Today’s review covers these ideas: W-69 and W-70

1. W-69. “My grievances hide the light of the world in me”.^I

2. My grievances show me something that is not there and hide from me what I want to see.

²If I recognize this, why would I want my grievances?

³My grievances keep me in darkness and hide the light.

⁴Grievances and light cannot coexist, but light and vision must be joined for me to see.

⁵In order to see, I must let go of all grievances.

⁶I want to see, and this is how I will succeed. ^II

3. Specific applications of this idea might be:

²Let me not allow this to keep me from seeing.

³The light of the world will shine away all this.

⁴I have no need for this; what I want is to see.

4. W-70. “My salvation comes from me.”

5. Today I will recognize where my salvation is.

²It is in me, because its Source is there.

³My salvation has not left its Source, and so it cannot have left my mind.

⁴I will no longer seek it outside myself.

⁵It is not something outside that I must bring within.

⁶Instead, it will extend from within me to everything I see, and all I look upon will reflect the light that shines in me and in what I behold. ^III

6. These expressions of the idea are suitable for more specific applications:

²Let me not be tempted to seek my salvation outside myself.

³I will not let this interfere with my awareness that I am the Source of my salvation.

⁴This has no power to take salvation away from me.

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^I Today you will not concern yourself with whether your resentments are justified or not, because if you do, the voice of the ego within you will provide an endless array of false arguments to justify them, which will overwhelm you. Be wise and humble. Simplify. Focus on the effects those resentments are having on you, and become aware that they harm you, hurt you, and make you ill.

Never argue with your ego, for you are bound to lose. The ego is clever and devious; you are innocent, and your natural realm is not cleverness but truth. So do not listen to it—look with childlike honesty within yourself, consult your heart, and you will have no doubt about what you must do with your resentments.

This is a path of choices that must be made. To some you must say yes, to others no, and the contrast between them is so great that the choice cannot be difficult unless you allow the ego to ensnare you with its cunning tricks.

^II I am absolutely certain that I want to see a radiant world that floods my heart with joy and my mind with peace, yet that is not what I see. I now behold something else. I see a sad, dark, loveless, and dangerous world.

But am I really seeing? Could it be that I am not seeing what is truly there? What, then, am I seeing?

What does it mean to harbor resentments? What happens in my mind when I am resentful? When and why does that occur?

To harbor resentments, it is essential that I have condemned something or someone. It is essential that I have declared something to be wrong. It is also essential that I firmly believe my evaluation of that thing to be absolutely true and appropriate. To harbor resentments, I must have absolute faith in my own judgments.

If I have absolute faith in my judgments, it is evident that I am absolutely insane. Moreover, mine is no ordinary insanity—it is the deranged state of a furious madman attacking himself, for he tells himself only stories that make him suffer.

When I look at the world, all I see are my resentments. Yet in reality, I am seeing nothing at all; I am merely listening to the opinions of my ego—indeed, the opinions of a madman. It is no wonder I do not see a radiant world out there.

For that terrible condition of my hallucinating mind to change, it is unquestionable that I must stop paying attention to terrifying stories about the world, about people, and about myself.

I simply have to stop believing that any nonsense that comes to my mind is true. I must open my mind to the possibility that the judgments I hear about everything I behold are mistaken—that in truth, I know nothing about anything.

I must quiet my mind and ask that I be granted a better way of seeing. The one I am using now is doing me terrible harm, and for that reason, it would be better to have none at all. I will remain still and see what happens.

^III The truth is that I am not completely convinced that my salvation lies within me. If I were, I would already have gone within, accepted that I am saved, and would not be doing this Course.

What I am absolutely certain of is that my salvation is not outside me, for I have been searching for it out there for a very long time and have not found the slightest trace of anything that could be called true salvation. Moreover, this is not something that happens only to me; I do not know anyone at all who has found it outside themselves.

However, I have read some quite reliable testimonies from people who claim to have found it, and they all agree on the same thing: they found immense joy by going within, and there they experienced something they could not put into words—something more real than anything they had ever known.

On the other hand—and thinking about it more carefully—to some extent it has also happened to me. There have been times when, without knowing how or why, I have felt very happy. I did nothing to make it happen; it simply occurred. I believe this is something everyone, to some degree, has also experienced.

Moreover, it is quite logical that salvation should be found within, because, evidently, it is there that its fruits are experienced. What is truly surprising is that, after such a simple reasoning—accessible to anyone—people still insist on seeking joy and peace outside themselves. It is indeed striking.

I think it is worthwhile, at least for a while, to reverse the direction of my efforts. From now on, I will pay little attention and give little importance to what happens outside me—only what is strictly necessary—and I will travel quietly and silently within myself, with a still mind, wide-open eyes, and without expectation.

Today’s review covers these ideas: W-67 and W-68

1. W-67. “Love created me like Itself.”

2. I am like my Creator. ^I

²I cannot suffer, I cannot experience loss, and I cannot die. ^II

³I am not a body. ^III

⁴Today I want to recognize my reality.

⁵I will not worship idols, nor raise the self-made images I have of myself to replace my Self. ^IV

⁶I am like my Creator.

⁷Love created me like Itself.

3. These specific forms may be helpful in applying the idea:

²Let me not see in this an illusion of myself.

³Let me remember my Creator as I look upon this.

⁴My Creator did not create this as I see it.

4. W-68. “Love holds no grievances.”

5. Grievances are entirely foreign to Love. ^V

²Grievances attack Love and veil Its light.

³If I hold grievances, I am attacking Love and therefore attacking my Self.

⁴In doing so, my Self becomes something unknown to me.

⁵I am determined not to attack my Self today, so that I may remember who I am. ^VI

6. These specific forms of applying this idea may be helpful:

²This does not justify denying my Self.

³I will not use this to attack Love.

⁴I will not let this tempt me to attack myself.

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^I Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…’”

Rather, God said, “I make My Son in My image and likeness,” and thus God created His Son. And then the ego said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness…” and man appeared in the sleeping mind of the Son of God.

^II Suffering, loss, and death are but ideas that my real Self has never experienced in Reality. My awareness of being has always been the same and has never changed, though it is true that upon that pure awareness of being myself I have superimposed ideas of suffering, loss, and death; yet even in those moments, my awareness of being has remained unaltered.

^III Throughout my personal life my body has changed dramatically, but my awareness of being has not. What does not change in me must be real, and what changes must be illusion. The only plausible explanation is that my fragmented mind conceives these ideas of suffering, loss, death, and body; yet they are nothing but that—changing ideas that I imagine and take to be real, but which are merely illusions.

^IV All the ideas my personal mind conceives change: first they appear in my mind; then, with time, they evolve and change; finally, I no longer regard them as “existing” and call them “memories.” But while they are in my mind I consider them real, true, and of great value—so why do I constantly deceive myself in this way?

Why do I call that living? Could it not be that I am merely absorbed in a story I tell myself?

^V Resentments are entirely foreign to what I am: the Love of God. Why else, do you think, do resentments make you uneasy and cause you to feel bad? Simply because they are unnatural—ideas incompatible with what you are.

Do not tolerate discomfort. Be sensitive to every disturbance and uncompromising with it. Do not allow it into your mind; if it has already entered, expel it quickly, and above all, do not welcome or nourish it, for you will be harboring a stranger who has settled in your home for the sole purpose of embittering your life.

You do not deserve that. You were created in Happiness and for happiness. Anything less than genuine happiness is unworthy of your glorious condition, and you do not deserve it.

Make no compromise with this. The worst thing that can happen to a human being is to grow familiar with suffering and to accept it without protest.

