Today we review the following: W-21 to W-25 ^I

1. W-21 “I am determined to see things differently.”^II

²What I now see are only signs of sickness, disaster, and death.

³This cannot be what God created for His beloved Son.^III

⁴The very fact that I see such things proves that I do not understand what God is.

⁵Therefore, I do not understand what His Son is either.

⁶What I am seeing shows me that I do not know who I am.^IV

⁷I am determined to see the witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those that show me an illusion of myself.

2. W-22 “What I see is a form of vengeance.”^V

²The world I see is certainly not a picture of loving thoughts.

³It is an image in which everything attacks everything.^VI

⁴It is anything but a reflection of the Love of God and the Love of His Son.

⁵It is my own thoughts of attack that produce this image.

⁶My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world and bring me the peace God intended me to have.

3. W-23 “I can escape from the world by giving up attack thoughts.”

²In this, and only this, lies my salvation.

³Without attack thoughts, I could not see a world of attack.

⁴As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace, safety, and joy.^VII

⁵And this is what I choose to see, instead of what I look upon now.

4. W-24 “I do not perceive my own best interests.”^VIII

²How can I recognize what is in my best interests when I do not know who I am?

³What I think is in my best interests would only bind me further to the world of illusions.

⁴I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me, to learn what is truly in my best interests, for I recognize that I cannot perceive it by myself.

5. W-25 “I do not know what anything is for.”

²To me, the purpose of all things is to prove that my illusions about myself are real.^IX

³With this in mind, I try to use everything and everyone.

⁴I believe that this is what the world is for.

⁵And so I fail to recognize its true purpose.

⁶The purpose I have given the world has led me to see it as a fearful place.

⁷Let me open my mind to its true purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and thus learn the truth about the world.

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^I The five ideas from the reviews can be combined to build meaningful sentences, phrased as you like. For example, today you could say: “I want to see everything differently, because it is evident that what I see now is a form of vengeance, but I am sure I can escape from this wicked world I perceive simply by relinquishing my condemning judgments. It is also perfectly clear that I never perceive what is in my best interests, and this must be so because, in truth, I do not know what anything is for.”

Formulating the ideas of this Course in your own terms, as you understand them, is a very powerful learning tool; it greatly helps to make them your own and incorporate them into your thought system. This is a resource Jesus frequently proposes to us, and its effectiveness lies in the fact that, in doing so, instead of simply learning the Course, you teach it—though in this case, to yourself. Throughout the Course it is repeated that teaching and learning are the same, and that when you teach an idea, you strengthen it in your mind.

It is well to remember that your thoughts are under the Guidance of Christ, but not under His control. This means they are solely and exclusively under your own control. In fact, only you control your mind, and since learning is changing the mind, only you can change yours. If you see this clearly, only you are capable of teaching yourself. Ultimately, this Course is a compendium of proposals to change your way of thinking.

Although the third volume of this work is called the Manual for Teachers, in reality, the entirety of the Course is a true manual for teachers—for you, teacher of yourself. Therefore, every effort you make by taking the content of this Course and transforming it, by putting it in your own words for yourself, will elevate the quality of your learning and take the teaching to a new dimension.

^II This is the famous phrase that Bill said to Helen which gave rise to the appearance of this Course in the world.

Jesus found in the minds of the scribes, united in a shared purpose of salvation, the ideal channel to convey His true teaching to the world.

^III Matthew 3:17: “And behold, a voice from Heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”

^IV I see what I want to see, and “to want” is to place the will in something. If that word existed in Spanish, we could say that “to want” is “to will.” And will is the function of the soul responsible for creating, that is, for extending its own existence. That is why, when we “create” in the illusion, we are projecting the idea we have about ourselves. Hence those who believe themselves innocent extend innocence, and those who feel guilty project their own guilt and see a guilty world.

^V I project outward my own guilt and resentments. The mind, being unable to tolerate the weight of its own guilt, throws it outward, constructing a world in which that guilt seems to pursue me. This is what the Course calls the “world’s vengeance”: the projection of my own wickedness upon everything around me, which then seems to attack me. It is a closed cycle: I project my guilt and, seeing it reflected in the world, I perceive it as an external threat. Thus I justify my fear and my defense, reinforcing the belief in a hostile and dangerous world. The world I see is, therefore, nothing but a mirror of my own attack thoughts. That is why, as I perceive it, it is “an image in which everything is attacked by everything.”

This projection mechanism is the same as what happens in night dreams. When dreaming, I visualize my fears and resentments, believing they threaten me from outside, when in fact they are creations of my own mind. The difference is that, upon waking, I recognize that they were not real, but mere projections of my sleeping mind.

In the same way, by practicing this Lesson, I begin to awaken from the world’s dream. I start to realize that the perception of attack and vengeance does not come from the world itself, but from my attack thoughts projected outward. Then I understand that the problem is not in the world, but in my mind.

The solution, therefore, does not consist in trying to change the world or defend myself from its apparent attacks, but in changing my thoughts. “My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world,” because by choosing loving thoughts instead of attack thoughts, I project love instead of guilt. This is what allows me to experience the peace that God intended me to have. By changing my perception, the world I see ceases to be a threat and becomes a reflection of my own love. Thus “what I see” ceases to be “a form of vengeance” and becomes a mirror of God’s Love and the Love of His Son.

^VI Because I have first attacked myself by defining myself as guilty.

^VII My forgiveness will let me see a forgiven world: the real world, an illusion that reflects the Love of God to the eyes of a mind still fragmented.

^VIII What is in my best interests is what I deserve. The problem here is that God and I have different ideas about that.

^IX “I do not know what anything is for.” This statement reveals the root of my ignorance: I have assigned meaning and purpose to everything I see in order to uphold my separate and false identity. I have done so without questioning it, believing that the world is here to confirm my illusions about myself. My unconscious purpose is to use everything and everyone to prove that my identity as a separate “self” is real. Thus I justify my personal existence, reinforcing my beliefs about what I am and how the world should be to maintain that sense of identity. Everything and everyone becomes a means to an end: to confirm that my view of myself and of the world is correct.

This egocentric use of everything I see leads me to perceive the world as a constant threat. Why? Because, by projecting my guilt and fear, I see a world that seems to conspire against me, that seems to attack me and challenge my identity constantly. In this way I build a terrifying image of the world, full of competition, conflict, loss, and death.

The purpose I have given the world is, therefore, to maintain my sense of separation. I have unconsciously decided that the world is here to prove to me that I am alone, vulnerable, and in need of defense. This forces me to live in a constant state of alert, seeing threats everywhere.

However, the world has no inherent purpose; every purpose I attribute to it comes from my mind. This is one of the most liberating teachings of A Course in Miracles: purpose is not in things, but in the mind that perceives them. Realizing this, I can choose to set aside the purpose I have projected onto the world.

“Let me open my mind to its true purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it.” This line reveals the path to freedom. Only when I stop projecting my own purposes onto the world can I learn the truth about it. Only then can I allow the Holy Spirit to show me the true purpose of all things: to reflect the Love of God.

