In practicing the lessons at the beginning of the Workbook it is again revealed to me how immaculate they are. They are very reasonable, there is nothing at all astral about them. Jesus, in A Course In Miracles, is working with your mind, your thoughts, your perception. And every lesson is perfect for the day that it is offered. As you dedicate your mind to this Course, in the consistency of the application of the lessons, you start to discover that every day will offer you exactly what you need to look at in the practice of the lesson. As you are looking at the meaninglessness of this world, you suddenly experience the total meaning you give to it. As you are offered the Peace of God, you may suddenly find yourself in tremendous conflict. Every thought, every feeling, every desire, gets multiplied and more intense, so you can look at what you are doing in your mind and let it go. Amazing.

Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined. This is rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to carry with it an enormous sense of responsibility, and may even be regarded as an “invasion of privacy.” Yet it is a fact that there are no private thoughts. Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet understand that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. And salvation must be possible because it is the Will of God.

You are asked to look at your resistance, to include it in with this lesson. You are never, ever, asked to pretend it is not there. There is a certain honesty that is required here, not a pretense to be holy or spiritual. Look in your mind, close your eyes and watch the thoughts that come up. As the light increases, thoughts will come up that you swore never to look at again. Let them come. You are in the darkest residue of your mind, all the dark debris floats to the surface so it can be cleaned up. Let it happen. Surrender. Apply the lesson.

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ______.

Jesus doesn’t want you to stumble over the rocks you do not recognize, He is offering you the cleaning of your mind so you can recognize your true inheritance. There is no need to keep a corner of your mind as a hospital for pain and disaster, you can free your mind right now by simply allowing every thought to come up and release it through the application of the lesson. You are not alone in this. Jesus is right here with you, as is the Holy Spirit, as is every awakened mind that is waiting for your homecoming. Why not today?

This is the final lesson for this year, and it is one in which you hand your will and your life over to the care of God. This is no small thing, it is everything.

And if I need a word to help me, He will give it to me. If I need a thought, that will He also give. And if I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him. He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me, because He speaks for God my Father and His holy Son.

You finally realize, in your awakening, that you have no other choice but to ask for help every single moment. As your mind opens you recognize that every decision you make has consequences that you can’t possibly know about. And as you catch yourself making decisions over and over that cause pain to your brothers, that lead to outcomes you don’t really want, you stand in the experience that the only way to live is to ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit for everything. This is the moment of absolute surrender, this is the instant that you ask to know that this Course is true and that you are indeed as God created you. You don’t have to know how this comes about, simply apply the lesson and be willing. Let it be an adventure and let yourself be undone. Hand all your desires, your wants, your needs, your cares over to Him Who knows what you truly need and what will not cause pain to anyone. And you stay on your steady course to Heaven. There seem to be many small roads that lead away from the King’s Highway, but you do not have to linger on them. Keep your eye on the Prize and leave all that holds you back behind. Everything you need and that needs you will catch up with you, because the invitation is always open. But you take responsibility for your mind, you decide on what you want, and you stay on that course. All the Help of Heaven will respond and you will know that you are not alone.

The lesson for today expresses beautifully the urgency of A Course In Miracles. And it is a real question that is asked of you, ‘Why not today?’

Let’s look at it for a moment. And be honest with yourself. How many things, people and situations do you use to delay the simple acceptance of God’s Word? The beauty of this Course is that it is so active. The workbook lessons can be applied no matter where or when you find yourself. The application does not depend on any situation or circumstance, but only on your decision to apply the lesson or not. Singularity is key here. You have been told that there is nothing outside of you, nothing has to power to hold you back in any way, that you are not the victim of the world you see. All that is required is your acceptance of this fact. So, why not today?

Why should I wait, my Father, for the joy You promised me? For You will keep Your Word You gave Your Son in exile. I am sure my treasure waits for me, and I need but reach out my hand to find it. Even now my fingers touch it. It is very close. I need not wait an instant more to be at peace forever. It is You I choose, and my Identity along with You.  Your Son would be Himself, and know You as his Father and Creator, and his Love.

