Lesson 302 ~ Light replaces darkness

Father, my eyes are opening at last. I now see that darkness was of my own making.  Yet with Christ-Vision, when I forgive everyone and everything, my perception sees darkness change to Light.  Fear must disappear when Love has come.  Let me forgive the world of dreams today that I may perceive only Holiness, and understand that It just reflects my own.  Love awaits me as I turn my mind toward Thoughts of Truth. Heaven walks beside me, showing me the way.  God fails in nothing.  God is the End I seek and His Words of Truth are the means by which I remember Him. 

Lesson 301 ~ God wipes away my tears.

Father, unless I choose for dreams, I cannot weep.  Only when I choose dreams do I suffer pain, or feel abandoned and unneeded in the world.  Help me today lay aside all dreams and embrace only Truth.  Let me perceive through happy eyes what forgiveness has released from all distortion.  Let me see a world forgiven and all the tears I have shed will be forgotten.  I will judge nothing and no one today.  I will forgive everyone and everything, knowing that it is I who have done this to myself.  I wept because I did not understand.  But I have learned that there is nothing and no one outside me.  I will look only for Truth today. 

The Second Coming

The "Second Coming" as Sure as God, is merely the correction of mistakes and the return of Sanity.  It restores what was never lost and re-establishes what has always been True.  It is the invitation to let God's Word take the place of dreams; the willingness to let forgiveness rest upon all things without exception.

The all-inclusive nature of the Second Coming permits It to embrace my mind while I lay aside dreams, holding me Safe in Its Gentle Advent.  My job, all along, has been forgiveness of everyone and everything.  I forgive because there is nothing and no one "outside" me. What seems to be "outside" me is a projection of the thought of separation from God.  Only Oneness Exists.  I am One with God Forever and Always.  Dreams can only hide this Reality for so long. 

The Second Coming is the only Holy Event that exists in "time" in which the mind is returned to Oneness.  It needs my willingness to forgive everyone and everything in order to remember my Reality of Love, Joy and Peace.  If I hold a thought that seems to be "opposite" of  Reality, that thought will obscure Reality from me.  I am doing it to myself! 

"Christ" is the Sonship healed and United in Oneness.  The moment I had the thought of separation from God, it was healed.  I was released from my prison in less than an instant.  Yet I have chosen to forget.

Today, I will lay aside dreams and embrace only Truth.  I will forgive all who upset me, knowing that I am doing it to myself.  I will forgive all situations that bother me, again knowing that I, myself, have created all I seem to see "outside" me.  There is nothing and no one "outside" me.  Yet I must forgive, forgive, forgive, set aside all dreams and embrace only Truth.  It can take an instant, or I can move through many "bodies" and many "lifetimes."  The choice is mine. 

Lesson 300 ~ The dream is over.

Anything in the world of dreams always ends in death and sorrow, with joy gone before it was even attained.  Yet, today's lesson reminds me that illusions represent no more than a passing cloud upon an Eternally Serene Sky.  It is this Serenity I seek today, unclouded, and Certain.  I seek only You today, Father.  Your Loving Son lost his way.  But I have listened to Your Voice, and learned exactly what to do to be restored to Heaven and my Sonship.  The world of dreams lasts only an instant.  Today, I will go beyond that to Eternity. 

Lesson 299 ~ God made me very Holy.

My Holiness is beyond my own ability to understand or know while I exist in insanity.  Yet My Father, Who created It, acknowledges my Holiness as His.  Our Will together understands It and knows that It is so.  Father, my Holiness is not part of the insanity in which I currently think I exist.  I cannot destroy my Sonship by "sin" in a world of illusions.  I am not a body subject to death.  What I Truly Am, cannot suffer from attack.  Illusions can hide my Holiness from my Awareness, but cannot destroy It.  It stands Forever Perfect and Untouched.  In my Holiness, all things are healed.  It remains Eternally as You created It.  I can remember my Holiness and I can remember You, Father, because It is Your Will that It be so. 

Lesson 298 ~ I rest in God.

