Feb 17th 2016 Review II
Lesson 86
Review of Lessons 71 - 72
- Intention: We are now ready for another review. We will begin where our last review left off, and cover two ideas each day. The earlier part of each day will be devoted to one of these ideas, and the latter part of the day to the other. For each idea, we will have one longer exercise period, and frequent shorter ones in which we practice each of them.
- Long Practice: Spend a total of about fifteen minutes thinking about each each idea and
its associated comments. Devote some three or four minutes to reading
them over slowly, several times if you wish, then close your eyes and
spend the rest of the time listening attentively.
Repeat the first phase of the exercise (reading slowly) if you find your mind wandering, but try to spend the major part of the time listening quietly but attentively. There is a message waiting for you. Be confident that you will receive it. Remember that it belongs to you, and that you want it.
Do not allow your intent to waver in the face of distracting thoughts. Realize that, whatever form such thoughts may take, they have no meaning and no power. Replace them with your determination to succeed. Do not forget that your will has power over all fantasies and dreams. Trust it to see you through, and carry you beyond them all.
Regard these practice periods as dedications to the way, the truth and the life. Refuse to be sidetracked into detours, illusions and thoughts of death. You are dedicated to salvation. Be determined each day not to leave your function unfulfilled.
- Short Practice: Repeat
the original form of the idea often, and apply it for general
situations. When appropriate, use the specific forms included in the
comments which follow the statements of the ideas. These, however, are
merely suggestions. It is not the particular words you use that matter.
(71) Only God's plan for salvation will work.
It is senseless for me to search wildly about for salvation. I have seen it in many people and in many things, but when I reached for it, it was not there. I was mistaken about where it is. I was mistaken about what it is. I will undertake no more idle seeking. Only God's plan for salvation will work. And I will rejoice because His plan can never fail.
These are some suggested forms for applying this idea specifically:
God's plan for salvation will save me from my perception of this.
This is no exception in God's plan for my salvation.
Let me perceive this only in the light of God's plan for salvation.
(72) Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation.
Holding grievances is an attempt to prove that God's plan for salvation will not work. Yet only His plan will work. By holding grievances, I am therefore excluding my only hope of salvation from my awareness. I would no longer defeat my own best interests in this insane way. I would accept God's plan for salvation and be happy.
Specific applications for this idea might be in these forms:
I am choosing between misperception and salvation as I look on this.
If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for my salvation.
If I see grounds for grievances in this, I will not see the grounds for my salvation.
This calls for salvation, not attack.
Insights/Comments:
- What is our motive for seeking salvation? Our motivation springs from the realization that we are not experiencing the fullness of our potential, that we are are not always happy and are usually experiencing some level of suffering. This realization motivates us to find a solution, and of all the solutions the world has offered us none has worked, for we still find that suffering remains in our experience. There is another plan, one offered by God which is simply to let go of our grievances: our feeling that we are justified in blaming others for our circumstances; our desire to have things be other than the way they are; our childish insistence that the world conform to our idea of what is good and right! God's simple plan is for us to let go of all such ideas and trust in the infallible wisdom of our Creator Who created us as we are and Who alone knows what is in our best interest.
No other plan for our salvation will work because this plan takes into consideration the complete understanding of our nature, desires and intentions; it is a plan tailored for our level of understanding, and present ability. A plan to save a frightened animal can only succeed if it include an understanding about its nature and ability, otherwise the animal will resist such a plan simply because it goes against its nature and instincts. Who knows us better than our Creator, and Who loves us more than we could ever understand, and in love, offers us the best solution to our suffering. This is why God's plan will work, and why if we truly seek salvation we should follow it. Granted that the ways of the world have engendered in us fearfulness with respect to our surroundings so that it is now "normal" for us to be afraid, instead of our natural instinct to trust, which we had as babies. But this lack of trust need not continue, for it is easy to see that there are infinitely more things designed for our happiness in the world than not: the air we breath, the sunlight and rain, the blue sky, the flowers, fruits, trees, the birds and the bees, and the love (limited as it is) we have for each other, etc. Without these, life would indeed be difficult for us. So let us learn to trust more in our Creator's plan for our salvation, and less in our own mis-understandings. Let us today practice letting go of our grievances and trusting that all is well and wisely set and working out in the most harmonious way for all of us, without exception, for now and for all time. Amen!
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