August 29th 2015  Lesson 76(b)

I am under no laws but God's. 

We have observed before how many senseless things have seemed to you to be salvation.  Each has imprisoned you with laws as senseless as itself.  You are not bound by them.  Yet to understand that this is so, you must first realize salvation lines not there.  While you would seek for it in things that have no meaning, you bind yourself to laws that make no sense.  Thus do you seek to prove salvation is where it is not.
   
Today we will be glad you cannot prove it.  For if you could, you would forever seek salvation where it is not, and never find it.  The idea for today tells you once again how simple is salvation.  Look for it where it waits for you, and there it will be found.  Look nowhere else, for it is nowhere else.
   
Think of the freedom in the recognition that you are not bound by all the strange and twisted laws you have set up to save you.  You really think that you would starve unless you have stacks of green paper strips and piles of metal discs.  You really think a small round pellet or some fluid pushed into your veins through a sharpened needle will ward off disease and death.  You really think you are alone unless another body is with you.
   
It is insanity that thinks these things.  You call them laws, and put them under different names in a long catalogue of rituals that have no use and serve no purpose.  You think you must obey the "laws" of medicine, of economics and of health.  Protect the body, and you will be saved.
   
These are not laws, but madness.  The body is endangered by the mind that hurts itself.  The body suffers just in order that the mind will fail to see it is the victim of itself.  The body's suffering is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers.  It would not understand it is its own enemy; that it attacks itself and wants to die.  It is from this your "laws" would save the body.  It is for this you think you are a body.
    
There are no laws except the laws of God.  This needs repeating, over and over, until you realize it applies to everything that you have made in opposition to God's Will.  Your magic has no meaning.  What it is meant to save does not exist.  Only what it is meant to hide will save you.
   
The laws of God can never be replaced.  We will devote today to rejoicing that this is so.  It is no longer a truth that we would hide.  We realize instead it is a truth that keeps us free forever.  Magic imprisons, but the laws of God make free.  The light has come because there are no laws but His.

• Intention:  We will do two long practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes.  In addition we will repeat today's idea at least four or five times an hour.

• Practice:  We will begin the longer practice periods today with a short review of the different kinds of "laws" we have believed we must obey.  These would include, for example, the "laws" of nutrition, or immunization, of medication, and of the body's protection in innumerable ways.  Think further; you believe in the "laws" of friendship, of "good" relationships and reciprocity.  Perhaps you even think that there are laws which set forth what is God's and what is yours.  Many "religions" have been based on this.  They would to save but damn in Heaven's name.  Yet they are no more strange than other "laws" you hold must be obeyed to make you safe.
    
  There are no laws but God's.  Dismiss all foolish magical beliefs today, and hold your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice that speaks the truth to you.  You will be listening to One Who says there is no loss under the laws of God.  Payment is neither given nor received.  Exchange cannot be made; there are no substitutes; and nothing is replaced by something else.  God's laws forever give and never take.
    
  Hear Him Who tells you this, and realize how foolish are the "laws" you thought upheld the world you thought you saw.  Then listen further.  He will tell you more.  About the Love your Father has for you.  About the endless joy He offers you.  About His yearning for His only Son, created as His channel for creation; denied to Him by his belief in hell.
    
  Let us today open God's channels to Him, and let His Will extend through us to Him.  Thus is creation endlessly increased.  His Voice will speak of this to us, as well as of the joys of Heaven which His laws keep limitless forever.  We will repeat today's idea until we have listened and understood there are no laws but God's.  Then we will tell ourselves, as a dedication with which each long practice period concludes:  
      
  I am under no laws but God's.  
  

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

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Insights/comments:

• Today's lesson reminds us of how far away we have strayed and continue to stray, form God's laws.  We continue to believe in our made up laws of science and technology, of health, wealth, economics and of morals and conduct.  We made all of these up, according to our experience and national geography, and the proof that it is all make-believe is the fact that every nation has a different set of "laws" for governing these aspects of our lives.
  So let us pause and consider what we have sacrificed in making ourselves believe in our man-made "laws".  We gave up our immortality in exchange for the belief in pain, suffering, death, and the "laws" we made to manage them.  We gave up our perfect freedom in exchange for limits, slavery and subjugation to these "laws".  We gave up our trust in God, peace, perfection, and abundance for the belief in easily broken "laws" and institutions that blatantly undermine our safety, engender war, hamper perfection and increase our sense of lack.
  