Forgiveness takes away all that intruded on my Awareness of Reality.  I draw near the end of senseless journeys, insane careers, and artificial values.  I begin to accept what God established as mine:  the Sonship.  My salvation is Sure.  There is no doubt.  I move through fear, illusions, and madness without harm.  I am grateful to God for His lessons which reflect Reality.  Father, I come to You today because I am weary and desire only to return Home.  I rest in Your Loving Arms.  Your Way is Certain.  I am grateful for the moments of respite I find in your comforting words.  I seemingly created "apart-from-God," yet You have taken my hand and Gently Guide me out of insanity.  My only task is to forgive myself and all that I seem to see "outside" me, which is also myself. 

Lesson 297 ~ Salvation's formula

Salvation's formula is this:  everything I give, I give to myself. This is not wishful thinking, this is fact. Forgiveness is the only gift I give, because it is the only gift I want.  If this world is truly a dream, and my True Home is Peace, Love and Joy, and the only way to remember my Home is to forgive everyone everything, then forgiveness is the ONLY gift I want.  So I GIVE it to RECEIVE it.   I had a thought of separation from God and from this thought came tremendous guilt which I seemed to project outside of me, splitting myself into many "bodies" over many "lifetimes," creating a "universe" and a "world" "apart from" God.  It is here I seemingly hide from God, like a little child pretending he is invisible to his parents.  The thought came and went and is already over, but I keep replaying it in my mind through different "lifetimes" and different "characters."  The same scenarios over and over and over.  Yet, there is only ONE problem:  I think I am separated from God.....and ONE solution:  forgiveness.  I forgive what seems to be "outside" me, because in doing so I forgive myself for the thought of separation.  Everything I "give," is given to myself because there is only One.  Father, how certain are Your Ways, how Sure the final outcome.  Salvation is already accomplished by Your Grace.  Thanks be to You for Your Eternal Gifts, and for my Identity as Your Son.  I am Safe in Heaven, dreaming a dream of exile.  But like the Prodigal Son, I will return to You, for there is nowhere else to go. 

Lesson 296 ~ Forgive, forgive, forgive.

God uses my miscreation for His Own Purposes.  He teaches me that while I seem to see "a world" outside me, I will practice my lessons of forgiveness on the many "others" that I created.  In doing so, I learn that I am truly forgiven and saved.  Through my practice of forgiveness, God fills my mind, and my thoughts become One with Reality.  God will teach me what to say and what to do, so I need worry about nothing.  I seemingly created a "world outside" me to "prove" my separation from God.  He uses this very miscreation, to bring me back to Him.  I live in a world of "time," and it seems that it will take a "very long time" to practice forgiveness and return Home.  But "time" is only an illusion just like everything else "outside" me, and God will adjust "time" and "space" when I do my part.  It can take one single perfect lesson of forgiveness, or it can take many small lessons of forgiveness.  It all depends on my willingness to lay aside illusion.  Father, I have no thoughts apart from Yours.  The thoughts I think in the world of dreams, are not my True Thoughts.  I will forgive everyone and everything to set my thoughts Free to return to You.  Your Holy Voice speaks to me of Your Love constantly, will I choose to listen?

Lesson 295 ~ As my mind heals, the "world" heals.

When I give my mind over to God, He will take away all terror and pain, and offer me peace of mind.  As terror and pain are removed from my mind, dreams begin to disappear.   There is nothing and no one "outside" me.  What seems to be "outside" me is in my mind.  As my mind heals the "world" heals.  As my mind experiences "salvation," the "world" is "saved" with me.  Fear appears in many forms, but Love is One.  Father, I will allow Your Love to Bless all things which I seem to see.  Your Blessing is reflected back to me from the "world," and Your forgiving Love blesses me. 

Lesson 294 ~ The body does not exist.

I am the Son of God.  Can I be something else as well?  Can I be a spirit trapped in a body, living in a world apart from God? Can I be what God created AND another thing at the same time?  What God created is Eternal, Whole and Joyful.  If God Is, then a body I am not.  What use has the Son of God for the limited and terminal?   ACIM tells me that while I experience myself as a body living in a world, I should think of it as neither good nor bad.  For ACIM's purposes, while it has a use for me, think of it as a neutral thing.  It is not sick, old, nor hurt.  It is functionless and nonexistent.  While I seem to experience life as a body, I will use it for God's Purposes.  I will use it to carry out the mind's function of forgiveness.  I will not see it as more than this today; of service for a while and afterwards, without a purpose, laid aside and forgotten.  Father, a body cannot be Your Son.  Yet while Your Son experiences himself as a body, I can think of it as neither sinful nor sinless; neither good nor bad.  I will use the dream to help God's Plan that I Awaken from all the dreams I made.

