thinking,” “my thoughts,” or your “inner dialogue.” It is nothing but the ego’s frenzy to confer meaning on illusions.
It is not that your mind has been possessed by the ego; that is not so. The ego is nothing, and you hold all the power. What has happened is that you have chosen to listen to that voice, which is nothing more than the effect, in your holy mind, of having accepted the idea of separation—what we might call “the ego as effect.” You are free; you always have been and always will be. Yet in your present situation, that freedom lies solely in deciding which voice you choose to listen to.
You do not generate or produce the thoughts you believe you have; you merely subscribe to them. That “thinking,” so to speak, is an automatic figuration of your mind that turns your fears and desires into “forms.” It is akin to what happens in your nightly dreams: a figurative language by which your subconscious communicates with your conscious mind—a fantasy, an illusion that you may choose to regard as real, or not.
The idea of being separate—the ego as cause—has no substance because it is not real. You, who are real, are not separate. Yet sustaining that idea generates in your mind a bubble of illusion that you call a personal world or personal identity—the ego as effect. You will not escape it so long as you attribute reality and meaning to it. That illusory bubble, as fragile as a soap bubble, is sustained by your credulity, and that is why you need forgiveness to dissolve it.
IV As we noted earlier in the first note to W-11, illusions are compensatory mechanisms that attempt to mitigate the horror vacui of a supposed existence separate from God. To acknowledge that what you behold means nothing demands impeccable honesty, yet it is within your reach and you can allow it. Do not be afraid. You will lose nothing real by accepting this truth; you will merely leave behind the imaginary limitations with which you have constructed your insignificant identity. Do not fear the expansion of awareness that truth will bring. You were not created to be a slave to an absurd, suffering idea. Try to remember what your heart is calling you to. Lay down your fear and walk with confidence toward God, toward your true Self.
V That atavistic, deep-seated fear that disturbs your mind is, in fact, nothing more than a childish and irrelevant gesture that in no way offends your Father. From that supposed “original sin,” you have fashioned an imaginary enemy that has filled you with fear and that you have hidden in the deepest recesses of your awareness. Though it is not really there, your belief in its existence is enough for you to perceive it as real.
Now the descendants of that ancestral fear present themselves before you—the “children of the children of the children” of that fantasy you invented when you imagined you had left your home taking a few “treasures” with you. You are the prodigal son, and you surely remember how that story ends.
VI What is set before you here is nothing less than the fear of God, the last obstacle to peace. These are weighty words, and that is why Jesus counsels you not to dwell on the idea longer than necessary to do the exercise; merely keep it in mind, for it is the truth.
It is in the Second Part of this Workbook that you will begin to redeem this deep confusion that is, quite literally, embittering your life.
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LESSON 12
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
1. The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it corrects a major distortion in the way you perceive.
²You think that what you see is a fearful, sad, violent, or insane world.
³All these attributes you have given to it.
⁴The world itself has no meaning.I
2. These exercises are to be done with your eyes open.
²Look around you, this time quite slowly.
³Try to let your gaze move evenly from one thing to another, without haste.
⁴Do not vary the amount of time you spend looking at each thing; try to maintain a steady rhythm throughout the exercise.
⁵What you see does not matter.
⁶You teach yourself this by giving equal attention and equal time to everything you look at.
⁷This is an initial step in learning to give the same value to everything external.
3. As you look around, say to yourself:
²I seem to see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a mad world…
³and so on, using any descriptive terms that occur to you.
4. If words that seem to be positive rather than negative come to mind, include them as well.
²For example, you might think of “a good world” or “a satisfying world.”
³If such terms occur to you, use them along with the others.
⁴You may not yet understand why these “pleasant” descriptions belong in these exercises, but remember that a “good world” implies a “bad” one, and a “satisfying world” implies an “unsatisfying” one.
⁵All the terms that cross your mind are suitable for today’s exercises.
⁶Their apparent quality does not matter.
5. Be sure not to vary the length of time you spend applying today’s idea to what you consider pleasant and to what you consider unpleasant.
²For the purposes of these exercises there is no difference between them.
³At the end of the practice period, add:
⁴But I am upset because I see a world that means nothing.II
6. What is meaningless is neither good nor bad.
²Why, then, should a world that means nothing upset you?
³If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the Truth be written upon it, you would be filled with indescribable happiness.
⁴But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to describe it as you want it be.III
⁵That is what you see in it.
⁶That is what does not mean anything.
⁷Beneath your words is written the Word of God.
⁸What now upsets you is the Truth, but when your words have been erased, you will see His.IV
⁹That is the ultimate purpose of these exercises.
7. Practicing today’s idea three or four times is sufficient.
²None of these practice periods should last more than one minute.
³Even that may prove too long.
⁴Discontinue the exercise if you experience strain.
I The meaning of anything is the content a sign or symbol conveys, and since you have built a universe of symbols bereft of love, what you perceive around you displeases you. But how could it be otherwise?
Do you think you could find satisfaction in something devoid of love, something not made of the same substance as you—the Love of God? What truly repels you is the unreality of the world you see, for, deep within, you recognize that this world is not real, since it does not resemble you.
If that world were like you, you would surely love it. But that which you have truly created, which is like you and which you love, is not called a “world.” That is real, and this Course calls them “the Creations of God’s Son.”
II In the Text there is a practice akin to this (T-14.XII.9:1-4): “And when your peace is threatened or disturbed in ANY way, say to yourself: I do not know the meaning of anything, NOT EVEN THIS. Therefore, I do NOT know HOW TO RESPOND TO IT. And I will not use what I learned on my own in the past to guide me now.”
III This, precisely, is what you dislike: the meanings you yourself have assigned to the world. Reflect for a moment on what is said here: “…you feel impelled to describe it as you want it to be.”
Is it not surprising that you wish to see precisely a world you find distasteful? This statement is so striking that it deserves a pause to ask yourself whether it is truly so. Yet it is likely that, for now, you have not managed to develop the honesty and clarity needed to recognize things as they are.
Do not dismiss this idea, but neither feel obliged to accept it as true merely because you have been told so. Take the time you need to consider it calmly. Watch yourself; examine your mind. It may take you days, months, years… or even lifetimes. That does not matter. What matters is not to forget it, for the power of this idea to free your mind is extraordinary. When you finally understand clearly that you suffer precisely because you choose to suffer, you will have discovered the key to happiness.
IV What now repels you is the truth that the world you see has no meaning of its own.
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LESSON 11
My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.I
1. This is the first idea connected to a crucial phase of the correction process: the reversal of the way the world thinks.II
²It seems as if the world determines what you perceive. ³Today’s idea introduces the concept that it is your own thoughts that shape the world you see.III
⁴It will require much practice to accept this idea as true.IV
⁵Be sincerely glad to practice it just as it is presented here, for this idea holds the guarantee of your release.V
⁶In it lies the key to forgiveness.VI
2. Today’s practice sessions should be conducted somewhat differently from the previous ones.
²Begin with your eyes closed and repeat the idea slowly to yourself.
