Author: (Page 3 of 7)

Lesson 41 - God goes with me wherever I go.

1. Today’s idea will eventually overcome completely the sense of loneliness and abandonment all the separated ones experience. ²Depression is an inevitable consequence of separation. ³So are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering and intense fear of loss.

2. The separated ones have invented many “cures” for what they believe to be “the ills of the world.” ²But the one thing they do not do is to question the reality of the problem. ³Yet its effects cannot be cured because the problem is not real. ⁴The idea for today has the power to end all this foolishness forever. ⁵And foolishness it is, despite the serious and tragic forms it may take.

3. Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you and out into the world. ²It will cure all sorrow and pain and fear and loss because it will heal the mind that thought these things were real, and suffered out of its allegiance to them.

4. You can never be deprived of your perfect holiness because its Source goes with you wherever you go. ²You can never suffer because the Source of all joy goes with you wherever you go. ³You can never be alone because the Source of all life goes with you wherever you go. ⁴Nothing can destroy your peace of mind because God goes with you wherever you go.

5. We understand that you do not believe all this. ²How could you, when the truth is hidden deep within, under a heavy cloud of insane thoughts, dense and obscuring, yet representing all you see? ³Today we will make our first real attempt to get past this dark and heavy cloud, and to go through it to the light beyond.

6. There will be only one long practice period today. ²In the morning, as soon as you get up if possible, sit quietly for some three to five minutes, with your eyes closed. ³At the beginning of the practice period, repeat today’s idea very slowly. ⁴Then make no effort to think of anything. ⁵Try, instead, to get a sense of turning inward, past all the idle thoughts of the world. ⁶Try to enter very deeply into your own mind, keeping it clear of any thoughts that might divert your attention.

7. From time to time, you may repeat the idea if you find it helpful. ²But most of all, try to sink down and inward, away from the world and all the foolish thoughts of the world. ³You are trying to reach past all these things. ⁴You are trying to leave appearances and approach reality.

8. It is quite possible to reach God. ²In fact it is very easy, because it is the most natural thing in the world. ³You might even say it is the only natural thing in the world. ⁴The way will open, if you believe that it is possible. ⁵This exercise can bring very startling results even the first time it is attempted, and sooner or later it is always successful. ⁶We will go into more detail about this kind of practice as we go along. ⁷But it will never fail completely, and instant success is possible.

9. Throughout the day use today’s idea often, repeating it very slowly, preferably with eyes closed. ²Think of what you are saying; what the words mean. ³Concentrate on the holiness that they imply about you; on the unfailing companionship that is yours; on the complete protection that surrounds you.

10. You can indeed afford to laugh at fear thoughts, remembering that God goes with you wherever you go.

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This lesson comes from (A Course in Miracles). Hemelbewus presents it in Afrikaans as part of a path of inner healing and forgiveness. The translation was done with great care and dedication over several years by Henri Theron, and brings the deep spiritual teachings of the Course to Afrikaans-speaking readers.

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Lesson 41: God goes with me wherever I go. (ACIM, W-41)

Lesson 40 - I am blessed as a Son of God.

1. Today we will begin to assert some of the happy things to which you are entitled, being what you are. ²No long practice periods are required today, but very frequent short ones are necessary. ³Once every ten minutes would be highly desirable, and you are urged to attempt this schedule and to adhere to it whenever possible. ⁴If you forget, try again. ⁵If there are long interruptions, try again. ⁶Whenever you remember, try again.

2. You need not close your eyes for the exercise periods, although you will probably find it more helpful if you do. ²However, you may be in a number of situations during the day when closing your eyes would not be feasible. ³Do not miss a practice period because of this. ⁴You can practice quite well under any circumstances, if you really want to.

3. Today’s exercises take little time and no effort. ²Repeat the idea for today, and then add several of the attributes you associate with being a Son of God, applying them to yourself. ³One practice period might, for example, consist of the following:

⁴I am blessed as a Son of God.

⁵I am happy, peaceful, loving and contented.

⁶Another might take this form:

⁷I am blessed as a Son of God.

⁸I am calm, quiet, assured and confident.

⁹If only a brief period is available, merely telling yourself that you are blessed as a Son of God will do.

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Lesson 40: I am blessed as a Son of God. (ACIM, W-40)

Lesson 39 - My holiness is my salvation.

1. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? ²Like the text for which this workbook was written, the ideas used for the exercises are very simple, very clear and totally unambiguous. ³We are not concerned with intellectual feats nor logical toys. ⁴We are dealing only in the very obvious, which has been overlooked in the clouds of complexity in which you think you think.

2. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? ²This is not difficult, surely. ³The hesitation you may feel in answering is not due to the ambiguity of the question. ⁴But do you believe that guilt is hell? ⁵If you did, you would see at once how direct and simple the text is, and you would not need a workbook at all. ⁶No one needs practice to gain what is already his.

