Tag Archives: love

Daily Lesson

282: I will not be afraid of Love today

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Lesson 282 “I will not be afraid of love today.”
If I could realize but this today, salvation would be reached for all the world.  This the decision not to be insane, and to accept myself as God Himself, my Father and my Source, created me.  This the determination not to be asleep in dreams of death, while truth remains forever living in the joy of life.  And this the choice to recognize the Self Whom God created as the Son He loves, and Who remains my one Reality.

“Father, Your Name is Love, and so is mine.  Such is the truth.  And can the truth be changed by merely giving it another name?  The name of fear is simply a mistake.  Let me not be afraid of
truth today.”

Daily Lesson

99: Salvation is my only function here

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Lesson 99 “Salvation is my only function here.”

Salvation and forgiveness are the same.  They both imply that something has gone wrong; something you need be saved from or forgiven for; something amiss that needs corrective change, something apart or different from the Will of God.  Thus do both terms imply something impossible but yet which has occurred, resulting in a state of conflict between what is and what could never be.

Truth and illusions both are equal now, for both have happened.  The impossible becomes the thing you need forgiveness for; salvation from.  Salvation is the borderland between truth and illusion. It reflects the truth because it is the means by which you can escape illusions.  Yet it is not truth because it undoes what was never done.

How could there be a meeting place at all where earth and Heaven can be reconciled within a mind where both of them exist?   The mind which sees illusions thinks them real.  They have existence in that they are thoughts.  And yet they are not real because the mind that thinks these thoughts is separate from God.

What joins the separated mind and thoughts with Mind and Thought which are forever One?  What plan could hold the truth inviolate, yet recognize the need illusions bring, and offer means by which they are undone without attack, and with no touch of pain?  What but a Thought of God could be this plan by which the never done is overlooked, and sins forgotten which were never real?

The Holy Spirit holds this plan of God exactly as it was received of Him within the Mind of God, and in your own.  It is apart from time in that its Source is timeless.  Yet it operates in time because of your belief that time is real.  Unshaken does the Holy Spirit look on what you see; on sin and pain and death, on grief and separation and on loss.  Yet does He know one thing must still be true; God still is Love, and this is not His Will.

This is the Thought Which brings illusions to the truth, and sees them as appearances behind which is the changeless and the sure.  This is the Thought Which saves and Which forgives, because It lays no faith in what is not created by the only Source It knows.  This is the Thought Whose function is to save by giving you Its function as your own.

Salvation is your function, with the One to Whom the plan was given.  Now are you entrusted with this plan, along with Him.   He has one answer to appearances regardless of their form, their size, their depth, or any attribute they seem to have:

“Salvation is my only function here. God still is Love, and this is not His Will.”

You who will yet work miracles, be sure you practice well the idea for today.  Try to perceive the strength in what you say, for these are words in which your freedom lies.  Your Father loves you.   All the world of pain is not His will.  Forgive yourself the thought He wanted this for you.  Then let the Thought with Which He has replaced all your mistakes enter the darkened places of your mind which thought the thoughts that never were His Will.  This part belongs to God, as does the rest.  It does not think its solitary thoughts and make them real by hiding them from Him.

Let in the light, and you will look upon no obstacle to what He wills for you.  Open your secrets to His kindly Light, and see how bright this Light still shines in you.  Practice His Thought to day, and let His Light seek out and lighten up all darkened spots, and shine through them to join them to the rest.

It is Godʹs will your mind be One with His.  It is Godʹs Will that He has but one Son.  It is Godʹs Will that His one Son is you.   Think of these things in practicing today, and start your longer practice periods with this instruction in the way of truth:
“Salvation is my only function here.
Salvation and forgiveness are the same.”
Then turn to Him who shares your function with you, and let Him teach you what you need to learn to lay all fear aside, and know your Self as Love Which has no opposite in you.