The simple acceptance of God’s Word brings you joy, peace and the remembrance of your Identity as you are created by God. All that is asked of you is acceptance. How simple it is. Yet it is the ‘doing’ of the lesson for the day that clears your mind of all its cobwebs of ideas, thoughts and memories. The little willingness to do as you are asked gives you the whole universe, the complete memory of God. So, as you are going into this Christmas time, you might want to honestly look at the question for today and answer it within your own mind. Look at all the reasons you make up as to avoid the simple acceptance of God’s Word today, right now, and you will see clearly that all these reasons have no meaning. And you will declare with simple honesty, ‘Yes, why not today!’

Forgiveness is a choice. I never see my brother as he is, for that is far beyond perception. What I see in him is merely what I wish to see, because it stands for what I want to be the truth. It is to this alone that I respond, however much I seem to be impelled by outside happenings. I choose to see what I would look upon, and this I see, and only this. My brother’s sinlessness shows me that I would look upon my own. And I will see it, having chosen to behold my brother in its holy light.

Today’s lesson shows you that the body’s eyes do not really see at all. They merely show you what you want to see and this is why the mind training through the workbook lessons is so essential. Simply look at lesson number 1 and 2:

Nothing I see means anything.

I have given what I see all the meaning that it has for me.

Jesus always directs you back to your own mind, His teaching is completely singular. He asks you to look at what you value, what it is you want to see, and then asks you if this is really what you want. If you want a grievance, you will see it, but if you want forgiveness, that will be what you receive. Not by demanding it, but by giving it.

What could restore Your memory to me, except to see my brother’s sinlessness? His holiness reminds me that he was created one with me, and like myself. In him I find my Self, and in Your Son I find the memory of You as well.

Finally you are simply tired of the story. No matter how much you are justified in what you think you see, ultimately you know it won’t make you happy and so you really don’t want it anymore. When you feel your whole world collapse in on you, you realize that you are only making things up in your own mind, and you know that all you have to do is look directly at what it is you are doing and to ask the Holy Spirit to undo it all for you. He is waiting for your request, He is your Guide, your Counselor, your Friend. Ask Him for help today and He will gladly respond. He is your Guide to happiness that is not of this world. And it is this happiness that you deserve and that you really want.

Today’s lesson is so great, because it directs you to your Self. It is the simple recognition that the truth is in you and that all your problems have already been solved. Because when you stand in this moment, when you look within and recognize your innocence, there is no past and there is no future. There is only right now. And in this moment, in this holy instant, you stand in the present memory of the Love of your Father.

Within me is eternal innocence, because it is God’s Will that it be there forever and forever. I, His Son, whose will is limitless as is His Own, can will no change in this. For to deny my Father’s Will is to deny my own. To look within is but to find my will as God created it, and as it is. I fear to look within because I think I made another will that is not true, and made it real. Yet it has no effects. Within me is the Holiness of God. Within me is the memory of Him.

The Workbook of A Course In Miracles, and the lessons contained in it, are always only directed to you and how you use your mind. The lessons are very practical. The first 50 lessons point to your seeing, your thinking, your understanding, your determination. These are all in you. And as you go within, and look without fear, you can see how you are using your mind and what you are using it for. And in that moment you can decide to change your mind, to apply it differently, and all the angels rush in to help you. Because you are never alone. Within you is the Holiness of God, within you is the Holy Spirit who helps you when you ask, within you is the perfect memory of God, with you walks Jesus who tells you that you are resurrected with Him. So go within today, look there with open eyes and remember your holiness and sinlessness as you were created by God.

The step I take today, my Father, is my sure release from idle dreams of sin. Your altar stands serene and undefiled. It is the holy altar to my Self, and there I find my true Identity.

My holiness is far beyond my own ability to understand or know. Yet God, my Father, Who created it, acknowledges my holiness as His. Our Will, together, understands it. And Our Will, together, knows that it is so.

Today is a day of overwhelming gratitude.  The recognition that holiness goes far beyond your own understanding is an understatement, and when it hits you there are no words that can express what is happening to you. It is physical, emotional and completely uncontrollable. And when you look at your physical awakening it is good to know that it it absolutely natural and necessary. Look at it as Kundalini , a transformation on the physical, mental, emotional, psychic and spiritual level. It can look like anything, it is extremely personal because it is your undoing. A Course In Miracles works with your mind, and all the beliefs that you have had about yourself, about the world, about you as a body, are being undone. Sometimes this can feel uncomfortable, and it is good to remember that there is nothing to fear.