³Then open your eyes and look around you, near and far, up and down—anywhere.
⁴For the one minute that you dedicate to practicing this idea, simply repeat it silently, making sure to do so without haste and without any sense of urgency or effort.
3. In order to gain the maximum benefit from these exercises, your gaze should move fairly rapidly from one thing to another, since it should not rest on anything in particular.
²The words, however, should be spoken without rush, even in a relaxed manner.VII
³Practice the idea as naturally as possible.
⁴It contains the foundation of the peace, the relaxation, and the freedom from worry that we are trying to achieve.VIII
⁵At the end of the practice period, close your eyes and repeat the idea slowly once more.
4. Three practice sessions today will probably be sufficient.
²However, if you experience little or no discomfort and feel inclined to do more, you may do as many as five.
³More than that is not recommended.
I The world I believe I perceive outside myself—the one I call “reality”—has no intrinsic meaning; it possesses only the meaning I have assigned to it through thoughts which, in themselves, are also meaningless. These thoughts, conceived as insubstantial “forms”—the voice of the ego—are the product of a primordial fear: the apparent separation from God, Who is Existence itself. In essence, such thoughts express the idea of separation.
The appearance of a fictitious world before the eyes of an equally fictitious character functions, in a sense, as a protective mechanism, for the idea of being separate from Reality—absolute loneliness—is terrifying and unbearable to the mind. And since nature abhors a vacuum, the mind that contemplates that idea “invents” an imaginary screen—consciousness—onto which it projects its fears and desires. In this way, the mind dreams the world it believes is real. Moreover, given that the idea of being an isolated “self,” set apart from everything, is by nature fragmentary, everything I perceive also appears fragmented and separate.
What I call “reality,” “the world,” or “matter,” and take to be something external, is nothing more than a set of meaningless ideas that have never left my mind, for they exist only within it. This world is apparently composed of ever smaller elements—organs, cells, molecules, atoms, quarks—that arise as the result of a disintegrative process culminating in the insubstantiality of quantum indeterminacy.
Have you ever wondered why nothing has ever been found that is not in perpetual change when examined closely? And if everything is constantly changing to become something else, is it not precisely that changing nature that we define as illusion?
II “…it is your thoughts that determine the world you see” (1:3) is one of the Course’s fundamental principles. This idea gives rise to the celebrated statement: “Therefore, do not try to change the WORLD, but rather try to change your mind ABOUT the world” (T-21.I.1:7).
The mind exists; the world, in itself, does not. We tend to believe that the world causes—or at least influences—what we think, but this Course teaches that the mind is the true cause of all things, whereas the world is merely the effect of an obscured mind.
III For the first time a startling idea is introduced here, one that will be repeated in various forms later on, such as: “I AM responsible for what I see” (T-21.IV.2:3). This implies that my opinions about the world are not the result of the world being a certain way; on the contrary, I am the one who makes the world I perceive out of my way of thinking. The world is not the cause of my opinions, but their effect.
This notion is a foundational pillar in the Course’s ontology and constitutes the basis of forgiveness. Since the world, in itself, is devoid of meaning, what I truly forgive are my own meaningless thoughts. Precisely because these thoughts are unreal, they are what shape a guilty world that I myself have invented.
IV This line appears in Helen’s Notes, but not in later versions, nor in the Urtext.
V You are not a victim of the world you think you see, but of what you tell yourself.
VI The world is not to blame for anything. The guilt I perceive in it is a projection of my own mind. If what I observe outside is the result of meaningless thoughts, then there is nothing in that seemingly external world that deserves to be “blamed.” The only thing that needs to be corrected is my own thoughts.
VII Unlike the previous exercises, in this one you do not apply the idea concretely to the objects around you by naming them as you do so. Instead, the repetition of the idea and the shift in your gaze do not occur simultaneously. Both activities unfold at different tempos: the swiftness with which you direct your gaze contrasts with the slowness with which you repeat the idea.
VIII I can set my mind at ease and forgive what I perceive because it is meaningless. I only condemn and judge when I believe I am seeing something meaningful—something bad, wicked, or terrible. Yet if what I perceive has no meaning, there is no reason to condemn it.
And if my mind is the cause of what I see, how could I judge it? All I can do is acknowledge, as the Text states, that “I am responsible for what I see” (T-21.IV.2:3) and choose to change my own mind.
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LESSON 10
My thoughts do not mean anything.I
1. This idea applies to all the thoughts of which you are aware, or become aware, during the practice periods.
²The reason the idea is applicable to all of them is that they are not your real Thoughts.
³We have made this distinction before, and we will make it again.II
⁴You do not yet have a basis for comparison.
⁵When you do, you will have no doubt that what you once believed were your thoughts truly meant nothing.
2. This is the second time we have used this kind of idea.III
²The form is only slightly different.
³This time, the idea begins with “My thoughts” instead of “These thoughts,” and now no connection is made to the things around you.
⁴The emphasis is now on the unreality of what you think you think.
3. This aspect of the correction process began with the idea that the thoughts of which you are aware do not mean anything and refer to things outside rather than to anything within.IV
²Then it was emphasized that they refer to the past rather than the present.V
³Now we are highlighting the fact that the presence of these “thoughts” means that you are not really thinking at all.
⁴This is simply another way of repeating our earlier statement that your mind is truly blank.
⁵To recognize this is to recognize that when you think you see something, you are really seeing nothing.VI
⁶Realizing this is the prerequisite for true Vision.
4. To do today’s exercises, close your eyes and begin by repeating today’s idea to yourself slowly.
²Then add:
³This idea will help me to release all that I now believe.VII
⁴These exercises, like the previous ones, consist in searching your mind for all the thoughts you can find, without selecting or judging them.
⁵Try not to classify your thoughts in any way.
⁶In fact, if it helps, you can imagine that you are watching a strangely assorted parade, which has little or no personal meaning to you.
⁷As each thought crosses your mind, say:
⁸This thought about ____ does not mean anything.
⁹That thought about ____ does not mean anything.
5. Today’s idea can also, of course, be used to release you from any disturbing thought at any time.
²Five practice sessions are recommended, each involving no more than one minute of mind searching.
³It is not recommended that you extend the time, and you should reduce it to half a minute or less if you experience discomfort.VIII
⁴Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly before using it specifically, and also to add:
⁵This idea will help me to release all that I now believe.
I The profoundly important idea for today is, without doubt, the starting point of every honest spiritual path. Pay close attention to it and be sure to practice it exactly as instructed. In fact, you must keep it present at all times for the rest of your apparent life in this world.
It is an idea that brings great liberation when you truly understand what it implies, and it is a fundamental principle that must always accompany you. Never forget it. What you call “my thoughts” is nothing other than the voice of the ego within you; it has no relation to you and is completely devoid of meaning.
You are merely the witness of the ego’s voice; you are not its author. You do not “construct” your thoughts; rather, you find them already fully formed in your mind. You do not “do” anything in order to think; you merely bear witness to what appears in your mind and, in your confusion, call it “yours.”
