1. All temptation is nothing more than some form of the basic temptation not to believe the idea for today. \u00b2Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from you. \u00b3So, too, does the source of guilt. \u2074You see neither guilt nor salvation as in your own mind and nowhere else. \u2075When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same place. \u2076In understanding this you are saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. The seeming cost of accepting today\u2019s idea is this: It means that nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can give you peace. \u00b2But it also means that nothing outside yourself can hurt you, or disturb your peace or upset you in any way. \u00b3Today\u2019s idea places you in charge of the universe, where you belong because of what you are. \u2074This is not a role that can be partially accepted. \u2075And you must surely begin to see that accepting it is salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. It may not, however, be clear to you why the recognition that guilt is in your own mind entails the realization that salvation is there as well. \u00b2God would not have put the remedy for the sickness where it cannot help. \u00b3That is the way your mind has worked, but hardly His. \u2074He wants you to be healed, so He has kept the Source of healing where the need for healing lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. You have tried to do just the opposite, making every attempt, however distorted and fantastic it might be, to separate healing from the sickness for which it was intended, and thus keep the sickness. \u00b2Your purpose was to ensure that healing did not occur. \u00b3God\u2019s purpose was to ensure that it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Today we practice realizing that God\u2019s Will and ours are really the same in this. \u00b2God wants us to be healed, and we do not really want to be sick, because it makes us unhappy. \u00b3Therefore, in accepting the idea for today, we are really in agreement with God. \u2074He does not want us to be sick. \u2075Neither do we. \u2076He wants us to be healed. \u2077So do we.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. We are ready for two longer practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes. \u00b2We will, however, still let you decide when to undertake them. \u00b3We will follow this practice for a number of lessons, and it would again be well to decide in advance when would be a good time to lay aside for each of them, and then adhering to your own decisions as closely as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today, adding a statement signifying your recognition that salvation comes from nothing outside of you. \u00b2You might put it this way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3<\/sup>My salvation comes from me. 4<\/sup>It cannot come from anywhere else.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5<\/sup>Then devote a few minutes, with your eyes closed, to reviewing some of the external places where you have looked for salvation in the past;\u2014in other people, in possessions, in various situations and events, and in self-concepts that you sought to make real. 6<\/sup>Recognize that it is not there, and tell yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7<\/sup>My salvation cannot come from any of these things. 8<\/sup>My salvation comes from me and only from me.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. Now we will try again to reach the light in you, which is where your salvation is. \u00b2You cannot find it in the clouds that surround the light, and it is in them you have been looking for it. \u00b3It is not there. \u2074It is past the clouds and in the light beyond. \u2075Remember that you will have to go through the clouds before you can reach the light. \u2076But remember also that you have never found anything in the cloud patterns you imagined that endured, or that you wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9. Since all illusions of salvation have failed you, surely you do not want to remain in the clouds, looking vainly for idols there, when you could so easily walk on into the light of real salvation. \u00b2Try to pass the clouds by whatever means appeals to you. \u00b3If it helps you, think of me holding your hand and leading you. \u2074And I assure you this will be no idle fantasy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10. For the short and frequent practice periods today, remind yourself that your salvation comes from you, and nothing but your own thoughts can hamper your progress. \u00b2You are free from all external interference. \u00b3You are in charge of your salvation. \u2074You are in charge of the salvation of the world. \u2075Say, then:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 6<\/sup>My salvation comes from me. 7<\/sup>Nothing outside of me can hold me back. 8<\/sup>Within me<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n is the world\u2019s salvation and my own.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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