Learn to be outraged by all those mental positions that do not belong to a Son of God. Learn to live as your Father lives; learn to live as God.

^VI The image I have of myself—which I accept as true with a mixture of astonishing credulity and arrogance—is so distorted that it is almost impossible for me to recognize myself as Love and Light. Yet I understand perfectly well that resentments are forms of attack and that they make me feel profoundly miserable. It is evident that when I hold resentments, I am attacking myself, for I am the only one who suffers.

If harboring resentments is my decision, and if they harm me so much, why do I keep them? For what purpose do I maintain them? Perhaps it is because my mind is not functioning correctly. It is urgent to put an end to this madness. I do not want to keep suffering.

Today we will review these ideas: W-65 and W-66

1. W-65. “My only function is the one God gave me.”

2. I have no function but the one God gave me. ^I

²Recognizing this frees me from all conflict, because it means I cannot have conflicting goals.

³With one single purpose, I am always certain of what to do, what to say, and what to think.

⁴All doubt disappears when I acknowledge that my only function is the one God gave me. ^II

3. More specific applications of this idea might be:

²My perception of this does not change my function.^III

³This does not assign me a different function than the one God gave me.^IV

⁴Let me not use this to justify a function God did not give me.^V

4. W-66. “My happiness and my function are one.”

5. All things that come from God are one. ^VI

²They come from Oneness, and must be received as one. ^VII

³Fulfilling my function is my happiness, because both come from the same Source. ^VIII

⁴And to find happiness I must learn to recognize what makes me happy.

6. Some helpful variations for applying this idea more specifically are:

²This cannot separate my happiness from my function.

³The oneness of my happiness and my function is in no way affected by this.

⁴Nothing, not even this, can justify the illusion that I can be happy by failing to fulfill my function.^IX

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^I The function of anything is assigned by its creator. I cannot have a function different from the one assigned to me by Him Who created me. It is obvious that I did not create myself—though I sometimes have the temptation to believe it, so great is my confusion—therefore, I cannot assign myself my own function.

I do not now remember Who created me, how He created me, or why He created me, but those questions must have an answer, because I exist. The only thing I know for certain is that when I have tried to assign myself my own function, I have failed, for I have not achieved my purpose; I have not succeeded in being happy. Now I want to try something different.

Simplifying is always good, and here I am told that I have only one function. At least this is simple and clear. Moreover, I am also told that my function is to be happy and to make my brothers happy—that is, to heal them—because I am also told that to heal is to make happy (T-5.I.1:1). Then, if my function is so simple and so aligned with my deepest desires, why do I not set about it immediately?

^II This too is obvious. If I focus all my efforts on doing one single thing, my mind will not be scattered, and I will experience no conflict, for thus I will not be attacking myself, and in this way I am also sure that at the very least I will have peace. I am going to try to fulfill impeccably this function that is said to have been assigned to me by God, because it seems quite likely that I will also find happiness.

^III I am still interpreting every event through my old thought system, and it is normal that I experience the temptation to assign myself a function once again.

^IV If I look carefully, I can apply my new function even to this; therefore, I must interpret it differently from how I was accustomed to.

^V I will not allow myself to be tempted by that old habit; it would ruin my new purpose.

^VI God is very simple. Nothing is simpler than God. God is the epitome of simplicity.

^VII God is One, and everything that comes from Him is like Him. Everything that comes from God is one.

^VIII How could God have arranged anything for me other than my happiness? Since I began to believe that I was separate from God, I have done nothing but seek happiness.

Is it so difficult to conclude that my happiness lies in God?

^IX Everything I have done throughout my personal life has had no other purpose than to try to attain a little more happiness.

I will also try to be happy with what I now have before me. Let me not be tempted by the idea of seeking happiness by any means other than the one that has been proposed to me: forgiveness. If I do, I will fail once again.

Today we will review these ideas: W-63 and W-64

1. W-63. “The light of the world brings Peace to every mind through my forgiveness.”^I

2. My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world expresses itself through me.

²My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the light of the world within me. ^II

³My forgiveness is the means by which the world is healed along with me.

⁴Therefore, let me forgive the world so that it may be healed along with me.

3. Some specific suggestions for applying this idea are:

²Let Peace extend from my mind to yours, (name).

³I share the light of the world with you, (name).

⁴Through my forgiveness I can see this as it is.^III

4. W-64. “Let me not forget my function.”

5. I will not forget my function, because I want to remember my Self. ^IV

²I cannot fulfill my function if I forget it.

³And if I do not fulfill my function, I will not experience the joy that God has intended for me. ^V

6. Some specific variations suitable for this idea are:

²Let me not use this to hide my function from myself.

³I want to use this as an opportunity to fulfill my function.

⁴This may seem to threaten my ego, but it in no way alters my function.^VI

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^I Just as judgment inevitably generates conflict, fear, and anger, the direct effect of forgiveness is peace.

This Lesson is a logical and natural continuation of the previous one: the light within me is the cause of forgiveness, and peace is its immediate consequence, both for me and for those to whom I extend that forgiveness.

In today’s practice, do not focus too much attention on yourself, on your own problems, or on your personal need for peace. Instead, direct your thoughts toward your brothers. Reflect on the transforming effect that your sincere acceptance and forgiveness can have upon them. Do you believe that your forgiveness will have no effect on their minds? If you doubt this, it is because you have not yet fully understood the extraordinary and irresistible power of forgiveness.

To truly forgive your brothers’ supposed offenses and to accept them deeply from the heart generates a powerful and irresistible force that no one can reject or avoid. When you offer acceptance instead of judgment, you inevitably transform those you once regarded as enemies into valuable allies. By forgiving and accepting, you release the energy you would have used to defend or attack, and that same energy now becomes cooperation and mutual support.

The conversion of enemies into allies is not only a lofty spiritual practice but also the wisest and most rewarding investment you can make in any area of life. In forgiving, you choose to live from peace and cooperation, and you discover that the support and collaboration of your brothers lead you more easily toward the fulfillment of your highest goals.

^II When I forgive, my mind is illumined and my heart rejoices.

^III By forgiving, the world remains the same and so do I, but I now perceive clearly that there is no real problem. Forgiveness does not change external reality but my perception of it. When I stop projecting my judgments onto what I see, I can behold the world as it truly is, free from the distortion produced by my mind.

In other words, forgiveness removes erroneous interpretations, revealing a clear, simple, and authentic vision. Thus, although externally nothing may have changed, internally everything is transformed, and the sense of conflict, anxiety, or unease disappears. Seeing clearly, I experience true and constant peace, for I recognize that what I once considered a problem was merely a mistaken judgment in my mind.

^IV If I forget my function, I do not know who I am or what I am doing here. If I forget my function, nothing makes sense.

Remember: In this Course it is explicitly stated that the function of God’s Son is to be happy. This is found in the Workbook, Lesson 66, where it says:
“My happiness and my function are one. […] The ego constantly battles the Holy Spirit on the fundamental question of what your function is. And also what your happiness is. […] God gives you only happiness. Therefore, the function He gave you must be happiness, even though it may appear to be something else.”

Also, in Lesson 101 it is emphasized: “God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.”

In other sections of the Course, it is reinforced that the purpose of God’s Son is to fulfill the function given him, and that in that fulfillment lies his inevitable happiness.

Thus, according to the Course, your function is to be happy, and this happiness is attained through forgiveness and alignment with God’s Will. The only thing that can separate you from your happiness is your lack of forgiveness.

^V It is as impossible to experience joy while condemning as it is inevitable to experience it when forgiving.