This is a matter on which it is impossible to place too much emphasis; it will never be enough. To believe that you are right, that what you think is meaningful, true, and of some value, is to be swept away by the madness of the ego. Yet do not be afraid. The sincere and honest practice of this Workbook will free you from that unhealthy habit and bring you into a prodigious state of mind.
This is the beginning of the process of mental purification that will enable you to work miracles, as mentioned in Principle 7: “Everyone has the right to miracles. But purification is necessary first.”
It is crucial to understand that the purpose of this exercise is not to demean or disparage your mind in any way. Your mind is perfect and eternally united with the Mind of God. The problem is simply that you are using it wrongly.
It is not a mental problem but a problem of identity. You have identified with something you are not at all. You are not an ego, nor a person; you are the Son of God.
II “None of them are your real thoughts, which are being covered up by them” (W-4.2:3). To think is the natural “activity” of the mind, and it is the same as creating—that is, extending the condition of Being, which is love. To think, to love, to create, to know, and to be are equivalent terms. Your true thoughts are your Creations, the Creations of the Son of God, which are as abstract, loving, and unlimited as you are.
III The first time this was said was in Lesson 4: “These thoughts do not mean anything…”
IV It is in Lessons 1, 2, and 3 that you practice with what you see around you. When you “think you think,” you entirely forget the purely mental character of the concepts that constitute this process, which is utterly intimate and abstract. The result of that forgetfulness is the “appearance” of a world… in your mind. It is not a real world; it is the illusion of a world.
There is no world outside the mind, because there is nothing apart from the mind. The “content” of a thought is the form you believe you see, but if that is the case, then what content does that form have? The form is only the illusion of a content.
V See Lessons 7, 8, and 9.
VI You are not seeing anything… that lies outside you. You are merely a spectator of an extraordinarily “realistic” movie that you yourself are projecting on the screen of your consciousness.
The events you behold follow a script you yourself have written, and this makes you see precisely what you want to see. What you call “my personal life” is something you grant yourself—which you will deny again and again for the simple reason that you do not want to acknowledge your lack of forgiveness. You still accuse yourself of too many things; you are still unable to recognize your essential innocence. But do not be concerned: your forgiveness will rewrite that fearful script, and the movie will change.
VII Your mind, created to generate and extend creation, is now focused instead on believing. To free yourself from your beliefs is the essential requirement for truly seeing, because at this moment you do not see; you merely “imagine.” To believe is simply to assume that what you imagine is real.
VIII Undoubtedly, the time will come in your life when considering this idea will bring you deep relief and an immense sense of liberation. It may now feel disturbing or even uncomfortable, but with time, as you recognize the truth and the light it contains, your perspective will change. Have no doubt: you will understand.
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LESSON 9
I see nothing as it is now.
1. This idea is, obviously, the logical conclusion of the two previous ones.
²But although you may accept it intellectually, it is unlikely to mean anything to you at this point. I
³In any case, it is not necessary that you understand it now.
⁴In fact, recognizing that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas.
⁵These exercises focus on practice, not understanding.
⁶For you do not need to practice what you truly understand.
⁷Certainly, it would make no sense to try to understand something while assuming you already understand it. II
2. It is difficult for an untrained mind to believe that what it once thought it saw is not there.
²This idea may be quite disturbing and provoke strong resistance, which can take many forms.
³However, that should not prevent you from applying it. ⁴All that is required for this or any other exercise is that you apply the idea that is being presented. III
⁵Each small step will clear away a little more of the darkness, and understanding will finally come to illuminate every corner of the mind that has been cleared of the debris that darkened it.
3. Three or four practice sessions are sufficient for today’s exercises.
²You need only look around you and apply today’s idea to everything you see.
³Remember to apply the idea indiscriminately, and to follow the essential rule of not excluding anything deliberately.
⁴For example:
⁵I do not see this typewriter as it is now.
⁶I do not see this key as it is now.
⁷I do not see this telephone as it is now.
⁸Begin with the things nearest to you, and then look farther away.
⁹I do not see that coat rack as it is now.
¹⁰I do not see that face as it is now.
¹¹I do not see that door as it is now.
4. It is emphasized once again that, although you should not attempt to include everything, you must avoid any specific exclusions.
²Be honest with yourself in making this distinction.
³You may be tempted to conceal this tendency from yourself.
I Jesus clearly acknowledges that there is a vast difference between accepting an idea intellectually and truly understanding and embracing it. You may accept the idea that you do not see anything as it is now, yet it may take quite some time before you begin to grasp what that really means.
Fortunately, the Lesson goes on to say that it is not necessary for you to understand it. In fact, what is essential is that you recognize that right now you do not understand. You could say that one of the things you are meant to learn from this Lesson is precisely that you do not understand it!
To recognize one’s own ignorance—the humility of the student—is essential for learning, for without this acknowledgment, your false “understanding” prevents it. This Lesson invites you to disbelief, that is, to question your belief that you understand what you “see.”
II The natural vocation of the mind is to resolve, in the present, the difficulties it encounters. That is its rightful function and also its capacity, for it was created by God.
Yet the mind you now recognize and use to interpret reality is not your true mind; you have identified with a tiny part of it and reduced its infinite potential almost to nothing. That is why it is both absurd and unhelpful to try to understand what you are told now, and in many other instances of this blessed Course, with your defective instrument. At present you do not understand, but surely you will. That is precisely the most important characteristic of God’s teachers that you must bring to bear in these situations: trust. Do what you are told and trust, for be certain that the words of Jesus well deserve it in those moments of darkness.
III Today it may be helpful for you to review the final paragraph of the Introduction to this Workbook: “Remember only this: you need not believe the ideas, you need not accept them, and you need not even welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the exercises contain. Whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them.” (W-In.7).
Nothing more than this is required.
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LESSON 8
My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.I
1. This idea is, of course, the reason why you only see the past.
²In truth, no one sees anything.
³What you see are only your own thoughts projected outward.II
⁴The fact that your mind is preoccupied with past thoughts is the cause of the completely distorted perception of time from which your seeing suffers.
⁵Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is.III
⁶That is why it cannot understand time, and that is why, in fact, it cannot understand anything.IV
2. The only completely true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. ²Therefore, thinking about the past is always thinking about illusions.V
³Very few minds have realized what it truly means to picture the past or anticipate the future.VI
⁴In fact, the mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything.
3. The purpose of today’s exercises is to begin training your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all.
²If your mind is engaged in meaningless ideas, it is blocked to the truth. ³The first step in opening the way to Vision is to recognize that your mind has simply been blank, rather than believing it is filled with real ideas.VII
4. Today’s exercises should be done with eyes closed.
²This is because you really cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that, no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything.VIII
³Search your mind casually for about a minute, simply noting the thoughts you find there.
⁴Identify each of them by the central figure or theme it contains, and then move on to the next.
⁵Begin the practice by saying:
⁶It seems that I am thinking about ____.
⁷Then name each of your thoughts specifically.
⁸For example:
⁹It seems that I am thinking about…
… the name of a person,
… the name of an object,
… the name of an event,
… the name of an emotion,
… or whatever it may be.