The function of the world, according to A Course in Miracles, is to be a classroom. It is not here to confirm my illusions or to attack my identity. It is here so that I may learn to see differently, to learn to forgive, to learn to love. By withdrawing the purpose I have given it, I allow its true purpose to be shown to me, and in doing so, I transform my perception from fear to love.

This change of purpose is the miracle that the Course offers. By ceasing to use the world to confirm my separate identity and allowing it to become a classroom of forgiveness and love, I begin to remember who I truly am. Then the world ceases to be a prison and becomes a bridge to the peace of God.

Today we review the following ideas: W-16 to W-20

1. W-16 “I have no neutral thoughts.”

²It is impossible to have neutral thoughts because every thought has power.

³My thoughts either build a false world or lead me to the real one.

⁴But thoughts cannot be without effect.^I

⁵Just as the world I see arises from the errors in my thinking, so will the real world rise before my eyes when I allow my errors to be corrected.

⁶My thoughts cannot be both true and false.

⁷They must be one or the other.

⁸What I see shows me what they are.

2. W-17 “I see no neutral things.”^II

²What I see is a witness to what I think.

³If I did not think, I would not exist, for life is thought.^III

⁴Let me look upon the world I see as the reflection of my own state of mind.^IV

⁵I know that my state of mind can change.

⁶And so I know that the world I see can change as well.^V

3. W-18 “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.”^VI

²If I have no private thoughts, I cannot see a private world.

³Even the wild idea of separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world I see.

⁴But that was a sharing of nothing.^VII

⁵I can also call upon my real Thoughts, which share everything with everyone.^VIII

⁶Just as my thoughts of separation call to the separation thoughts in others, so too do my real Thoughts awaken real Thoughts in them.

⁷And the world my real Thoughts show me will dawn upon their sight as well as mine.

4. W-19 “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.”

²I am not alone in anything.

³Everything I think, say, or do touches the whole universe.^IX

⁴A Son of God cannot think, speak, or act in vain.

⁵He cannot be alone in anything.

⁶Therefore, I have the power to change every mind along with mine, for mine is the Power of God.

5. W-20 “I am determined to see.”

²Recognizing the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see.^X

³I want to behold the witnesses that show me the world’s way of thinking has been changed.

⁴I want to see the proof that what has happened through me has enabled Love to replace fear, laughter to replace tears, and abundance to replace loss.

⁵I want to look upon the real world, and let it teach me that my Will and the Will of God are One.^XI

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^I The effect of a thought is the content of that thought—the idea it expresses.

Content, cause, and effect are simultaneous and the same.

Thoughts cannot fail to have effects because they are the expression of the will that sustains them. You have the thoughts you want to have because your will is the cause of everything you perceive.

The question here is: what is your will, Son of God? Remember, even more than a Course about forgiveness, this is a Course about will.

^II I do not see neutral things because will is never neutral; it is always positive and assertive.

It manifests what it wants to manifest.

^III This is a reference to Descartes’ famous principle: “I think, therefore I am,” only here it is stated in the negative: “If I did not think, I would not exist.”

Jesus comments that this had a positive effect on Descartes: “He no longer really questioned the reality of what he perceived, because he KNEW that he was there” (T-3.XI.11:6).

“Life is thought.” This idea is very difficult to grasp because it is very simple. It cannot be understood, but it can be known and experienced.

To live is to think; to think is to live. There is no life without thought, for without thought there is no reality; there is nothing.

And this is not understood by the mind that believes in the physical, though by now you have already learned that all you call “physical” is nothing but having conferred “non-ideal” attributes onto an idea within the mind itself.

The “physical,” the “material,” does not exist apart from the mind that conceives it, and the individual mind could not have conceived it, for it too remains an idea in the confused mind of the Son of God.

Being, Existence, God, Life… it is all the same: one idea. This idea can be considered from different perspectives and interpreted as different aspects, but from a strictly ontological point of view, all of It is the same, and the denial of that idea is nonexistence—what does not exist.

^IV This other idea, however, is fully functional.

The world is in my mind and is of my own making, but the ego always avoids assuming that responsibility.

Yet to assume it bestows upon the mind the natural power of the miracle: the power to transform illusion so that it reflects the Love of God underlying all that exists.

The mind can do all things because the mind is all there is, the only thing that exists.

^V Remember: to perceive is to project, so you will see what you want to see.

To understand and exercise this principle requires radical honesty.

^VI I am not the only one who experiences the effects of my way of seeing because those “others” I think I see are also the expression of my will, and I see them as I do because I want to see them that way.

^VII To share an idea that has no real content is not true sharing, and this gives rise to the notion that thoughts are private and minds are separate.

This is not true, but it can be believed by that part of the mind that considers it true.

You cannot share an idea that has no content and, consequently, no cause and no real effects.

That kind of idea can only operate within the realm of illusion.

^VIII My real Thoughts, or true ones, are those I share with God and with all the Souls that make up the Christ Body. Those Thoughts are the Creations of the Son of God and are like the Son and the Father.

However, understood within the realm of the illusory world, this means that only loving thoughts can be effectively shared, because only love is real.

On the other hand, my illusory thoughts, devoid of love, cannot be shared, but they can be “spread.” In that case, nothing is shared, though one may harbor the illusion that it has been.

Particular minds can harbor similar private illusions, but they will always be their own interpretations, distinct and exclusive. It will seem that I am communicating something when I do so, but in truth I am only stirring in that apparent other the same absences I experience, though in this case they are his own.

That is why in the following line the word “appeal” is used.

^IX It not only “affects” but actually “shapes” the universe I believe I live in.
That was already seen in the fourth line of the second paragraph.

^X That is to say, I want to see the Reality before me—the expression of God’s Love underlying this dream of fear I now believe I behold. I do not want to imagine the absences of love that the ego’s voice stirs in me. To see is to Know, and to Be and to Love. The fact that we share one mind is what makes true vision possible, the knowledge of what is real, the love we share.

^XI These five Lessons of today are an invitation to watch our mind and be attentive to what we think, since it is our thoughts that shape the reality we perceive and the image we have of ourselves. Yet this task is not exhausting; on the contrary, it is an energizing practice, for it frees you from clinging to a limited and depressing view of reality. What truly exhausts is paying attention to the weary and repetitive thoughts of the ego.

Today we review the following: W-11 to W-15

1. W-11 “My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.”

²Because the thoughts I am aware of mean nothing, the world they show me cannot have meaning either.^I

³What gives rise to this world is insanity, and so the world it produces is insane.^II

⁴Reality is not insane, and I have both real and insane Thoughts.^III

⁵Therefore, I can see a real world if I choose to let my real Thoughts guide my seeing.^IV

2. W-12 “I am upset because I see a meaningless world.”^V

²Insane thoughts are disturbing, and they produce a world where no order can be found.

³Only chaos rules a world that mirrors a chaotic way of thinking, and chaos has no laws.

⁴I cannot live in peace in such a world.

⁵I am grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to give it value.^VI

⁶And I choose not to value what is wholly mad and without meaning.

3. W-13 “A meaningless world engenders fear.”

²What is wholly insane engenders fear, because it is completely unpredictable and offers no trust.^VII

³In madness, nothing is dependable.

⁴It offers neither safety nor hope.

⁵But such a world is not real.