^VI Forgiveness is the most powerful means of transcending the ego, for the ego has no access to it. The ego never forgives—it only knows how to judge, blame, and divide. Forgiveness, therefore, is an act that undoes it, a gesture arising from a higher dimension of mind, where love and understanding replace judgment and fear.

Introduction

1. We are now ready for another review.

²We will begin where the last review left off and take two ideas each day.

³The first part of the day will be devoted to one of these ideas, and the second to the other. ^I

⁴Each of these periods will include one longer practice period, supported by shorter and more frequent sessions dedicated to each idea.^II

2. The longer practice periods will follow this general format:

²Spend about fifteen minutes with each one, beginning with the idea and the accompanying comments.

³Spend three or four minutes reading them slowly, several times if you wish, and then close your eyes and listen.

⁴If your mind wanders, return to the idea and reflect on it again, but try to devote most of the time to listening silently and attentively. ^III

3. There is a message waiting for you.

²Trust that you will receive it.

³Remember that it is your right and that you want it.

⁴Do not let your will be weakened by thoughts that seek to distract you.

⁵Realize that whatever form those thoughts may take, they mean nothing and have no power. ^IV

⁶Replace them with your determination to succeed. ^V

4. Do not forget that your will is stronger than fantasies and dreams. ^VI

²Trust it to carry you through and beyond all of them. ^VII

³Consider these practice periods as devoted to the way, the truth, and the life. ^VIII

⁴Refuse to be pulled into distraction, illusion, and thoughts of death. ^IX

⁵You are committed to salvation.

⁶Be determined to fulfill your function each day. ^X

5. Reaffirm your determination in the shorter practice periods, using the original form of the idea for general application, and adapting it when needed.

²The accompanying comments include some specific variations.

³But these are merely suggestions.

⁴The actual words you use do not matter.

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^I In the morning we practice one idea, and in the afternoon the other.

^II Both morning and evening, devote fifteen minutes to reflecting on the corresponding idea, and then take brief moments throughout the rest of the day as often as possible. Above all, keep those ideas in mind whenever the circumstances of the day offer you opportunities to practice them.

Without any doubt, this will happen, and applying an idea to a specific problem is the best way to assimilate it, thus turning that application into a mental habit. That automatic response will benefit you in ways beyond description throughout your life and will become a new, benevolent habit. Nothing will ever be the same again.

This way of living is simply the practical application of your new thought system—the goal of this Course.

^III This is a receptive, expectant mental attitude. It is a way of praying: first you ask; then you wait for the answer. The most important part is the second, obviously.

In fact, with these practices you are training your mind to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit, and that should be the natural stance of your mind for the rest of your life on earth.

A serene, disciplined mind—at peace, attentive to the inner Voice, and in harmony with its own heart—is a right, sound, miracle-minded mind. That is the mind of a miracle worker.

Realize that this Course is mental training that will lead you to live from a new definition of yourself. But to achieve this, you must first relinquish the prior idea with which you have identified. That process entails renouncing and leaving behind what you believe to be your true will. However, because you are so immersed in that false identity, it will likely be very difficult for you to take that step.

At the end of the Text, there is a specific practice that represents the culmination of all you have learned up to that point: the first section of chapter 30, “Rules for Decision”, where you learn to let yourself be guided by the Voice of the Holy Spirit. This part of the Workbook marks the beginning of your training in that direction, which will be consolidated in the Second Part of the book, which begins with Lesson 220.

^IV Your old thought system will try constantly to interfere with your learning. Pay no attention to it. That is not you. It is only the automatic mechanism your mind has been using until now.

It has embittered your life, and you do not want it. Do not allow it to intrude now. The only real content of your thoughts is the infinitesimal amounts of love they may have harbored. That has, in any case, been their only microscopic meaning.

As for their power, in themselves they have never had any—only what you have conferred upon them by believing in them.

^V It is an answer to which you are fully entitled. Remember, it has been promised to you: “Ask, and it shall be given.” And you can be sure it is so.

But note that it must also be an answer you truly want. This is the most important part, for it is what allows the results of your will to manifest.

Jesus does not deceive you; you can trust Him—but you do not need to do so blindly. Do what He tells you and look with absolute honesty at the results.

^VI Notice the emphasis placed on will. Your will is the only thing that exists, and the fantasies and dreams you have had have been the result of misapplying your will.

^VII Many students of this blessed Course, when practicing listening to the Voice of the Holy Spirit in their mind, experience doubts about the truthfulness of the answers they receive. They often suspect that what they hear could be coming from the ego and not from the Holy Spirit—especially when those answers prove uncomfortable or challenging. It is important to understand that this doubt is precisely the ego’s voice, for the ego is always the one who questions and generates uncertainty.

To carry out this exercise correctly, it is essential, from the heart and with absolute honesty, to relinquish any personal expectation and every prior interpretation of the circumstances. Only in this fresh and fertile ground, free of conditioning, can the true answer manifest.

What you hear in itself is not the most important thing. What truly hallows the answer is the trust with which you receive it. Trust fully in the Holy Spirit; trust also in yourself, and thus hallow what you receive through the transforming power of your trust. Trust is holy, it possesses power, and it hallows whatever it is placed upon.

Ultimately, what is decisive is not so much what you do as the attitude from which you do it. Authentic trust fosters a state of mind this Course calls “miraculous.” In that state, the mind—freed from the ego and from doubts—rests constantly upon trust. For that reason, it has continual access to the Power of God, lives from innocence, expresses benevolence, and experiences an absolute sense of protection and invulnerability.

That is the state of mind you deserve.

^VIII John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

These practices guided by Jesus are your way to the Truth and the Life.

^IX Whenever you feel tempted, realize that it is always a struggle of you against yourself, and, if you think about it, you will understand that temptations are nothing but sheer foolishness and a lack of honesty, consistency, and commitment.

You still have a mind split between two opposing thought systems, and that is stressing you. Simply choose one and abandon the other.

^X Not every day; every minute, every second. Realize that you are not a child of the past; you are born anew and innocent in the present instant. The you who inhabits the present is always new and immaculate. In the present you are affected only by your present thoughts, though these may refer to the past or to the future; yet they are always of the present, offspring of your will.

Be impeccable; exercise your will; listen, and trust.

LESSON 81

Our ideas for today’s review are: W-61 and W-62

1. W-61. “I am the light of the world.” ^I

2. How holy I am, for the function of lighting the world has been entrusted to me!

²Let me remain calm in the presence of my Holiness. ^II

³Let all my conflicts vanish in Its quiet Light. ^III

⁴And in Its Peace, let me remember who I am. ^IV

3. Some specific forms of applying this idea when difficulties seem to arise could be:

²Let me not obscure the light of the world in me.

³Let the light of the world shine through this appearance. ^V

⁴This shadow will vanish before the light. ^VI

4. W-62. “Forgiveness is my function because I am the light of the world.”^VII

5. As I accept my function, I will see the light in me. ^VIII

²And in that light my function will appear clear and perfectly unambiguous before my sight.

³I do not yet need to understand what my function is in order to accept it, for I do not yet know what forgiveness is. ^IX

⁴But I trust that in the light I will see what it is. ^X

6. Specific phrases for using this idea could be:

²Let this help me learn what forgiveness means. ^XI

³Let me not separate my function from my Will. ^XII

⁴Let me not divert this toward a purpose that is not my function.^XIII

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^I I—my true Self—am the light that dispels the shadows of a darkened world made of absences of light, of absences of love.

^II In my quiet holiness, the stories I tell myself about the “reality” of the world come to an end.

^III Without my own descriptions—without my inner dialogue—conflicts simply disappear.