  Is it not time we reconsider this insane bargain and  instead renegotiate in our favor for the laws of God that guarantee safety, freedom, abundance, peace, and happiness.  It would be madness not to!

I and my Creator are One.  

August 12th 2015  Lesson 75(b)

The Light has come. 

The light has come.  You are healed and you can heal.  The light has come.  You are saved and you can save.  You are at peace, and you bring peace with you wherever you go.  Darkness and turmoil and death have disappeared.  The light has come.
   
Today we celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster.  There are no dark dreams now.  The light has come.  Today the time of light begins for you and everyone.  It is a new era, in which a new world is born.  The old one has left no trace upon it in its passing.  Today we see a different world because the light has come.
   
Our exercises for today will be happy ones, in which we offer thanks for the passing of the old and the beginning of the new.  No shadows from the past remain to darken our sight and hide the world forgiveness offers us.  Today we will accept the new world as what we want to see.  We will be given what we desire.  We will to see the light; the light has come.

• Intention:  We will do two long practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes.  In addition we will do two shorter practice periods for a minute or two every fifteen minutes, with eyes closed if possible.
    
  Our two longer practice periods will be devoted to looking at the world that our forgiveness shows us.  This is what we want to see, and only this.  Our single purpose makes our goal inevitable. Today the real world rises before us in gladness, to be seen at last.  Sight is given us, now that the light has come.
    
  We do not want to see the ego's shadow on the world today.  We see the light, and in it we see Heaven's reflection lie across the world. 

• Practice:  Begin the longer practice periods by telling yourself the glad tidings of your release:
      
  The light has come.  I have forgiven the world.
    
  

  Dwell not upon the past today.  Keep a completely open mind, washed of all past ideas and clean of every concept you have made.  You have forgiven the world today.  You can look upon it now as if you never saw it before.  You do not know yet what it looks like.  You merely wait to have it shown to you.  While you wait, repeat several times, slowly and in complete patience:
    
  

  The light has come.  I have forgiven the world.

    
  Realize that your forgiveness entitles you to vision.  Understand that the Holy Spirit never fails to give the gift of sight to the forgiving.  Believe He will not fail you now.  You have forgiven the world.  He will be with you as you watch and wait.  He will show you what true vision sees.  It is His Will, and you have joined with Him.  Wait patiently for Him.  He will be there.  The light has come.  You have forgiven the world.
    
  Tell hm you know you cannot fail because you trust in Him.  And tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He promised you.  From this time forth you will see differently.  Today the light has come.  And you will see the world that has been promised you since time began, and in which is the end of time ensured.

• Application:    The shorter practice periods, too, will be joyful reminders of your release.  Remind yourself every quarter of an hour or so that today is a time for special celebration.  Give thanks for mercy and the Love of God.  Rejoice in the power of forgiveness to heal your sight completely.  Be confident that on this day there is a new beginning.  Without the darkness of the past upon your eyes, you cannot fail to see today.  And what you see will be so welcome that you will gladly extend today forever.  Say then: 
    
  The light has come.  I have forgiven the world.
    
  

  Should you be tempted, say to anyone who seems to pull you back into darkness:
   
  The light has come.  I have forgiven you.
  

    
  We dedicate this day to the serenity in which God would have you be.  Keep it in your awareness of yourself and see it everywhere today, as we celebrate the beginning of your vision and the sight of the real world, which has come to replace the unforgiven world you thought was real.

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Insights/comments:

• Today we celebrate.  We have turned the page on the illusion of conflict, strife, and suffering.  Today we forgive their unreality and remember that the light of truth has come to reveal to our eyes the vision of a forgiven world.  Given who we really are; given our remembrance of our true lineage and identity; given our forgiveness of the world we thought was real, we rest in peace and patiently await the revelation of the world as God created it.  

I and my Creator are One.  

August 12th 2015  Lesson 74

There is no will but God's. 

The idea for today can be regarded as the central thought toward which all our exercises are directed.  God's is the only Will.  When you have recognized this, you have recognized that your will is His.  The belief that conflict is possible has gone.  Peace has replaced the strange idea that you are torn by conflicting goals.  As an expression of the Will of God, you have no goal but His.
   