⁶I have given it the illusion of reality, and I have suffered because I believed in it.

⁷Now I choose to withdraw my belief from it and place my trust in Reality.^VIII

⁸By making this choice, I will escape all the effects of a fearful world, because I am recognizing that such a world does not exist.

4. W-14 “God did not create a meaningless world.”^IX

²How can a meaningless world exist if God did not create it?

³He is the Source of all meaning, and everything real is in His Mind.

⁴It is also in my mind, because He created it with me.

⁵Why should I continue to suffer from the effects of my own insane thoughts, when my home is the perfection of Creation? ^X

⁶Let me remember the power of my decision and recognize where I truly dwell.

5. W-15 “My thoughts are images I have made.”

²Everything I see reflects my thoughts.^XI

³It is my thoughts that tell me where I am and what I am.

⁴The fact that I see a world of suffering, loss, and death shows me that I am seeing only the image of my own insane thoughts, and that I am not allowing my real Thoughts to cast their loving light on what I see.^XII

⁵But God’s way is sure.

⁶The images I have made cannot prevail against Him, because it is not my will that they do so.^XIII

⁷My will is His, and I will have no other gods before Him.^XIV

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^I To understand this, it is key to remember that to perceive is to project. The only thing I see, what I call “the world,” is nothing but my own thoughts projected onto the screen of my conscience. And since those thoughts, in truth, have no meaning, what I believe I see—the world—has none either. That is the truth. Yet, if I am honest with myself, I must admit that my mind does not function that way in practice. To me, the world is full of meaning, and although I am willing to recognize—with great effort—that I am the one who has assigned those meanings, the world I live in still seems profoundly meaningful to me.

Think of this: you are on the bus, standing, reading on your phone the Lesson of the day from this blessed Course, which happens to be Lesson 11: “My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.” You think you understand it and are willing to accept that what it says is true. But then someone bumps into you, your phone falls to the floor, and suddenly you are filled with anger. Five seconds earlier, you had assumed that the world means nothing, and yet a small incident is enough for your old thought system to spring instantly into action, implicitly acknowledging that, in fact, even the tiniest trifle has enormous importance to you.

That is why, in practicing these Lessons, it is essential to be honest and realistic. Understand and accept the enormous distance between knowing the statement of truth and fully embracing it. That distance is called learning, and like any process, it requires time, patience, trust, and unwavering determination.

Your main challenge with this Course is not to understand what it says, nor even to recognize it as true, but to find the motivation to apply it at every moment and in every circumstance. But remember this: only accomplishments build certainty, and that certainty is essential for consolidating your learning.

^II My insane thoughts, insane because they are generated without love, give rise to an insane world, equally devoid of love.

The opposite is also true: my loving thoughts will let me see a world full of love. My thoughts are the cause, and the world is the effect.

^III Reality is the Thoughts I think with God, my Creations.

^IV When I rely on my real Thoughts to interpret reality, I see only love, beauty, and peace, which is what I have created with God.

^V It deeply disturbs me to see a world that has no meaning because that is utterly at odds with my true identity as the Son of God, which is pure meaning, love, and infinite peace.

^VI To give value to the world I behold is what makes it real, but only to me, for in itself that world I see has no reality; it is only the product of my imagination.

I have invented it, I, the Son of God, in the same way that I have invented a spurious personality for myself.

^VII Meaninglessness is the opposite of knowledge, just as fear is the opposite of love.

^VIII This is the same as saying that, from now on, I choose only to think the Thoughts I share with God, and I will know how to distinguish them from the others because they inspire me with peace, love, and security.

^IX Only a demented god could have created a world that means nothing, but such a thing would not even be possible, because that would not be creation, but belief; the fabrication of illusions.

This is how the part of the Son of God’s mind that believes itself separated from its Father operates; that is its demented god in an impossible equation.

^X Of course, that makes no sense and would be madness; nevertheless, that is how those who stubbornly cling to their false identities, separate and independent from God’s reality, think: the people who have come to dwell in a demented world.

^XI My thoughts shape that incessant inner dialogue with which I tell myself a fantastic story of lacks, sins, guilt, grudges, desires, and vengeance.

Although, from time to time, a loving thought also slips in among them, and then I breathe a sigh of relief.

^XII Yet, in that desperate situation, sometimes a thought of forgiveness arises; at times I behold my brothers with tenderness and mercy, and then my heart leaps with joy: the light has come, and the world timidly reflects the Love of God.

I need no other guide than that to know that, in those moments, I am in my Right Mind; the madness has lifted, and now I can truly see.

What other guide do I need?

^XIII Matthew 16:18: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

^XIV Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

Today’s review covers the following ideas: W-6 to W-10

1. W-6 “I am upset because I see what is not there.”^I

²Reality is never frightening.^II

³It is impossible that it could upset me.

⁴Reality brings only perfect peace.

⁵When I am upset, it is always because I have replaced reality with illusions I made up.

⁶Illusions disturb me because I have given them reality; therefore, I see reality as an illusion.

⁷Nothing in God’s Creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine.

⁸I am always upset over nothing.^III

2. W-7 “I see only the past.” ^IV

²When I look around, I condemn the world I look upon.

³And I call that seeing.

⁴I use the past against everyone and everything, and thus I turn them into my “enemies.”

⁵When I have forgiven myself and remembered who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I see.

⁶There will be no past, and therefore no “enemies.”

⁷And I will look with God upon all that I failed to see before.

3. W-8 “My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.”^V

²I see only my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past.

³What, then, can I see as it is?

⁴Let me remember that I look upon the past to prevent the present from dawning in my mind.^VI

⁵Let me understand that I am trying to use time against God.^VII

⁶Let me learn to give up the past, realizing that in doing so I am letting go of nothing.

4. W-9 “I see nothing as it is now.”^VIII

²If I see nothing as it is now, then truly I am not seeing at all.

³I can only see what is here now.

⁴The choice is not between seeing the past or the present; it is simply between seeing or not seeing.

⁵What I have chosen to see has cost me Vision.

⁶Now I would choose again, that I may see.

5. W-10 “My thoughts do not mean anything.”^IX

²I have no private thoughts.

³Yet I am aware only of my private thoughts.

⁴What can these thoughts mean?

⁵They do not exist; therefore, they mean nothing.

⁶But my mind is part of Creation and of its Creator.

⁷Would I not rather join the thinking of the universe, than obscure all that is really mine with my pitiful “private” thoughts that mean nothing?

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^I I see “what is not there” because, in truth, I only relate to my own interpretations, the stories I tell myself, which are nowhere but in my mind, for being ideas, they have never left the source from which they came. Out there there is nothing, because there is nothing outside my mind, since my mind, which is God’s, is all that exists. What disturbs me is not anything “out there,” but the story I have just told myself, which is the story of a disturbance.

^II I do not yet know this, because I do not remember what “Reality” is, and this is because I have forgotten it by replacing it with the voice of the ego, that which I have called “my thoughts.” Now my mind finds itself in a kind of “hypnotic” state, gazing at images I am projecting onto the screen of my conscience. Something like watching a movie at the cinema. Reality is Existence, a perfect abstraction that we can interpret in its three aspects of Love, Truth, and Power, the divine triad. To exist is an absolutely satisfying condition that inspires not fear, but certainty, love, and infinite power.

