Lesson 61 – I am the light of the world.

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

In 2011, this is what I journaled for Lesson 61:  I am the light of the world.  I imagine God’s Heavenly Light streaming down from above, entering my crown chakra and pouring through me.  A three-dimensional light activates my pineal gland, then my spiritual eye, then my throat, heart, solar plexus, dan tien and root chakra.

This light looks like the chandeliers at the Metropolitan Opera House.  God gives them a spin with His Hand like twirling a dreidel and I alight from within.  I am lying on my back in supta baddha konasana and offer Him my hands and feet as well.  My palms and soles sparkle to life with diamond light energy.  I am alive.  I am activated.  I am the light of the world.  That is my only function here.  To shine with Love.  That is why I am here.

I also love how today’s lesson defines arrogance and humility.  The ego mistakes humility for self-debasement.  But true humility is to accept God’s assignment for us that we are the light of the world, the bringers of salvation through His Guidance.  How exciting to find out that Lesson 61 is the first of a number of giant steps we will take in the next few weeks!  We are the light of the world.

In 2015, this moment, it is known that Light, not the body, is true Identity.  “Light” is just a word that tries to describe the real state of Mind from which we spring.  The person does not even exist, not really.

Losing interest in the person is the greatest liberation.  I am the Light of the world.  This “I am” is not personal.  It is the first layer of identity, the first level of duality, the anandamaya kosha — the bliss sheath.  “I am” is the point at which we emerge from God to view God and experience God.  We have not yet chosen the ego.

“Am” is God-Self.  At this initial point of duality there is the ability to simply re-merge into “am.”  It happens naturally when the memory of God within stirs, rubs the sleep out of its eyes, and realizes it is the Light, not the person.  This is the culmination of undoing (salvation, forgiveness).  This is the right-minded outcome of following Inner Guidance (grace, Holy Spirit).

The Light of the world dispels all darkness and illusions.  In doing so, it reminds Itself it is the Light.  Aum.

LESSON 61

I am the light of the world.

Who is the light of the world except God’s Son?  This, then, is merely a statement of the truth about yourself.  It is the opposite of a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception.  It does not describe the self-concept you have made.  It does not refer to any of the characteristics with which you have endowed your idols.  It refers to you as you were created by God.  It simply states the truth.

To the ego, today’s idea is the epitome of self-glorification.  But the ego does not understand humility, mistaking it for self-debasement.  Humility consists of accepting your role in salvation and in taking no other.  It is not humility to insist you cannot be the light of the world if that is the function God assigned to you.  It is only arrogance that would assert this function cannot be for you, and arrogance is always of the ego.

True humility requires that you accept today’s idea because it is God’s Voice which tells you it is true.  This is a beginning step in accepting your real function on earth.  It is a giant stride toward taking your rightful place in salvation.  It is a positive assertion of your right to be saved, and an acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save others.

You will want to think about this idea as often as possible today.  It is the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore to all temptation.  It brings all the images you have made about yourself to the truth, and helps you depart in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose.

As many practice periods as possible should be undertaken today, although each one need not exceed a minute or two.  They should begin with telling yourself:

I am the light of the world.  That is my only function.  That is why I am here.

Then think about these statements for a short while, preferably with your eyes closed if the situation permits.  Let a few related thoughts come to you, and repeat the idea to yourself if your mind wanders away from the central thought.

Be sure both to begin and end each day with a practice period.  Thus you will awaken with an acknowledgment of the truth about yourself, reinforce it throughout the day, and turn to sleep as you reaffirm your function and your only purpose here.  These two practice periods may be longer than the rest, if you find them helpful and want to extend them.

Today’s idea goes far beyond the ego’s petty views of what you are and what your purpose is.  As a bringer of salvation, this is obviously necessary.  This is the first of a number of giant steps we will take in the next few weeks.  Try today to begin to build a firm foundation for these advances.  You are the light of the world.  God has built His plan for salvation of His Son on you.

Listen to You Are the Light of the World, a brief yet potent mindfulness exercise.  Let’s practice together!  Watch and hear Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.

Lesson 60 – Review of Lessons 46-50

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

Forgiveness is the means by which Innocence is remembered.  Forgiveness is the reflection of God’s Love on earth.

It is God’s strength within that helps me to forgive.  Everyone and everything everywhere are blessed when seen through the reflections of God’s Love.