^IV And I remember and am the Self that I am.

^V I ask that the light behind that form be shown to me.

^VI The form disappears, and what lies beyond the form is revealed to me: the Love of God underlying all appearances.

^VII I will not be deceived by the sinister descriptions the voice of the ego places in my mind; I will forgive them all.

^VIII I cannot see my own light because I am the emitter of light, but I will see the effects of my light, for the shadows I see around me will fade away.

^IX The proof that I still do not understand what forgiveness is lies in the fact that I still see a world; I have not yet forgiven it.

^X By forgiving I will understand what forgiveness is, for I will see the effects of my forgiveness as it illumines the world with the light of my forgiveness. Forgiving will allow me to see the world transformed by my light.

^XI This is an opportunity to exercise my forgiveness and to understand that to forgive means to be freed from painful interpretations.

I will turn this situation of conflict into an opportunity to learn to free myself from suffering. Each time I forgive, I take one more step along the path to the Peace of God, which I deserve.

I will not waste this opportunity. I will learn this Lesson for my own benefit.

I was born to be happy, and forgiveness is the way to achieve it.

^XII My function and my will are the same. I only want to forgive.

^XIII I will allow myself to see in this nothing but an opportunity to practice my function and forgive.

Let Me Recognize That My Problems Have Been Solved.

1. If you are willing to recognize your problems, you will recognize that you have none.

²Your one great problem has already been solved, and you have no other.

³Therefore, you must be at peace.

⁴Salvation, then, depends on recognizing that this is the one problem and understanding that it has already been resolved.

⁵One problem, one solution. ^I

⁶Salvation is accomplished.

⁷Release from conflict has been given you.

⁸Accept this fact, and you are ready to take your rightful place in God’s plan for salvation.

2. Your only problem has been solved!

²Repeat this within yourself today, again and again, with gratitude and conviction.

³You have recognized your one problem, opening the way for the Holy Spirit to give you God’s answer.

⁴You have set aside deception and seen the light of truth.

⁵You have accepted salvation for yourself by bringing the problem to the answer.

⁶And you can recognize the solution because you have identified the problem. ^II

3. Today you are entitled to peace.

²A problem that has been resolved cannot trouble you.

³Just be certain you do not forget that all problems are the same.

⁴Their many forms will not deceive you if you remember this.

⁵One problem, one solution.

⁶Accept the peace this simple statement brings.

4. In our longer practice periods today, we will claim the peace that rightfully belongs to us when problem and answer are brought together.

²The problem must vanish, for God’s Answer cannot fail.

³Having recognized the problem, you have recognized the solution.

⁴The solution is inherent in the problem.

⁵You have been answered, and you have accepted the answer.

⁶You are saved.

5. Now let the peace that comes from your acceptance be given you.

²Close your eyes and receive your reward.

³Acknowledge that your problems have been solved.

⁴Acknowledge that you are out of conflict, free and at peace.

⁵But above all, remember that you have only one problem, and that problem has one solution.

⁶In this lies the simplicity of salvation.

⁷This is the reason it is guaranteed to work.

6. State often today that all your problems have been solved.

²Repeat the idea with absolute conviction as often as possible.

³And especially remember to apply today’s idea to any specific problem that may arise.

⁴Say quickly:

⁵Let me recognize that this problem has been solved.

7. Today, let us choose not to accumulate grievances.

²Let us choose to free ourselves from problems that do not exist.

³The key to this is simple honesty.

⁴Do not deceive yourself about what the problem is, and you will recognize that it has been solved.

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^I Jesus tells us:

THE PROBLEM:

“Into eternity, where all is one, there crept a tiny, mad idea at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh.” (T-27.X.6:1)

The problem is you. The problem is your self—the ego in you. Problems will continue to haunt you as long as you insist on wanting to be you.

The problem is that you believe you are a person living in a world with other persons—bodies, like you. The problem is that you believe you have a mind for your own private use, with thoughts that are always appropriate and true. The problem is that you believe you are separate from God, from your brothers, and from all the things that populate your world—and that all of this is something distinct from you.

The problem is that you feel alone, helpless, and powerless before the things that happen to you; that you are fragile, subject to all kinds of harm, and destined, in the end, to die.

The problem is that your mind is constantly absorbed in things you think happened in something you call the past, and you fear what you think may occur in a time yet to come that you call the future.

The problem is that in your mind there arise incessantly and uncontrollably stories you tell yourself—stories that, though you know to some extent are not true, you cannot help but consider important, because you, who also consider yourself important, are the protagonist of them all.

The problem is that, although you are beginning to realize that all this is nothing but madness, you do not know how to bring it to an end.

THE SOLUTION:

“The Holy Spirit was God’s Answer to the separation; the means by which the Atonement could heal the mind until the whole of it returned to creating.” (T-5.II.10:5)

The problem is not real. None of it is true. What is real is not in danger, and what you think is in danger is not real. In this lies the Peace of God.

And Jesus tells us:

“Do not be afraid, beloved brother. It is only a dream. I know you are dreaming; you do not yet. I now take your hand and accompany you in your nightmare. That is all I can do—but it is enough.

I cannot awaken you from your dream because you do not yet wish to wake, but I do know that with all your soul you long for a better dream, and that I can help you to attain.

Listen to me. Do as I say and trust. My voice accompanies you always, for your mind is also mine, and I have already awakened—but I still behold your dream, and that is why I can guide you. I always speak to you of what I did, for thus I awakened. You and I are the same, and therefore there is nothing in me that you cannot achieve.

The dream is already over, and with it, the world and time. We are together, as we have always been—together in the Heart of God. Have faith, open your eyes, and you will see.”

^II Perhaps it will help you to ask yourself these questions: Is there any problem outside myself? Who really has a problem?

Problems have no existence of their own outside the mind that perceives them; they possess no real ontological being. We might even say they are illusions in the highest degree, for they cannot even be perceived objectively.

Problems are, in essence, opinions, beliefs, or attacks directed against the idea one holds of oneself. If you abandon or diminish this idea, lessening the sense of personal importance—which is the ego’s nourishment—you will see how the problem naturally fades away.

You will experience problems to the same extent that you remain identified with your ego: the stronger the ego, the greater and more numerous the problems you will perceive. To regain peace of mind and cease suffering from painful interpretations of reality does not necessarily require a lofty spiritual vision; it requires only a little genuine humility.

Let Me Recognize the Problem So It Can Be Solved.

1. You cannot solve a problem if you do not know what it is.

²Even if it is already truly solved, you will still have it because you cannot recognize that it has been resolved.

³This is the situation of the world.

⁴The problem of separation, which is really the only problem there is, has already been solved.

⁵But the solution is not recognized because the problem itself has not been recognized. ^I

2. In this world, each person seems to have their own special problems.

²But they are all the same, and they must be recognized as one if the one solution that solves them all is to be accepted.

³Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else?

⁴Even if he is given the answer, he cannot see its relevance.

3. This is the situation in which you find yourself now.

²You have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is.

³You think you are dealing with a long list of different problems, and as one is resolved, another appears, and then another.

⁴It seems to have no end.

⁵You never feel completely free of problems and at peace.

4. The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the problem of separation unsolved.

²The world seems to present you with a vast array of problems, each requiring a different answer.

³This perception places you in a position in which your way of solving problems must be inadequate, and failure is inevitable.

5. No one could solve all the problems the world appears to hold.

²They seem to be on so many levels, in such varied forms, and with such differing content, that they seem to confront you with an impossible situation.

³As you perceive them, discouragement and depression are inevitable.