^III It is nothing because it is an illusion that has no being in itself; it is the symbol of an impossible idea: the notion of being an individual entity separate from God. And what I say I see is nothing but the “story” I am telling myself.

^IV “I see only the past” because my mind relates only to meanings I assigned in the past, and the forms I believe I see are symbols of those ancient meanings. It is exactly the same as in night dreams, where everything I see is nothing but formulations of meanings I myself attributed in the past.

^V The verb “To preoccupy” is very peculiar, since it means to concern oneself with something before dealing with it, which is absurd. It is a concept that refers to the mental state preceding the decision to act.

For the mind to be absorbed in that “pre-occupation” implies an awareness that something must be changed because it is “wrong,” or at least could be “better.” The perception of that need to change something always entails a certain uneasiness and discomfort—the motivation—that can become very sharp.

In truth, to pre-occupy oneself is nothing other than to suffer while contemplating in fear and helplessness a demand for life’s response that exceeds what you consider yourself capable of.

^VI It is important to understand that the mind cannot handle two things simultaneously: either it occupies itself with the past, or it occupies itself with the present. One must choose between those two sole options.

You tend to choose the past because that is where sin and guilt are found, and dealing with them is the ego’s perverse pleasure. In the innocence of the present, the ego dissolves. Guilt is what guarantees the ego’s continuity. The innocence of the present is the price you pay for being absorbed in the past.

^VII Time, in its imaginary aspects of past and future, is the gesture the mind makes to separate itself from concepts it denies itself access to.

God is real and exists only in the real aspect of time: the present.

^VIII The fundamental characteristics of the present are innocence and peace; the perfect absence of guilt and threat.

The present is always perfectly satisfying. If it is not, it is clear evidence that you are contemplating the past or anticipating the future, the nonexistent aspects of time.

^IX Again the idea of Lesson 4 is repeated. It is a crucial idea in the paradigm of this Course. So important is it that it is impossible to be too aware of it, for it is constantly forgotten.

Realize that the mind was created to behold the truth; that is why it considers true whatever appears before it, whether reality or illusion. The mind always tends to regard as truthful what it beholds; hence forgiving is the undoing of that mental impulse.

To forgive, at bottom, is to undo an understandable error, for the mind must deal with strange and improper forms arising from an utterly false primordial idea: that you are separate from God. Once your mind has accepted that monumental error, it is inevitable that phantoms will arise from it, and your poor mind, accustomed to truth, is inevitably deceived by those offspring of madness.

So whenever something disturbs you, remember that the thought which gave rise to that unease—the voice of the ego within you—really means nothing. Forgive it, do not hold it against yourself, and behold the present with the love it deserves.

Introduction

1. Today we begin a series of review sessions.^I

²Each one will cover five of the ideas presented earlier, starting with the first and ending with the fiftieth.

³Each idea is followed by a brief comment, which you should consider as you review it.

⁴The exercises are to be practiced as follows:

2. Begin the day by reading the five ideas and the accompanying comments.

²After that, there is no need to follow a specific order in how you think about them, although each one should be practiced at least once.

³Spend two minutes or more in each practice period reflecting on the idea and its related comment.

⁴Do this as often as you can throughout the day.

⁵If one of the five ideas appeals to you more than the others, focus on that one.

⁶But be sure to review them all once more at the end of the day.

3. There is no need to approach the comments in a literal or exhaustive way during the practice periods.

²Try instead to grasp the central point of each idea and think about it.^II

³These review exercises should be done with your eyes closed and, if possible, when you are alone in a quiet place.

4. This is especially important for the practice periods at your current stage of learning.

²However, it is equally important that you begin to learn not to require any special setting in order to apply what you have learned.

³In fact, you will need to apply it even more in situations that seem disturbing than in those that appear quiet and peaceful.

⁴The purpose of your learning is to enable you to bring stillness with you wherever you go and to heal distress and turmoil.

⁵This is not achieved by avoiding difficult situations or seeking a place of seclusion.

5. You will learn that Peace is part of you, and only requires your presence to bring peace to any situation in which you find yourself.

²Eventually, you will understand that it does not matter at all where you are in order to see your Peace reflected in everything, just as it is within you.^III

6. You will notice that in this review, the ideas are not always presented in the exact form in which they were originally given.

²Use them as they are presented now.

³There is no need to return to their original formulations or to apply them exactly as was suggested at the time.

⁴What we emphasize now is the way in which these first fifty ideas are related and the consistency of the thought system to which they lead you.

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^I Notice the pedagogy that Jesus is applying in this Workbook. First of all, repetition. When the idea to be practiced during the day is first presented, you are asked to repeat it, bringing it to mind with a certain frequency throughout the day. The reason for this is that, figuratively speaking, for a given stimulus to become a specific response, a particular behavior, or interpretation, it must travel a certain path through the impenetrable jungle of your mind. That is why it is necessary to open a trail between those two points and keep it open, accessible, and familiar by walking it many times. In this way, traveling through it becomes easy and familiar.

Now, with this review, we once again walk the path we have not taken for several weeks, and thus we make sure that we know the way well. But this time we make the journey somewhat differently. Now Jesus adds a new resource: we use different vehicles to travel it, we use slightly different words, and He even encourages us to use the ones that come to us. This way we learn that the wording of the idea is not some kind of magic spell, but that what really matters is the concept the words convey. Thus, we learn to distinguish between form and content.

^II Perhaps this is the most important part of the exercise: try to understand the essence of what Jesus is attempting to convey with each idea. Try to express it in your own words, or better still, try to reach the concept itself without any word crossing your mind; try to reach the essence of the idea through a feeling. If you are able to understand the idea without words, then you have truly understood it.

From there, do not treat the idea as a statement or formulation; remain with the pure understanding and recognize that this understanding is the truth. This is the most effective way to incorporate it into your thought system as something functional.

Understand that a thought system is not a set of ideas that must necessarily be formulated in a certain way. It is true that it can be described that way, but also in many others. A thought system, in itself, is a specific “position” of the mind, a mental paradigm; it is a way of using the mind, or rather, the way your mind approaches what it perceives or conceives.

^III Take these last lines very much to heart. Remember that this is a Course in mind training. In reality, it is training for the “lower” part of your mind; the other part needs no training, for it is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and functions perfectly in eternity. What you are doing now is simply cleaning and ordering the house where the ego dwells, although perhaps it would be more accurate to say that what you are doing with these practices is expelling the ego from that part of your holy mind where it had shamelessly settled. It has no right to be there. You are simply getting rid of an extraordinarily troublesome and disturbing tenant.

You can also interpret the situation in an even more appropriate way. Understand that the ego, in reality, does not exist; it is no one and nothing—it is only a poor way of using your mind. In this Course the term “ego” is used with a purely didactic purpose and as a learning device, but the ego has no entity whatsoever. That is why, when you read of “wrong-mindedness,” it is really referring to the ego: the wrong way of using your holy mind. The problem is that, for now, it is the only one you know; the other way you hardly remember at all, but you certainly yearn for it.