3. We have already said that your holiness is the salvation of the world. ²What about your own salvation? ³You cannot give what you do not have. ⁴A savior must be saved. ⁵How else can he teach salvation? ⁶Today’s exercises will apply to you, recognizing that your salvation is crucial to the salvation of the world. ⁷As you apply the exercises to your world, the whole world stands to benefit.

4. Your holiness is the answer to every question that was ever asked, is being asked now, or will be asked in the future. ²Your holiness means the end of guilt, and therefore the end of hell. ³Your holiness is the salvation of the world, and your own. ⁴How could you to whom your holiness belongs be excluded from it? ⁵God does not know unholiness. ⁶Can it be He does not know His Son?

5. A full five minutes are urged for the four longer practice periods for today, and longer and more frequent practice sessions are encouraged. ²If you want to exceed the minimum requirements, more rather than longer sessions are recommended, although both are suggested.

6. Begin the practice periods as usual, by repeating today’s idea to yourself. ²Then, with closed eyes, search out your unloving thoughts in whatever form they appear; uneasiness, depression, anger, fear, worry, attack, insecurity and so on. ³Whatever form they take, they are unloving and therefore fearful. ⁴And so it is from them that you need to be saved.

7. Specific situations, events or personalities you associate with unloving thoughts of any kind are suitable subjects for today’s exercises. ²It is imperative for your salvation that you see them differently. ³And it is your blessing on them that will save you and give you vision.

8. Slowly, without conscious selection and without undue emphasis on any one in particular, search your mind for every thought that stands between you and your salvation. ²Apply the idea for today to each of them in this way:

³My unloving thoughts about _________ are keeping me in hell.

⁴ My holiness is my salvation.

9. You may find these practice periods easier if you intersperse them with several short periods during which you merely repeat today’s idea to yourself slowly a few times. ²You may also find it helpful to include a few short intervals in which you just relax and do not seem to be thinking of anything. ³Sustained concentration is very difficult at first. ⁴It will become much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less distractible.

10. Meanwhile, you should feel free to introduce variety into the exercise periods in whatever form appeals to you. ²Do not, however, change the idea itself as you vary the method of applying it. ³However you elect to use it, the idea should be stated so that its meaning is the fact that your holiness is your salvation. ⁴End each practice period by repeating the idea in its original form once more, and adding:

⁵If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?

11. In the shorter applications, which should be made some three or four times an hour and more if possible, you may ask yourself this question, repeat today’s idea, and preferably both. ²If temptations arise, a particularly helpful form of the idea is:

³My holiness is my salvation from this.

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Lesson 39: My holiness is my salvation. (ACIM, W-39)

Lesson 38 - There is nothing my holiness cannot do.

1. Your holiness reverses all the laws of the world. ²It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and limits of any kind. ³Your holiness is totally unlimited in its power because it establishes you as a Son of God, at one with the Mind of his Creator.

2. Through your holiness the power of God is made manifest. ²Through your holiness the power of God is made available. ³And there is nothing the power of God cannot do. ⁴Your holiness, then, can remove all pain, can end all sorrow, and can solve all problems. ⁵It can do so in connection with yourself and with anyone else. ⁶It is equal in its power to help anyone because it is equal in its power to save anyone.

3. If you are holy, so is everything God created. ²You are holy because all things He created are holy. ³And all things He created are holy because you are. ⁴In today’s exercises, we will apply the power of your holiness to all problems, difficulties or suffering in any form that you happen to think of, in yourself or in someone else. ⁵We will make no distinctions because there are no distinctions.

4. In the four longer practice periods, each preferably to last a full five minutes, repeat the idea for today, close your eyes, and then search your mind for any sense of loss or unhappiness of any kind as you see it. ²Try to make as little distinction as possible between a situation that is difficult for you, and one that is difficult for someone else. ³Identify the situation specifically, and also the name of the person concerned. ⁴Use this form in applying the idea for today:

⁵In the situation involving _________ in which I see myself, there is

nothing that my holiness cannot do.

⁶In the situation involving _________ in which _________ sees

himself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do.

5. From time to time you may want to vary this procedure, and add some relevant thoughts of your own. ²You might like, for example, to include thoughts such as:

³There is nothing my holiness cannot do because the power of God lies in it.

⁴Introduce whatever variations appeal to you, but keep the exercises focused on the theme, “There is nothing my holiness cannot do.” ⁵The purpose of today’s exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense that you have dominion over all things because of what you are.

6. In the frequent shorter applications, apply the idea in its original form unless a specific problem concerning you or someone else arises, or comes to mind. ²In that event, use the more specific form in applying the idea to it.

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Lesson 38: There is nothing my holiness cannot do. (ACIM, W-38)

Lesson 37 - My holiness blesses the world.

