Giving and receiving are the same in truth.I
1. Vision depends upon today’s idea.
²In it is light, for it reconciles all apparent opposites.
³And what is light but the resolution born of peace, which brings together all your conflicts and mistaken thoughts into one concept that is wholly true?
⁴Even this one will disappear, for the Thought behind it will appear instead to take its place. II
⁵And now we are at peace forever, for the dream is over.
2. The true light that makes true vision possible is not the light the body’s eyes behold.
²It is a state of mind so unified that darkness cannot be perceived at all.
³Thus what is the same is seen as one, while what is not the same remains unnoticed, for it is not there.
3. This is the light that shows no opposites, and healed perception now has power to heal.
²This is the light that extends your peace of mind to other minds, so they can share it and rejoice in their oneness with you and with themselves.
³This is the light that heals, because it brings a single perception, based upon one frame of reference from which one meaning comes.
4. In this light, giving and receiving are seen as different aspects of one Thought, whose truth does not depend on which is seen as first and which as last.
²Now it is understood that both occur at once, so that the Thought remains complete.
³And in this understanding lies the basis on which all opposites are reconciled, because they are perceived from the same frame of reference that unifies this Thought.
5. One single Thought, completely unified, will serve to unify all thought.
²This is the same as saying that one correction is sufficient for all error, or that forgiving one brother completely is enough to bring salvation to all minds.
³For these are but special cases of one law that applies to all learning, when it is directed by the One Who knows the truth.
6. Learning that giving and receiving are the same has special usefulness, because it can be tried so easily and seen as true.
²And once this special case has proved it always works, in every circumstance where it is tried, the thought behind it can be extended to other areas of doubt and double vision. III
³And from there it will expand, and finally arrive at the one underlying Thought that unites them all.
7. Today we practice with the special case of giving and receiving.
²We will use this simple lesson in a setting that is obvious, because it produces results we cannot miss.
³Giving is receiving. IV
⁴Today we will offer peace to everyone, and see how quickly peace returns to us.
⁵Light is tranquility, and in that peace is vision granted us, and we can see.
8. So we begin the practice periods with today’s idea, saying:
²Giving and receiving are the same in truth.
³I will receive what I am giving now.
⁴Then close your eyes and think for five minutes of what you would hold out to everyone, to have it as your own.
⁵You might say, for example: V
⁶I offer serenity to everyone.
⁷I offer peace of mind to everyone.
⁸I offer gentleness to everyone.
9. Say each thought slowly, then pause a while and let the gift return to you in the measure that you gave it.
²You will find you have exactly what you gave, because that is what you asked for. VI
³It may also be helpful to select one person in particular to whom to offer your gifts.
⁴He represents the others, and through him you give to all.
10. Our simple lesson for today will teach you much.
²You will begin to understand the law of cause and effect, and you will progress much faster now. VII
³Think of today’s exercises as quick advances in your learning, made still faster and more secure each time you say:
⁴Giving and receiving are the same in truth.
I Today’s Lesson is beautiful. It is such a powerful, clear, luminous, and self-evident Lesson that it is exceedingly easy to comment on—and for that very reason, it needs no comment at all. Simply read it with great attention, do exactly what it tells you, and you will see for yourself the immense power it has to open your mind. Indeed, you are very fortunate to be doing this Lesson; take that into account. You will see. Read, do, and awaken!
II The Thought that underlies the notion of the unity of opposites is the awareness of Being.
III “Double vision” is where pairs of opposing, or dual, ideas are perceived—usually consisting of one real concept and another imaginary one that refers to the absence of the real concept. For example: love–fear; light–darkness; joy–suffering; having–lacking; reality–illusion…
IV To give is to extend one’s own being, and, as you already know by now, the world you perceive is a world of ideas—a world of ideas symbolized in forms you call “things.” All those “things” you “see” outside yourself are, in truth, ideas that remain in your mind, for that is the only “place” that exists in the universe. Nothing has ever left it, because there is nothing else: everything happens within your mind.
Giving something you love is a beautiful gesture, for in doing so you are extending love. But to whom or to what could it go if there is nothing outside you? To yourself, of course! And as you will see when you do the exercise that is proposed, it is you who are there to receive it. Nothing could be more evident. It is something you constantly experience throughout your “life” in this world—in fact, you have never experienced anything else.
V Today it is especially interesting that it is you who choose the mental state you wish to enjoy. Choose the one you prefer, evoke it, visualize it clearly, feel it within you, and then offer it to the entire world.
And then you will see how it returns to you multiplied. In truth, what returns to you is exactly what you gave, but it will seem to have increased, because you were not aware of all that was within you. That is why the best way to enjoy something is to give it.
VI Realize that this works for both good and bad alike. You will experience in yourself, instantly, both the good and the evil you offer another—exactly in the same terms and in the same measure—for, in the end, the one to whom you offer it is your very own self (though that may still be a little hard for you to accept).
VII Although the expression is not mentioned specifically, this is another of the “giant strides.”