In this process of “cleaning and ordering” your house, it is essential that you use the resources provided as often as possible and, above all, whenever you face a disturbing situation, a problem, or an upset. Remember the introduction to Chapter 30: “These steps are not new to you, but they are still only ideas, and not the rules by which you live. Therefore, we must practice them for a while until they become the rules by which you live. What we are seeking is that these rules become habits to be available for ANY need” (T-30.I.1:6-8).

LESSON 51

Today’s review covers the following ideas: W-1 to W-5 ^I

1. W-1 “Nothing I see means anything.”

²The reason this is so is that I am seeing what is nothing, and nothing has no meaning.^II

³I must recognize this in order to learn how to see.

⁴What I think I see now has taken the place of Vision.

⁵I must let it go by recognizing that it means nothing, so that Vision may take its place.

2. W-2 “I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.”^III

²I have judged everything I look upon.

³And it is this, and only this, that I see.

⁴That is not seeing.

⁵It is merely an illusion of reality, because I have made my judgments entirely apart from Reality.

⁶I am willing to acknowledge the invalidity of my judgments because I want to see.

⁷My judgments have hurt me, and I do not want to see through them any longer.

3. W-3 “I do not understand anything I see.”

²How can I understand what I see when I have misjudged it?

³What I see is the projection of my own errors of thought. ⁴I do not understand what I see because it is not understandable.^IV

⁵There is no point in trying to understand it.

⁶And yet it is entirely reasonable to let it go, to make room for what can be seen, understood, and loved.^V

⁷I can exchange what I see now for that, simply by being willing to do so.

⁸Is this not a better choice than the one I made before?

4. W-4 “These thoughts do not mean anything.”^VI

²The thoughts I am aware of do not mean anything because I am trying to think without God.

³What I call “my” thoughts are not my real Thoughts.^VII

⁴My real Thoughts are the Thoughts I think with God.

⁵I am not aware of them because I have allowed “my” own thoughts to take their place.

⁶I am willing to recognize that “my” thoughts mean nothing and to let them go.

⁷I choose to replace them with what they were meant to replace.

⁸“My” own thoughts mean nothing, but all of Creation resides in the Thoughts I think with God.^VIII

5. W-5 “I am never upset for the reason I think.”

²I am never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to justify “my” own thoughts.

³I am constantly trying to make them true.

⁴I make everything my “enemy” so I can justify my anger and my attacks.^IX

⁵I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see by assigning this role to my thoughts.

⁶I did this to defend a thought system that has hurt me and that I no longer want.

⁷I am willing to let it go.

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^I Helen was a somewhat finicky editor and disliked the idea of repeating the review lesson subtitles. That is why Jesus offered her a different formulation for each one.

^II This line explains very well what is happening in your mind. Nothing you see means anything because, in truth, you are not seeing anything at all; you are only projecting images onto the screen of your conscience, and you call that “seeing.” What you believe you see is nothing but an illusion, except that your mind has labeled what it has conceived as “something” or “things.” It has also applied the labels “outside me” and “reality.” And, to complete the process, it has assigned an even longer label describing their function: “what this thing is for.”

What appears on all those labels is not exactly “false,” but rather “fictitious,” entirely whimsical and arbitrary. Of all the labels, the one that harms you the most is the one that says “real,” because that is precisely the one that leaves you utterly confused and the one that most hurts you. If you had not placed that label, nothing could affect or disturb you, and you would understand that everything is the product of your fertile imagination, of your capacity to create imaginary worlds—a kind of artistic production.

^III This should be obvious, even to you, as you begin studying this Course. Surely you notice that you interpret the present moment very differently from the person next to you, still more differently than the dog accompanying you, not to mention the ant you just stepped on, for example. In truth, you are not relating to anything but your own interpretations of what you perceive.

Moreover, what you perceive is not even “outside” you; it is in your mind, just like what you call “my body” and the idea you have of yourself. Though this may frighten you somewhat, all of it is fictitious. Yet there is no reason for fear; if you feel afraid, it is a sign that you are doing the exercises correctly.

However, if working with these ideas does not stir up at least a certain uneasiness, it may be that you are not yet fully grasping their meaning. Do not be troubled by this, but seek to go deeper into the true sense of what is being proposed to you.

^IV Of course you do not understand anything you see! In fact, you do not even understand what it means “to understand,” since you confuse it with “remembering” your own interpretations and judgments. Yet, if you engage in a small exercise of honesty, you will notice that once you remove from what you see all the “labels” you yourself have placed there, your mind is left blank. Then what you behold evokes nothing that comes from you.

In reality, the only real aspect of the contents of your mind is the love it manifests.

^V To understand this line, it may help you to take a quick look at Lesson 29.

^VI The magnitude of what this idea implies is such that it can hardly be expressed in words, for the idea itself denies and undermines words altogether. Moreover, if you recall, the idea is reiterated and reinforced in Lesson 10 with a similar statement. This is one of the many devastating declarations for the ego that the student of this Course usually admits and accepts lightly, without major consequences in his personal life.

Perhaps you consider yourself a student of A Course in Miracles, perhaps you say you accept its postulates and are dedicated to its reading; you may even try to practice it with all the honesty of which you are capable, yet you have probably noticed that problems keep arising. Your old thought system has its own inertia and resists change. And that is normal. Do not worry about it. Persevere and trust.

Understand that, although change could be instantaneous, it usually involves a process that unfolds over time. Also remember that, ultimately, your old thought system will not change itself. That is impossible. Jesus tells you that the final step is taken by God. It is up to you to do what you can to create the conditions for this to happen as soon as possible—nothing more.

^VII Realize that what you call “my” thoughts is nothing but the ego’s voice in your mind. Do not be afraid to set aside that insidious voice and relinquish those thoughts of “yours.” Do not be possessive, for that greedy impulse is precisely the effect of the ego in your mind. You cannot lose anything real; do not forget that.

^VIII “The thoughts I think with God” are Creation itself, all of Creation, and the only thing that exists, in other words, Reality.

^IX Do not judge yourself harshly for thinking this way and functioning in this manner. You must realize that you do so because, though you may not acknowledge it, you are deeply frightened; you are very afraid. The profound terror you feel, but conceal from yourself, is so intolerable that you cannot endure it within and try to rid yourself of it by projecting it outward in angry forms. Your attacks on your brothers, and theirs on you, are nothing but this: the projection of an unbearable fear. Both they and you, in truth, are asking for help in that difficult situation. Forgive yourself for this, and forgive them as well. Only forgiveness and prayer will save you. Remember that it does not matter where you are; what matters is where you are headed.

The Love of God sustains me.

1. Here is the answer to every problem you will face today, tomorrow, and throughout time.

²You believe that what sustains you in this world is anything but God.

³You place your faith in the most trivial and insane symbols: in pills, in money, in “protective” clothing, in “influence,” in “prestige,” in being liked by others, in knowing the “right” people—an endless list of forms that are nothing, to which you assign magical powers.

2. All these things are your replacements for the Love of God.^I

²You give them value to ensure your identification with the body.

³They are hymns of praise to the ego.

⁴Do not put your faith in what is worthless; it cannot sustain you.

3. Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances.

