July 31th 2014  Lesson 135  

If I defend myself I am attacked. 

• Intention:  To understand what defense is based on, and practice present trust.

• Practice:  Spend fifteen minutes twice today in rest from senseless planning, and from every thought that blocks the truth from entering our minds.  In addition, practice letting no defenses but our present trust direct the future.
   
• Application: -- Today we will receive instead of plan, that we may give instead of organize.  And we are given truly, as we say:
   
  If I defend myself I am attacked.  But in defenselessness I will be strong,
  and I will learn what my defenses hide.    
         
  Nothing but that.  If there are plans to make, you will be told of them.  They may not be the plans you thought were needed, nor indeed the answers to the problems which you thought confronted you.  But they are answers to another kind of question, which remains unanswered yet in need of answering until the Answer comes to you at last.
   
  All your defenses have been aimed at not receiving what you will receive today.  And in the light and joy of simple trust, you will but wonder why you ever thought that you must be defended from release.  Heaven asks nothing.  It is hell that makes extravagant demands for sacrifice.  You give up nothing in these times today when, undefended, you present yourself to your Creator as you really are.  Try not to shape this day as you believe would benefit you most.  For you cannot conceive of all the happiness that comes to you without your planning.  God remembers you so today we will remember Him for this is Eastertime in our salvation.
    
   
  Throughout the day, as foolish little things appear to raise defensiveness in you and tempt you to engage in weaving plans, remind yourself this is a special day for learning, and acknowledge it with this:
   
  This is my Eastertime.  And I would keep it holy.  I will not defend myself, because the Son of God needs no defense against the truth of his reality.
   
  

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Insights/comments:

• Only weakness, fearful for its safety, needs defense, so having mis-perceived ourselves as bodies, we feel the need to defend the body as best we can, ultimately against death.  We clothe it, build structures around it, support it with all our care and concern, medicines and magic to keep it safe, all to prolong its inevitable demise.  And in a more subtle way, we defend it through our planning.  We do not recognize our fundamental error; we do not see the mind as the source for the body.  Is it not the mind that gives the body all the functions we see in it, and determines its value?  Is it not the mind that imposes on the body all the pain and limitations it seems to have?  And is it not the mind, and only the mind that will ultimately set the body free?.
    
• The body needs no defense simply because it is not real, it is a fiction of our minds, as unreal as the "bodies" we experience ourselves being when we dream.  We are not our bodies anymore than than we are the clothes we wear, the car we drive or the house we live in.  We have bodies which facilitate certain experiences, as does our clothes cars and homes, but who we truly are resides in a much deeper realm.  We are not bodies, nor even minds, but Spirit, beyond space and time; at one with each other and with our Creator!   Like everything else in this dream world, our bodies, minds, and self-created egos, are all limited imitations of God's perfect creation, Spirit.  And it is these limitations which engender separation, fear, and the need for defenses.  Perceive the body as separate and apart from you, and it becomes a healthy serviceable instrument through which the Spirit and mind can operate to recognize and experience our true immortal divine nature.  God created us perfect, Spirit, free, and that is what we are now, and forever will be, notwithstanding the apparent contradiction this presents to our ego experience of ourselves.  Spirit needs no defense for it is beyond time, space and causation, as likened to our Creator.  But while we still experience ourselves as bodies, we can lessen the adverse effects of this error by reminding ourselves often of our true identity as divine beings in need of no defenses, and by practicing defenselessness.  Thus we begin to correct the error of our false perception and identity. 
    

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 30th 2014  Lesson 134  

Let me perceive forgiveness as it is. 

• Intention:  To practice true forgiveness.

• Practice:  Spend fifteen minutes twice today with the Guide Who understands the meaning of forgiveness, and was sent to us to teach it.  In addition, practice forgiveness throughout the day, by reminding yourself that forgiveness stands between illusions and the truth.
   
• Application: -- Begin by asking your Guide:
   
  Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.    
         
  Then choose one brother as He will direct, and catalogue his "sins," as one by one they cross your mind.  Be certain not to dwell on any one of them, but realize that you are using his "offenses" but to save the world from all ideas of sin.  Briefly consider all the evil things you thought of him, and each time ask yourself, "Would I condemn myself for doing this?".
   
  Let him be freed from all the thoughts you had of sin in him.  And now you are prepared for freedom.  If you have been practicing thus far in willingness and honesty, you will begin to sense a lifting up, a lightening of weight across your chest, a deep and certain feeling of relief.  The time remaining should be given to experiencing the escape from all the heavy chains you sought to lay upon your brother, but were laid upon yourself.
    
  Throughout the day, practice forgiveness for there will still be many times when you forget its meaning and attack yourself.  When this occurs, allow your mind to see through this illusion as you tell yourself:
   
  Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.  Would I accuse myself of doing this? 
  I will not lay this chain upon myself.
   
     
  

  In everything you do remember this:
  

  No one is crucified alone, and yet no one can enter Heaven by himself.
  

  
  

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Insights/comments:

• This is a difficult lesson for us to grasp only because we believe so strongly in the idea of "sin," which itself rests on the beliefs that we are separate from each other and from God, and that this world and all its happenings are real and not a dream. 
   
  To truly understand forgiveness we must see "sin" in the context it truly is, i.e. a fantasy, a dream, an illusion of reality not based on what is eternally truth as God created it.  God did not create separation, individual bodies, nor space and time.  These are all part of our dream world, in which things that have no reality seem to be real.   We can also contextualize "sin" in light of God who is real and perfect, as is His creation.  Nothing that contradicts his perfection can be real for only what God created has any reality.  This does not mean that "sin" cannot be experienced, for we know that it can, but it does mean that "sin" is no more real than a dream, which we know is unreal even though we can experience it as real.
    
  Once we understand the unreality of this dream world that we perceive, we can better understand the unreality of all that it supports, like the concepts of separation, and sin.  If this world is a dream, then these concepts must also be a dream.  Despite what we perceive to the contrary, they are only illusions in our minds.  I and my brother and God are one, and to condemn anyone is to condemn myself and God.  This is not something I wish, so this is why forgiveness is needed, for my own sake.   While we still perceive the illusions as real, forgiveness, which is also another illusion, but one that does not generate further illusions, is needed to help us bridge the gap between illusions and the truth.
    

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 29th 2014  Lesson 133  

I will not value what is valueless.

• Intention:  To remember and use the real criteria for testing all things you think you want:  First, there are always only two choices, regardless of how many there appear to be, and there is no compromise in what each choice brings, i.e. everything or nothing.  Choosing thus become simple, for all you need do is decide which choice will bring you everything.

• Practice:  Spend fifteen minutes twice today in restful alertness.  In addition, take a moment hourly to lay aside all other thoughts and remember today's thought.
   
• Application: -- Begin with the thought for today in the following form:
   
  I will not value what is valueless, and only what has value do I seek,
  for only that do I desire to find.    
         
  Then merely rest, with an open and alert mind, ready to receive what waits for everyone who reaches the gate of heaven unencumbered.  Come with nothing and find everything and claim it as your own.  Lay aside all self-deception and come with an honest willingness to value what is truly valuable and real.
   
    
  Throughout the day, if you begin to let yourself collect some needless burdens, or believe you see some difficult decisions facing you, be quick to answer it with this simple thought:
   
  I will not value what is valueless, for what is valuable belongs to me.

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Insights/comments:

•  Our ability to choose depends upon two things, first our ability to distinguish between what is real and what is unreal, and second, the understanding that what is real is valuable because it brings fulfillment to all we want, and what is unreal gives us nothing of what we want.  To identify what is real from what is unreal use the following criteria:  First, what is real is eternal, second choosing it causes no one a sense of loss, and third choosing it produces no guilt within us. 
    
  What in this physical world can satisfy this criteria of real value?  The answer is nothing!  Nothing here is of real value, because nothing here is eternal.  Everything in this world is in constant flux, always changing, dieing and being born, even space and time.  Further, nothing here can be given/received without loss to someone who now no longer has that particular thing.  We take from Peter to pay Paul, and now Peter is without.  (thoughts are the single exception to this rule but thoughts are mental.)  Lastly, nothing here can be given/received without producing some feeling of guilt within us because it is a place of limits and limitations.  Sometimes the guilt is small, but it is there nonetheless.
    
  This is the situation in the world we made, but not in God's world, where all is eternal and unified, so when something is given, all is given and there can be no sense of loss or guilt.  This is why God's world is valuable and our world is valueless.  Now that we understand real value and no value, anything in our world that points to or leads us to God's world is valuable, and everything in our world can serve that purpose.  So the criteria for the value of a thing in our world is whether or not its purpose is to point or lead us to God.  That is the only real basis for deciding what the value of anything in our world.
   

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 28th 2014  Lesson 132  

I loose the world from all I thought it was.

• Intention:  To free the world from all the idle thoughts we ever held about it, and about all living things we see upon it.  They can not be there.  No more can we.  For we are in the home our Father set for us, along with them.  And we who are as He created us would loose the world this day from every one of our illusions, that we may be free.

• Practice:  Spend fifteen minutes twice today in restful alertness.  In addition, take a moment hourly to lay aside all other thoughts and remember the thought for today.
   
• Application: -- Begin with the thought for today in the following form:
   
  I who remain as God created me would loose the world from all I thought it was.  For I am real because the world is not, and I would know my own reality.    
         
  Then merely rest, alert but with no strain, and let your mind in quietness be changed so that the world is freed, along with you.  You need not realize that healing comes to many brothers far across the world, as well as to the ones you see nearby, as you send out these thoughts to bless the world.   But you will sense your own release, although you may not fully understand as yet that you could never be released alone.
   
  
  Throughout the day, increase the freedom sent through your ideas to all the world, and say whenever you are tempted to deny the power of your simple change of mind:
   
  I loose the world from all I thought it was, and choose my own reality instead.

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Insights/comments:

• There is no world apart from the world that God created, which is the only world that really exists.  The world we hold in our minds therefore can only be a dream world.  God created us in His own image and we remain as He created us.  We can neither undo or change His creation in any way, for that would inply that we are superior to Him.  So we must ask ourselves:  Would God create the world of pain and suffering that we see?  Certainly not!  And if He created it not, then it cannot be real and must be merely and only an illusion that we made.  The implication is that if we made it through our thoughts, then we can unmake it by changing our thoughts about it.  If we believe the world is in bondage, we can imagine it to be free; and it must be so.
    
• This is our power as children of God, that we can change our minds and the whole world we made is changed.  This is not a mystery to us, for we do this quite naturally every time we have a dream.  All the people, places, settings, and circumstances that appear in our dreams, we created in the blink of an eye.  And furthermore we fall into a dream state in which we forget that we created the dream and so begin to experience it as if it is real.  In this dream state, we do not doubt the reality of what we perceive in our dreams; the illusion becomes real to us.  This is how it is with the world, for no other explanation that suffices for our experience of a world full of pain and suffering.  
   
• To know that we are as God created us and that we cannot be otherwise is to know that the world we see is not real, and this is our salvation, for all we need to change the world, is to change our thoughts about it. 
  

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 27th 2014  Lesson 131  

No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.

• Intention:  To open the door to the world I do want that lies beneath the world I think is real.

• Practice:  Spend ten minutes three times today in silence.  In addition, take a moment hourly to lay aside all other thoughts and remember the thought for today.
   
• Application: -- Begin with the thought for today in the form highlighted below.  We ask to see the rising of the real world to replace the foolish images that we hold dear.  We begin with this thought:  
   
  
  I ask to see a different world, and think a different kind of thought
  from those I made.  The world I seek I did not make alone,
  the thoughts I want to think are not my own.    
         
  For several minutes watch you mind and see, although your eyes are closed, the senseless world you think is real.  Review the thoughts as well which are compatible with such a world, and which you think are true.  Then let them go, and sink below them to the holy place where they can enter not.  Their is a door beneath them in your mind, which you could not completely lock to hide what lies beyond.  Seek for that door and find it.  But before you try to open it, remind yourself that no one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.  And it is this request you make today.  You want only what is behind this door.
     
  Put out your hand, and see how easily the door swings open with your one intent to go beyond it.  Angels light the way, so that all darkness vanishes, and you are standing in a light so bright and clear that you can understand all things you see.  A tiny moment of surprise, perhaps, will make you pause before you realize the world you see before you in the light reflects the truth you know, and did not quite forget in wandering away in dreams
   
  You cannot fail today.  There walks with you the Spirit Heaven sent you, that you might approach this door some day, and through His aid slip effortlessly past it, to the light.  Today that day has come.  Today God keeps His ancient promise to His holy Son, as does His Son remember his to Him.  This is a day of gladness, for we come to the appointed time and place where you will find the goal of all your searching.
   
  Remember often that today should be a time of special gladness, and refrain from dismal thoughts and meaningless laments.  Salvation's time has come.  Today is set by Heaven itself to be a time of grace for you and for the world.  If you forget this happy fact, remind yourself with this:
  Today I seek and find all that I want.
  My single purpose offers it to me.
  No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.
  

---

Insights/comments:

• Ask and it shall be given; Seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened onto you.  These are the words that show us how to enter Heaven.  It is not difficult, but we must want it above all else.
   

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 26th 2014  Lesson 130  

It is impossible to see two worlds.

• Intention:  To remember that we cannot see two diametrically opposed worlds, one real and the other unreal; the one you choose is the one you perceive.  And to practice in silence opening our awareness to God's grace, which alone alone is our salvation.

• Practice:  Spend Five minutes Six times today in silence.  In addition, take a moment hourly to lay aside all other thoughts and remember the limits of your choice today:  The real or the unreal, the false or truth, and Heaven or hell.  We can perceive one or the other, but not both.
   
• Application: -- Begin your search for the other world by asking for a strength beyond your own, and recognizing what it is your seek.  You do not want illusions.  And you come to these five minutes emptying your hands of all the petty treasures of this world.  You wait for God to help you, as you say:
       
  
  It is impossible to see two worlds. 
  Let me accept the strength God offers me and see no value in this world,
  that I may find my freedom and deliverance.   
         
  God will be there.  For you have called upon the great unfailing power which will take this giant step with you in gratitude.  Nor will you fail to see His thanks expressed in tangible perception and in truth.  You will not doubt what you will see, for it is perception of a kind your eyes alone have never seen.  And you will know God's strength upheld you as you made this choice.
  
   
  And dismiss temptation easily whenever it arises today, merely by remembering your choice is for the real world.  Accept a little part of hell as real and you will perceive hell alone.  All you need say to any part of hell, whatever form it takes, is simply this:
   
  It is impossible to see two worlds. 
  I seek my freedom and deliverance, and this is not a part of what I want.
  

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Insights/comments:

• It is a binary game; the choice is for all or nothing.  We cannot take a little of the unreal into the reality of God's world; we must give up all the petty treasures of the world we see or we have no chance of entering God's world.  Thankfully this is an inevitable choice for death will one day embrace us and rip from our dead cold hands all the treasures we valued so that we can finally awaken to the real treasures of God which are eternal.  But let us not wait for death to take away the valueless, let us of our own volition do what we must inevitably do and loosen our grip on what we think we value now by the grace of God.
  
  

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 25th 2014  Lesson 129  

Beyond this world is a world I want.

• Intention:  To practice opening my awareness to the world I do want, that lies beyond the world I see.

• Practice:  Spend ten minutes three times today in silence.  In addition, take a moment hourly to lay aside all other thoughts and remember the thought for today.
   
• Application: -- Begin with the thought for today in the form highlighted below.  Then close your eyes upon the world you see, and in the silent darkness watch the lights that are not of this world light one by one, until where one begins and another ends loses all meaning as they blend in one.  
  
  Beyond this world there is a world I want. 
  I choose to see that world instead of this,
  for here is nothing that I really want.    
         
    
  And for your hourly practice, confirm you choice for the world beyond the world your eyes see, by dwelling briefly only upon this:
  The world I see holds nothing that I want. 
  Beyond this world there is a world I want.
  

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Insights/comments:

• Knowing that there is another world beyond the world my eyes see, gives me hope.   I can reach that world by giving up my attachment to this word, by letting go of the things I think are valuable here.  One might argue that I'm familiar with this world, why risk the little joy I have here for one that I know not of?.  Two answers:  First, we know for sure that this world is full of pain and misery, so why would one choose to stay here if there is the slightest possibility that there is a better world.  Second, the One Who is guiding us to this better world is none other that the all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present God, who above all else has our best interests at heart.  Is it not both foolish and unwise not to follow His infallible instructions and quickly go to that world where peace and love are eternally guaranteed?  And furthermore, we all must leave this world at some point anyway.  We are only visitors here, and if our stay is not a pleasant one, why stay.  Are these not reasonable reasons to leave?
    
• We have an addiction to the things we are accustomed to, even to the pain and suffering, so we must view our hesitation to go to the world beyond our perception in the same way we view the hesitation of an addict to let go of his addiction.  The solution that Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) suggests is a good one, it is the principle of the second element.  In order to affect the first element, introduce a second element, as opposed to trying to investigate and solve the problem only with respect to the first element.  Or as Einstein stated,  "... we cannot solve a problem on the level on which it was created."  i.e., we must think outside the box, we must introduce a second element.  This second element of which I speak is non other than the Divine.  God's World is certainly quite different from our world, and so it is a fitting second element to solve the problems of our world.  The way to God's world is two-fold:  we must hold with value beyond measure the vision of God's world while simultaneously detaching value from the world we perceive.
   
• When we can believe and say with complete honesty that "the world I see holds nothing that I want,"  then will we awake to God's world of peace and eternal happiness.
  

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 24th 2014  Lesson 128  

The world I see holds nothing that I want.

• Intention:  To practice letting go of all thoughts that speak of value in the world I see.

• Practice:  Spend ten minutes three times today in silence.  Pause and be still a little while, and let your mind rest in the peace of silence.
   
  In addition, throughout the day, when you think you see some value in an aspect or an image of the world, refuse to lay this chain upon your mind. but tell yourself with quiet certainty:
   
  This will not tempt me to delay myself. 
  The world I see holds nothing that I want.  
       
• Application: -- In the silence, let go of all you think of as valuable in the world.  Let the stillness and peacefulness of the silence fill your mind.  Let go of all thoughts of value that you have given to the world and the things in it.  The world you see holds nothing that you need and offers you nothing of value; nothing that you can use in any way, nor anything at all that serves to give you joy.  Believe this thought, and you are saved from years of misery, from countless disappointments, and from hopes that turn to bitter ashes of despair.  Everyone must accept this thought as true if he would leave the world behind and soar beyond its petty scope and little ways. 
    
  Each thing you value here is but a chain that binds you to the world, and it will serve no other end but this.  The only purpose this world contains that is worthy of your mind, is for you to pass it by without delay.  It is the only way we can make room for what is true and lasting.
   

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Insights/comments:

• God created you perfect.  There is nothing that you can add to yourself that will make you more perfect.  And all things that you seek to make your value greater in your sight limit you further by hiding your your true worth from you.  Not recognizing your true value, you seek for things outside of you to increase your worth, but all this does is hide you further away from your true Self.  You are as God created you, perfect, spirit, and free.  You lack nothing and so you need nothing to be what you already are. 
  
  The way back from the state of lack is to let go of all that we think valuable in this world, and open our minds to the fulness that God created us to be, and as we are.
  

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 23rd 2014  Lesson 127  

There is no love but God's.

• Intention:  To practice freeing our minds of all the human laws we think we must obey; of all the limits under which we live, and all the changes that we think are part of human destiny.  Today we seek the faintest glimmer of what love means.

• Practice:  Spend fifteen minutes twice today in silence to escape from every law in which you now believe.  Open you mind and rest.  The world that seems to hold you prisoner can be escaped by anyone who does not hold it dear.  Withdraw all value you have placed upon its meager offerings and senseless gifts, and let the gift of God replace them all.
    
  In addition, at least three times each waking hour, think of one who makes the journey to learn what we must learn.  And as he comes to mind, give him this message from your Self:
   
  I bless you, brother, with the Love of God, which I would share with you.  For I would learn the joyous lesson that there is no love but God's and yours and mine and everyone's.  
  
       
• Application: -- In the silence, call upon your Father, certain that His Voice will answer.  He Himself will place a spark of truth within your mind that will shine through your idel thoughts today, and help you understand the truth of love.  He will abide with you, as you allow His Voice to teach love's meaning to your clean and open mind.
   

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Insights/comments:

• That love is God and One, is difficult for us to conceive because our experience of love is so partial and excepting;. we love this and not that, this way and not that way, and only for a time, until we grow tired of what we think we love.  But Love like God is One, unified and complete.   There is no other and Love is impartial, unconditional or eternal, for that is what God is.  Let us open our minds to the possibility of a love that is boundless, eternal and all-inclusive, and practice giving the love that we would have given us, for we are all One in God

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I and my Creator are One. 

July 22th 2014  Lesson 126  

All that I give I give to myself.

• Intention:  To remember that giving is receiving, and all that I give is given to myself.

• Practice:  Give Fifteen minutes twice today to the attempt to understand today's idea.  It is the thought that will teach you what forgiveness means, and let you realize its worth to you.  In addition, as often as you can today, remind yourself you have a goal to understand the truth that giver and receiver are the same.
   
• Application: -- In silence, close your eyes upon the world that does not understand forgiveness, and seek sanctuary in the quiet place where thoughts are changed and false beliefs laid by.  Repeat today's idea, and ask for help in understanding what it really means.  Be willing to be taught.  Be glad to hear the Voice of truth and healing speak to you, and you will understand the words He speaks, and recognize He speaks your words to you.  Open your mind to His correction and His Love.  And what you hear of Him you will believe, for what He gives will be received by you.
    Remember throughout the day that your goal is to recognize the oneness of giver and receiver.  Do not let your mind forget this goal for long, but tell yourself often:
     
  All that I give is given to myself. 
  The help I need to learn that this is true is with me now.
  And I trust in Him.
     
  

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Insights/comments:

• True forgiveness is something quite different from our common concept of forgiveness, which is a travesty.  We perceive forgiveness as a means of separating ourselves from our brothers, a way in which we attain a sense of superiority over another who is undeserving of our generosity but to whom we nonetheless grant a meager scrap of charity, making him beholding to us and thus elevating ourselves above him.  Our common concept of forgiveness says that we will not respond with righteous justice, but instead grant a reprieve to one who 'wronged' us in some way, never really forgetting their wrong but giving them the opportunity to correct or compensate for their offense. 
   
  We do not forget their offense because we suspect that it may occur again and we wish to protect ourselves from any adverse effects.  So we never really trust the offender as we did prior to his offense.  Our common concept of forgiveness in essence is to forgive but not forget.  True forgiveness in contrast removes all obstacles and reestablishes the unity we have with our brothers and allows us to truly forget the apparent offense because we now recognize that he and I are one, and what I give to him I give to myself.
   
  We will usually experience the transformation of minor forgiveness into complete forgiveness in stages:  First is the forgiveness expressed earlier, where we forgive but don’t forget.  Then comes the forgiveness based on our recognition that the person in question has changed to some extent and our compassion for them causes us to be more open with them, but we are still cautious for our own ‘safety.’  In the next stage, we recognize that they’ve changed significantly and demonstrate this in their behavior either through amends, sincere contrition or a change in their belief or perspective, which causes us to now view their former transgression as a mistake rather than a sin.  This now opens the possibility for even more openness and trust from us.  Finally, with enough time, growth, and maturity, we can completely forgive and forget their mistake because we now see them as a new person, and our compassion will not allow us to hold a past mistake against them, as we would like it to be for us if the roles were reversed.  Essentially we’ve come to recognize the oneness we share and thus can now gladly receive the gift of our own forgiveness.

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I and my Creator are One.