Forgive all thoughts which would oppose the truth of your completeness, unity and peace.  You cannot lose the gifts your Father gave.  You do not want to be another self.  You have no func‐
tion that is not of God.  Forgive yourself the one you think you made.  Forgiveness and salvation are the same.  Forgive what you have made, and you are saved.


You have a special message for today which has the power to remove all forms of doubt and fear forever from your mind.  If you are tempted to believe them true, remember that appearances can not withstand the truth these mighty words contain:
“Salvation is my only function here.
God still is Love, and this is not His Will.”

Your only function tells you you are One.  Remind yourself of this between the times you give five minutes to be shared with Him Who shares Godʹs plan with you.  Remind yourself:
“Salvation is my only function here.”
Thus do you lay forgiveness on your mind, and let all fear be gently laid aside that Love may find Its rightful place in you, and show you that you are the Son of God.

Lesson 99
Daily Lesson

95: I am One Self, united with my Creator

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Lesson 95 “I am One Self, united with My Creator.”

Todayʹs idea accurately describes you as God created you. You are one within yourself, and One with Him. Yours is the unity of all creation. Your perfect unity makes change in you impossible. You do not accept this, and you fail to realize it must be so, only because you believe that you have changed yourself already.

You see yourself as a ridiculous parody on Godʹs creation, weak, vicious, ugly and sinful, miserable and beset with pain. Such is your version of your self; a self divided into many warring parts, separated from God, and tenuously held together by its erratic and capricious maker, to which you pray. It does not hear your prayers, for it is deaf. It does not see the Oneness in you, for it is blind. It does not understand you are the Son of God, for it is senseless and understands nothing.

We will attempt today to be aware only of what can hear and see, and what makes perfect sense. We will again direct our exercises toward reaching your One Self, which is united with Its Creator. In patience and in hope we try again today. The use of the first 5 minutes of every waking hour for practicing the idea for the day has special advantages at the stage of learning in which you are at present.

It is difficult at this point not to allow your mind to wander if it undertakes extended attempts. To have surely realized this by now. You have seen the extent of your lack of mental discipline, and of your need for mind training. It is necessary that you be aware of this, for it is indeed a hindrance to your advance.

Frequent but shorter practice periods have other advantages for you at this time. In addition to recognizing your difficulties with sustained attention, you must also have noticed that, unless you are reminded of your purpose frequently, you tend to forget about it for long periods of time. You often fail to remember the short applications of the idea for the day, and you have not yet formed the habit of using it as an automatic response to temptation.

Structure, then, is necessary for you at this time, planned to include frequent reminders of your goal, and regular attempts to reach it. Regularity in terms of time is not the ideal requirement for the most beneficial form of practice in salvation. It is advantageous, however, for these whose motivation is inconsistent, and who remain heavily defended against learning.

We will therefore keep to the five minutes an hour practice periods for a while, and urge you to omit as few as possible. Using the first five minutes of the hour will be particularly helpful, since it imposes firmer structure. Do not, however, use your lapses from this schedule as an excuse not to return to it again as soon as you can.

There may well be a temptation to regard the day as lost because you have already failed to do what is required. This should, however, merely be recognized as what it is; a refusal to let your mistakes be corrected, and an unwillingness to try again. The Holy Spirit is not delayed in His teaching by your mistakes. He can be held back only by your unwillingness to let them go.

Let us therefore be determined, particularly for the next week or so, to be willing to forgive ourselves for our lapses in diligence, and our failures to follow the instructions for practicing the dayʹs idea. This tolerance for weakness will enable us to overlook it, rather than give it power to delay our learning. If we give it power to do this, we are regarding it as strength, and are confusing strength and weakness.

When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course you have merely made a mistake. This calls for correction, and for nothing else. To allow a mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes, based on the first, and reinforcing it. It is this process which must be laid aside, for it is but another way in which you would defend illusions against the truth.

Let all these errors go by recognizing them for what they are. They are attempts to keep you unaware you are One Self, united with your Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless in power and in peace. This is the truth, and nothing else is true. Today we will affirm this truth again, and try to reach the place in you in which there is no doubt that only this is true. Begin the longer practice periods with this assurance, given to your mind with all the certainty that you can give:

“I am One Self, united with my Creator,

At one with every aspect of creation,

And limitless in power and in peace.”

Then close your eyes and tell yourself again, slowly and thoughtfully, attempting to allow the meaning of the words to sink into your mind, replacing false ideas:

“I am One Self.”

Repeat this several times, and then attempt to feel the meaning which the words convey. You are One Self, united and secure in light and joy and peace. You are Godʹs Son, One Self with One Creator and one goal; to bring awareness of this Oneness to all minds, that true creation may extend the Allness and the Unity of God.

You are One Self, complete and healed and whole, with power to lift the veil of darkness from the world, and let the light in you come through to teach the world the truth about itself. You are One Self, in perfect harmony with all there is and all that there will be. You are One Self, the holy Son of God, united with your brothers in this Self; united with your Father in His Will.

Feel this One Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and your doubts. This is your Self, the Son of God Himself, sinless as Its Creator, with His strength within you, and His Love forever yours. You are One Self, and it is given you to feel this Self within you, and to cast all your illusions out of the One Mind Which is this Self, the holy truth in you.

Do not forget today. We need your help, your little part in bringing happiness to all the world. And Heaven looks to you in confidence that you will try today. Share, then, its surety, for it is yours. Be vigilant. Do not forget today.

Throughout the day do not forget your goal. Repeat today ʹs idea as frequently as possible, and understand each time you do so, someone hears the voice of hope, the stirring of the truth within his mind, the gentle rustling of the wings of peace. Your own acknowledgment you are One Self, united with your Father, is a call to all the world, to be at one with you.

To everyone you meet today be sure to give the promise of todayʹs idea, and tell him this:

“You are One Self with me,

United with our Creator in this Self.

I honor you because of what I am,

And what He is, Who loves us both as one.”

Lesson 95
Daily Lesson

Lesson 86

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Lesson 86 These ideas are for review today: (71‐72)

71 “Only God’s plan for salvation will work.”

It is senseless for me to search wildly about for salvation. I have seen it in many people and in many things, but when I reached for it, it was not there. I was mistaken about where it is. I was mistaken about what it is. I will undertake no more idle seeking. Only Godʹs plan for salvation will work. And I will rejoice because His plan can never fail.

These are some suggested forms for applying this idea specifically:

“Godʹs plan for salvation will save me from my perception of this.”

“This is no exception in Godʹs plan for my salvation.”

“Let me perceive this only in the light of Godʹs plan for salvation.”

72 “Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation.”

Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that Godʹs plan for salvation will not work. Yet only His plan will work. By holding grievances I am therefore excluding my own only hope of salvation from my awareness. I would no longer defeat my own best interests in this insane way. I would accept Godʹs plan for salvation and be happy.

Specific applications of this idea might be in these forms:

“I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this.”

“If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for my salvation.”

“This calls for salvation, not attack.”

Lesson 86
Daily Lesson

73: I will there be light

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Lesson 73 “I will there be light.”

Today we are considering the will that you share with God. This is not the same as the egoʹs idle wishes, out of which darkness and nothingness arise.  The will you share with God has all the power of creation in it.  The egoʹs idle wishes are unshared, and therefore have no power at all.  Its wishes are not idle in the sense that they can make a world of illusions in which your belief can be very strong.  But they are idle indeed in terms of creation.  They make nothing that is real.

Idle wishes and grievances are partners or co‐makers in picturing the world you see.  The wishes of the ego gave rise to it, and the egoʹs need for grievances, which are necessary to maintain it, peoples it with figures which seem to attack you and call for “righteous” judgment.  They become the “middlemen” the ego employs to traffic in grievances, and stand between your awareness and your brotherʹs reality.  Beholding them, you do not know your brothers nor your Self.

Your will is lost to you in this strange bartering, in which guilt is traded back and forth, and grievances increase with each exchange.  Can such a world have been created by the will the Son of God shares with his Father?  Did God create disaster for His Son?  Creation is the will of both together.  Would God create a world that kills Himself?