²It will lift you out of every difficulty and raise you above all the dangers you perceive in this world to a place of perfect peace and safety.

³It will carry you to a state of mind in which nothing can threaten, disturb, or interfere with the eternal calm of the Son of God.

4. Do not place your faith in illusions.

²They will fail you.

³Place all your faith in the Love of God within you—eternal, unchanging, and forever unfailing.

⁴This is the answer to whatever you confront today.

⁵Through the Love of God in you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and with complete confidence.

⁶Repeat this to yourself often today.

⁷It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols.

⁸It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.^II

5. Let today’s idea sink deep into your consciousness for ten minutes twice—once in the morning and once at night.

²Repeat it, reflect on it, let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow peace to envelop you like a protective cloak.^III

³Do not let any foolish or meaningless thought enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God.

⁴For such is the Kingdom of Heaven.^IV

⁵Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.

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^I The world is a pitiful parody of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the world there is nothing intrinsically new or original. All you will find in it is an infinitely diminished version of what you enjoy in Heaven. When the mad idea of being separate from God fleetingly crossed the mind of the Son of God, it created nothing at all, for it is impossible to create apart from God; in fact, it is impossible to be apart from God. Instead of creating, the one who believed himself human began to believe in illusions; the first of these, his own identity: the ego.

This version of himself—also infinitely diminished and qualitatively different, for it is limited and lacking—must be satisfied with the only thing it now knows: illusions. And the substitute illusions it pursues, necessarily and because of its utter lack of creativity, must emulate what the Son of God knows and enjoys in the Kingdom of God.

Thus, in a certain way, it could be said that the world is the sad analogy of Heaven, where the abstract has become concrete, the unlimited, limited, and the eternal, temporal. Nevertheless, even so, the worldly inevitably retains a parallel with the divine. Everything you long for and pursue here you have in Heaven in infinite measure. Here you will find nothing intrinsically original; everything is a poor copy of what you already have and enjoy in your Father’s house.

^II The Love of God is something that you, ego, do not understand; yet you, Son of God, know nothing else but that. And note that here it speaks of “apparent” difficulties, because in truth there are none at all. Also realize that this is a Course for you, ego, because the Son of God needs no Course whatsoever—how could he! The Love of God, in reality, will resolve nothing, because there is nothing to resolve. Yet when you feel the Love of God within you, indeed all difficulties will vanish. The problem with your problems is that they are important to you, and again, the only problem you really have is the importance you give them. Change your mind, forgive, place the Love of God above all else, and you will see what happens.

^III This line is very important. That letting related thoughts come to you is what will make your mind “take on the color” of the Love of God and resonate with that experience. This is because, as has already been said, the mind is like a chameleon: it has the potential to blend with what it evokes and becomes that very thing. Thinking or reading something that brings to your mind the idea that the Love of God protects and cares for you will lead you to live that experience.

What will lead you to the Love of God is your yearning for Him, not the speculations and ponderings you make in your mind about such a concept. Your yearning, in fact, is a form of prayer. Yearn with your heart and trust. Nothing else is needed. The experience of His Love will be granted to you.

^IV Matthew 3:2: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” This has often been understood as “confess your sins because the end of the world is near.” Another way of understanding it, more plausible when we look at the original Greek in the Bible and examine it in the light of this Course, is: “Change your mind; Heaven is as near to you as your hand.”

Matthew 19:14: “But Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.’”

The expression “Kingdom of Heaven” appears 32 times in the Bible, all of them in the Gospel according to Matthew, and it also appears 20 times in the seven volumes of this Course. Elsewhere the expression “Kingdom of God” is used, as in Mark 1:15.

The Voice of God speaks to me all through the day.

1. It is quite possible to listen to the Voice of God all through the day without interrupting your usual activities in any way.^I

²The part of your mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you are aware of it or not.

³It is the other part of your mind that functions in the world and obeys its laws.

⁴That is the part that is constantly distracted, disorganized, and very uncertain.

2. The part that is listening to the Voice of God is calm and quiet, always at rest, and completely certain.

²It is the only part of your mind that truly exists.

³The other is a frantic, wild illusion, disturbed and unreal.

⁴Try not to listen to it today.

⁵Try instead to identify with the part of your mind where stillness and peace forever reign.

⁶Try to hear the Voice of God calling to you in love, reminding you that your Creator has not forgotten His Son.

3. Today we will need at least four five-minute practice periods, and more if possible.

²Today we will try to truly hear the Voice of God reminding you of Him and of your Self.^II

³We approach this thought with confidence, the happiest and holiest of all, knowing that in doing so, we are joining our will to the Will of God.

⁴He wants you to hear His Voice.

⁵He gave It to you so that you might hear It.

4. Listen in deep silence.

²Be very still and open your mind.^III

³Leave behind the strident voices and sick imaginings that hide your real thoughts and obscure your eternal link with God.

⁴Sink deeply into the peace that waits for you beyond the frantic, riotous thoughts and the sights and sounds of this insane world.

⁵You do not live in that world.

⁶We are trying to reach your real home.

⁷We are trying to reach the place where you are truly welcome.

⁸We are trying to reach God.

5. Do not forget to repeat today’s idea often.^IV

²Do so with your eyes open when necessary, but close them when possible.

³And be sure to sit quietly, repeating today’s idea whenever you can, closing your eyes to the world and acknowledging that you are inviting the Voice of God to speak to you.

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^I That is so. That is simply a fact, though you probably don’t see it that way. The reason you do not hear it is also very simple: you are not listening. You do not set your will on hearing it, and that is why you do not hear it. You may also be unaware of the fact that your mind’s power to block the Voice of God is as great as the Power of God to make Himself heard, because the power of your mind is precisely the Power of God. Through that Power He created you and gave it to you wholly, along with the freedom to use it as you would.

You cannot hear two voices at once. Your mind always chooses one and disregards the other. That is inevitable. This Course tells you that one is the voice of the ego and the other, the voice of the Holy Spirit. And perhaps this leaves you somewhat confused, because you are not clear about which voices it refers to. In fact, it is very simple. The voice of the ego is the one you know as your own voice. It is that incessant inner dialogue you maintain with yourself, and also the words that come out of your mouth when you speak, without knowing exactly how they occur to you or where they come from. All of that is the voice of the ego, and it is something that in truth has nothing to do with you, even though you witness it. The sad circumstance is that you confuse being a witness with being an author, and you claim as yours what you hear. The truth is that it is not, but you believe it is.

The voice of the Holy Spirit also occurs in you; it comes from God and is the perfect answer to any matter you consider. In this case, it is not a compulsive voice, like the ego’s, but one you must “activate” through your invitation to hear it. In reality, the Holy Spirit has no discourse of His own: He is your Father’s answer to all your requests, nothing more, but nothing less than that.

To hear the voice of the Holy Spirit is the same as to want to hear it and to believe that it will tell you what is best and what you need because, ultimately, it is a belief resting on reality. Therefore, to hear it requires that you engage your will and your trust. Realize that this, in truth, is a Course in the exercise of the will, and remember that trust is the fundamental characteristic of God’s teachers.

