Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
Lesson 48 There is nothing to fear.
- The idea for today simply states a fact. It is not a fact to those who believe in illusions, but illusions are not facts. In truth there is nothing to fear. It is very easy to recognize this. But it is very difficult to recognize it for those who want illusions to be true.
- Today’s practice periods will be very short, very simple and very frequent. Merely repeat the idea as often as possible. You can use it with your eyes open at anytime and in any situation. It is strongly recommended, however, that you take a minute or so whenever possible to close your eyes and repeat the idea slowly to yourself several times. It is particularly important that you use the idea immediately, should anything disturb your peace of mind.
- The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are trusting in your own strength. The awareness that there is nothing to fear shows that somewhere in your mind, though not necessarily in a place you recognize as yet, you have remembered God, and let His strength take the place of your weakness. The instant you are willing to do this there is indeed nothing to fear.[1]
Notes and Personal Application (2019): There is nothing to fear. I am called to be afraid of no thing – no animal, insect, germ, bacteria, criminal, or person of ill-intent. I am not afraid of my sisters; I am not afraid of my brothers. I am not afraid of midnight callers. I am not afraid of stinkbugs. I am not afraid of poop and pee. I am not afraid of vomit. I am not afraid of bad smells. I am not afraid of car crashes and plane accidents. I am not afraid of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or other substances. There is nothing to fear.
Notes and Personal Application (2020): If we want illusions to be true, then we will be afraid. Jesus informs us very clearly in today’s lesson that there is nothing to fear. This is a fact, in His reality, but here in the ego, in the physical world, in time – there seems to be lots to fear!
I have never liked the dark. It would be safe to say that the dark has always frightened me. When nighttime comes, I want everything to be lit up. I won’t step outside of the house if I can help it unless someone is with me or I have something with which to defend myself. The house can make all kinds of noises during the day and I am not the least bit disturbed, but at night when it creaks and groans as houses tend to do, it sends the shivers up and down my spine. But today Jesus is saying that there is nothing to fear. The more I repeated today’s idea to myself, the more I realized how true it is. Nighttime came and I walked down in the dark to empty the compost bucket and to lock the chickens in for the night. I went over to the old cellar where poor Nancy Sweitzer hung all those years ago and left our outdoor cat in for the night and gave him a big bowl of food and a fresh bowl of water. I gave him a cuddle and stood directly under the beam where Nancy had swung. There was nothing to fear. All I felt was an enormous sense of love and affection for the poor, desperate woman whose rather gruesome story had haunted me throughout my childhood and since James and I bought the place back in 1997!
Later in the day when I received a rude text from someone whom I had thought had more love and common courtesy than that, it only disturbed my peace of mind for a fleeting moment. There is nothing to fear. As quickly as I deleted the text, the disturbance left my mind and a flood of joy and love and peace filled my mind for the text sender. No response speaks louder than words, the inner voice was telling me, and then showed me a mind image of my former self getting puffed up with indignation over such a slight and feeling a need to talk about it to others. No need to say a word, the Holy Spirit reminded me. Let the ripple effect go the opposite way in which the ego intended. There is nothing to fear.
Today when I began to worry about not taking the time to exercise and how easy it is at this time in my life to gain unwanted pounds, “there is nothing to fear,” added to “God is the strength in which I trust,” from yesterday helped me to resist all the goodies that have somehow accumulated on our snack cart over the course of the last week or so. After I tucked into some grapefruit sections and later on ate a juicy mango it was easy to say no to the chips and dip that had been calling my name! I didn’t have to be afraid of the snacks, nor did I have to fear my lack of willpower. Just because they were there, didn’t mean I had to eat them.
When my son and grandson stopped by to give me a ride in their new (to them) Excursion and took me out for an ice cream cone from McDonald’s, I could enjoy my treat and their company without being afraid of going off my diet. There is nothing to fear. Reminding myself of today’s idea, relieved me of the troubling sense of deprivation that I have been experiencing lately in my efforts to avoid weight gain. Somewhere in my mind, a place that I am only beginning to recognize, I have remembered God and let His certainty take the place of my uncertainty, His strength takes the place of my weakness, worry, and unhappiness.
Jesus says that the instant we are willing to put this idea into practice, it becomes true for us – we experience the reality of it immediately. There is no need to let anything, whether it seems big or small, disturb our peace of mind. There is indeed nothing to fear!
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 48 There is nothing…Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992). p. 77.
the friar patch 