⁴Some arise unexpectedly, just when you thought you had resolved the previous ones.

⁵Others remain unresolved beneath a cloud of denial and emerge from time to time to haunt you, only to hide again, still unsolved.

6. All this complexity is but a desperate attempt to not recognize the problem, and therefore not allow it to be solved.

²If you could recognize that your only problem is separation—regardless of the form it takes—you could accept the answer, because you would see its relevance.

³If you could see the underlying sameness of all the problems you face, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all.

⁴And then you would use those means, because you would have recognized the problem.

7. In today’s longer practice periods, we will ask what the problem is, and what the solution is.

²We will not assume we already know.

³We will try to let go of all the kinds of problems we think we have.

⁴We will try to realize that we have only one problem, which we have not yet recognized.

⁵We will ask what it is, and wait for the answer.

⁶It will be told to us.

⁷Then we will ask for its solution.

⁸And that, too, will be given. ^II

8. Today’s exercises will be successful to the extent that you do not insist on defining the problem yourself.

²You may not be able to let go of all your preconceptions, but that is not necessary.

³All that is required is that you question the reality of your version of what your problems are. ^III

⁴You are trying to realize that in recognizing the problem, the answer has been given—so that the problem and the answer can be seen together, and you may be at peace.

9. Today, the shorter practice periods will not follow a fixed schedule, but will be used as needed.

²You will see many problems today, and each one seems to require a response.

³Try to recognize that there is only one problem, and only one answer.

⁴In this recognition are all problems resolved.

⁵In this recognition is peace.

10. Do not let yourself be deceived today by the form in which problems appear. ^IV

²Whenever difficulty arises, say immediately:

³Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.

⁴Then try to suspend all judgment about what the problem is.

⁵If possible, close your eyes for a moment and ask what it is.

⁶You will be heard, and you will be answered.

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^I Here we are told that the problem is separation—but what does that really mean? In what way can knowing that separation is the problem help me here and now, in daily life?

It is quite likely that today’s Lesson will seem very difficult to you; that is normal. Perhaps the best approach is simply to read it carefully, do the practice as instructed, and see what happens. In tomorrow’s Lesson you will find an explanatory note on the nature of the problem mentioned here.

It is important that your experience today not be influenced by the descriptions of others. Work through the Lesson with kindness, an open mind, and all your good will.

Be certain that you are loved to a degree you are incapable of conceiving or imagining. You are looked upon with infinite tenderness and protected at every step you take, even though you do not yet know it.

Work well today and expect an answer; but if it does not come, do not worry.

^II Do not expect the answer to come to you in a particular way that you have imagined. Who knows how the answer will reach you! It will come in a form specific to you. It will be an absolutely personal experience.

^III This line is important. Realize that, in order to hear the answer, a receptive mind is necessary. If your mind is clinging to its own interpretation of reality, it will hardly be able to hear an answer—and if it does, it will very likely perceive it as an attack on its beliefs and respond with a counterattack.

All that is asked of you is to question your way of describing the problem, not to deny or reject it; doubting it is enough—nothing more is required.

Bring to mind any problem you tell yourself you have. You certainly have an explanation to justify your disturbance about that situation, but ask yourself: what is it that makes this a problem? Why does it disturb you?

Do not answer yourself. Keep your mind open and receptive to an answer that must come from beyond yourself.

^IV This, too, is very important: do not confuse form with content. The problem is not the form it takes, but that which makes it a problem. All the problems of the world are nothing more than different manifestations of the idea of separation. That is the root of the problem. When you recognize it, you will be able to resolve them all, for they are children of the same mother.

As an exercise, try to observe the different problems you believe the world has from this perspective. It will not take you long to see that the idea of separation underlies them all. Nothing more is required. Simply recognize what the real problem is. This Lesson asks nothing more of you than that.

Let Miracles Replace All Grievances.

1. You may still not fully understand that in every decision you make, you are choosing between a grievance and a miracle.

²Each grievance stands as a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal.

³And by raising it before your eyes, you do not see the miracle that lies beyond.

⁴The miracle remains there, waiting for you in the light, but you behold your grievances instead.

2. Today we will go beyond grievances to behold the miracle in their place.

²Today we will reverse your way of seeing, and we will not let your sight stop short before you truly see.

³We will not linger before the shield of hate, but let it fall, and gently lift our eyes in silence to behold the Son of God.

3. The Son of God awaits you beyond your grievances, and when you let them go, He will appear in radiant light where each one stood before.

²For every grievance is a block to vision, and when it is gone you see the Son of God where He has always been.

³He is in the light, but you were in the dark.

⁴For every grievance deepened the darkness, and you could not see.

4. Today we will try to see the Son of God.

²We will not allow ourselves to be blind to Him.

³We will not look upon our grievances.

⁴For it is in this way that the vision of the world is reversed: by looking toward the truth beyond fear. ^I

5. To do this, we will choose one person who has been the target of your grievances and, laying those grievances aside, we will look upon them.

²Someone you fear, or even hate.

³Perhaps someone you think you love, yet who angers you.

⁴Someone you call a friend, but who is difficult to please or understand.

⁵Or someone who seems demanding, irritating, or who does not live up to the image you have assigned them.

⁶You already know who it is.

⁷Their name has already come to your mind.

6. This is the one we ask to be shown to us as the Son of God.

²As you look upon this person without the grievances you have held, you will discover that what was hidden when you did not see them this way is present in everyone, and can be seen.

³When you release the one who was your enemy to take the holy role the Holy Spirit has assigned, they become more than just a friend.

⁴Let them be your Savior today.

⁵Such is their function in God’s plan, your Father.

7. In today’s longer practice periods, you will see them in this role.

²First, try to see them in your mind as you now regard them.

³Review their faults, the difficulties you have had with them, the pain they have caused you, their neglects, and all the small and great offenses they have brought.

⁴Consider their body, its imperfections and its more appealing traits.

⁵Think also of their mistakes, even their “sins.”

8. Then, ask the One who knows this Son of God in truth and in reality that you may see them differently, and behold in them your Savior shining in the light of the true forgiveness that has been given to you.

²In the Holy Name of God and of His Son, as holy as Himself, we pray:

³Let me behold my Savior in this one

you have appointed as the one to ask

to lead me to the holy light in which he stands,

so I may join with him there. ^II

⁴Now close your eyes, and as you think of the one who injured you, let the light that shines in them beyond your grievances be shown to your mind.

9. What you have asked cannot be denied.

²Your Savior has long been waiting for this.

³He longs to be free, and for his freedom to be yours as well.

⁴The Holy Spirit extends from him to you, for He sees no separation in the Son of God.

⁵And what you see through Him will set you both free.

⁶Be very still now, and behold your radiant Savior.

⁷No dark grievance clouds the vision you have of him.

⁸You have allowed the Holy Spirit to express through him the role God gave him for your salvation.

10. God gives you thanks for these moments of quiet today, in which you lay aside the images you made and behold instead the miracle of Love the Holy Spirit shows you. ^III

²The world and Heaven join in giving thanks to you, for there is not a single Thought of God that does not rejoice in your salvation and the salvation of the world with you.

11. We will remember this throughout the day, and take our part in God’s plan for salvation—not our own.

²Temptation fades when we allow everyone we meet to be our Savior, and refuse to hide their light behind the shield of our grievances.

³Give the role of Savior to all those you meet, to everyone you think of or remember from the past, that you may share it with them. ^IV

⁴For yourself, for them, and for all who cannot see, we pray: ^V

⁵Let miracles replace all grievances.

