Today we review the following: W-36 to W-40
1. W-36 “My holiness envelops everything I see.”I
²The perception of the real world comes from my holiness.
³Having forgiven, I no longer see myself as guilty. II
⁴I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me.
⁵When I look upon the world with understanding eyes, I see only its holiness, for I am looking only at the thoughts I hold about myself.
2. W-37 “My holiness blesses the world.”III
²The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone.
³Everyone and everything I see in its light shares in the joy it brings me.
⁴There is nothing that is excluded from this joy, because there is nothing that does not share my holiness.
⁵As I recognize my own holiness, the holiness of the world shines forth for all to see.
3. W-38 “There is nothing my holiness cannot do.”IV
²The healing power of my holiness is limitless, because its power to save is limitless.
³But what is there to be saved from except illusions?
⁴And what are all illusions except false ideas about myself?
⁵My holiness undoes them all by affirming the truth about me.
⁶In the presence of my holiness, which I share with God Himself, all idols disappear.
4. W-39 “My holiness is my salvation.”V
²Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing it is recognizing my salvation.
³And it is also recognizing the salvation of the world.
⁴Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid.
⁵And because I am not afraid, everyone shares my understanding—which is God’s Gift to me and to the world. VI
5. W-40 “I am blessed as a Son of God.”VII
²In this lies my claim to all that is good, and only what is good.
³I am blessed as a Son of God.
⁴All good things are mine because God intended them for me.
⁵I cannot suffer any loss, deprivation, or pain because of Who I am.
⁶My Father supports me, protects me, and guides me in all things.
⁷His care for me is infinite, and it is always with me.
⁸I am eternally blessed as His Son. VIII
I My holiness envelops everything I see because now I see everything from my holiness. It has always been there; the difference is that now I recognize it in myself.
II Forgiveness and prayer are the only resources available to you in this world of illusion. You walk in fear, absorbed in your own thoughts of condemnation, sin, and death; you see them as though they were outside yourself, unaware that they are of your own making. This lack of responsibility for the world you believe you see is what makes you a victim of yourself. Forgive what you think you see, not out of moral superiority and goodness, but because none of it is real; it is the product of your own hallucinations, and you do not want to go on suffering.
The greatest difficulty you will face in approaching your own liberation is that you have not yet truly decided that, indeed, you want to stop suffering. You have confused pleasure with pain, and you perceive them in reverse. Notice the perverse pleasure you find in guilt and vengeance, and you will realize it is so. The suffering of others often consoles you; your own suffering you sometimes find redemptive.
What this Course calls “true perception” will free you from these false interpretations. This is not yet true vision, but it is what leads you toward it. It is the necessary process of purification through which you must pass in order to claim your right to perform miracles.
III My holiness blesses the world because that is what holiness does; that is its condition. Holiness is the condition of existence; existence is holy and creates by extending itself. In the world, that extension, that creation, is called “to bless.”
IV In reality, holiness can only do one thing: extend what it is. Do not ask holiness for anything else, for it cannot give it to you. Do not ask it to “improve” your illusions or to adjust reality to your expectations, for that would only perpetuate the deception. Holiness does not accommodate illusions; it simply dissolves them by affirming the truth.
What it will do, however, is see itself in everything it beholds. By recognizing its own essence in all things, it undoes the false ideas you hold about yourself, freeing you from illusions. The world is not real; it is a mirror in which you see reflected the idea you have of yourself. But when you look with holiness, you no longer see distorted projections, but a reflection of the truth you share with God. Then all idols vanish, and the only thing that remains is what has always been: holiness itself, your true condition.
V My holiness is my salvation because my holiness is my condition. My holiness is the truth about me, whether I recognize it or not.
VI From this side of the mirror, here in this world of illusions, real values such as holiness are incomprehensible to you. You have so limited your mind that you are only able to handle illusory concepts; that is why the notion of holiness seems inaccessible to you. The realm in which you believe you live is a perfect inversion of Heaven, and that is why it is much easier for you to deal with negative concepts.
Given your sad situation, you may better understand this idea if you say: “My innocence is my salvation.” The idea of innocence you understand well, for it is a negative concept. It comes from the Latin innocens, formed from the negative prefix in- and the word nocens, which comes from the verb nocere, “to harm.” Therefore, innocent means “not harmful,” and that you can understand and accept.
Do not be surprised, then, by the “negative” character of this Course, which advocates concepts such as “forgive”—NOT to take into account—, “meditate”—NOT to consider your own thoughts—, or “listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and follow His guidance”—NOT to decide for yourself. The Gospel Jesus already warns: “My kingdom is NOT of this world.”
Heaven and world are antithetical concepts, as are God and self. The inversion of the thought system this Course proposes leads you to reality by the denial of the illusory. If these “negative” postulates inspire you with some fear or sadness, realize that this is because you still harbor some hope of finding something of value in this world you believe you inhabit.
But realize two things: this is NOT life, and your legitimate aspirations to be happy will never be fulfilled in what changes. Not only do you deserve more than you think you want; you deserve everything, for everything was given you, and you will never be content with less than that.
VII I am blessed because God created me through His blessing. This is irrevocable, as is everything God creates; this, too, cannot change. I may tell myself whatever I please and believe it, but that cannot change reality. The only thing that can change, and indeed does change, are my opinions about myself and about everything, which proves their insubstantiality.
VIII These five Lessons, so inspiring, are nevertheless quite difficult to accept from our human perspective of identification with false personal identities. But that is precisely the reason we are doing this Course: to change the idea we have about ourselves.
I will feel as holy as I allow myself to feel, and as I see myself, so will I see everything else. What I behold with benevolent eyes will confirm the holiness I have granted myself. It is a virtuous circle of positive affirmations grounded in a truth I still find difficult to recognize, but which will become more evident as I practice it.
If these five maximalist ideas seem excessive to you because they confront too sharply the image you hold of yourself, do not give up. Use them, but moderate them a degree: instead of reading “holiness,” read “goodness,” and perhaps they will then seem more acceptable to you. Remember: the important thing is not that you come to see yourself as holy—though you are—but that you move in that direction.
If you are still unable to recognize holiness in yourself, at least improve the opinion you hold about others and about the world. Stop thinking about yourself and focus only on the good, on the positive aspects of everything around you. Be grateful to God, to others, and to life, and thus, without realizing it, you will end up reconciling with yourself.