Lesson 325:

All things I think I see reflect ideas…

Boy, I can witness to the fact of this statement. Here’s what I’ve noticed; whatever way and for whatever reason, at any I am viewing the world, my-so-called life and what seems to be the lives of ‘others’, this fact: ‘All things I think I see reflect ideas’, relentlessly stares back at me. What I am seeing is what is in my mind… And how I see it, reflects what I believe to be so…

Prior to ACIM as a model, I suspected this. I observed that somehow, someway, what I thought and believed; even believed by wishing it not true, were being influenced, at the very least, by attention to them in my mind. Then I met the Course… And ah, I now had, a formula to pull this awareness forward in my mind to the point of true attention, rather than the addictive attention to form based structures, brought on by bringing my mind under the influence of the whole unconscious belief construct of the separation idea.

The precise articulation of this concept gave me a language for which I could be honest with myself. And perhaps more accurately, it gave me a whole new use for language in which to describe perception, as well as everything I seemed to perceive.

Now from this right-sided vision, I see only one thing, everything I see is only my mind; ideas I have aligned with, and only my mind that I am faced with. “I am responsible for what I see, I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide upon the goal I would achieve. And anything that seems happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have asked”. (T-21.II.2.3)

Will I choose the ideas of creation as host to God, or will I choose ideas that I have made up and be hostage to them? That is the question…

All of what is happening behind the scenes so to speak, is that I decide I want something as a possible “it” (even if ‘it’ is to scary to even consider consciously) the very decision to fear, details out the specifics in some department behind closed doors. But ‘its’ reality in my mind is in process. Like happened with the idea of separation, it’s like it went something like this; ‘what if one could separate from his source and make a world apart? … Oh, shit that’s too scary to even dream about… ~huge~ ‘what if’.

Once conceived of by the mind of the Son of God, for god’s sake, with all power of creation given him as the natural effect of God the Father, his Cause; it stands to reason that the ideas’ possibility prospectus would by drawn up. Ergo the Atonement principle…. Ideas leave not their source. This primary theme threads together the fabric of the message of the Course, and is consistently reestablished by its holographic design. ~Hum, just like us~

God’s Son is as God created: the whole extension of His Love~ Extension is Love’s only purpose. Therefore, nothing else could possibly ever happen… Love is what it is, such as are we the love that we were creeated, being one whole creation…

“God is”… says it all~ literally…

Please join me in the yummy reflection prayer to carry into the day…

“Our Father, Your ideas reflect the truth, and mine apart from Yours but make up dreams. Let me behold what only Yours reflect, for Yours and Yours alone establish truth”. ~

Lesson 236:

I rule my mind which I alone must rule…

Ya know, coming to understand that I do indeed rule my mind, whether I want to be accountable for it or not, changed everything for me. At first, just getting that no one else, nor any circumstance, could make me feel any way... I decide. And ah, a little slice of freedom… Then, as I began examining every belief I held, looking for its origin and finding but a circular web of misbelieve all designed support its illusive self and to deflect me from seeing its unreality, I really began to feel the power of the mind.

Here’s what I have come to. This entire cosmos could not exist without my mind. The universe, world of bodies and things and diversity and change, are but the out picturing of my mind. I’m not talking about just in a perceptual framework of existence, I am saying, at all… Every idea I have summoned which seeming resides in this so-called life, I have looked deeply into and found that its solidity and structure dissolve into nothing but appearance by the mere act of looking. And behind each, I have found but my own true face…

The Self, which is beyond description here, but stands as the gateway to beyond, to some reality my mind is not savvy to, folds in on itself to what I can only refer to, in the context of this course, as Spirit; where timeless, structure less, changeless, oneness Love, simple is …

This empty fullness is an experience of such peace and completion; one can hardly comprehend how we got so upside down in the illusion. Let alone fight to stay deluded… Save it to say, that it easily reveals the magnificent power of the mind… yes? Now, we see that mind is the activation agent of spirit, supplying its creative energy, as the Course states in the clarification of terms section at the end of the Course, which I’ll again refer to...

And another passage in the text that I love, that I refer to now, as I so often do, because of the impact it was for me, is from chapter 21:

I am responsible for what I see.

I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide upon the

goal I would achieve.

And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and

receive as I have asked.

It is so freeing and powerful to take accountability for everything we experience in this world, forgive the false and decide with the Holy Spirit.

This is all we need do to rule our mind; change our mind about the world and therefore change the world, seeing Christ reflected in everyone and everything.

I rule my mind which I alone must rule…

Lesson 164:

Now are we one with Him Who is our Source…

Now! It is here (now) the Call for love to answer itself rings true and through and as the mind of Christ within us all. He has called and Christ has answered. We are Christ as One… Our Fathers only Son… And it is NOW we recognize our oneness with His Love…

Only now can we be known. Christ is the meaning of sight, and the means as well, reflecting truth upon the world. He is the capability to hear and the joyous call and answer, with the meaning of Who are. It is Love we remember here today~ the love that is our Source and our Self as well.

The lesson asks we practice with earnestness today… Yet, are we even sure what this means? Hasn’t our earnestness been filtered through the images of what we dreamed-up that Christ experienced would be?