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^I This is the central message of this Lesson: whenever you feel disturbed, do not settle for it; call upon a new way of perceiving the situation. Ask for a miracle that allows you to see it differently and inspires peace in you. What you will behold with those new eyes will not be the Truth, which is ineffable, but it will be what most accords with God’s plan for your salvation. You need nothing more than that.

So remember: you have every right in the world to be intolerant of discomfort. You are the Son of God and you do not deserve it, so never justify or accept it; call upon a miracle. God has given you the mission of being happy wherever you believe yourself to be. If you think you live in the world, then it is here that you can and must claim your happiness. Do not wait to experience it in the future; ask for it now.

^II This is the first Lesson written in iambic pentameter. Twenty more Lessons will pass before the Workbook shifts to continuous iambic pentameter.

Since the Manual for Teachers adopts this meter in passages of special importance, such as the final verses of a section, the fact that blank verse was chosen for this Lesson seems to lend it special significance—perhaps because of the powerful meaning contained in seeing an enemy as the Son of God and as our savior.

^III The use in this Lesson of the word “miracle” as something we behold—specifically, the true nature of our brother—is not the usual use of the term in the Course.

In the ordinary language of this dictation, the miracle is an agent: it corrects, undoes, dissolves, reorganizes, adjusts, changes, induces, and reverses. Thus, it leads us—or someone through us—from false perception to true perception.

This is different from the usage in this Lesson, where the miracle is what true perception beholds. This may reflect the less common use the Course makes of the term “miracle” to refer to the Son of God: “It is true that YOU are a miracle” (T-1.P32.3:1), or to children: “Children are miracles in their own right.” (T-1.P25.1:1)

^IV Today’s Lesson goes a step beyond simple forgiveness of any perceived offense. It is no longer merely about letting go of grievance because it is not real, but now, in addition, we ask to behold a miracle in its place. The miracle we ask for is none other than to see the Son of God in our enemy, to see him as our Savior. But not only that—the Lesson concludes by asking us to try to see every person we know, or have ever known, as our savior.

Keep in mind that what you regard as your personal life is an illusory experience—a dream—and as such, all the elements that appear in it are symbols. Symbols are images that represent something other than themselves, and they are always objects of interpretation. The message you derive from them will shape the character of that dream for you. Remember that it is not the dream itself that makes you happy or unhappy, but how you interpret it, and that depends entirely on you. That is the key to your happiness and your liberation. The keys to the gates of Heaven are in your hands; they have always been there.

Now think of the extraordinary transforming power this practice has in your life and in your personal relationships. The human mind is strictly utilitarian; for your mind, the meaning of everything derives from the function you assign to it. The practice of today’s Lesson is an absolute reversal of the functions you have assigned to everyone with whom you relate. Thus, from now on, their role is no longer the one you gave them in the past, whatever that may have been; their only function now is to be your Savior.

All those with whom you deal are there, at that very moment, to save you from the condemnation you have imposed upon yourself. And in the light of this new respect, treat them as they deserve. They are the Son of God, who has come to save you from death and to take you with him to your Father. What a function!

^V “Those who cannot see” are those whose eyes are blinded by resentment.

I Am Entitled to Miracles.

1. You are entitled to miracles because of what you are.

²You will receive miracles because of what God is.

³And you will offer miracles because you are one with Him.

⁴Once again, how simple salvation is! ^I

⁵It is merely a statement of your true identity.

⁶And this is what we celebrate today.

2. Your entitlement to miracles is not based on the illusions you hold about yourself.

²It does not depend on any magical powers you have ascribed to yourself, nor on any rituals you have devised. ^II

³It is inherent in the truth of what you are.

⁴It is implicit in what God, your Father, is.

⁵Your entitlement to miracles was established in your creation, and it is guaranteed by the Laws of God.

3. Today we will claim the miracles to which you are entitled, for they belong to you.

²You have been promised full release from the world you made.

³And you have also been assured that the Kingdom of God is within you, and that you can never lose it. ^III

⁴Today we ask only for what truly belongs to us.

⁵But we will also make sure we do not settle for less.

4. Begin the longer practice periods by telling yourself with absolute confidence that you are entitled to miracles.

²Close your eyes and remember that you are only asking for what is rightfully yours.

³Remind yourself, too, that miracles are never taken from one to give to another, and that by claiming your rights you are upholding the rights of everyone.

⁴Miracles do not obey the laws of this world.

⁵They simply arise from the Laws of God.

5. After this brief introductory phase, wait in silence for the assurance that your request has been granted.

²You have asked for the salvation of the world and for your own.

³You have requested the means by which this can be accomplished.

⁴It is impossible that this be denied you.

⁵You are merely asking that God’s Will be done.

6. In doing this, you are actually asking for nothing.

²You are simply stating an undeniable fact.

³The Holy Spirit can only assure you that your request is granted.

⁴The fact that you accepted this entitlement confirms it.

⁵There is no room today for doubt or uncertainty.

⁶At last, we are asking for something real.

⁷And the answer is the simple statement of a very simple fact.

⁸So you will receive the confirmation you seek.

7. Our shorter practice periods will be frequent, and will also serve to remind us of this simple fact.

²Repeat often today:

³I am entitled to miracles.

⁴Ask for them whenever a situation arises in which they are needed. ^IV

⁵You will recognize these situations perfectly. ^V

⁶And since you do not rely on yourself to find the miracles, you are fully entitled to receive them whenever you ask.

⁷Also remember that you must not be content with anything less than the perfect answer.

⁸If temptation strikes, do not hesitate to tell yourself at once:

⁹I will not trade miracles for grievances.

¹⁰I want only what is mine.

¹¹For God has established that I am entitled to miracles.

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^I W-76.2:3 “Today’s idea tells you once again how simple salvation is.”

^II Here, you ascribe the magical powers to yourself—to your ego—instead of to matter (see the explanatory note on magic from the previous Lesson). To believe that you (the ego) possess the “magical power” to work miracles (for example, to heal a body) is essentially the same as thinking that a certain medicine can heal it. Both your ego and the medicine are illusions, just as the body that the mind considers sick is an illusion. There is no other relationship among them than the one the mind itself establishes by believing in it.

You do not have, nor can you have, “magical powers.” The only real power of the mind is the power to create, which God endowed it with at its creation. The mind can pervert that power of creation and, instead of extending its own loving identity, it can believe whatever it wishes and make the effects of its belief—the illusions—“real” to itself.

The “magical rituals” are the fanciful stories the mind tells itself, describing the supposed cause-and-effect relationships in which it believes. These stories may be of a metaphysical nature, and we call them “witchcraft,” or of a physical nature, and we call them “science.”

In both cases, they could be regarded as a form of literature or poetry that reveals the creative character of the mind; they are descriptions of the cause-and-effect relationships the mind arbitrarily establishes and believes in because of their reliability. This reliability is grounded in their repetitive character and is the result of the mind’s own persistence in its narrative.

Obviously, this reliability in no way establishes their validity (review Chapter 2 of the Text to recall the concepts of reliability and validity).

These rituals—these descriptions—require a certain consistency and stability in order to be believable, though they are usually of an “evolutionary” nature. In scientific terms, that evolution is called “scientific progress.”

^III Luke 17:21 “Neither shall they say, ‘Lo here!’ or ‘Lo there!’ For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

^IV Pay very close attention to today’s Lesson! It is very different from all the previous ones. Today marks the beginning of a new phase of our learning.

Remember Miracle Principle 7: “Everyone is entitled to miracles. But before this is possible, a purification is necessary.” Well then, that purification is precisely what we have been doing throughout the preceding Lessons.