There is great peace in today's idea, and the exercises for today are directed towards finding it.  The idea itself is wholly true.  Therefore it cannot give rise to illusions.  Without illusions conflict is impossible.  Let us try to recognize this today, and experience the peace this recognition brings.

• Intention:  We will do two long practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes.  In addition we will do two shorter practice periods for a minute or two every half hour, with eyes closed if possible.

• Practice:  Begin the longer practice periods by repeating these thoughts several times, slowly and with firm determination to understand what they mean, and to hold them in mind:
      
  There is no will but God's.  I cannot be in conflict.
    
  

  Then spend several minutes in adding some related thoughts such as:
    
  

  I am at peace.

  Nothing can disturb me.  My will is God's.

  My will and God's are one.

  God wills peace for His Son.

    
  During this introductory phase of the practice period, be sure to deal quickly with any conflicting thoughts that may cross your mind.  Tell yourself immediately: 
    
  

  There is no will but God's.  These conflict thoughts are meaningless.

  
  If there is one conflict area that seems particularly difficult to resolve, single it out for special consideration.  Think about it briefly but very specifically, identify the particular person or persons and the situation or situations involved, and tell yourself: 
    
  

  There is no will but God's.  I share it with Him.
  My conflicts about _______ cannot be real.

    
  After you have cleared your ind in this way, close your eyes and try to experience the peace to which your reality entitles you.  Sink into it and feel it closing around you.  There may be some temptation to mistake these attempts for withdrawal, but the difference is easily detected.  If you are succeeding, you will feel a deep sense of joy and an increased alertness, rather than a feeling of drowsiness and enervation.
    
  Joy characterizes peace.  By this experience will you recognize that you have reached it.  If you feel yourself slipping off into withdrawal, quickly repeat the idea for today and try again.  Do this as often as necessary.  there is definite gain in refusing to allow retreat into withdrawal, even if your do not experience the peace you seek.

• Application:    In the shorter practice periods, which should be undertaken for a minute or two every half hour, say to yourself: 
    
  There is no will but God's.  I seek His peace today.
    
  

  Then try to find what you are seeking with eyes closed if possible.  These short one or two minutes practice would be well spent on this today.  
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Insights/comments:

• Conflict is what keeps us from experiencing the peace of our true nature and in turn thwarts our happiness.  The solution is to recognize the truth that God being the source of everything and everyone, and being omnipresent in everything and everyone, cannot be in conflict with Himself nor His creation.  There is no will but His, so there is no opportunity for conflict to be real.  Conflict then is an illusion and our determination to remember this is what restores the ever present peace of God to our awareness.

I and my Creator are One.  

August 8th 2015  Lesson 73

I will there be light. 

Today we are considering the will you share with God.  This is not the same as the ego's idle wishes, out of which darkness and nothingness arise.  The will you share with God has all the power of creation in it.  The ego's 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 ego's need for grievances, which are necessary to maintain it, peoples it with figures that seem to attack you and call for "righteous" judgment.  These figures become the middlemen the ego employs to traffic in grievances.  They stand between your awareness and your brothers' reality.  Beholding them, you do not know your brothers or 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 ego's 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 passed, 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 ego's arguments which seek to prove all this is really Heaven.  You know it is not so.  You cannot 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 want salvation for yourself.  You want to accept God's 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 that 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.

• Intention:  We will do two long practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes.  In addition we will do two shorter practice periods each hour.

• Practice:  We will begin our longer practice periods with the recognition that God's 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.

• Application:    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 today's idea in this form immediately if 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 darkness.  
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Insights/comments:

• Holding grievances is our way of saying that God somehow made some mistakes, because things are not as we think they should be.  It is in fact an attack on God's creation.  Our ego maintains its existence and justifies its actions based on the grievances and idle wishes it holds about the world and everyone in it.  God's plan for our salvation is not to resist the ego's plan, but simply to ignore it.  Neither resist it nor analyze it, but simply ignore it.  Since there is no place for grievances in God's plan for our salvation, we need only release them and let God's light in us automatically replace them with forgiveness.

I and my Creator are One.