Such is the on-going questioning brought to my mind in times gone by; the ever questioning of the ‘not enough’ personality trait. Yet, this was my earnestness, as best I could offer… Somehow, I learned to offer this questioning as part of the package of ‘me’~ as well as the desire to perfect myself first (duh, isn’t this exactly what the Holy Spirit’s is for?)… It was clearly a worthiness issue, which just boils down to the continuing ‘competition with God’ aspect of identifying with and believing in the ego, making it seem real within mind. The good news is: it is not real. This lesson gives entry to the parting of the curtain of this belief revealing the truth beyond. The lesson itself, gives clear and present instruction for its accomplishment, NOW: “Open the curtain in your practicing by merely letting go all things you think you want. Your trifling treasures put away, and leave a clean and open space within your mind where Christ can come, and offer you the treasure of salvation”…

Once again, the passage is encompassed in the all of all which is this present moment, this holy instant, where Christ alone is restored to presence in our mind. It is enough to do only what is asked… The purpose and its accomplishment reveal themselves the instant we remember not to think we know; remember that we want nothing that the past ‘knowing’ valued, nor the gifts ‘being right’ promises… They have failed us. But He has not. Beyond and within the instant of pure presence, Christ, stands as you, and myself; as one Self…

Our true identity experienced now literally dispels the world and its so-called life as identity, from mind completely, this holy instant. Life itself shines pure, as we accept our own identity in Him. Where once the ‘separate’ identity seemed so real, in its stead, the ever-present expanse and wholly unified identity of Love, accepts Christ’s account in its place… unending, Now…

The gifts received this day, reflect this identity everywhere, in everyone. Its message is the one to hear and guides all actions to visit it upon all situations and circumstances: we are as God created us…

Thus the world becomes the reflection of returning to the truth, before the dream of beginning and end; where only Now is the only time, and love the joy judges all as wholly worthy and wholly healed… We are the One! And now, are we one with Him Who is our Source …

Lesson 144:

My mind holds only what I think with God…

There is no love but God’s…

The world I see holds nothing that I want…

I love the quiet peaceful presence of love experienced by sinking deep into the mind; that yummy awareness of being always, already in presence with God. His presence is the way I experience my Self, without which, nothing would be happening…

It seems so obvious from this premise. The mind with God premise; when the mind quiets. When the intent is only truth and experience and being merge leaving the rhetorical thinking of the strategic mind no hamster wheel for which to exercises its puny legs. It therefore passes by without even landing. It seems it ceases, but I see now, it never really happened. The strategic mind, born of the desire to believe the ego’s promise of ‘personal omnipotence’, finds no resting place in the mind whose one desire is to know it Self.

I tried for years to ‘let go’ of the thoughts I thought that were not of God. I tried to rid myself of all thoughts, so the thoughts of God could make themselves apparent to me. It was a lot of work. Sometimes I felt I was succeeding but there were always doubts.

~And then, in a blinding instant of recognition, I saw that the “I” that was doing the trying, came from place rooted in believing that the false was true. I was trying to move beyond my identification with this world of separate interests through the very means, which kept it firmly in place. Here’s the thing, the miracle was awaiting my acceptance of another way the instant I wanted it truly. When I did, I realized I (via little ‘I’) had never wholly desired the truth before.

Oh, I wanted to want it, begged and pleaded and made promises~ that kind of wanting it. But I simply never want only truth to be. Then, I did. ~Holy instant~

The miracle brought with it the realization that only the mind that thinks with God, (the Holy Spirit/right-mind), could bring the dawning of sight. That sight or vision reinterprets all I had refused to see in the world before (due to my desire to see what I believed, instead).

Healed perception, it turns out, is the eternal instant. It is the instant of recognition; NOW, “I” know nothing, yet, simultaneously, I am everything. This is the vision the Holy Spirit offers, always at the ready, when our desire returns to love.

My efforts naturally took on a different modality; irreversible. It switched from one of trying to do something, to one of noticing this habit of trying (along with all similar thinking habits of the strategic personal mind) and allowing the Holy Spirit to give meaning, instead.

A sweet aspect of becoming this sort of observer of my strategic mind came the pleasant side effect that the compulsion to ‘do as it said’ was diminished. It is, after all, only the mindless fixation of the restless soul that keeps its effectiveness in place.

Now it is simply a dream to choose to dream or not to dream. The ‘fix’ nature of this kind of dreaming can only work if the dreamer believes he is the dream. Once seen as the ‘responsible party’ for the dream, a deliberate choice must be made on the part of the thinker/dreamer. My experience tells me that all attraction to the trappings of the dream holds no value to the Self that no longer identifies itself in the dream.

The Course reminds us: “I am responsible for what l see. I choose the feelings I experience, and I decide upon the goal I would achieve. And everything that seems to happen to me I ask for, and receive as I have ask.” (T-12.II.3)

When my desire is to see only the thoughts I think with God out-pictured in the world, Love’s presence is felt undeniably. All witness to the dream before the dream of forgiveness took its place, is easily passed over because true value is experienced instead. Everyone becomes the holy messenger of: “there is no love but God’s”. It is all we are, and all we want to behold.

Here is a passage from ‘The Song of Prayer’ that feels like an appropriate note to sign off with:

“What God created one must recognize its oneness, and rejoice that what illusions seemed to separate is one forever in the Mind of God. Pray mow must be the means by which god’s Son leaves separate goals and separate interests by, and turn in holy gladness to the truth of union of his Father and himself… Lay down your dreams, you holy Son of God, and rising up as God created you, dispense with idols and remember Him. Prayer will sustain you now, and bless you as you lift your heart to Him in rising song that reaches higher and then higher still, until both high and low have disappeared. Faith in your goal will grow and hold you up as you ascent the shining stairway to the lawns of Heaven and the gate of peace. For this is prayer, and here salvation is. This is the way. It is God’s gift to you”. (SP-2-3)