Today’s ACIM Lesson

Lesson 61: I am the light of the world.

“I am the light of the world” is a simple statement of truth, not “the epitome of self-glorification”.

The ego mistakes humility for self-debasement.  But true 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.” !!!

Today’s idea is:

• “a giant stride toward taking your rightful place in salvation”
• “a positive assertion of your right to be saved”
• “an acknowledgment of the power that is given you to save others”
• “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”

Think about “I am the light of the world” as often as possible today.

Tell yourself, “I am the light of the world.  That is my only function.  That is why I am here.”

Begin and end the day with this practice, “I am the light of the world.”

You are building a firm foundation as a bringer of salvation.  “God has built His plan for the salvation of the world on you.”

Lesson 60: covers Lessons 46 – 50

We come to the final lesson in the first set of Review lessons. Reinforcing, reassuring, rewarding.

Lesson 46:  God is the Love in which I forgive.  The forgiven have never needed forgiveness for they have never condemned.

Lesson 47:  God is the strength in which I trust.  I remember the strength of God as I forgive.  That is what forgiveness is for, remembering not to forget what is unforgettable: God.  “… 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.”

Lesson 48:  There is nothing to fear.  “Everyone and everything I see will lean toward me to bless me.  I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend.”

Lesson 49:  God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day.  Forgiveness is a magnet guiding me Home.  “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 …”.

Lesson 50:  I am sustained by the Love of God.  I am God’s Son.  I precede the projection.  I do not depend on the ego for existence.  I am sustained by the timeless, infinite, luminous Love of God.

Lesson 59: covers Lessons 41 – 45

Today we review:

Lesson 41:  God goes with me wherever I go.  Perfect certainty.  Absolute peace.  Love and joy surround me.

Lesson 42:  God is my strength.  Vision is His gift.  Christ’s vision is God’s gift to me. It shows me Eternity.

Lesson 43:  God is my Source.  I cannot see apart from Him.  When I think I see apart from God, all that’s seen is make believe.  Pretend.  It is through Christ’s vision that I truly see.  And that is my choice.

Lesson 44:  God is the light in which I see.  And God is the only Light. Vision is the reflection of God’s Light and shows me a happy dream as awakening to Reality unfurls.

Lesson 45:  God is the Mind with which I think.  This is the Answer to everything. If God is the Mind with which I think, then the only Thought possible is a Loving One.

Lesson 58: covers Lessons 36 – 40

My heart feels full with the nourishment of these holy lessons, rephrased, pointed and potent.  We continue.

Lesson 36:  My holiness envelops everything I see.  This is True self-esteem! “Having forgiven” (dropped all judgment) “I no longer see myself as guilty.”  I am Innocent, I am Whole.  Now, “I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me”.

Lesson 37:  My holiness blesses the world.  Everything must share my holiness because holiness is Wholeness.  Therefore my holiness must bless the world.

Lesson 38:  There is nothing my holiness cannot do.  The only thing to be saved from is illusions.  Illusions are nothing but false ideas about myself.  Holiness undoes all false ideas by asserting Truth.  All idols must vanish in the presence of my holiness.  This airtight logic bursts the ego’s airtight bubble.

Lesson 39:  My holiness is my salvation.  “Salvation is a promise, made by God, that you would find your way to Him at last.” W-II.2. What Is Salvation?

Lesson 40:  I am blessed as a Son of God.  “My Father supports me, protects me, and directs me in all things.  His care for me is infinite, and is with me forever.  I am eternally blessed as His Son.”  And since all is One, All are eternally blessed by God, not in numbers, but in Unity.

Lesson 57: covers Lessons 31 – 35

Concentrated Lesson juice. Ego mind is feeling a bit pummeled.  That results in less thinking and an odd sensation that seems to be a level of relaxation that I am not used to.

Lesson 31:  I am not the victim of the world I see.  “The prison door is open.  I can leave simply by walking out.  Nothing holds me in this world.  Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner.” !!! Honestly, most of my life has been spent fearing freedom.  Freedom feels overwhelming, even threatening.  How can I live up to freedom?  Freedom makes me cower with a sense of inadequacy. Until now.  Jesus has been encouraging me and I feel, not only willing, but ready.  “I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last.”

Lesson 32:  I have invented the world I see.  In fact, I can only invent and imagine the world I see. But I cannot make it real. I may be afraid of freedom, but I have never not been free.  Freedom is my inheritance.  All I need do is see this.

Lesson 33:  There is another way of looking at the world.  I’ve been looking at the world all wrong, of course.  That is the very purpose of the world, to see incorrectly.  Everything I see is a smokescreen, a backdrop, a painted veil suggesting a reality that is not there.  Remove the images and the veil remains; remove the veil and … Reality is realized.