¹⁰Conclude the mind-search with:
¹¹But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
5. This can be done four or five times today, unless you notice it causes irritation.
²If you find it uncomfortable, three or four times will suffice. ³Even so, it may be helpful to include your own irritation in the mind-search, or any other emotion the idea for today may provoke.
I Ordinarily, our mind is not thinking at all; it is merely absorbed in gazing at images of the past projected onto a blank screen. They are empty illusions (3:2), because “these thoughts do not mean anything” (Lesson 4). The mind is in a state of stupefaction, absorbed in contemplating the story that arises from an uncontrollable inner dialogue: the ego’s narrative, built around fears, desires, and lacks, vindicating the ego’s idea of itself, always tainted with specialness and grandiosity. You call this “thinking,” when in truth it is nothing more than witnessing the ego’s madness and claiming it as your own.
The mind is addicted to the stories it tells itself because, as seen in the Text, it feels guilty for having separated from God and is afraid to look within and find the “sin” of having attacked God by stealing an exclusive identity. That is why it always looks outside itself for the love, peace, and security it believes it has lost.
In reality, since there is nothing outside itself, the mind projects an imaginary space, fills it with symbols of its fears and desires, and calls it “world.” This “reality” it now perceives is false, and thus it must sustain it with an incessant inner dialogue meant to prove its veracity and keep it from recognizing its true identity.
II The mind is abstract, and as such it relates only to abstract things—that is, to ideas. What happens is that the mind calls some of those ideas “things,” simply because the content of the idea is to be a “concrete thing.” In this way, the mind deceives itself twice.
The first time is when it conceives and projects an idea without recognizing that this is what it has done. The second is when it confuses that idea with its content, and so it believes it is relating to something material and external to itself. This is the same mechanism that makes nighttime dreams seem to be real events while we sleep. The world the mind thinks it knows does not exist outside the mind that conceives it; ideas do not leave their source. This is the basis of forgiveness: the reason we forgive is simply that what we believe we see outside is not real, it does not exist.
III To behold the present as it truly is, this Course calls experiencing the “holy instant”—a timeless moment of happiness in which one experiences great peace, deep love, and perfect awareness of one’s innocence, as well as that of all one perceives.
IV Anchored in the apparent reality of space and time, the egoic mind cannot understand anything; it merely dreams its own projections of desires and fears.
V This is an obvious truth that is usually overlooked: the only thing present in the mind when it is absorbed in past thoughts is a distorted memory of what is believed to have happened. Thus the present has been turned into the memory of a fictitious story you tell yourself. Meanwhile, you waste a flawless, immaculate present that slips away as you devote your mind to recalling a past that no longer exists.
The questions you must ask yourself are: Is that not an excessive price to pay for an irrelevant gratification in fantasies? What is the return on such an investment? Has it ever brought you any real benefit? Are you aware of what you are missing by doing this?
It is of the utmost importance to realize that all memories appear in your mind in the present entirely voluntarily—that is, because you want to bring them there. The reason for this addiction to recalling past events, especially the most painful ones, is explained in the section “The Obstacles to Peace” (T-19.IV).
Nothing from the past can torment you in the present unless you evoke it and grant it that power. To acknowledge this requires great honesty, but the reward is immense, for it places you—and you alone—as responsible for your emotions and also for your release.
VI To visualize the past or foresee the future is to “imagine”—that is, to project and contemplate images on the screen of consciousness. It is to occupy the mind with a sterile activity whose sole purpose is to satisfy the demands of the ego.
The script of the “movie” the ego projects in your mind is predictable; in fact, it follows the same patterns as commercial films, where a hero—the ego—embarks on adventures that simultaneously vindicate its sense of grandiosity and its vulnerability.
The false idea you held of yourself in the past—your ego—felt offended because something occurred that thwarted its expectations, and now you recall those events in the present to torture yourself and compensate for those offenses by avenging yourself in fantasies.
VII That is to say, your goal today is simply to “become aware” of what is occurring in your holy mind throughout most of the day. It is not a matter of changing anything now; it is only a matter of becoming conscious of what is taking place. You cannot, by yourself, bring about the changes your mind needs to abandon that hypnotic state.
VIII You are not seeing anything “real”; you are merely gazing at an illusion of reality, a kind of movie.
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LESSON 7
I see only the past.I
1. This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first.
²But it is the fundamental reason behind all the previous ones.
³It is the reason why nothing you see means anything.
⁴It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.
⁵It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
⁶It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.
⁷It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
⁸And it is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.
2. Changing your old notion of time is very difficult for you, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and your continued belief in it depends on not learning these new ideas.
²But that is exactly why you need new ideas about time.
³This new idea is not really as strange as it may seem at first.
3. Look, for example, at a cup.
²Are you really seeing that cup, or are you simply reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from it, feeling the rim against your lips, having breakfast, and so on? II
³And are your aesthetic responses to that cup also based on past experiences?
⁴How else would you know whether this kind of cup would break if you dropped it?
⁵What do you know about that cup except what you learned about it in the past?
⁶If it were not for the past, you would have no idea what this cup is.
⁷So, are you really seeing it? III
4. Look around you.
²This is equally true of anything you look at.
³Acknowledge this by applying today’s idea indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye.
⁴For example:
⁵I only see the past in this pencil.
⁶I only see the past in this shoe.
⁷I only see the past in this hand.
⁸I only see the past in that body.
⁹I only see the past in that face.
¹⁰Do not linger on any one thing in particular, but be sure not to leave anything out deliberately.
¹¹Glance briefly at each object, and then move on to the next.
¹²Three or four practice periods, each lasting about one minute, will be sufficient. IV
I You see only the past because the meaning of everything you perceive was assigned by you in the past, and because, in truth, you do not relate to things themselves but to what they mean to you. The meanings of things are like labels you yourself attached to them in the past. Written on that label is what that thing represents for you, and this applies not only to objects but also—and even more clearly—to the people with whom you relate.
When you say you know something or someone, what you really mean is that you have already judged it in the past, and to issue that judgment you once relied on what you had learned in an even earlier past.
This Course gives enormous importance to this idea, not only here but also in the Text. For example, three sections of Chapter 13, from “The Function of Time” (T-13.IV) through “The Eternal Present” (T-13.VI), address the notion of time and the fact that “…for the ego, the past is important, for in fact it believes it is the ONLY aspect that has any meaning at all” (T-13.IV.4:2).
It speaks of the shadowy figures of the past, based on illusions, which obstruct the vision of present reality. It says: “To be born again is to let the past go, and look without condemnation upon the present” (T-13.VI.3:5).
“…everything you believe is rooted in the past, and maintaining it depends on not learning these new ideas” (T-13.IV.2:1). Everything we have learned we learned from the past—this cannot be disputed. Therefore, everything we think we know is based on the past. We look at the present through the filter of our prior learning.
To train the mind in a new way of beholding reality, it is essential first to undo what has been learned and accepted as true in the past. This is why the Course insists so strongly that what you learned in the past must not be the light that guides you now.