^II This is the fourth time you are urged to try to pay attention to the part of your mind where the Voice of God resides. Today’s is an exercise of pure will that requires great determination and honesty, but also great innocence and trust. Realize that you will begin the exercise from the lower part of your mind, which rules the ego, but if you do it well you will find yourself, to your surprise, in the other part, in your higher mind, for both are you.

^III Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

^IV The fact that you remember to do it will give you an indication of what your heart truly desires. Do not be afraid. You will not hear a resounding heavenly proclamation; you will hear precisely what is most fitting for you in that very moment. The content of what you hear will be determined by the position of your heart at that instant. If you are preoccupied with trivialities, you will hear a wise answer to that triviality. If you are distressed for any reason, you will receive a message of comfort, safety, and peace. Try to remember throughout the day what is truly best for you; listen.

There is nothing to fear.^I

1. Today’s idea simply states a fact.

²To those who believe in illusions, it is not a fact.

³But illusions are not facts.

⁴In truth, there is nothing to fear.^II

⁵This is very easy to recognize.

⁶But it is very difficult to recognize for those who want illusions to be true.^III

2. Today’s practice periods will be brief, simple, and frequent.

²Simply repeat the idea as often as possible.

³You can do so with your eyes open at any time and in any situation.

⁴However, it is strongly recommended that you take a minute whenever possible to close your eyes and repeat the idea silently, slowly, several times.

⁵It is especially important to use the idea immediately whenever anything disturbs your peace of mind.

3. The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own strength.^IV

²The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows that somewhere in your mind—though not yet fully recognized—you have remembered God and allowed His Strength to take the place of yours.

³In the instant you are willing to do this, you stop being afraid.

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^I This brief Lesson is one of the most beloved by many students of this Course, and with good reason.

This Lesson is deeply cherished for its simplicity and its profound capacity to console. “There is nothing to fear” speaks directly to the heart, offering a sense of peace and calm in the midst of the challenges of daily life. Its message cuts through the complexity of our worries and anxieties, reminding us that fear is an illusion rooted in the ego. The idea that we are always safe in the presence of God’s Love, beyond the illusions of the world, brings immense relief. Its universal truth resonates with everyone, making it a powerful mantra in moments of doubt, anxiety, or distress.

^II Remember the celebrated introductory lines of this Course: “This Course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way: Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Therein lies the Peace of God.”

This statement encapsulates the essence of its teaching: “There is nothing to fear.”

If we interpret it more freely, placing these words on Jesus’ lips, they might sound like this: “My brother, enjoy the Peace of God and do not be afraid, for what is real in you is in no danger whatsoever. Everything you think you could lose, in truth, does not exist and has never been real.”

This is a Course about healing, and as the Text states: “Healing is the removal of fear.”

The evangelical message of Jesus has always been: “Do not be afraid; rejoice, for your true reality abides in God and is therefore unchangeable.”

That is all. It is what the awakened brother says to the brother who is still dreaming, as he watches him suffer in his nightmares: “There is nothing to fear.”

Now, our experience in the world seems to show us the opposite. We feel that danger stalks us continually, we fear the disasters we imagine around the corner, and we live on the edge, afraid of losing something we value. Moreover, the certainty of our future death does not cease to haunt us. This is how most of us perceive “reality.”

The question is: is that really true? Have we ever lost anything that is truly real? Undoubtedly, as time has passed we have watched everything we considered “ours”—body, job, relationships, or ideas—change. Everything keeps transforming. Strictly speaking, time seems to destroy anything we think we possess.

But there is something that never changes: our consciousness of being.

When Jesus tells us there is nothing to fear because what is real in us is not in danger, he is referring to that unchanging awareness, to our true Self. Everything else belongs to the realm of illusion. And it is not merely that we could lose it: in truth, it has never existed. It was an illusion.

The Peace of God protects what He has created, not the illusions our egoic mind fabricates. Every fear of loss is born of the unconscious devotion we keep offering our fantasies—this story of fears, desires, and supposed lacks we have built around ourselves—even though we are glorious Sons of God.

Let us recognize that, ultimately, what frightens us is awakening from a nightmare, and it is worth asking: is it reasonable to fear ceasing to fear and returning to reality?

^III Read this line with great attention. Think it over carefully, and then consider whether it is your case.

^IV 2 Corinthians 12:9: “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will most gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’”  Here, Paul recognizes a profound spiritual paradox: it is precisely in acknowledging our human frailty that we open to divine strength. When we stop relying on our limited abilities and instead rest in God’s grace, we discover a power that is not our own, but infinitely greater. This aligns perfectly with the teaching of the Course, which holds that fear arises from trusting in our own strength, while peace comes from trusting in the Strength of God within us.

Similarly, Philippians 4:13 affirms: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” This is not a call to ego-driven personal achievements, but an invitation to recognize that through our union with Christ—the symbol of our true Self—we have access to limitless strength. There is no situation we cannot face, no fear we cannot dissolve, because we do not face it alone.

Both verses gently shift our focus from self-sufficiency to reliance on the divine. Once we truly embrace this truth, fear loses its power. After all, if “My grace is sufficient for you” and “I can do all things through Christ,” what could possibly remain to fear?

God is the Strength in which I trust.^I

1. If you rely on your own strength, you have every reason to be apprehensive, anxious, and afraid.

²What can you predict or control?

³What is there in you that you can depend on?

⁴What gives you the ability to be aware of all facets of any problem, and to resolve them in such a way that only good can come of it?

⁵What is there in you that enables you to recognize the right solution, and ensure that it will be achieved?

2. You can do none of these things by yourself.^II 

²To believe you can is to place your trust where it is unwarranted, and this results in fear, anxiety, depression, anger, and sorrow.

³Who can put his faith in weakness and feel safe?

⁴And who can put his faith in Strength and feel weak?

3. God is your sure protection in every circumstance.

²His Voice speaks for Him in every situation and in every aspect of each situation, telling you exactly what to do to call upon His Strength and His protection.

³There are no exceptions to this, because God makes no exceptions.^III

⁴And the Voice that speaks for Him thinks as He does.

4. Today we will try to go past your weakness and reach the Source of true Strength.

²Four five-minute practice periods are required today, and more and longer sessions are strongly encouraged.

³Close your eyes and begin, as usual, by repeating the idea for today.

⁴Then spend a minute or two searching your mind for situations in your life that you have invested with fear, and dismiss each one by saying to yourself:

⁵God is the Strength in which I trust.

5. Now try to let go of all concerns related to your own sense of inadequacy.

²Clearly, any situation that causes you concern is associated with feelings of insufficiency, for otherwise you would believe you could handle it successfully.

³Placing your trust in yourself is not how you build confidence.

⁴But the Strength of God in you will always succeed.^IV

6. Recognizing your own frailty is a necessary step in the correction of your errors.

²But it is not sufficient to give you the confidence you need and are entitled to.

³You must also gain awareness that your trust in your true Strength is fully justified in every circumstance and with respect to everything.^V

7. In the final phase of practice, try to go deep within your mind to a place of true safety.

²You will recognize that you have reached it if you experience a sense of deep peace, no matter how briefly.

³Let go of the trivial thoughts that crowd the surface of your mind and sink beneath them to the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁴There is a place in you where perfect peace abides.

