My happiness and my function are one.

1. Surely you have noticed the emphasis placed throughout our recent lessons on the relationship between fulfilling your function and attaining happiness.

²This is because you still do not truly see that relationship.

³Yet between these two ideas there is more than just a connection—they are the same.

⁴Their form is different, but their content is exactly the same.

2. The ego wages a constant battle with the Holy Spirit over the fundamental question of what your function is.

²And also over what your happiness is.

³It is not a two-sided battle.

⁴The ego attacks, but the Holy Spirit does not respond.

⁵He knows what your function is.

⁶He knows that your function is your happiness.

3. Today we will try to go beyond this entirely senseless conflict and reach the truth about your function.

²We will not engage in endless arguments about what it is.

³We will not desperately attempt to define happiness or determine the means to attain it. ^I

⁴We will not indulge the ego by listening to its attacks on truth.

⁵We will simply rejoice that we can discover what the truth is.

4. The goal of today’s longer practice period is to accept the fact that not only is there a very real connection between the function God gave you and your happiness—they are actually identical.

²God gives only happiness.

³Therefore, the function He gave you must be happiness, even if it appears to take a different form.

⁴Today’s exercises are an attempt to go beyond these apparent differences and recognize the shared content that is truly the same.

5. Begin the session by reflecting for ten to fifteen minutes on the following thoughts:

²God gives me only happiness.

³He has given me my function.

⁴Therefore, my function must be happiness.

⁵Try to see the logic of this sequence, even if you do not yet fully accept the conclusion. ^II

⁶The conclusion can only be false if the first two statements are incorrect.

⁷So let us consider the premises for a while.

6. The first premise is that God gives you only happiness.

²This could be false, of course, but in order for it to be false you would have to define God as something He is not.

³Love cannot give evil, and what is not happiness is evil.

⁴God cannot give what He does not have, nor have what He is not.

⁵If God does not give only happiness, He must be evil.

⁶And if you do not accept that God gives you only happiness, it is because you believe He must be evil.

7. The second premise is that God has given you your function.

²We have seen that your mind has only two parts.

³One is ruled by the ego and made up of illusions.

⁴The other is the home of the Holy Spirit and the dwelling place of truth.

⁵You can choose only between these two guides.

⁶And your choice yields only two possible results: the fear the ego always brings, and the Love the Holy Spirit always offers in its place.

8. Thus, either God established your function through His Voice, or it was set by the ego you made to replace God.

²Which of these alternatives is true?

³If your function was not given by God, then it must be a gift from the ego.

⁴But what can the ego really give you, when it is itself only an illusion and offers nothing but the illusion of gifts? ^III

9. Reflect on this during today’s longer practice.

²Also reflect on the many forms the illusion of your function has taken in your mind, and on the many ways you have tried to find salvation by following the ego’s guidance. ^IV

³Did you find it?

⁴Were you happy?

⁵Did it bring you peace?

⁶Today we must be very honest. ^V

⁷Recall the results with even-mindedness, and also consider whether it was ever reasonable to expect happiness from anything the ego has ever proposed.

⁸Yet the ego is your only alternative to the Voice of the Holy Spirit.

10. You will hear madness, or you will hear truth.

²Try to make this choice by considering the premises on which our conclusion rests.

³We may not agree on anything else, but we can agree on this conclusion.^VI

⁴For God Himself shares it with us.

11. Today’s idea is another giant step in learning to perceive what is the same as the same, and what is different as different.

²On one side stand all illusions.

³On the other, all truth.

⁴Let us try today to understand that only truth is true.

12. In the shorter practice periods, which will be especially helpful today if done twice an hour, it is suggested that you apply the idea in this form:

²My happiness and my function are one, because God has given both to me.

³It will take no more than a minute—probably even less—to say these words slowly and think about them a little as you do.

^I Happiness is a real concept and, as such, it cannot be defined—that is, it cannot be limited by words. Happiness, like peace, is the condition of Being. Nevertheless, it may be helpful to describe the human resonance of true happiness, which, stated very simply, is characterized by joy in the heart, peace in the mind, and the absolute certainty that this condition is permanent. In this world, everything you do from this state of mind will be right, because you will be fulfilling your function correctly.

Jesus invites us to feel joyous and to share our joy with others; to live in peace and reflect that peace in our relationships; to free ourselves from fear by recognizing that we are safe and protected from all harm, and to transmit that sense of safety to our brothers, healing them by dispelling their fear and guilt.