Today we will try once more to reach the world that is in accordance with your will.  The light is in it because it does not oppose the Will of God.  It is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines on it.  Darkness has vanished; the egoʹs idle wishes have been withdrawn.  Yet the light that shines upon this world reflects your will, and so it must be in you that we will look for it.

Your picture of the world can only mirror what is within. The source of neither light nor darkness can be found without. Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a darkened world.  Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you look upon a world of light.

We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of grievances is easily past, and cannot stand between you and your salvation.  The reason is very simple.  Do you really want to be in hell?  Do you really want to weep and suffer and die?  Forget the egoʹs arguments which seek to prove all this is really Heaven.  You know it is not so.  You can not want this for yourself.  There is a point beyond which illusions cannot go.  Suffering is not happiness, and it is happiness you really want.  Such is your will in truth.  And so salvation is your will as well.  You want to succeed in what we are trying to do today.  We undertake it with your blessing and your glad accord.

We will succeed today if you remember that you will salvation for yourself.  You will to accept Godʹs plan because you share in it.   You have no will that can really oppose it, and you do not want to do so.  Salvation is for you.  Above all else you want the freedom to remember who you really are.  Today it is the ego which stands powerless before your will.  Your will is free, and nothing can prevail against it.   

Therefore we undertake the exercises for today in happy confidence, certain that we will find what it is your will to find, and remember what it is your will to remember.  No idle wishes can detain us, nor deceive us with an illusion of strength.  Today let your will be done.  And end forever the insane belief that it is hell in place of Heaven that you choose.

We will begin our longer practice periods with the recognition that Godʹs plan for salvation, and only His, is wholly in accord with your will.  It is not the purpose of an alien power, thrust upon you unwillingly.  It is the one purpose here on which you and your Father are in perfect accord. You will succeed today, the time appointed for the release of the Son of God from hell and from all idle wishes.  His will is now restored to his awareness.  He is willing this very day to look upon the light in him and be saved.

After reminding yourself of this and determining to keep your will clearly in mind, tell yourself with gentle firmness and quiet certainty:
“I will there be light.
Let me behold the light
that reflects God’s Will and mine.”

Then let your will assert itself, joined with the power of God and united with your Self.  Put the rest of the practice period under Their guidance.  Join with Them as They lead the way.

In the shorter practice periods, again make a declaration of what you really want.  Say:
“I will there be light.
Darkness is not my will.”

This should be repeated several times an hour.  It is most important, however, to apply todayʹs idea in this form immediately you are tempted to hold a grievance of any kind.  This will help you let your grievances go, instead of cherishing them and hiding them in the darkness

Lesson 73
Urtext Manuscripts

The Urtext, why we use it

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In the video below, I share why I am using the Urtext Manuscripts of A Course in Miracles and why that is working for me. I love the authenticity of the text. Reading it and using it is a whole new experience for me.

Watch the video here

How is this for you? Are you using the blue book, the Foundation of Inner Peace version? That is great too. Feel free to share your experience with A Course in Miracles below.

Daily Lesson

67: Love created me like Itself

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Lesson 67 “Love created me like Itself.”
Todayʹs idea is a complete and accurate statement of what you are.  This is why you are the light of the world.  This is why God appointed you as the worldʹs savior.  This is why the Son of God looks to you for his salvation.  He is saved by what you are.   We will make every effort today to reach this truth about you, and to realize fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth.

In the longer practice period, we will think about your reality and its wholly unchanged and unchangeable nature.  We will begin by repeating this truth about you, and then spend a few minutes adding some relevant thoughts, such as:
“Holiness created me holy“
“Kindness created me kind.”
“Helpfulness created me helpful.”
“Perfection created me perfect.”
Any attribute which is in accord with God as He defines Himself is appropriate for use.   We are trying today to undo your definition of God and replace it with His Own.  We are also trying to emphasize that you are part of His definition of Himself.

After you have gone over several such related thoughts, try to let all thoughts drop away for a brief preparatory interval, and then try to reach past all your images and preconceptions about yourself to the truth in you.  If Love created you like Itself this Self must be in you.  And somewhere in your mind It is there for you to find.

You may find it necessary to repeat the idea for today from time to time, to replace distracting thoughts.  You may also find that this is not sufficient, and that you need to continue adding other thoughts related to the truth about yourself.  Yet perhaps you will succeed in going past that, and through the interval of thoughtlessness to the awareness of a blazing light in which you recognize yourself as Love created you.  Be confident that you will do much today to bring that awareness nearer, whether you feel you have succeeded or not.

It will be particularly helpful today to practice the idea for today as often as you can.  You need to hear the truth about yourself as frequently as possible, because your mind is so preoccupied with false self‐images.  Four or five times an hour, and perhaps even more, it would be most beneficial to remind yourself that Love created you like Itself.  Hear the truth about yourself in this.

Try to realize in the shorter practice periods, that this is not your tiny solitary voice that tells you this.  This is the Voice for God, reminding you of your Father and of your Self.  This is the Voice of truth, replacing everything that the ego tells you about yourself with the simple truth about the Son of God.  You were created by Love like Itself.

Lesson 67
Daily Lesson

63: The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness

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Lesson 63 “The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.”

How holy are you who have the power to bring peace to every mind!  How blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means for letting this be done through you!  What purpose could you have that would bring you greater happiness?

You are indeed the light of the world with such a function.  The Son of God looks to you for his redemption.  It is yours to give him, for it belongs to you.  Accept no trivial purpose or meaningless desire in its place, or you will forget your function and leave the Son of God in hell.  This is no idle request that is being asked of you. You are asked to accept salvation that it may be yours to give.

Recognizing the importance of this function, we will be happy to remember it very often today.  We will begin the day by acknowledging it, and close the day with the thought of it in our awareness.  And throughout the day, we will repeat this as often as we can:


“The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.

I am the means God has appointed for the salvation of the world.”

You will probably find it easier to let the related thoughts come to you in the minute or two which you should devote to considering this if you can close your eyes.  Do not, however, wait for such an opportunity.  No chance should be lost for reinforcing todayʹs idea.  Remember that Godʹs Son looks to you for his salvation. And who but your Self must be His Son?

Lesson 63
Daily Lesson

Review Lesson 56

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Lesson 56 Our review for today covers the following: (26‐30)

26) “My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.”
How can I know who I am when I see myself as under constant attack?  Pain, illness, loss, age and death seem to threaten me.  All my hopes and wishes and plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot control.  Yet perfect security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance.  I have tried to give my inheritance away in exchange
for the world I see.  But God has kept my inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what it is.


27) “Above all else I want to see.”
Recognizing that what I see reflects what I think I am, I realize that vision is my greatest need.  The world I see attests to the fearful nature of the self‐image I have made.   If I would remember who I am, it is essential that I let this image of myself go.  As it is replaced by truth, vision will surely be given me.  And with this vision I will look upon the world and upon myself with charity and love.

28) “Above all else I want to see differently.”
The world I see holds my fearful self‐image in place, and guarantees its continuance.  While I see the world as I see it now, truth cannot enter my awareness.  I would let the door behind this world be opened for me, that I may look past it to the world that reflects the Love of God.

29) “God is in everything I see.”
Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged.  Behind every veil I have drawn across the face of love, its light remains
undimmed.  Beyond all my insane wishes is my will united with the Will of my Father.  God is still everywhere and in everything forever.  And we who are part of Him will yet look past all appearances, and recognize the truth beyond them all.

30) “God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.”
In my own mind, behind all my insane thoughts of separation and attack, is the knowledge that all is one forever.  I have not lost the knowledge of who I am because I have forgotten it.  It has been kept for me in the Mind of God, Who has not left His Thoughts.  And I, who am among them, am one with them and with Him.

Lesson 56
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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