God’s Voice, the Holy Spirit within, is always with here, offering forgiveness, offering salvation.  I walked steadily on toward Truth because there was nowhere else to go.  Walking became being “walked” … and then … Quiet.

There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions and lead my feet.  That is the only purpose for this body now.

LESSON 60

These ideas are for today’s review:

1.  (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 God’s Love on earth.  It will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me up to Him.

2.  (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.

3.  (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 leap toward me to bless me.  I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend.  What could there be to fear in a world that I have forgiven, and that has forgiven me?

4.  (49)  God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.

There is not a moment in which God’s 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 God’s Voice is the only Voice and the only Guide that has been given to His Son.

5.  (50)  I am sustained by the Love of God.

As I listen to God’s 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.

Let’s practice together!  Watch and listen to Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.

Lesson 59 – Review of Lessons 41-45

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

How can I be disturbed by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace?

Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God.

Given …  ForGiven … ForGiving … Giving is Receiving … Giving is Vision … It is through Christ’s vision that I choose to see.  I have tried to define what seeing is and I have been wrong.  Let me welcome vision and the happy world It shows.

God is the Mind with which I think.  As part of God’s Mind, my thoughts are the thoughts God thinks, and God’s Thoughts naturally pour through “me”… Now!

LESSON 59

The following ideas are for review today:

1.  (41)  God goes with me wherever I go.

How can I be alone when God always goes with me?  How can I be doubtful and unsure of myself when perfect certainty abides in Him?  How can I be disturbed by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace?  How can I suffer when love and joy surround me through Him?  Let me not cherish illusions about myself.  I am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go.

2.  (42)  God is my strength.  Vision is His gift.

Let me not look to my own eyes to see today.  Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God.  Christ’s vision is His gift, and He has given it to me.  Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity.

3.  (43)  God is my Source.  I cannot see apart from Him.

I can see what God wants me to see.  I cannot see anything else.  Beyond His Will lie only illusions.  It is these I choose when I think I can see apart from Him.  It is these I choose when I try to see through the body’s eyes.  Yet the vision of Christ has been given me to replace them.  It is through this vision that I choose to see.

4.  (44)  God is the light in which I see.

I cannot see in darkness.  God is the only light.  Therefore, if I am to see, it must be through Him.  I have tried to define what seeing is, and I have been wrong.  Now it is given me to understand that God is the light in which I see.  Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me.

5.  (45)  God is the Mind with which I think.

I have no thoughts I do not share with God.  I have no thoughts apart from Him, because I have no mind apart from His.  As part of His Mind, my thoughts are His and His Thoughts are mine.

Listen to God Goes With You, a brief yet potent mindfulness exercise.  Let’s practice together!  Watch and hear Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.

Lesson 56 – Review of Lessons 26-30

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

In Lesson 56, Jesus writes, “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.”

I say it quietly to myself, “I would let the door behind this world be opened for me …”

and words cease completely.

LESSON 56

Our review for today covers the following:

1.  (26)  My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.

How can I know who I am when I see myself 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.

2.  (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 on myself with charity and love.

3.  (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.

4.  (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.

5.  (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 one with Him.

Let’s practice together!  Watch and listen to Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.

Lesson 55 – Review of Lessons 21-25

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

The ego-person does not know who she really is.  The ego’s purpose is exactly that: to deliberately block true identity in order to maintain its illusion game.  All material things are witnesses to the “reality” of the ego.  Until grace arises within and we turn to the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit uses all that the ego has made for God’s loving purpose.  The Holy Spirit now witnesses to Love, rather than fear.  We are responsible for choosing the Holy Spirit and uncluttering the mind by giving Him all ego-thoughts.

This one decision is all we need do.  The Holy Spirit then undoes the ego’s trickery and the Truth is revealed in Its natural, illumined state of Mind.

LESSON 55

Today’s review includes the following:

1.  (21)  I am determined to see things differently.

What I see now are but signs of disease, disaster and death.  This cannot be what God created for His beloved Son.  The very fact that I see such things is proof that I do not understand God.  Therefore I also do not understand His Son.  What I see tells me that I do not know who I am.  I am determined to see the witnesses to truth in me, rather than those which show me an illusion of myself.

2.  (22)  What I see is a form of vengeance.

The world I see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts.  It is a picture of attack on everything by everything.  It is anything but a reflection of the Love of God and the Love of His Son.  It is my own attack thoughts that give rise to this picture.  My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world, and give me the peace God intended me to have.

3.  (23)  I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts.