1. This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the world, or why you are here. ²Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness. ³Thus are you and the world blessed together. ⁴No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains through your holy vision. ⁵It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due. ⁶And he is entitled to everything because it is his birthright as a Son of God.

2. There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the world’s thinking. ²Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or something. ³As a result, the perceiver will lose. ⁴Nor will he have any idea why he is losing. ⁵Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through your vision. ⁶Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. ⁷Those who see themselves as whole make no demands.

3. Your holiness is the salvation of the world. ²It lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed along with you.

4. Today’s four longer exercise periods, each to involve three to five minutes of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for today, followed by a minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:

²My holiness blesses this chair.

³My holiness blesses that window.

⁴My holiness blesses this body.

⁵Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using his name and saying:

⁶My holiness blesses you, [name].

5. You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open your eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so desire; you may alternate between applying the idea to what you see around you and to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use any combination of these two phases of application that you prefer. ²The practice period should conclude with a repetition of the idea with your eyes closed, and another, following immediately, with your eyes open.

6. The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as often as you can. ²It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using his name as you do so. ³It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. ⁴Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately, that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness.

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Lesson 37: My holiness blesses the world. (ACIM, W-37)

Lesson 36 - My holiness envelops everything I see.

1. Today’s idea extends the idea for yesterday from the perceiver to the perceived. ²You are holy because your mind is part of God’s. ³And because you are holy, your sight must be holy as well. ⁴“Sinless” means without sin. ⁵You cannot be without sin a little. ⁶You are sinless or not. ⁷If your mind is part of God’s you must be sinless, or a part of His Mind would be sinful. ⁸Your sight is related to His Holiness, not to your ego, and therefore not to your body.

2. Four three-to-five-minute practice periods are required for today. ²Try to distribute them fairly evenly, and make the shorter applications frequently, to protect your protection throughout the day. ³The longer practice periods should take this form:

3. First, close your eyes and repeat the idea for today several times, slowly. ²Then open your eyes and look quite slowly about you, applying the idea specifically to whatever you note in your casual survey. ³Say, for example:

⁴My holiness envelops that rug.

⁵My holiness envelops that wall.

⁶My holiness envelops these fingers.

⁷My holiness envelops that chair.

⁸My holiness envelops that body.

⁹My holiness envelops this pen.

¹⁰Several times during these practice periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea to yourself. ¹¹Then open your eyes, and continue as before.

4. For the shorter exercise periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea; look about you as you repeat it again; and conclude with one more repetition with your eyes closed. ²All applications should, of course, be made quite slowly, as effortlessly and unhurriedly as possible.

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Lesson 36: My holiness envelops everything I see. (ACIM, W-36)

Lesson 35 - My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.

1. Today’s idea does not describe the way you see yourself now. ²It does, however, describe what vision will show you. ³It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this of himself. ⁴Yet the reason he thinks he is in this world is because he does not believe it.

2. You will believe that you are part of where you think you are. ²That is because you surround yourself with the environment you want. ³And you want it to protect the image of yourself that you have made. ⁴The image is part of this environment. ⁵What you see while you believe you are in it is seen through the eyes of the image. ⁶This is not vision. ⁷Images cannot see.

3. The idea for today presents a very different view of yourself. ²By establishing your Source it establishes your Identity, and it describes you as you must really be in truth. ³We will use a somewhat different kind of application for today’s idea because the emphasis for today is on the perceiver, rather than on what he perceives.

4. For each of the three five-minute practice periods today, begin by repeating today’s idea to yourself, and then close your eyes and search your mind for the various kinds of descriptive terms in which you see yourself. ²Include all the ego-based attributes which you ascribe to yourself, positive or negative, desirable or undesirable, grandiose or debased. ³All of them are equally unreal, because you do not look upon yourself through the eyes of holiness.

5. In the earlier part of the mind-searching period, you will probably emphasize what you consider to be the more negative aspects of your perception of yourself. ²Toward the latter part of the exercise period, however, more self-inflating descriptive terms may well cross your mind. ³Try to recognize that the direction of your fantasies about yourself does not matter. ⁴Illusions have no direction in reality. ⁵They are merely not true.

6. A suitable unselected list for applying the idea for today might be as follows:

²I see myself as imposed on.

³I see myself as depressed.

⁴I see myself as failing.

⁵I see myself as endangered.

⁶I see myself as helpless.

⁷I see myself as victorious.

⁸I see myself as losing out.

⁹I see myself as charitable.

¹⁰I see myself as virtuous.

7. You should not think of these terms in an abstract way. ²They will occur to you as various situations, personalities and events in which you figure cross your mind. ³Pick up any specific situation that occurs to you, identify the descriptive term or terms you feel are applicable to your reactions to that situation, and use them in applying today’s idea. ⁴After you have named each one, add:

⁵⁵But my mind is part of God’s. ⁶I am very holy.