Lesson 34:  I could see peace instead of this.  “When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey.”

Lesson 35:  My mind is part of God’s.  I am very holy.  I am OF God; I extend from God; I am created by God. My mind, which is an actuality way, way beyond the body, is the extension of God Mind, therefore I am holy for there is no other condition but wholeness. “As I share the peace of the world with my brothers” because I can no longer see another as separate from my Self, “I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself.”  Connecting with the Truth through the light of forgiveness undoes all inventions, mind manipulations and false beliefs.  “I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me.”

Lesson 56: covers Lessons 26 – 30

The consolidation of five lessons per day feels intense. An energetic squeeze. In a good way. Here we go:

Lesson 26: My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.  “Perfect security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance.”  But I have been seeing myself under constant threat. Thankfully, “God has kept my inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what it is.”

Lesson 27: Above all else I want to see.  Vision is my greatest need. Then I will see the world and myself with charity and love.

Lesson 28: Above all else I want to see differently.  “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.”  This is my jackpot lesson for today!

Lesson 29: God is in everything I see.  We are all part of God’s jigsaw puzzle. Every piece equally necessary and worthy regardless of shape, color, functionality or size.  “We who are part of Him will yet look past all appearances, and recognize the truth beyond them all.”

Lesson 30: God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.  And, more importantly, I am in the Mind of God.

Lesson 55: covers Lessons 21 – 25

The following lessons comprise today’s review:

Lesson 21: I am determined to see things differently.  Seeing disease, disaster and death are proof that I do not understand God. Now, I am determined to see the witnesses to the Truth in me.

Lesson 22: What I see is a form of vengeance.  The world I see represents my attack thoughts. Switching to a reflection of God’s Love will save me from the vengeful perception of the world.

Lesson 23: I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts.  Attack thoughts are judgment. Judgment is unforgiveness.  Forgiveness allows Love to return to my awareness.

Lesson 24: I do not perceive my own best interests.  And the only way I can perceive my own best interests is to withdraw my attention from my false identity and give it over to the Guide God has given me. This I gladly do.

Lesson 25: I do not know what anything is for.  Ken Wapnick often stressed that A Course in Miracles is all about purpose. Jesus asks us to consider, regarding anything and everything, what is it for?  “The purpose I have given the world has led to a frightening picture of it.”  I now happily “open my mind to the world’s real purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and learning the truth about it.”

Lesson 54: covers Lessons 16 – 20

The review for today covers Lesson 16: I have no neutral thoughts.  Grouping the lessons this way feels super potent. What I see shows me whether my thoughts are false or true.

Lesson 17: I see no neutral things.  Life is thought. The world I see is the representation of my own state of mind. Thank God I have the power of decision and change my mind about seeing a world of chaos to a world of peace.

Lesson 18: I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.  “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.”

Lesson 19: I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.  A Son of God cannot be alone in anything.

Lesson 20: I am determined to see.  Here is the reward. “Recognizing the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see.” Having the power of decision, “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.”

Lesson 53: covers Lessons 11 – 15

Today we review Lesson 11: My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world. Thank God, “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.”

Lesson 12: I am upset because I see a meaningless world.  Thank God the Holy Spirit offers me the possibility to “…not choose to value what is totally insane and has no meaning.”  Jesus offers us a better way, over and over again, “This lesson the Holy Spirit teaches by giving you the shining examples of miracles to show you that your way of ordering [your thoughts] is wrong, but that a better way is offered you.” T-14.X.6:2

Lesson 13: A meaningless world engenders fear. “Now I choose to withdraw this belief, and place my trust in reality.”

Lesson 14: God did not create a meaningless world. Crucially, “Let me remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I really abide.”

Lesson 15: My thoughts are images that I have made. “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.  God’s way is sure. The images I have made cannot prevail against Him.”

Lesson 52: covers Lessons 6 – 10

Review of Lesson 6: I am upset because I see what is not there. I have reversed reality and illusion and this confusion is terribly upsetting. Thank God “Nothing in God’s creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine.” Therefore, “I am always upset by nothing.”

Lesson 7: I see only the past. I call condemnation seeing. Thank God, “When I have forgiven myself and remembered Who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I see. … I will look with love on all that I failed to see before.”

Lesson 8: My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. “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.” This review lesson is the most striking for me. This is the one to focus on. I read the next two, but know that “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts” is the central point for me today.

Lesson 9: I see nothing as it is now.  I see only what is not there — that is how my mind keeps rephrasing this lesson title.

Lesson 10: My thoughts do not mean anything.  Private thoughts are simply ego thoughts: separate, divided and divisive. Judgmental. Dualistic. Not salacious nor curiosity-provoking. Just nothing but conflictual.