Today Jesus releases us into the world for the first time and encourages us to ask for miracles. But notice carefully—it is about asking for a miracle in a situation of conflict; you are not told to go and perform one on your own, for if you did so, it would be the ego attributing to itself “magical powers.”

Today is a very special day. Until now we have been preparing; today we begin to act as miracle workers.

The situation is very simple: we are always choosing between two options. On the “passive” level, we choose between listening to the ego’s voice or the Voice of the Holy Spirit; on the “active” level, we choose between “fixing” what seems to be “wrong” or performing miracles.

In reality, it is a single choice concerning our very identity, concerning the idea we hold about ourselves. We choose between truth and error, between light and darkness, between joy and suffering, between being a body or being the Son of God.

The choice is very simple, very easy, and very clear—can there be any doubt about it?

Today’s Lesson is a true marvel that calls you to trust and to faith in God’s Power to resolve every situation. Do not be afraid; trust. The world you see is a dream of the mind.

What the mind beholds “outside” itself is, in reality, its own attitude—a projection of itself that appears “out there,” yet in truth is “within,” for there is nothing that is not the mind. Therefore, after asking for a miracle, what you will behold is your own flawless attitude.

It is reasonable to tell yourself that all this, for now, is only a hypothesis. It is legitimate to think so and absolutely understandable. What is not reasonable, logical, or understandable is to fail to put all your heart and all your will into trying.

Try it today with all your heart. Refuse to condemn, and ask that a miracle perfectly resolve every problematic situation that arises for you—and then remain very alert and wait.

Be very honest and try to be a little lucid in evaluating the results. They may not be what you expected, but a pure heart always calls forth Heaven’s light, and Heaven always responds.

^V These are all the situations in which you perceive conflict. Obviously, the conflict is in your mind, and you experience discomfort. Your heart warns you: “Something is wrong in your mind.” Your mind needs healing—and then you ask for a miracle, that is, you ask to see it differently.

Realize that the miracle is not to heal the world, because the world does not exist! Miracles are to heal your mind; then your mind will change, and you will think differently. And since you are not the only one who experiences the effects of your way of thinking (W-18), everything will change with you.

I am under no laws but God’s.

1. We have already seen how many meaningless things you have thought would bring you salvation. ^I

²Each one has imprisoned you with laws as senseless as itself.

³You are not bound by them.

⁴But to realize this, you must first recognize that salvation is not found there.

⁵If you seek it in things that mean nothing, you bind yourself to laws that have no meaning.

⁶In doing so, you try to prove that salvation is where it is not.

2. Today we rejoice that you cannot prove this.

²For if you could, you would seek salvation forever where it is not, and you would never find it.

³Today’s idea tells you once again how simple salvation is. ^II

⁴Seek it where it is waiting for you, and there you will find it.

⁵Do not seek it anywhere else, for it is nowhere else.

3. Think of the freedom that comes when you recognize that you are not bound by all the strange and twisted laws you have set up to save yourself.

²You truly believe you would starve if you did not have piles of colored paper and round bits of metal.

³You truly believe that a tiny pill you swallow or a fluid pushed into your veins through a slender needle will ward off death.

⁴You truly believe you are alone unless another body is with you.

4. It is madness that thinks these things.

²You call them laws and place them under many names in a long catalog of rituals that have no use and serve no purpose.

³You believe you must obey the “laws” of medicine, of economics, and of health.

⁴Protect the body and you will be saved.

⁵These are not laws, but madness. ^III

5. The body is endangered by the mind that hurts itself.

²The body suffers only so the mind will not see it is its own victim.

³The body’s suffering is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers.

⁴It does not want to understand that it is its own enemy, that it attacks itself, and that it wants to die.

⁵It is from this that your “laws” would save the body.

⁶This is why you think you are a body.

6. There are no laws but God’s.

²This must be repeated again and again until you recognize that it applies to everything you have made in opposition to His Will.

³Your magic has no meaning.

⁴What you think you are saved from does not exist.

⁵Only what your magic tries to hide can save you. ^IV

7. God’s Laws can never be replaced.

²Today we will rejoice that this is so.

³This is no longer a truth we want to hide.

⁴Instead, we recognize it is a truth that keeps us free forever. ^V

⁵Magic imprisons, but God’s Laws set free.

⁶Light has come, because there are no laws but His. ^VI

8. We will begin the longer practice periods today by briefly reviewing the different kinds of “laws” we have believed we must obey.

²Among them, for example, are the laws of nutrition, immunization, medication, and the countless ways of protecting the body.

³Think even further; you also believe in the laws of friendship, of “good” relationships, and of reciprocity. ^VII

⁴You may even believe there are laws that define what belongs to God and what belongs to you.

⁵Many “religions” have been based on this. ^VIII

⁶They do not save, but damn in Heaven’s Name.

⁷Yet they are no stranger than other “laws” you believe you must obey to ensure your safety.

9. The only laws that exist are God’s.

²Let go today of all these foolish magical beliefs, and keep your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice that tells you the truth.

³You will hear One who tells you that under God’s Laws loss is impossible.

⁴There are no payments given or received.

⁵There is no exchange, no substitutes, and nothing is replaced by something else.

⁶God’s Laws always give and never take.

10. Listen to the One who tells you this, and realize how senseless are the laws you thought upheld the world you see.

²Then listen even more closely.

³He will tell you more.

⁴He will speak to you of the Love your Father has for you.

⁵Of the endless joy He offers you.

⁶Of His longing for His only Son, created as His channel of Creation, whom His Son’s belief in hell has denied Him.

11. Today let us open the channels of God and allow His Will to extend through us to Him.

²Thus is Creation endlessly increased.

³His Voice will tell us of all this, as well as of the joys of Heaven, which His Laws forever keep unlimited.

⁴Now we will repeat today’s idea until we have listened and understood that God’s Laws are the only laws that exist.

⁵And then, as a conclusion to the practice, we will say to ourselves:

⁶I am under no laws but God’s.

12. We will repeat this idea as often as possible today; at least four or five times an hour, and also in response to any temptation to feel subject to other laws throughout the day.

²In this way we declare our freedom from all danger and all tyranny.

³It is our acknowledgment that God is our Father, and that His Son is saved.

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^I W-50.1:3 “You place your faith in the most trivial and absurd symbols: in pills, money, ‘protective’ clothing, ‘influence,’ ‘prestige,’ being well liked, knowing the ‘right’ people, and in an endless list of forms that are nothing, to which you ascribe magical powers.”

T-27.X.2:1-3 “…the body tries in many ways to PROVE that it is autonomous and real. It puts on things it has bought with little metal discs or strips of paper that the world proclaims as valuable and good. It works to get them by doing senseless things, and wastes them on senseless things it neither NEEDS nor even WANTS.”

^II T-12.II.7:1 “How simple, then, is God’s plan for salvation!”

T-15.X.11:6 “Being of God, salvation is simple, and therefore it is VERY easy to understand.”

T-31.I.1:1 “How simple is salvation!”

Salvation, indeed, is something very simple, but that does not mean it will necessarily seem easy to you, for you can make it as difficult for yourself as you wish. Keep in mind that the determining factor in this, as in everything, is your will.

The problem is that you believe you know your individual will and claim not to know God’s, when in truth, because of your legendary lack of honesty, the situation is exactly the opposite. You know perfectly well what God’s Will is, for your heart constantly tells you through your moods. Yet the intense fear that God’s Love awakens in that small ego with which you have identified leads you to deceive yourself about what you truly want. You say you desire Heaven and the Love of God, but be honest with yourself: in reality, you do not wish to stop being you. And that is what makes such a simple Course seem so difficult to you, because the squaring of the circle you attempt to achieve is impossible.