And all of this—to what extent? As far as it is possible for us. Remember: it is not in your hands to decide how far you will go, but it is in your hands to decide where you are heading.

^II It is evident how much importance this Course gives to rational thought and logic. As stated in T-14.I.1:4: “The Holy Spirit uses logic as easily and as well as the ego, except that His conclusions are not insane.” Jesus often uses syllogisms, a form of deductive reasoning derived from Greek logic, consisting of two propositions as premises and another as a conclusion, the latter being a necessarily deductive inference from the former two. Perhaps the most notable aspect of this kind of reasoning is that its conclusions are binding—that is, they require a certain behavior derived from them. To accept the premises, to assume the conclusion as true, and not to act accordingly constitutes a rupture with rational thought, a form of madness, and most likely, an incursion into magical thinking, which is irrational.

All the reasoning that follows aims to convince the mind that consistent forgiveness is the best way to act in every circumstance, and the only one that guarantees happiness. It is no longer merely a matter of following a divine commandment or a counsel from Jesus; here we are shown that we must fulfill the function the Holy Spirit has assigned to us because it is the only thing that will provide what we truly want: happiness.

^III Perhaps you are still not fully convinced that the ego’s gifts are nothing but “illusions of gifts,” something without real value. To begin, notice carefully why Jesus uses the term illusion. Realize that it comes from the Latin verb illúdere, which means “to mock” or “to make fun of.” The ego “plays” with you when it offers its “gifts,” because lúdere means “to play,” and illúdere means “to play against”—that is, to mock. The ego deceives you and is laughing at you.

To see the trick the ego uses to deceive you, you can follow a chain of “for what purpose”. When you think something in this world will make you happy, ask yourself what you want it for, and you will probably answer that you want it because it will bring you something else that is also desirable. Then ask again what you want that for, and you will begin to uncover a whole sequence of motives that were not very obvious at first. If you carry out this process flawlessly, the final for what purpose is always to be happy. Also realize that, in fact, the intermediate elements of that sequence are only the rungs of a ladder you think will take you to future happiness. Nothing could be further from the truth. You spend your life building a ladder to nowhere.

Happiness is a real concept, and as such, it exists only in real time, and the only real aspect of time is the present. If you are not happy in the present, you never will be. Fulfilling the function God has given you does make you happy in the present, and fulfilling it perfectly requires nothing external to the function itself; it is something whole, complete, and existing in the present. However, what the ego promises you always lies in the future—that is, never—because the future does not exist. There has never been anything but the present.

^IV Just as the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit is one, absolute, and definitive, the ego offers you an endless number of partial “salvations” to the many problems and deficiencies you perceive when your mind interprets reality under its guidance.

^V You must always be very honest. Deceiving yourself is the greatest of follies. But today it is especially important that you consider what is being said with great attention and be particularly honest in your response, because what you tell yourself will have important consequences… unless, even knowing the truth, you decide to continue wasting your life. If so, do not worry too much; it only means that you have not yet reached the level of pain that will drive you to change. It is only a matter of time—but remember, this Course is meant to save time, that is, to save you suffering. The decision for true salvation is inevitable.

^VI Because there is no other. Remember that there are only two voices: the ego’s and the Holy Spirit’s. If you think there is a third one, and that this other voice is your own judgment, realize that you are deceiving yourself—that is the ego. The ego, the Holy Spirit, and “you” do not coexist. No! In your mind there are only the ego and the Holy Spirit—and the ego is an illusion.

The ego offers you a false sense of control and autonomy, but in reality, it only keeps you trapped in an endless cycle of desires and fears. Every time you follow its dictates, you are renouncing your true power and happiness. By contrast, when you choose to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, you are choosing the peace and clarity that arise from recognizing your true identity as the Son of God.

Happiness is not something to be sought in the future or in external circumstances. It is a natural state that arises when you align your mind with truth and fulfill the function God has given you. In forgiving, you are freeing yourself from the chains of the ego and opening your heart to the joy that has always been present within you.

So today, become aware of the illusions that have distracted you and choose to return to the truth. There is nothing to fear, for happiness and your function are one and the same, and both are a gift from God. By accepting this, you are taking a decisive step toward the peace and fulfillment that are your inheritance.