From ACIM’s Workbook for
Students, Chapter 21, Reason and Perception: Section II. The Responsibility for
Sight
1 “We have repeated how little is asked of you to learn this
course. It is the same small willingness you need to have your whole
relationship transformed to joy; the little gift you offer to the Holy Spirit
for which He gives you everything; the very little on which salvation rests; ….
And being true, it is so simple that it cannot fail to be completely
understood. Rejected yes, but not ambiguous. And if you choose against it now
it will not be because it is obscure, but rather that this little cost seemed,
in your judgment, to be too much to pay for peace.
2 “This is the only thing that you need do for vision,
happiness, release from pain and the complete escape from sin, all to be given
you. Say only this, but mean it with no reservations, for here the power of
salvation lies:
“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.”
My first reaction when I read a
statement like this is to think: “Donnie,
when you were in Saint Augustine, you invested with a reputable friend who
turned out to be a mini-Madoff and you lost almost $100K.” I want to say, “I didn’t choose to lose this money. I
didn’t opt to be ripped off. How dare you insinuate I asked for this and I got
it?”
When I think in the realm of
form, attachment, or outcome I am focused on my material 3-D world as perceived
by my physical human body, which is separate from your physical human body. That
is the reality my body’s eyes perceive. And, yes, awful things can and do happen
in this world of mine. From that perspective of mistaking biological sight for
vision and mistaking the lack of upsetting outside forces for personal peace
and serenity, these kinds of statements make little sense to me.
What I am learning, however, is
that these statements are not focused on the material, 3-D world of my
perception. They are not focused on my attachments, my preferred outcomes, or
my perceived world of form. They are focused on the inner world of my True Self:
the true world of the reality of Spirit, of Love, of Peace.
However, while my True Self is
here and connected to my physical human body, I have to function on this planet.
I have to drive on the correct side of the road. I have to pay bills. I have to
walk my little 10-pound, vicious, man-eating poodle-mix. I have to maintain my
lawn equipment, and I have to be an educated voter. Sometimes, doing what I
have to do as a human being, I believe things do not go well for me. Sometimes
they do. But that is not peace, joy,
happiness, or love.
What I’m learning is that all I
need to do is be absolutely willing to allow the Holy Spirit to provide me with
another way of looking at people, events or situations. I simply need to be
really willing. That’s all that’s asked of me.
What I learn in Alcoholics
Anonymous is not how to rid myself from having “bad” things happen to me. It
teaches me, instead, that when crap happens, I don’t need to drink over it. A
Course in Miracles is not trying to educate me in the “ways of my 3-D world.”
It does teach me that to apply spiritual rules to my perceived 3-D world isn’t
where I’ll find peace and serenity. I need to apply spiritual rules to my inner
world of my True Self. There, I can find peace in the midst of chaos. I can
find peace and serenity in the midst of upsets, setbacks, hostility, and fear.
Within that state of peace and serenity I can offer love and forgiveness. And
when I offer love and forgiveness to you I find it for me.
I don’t need to change the
world. I need to change how I perceive the world. I don’t need to change me. I
need to be willing to see you differently, which will change me.
In my last message
(Msg-3-Jul-2015; I Do Not Like To Be
Reminded Of Me) I stated: When I
think of the Christ in you or think to myself, as the ancient Mayans did in
their greeting to each other “In Lak’ech” or “I am another you,” I am opening
the door to being One with you. In that state of mind I cannot hide from
myself, because as I see you I am seeing me.
There is where I find peace.
There is also where I experience
the Love that passes all understanding.
Although these messages are
mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this
message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual
journey.
Don
#1 Aug 2015
Copyright 2015
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