The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own strength. The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows that somewhere in your mind, not necessarily in a place which you recognize as yet, you have remembered God and let His Strength take the place of yours. The instant you are willing to do this there is indeed nothing to fear.

This is from lesson 48 There is nothing to fear and it was given you for a reason. Jesus knows that in your transformation you will be lead directly into fear. You will not be left there, but it is important for you to look directly at your beliefs and to let them go. This can cause some upheaval, but you are not alone in this. And this is where the gratitude comes in.

Father, my holiness is not of me. It is not mine to be destroyed by sin. It is not mine to suffer from attack. Illusions can obscure it, but can not put out its radiance, nor dim its light. It stands forever perfect and untouched. In it are all things healed, for they remain as You created them. And I can know my holiness. For Holiness Itself created me, and I can know my Source because it is Your Will that You be known.

So today, be grateful. Be gratitude. Don’t try to understand anything, simply be it. You are shown the whole universe is you, that wholeness and the peace of God are yours and that you can experience it right here and right now.

Father, I made an image of myself, and it is this I call the Son of God. Yet is creation as it always was, for Your creation is unchangeable. Let me not worship idols. I am he my Father loves. My holiness remains the light of Heaven and the Love of God. Is not what is beloved of You secure? Is not the light of Heaven infinite? Is not Your Son my true Identity, when You created everything that is?

The lessons now are such beautiful prayers, they immediately lift you out of every trial and tribulation. The recognition that you made an image of yourself is the recognition that you have believed that you were separate from God, and from that idea sprung the whole world you see.

The world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist.

This is directly from lesson 14 in A Course In Miracles, so very early on Jesus directs you to the fact that you are dreaming and that you can awaken. Nothing in reality was affected by your mistake about your self and about the world. Creation is as it always was. Truth is true and nothing else is true. Thank God for that, because if you could change truth you would be lost forever. Instead, your holiness remains untouched by anything that you have made up and you are secure in the Love of God. And from this prayer, which directs you to your holiness and your reality as created by God, you step out into the world and give your love and light away. This happens purely by your recognition of Who you are, through your extension of the Love of God. It’s not necessarily in words, though it may be, it doesn’t have anything to do with the body, although it may happen through a smile or touch, it happens simply by being Who you are: as God created you. It’s undefined, it happens here and now, and it is miraculous.

Now are we One in shared Identity, with God our Father as our only Source, and everything created part of us. And so we offer blessing to all things, uniting lovingly with all the world, which our forgiveness has made one with us.

Today’s lesson shows you the power of your mind and makes you look at how you bind everything when you choose not to be free. But what is freedom? It doesn’t have anything to do with your ideas about it. You think that freedom is doing whatever you want, or finding a safe haven in a world of chaos. But ultimately freedom is the recognition that you are as God created you, that you are mind and pure mind, and that the world you think is real has nothing to do with reality.

If I accept that I am prisoner within a body, in a world in which all things that seem to live appear to die, then is my Father prisoner with me. And this do I believe, when I maintain the laws the world obeys must I obey; the frailties and the sins which I perceive are real, and cannot be escaped. If I am bound in any way, I do not know my Father nor my Self. And I am lost to all reality. For truth is free, and what is bound is not a part of truth.

It does start with the simple statement, “Not this.” You have to somewhere deny pain, sickness and death as your reality, or you will be bound forever by your ideas about them. It is not about denying the world’s laws but still maintaining the world is real. It is not about recklessly driving through a red traffic light or robbing a store simply because you need money. It is about denying this world of pain, sickness and death in its totality and, at least in your mind, saying “Enough of that, I want to know that I am as God created me.” And that declaration is completely up to you.

Father, I ask for nothing but the truth. I have had many foolish thoughts about myself and my creation, and have brought a dream of fear into my mind. Today, I would not dream. I choose the way to You instead of madness and instead of fear. For truth is safe, and only love is sure.

This is a beautiful prayer from you to your Father. It has nothing to do with the world, nothing to do with anybody else, it is extremely personal. This is where you go into your closet, into your mind, and you are honest with yourself. What do you want? Do you want the truth? It is here now. Be willing to stop for a moment, use the lesson for today, and you will recognize an experience beyond this world lies waiting for you, right here and right now.

Today’s lesson is a gem. The offering that is made to you, to recognize the Glory of God in yourself, is something that is truly a miracle. What is there in the world that reminds you of your Self? Until A Course In Miracles came to you, all you could see was a reflection of an illusion of what you are. And now you are offered a glimpse of truth, and you are shown that what you were looking for is already in you.

Let not the truth about ourselves today be hidden by a false humility. Let us instead be thankful for the gifts our Father gave us. Can we see in those with whom He shares His glory any trace of sin and guilt? And can it be that we are not among them, when He loves His Son forever and with perfect constancy, knowing he is as He created him?

What you choose to see is up to you. Perception is an amazing device, when used for Truth. You can look around you and see corruption, or you can ask to see things differently. There is another way of looking at the world. There is another way of looking at your neighbor. There is another way to experience yourself. Your Self. Once you are in this new experience, you will never want anything else. Because it is completely valuable to you. You know who you are. Your certainty is of God. And in that experience, when someone comes to you to invite you back into the illusion, you will respond, “No, thank you very much.”

The experience of Who you are is an awareness. A knowing that is synonymous to the Peace of God. It is a sigh of relief. A feeling of Home. It is all you have been looking for. And today, now, it is offered you.

We thank You, Father, for the light that shines forever in us. And we honor it, because You share it with us. We are one, united in this light and one with You, at peace with all creation and ourselves.

Today’s lesson is It can be but my gratitude I earn and it is an amazing lesson. A Course In Miracles always directs your mind to singularity, which is your natural state. Every sentence is packed with love, light and the peace of God and can direct you in an instant to a revelation that is beyond this world altogether.

It can be but my gratitude I earn.

Here is the second step we take to free your mind from the belief in outside force pitted against your own.

This refers, of course, to the previous lesson It can be but myself I crucify. But look at the sentence, look at it as a whole. You are told very clearly that there is no such thing as outside forces pitted against your own. This one sentence tells you there is nothing outside of you, and it is only the beginning of the lesson.

How easily are God and guilt confused by those who know not what their thoughts can do.

Power of mind. Right there you are shown that your thoughts are more powerful than you now believe. You think your thoughts are neutral, that nobody knows what you are thinking (or at least you hope so…) and you surely don’t believe that anyone is affected by what you think. You are mistaken.

Your gratitude is all your gifts require, that they be a lasting offering of a thankful heart, released from hell forever.

You have already been shown that there are no outside forces pitted against your own, you have been shown the power of your mind, and now you are told that all that is required for the gifts you give is your gratitude. Not the gratitude of someone else. Simply offering a gift in gratitude, be it material or not, changes everything, changes the world.

It does not matter if another thinks your gifts unworthy. In his mind there is a part that joins with yours in thanking you. It does not matter if your gifts seem lost and ineffectual. They are received where they are given. In your gratitude are they accepted universally, and thankfully acknowledged by the Heart of God Himself.

Wow! Amazing. I am simply trying to convey  how packed every sentence is, how there is a gift in every word, and that when you open your mind, when you are willing to receive, you can hear each word and each sentence perfectly. It becomes an instant revelation, every instant. And this is simply between you and God. It can’t really be shared, but it can be given away in the experience of your gratitude for what you have been given.

Thanks be to you, the holy Son of God. For as you were created, you contain all things within your Self. And you are still as God created you. Nor can you dim the light of your perfection. In your heart the Heart of God is laid. He holds you dear, because you are Himself. All gratitude belongs to you, because of what you are.

Feel these words, experience them, they are for you, right here and right now. In your gratitude you extend to all the world in the recognition of your singular experience. Don’t try to understand it, just accept it gratefully. You are the holy Son of God. That is your reality and you recognize it in this moment.