Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
Lesson 40 I am blessed as a Son of God.
- Today we will begin to assert some of the happy things to which you are entitled, being what you are. No long practice periods are required today, but frequent short ones are necessary. Once every ten minutes would be highly desirable, and you are urged to attempt this schedule and to adhere to it whenever possible. If you forget, try again. If there are long interruptions, try again. Whenever you remember, try again.
- You need not close your eyes for the exercise periods, although you will probably find it more helpful if you do. However, you may be in a number of situations during the day when closing your eyes would not be feasible. Do not miss a practice period because of this. You can practice quite well under any circumstances, if you really want to.
- Today’s exercises take little time and no effort. Repeat the idea for today, and then add several attributes you associate with being a Son of God, applying them to yourself.
One practice period might, for example consist of the following: I am blessed as a Son of God. I am happy, peaceful, loving, and contented.
Another might take this form: I am blessed as a Son of God. I am calm, quiet, assured, and confident.
If only a brief period is available, merely telling yourself that you are blessed as a Son of God will do.[1]
Notes and Personal Application (2019): This was a travel day for me – flying with Lover to Miami to visit our friends. Although I did not do this exercise every 10 minutes, I did practice this throughout the day when I remembered. I am blessed as a Daughter of God. I am part of the Sonship of God and I am blessed. I am protected. I am guaranteed. I am safe. I am holy. I am blessed as part of the Sonship of God.
Notes and Personal Application (2020): Our lesson today seemed fun and easy until we realized that we were being asked to do it every 10 minutes. We both agreed that we are not going to use our technology to remind ourselves to do our practice that often – it sounded mad, but on the other hand, it is mind-training. And we both have experienced all too well the untrained mind; we both are more than ready for a better way! So we are going to do our best here – it is a Sunday; we have few obligations or demands upon us for today – every ten minutes or so, “I am blessed as a Son of God.”
Taking note of last year, we both smiled remembering our trip to see our friends in Miami. What a happy reunion we had – what a fun time. I remember how astonished they were that I swam in their pool and did my water exercises. At 68 and 70 degrees, it was too cold for them to even imagine jumping in with me!
I also remarked about last year this time I was not quite ready to give up my identity with my gender; I didn’t want to say I was a Son of God, but rather a Daughter of God. That has changed over the course of the year and we both agreed that it is impossible to imagine God with a penis, testicles, or an anus, (or for those who would insist that God is female, a clitoris, vagina, and a uterus). As we are made in His image, we, too are genderless. Father and Son are only word-symbols that signify Creator and extensions of that Creator in an understandable manner for our separated and bewitched minds. Language itself, we have come to understand, is a poor substitute for true communication of the Spirit, which has no need for symbols of any kind. This year I am very comfortable with the genderless forms of Father and Son. Hopefully all of us can get over identifying with our sexual organs and begin to see and accept one another in the Spirit as one. This need not be an issue!
Simply because, I went first again: “I am blessed as a Son of God. I am loved, I have peace, I am forgiven…” I went on and on.
“Whoa!” James said. “We aren’t supposed to make a big long list like that.”
Having awakened in the morning with the thought of all I have not accomplished, feeling a bit guilty over screwing up James’ hotel reservations, and for watching too many episodes of that crazy show, Portlandia, last night – I may have gone overboard on my blessings as a Son of God!
James took his turn, more closely following the structure of the lesson. “I am blessed as a Son of God. I am as good, smart, and attractive as other people. I am creative and accomplished.”
Really? My strong, handsome, tech-savvy, generous husband struggles with not feeling as good as others, too? It is amazing how our lessons continue to reveal our innermost thoughts and attitudes toward both ourselves and others. We talked about how being blessed as God’s Son we have no need to compare ourselves to others or feel bad in the areas where we feel shorted. We are not shorted as God’s Son. As God’s Son we have everything.
We talked about how in this world, everything is handed out in unequal, unjust portions, which causes jealousy, insecurity, resentment, war, and variances of every kind. We both slavishly adore and vehemently hate the beautiful, the rich, the intelligent. Those who have more are required to guard themselves from false friends, sabotage, and revenge; those who have less are expected to cater to the needs of those who have more. It is a constant power struggle in which nobody wins.
In our professions we can work for years to come to the top of our field, only to realize that what we have mastered is now obsolete and no longer required. Nobody wins in ego world. Those who look like winners are not telling the whole story, even to themselves. The so-called blessings of the world mislead, disappoint, and distress us. Think of how we have come, as eternal Sons of God, to glorify death with our elaborate statues, tombs, and mausoleums, while accepting without question that everything dies, decays, decomposes, and is no more.
Years ago a dear friend informed me that he was an atheist, but not because he chose to be. Only because he had crawled on bare knees and the palms of his hands through sharp shale to show God how much he wanted to know Him, and God had not revealed Himself to him. After all that bloodshed, suffering, humility, and sincere desire to know God – no God had come out from the shadows and presented Himself to him, so therefore God must not exist.
If God had revealed Himself to our friend, He would have been answering a plea to a false representation of Himself. It is the ego’s god which requires bloodshed, suffering, pain, and humiliation. In the false kingdom of the ego-god, every good thing comes with an exorbitant fee. And as every believer will finally discover, the cost continually rises, as the reward dwindles. This is why we need mind-training – to overcome the intentional misrepresentation of God that has perverted our religions and spiritual practices from the beginning of the world.
We are only blessed as Sons of God. Merely telling ourselves that we are blessed as a Son of God, will enable us to experience God as our loving Father. Let us tell ourselves as often as we can remember today – “I am blessed as a Son of God,” remembering God is our loving Father, and wills only for our happiness, joy, and peace.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 40 I am blessed…Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992). p. 62.
the friar patch 