Instead, it urges you to turn to the Holy Spirit at every moment, asking Him to teach you His vision of the present, because the present is the opportunity to assign new meanings to what you perceive. And that is precisely what it means to be “born again” or “reborn.”
II This same epistemological intuition was expressed poetically by Alfred, Lord Tennyson in his poem The Ancient Sage, where he affirms that the senses do not convey truth, but rather reflect what the mind is prepared to receive.
The Ancient Sage
(by Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
Once, in a lonely hamlet, not a month had passed before I heard of a man, a Sage, whom all men praised, and whom some believed to be the wisest of the wise; though others said that his true wisdom was not of this world, and that he lived apart, withdrawn from men, upon the mountain. Toward that place I took my way, a youth who had scarcely learned the faith of reason, yet was still hungry for something that might feed both mind and heart.
I found him seated upon a rock that looked toward the west; the mountains were glowing red with sunset, and the valley lay dark below. His countenance was calm, his eyes were clear, and in his face there dwelt a solemn peace. I spoke to him and asked what he thought of life and death, of God and of human fate.
He did not answer at once, but gazed awhile upon the sinking sun, then turned to me and said: “O thou who questionest of such things, learn first to know thyself. The world without is but the shadow of the world within. The forms thou beholdest are only signs of something deeper than the senses can grasp.
“Men see the shows of things and call them real; yet what they see is shaped by what they are. The eye reports not truth, but only what the mind is ready to receive. The ear hears according to the heart that listens. Thus each man fashions a world in his own image and dwells within the limits of his sight.
“Seek not for God among the stars or seas, nor in the thunder nor the rolling deep. He is not far away: He is nearer than thy breath, closer than hands and feet, more inward still than thought itself. The soul that turns within finds Him already there, the Life of life.
“That sense of ‘I’ to which thou now dost cling, which says ‘I am apart,’ ‘I am alone,’ is but a passing cloud before the sun. When it dissolves, the light remains unchanged, unbroken, indivisible, and whole.
“Ask not what shall befall thee after death. Death is but a change of state, not the end of being. As thou didst wake from sleep, so shalt thou wake from what men call the grave. The fear of death is born of ignorance of what thou art.
“Time is a dream that thou hast learned to dream; space but a form that thought has given to things. In truth there is no before and after, no here and there; all lives in the Now. Eternity is not unending time, but the deep Presence in which time appears.
“Therefore be still. Let striving fall away. Cease from the labor of the anxious mind. Truth is not attained by argument, nor seized by force of will or subtle thought. It comes when thou art empty of thyself and stands revealed, self-evident and sure.
“So live, that when the veils of sense are drawn and all the shows of outward life dissolve, thou shalt not mourn the loss of what was false, but know thyself at one with that which is.”
He ceased. The sun had set; the stars came out. And in the silence of the mountain air I felt a Presence deeper than all words.
III This paragraph is an epistemological argument that questions the very nature of the act of knowing. Here “seeing” is equated with “assigning memories,” and the question arises: is that truly valid? Do you believe that is really knowing?
IV This line appears in the FIP version, but it is not found in the Urtext nor in Helen’s Notes.
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LESSON 6
I am upset because I see something that is not there.
1. The exercises you will do with this idea are very similar to the previous ones.
²In this exercise as well, it is necessary to name very specifically both the form the disturbance takes—anger, fear, worry, depression, and so on—and the cause you believe is responsible for it.
³For example:
⁴I am angry with ____ because I see what is not there.I
⁵I am worried about ____ because I see what is not there.
2. You can apply today’s idea to anything that seems to upset you, and it can be used helpfully throughout the day for that purpose.
²However, the three or four practice periods required today should be preceded by about one minute of mind searching, as in the previous exercises, and then apply the idea to each disturbing thought you uncover in the search.
3. Again, if you find yourself resisting the idea when it comes to certain thoughts that seem to disturb you more than others, remind yourself of the two cautions from the previous lesson:
²There are no small upsets.
³They all equally disturb my peace of mind.
And then say:
⁴I cannot keep this form of upset and let go of the others.
⁵For the purpose of this exercise, I will regard them all as the same.
I What upsets you is not out there; it is in your mind. It is in your mind where the discomfort lies, along with its cause and the very idea that all of it is outside you.
Indeed, what provokes your distress is not something present before you, for, as you have already seen, what you believe you see out there has no meaning in itself. Your anger, in reality, comes from a story you have told yourself, from a particular interpretation of “reality.”
What disturbs you is not what you perceive, for what you see in itself means nothing (W-1). What disturbs you is the interpretation you give it because you believe it frustrates your expectations, and now you say it is wrong without pausing to consider that perhaps your expectations were misguided. Once you have set yourself up as judge of reality, it becomes difficult to recognize the arrogance involved in passing judgment on what you perceive from your own exclusive and peculiar frame of reference.
To see this clearly is no trivial task; it requires great honesty. In truth, it is such a feat that, once you achieve it, it will bring you enormous release and the ability to master your states of mind.
This exercise is an invitation to reflect, and you must keep it in mind whenever anything or any circumstance seems to disturb you in any way. In reality, what makes you suffer is only an illusion of your own making.
But be on guard, for you will discover that, the very moment you question the cause of your distress, the ego will immediately begin to supply you automatically with countless “reasons” to justify your annoyance. Judgments of condemnation are always “justified,” and that is precisely the “voice of the ego”: a perfectly consistent ecosystem of insane “reasons” you have assumed to be true.
Although this is but one of the 365 exercises in this Workbook, you can and must use it from now on whenever something seems to upset you. Consider that today is the day you learn that the cause of your disturbances lies in you, not out there. You are responsible for all your suffering. And although this idea is certainly disturbing, realize that it also contains the key to your liberation, for it places in your hands the control of all your mental states. Take these exercises very seriously, for they are extraordinarily powerful tools that will enable you to regain control of your mind. You had lost it, and had not even realized it.
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LESSON 5
I am never upset for the reason I think.
1. This idea, like the previous one, can be applied to any person, situation, or event you believe is causing you pain.I
²Apply it specifically to everything you think is making you upset, and describe the feeling you experience in whatever terms seem appropriate to you.
³The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy, or any other form of discomfort you perceive as different.
⁴But it is not true that they are different. ⁵However, until you learn that the form does not matter, each of them is a suitable subject for today’s practice.II
⁶Applying the same idea to each of these forms of upset individually is the first step toward eventually recognizing that they are all the same.
2. When applying today’s idea to the specific cause you believe is behind your upset, use both the name of the disturbance as you perceive it and the “cause” you attribute to it.
²For example:
³I am not angry with ____ for the reason I think.
⁴I am not afraid of ____ for the reason I think.
⁵But again, this should not replace the practice of first searching your mind for what you believe is the “cause” of the distress you are experiencing and the form in which you see it.III
3. In this exercise, more than in the previous ones, you may find it difficult to be impartial and to avoid giving greater importance to some subjects than to others.
²It may help to begin the practice by saying:
³There are no small upsets.