Lesson 293 ~it Only Love is here.

Only Love surrounds me and is within me.  All illusions can be set aside because the source (my mind) has been identified.  My Reality is with God.  Love is my present state.  The Source of Love is here now, Eternally.  While I still seem to see a "world,"  I will forgive all and everyone, and it will seem bright, clear, safe and welcoming.  My "mistakes" are gone from my mind.  The "past" never was, the "future" never will be....there is only the now, and in the "now" I choose Love over illusions.  All the world shines in the reflection of God's Love when I have chosen to forgive.  Father, Your Holy Love fills my vision today, because I have chosen Your Love over my illusions.  My ears hear the hymns of gratitude the "world" is singing underneath the sounds of fear.  The world forgiven, is free of all "past" mistakes.  I will choose to see only a forgiven world before my eyes today.

Lesson 292 ~ A happy outcome to all things is sure.

God guarantees that only Joy can be the final outcome for everything.  There are no exceptions.  Yet, it is up to me when this happens.  "Death" does not lead to Heaven and my Awakening...only a change of mind will Awaken me to God.  How much longer will I place illusions before Truth?  The ending of my dreams is Certain, and only Joy awaits me.  There is nothing and no one outside me.  While there seems to be, I will forgive everyone and everything.  God's Will is done, and only God's Will exists.  Anything that seems to be outside me, is not Reality.  Today I will seek and find according to His Will.  Thank You, Father, for Your Guarantee of only Happy outcomes.  Help me not to interfere with Your Will.  Help me not delay the Happy ending You have promised me for every problem that I perceive and every trial I think I still must meet.  There are only Happy endings in You. 

Lesson 291 ~ This is a day of Stillness and Peace.

I can use "Christ-Vision" today, by seeing all things forgiven and at Peace.  What Loveliness I will see!  What Holiness surrounds me!  When I lay aside dreams, in thought, word and deed, I will recognize the Holiness I share with my Father.  Father, I quiet my mind to receive the Thoughts You offer me instead.  I accept what comes from You.  I do not know the way to You, because I made a dream to be foremost in my thoughts.  But You will Guide me, Your Son, along the Quiet Path that leads to You.  Let the Memory of You return to me, as I forgive everyone and everything. 

Lesson 290 ~ Today I seek only Happiness.

I can choose to see illusions, or I can choose to see only Happiness.  What I seem to see apart from God is frightening and painful.  I will not allow my mind to be deceived by dreams any longer.  Today is the day when I choose to seek only Happiness and nothing else.  Father, I ask Your Strength to uphold me today while I seek only to do Your Will.  What I ask, You have already given me and I am sure that I will see my Happiness today. 

Lesson 289 ~ The past never was.

Until I lay the "past" aside as the dream it is, Reality will escape me.  When I look to the "past" I am really looking nowhere; seeing only what is not there.  There is nothing and no one outside of me, so all I seem to see is my own dream-thoughts seemingly projected "outward."  My world of dreams has no "past" and no "future."  When I forgive all I seem to see, it is gone.  Father, I will not dwell on a past that is not there.  I will forgive all "guilt" and "shame" that seems to be associated with a "past." Forgiveness will bring Your Son the Loveliness that shines the way to the end of His dreaming. 

Lesson 288 ~ Forgive everyone and everything.