Herein lies salvation, and nowhere else.  Without attack thoughts I could not see a world of attack.  As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace and safety and joy.  And it is this I choose to see, in place of what I look on now.

4.  (24)  I do not perceive my own best interests.

How could I recognize my own best interests when I do not know who I am?  What I think are my best interests would merely bind me closer to the world of illusions.  I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me to find out what my own best interests are, recognizing that I cannot perceive them by myself.

5.  (25)  I do not know what anything is for.

To me, the purpose of everything is to prove that my illusions about myself are real.  It is for this purpose that I attempt to use everyone and everything.  It is for this that I believe the world is for.  Therefore I do not recognize its real purpose.  The purpose I have given the world has led to a frightening picture of it.  Let me open my mind to the world’s real purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and learning the truth about it.

Let’s practice together!  Watch and listen to Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.

Lesson 54 – Review of Lessons 16-20

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

The theme of Lesson 54 is that nothing is neutral.  There is no such thing as neutrality or objectivity.  Everything boils down to two subjective choices:  separation or Unity.  Separation or Unity can also be described as fear or Love; imprisonment or Freedom; suffering or Joy; abandonment or Embrace; conflict or Peace; many or One; death or Life, etc.

The process of awakening to our true nature as Oneness is accomplished by choosing forgiveness.  By giving everything we believe in, both bad and good, to the Holy Spirit, we re-establish connection with God.  By holding onto what we believe in, we maintain the illusion of being entities separate from God.

Jesus says, Life is Thought.  But not the kind of thought we as people take for granted.  God-Thought is an ongoing expansion of Life.  Ego thought is analytical, interpretive, based on survival, in other words, anti-Life.  Our state of mind can change simply by requesting that we see with God’s Vision rather than ego eyesight  “Let me look on the world I see as the representation of my own state of mind.”  This state of mind witnesses, or reflects, the teacher we have chosen: ego or Holy Spirit.

The ego thought system mimics God yet distorts what it mimics in order to be “creative.”  The ego “shares” the idea of separation by calling it multiplication and assuming that “more” is plentiful when actually “more” is divisive.  The review of Lesson 18 tells us that even the mad idea of separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world we see.  Happily, we can also call upon our “real thoughts, which share everything with everyone.”  This “everything” is not material; it is Formless Love, Light, Harmony, Beauty, Peace, Joy … the everything of No Thing.

We are not alone in experiencing the effects of which teacher we choose; we see and think accordingly: fear or Love.  Knowing this makes us determined to see with the Holy Spirit’s Vision because aligning with God’s Will brings us Perfect Peace and True Happiness.  “I would look upon the real world [the world the true perception of the Holy Spirit offers me] and let it teach me that my will and the Will of God are one.”  Amen.

LESSON 54

These are the review ideas for today:

1.  (16)  I have no neutral thoughts.

Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power.  They will either make a false world or lead me to the real one.  But thoughts cannot be without effects.  As the world I see arises from my thinking errors, so will the real world arise before my eyes as I let my errors be corrected.  My thoughts cannot be neither true nor false.  They must be one or the other.  What I see shows me which they are.

2.  (17)  I see no neutral things.

What I see witnesses to what I think.  If I did not think I would not exist, because life is thought.  Let me look on the world I see as the representation of my own state of mind.  I know that my state of mind can change.  And so I also know the world I see can change as well.

3.  (18)  I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

If I have no private thoughts, I cannot see a private world.  Even the mad idea of separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world I see.  Yet that sharing was a sharing of nothing.  I can also call upon my real thoughts, which share everything with everyone.  As my thoughts of separation call to the separation thoughts of others, so my real thoughts awaken the real thoughts in them.  And the world my real thoughts show me will dawn on their sight as well as mine.

4.  (19)  I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.

I am alone in nothing.  Everything I think or say or do teaches all the universe.  A Son of God cannot think or speak or act in vain.  He cannot be alone in anything.  It is therefore in my power to change every mind along with mine, for mine is the power of God.

5.  (20)  I am determined to see.

Recognizing the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see.  I would look upon the witnesses that show me the thinking of the world has been changed.  I would behold the proof that what has been done through me has enabled love to replace fear, laughter to replace tears, and abundance to replace loss.  I would look upon the real world, and let it teach me that my will and the Will of God are one.

Let’s practice together!  Watch and listen to Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.

Lesson 53 – Review of Lessons 11-15

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

I ask God to help me sink beneath the meaningless thoughts of the world to the real Thoughts in His Mind.

