Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
Lesson 82 We will review these ideas today:
- (63) The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness.
My forgiveness is the means by which the light of the world finds expression through me. My forgiveness is the means by which I become aware of the light of the world in me. My forgiveness is the means by which the world is healed, together with myself. Let me, then, forgive the world, that it may be healed along with me.
- Suggestions for specific forms for applying this idea are: Let peace extend from my mind to yours, (name).. I share the light of the world with you, (name). Through my forgiveness I can see this as it is.
- (64) Let me not forget my function.
I would not forget my function, because I would remember my Self. I cannot fulfill my function if I forget it. And unless I fulfill my function, I will not experience the joy that God intends for me.
- Suitable specific forms of this idea include: Let me not use this to hide my function from me. I would use this as an opportunity to fulfill my function. This may threaten my ego but cannot change my function in any way.[1]
Notes and Personal Application: Morning meditation – The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness. I choose that the light of the world shines upon all situations which have grieved, tormented, and/or blighted the light within – Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Melody. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Amy. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Linda. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Shannon. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Beckie. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Adam. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Amber. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Tara. Let peace extend from my mind to yours, Scott. I share the light of the world with you, Bianca. I share the light of the world with you, James. I share the light of the world with you, David. I share the light of the world with you, Jonathan. I share the light of the world with you, Jared. I share the light of the world with you, Lisa. I share the light of the world with you, Gerald. Through my forgiveness I can see all my worries, concerns, and cares for what they are and where they came from. I am no longer afraid to love God and answer the call of God upon my mind. I am no longer afraid of being who and what I really am.
Evening meditation – Let me not forget my function. Let me not use Netflix and Prime to hide my function from me! Let me not use food and cooking to hide my function from me.
Let me not use my love for reading and writing to hide my function from me. Let me not use sudoku and puzzles to hide my function from me. Let me not use worries and cares about others to hide my function from me. Let me not use my selfishness to hide my function from me. Let me not use my love for James to hide my function from me. Let me not use my cozy pleasures to hide my function from me. Let me not use my spiritual path to hide my function from me. Let me not use my new smart phone to hide my function from me. Let me not use anything I despise or anything I love to hide my function from me.
I will use this time as an opportunity to fulfill my function. I will use this place as an opportunity to fulfill my function. I will use this space, whether it be my office, kitchen, living room, or car – whatever space that I inhabit, as an opportunity to fulfill my function.
No matter how my ego feels about it, it cannot change my function in any way. My ego can shriek, and scream, and get sick with shame, but I will not forget that I am the light of the world and that my function is forgiveness. The words that Holy Spirit asks of me, the deeds that Holy Spirit guides me to write, to share, to say may threaten my ego, but it cannot change my function in any way. The vision of Christ may threaten my ego but cannot change my function in any way. The thoughts of my past, the things I have done in my confusion and grief may threaten my ego but cannot change my function in any way. The grudges I have held against others in the past may threaten my ego but cannot change who and what I am in any way.
Let us not forget our function. Let us fulfill our function. The light of the world brings peace to every mind through our forgiveness. Let peace extend from our mind to every mind there is! We share the light of the world with others, so that others may shine their light as well. Through our forgiveness we can see this as it is. When we remember our function, we remember our true Selves. We remember that we are not bodies. We are not egos. We are Sons of God.
As long as the ego can overtake our identity, we cannot remember who and what we are. As long as the ego tricks us into thinking we are our bodies and not the Mind of Christ, we do not experience the joy that God intends for us. We experience the joy that God intends for us when we fulfill our function.
I will use every opportunity to fulfill my function. When I am cooking a delicious meal I am fulfilling my function. When I am writing a blog post, I am fulfilling my function. When I am talking on the phone I am fulfilling my function. When I am feeding the chickens and gathering eggs, I am fulfilling my function. When I read my emails, I am fulfilling my function. When I respond to my emails, I am fulfilling my function. When I attend our study group, I am fulfilling my function. When I am riding about in the car with James, having fun and eating ice cream, I am fulfilling my function! Nobody can take my function from me. I cannot give my function to anybody else. I am the only one that can fulfill my function. Let me not forget my function, dear Lord. I can fulfill my function as long as I do not forget what it is – forgiveness goes with me everywhere I go. When I choose forgiveness I no longer carry the grudges, grief, sorrows, and blighted memories of the past. I no longer see the images that have tormented me in my mind. The things that I have witnessed and been privy to in the past no longer corrupt my mind with its poison, because I forgave it all.
My prayer today has been, Let me not forget my function, dear Father! Thank you for waking me in the night to fulfill my holy function. Peace extends from my mind to the minds of everyone I know and see and encounter – in the past, present, and future – peace extends from my mind to the minds of others. Through forgiveness I can see this as it is. Through forgiveness I can see the beauty and eternal Creation as it truly is. Through forgiveness, the beauty of eternal Creation is revealed to me. Through forgiveness, the glory of God is made manifest. Through forgiveness, peace extends from my mind to the minds of my descendants. Through forgiveness, peace extends from my mind to the minds of my ancestors. Through forgiveness, peace extends from my mind to the minds of all my friends and acquaintances. Through forgiveness, Your Will is done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name. Amen.
When troubles are lifted from our mind, when darkness no longer leaves its shadow upon our thoughts, we can see our loved ones as they really are. Their love and their beauty are made apparent to us. Their goodness and kindnesses warm our hearts and fill us with gratitude. Their faults and shortcomings, the mean things they have said and done, no longer matter because we have forgiven them. The things that we have done to drive a wedge between our self and others, disappears, because we see others as they really are – and we see ourselves as we really are. Invulnerable to that which is meaningless, no longer a participator in the ego battles and games of an imaginary world blighted by fear of love and light, we can see clearly now. Let us remember to see with the vision of Christ, through eyes of forgiveness, through eyes of Love. The ego will throw tantrums. The ego will tell us that it is impossible. The ego will tempt us to think of its defenses as our friend – but Christ is calling to us to join with Him, to let Him become us, to let ourselves become Him and find our rightful, true identity in His Brotherhood, the Sonship of God.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 82…Circle of Atonement, Complete and Annotated Edition (2017). p. 1096.
the friar patch 