Father, You will use all my miscreations for Your Own Holy Purposes.  What I created for separation, You use to bring me to Oneness.  I seemed to divide my Sonship into many "others,"  billions of bodies on a planet I call home.  You will use each encounter I have with an "other" as a means for forgiveness and Unity.  I return to You, Father, holding my "brother's" hand.  We walk side by side.  Every "enemy" becomes friend, and in each brother is my salvation.  I will not attack the savior You have given me, and I will let go of the guilt and shame I feel about myself.  Every thought, every encounter and every decision is another opportunity to choose for Truth.  I will forgive everyone of everything I thought they did to me.  I will forgive all sadness, guilt, grief, anger, impatience and envy.  I will forgive my brother for what he did not do to me.  For it has all been a dream.  There is nothing and no one outside of me.  I am the Son of God Safe in Heaven with my Father.  Yet while I see a "world" "outside" me, I will use it only for God's Holy Purpose of forgiveness to Awaken to Reality. 

Lesson 287 ~ God is my only goal.

Where is there to go except for Heaven?  There is nowhere else.  Heaven is All There Is, and nothing else exists.  My world of dreams gives me "temporary" peace, love, joy, happiness and satisfaction.....which is the same as none at all.  Heaven gives Eternal Peace, Love, Joy, Happiness and Satisfaction.  All that seems to be outside of me is within me, and what is not Perfect Peace is only a dream ~ a fantasy ~ of "separation from God."  What treasure could I find and keep that could compare with God's Eternal Everything?  Would I rather live in fear than Love?  Father, You are my goal.  The Memory of You signifies the end of dreams.  Like the Prodigal Son, I seemed to have created an existence "apart from" You, becoming my own "god," and created my own world and "life.".  I created futile substitutions for Truth.  Yet I can laugh, knowing it is not my Reality, but only a dream ~ a fantasy ~ in my mind.  Returning to You, Father, is only a matter of changing my mind about what I want.  Do I want fear, loneliness and other illusions?  Or do I want Love, Oneness and Truth?  Each thought I entertain and every "decision" I make is another opportunity to choose once again.

Lesson 286 ~ The hush of Heaven holds my heart.

Father, how Still and Quiet do all things fall into place.  Today, I have chosen as the day to understand that I do not need to "do" anything; I need do no penance, nor make any sacrifice.   No change needs to happen in the world.  The only change I need make is in my own mind.  In You every conflict is already resolved and in You is everything I hope to find.  Your Peace is mine.  Finally my heart is quiet and my mind at rest.  Your Love is Heaven.  And Your Love is mine.   I have one goal:  Heaven.  "Finding" Heaven is accomplished in my mind.  That means making ONE choice with every thought or decision that crosses my mind.  I choose for Heaven/Reality/Truth.....OR.......I choose for hell/illusions/fear.  The Stillness of today will give me hope that I have found the way.  I will not doubt the Awakening which God Himself has promised me.  I trust in Him and my Self as His Son, who remains One with Him. 

Lesson 285 ~ My Holiness shines Bright and Clear.

Today, I wake with Joy, expecting only the Happy things of God to come to me. The instant I accept my Holiness, I realize that as God's Son, I am entitled to only Joy, Peace and Love.  I have used pain as "proof" of my separation from God.  I have used suffering as "proof" of my separation from God.  I have used (fill in the blank) as "proof" of my separation from God.   Today, I gently brush insanity aside and accept my Holiness instead.  Father, my Holiness is Yours, and Yours is mine.  Let me rejoice in It.  Through forgiveness of insanity, I am restore to Sanity.  My Holiness was created by You, Father.  What can alter Eternal Perfection?  What can change what You Will to Be So? 

Lesson 284 ~ My thoughts should not hurt.

Suffering of any kind is a dream.  Pain is impossible.  There is no reason for grief.  This is Truth.  All suffering is done only in my mind.  I can choose to change all thoughts that hurt.  I will repeat this as often as I can throughout the day, replacing all dream-thoughts with Thoughts of Truth.  Today I will go beyond mere words, past all doubt, and arrive at full acceptance of Truth.   Father, what you give is Perfect and brings only Eternal Peace, Joy and Love.  What is not of You exists only in dreams.  So grief and pain are impossible.  I cannot trust my insane mind which currently believes in dreams.  So today, Father, I trust only You.  I will accept only Your Thoughts into my mind.  I do not have to dwell on every thought that enters my mind because they are not even my True Thoughts.  Only the Thoughts I think with You, Father, are my True Thoughts.