⁴They all equally disturb my peace of mind.IV
⁵Then search your mind for anything that is troubling you, regardless of how much or how little you believe it is affecting you.
4. You may also be less willing to apply today’s idea to certain causes of upset than to others.
²If this is so, think first of this:
³I cannot keep this form of upset and let go of the others.
⁴For the purpose of this exercise, I will regard them all as the same.
⁵Then examine your mind for about a minute and try to identify the different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the degree of importance you assign to them.
⁶Apply today’s idea to each one, naming both the perceived cause of the upset and the emotion you feel.
⁷Other examples might be:
⁸I am not worried about ____ for the reason I think.
⁹I am not depressed about ____ for the reason I think.
5. It is enough to do this three or four times today.
I This Lesson is also very important. Emotions arise from our judgments. Without a prior judgment, no emotion is possible. All discomfort or distress comes from a judgment of condemnation, from something we reject because it shatters our expectations. Just as pain signals that something is wrong in the body, emotional discomfort signals that something is wrong in the mind. If we suffer in any way, it means we are misusing the mind, for we are thinking something that is not true. In that sense, everything that is not true is the same: a falsehood. Our anger is the emotional response to a story we have told ourselves, according to which the idea we hold about ourselves—our ego—or our idea of how reality ought to be—our imagined ideal world—has been violated. Both ideas are false, arbitrary, and changeable.
II The world of forms is the symbolic language used by perception. Just as Sigmund Freud rightly described the figures of dreams as symbols of underlying emotional causes, perception is the dream of the world, and it too is an effect of deeper causes. That is why forms, in themselves, “do not matter,” for they are only effects.
III That is to say, it is not enough to declare that you are not upset for a given reason. You must look within your mind for the idea that has led you to feel distressed—the underlying cause of your discomfort.
IV Every distress or discomfort has a positive function: it is a reminder urging you to regain peace of mind. We must remember that our peace has been disturbed by a prior thought which, as the previous Lesson indicates, “means nothing,” yet which we have regarded as true and important.
In a certain sense, the ego could be described as “that which” thinks what it imagines is true and important. That “being” does not exist; it is merely a whimsical “stance” of the mind.
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LESSON 4
These thoughts do not mean anything.
1. These thoughts do not mean anything; they are like the things I see in this room, on this street, from this window, in this place.I
2. Unlike the previous exercises, these do not begin with the idea for the day.
²In today’s practice, begin by observing the thoughts that pass through your mind for about one minute.
³Then apply the idea to them.
⁴If you are experiencing unhappy thoughts, use them with this idea.
⁵But do not choose only the thoughts you consider to be “bad.”
⁶If you train yourself to look at your thoughts, you will see that they are such a mixture that, in a real sense, none of them can truly be called either “good” or “bad.”
⁷That is why they do not mean anything.
3. In selecting the thoughts to which you will apply today’s idea, it is necessary to be very specific, as always.
²Do not be afraid to use both “good” and “bad” thoughts. ³Neither of them are your real thoughts, which are being covered up precisely by the ones you now believe you have.II
⁴The “good” thoughts you are aware of are only shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows always obscure Vision.
⁵The “bad” thoughts, on the other hand, are blocks to Vision and make it impossible.
⁶That is why you do not want them either.
4. This is an important exercise and will be repeated from time to time in a slightly different form.III
²The goal of this lesson is to train you in the first steps toward the aim of distinguishing between the meaningless and the meaningful.
³It is a first attempt at the long-range goal of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful as within.IV
⁴It is also the beginning of training your mind to recognize what is the same and what is different.
5. When using your thoughts as subjects for applying today’s idea, identify each one by the central figure or event it contains. For example:
²This thought about ____ does not mean anything.
³It is like the things I see in this room (on this street, etc.).
6. You may also use the idea for a specific thought that you recognize as harmful. ²This kind of application is useful, but it should not replace the random selection process to be followed in the exercises.V
³However, do not examine your mind for more than a minute or so.
⁴You are not yet sufficiently experienced to avoid a tendency to become needlessly preoccupied.
⁵Also, since these exercises are the first of their kind, it is quite likely that you will find it especially difficult not to judge your thoughts.
⁶Do not repeat these exercises more than three or four times today.
⁷We will return to them again.
I Pay close attention to this Lesson, for it is one of the most liberating in this Workbook. To recognize that your own thoughts mean nothing is the epitome of humility and the purest expression of the Socratic truth: “I know only that I know nothing.” The sincere practice of this Lesson heals the mind instantly, for it prevents it from clinging to ideas that are not true but arbitrary.
The thoughts that arise in your mind are the manifestation of egoic dynamics born of fear and desire, the inevitable consequence of harboring a spurious idea of your own identity. Your thoughts are whimsical stories constructed around your longings and fears.
Try to realize that what you think is not in any sense “yours.” Certainly you are the “witness” of these thoughts, but you are not their cause. Notice that you have done nothing to think the way you think; there is no volitional participation on your part prior to the “fact” of thinking. Your thoughts occur in the mind, and you carelessly endorse them and call them “yours.”
You may rightly call these thoughts “the voice of the ego,” and you can—and must—dismiss them with complete calm. In fact, that is what you will learn to do throughout this mental training you have just begun.
Try to understand well what follows, for on it depends your grasp of what is happening in your mind when you say you “think.” What you call “my thoughts” are narratives: stories you tell yourself about things or circumstances that your mind considers after fragmenting Reality into discrete elements.
Take any thought that arises, and you will see that what you are considering is not the thing itself, but a description of it that, moreover, you take as true. You do not know the thing (or the circumstance); you know its description. You confuse the thing itself with the story you have built about it. It is as if a child, hearing his father say he needs a new car, tries to help by handing him a clumsy drawing of a car freshly painted on a sheet of paper. It is a childish confusion. Humanity is in its infancy.
To confuse what something is with its description is humanity’s tragedy, and it becomes especially grave when it concerns what you are. You confuse what you are with what you tell yourself about yourself. You confuse your Being with your own opinions.
In truth, it should suffice to recognize that your shifting opinions about your reality cannot be true precisely because of their mutability. But that all-too-“human” arrogance of continually believing you are “right” prevents you from knowing your true Identity.
Do not be concerned: this Course you are beginning is specifically designed to heal this fateful cognitive bias. Take it very seriously, for your happiness depends on it.
II Your true thoughts as the Son of God—not as a person—are the thoughts you think with your Father and Creator. These Thoughts are unlimited, eternal, perfectly abstract, and infinitely loving; that is, they are real, and in the Text they are called the Creations of the Son of God. They are the opposite of what you now consider your thoughts, which are limited, fleeting, concrete, and— even the most benevolent among them—still harbor some element of fear.
III Indeed, it is. Keep this in mind at all times. It is one of the most healing ideas that exist, and you will repeat it in Lesson 10. To fully accept the lack of meaning, relevance, and importance of what you call “my thoughts” is crucial for achieving dissociation from the egoic idea of an independent, separate, exclusive, and limited identity.
IV This Lesson, in a sense, explains the preceding ones. What you believe you see outside yourself means nothing because, in reality, they are your projected thoughts, devoid of intrinsic meaning. The forms you see outside yourself are projections—effects of underlying inner causes. They are like the figures in nighttime dreams: symbols manifesting fears and desires.
Yet you are real, you do not change, you are always yourself. You are indeed “meaningful,” even though you do not yet fully know what that meaning is.
V That is to say, the rule for these early exercises is to apply the daily idea to any object or thought. This Lesson makes clear that any thought you choose loses its emotional charge if you cease to give it importance, precisely because it has no real meaning. Its meaning is entirely personal and arbitrary, and the emotion the thought provokes comes solely from the importance you assign to it.
By now, after having studied the Text well, you will have realized that ceasing to give importance to what you call “my thoughts” is what true forgiveness, as this Course teaches, actually is. In this world, the only thing you can and must forgive are “your” own thoughts.
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LESSON 3
I do not understand anything I see.
1. I do not understand anything I see in this room, on this street, from this window, in this place.I
2. Apply this idea in the same manner as in the previous lessons, making no distinctions of any kind.
²Anything you see becomes a suitable subject for applying the idea.
³Be sure not to question whether something is appropriate or not for the exercise. ⁴These exercises are not about judging anything.II
⁵Anything is appropriate simply because you see it.
⁶Some of the objects you see may have emotional meaning for you.
⁷Try to set those feelings aside and apply the idea to them exactly as you would to anything else.
3. The aim of these exercises is to help you clear your mind of all the associations you have made in the past, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand them.III
²Therefore, it is essential to keep a perfectly open mind in selecting the things to which the idea of the day will be applied, unhindered by your judgments.
³To this end, everything is the same as everything else; equally suitable and, therefore, equally useful.
I Whatever you say, in truth and in the final analysis, if you are absolutely honest with yourself you must admit that you do not understand any of what you perceive, although you have persuaded yourself otherwise by telling stories you have invented or have been told about the things of the world.
Notice how greatly the idea you have of yourself conditions how you interpret what you perceive. If you are a musician, you will see your hands as instruments of your art; if you are a physician, you may attend to their state of health. A biologist might consider their functioning at the cellular level, and a physicist will likely think of them as an aggregate of atoms. You perceive the reflection of the idea you hold of your own identity projected onto an imagined external realm, which, ultimately, is nothing more than a story you tell yourself.
Acknowledge it: in truth, you do not understand what you perceive. You may find it helpful to understand that, in these early Lessons, you are learning to question the ontological and epistemological principles of your thought system — that is, what reality is to you and how you know it.
II These are not exercises for you to give your opinion about anything. This is not about what you think, but about what is occurring in your mind when you perceive something.
III It will be explained later why.
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LESSON 2
I have given everything all the meaning it has for me.
1. I have given everything I see in this room, on this street, from this window, in this place, all the meaning that it has for me.I
2. The exercises to be done with this idea are the same as those for the first lesson.
²Begin with the things that are near you and apply the idea to anything your eyes happen to rest on.
³Then widen your scope.
⁴Turn your head to include what is on either side.
⁵If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what is behind you.
⁶Remain as evenhanded as possible in selecting the objects.
⁷Do not concentrate on anything in particular, and do not attempt to include everything you see in a given area, as that would cause strain.
3. Simply glance around you with a quiet, relaxed gaze, trying not to select objects based on their size, brightness, color, material, or the importance they have to you.
²Practice with whatever you see.
³Try to apply the exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or the floor, an arm or an apple.
⁴The only criterion for applying the idea to anything is simply that your eyes have rested on it. ⁵Do not try to include anything in particular, but be sure not to exclude anything deliberately.
I The only meaning that the things of the world have for you is the meaning you have given them; in themselves, the things of this world have no meaning. The proof of this is that the same thing can have different meanings for different subjects. For example, this chair means something entirely different to you than it does to your dog.
Although thoughts are always subjective—since a “subject” is what conceives them—the personal mind has a pronounced tendency to “objectify” its own thoughts, to regard them as true, and to believe that what it thinks is universally true. Obviously, everything the personal mind conceives is subjective, yet the mind itself forgets this and elevates it to the status of an “established fact.”
This Lesson urges you to recognize that, in truth, you are the one who has given meaning to everything you behold, whether because the world taught you so or by your own judgment. In any case, ultimately it is you who has deemed that judgment to be true.
Be aware also that this applies equally to what you claim to know and to what you assert you do not know. For that which you call unknown or unknowable also bears a label of your own making—one that reads: “I do not know what that means.” Thus you “catalog” even that which you believe you do not know.
Today you must learn to become conscious that you always relate to everything you perceive on your own terms.
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FIRST PART, INTRODUCTION and LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION
1. A theoretical foundation like the Text is necessary for these exercises to be meaningful. I
²But it is the practice of the exercises that will make the goal of this Course attainable. II
³An untrained mind can accomplish nothing.
⁴The purpose of these exercises is to train the mind to think according to the principles this Course sets forth.
2. The exercises are very simple.
²They require only a few minutes, and it does not matter where or when you do them.
³They need no preparation.
⁴The lessons are numbered from 1 to 365.
⁵The training period is one year.
⁶Do not do more than one lesson a day.
3. The purpose of this Workbook is to train the mind to achieve a different perception of everything in the world. III
²This Workbook is divided into two sections.
³The first is to undo what you now see. IV
⁴And the second is to restore Vision. V
4. 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 a significant amount of time.
²The aim is to train the mind to generalize the lessons, so that you understand each one is equally applicable to any situation.
³Unless otherwise noted, the exercises should be done with eyes open, for the goal is to learn how to see.
⁴The only rule that must be followed at all times is to practice the exercises exactly as instructed.
⁵Apply the daily idea to every situation in which you find yourself, and to everything you see in it.
5. These exercises are designed around a central idea.
²The practice consists in applying that idea to as many specific things as possible.
³Be sure not to decide that there are some things to which the idea of the day cannot be applied.
⁴The purpose of the exercises is always to extend the application of that central idea to everything.
⁵This will require no effort on your part.
⁶The exercises themselves contain the conditions required for this kind of transfer. VI
⁷Just be sure not to make exceptions when applying the idea.
⁸That would interfere with the transfer of what you have learned. VII
⁹The transfer of what you learn in a state of true perception does not proceed like the transfer of what the world teaches.
¹⁰If you have reached true perception with regard to any person, situation, or event, complete transfer to all people and things is certain.
¹¹On the other hand, if you exclude even one thing from the true way of seeing, that way of seeing cannot be transferred to anything.
¹²The very nature of true perception is that it has no limits.
¹³It is the opposite of the way you see now.
6. Some of the ideas presented may be difficult for you to believe, and others may seem quite startling.
²That does not matter.
³You are merely asked to apply them to everything you see.
⁴You are not asked to judge them, or even to believe them.
⁵You are simply asked to use them.
⁶Their use is what will give them meaning for you, and will show you that they are true.
7. Just remember this:
²It is not necessary to believe the ideas presented.
³It is not necessary to accept them.
⁴And it is not necessary to welcome them.
⁵You may even actively resist some of them.
⁶None of this matters, nor does it lessen their effectiveness.
⁷But do not allow yourself to make any exceptions in applying the ideas contained in these exercises.
⁸Whatever your reactions to these ideas may be, use them.
⁹Nothing more than that is required.
I The dictation of theText began on October 21, 1965, and concluded on October 10, 1968. The dictation of the Workbook began on May 26, 1969.
With the Workbook, you embark upon a structured and systematic practice of the new thought system set forth in the Text of A Course in Miracles. There the theoretical foundations of this new way of using the mind are explained—that is, the ontological principles (what is real) and the epistemological principles (what it is to know) of this paradigm. Yet knowing and recognizing them will be of no use to you unless they become your new way of using the mind.
Perhaps the most important thing to be aware of as you begin this practice is that the process of reversing your thought system is no trivial matter. It is a feat of such magnitude that you are at present incapable even of imagining it. Therefore, before attempting it, you must understand that, in order to succeed, you will need all the humility, honesty, and perseverance you can find within yourself, and you will also need to ask for help constantly from the Holy Spirit and from Jesus. But do not be concerned. If your purpose is sincere, Their strength and Their light will always accompany you. That is Their function; yours is simply to follow Them. The Voice of God and the Brother who loves you are so intimate and so close to you that, while you may not hear Them, it is impossible to truly banish Them from your mind and heart. Count on Them, for They trust in you and rely on you. They know perfectly well who you are; They know that you are the Savior of the world.
It is also essential that you strive to follow precisely the instructions given in the Lessons. Remember that you have all the time you need to complete a Lesson well. If you wish, you may take several days with one, but do it well, do it wholeheartedly. Pay special attention to the Lessons that prove most difficult, for they point to the most ailing aspects of your mind—those that most need healing. This difficulty may show itself as aversion, discomfort, or simple forgetfulness. All these are but different strategies of the ego to keep you from changing.
Finally, you are now beginning an exceptional period in your life of limited duration. It is a practice that, if undertaken well, will place you in a mental state of lasting joy, peace, and trust. It is a training that, once completed, will become the only joyous way of being in this world, and you will never again need to struggle for anything—except to remember that you are the Son of God.
Be absolutely certain that you are most fortunate: you are about to embark on a marvelous adventure of love and freedom.
II Studying the theory is only the beginning of the learning process. There you are presented with a series of proposals on how to use the mind rightly, but it is the actual practice of those principles that will establish your mind in this new paradigm. For your mind to change, it is not enough to know these proposals; you must decide to embrace them and apply them consistently in your daily life.
This is a Course about the will: about the willingness to exchange your old will for a new one—the will to desire reality instead of illusions. And this is achieved only through the exercise of your new will by practicing these blessed Lessons. In the Text you learn what your true will is, and through the practice of the Workbook you exercise it.
III But to succeed in seeing the world differently, it is essential to desire to see it so; the will to acquire a new vision is indispensable. Therefore, only those who, completely disillusioned with what the world has taught them, remain open and receptive to using their minds in a new way will attain that experience. Those who are not strongly motivated to make that change will not reach that goal.
IV The First Part of this Workbook, from Lesson 1 through Lesson 220, is devoted to discrediting your old thought system by dismantling the false beliefs that sustain it. Nearly all of the first 30 Lessons are distinctly negative. Yet from that point onward, the foundations of a new and far more luminous way of relating to the world begin to be introduced. The exercises that accompany them are very strict and are carried out with precise instructions that must be followed as accurately as possible, for one of their chief aims is to discipline the mind.
V The Second Part is quite different, for it deals more with aspirations than with concrete directives. The mind, now purified and trained, is devoted to seeking the mystical experience of union with God through prayer and contemplation. It is the time to gather the fruits of previous work and to lay the foundations for a new way of living in the world, one centered in God.
VI From this line onward and through the end of the paragraph, the text appears in the FIP version, but it is not found in the Urtext nor in Helen’s Notes.
VII In psychology, transfer of learning refers to the ability to apply something originally learned in one context to other contexts.
LESSON 1
Nothing I see means anything.
1. Nothing I see in this room, on this street, from this window, in this place, means anything. I
2. Now look around slowly and apply this idea very specifically to everything you see:
²This table does not mean anything.
³This chair does not mean anything.
⁴This hand does not mean anything.
⁵This foot does not mean anything.
⁶This pen does not mean anything.
3. Then look a little farther away and apply the idea to a wider range of things:
²That door does not mean anything.
³That body does not mean anything.
⁴That lamp does not mean anything.
⁵That sign does not mean anything.
⁶That shadow does not mean anything.
4. Notice that these statements are not in any specific order and do not consider differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied.
²That is exactly the purpose of the exercise.
³The statement is simply applied to everything you see.
⁴When you practice today’s idea, do so in a completely indiscriminate way.
⁵Do not try to include everything you see, because these exercises are not meant to become rituals.
⁶Just be sure not to deliberately leave anything out.
⁷One thing is just like another when it comes to applying the idea.
5. None of the first three lessons should be practiced more than twice a day, preferably once in the morning and once in the evening.
²They also should not last more than a minute, unless that feels uncomfortably rushed.
³It is essential to keep a sense of ease throughout. II
I In this Lesson you declare that the things of this world—what we call “reality”—in themselves have no meaning. In later Lessons you will see why; for now, you do not know that. Here you are asked to look at anything around you and declare that it means nothing. It is very important that you understand you are not being asked in any way to believe what you are saying. If you did believe it, you would have no need for this practice. Simply look and declare that what you behold means nothing. That is all. You can and should do this exercise in a state of perfect ease and mental freedom.
Jesus will never, ever demand anything of you, nor will He ever, ever blame you for anything. He knows you as well as He knows Himself, and that is why He loves you. He knows that you are as free and innocent as He is, for you are His brother, the Son of the Same Father. He only wants to free you from a confusion that has made you forget your true identity and has sickened your mind. He has remembered Who He is, and He wants to share that joyous discovery with you.
“Nothing I see means anything” is a declaration that carries an honesty of which, for now, you are incapable. Do not be concerned. This practice will be what leads you to attain it.
Once again: do not force yourself to believe the postulates of these first Lessons, above all. Acknowledge honestly that what is said here is utterly foreign and strange to what you now believe. Do not impose a new truth upon yourself by force. Instead, practice the Lessons exactly as you are asked to, and ask yourself: “Could this be true?” Do not try to answer that question; simply let it rest in your mind as a prayer lifted upward, and trust that, at some moment, the Truth will answer you and Light will dawn in your mind. And when that happens, you will understand that this Truth, this Light you were seeking, is precisely what you are.
II This paragraph does not appear in the Notes or in the Urtext, but it does appear in the Criswell/FIP version. It is likely that it comes from a later dictation of Jesus to Helen at the time of editing.
A COURSE IN MIRACLES
WORKBOOK