The real difficulty of this Course lies in the intense fear that the Truth arouses in you. Acknowledge, at least, that although you deeply long to attain knowledge, you are also terrified of losing your cherished world.

Do not take this lightly, nor pretend to want what you truly do not want. The reality is that your will is always fulfilled, and therefore, you always have what you truly desire. Work humbly and face your essential fears. They are, in truth, nothing—but the fear you feel toward your own fear prevents you from recognizing this.

The paradox is that with your little will you will achieve only fantasies of salvation; renounce it, and you are already saved. Ultimately, forgive also your efforts at holiness. You do not need them; you are already holy.

In the last analysis, salvation is not even something simple—it is a myth belonging to a world of illusions, for in truth it has never existed, just as that world which so greatly needs it does not exist. To be saved is simply to realize that you have always been in the Heart of God and that everything else has been but a bad dream.

^III From the perspective of the Course, “magic” is the belief that one illusion possesses the intrinsic capacity to affect another illusion. This belief is inherent to the thought of the world, which interprets relationships among illusions as though they were true cause-and-effect relationships. But they are not.

Illusions cannot be the cause of anything, because they themselves are effects. They are projections of the mind, and only the mind is cause. Therefore, illusions bear no real relationship to one another: each exists solely as a reflection of the thoughts that engender it. The only ontological “reality” of matter consists precisely in being an illusory projection of the mind that conceives it; and only for that mind does it have any sort of reality.

To think that a “thing” in the world—a dream image—can affect or alter another is to think magically. It is like believing that a figure projected in a film frame can influence, by itself, another figure in the same or a later frame. In truth, there is no causal relationship between them: both depend entirely on the projector that produces them.

That is what Jesus means when He says that a medicine—an illusion—cannot heal a body—another illusion. There is no real cause-and-effect relationship between them; they are merely symbols generated by the mind. It is the mind that decides what “relationship” they will have with each other, according to the belief it holds at that moment.

“Magical thinking,” therefore, is the exact opposite of the “miracle-mindedness.” It is the thought system of the world, the way in which you—and everyone here—interpret what you perceive. This way of thinking encompasses everything and completely conditions your understanding of the processes and relationships you believe you observe. It is the very basis of the world’s causal interpretation and the foundation of what is called “scientific thinking,” which ultimately seeks to predict the future through the application of so-called “physical laws.” Yet these “laws” do not exist in Reality: they are only agreements within the fragmented mind of the Son of God, affected by the belief in separation.

Consider this example: you are asleep and dream of a man in the jungle. Suddenly a tiger appears, pounces upon him, and devours him. When you awaken, you have no doubt that both the man and the tiger were projections of your imagination—symbols you placed there. But notice this: the way they related—the tiger devouring the man—was also your creation. You imagined the outcome, and you could have dreamed anything else: that the man escaped by climbing a tree, or that he simply rose into the air. In dreams, all things are possible, and you accept this without difficulty.

Well then, what you call your “real” life works in exactly the same way. You project everything you perceive and also the way those elements relate to each other.

You might object that this is hard to accept, since you feel incapable of altering the physical laws that seem to govern everything and everyone equally. But that “you” to which you refer is merely an expression of the fragmented mind of the Son of God, which shares those mental agreements—those “laws”—that appear to affect everything equally. That is the “reliability” of which the text speaks, as opposed to “validity”: the laws of the world are reliable only within the dream, but they are not valid in Reality.

Most Course students readily accept that taking a pill to cure an illness is magical thinking. However, they find it much harder to admit that believing they need to breathe to live is also magical thinking, or that if they let go of an object it does not necessarily have to fall to the ground. It could remain suspended in the air, for Newton’s laws are nothing but agreements within the shared mind. If you could descend into the depths of your true Self and free yourself from those collective beliefs, you would understand that you could walk on water or move mountains, just as Jesus said.

It is essential to understand this, for only thus will you comprehend the nature of miracles and why they can transcend the so-called “physical laws.” The Course expresses it with absolute clarity:

“Miracles place man beyond the laws of physics and raise him into the sphere of celestial order.” (T-1.P-54.1)

“Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love—which are always miraculous in the true sense—the exchange reverses the physical laws.” (T-1.P-9)

^IV What magic seeks to conceal is “…that it (the mind) is its own enemy, that it attacks itself and wants to die.” (5:4)

^V John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

^VI This Course often refers to life in this world, to personal life, as a journey back to the Heart of God. It speaks constantly of walking a path, of your steps being guided by the loving Voice of the Holy Spirit—a path along which you walk hand in hand with Jesus. This is the part of the Course you enjoy and read with enthusiasm.

At other times—as in this Lesson—Jesus describes with great precision your worldly beliefs, the values of your thought system, and those very human desires that arise from the needs you perceive. Jesus knows you very well. He was human, like you. But then, to those beliefs so intimate, so common, and so absolutely widespread, Jesus calls them absurd and meaningless; He even tells you they are born of madness.

That other part of the Course certainly disturbs you; it touches you deeply and leaves you somewhat uneasy, for you fully identify with that character described in such a degraded manner. Do you not worry, after all, when your body or that of your loved ones falls ill? Do you not feel anxious when you do not know how to pay the bills at the end of the month? Then you ask yourself: where am I on that path? Am I near the end or still at the beginning?

Understand this well: you will never know. And moreover, it does not matter. It does not matter at all where you are; the only thing that matters is where you are going. Realize that everything you tell yourself about what you are or where you are is false; all that consists of the thoughts the early Lessons taught you mean nothing, and therefore are not important and require only your forgiveness—they are illusions.

The only thing that matters is your attitude. Do not worry about what you desire, nor blame yourself for still seeing yourself as having needs to satisfy. Instead, concern yourself with what you want to want. Concern yourself with where you place your will in the present. Detach completely from your past and your future, and with your feet firmly planted in the now say: “I have no laws but God’s,” and be free right now. There is no other time, nor any other you than this one.

^VII Jesus asks you to realize that your life is governed not only by the laws you use to manage fear but also by others you use to manage love—and He calls them all perverse. Then, in the next paragraph, He will explain why.

The laws of the world are double-edged swords; they serve both to defend and to attack. In truth, they were conceived only to imprison you. God’s Laws, however, are perfectly univocal: they only give, always.

Realize that the laws that govern you in matters of “love” are as cruel as the others. Woe to him who does not return your love! You will destroy him. Forget the laws that govern your personal relationships; they contain the seed of hatred. See it clearly.

^VIII The word “religions” appears in quotation marks—as it does in the Notes—because Jesus does not regard formal, institutionalized religions as true spiritual paths. According to His teaching, these structures tend to “humanize” God, projecting upon Him the traits of the ego: anger, punishment, favoritism, or guilt. Thus they transform the natural longing for union with the Creator into a system of human mediations and hierarchies that ascribe to themselves a spiritual power they do not possess. They are, in reality, attempts to bring truth to illusions instead of bringing illusions to truth.

Jesus alludes to this distortion in chapter 3 of the Text when He comments on the traditional view of the crucifixion: “…God permitted, and even encouraged, one of His Sons to suffer BECAUSE he was good” (T-3.IV.2:1), and He adds: “This particularly anti-religious concept occurs in many religions, and this is not by chance or coincidence.” (T-3.IV.2:4) Such beliefs reflect the irrational projections of the ego, which pervert the image of Divine Love and transform the message of salvation into a discourse of guilt and condemnation. That is why Jesus warns that those “religions” do not save, but condemn in the name of Heaven.