8. During the longer exercise periods, there will probably be intervals in which nothing specific occurs to you. ²Do not strain to think up specific things to fill the interval, but merely relax and repeat today’s idea slowly until something occurs to you. ³Although nothing that does occur should be omitted from the exercises, nothing should be “dug out” with effort. ⁴Neither force nor discrimination should be used.

9. As often as possible during the day, pick up a specific attribute or attributes you are ascribing to yourself at the time and apply the idea for today to them, adding the idea in the form stated above to each of them. ²If nothing particular occurs to you, merely repeat the idea to yourself, with closed eyes.

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Lesson 34: I could see peace instead of this. (ACIM, W-35)

Lesson 34 - I could see peace instead of this.

1. The idea for today begins to describe the conditions that prevail in the other way of seeing. ²Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. ³It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. ⁴It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.

2. Three longer practice periods are required for today’s exercises. ²One in the morning and one in the evening are advised, with an additional one to be undertaken at any time in between that seems most conducive to readiness. ³All applications should be done with your eyes closed. ⁴It is your inner world to which the applications of today’s idea should be made.

3. Some five minutes of mind searching are required for each of the longer practice periods. ²Search your mind for fear thoughts, anxiety-provoking situations, “offending” personalities or events, or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts. ³Note them all casually, repeating the idea for today slowly as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go, to be replaced by the next.

4. If you begin to experience difficulty in thinking of specific subjects, continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an unhurried manner, without applying it to anything in particular. ²Be sure, however, not to make any specific exclusions.

5. The shorter applications are to be frequent, and made whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way. ²The purpose is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. ³If a specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, the exercise should take this form:

⁴I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.

6. If the inroads on your peace of mind take the form of more generalized adverse emotions, such as depression, anxiety or worry, use the idea in its original form. ²If you find you need more than one application of today’s idea to help you change your mind in any specific context, try to take several minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief. ³It will help you if you tell yourself specifically:

⁴Ek kan my gevoelens van depressie, angs of bekommernis (of my gedagtes oor hierdie situasie, persoonlikheid of gebeurtenis) vervang met vrede.

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Lesson 34: I could see peace instead of this. (ACIM, W-34)

Lesson 33 - There is another way of looking at the world.

1. Today’s idea is an attempt to recognize that you can shift your perception of the world in both its outer and inner aspects. ²A full five minutes should be devoted to the morning and evening applications. ³In these practice periods, the idea should be repeated as often as you find comfortable, though unhurried applications are essential. ⁴Alternate between surveying your outer and inner perceptions, but without an abrupt sense of shifting.

2. Merely glance casually around the world you perceive as outside yourself, then close your eyes and survey your inner thoughts with equal casualness. ²Try to remain equally uninvolved in both, and to maintain this detachment as you repeat the idea throughout the day.

3. The shorter exercise periods should be as frequent as possible. ²Specific applications of today’s idea should also be made immediately, when any situation arises which tempts you to become disturbed. ³For these applications, say:

⁴There is another way of looking at this.

4. Remember to apply today’s idea the instant you are aware of distress. ²It may be necessary to take a minute or so to sit quietly and repeat the idea to yourself several times. ³Closing your eyes will probably help in this form of application.

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Lesson 33: There is another way of looking at the world. (ACIM, W-33)

Lesson 32 - I have invented the world I see.

1. Today we are continuing to develop the theme of cause and effect. ²You are not the victim of the world you see because you invented it. ³You can give it up as easily as you made it up. ⁴You will see it or not see it, as you wish. ⁵While you want it you will see it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there for you to see.

2. The idea for today, like the preceding ones, applies to your inner and outer worlds, which are actually the same. ²However, since you see them as different, the practice periods for today will again include two phases, one involving the world you see outside you, and the other the world you see in your mind. ³In today’s exercises, try to introduce the thought that both are in your own imagination.

3. Again we will begin the practice periods for the morning and evening by repeating the idea for today two or three times while looking around at the world you see as outside yourself. ²Then close your eyes and look around your inner world. ³Try to treat them both as equally as possible. ⁴Repeat the idea for today unhurriedly as often as you wish, as you watch the images your imagination presents to your awareness.

4. For the two longer practice periods three to five minutes are recommended, with not less than three required. ²More than five can be utilized, if you find the exercise restful. ³To facilitate this, select a time when few distractions are anticipated, and when you yourself feel reasonably ready.

5. These exercises are also to be continued during the day, as often as possible. ²The shorter applications consist of repeating the idea slowly, as you survey either your inner or outer world. ³It does not matter which you choose.

6. The idea for today should also be applied immediately to any situation that may distress you. ²Apply the idea by telling yourself:

³I have invented this situation as I see it.