I lay on my back, my favorite meditating posture, and allow the mind to unfurl like a sail in the wind.

Distracting thoughts come but I let them drift by. Then, the spiritual eye appears … peaceful calm unthinking … no ego “thinking”, no fear, no grudges, no tempting beautiful shadows either … everyone everywhere is in God’s Hands because … we are not bodies, we are formless God-Thoughts extending from His One Thought which overflows as One.

A message comes: the future is over because it is a projection within a projection.  The future is the past inverted.  Ego fixates on the past and further complicates its pseudo-thinking by predicting “future” outcomes based on the past.

Whether we are frightened by speculating catastrophes or tempted with desires of glorious outcomes, neither are real.  The future is just another insane way of deliberately staying in the past, rather than  returning to the sanity and reality of the Timeless Present.

LESSON 53

Today we will review the following:

1.  (11)  My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
Since the thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world that 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.

2.  (12)  I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
Insane thoughts are upsetting. They produce a world in which there is no order anywhere. Only chaos rules a world that 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.

3.  (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.

4. (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.

5. (15)  My thoughts are images that I have made.
Whatever I see reflects my thoughts. It is my thoughts that 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 God’s way is sure. The images I have made cannot 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.

Let’s practice together!  Watch and listen to Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.

Lesson 52 – Review of Lessons 6-10

Commentary (full lesson beneath commentary)

My whole life is a game of pretend.  Make-believe.  I have dreamed up a scenario involving space and time, the world and bodies, special relationships and life and death.  But I am confused.  What I consider real is only illusion, and illusion is actually nothing.

What I call seeing is actually a condemnation of the world.  The text says that what the ego calls a question is actually an accusation disguised as a question.  It’s the same thing.  By “seeing” anything other than God, I am disguising my error from myself by projecting terror, anger, shame, blame and the need for punishment upon my brothers, the world and God Himself.

When I turn to the Holy Spirit for help, my seeing is transformed into true perception and God’s Vision filters through everything I think I see, transforming my view of the world and other people into a Loving experience.

The past is the way that I keep the present out of my awareness.  I do this to forget God.  In that sense, I made up time to use it against God Who Is Timeless.  Part of the forgiveness process is giving time back to God, just like anything else.

I give my sense of being separate and individual to God.  I give my attachment to the ego thought system to God.  I give my conviction that duality is true to God.  I give God every grievance I seem to have, every pain I seem to have, everything that seems real to me in order to clear a space where I recognize what I already am.

Giving to God is the undoing process which ACIM offers us.  Yes, I would rather join the thinking of my Creator than to obscure what is really mine with a pitiful and meaningless false sense of privacy.  Wow.  Review is powerful.

LESSON 52

Today’s review covers these ideas:

1.  (6)  I am upset because I see what is not there.
Reality is never frightening.  It is impossible that it could upset me.  Reality brings only perfect peace.  When I am upset, it is always because I have replaced reality with illusions I made up.  The illusions are upsetting because I have given them reality, and thus regard reality as an illusion.  Nothing in God’s creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine.  I am always upset by nothing.

2.  (7)  I see only the past.

As I look about, I condemn the world I look upon.  I call this seeing.  I hold the past against everyone and everything, making them my enemies.  When I have forgiven myself and remembered Who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I see.  There will be no past, and therefore no enemies.  And I will look with love on all that I failed to see before.

3.  (8)  My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

I see only my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past.  What, then, can I see as it is?  Let me remember that I look on the past to prevent the present from dawning on my mind.  Let me understand that I am trying to use time against God.  Let me learn to give the past away, realizing that in so doing I am giving up nothing.

4.  (9)  I see nothing as it is now.

If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing.  I can see only what is now.  The choice is not whether to see the past of the present; the choice is merely whether to see or not.  What I have chosen to see has cost me vision.  Now I would choose again, that I may see.

5.  (10)  My thoughts do not mean anything.

I have no private thoughts.  Yet is it only private thoughts of which I am aware.  What can these thoughts mean?   They do not exist, and so they mean nothing.  Yet my mind is part of creation and part of its Creator.  Would I not rather join the thinking of the universe than to obscure all that is really mine with my pitiful and meaningless “private” thoughts?

Let’s practice together!  Watch and listen to Amy reading each ACIM Lesson on Youtube.  Also, check out Workin’ the Workbook, Amy’s online class which supports the ACIM Workbook practice.