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Daily Lesson

76: I am under no laws but God’s

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Lesson 76 “I am under no laws but Godʹs”
We have observed before how many senseless things have seemed to you to be salvation.  Each has imprisoned you with laws as senseless as itself.  You are not bound by them.  Yet to understand that this is so, you must first realize salvation lies not there. While you would seek for it in things that have no meaning, you bind yourself to laws that make no sense.

Thus do you seek to prove salvation is where it is not.  Today we will be glad you cannot prove it.  For if you could, you would forever seek where it is not and never find it.  The idea for today tells you once again how simple is salvation.  Look for it where it waits for you, and there it will be found.  Look nowhere else, for it is nowhere else.

Think of the freedom in the recognition that you are not bound by all the strange and twisted laws which you have set up to save you.  You really think that you would starve unless you have stacks of green paper strips and piles of metal discs.  You really think a small round pellet or some fluid pushed into your veins through a sharpened needle will ward off death.  You really think you are alone unless another body is with you.

It is insanity that thinks these things.  You call them laws, and put them under different names in a long catalogue of rituals that have no use and serve no purpose.  You think you must obey the “laws” of medicine, of economics, and of health.  Protect the body and you will be saved.  These are not laws, but madness.

The body is endangered by the mind that hurts itself.  The body suffers that the mind will fail to see it is the victim of itself. The bodyʹs suffering is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers.  It would not understand it is its own enemy; that it attacks itself and wants to die.  It is from this your “laws” would save the body.  It is for this you think you are a body.

There are no laws except the laws of God.  This needs repeating, ‐ over and over until you realize that it applies to everything that you have made in opposition to His Will.  Your magic has no meaning.  What it is meant to save does not exist.  Only what it is meant to hide will save you.

The laws of God can never be replaced.  We will devote today to rejoicing that this is so.  It is no longer a truth which we would hide.  We realize instead it is a truth which keeps us free forever.  Magic imprisons, but the laws of God set free.  The light has come because there are no laws but His.

We will begin the longer practice periods today with a short review of the different kinds of “laws” we have believed we must obey.  These would include, for example, the laws of nutrition, of immunization, of medication, and of the bodyʹs protection in innumerable ways.  Think further; you believe in laws of friendship, of “good” relationships and reciprocity.

Perhaps you even think that there are laws which set forth what is Godʹs and what is yours.  Many “religions” have been based on this.  They would not save, but damn in Heavenʹs name.  Yet they are no more strange than other “laws” you hold must be obeyed to make you safe.

There are no laws but Godʹs.  Dismiss all foolish magical beliefs today, and hold your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice that speaks the truth to you.  You will be listening to One Who says there is no loss under the laws of God.  Payment is neither given nor received.  Exchange cannot be made, there are no substitutes, and nothing is replaced by something else.  Godʹs laws forever give and never take.

Hear Him Who tells you this, and realize how foolish are the laws you thought upheld the world you thought you saw.  Then listen further.  He will tell you more.  About the love your Father has for you.  About the endless joy He offers you.  About His yearni ng for His only Son, created as His channel for creation; denied to Him by his belief in hell.

Let us today open Godʹs channels to Him, and let His Will extend through us to Him.  Thus is creation endlessly increased. His Voice will speak of this to us, as well as of the joys of Heaven which His laws keep limitless forever.  We will now repeat todayʹs idea until we have listened and understood there are no laws but Godʹs.  Then we will tell ourselves, as a dedication with which the practice period concludes:
“I am under no laws but Godʹs.”

We will repeat this dedication as often as possible today; at least four or five times an hour, as well as in response to any temptation to experience ourselves as subject to other laws throughout the day.  It is our statement of freedom from all danger and all tyranny.  It is our acknowledgment that God is our Father, and that His Son is saved.

Lesson 76
Daily Lesson

69: My grievances hide the light of the world in me

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Lesson 69 “My grievances hide the light of the world in me.”

No‐one can look upon what your grievances conceal. Because your grievances are hiding the light of the world in you, everyone stands in darkness, and you beside him. But as the veil of your grievances is lifted, you are released with him.  Share your salvation now with him who stood beside you when you were in hell.  He is your brother in the light of the world which saves you both.

Today let us make another real attempt to reach the light in you.  Before we undertake this in our more extended practice period, let us devote several minutes in thinking about what we are trying to do. We are literally attempting to get in touch with the salvation of the world.  We are trying to see past the veil of darkness that keeps it concealed.  We are trying to let the veil be lifted, and see the tears of Godʹs Son disappear in the sunlight.

Let us begin our longer practice period today with the full realization of all this,and real determination to reach what is dearer to us than all else.   Salvation is our only need.  There is no other purpose here, and no other function to fulfill.  Learning salvation is our only goal.  Let us end the ancient search today, by finding the light in us and holding it up for everyone who searches with us to look upon and rejoice.

Very quietly now, with your eyes closed, try to let all the content which generally occupies your consciousness go.  Think of your mind as a vast round area, surrounded by a layer of heavy dark clouds.  You can see only the clouds because you seem to be standing outside the whole area, and quite apart from it.  From where you stand, you can see no reason to believe there is a brilliant light hidden by the clouds.  The clouds seem to be the only reality. They seem to be all there is to see.  Therefore you do not attempt to go through them and past them, which is the only way in which you would be really convinced of their lack of substance.   We will make this attempt today.

After you have thought about the importance of what you are trying to do for yourself and the world, try to settle in perfect stillness, remembering only how much you want to reach the light in you today, ‐ now.  Determine to go past the clouds.   Reach out and touch them in your mind.  Brush them aside with your hand; feel them resting on your cheeks and forehead and eyelids as you go through them.  Go on; clouds cannot stop you.

If you are doing the exercises properly, you will begin to feel a sense of being lifted up and carried ahead.  Your little effort and small determination call on the power of the universe to help you, and God Himself will raise you from darkness into light.   You are in accord with His Will.  You cannot fail because your will is His.

Have confidence in your Father today, and be certain that He has heard you and has answered you.  You may not recognize His answer yet, but you can indeed be sure that it is given you, and you will yet receive it.  Try, as you attempt to go through the clouds to the light, to hold this confidence in your mind.  Try to remember that you are at last joining your will to Godʹs.  Try to keep the thought clearly in mind that what you undertake with God must succeed.  Then let the power of God work in you and through you, that His Will and yours may be done.

In the shorter practice periods, which you will want to do as often as possible in view of the importance of todayʹs idea to you and your happiness, remind yourself that your grievances are hiding the light of the world from your awareness.  Remind yourself also that you are not searching for it alone, and that you do know where to look for it.   Say, then:
“My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
I cannot see what I have hidden.
Yet I want to let it be revealed to me for my salvation and the salvation of the world.”

Also, be sure to tell yourself:
“If I hold this grievance, the light of the world will be hidden from me,”
if you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today.

Lesson 69
Daily Lesson, Daily Miracle Lessons

Review Lesson 60

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Lesson 60 These ideas are for todayʹs review. (46‐50)

46) “God is the Love in which I forgive.”

God does not forgive because He has never condemned. The blameless cannot blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. Yet forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. It is the reflection of Godʹs Love on earth. It will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me to my home.

47) “God is the Strength in which I trust.”

It is not my own strength through which I forgive. It is through the strength of God in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. As I begin to see, I recognize His reflection on earth. I forgive all things because I feel the stirring of His strength in me. And I begin to remember the Love I chose to forget, but Which has not forgotten me.

48) “There is nothing to fear.”

How safe the world will look to me when I can see it! It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now. Everyone and everything I see will lean toward me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend. What could there be to fear in a world which I have forgiven, and which has forgiven me?

49) “God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.”

There is not a moment in which Godʹs Voice ceases to call on my forgiveness to save me. There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions, and lead my feet. I am walking steadily on toward truth. There is nowhere else I can go, because Godʹs Voice is the only voice and the only guide that has been given to His Son.

50) “I am sustained by the Love of God.”

As I listen to Godʹs Voice, I am sustained by His Love. As I open my eyes, His Love lights up the world for me to see. As I forgive, His Love reminds me that His Son is sinless. And as I look upon the world with the vision He has given me, I remember that I am His Son.

Review Lesson 60
Daily Lesson

Review Lesson 53

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Lesson 53 Today we will review the following: (11‐15)

11) “My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.”

Since the thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world which pictures them can have no meaning. What is producing this world is insane, and so is what it produces. Reality is not insane, and I have real thoughts as well as insane ones. I can therefore see a real world, if I look to my real thoughts as my guide for seeing.

12) “I am upset because I see a meaningless world.”

Insane thoughts are upsetting, and They produce a world in which there is no order anywhere. Only chaos rules a world which represents chaotic thinking, and chaos has no laws. I cannot live in peace in such a world. I am grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to value it. And I do not choose to value what is totally insane and has no meaning.

13) “A meaningless world engenders fear.”

The totally insane engenders fear because it is completely undependable, and offers no grounds for trust. Nothing in madness is dependable. It holds out no safety and no hope. But such a world is not real. I have given it the illusion of reality, and have suffered from my belief in it. Now I choose to withdraw this belief, and place my trust in reality. In choosing this, I will escape all the effects of the world of fear because I am acknowledging that it does not exist.

14) “God did not create a meaningless world.”

How can a meaningless world exist if God did not create it? He is the Source of all meaning, and everything that is real is in His Mind. It is in my mind too, because He created it with me. Why should I continue to suffer from the effects of my own insane thoughts, when the perfection of creation is my home? Let me remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I really abide.

15) “My thoughts are images which I have made.”

Whatever I see reflects my thoughts. It is my thoughts which tell me where I am and what I am. The fact that I see a world in which there is suffering and loss and death shows me that I am seeing only the representation of my insane thoughts, and am not allowing my real thoughts to cast their beneficent light on what I see. Yet Godʹs way is sure. The images I have made can not prevail against Him because it is not my will that they do so. My will is His, and I will place no other gods before Him.

Review Lesson 53
Miracle Prayer

Behind Everything

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The journey is the way to what is TRUE. 
Leave ALL deception behind, and 
reach beyond all attempts of the ego 
to hold you back.

You who made delay can leave time behind, simply by recognizing that neither beginnings nor endings 
were created by the Eternal,
Who placed no limits on His creation
nor upon those who create like Him.

The freedom to leave behind everything
that hurts you and humbles you and frightens you cannot be thrust upon you, 
but it CAN be offered you 
through the grace of God. 

He lives within you in the quiet present, 
and waits for you to leave the past behind,
and enter into the world 
He holds out to you in love.

For the REFLECTION of truth
draws everyone TO truth. 
And as they enter INTO it, 
they leave ALL reflections behind

“Father, You stand before me and behind, beside me, in the place I see myself, and everywhere I go.  
You are in all the things I look upon, 
the sounds I hear, and 
every hand that reaches for my own.  
In You time disappears, and 
place becomes a meaningless belief...

We come to You 
in Your own Name today, 
to be at peace 
within Your everlasting Love.”

Various chapter/ lesson excerpts Urtext A Course in Miracles.
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Daily Lesson

35: My mind is part of God’s.

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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.

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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 Lesson

Lesson 33

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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“