⁵There is a place in you where nothing is impossible.

⁶There is a place in you where the Strength of God resides.

8. Repeat today’s idea often.

²Use it as your response to any disturbance.

³Remember that Peace is your right because you trust in the Strength of God.

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^I Notice how these last Lessons deal with the three aspects of Being, the divine triad of Knowing, Loving, and Creating.

W-44: God is the Light in which I see. (Seeing–Ajna/I understand)

W-45: God is the Mind with which I think. (Mind–Sahasrara/I am)

W-46: God is the Love in which I forgive. (Loving–Anahata/I love) W-47: God is the Strength in which I trust. (Power–Will–Manipura/I can)

^II To recognize this is nothing more than an exercise in simple honesty; it is something that not even the Son of God, by himself, can do, for the Son of God, by himself, is nothing but a human being. As Jesus reminds us: “Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever things He does, these also does the Son likewise’” (John 5:19).

^III Here Jesus reminds us once again that the Voice of the Holy Spirit is always within our reach. It speaks to us in every circumstance, for it dwells in the right part of the mind, sometimes referred to as the “higher mind.” If at times we do not hear It, it is not because the Voice is absent, but because to hear It we need to be willing to listen and to pause our inner dialogue for a moment. After all, how could we hear the Voice of the Holy Spirit if we do not give It space and go on conversing with ourselves without end?

^IV In your present situation, it is natural that this statement—no matter how beautiful and joyful it may seem to you—does not yet strike you as entirely believable. Perhaps you read it with good will, yet still consider it little more than a well-intentioned, somewhat idealistic story.

Listen attentively and open your mind to the truth: nothing is closer to truth than this! To harbor the idea of God in your mind—to think of your Father, even if only for an instant—makes you absolutely invulnerable under any circumstance. To remember Him, even for a brief moment, places you beyond all threat in this illusory dream of death and destruction. To think of God fills you with such power and joy that, even though it does not physically remove you from this world, it protects you with a mantle of sanity and shields you from all harm. Do you not realize that to call upon God is to bring Reality to illusion, Love to fear, Truth to error, and Strength to weakness? But do not rely on these words alone: see for yourself! Think of God when you feel afraid, when doubts assail you, or when you do not know which path to take… and watch carefully what happens. You will be astonished.

^V “True strength” refers to the Strength of God that dwells within you, not to that which your ego seeks to claim for itself.

Remember also that trust is the first and most important characteristic of God’s teachers, and it rests precisely upon that Strength. As the Course states:
“God’s teachers trust in the world because they have learned it is not governed by the laws the world made up. It is governed by a Power in them, but not of them” (M-5.1.1:4-5).

That Power, in the end, is the Strength of God.

God is the Love in which I forgive.

1. God does not forgive, because He has never condemned.

²And before forgiveness becomes necessary, there must have been condemnation.

³Forgiveness is the greatest need of this world, but that is because this is a world of illusions.

⁴Those who forgive are thus released from illusions; those who do not forgive are bound by them.^I

⁵Just as you truly only condemn yourself, in the same way, you only forgive yourself.

2. Although God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the foundation of forgiveness.

²Fear condemns, and Love forgives.^II

³Forgiveness undoes what fear has made, and brings the mind back to the awareness of God.

⁴For this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation.

⁵Forgiveness is the means by which illusions disappear.

3. Today’s exercises require at least three full five-minute sessions, along with as many shorter applications as possible.

²Begin the longer practice periods by silently repeating today’s idea, as usual.

³Close your eyes while doing so, and spend one or two minutes searching your mind for those you have not forgiven.

⁴It does not matter “how much” you have failed to forgive them.

⁵You have either forgiven them completely, or not at all.^III

4. If you do the exercises properly, you should have no difficulty finding many people you have not forgiven.

²A helpful rule is to consider anyone you do not like as a suitable subject.

³Name each one specifically and say:

⁴God is the Love in which I forgive you, [name].

5. The purpose of the first part of the practice is to better prepare you to forgive yourself.^IV

²After you have applied today’s idea to everyone who came to mind, say to yourself:

³God is the Love in which I forgive myself.

⁴Then spend the remainder of the practice adding related thoughts, such as:

⁵God is the Love with which I love myself.

⁶God is the Love in which I am blessed.

6. The form of these applications may vary considerably, but the central idea must not be lost.

²You might say, for example:

³I cannot be guilty because I am a Son of God.

⁴I have already been forgiven.

⁵It is not possible to hold fear in a mind that God loves.

⁶There is no need to attack, because Love has forgiven me.

⁷Do not forget that the practice should end by repeating today’s idea in its original form.

7. The shorter applications may simply consist of repeating the idea in its original form, or in a related form if you prefer, or through more specific applications when necessary.

²These specific applications will be needed any time during the day when you become aware of any kind of negative reaction toward someone, whether that person is present or not.

³In such cases, repeat silently:^V

⁴God is the Love in which I forgive you.

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^I Matthew 16:19: “And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.”

John 20:23: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

This is the key to forgiveness. When you forgive, you are telling yourself that it is not important, precisely because it is an illusion. Moreover, realize that this is not merely a mental process, for your heart also implores you, through its discomfort, to change your way of thinking.

Forgiveness is healing for your Soul; whenever you forgive, your Soul rejoices, and that is no fantasy, for you feel it in your whole being. Regaining your spiritual health also has repercussions on your body, which heals as well.

Remember that your body is nothing more than an idea in your mind about yourself, and when you force that idea to coexist with other poisonous ones of condemnation, it attunes itself to those malignant ideas and becomes ill.

Condemnation is the judgment that inevitably binds you to illusion—not so much because of its negative character, but because it makes illusion inescapably real to you. You only condemn what you consider certain and real.

This is the great spell of condemnation: granting reality to the illusory. In the same way, but in perfect opposition, the foundation of forgiveness is precisely the recognition that what is being considered is not real, and that is why it is forgiven, let go.

Who would linger with an illusion if he knew it to be one?

^II This statement carries extraordinary light and tremendous liberating power.

If you become aware that every condemnatory judgment is, at its core, nothing but an expression of fear, you would not devote yourself so eagerly to your favorite activity: blaming.

Human beings blame with ease because, in condemning, they see themselves as most dignified judges in possession of truth. Yet if they became aware that in condemning they are, in fact, merely expressing their fear, they would be far more cautious in their judgments, for they would hardly find any dignity in being afraid.

^III This, like virtually every declaration of this Course, is maximalist and true, in sharp contrast to the relativistic approaches of the world, founded on compromise.

Forgiveness is either total, or it is not forgiveness at all, because to forgive is to release, to let go—and this only occurs when the release is complete.

If you retain something, even in its mildest form, it remains fully with you. Failing to see this is like failing to understand why you are being electrocuted when you touch the electrical wire “just a little.”

Just as error implies separation from truth, forgiveness implies separation from error. And separation is an absolute concept: it either is, or it is not.

^IV Today’s exercise is extraordinarily practical and effective, and if done wholeheartedly, it brings great release and healing. But to do it well requires absolute honesty. The way the proposal is formulated has little importance; what is essential is that there be a true willingness to forgive and to let go of past judgments.

^V…and wholeheartedly: