36: My holiness envelops everything I see

February 5, 2022 Wim Haverkamp Leave a comment

Lesson 36 “My holiness envelops everything I see.”

Todayʹs idea extends the idea for yesterday from the perceiver to the perceived. You are holy because your mind is part of Godʹs. And because you are holy, your sight must be holy as well. “Sinless” means without sin. You cannot be without sin a little. You are sinless or not. If your mind is part of Godʹs you must be sinless, or a part of His Mind would be sinful. Your sight is related to His holiness, not to your ego and therefore not to your body.

Four three to five minute practice periods are required for today. Try to distribute them fairly evenly, and make the shorter application frequently, to protect your protection throughout the day. The longer practice periods should take this form: First, close your eyes and repeat the idea for today several times slowly. Then open your eyes and look quite slowly about you, applying the idea specifically to whatever you note in your casual survey. Say, for example:

“My holiness envelops that rug.”

“My holiness envelops that wall.”

“My holiness envelops these fingers.”

“My holiness envelops that chair.”

“My holiness envelops that body.”

“My holiness envelops this pen.”

Several times during these practice periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea to yourself. Then open your eyes and continue as before.

For the shorter exercise periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea; look about you as you repeat it again; and conclude with one more repetition with your eyes closed. All applications should, of course, be made quite slowly, as effortlessly and unhurriedly as possible.

Listen to Lesson 36: ‘My Holiness envelops everything I see

Daily Lesson

35: My mind is part of God’s.

February 4, 2022 Wim Haverkamp Leave a comment

Lesson 35 “My mind is part of Godʹs. I am very holy.”

Todayʹs idea does not describe the way you see yourself now. It does, however, describe what vision will show you. It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this of himself. Yet the reason he thinks he is in this world is because he does not believe it.

You will believe that you are part of where you think you are. That is because you surround yourself with the environment you want. And you want it to protect the image of yourself which you have made. The image is part of it. What you see while you believe you are in it is seen through the eyes of the image. It is not vision. Images cannot see.

The idea for today presents a very different view of yourself. By establishing your Source it establishes your identity, and it describes you as you must really be in truth. We will use a some what different kind of application for todayʹs idea, because the emphasis for today is on the perceiver, rather than on what he perceives.

For each of the three five‐minute practice periods today, begin by repeating todayʹs idea to yourself, and then close your eyes and search your mind for the various kinds of descriptive terms in which you see yourself. Include all of the ego‐based attributes which you ascribe to yourself, positive or negative, desirable or undesirable, grandiose or debased. All of them are equally unreal because you do not look upon yourself through the eyes of holiness.

In the earlier part of the mind‐searching period, you will probably emphasize what you consider to be the more negative aspects of your perception of yourself. Toward the latter part of the exercise period, however, more self‐inflating descriptive terms may well cross your mind. Try to recognize that the direction of your fantasies about yourself does not matter. Illusions have no direction in reality. They are merely not true.

A suitable unselected list for applying the idea for today might be as follows:

“I see myself as imposed on.”

“I see myself as depressed.”
“I see myself as failing.”

“I see myself as endangered.”
“I see myself as helpless.”
“I see myself as victorious.”

“I see myself as losing out.”
“I see myself as charitable.”

“I see myself as virtuous.”

You should not think of these terms in an abstract way. They will occur to you as various situations, personalities, and events in which you figure cross your mind. Pick up any specific situation that occurs to you, identify the descriptive term or terms which you feel are applicable to your reactions to that situation, and use them in applying todayʹs idea. After you have named each one,
add:

“But my mind is part of Godʹs. I am very holy.”

During the longer exercise periods, there will probably be intervals in which nothing specific occurs to you. Do not strain to think up specific things to fill the interval, but merely relax and repeat todayʹs idea slowly until something occurs to you. Although
nothing that does occur should be omitted from the exercises, nothing
should be “dug out” with effort. Neither force nor discrimination should be used. As often as possible during the day, pick up a specific attribute
or attributes which you are ascribing to yourself at the time, and apply the idea for today to them, adding the idea to each of them in the form stated above. If noting particular occurs to you, merely repeat the idea to yourself, with closed eyes.

Listen to Lesson 35: ‘My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.‘

Daily Lesson

34: I could see peace instead of this.

February 3, 2022 Wim Haverkamp Leave a comment

Lesson 34 “I could see peace instead of this.”

The idea for today begins to describe the conditions which prevail in the other way of seeing. Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.

Three longer practice periods are required for todayʹs exercises. One in the morning and one in the evening is advised, with an additional one to be undertaken at any time in between which seems most conducive to readiness. All applications should be done with your eyes closed. It is your inner world to which the applications of todayʹs idea should be made.

Some five minutes of mind‐searching are required for each of the longer practice periods. Search your mind for fear thoughts, anxiety provoking situations, “offending” personalities or events, or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts. Note each one casually, repeating the idea for today slowly, as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go to be replaced by the next.

If you begin to experience difficulty in thinking of specific subjects, continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an unhurried manner, without applying it to anything in particular. Be sure, however, not to make any specific exclusions.

The shorter applications are to be frequent, and made whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way. The purpose is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. If a specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, the exercise should take this form:

“I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.”

If the inroads on your peace of mind take the form of more generalized adverse emotions, such as depression, anxiety or worry, use the idea in its original form. If you find you need more than one application of todayʹs idea to help you change your mind in any specific context, try to take several minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief. It will help you if you tell yourself specifically:

“I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety, or worry (or my thoughts about this situation, personality, or event) with peace.”

Listen to lesson 34 “Could see peace instead of this”

Daily Miracle Lessons

I can escape the world I see..

February 2, 2022 Wim Haverkamp Leave a comment

In this post some text and video of the online DAILY MIRACLE class of last Monday (01-31) in which we looked at another key lesson of A Course in Miracles. In the class I promised to share some paragraphs from chapter 20. This was in relationship with the key lesson 23: I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.

Nothing can hurt you, unless you give it the power to do so.For YOU give power as the laws of this world INTERPRET giving; as you give, you LOSE. It is not up to you to give power at all. Power is of God, GIVEN by Him, and RE‐AWAKENED by the Holy Spirit, Who knows that, as you give you GAIN. He gives NO power to sin, and therefore it HAS none. Nor to its results, as this world sees them; sickness and death and misery and pain. These things have not occurred, because the Holy Spirit sees them not, and gives no power to their seeming source. Thus would He keep you free of them.
Entering the Ark, Ch. 20 first paragraph, Urtext Manuscripts A Course in Miracles, Miracles in Action Press 2008.

THE VIDEO

This is a recording of the online class. You are invited to join!

Daily Lesson

Lesson 33

February 2, 2022 Wim Haverkamp Leave a comment

Lesson 33 “There is another way of looking at the world.”

Todayʹs idea is an attempt to recognize that you can shift your perception of the world in both its outer and inner aspects. A full five minutes should be devoted to the morning and evening application.

In these practice periods, the idea should be repeated as often as you find profitable, though unhurried applications are essential. Alternate between surveying your outer and inner perceptions, but without an abrupt sense of shifting. Merely glance casually around the world you perceive as outside yourself, then close your eyes and survey your inner thoughts with equal casualness. Try to remain equally uninvolved in both, and to maintain this detachment as you repeat the idea throughout the day.

The shorter exercise periods should be as frequent as possible. Specific applications of todayʹs idea should also be made immediately when any situation arises which tempts you to become disturbed. For these applications, say:

“There is another way of looking at this.”

Remember to apply todayʹs idea the instant you are aware of distress. It may be necessary to take a minute or so to sit quietly and repeat the idea to yourself several times. Closing your eyes will probably help in this form of application.

Listen to lesson 33: “There is another way of looking at the world“

Daily Lesson

Lesson 32

February 1, 2022 Wim Haverkamp Leave a comment

Lesson 32 “I have invented the world I see.”

Today we are continuing to develop the theme of cause and effect. You are not the victim of the world you see because you invented it. You can give it up as easily as you made it up. You will see it or not see it, as you wish. While you want it you will see it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there for you to see.

The idea for today, like the preceding ones, applies to your inner and outer worlds, which are actually the same. However, since you see them as different, the practice periods for today will again include two phases, one involving the world you see outside you, and the other the world you see in your mind. In todayʹs exercises, try to introduce the thought that both are in your own imagination.

Again we will begin the practice periods for the morning and evening by repeating the idea for today two or three times, while looking around at the world you see as outside yourself. Then close your eyes, and look around your inner world. Try to treat them both as equally as possible. Repeat the idea for today unhurriedly as often as you wish, as you watch the images which your imagination presents to your awareness.

For the two longer practice periods, three to five minutes are recommended with not less than three required. More than five can be utilized, if you find the exercises restful. To facilitate this, select a time when few distractions are anticipated, and when you yourself feel reasonably ready.

These exercises are also to be continued during the day, as often as possible. The shorter applications consist of repeating the idea slowly, as you survey either your inner or outer world. It does not matter which you choose.

The idea for today should also be applied immediately to any situation which may distress you. Apply the idea by telling yourself:

“I have invented this situation as I see it.”