Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
REVIEW VI
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
Lesson 207
- (187) I bless the world because I bless myself.
God’s blessing shines upon me from within my heart, where He abides. I need but turn to Him and every sorrow melts away, as I accept His boundless Love for me.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.[1]
Notes and Personal Application: We open our morning and evening mediation with I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. If you are doing these lessons and devoting your attention to the theme of Review Six, by now the above sentences are embedded in your consciousness. If you are wondering where a deepened sense of peace and joy stem from – let it be clear that understanding these lines truly does enlighten us in all ways. Our spirits soar, we are no longer confined in flesh, not knowing who we are and where we belong. We know we are creations of God, adrift but not unmoored, lost but only in our blighted imaginations, in these three sentences we find ourselves complete and whole.
In our review of Lesson 187, we learn that what we give, we receive. This idea is different from what happens in the world. In the world, when we give something away, it is no longer ours. In truth, when we give, we receive. In fact, Jesus says that it is only in giving that we can receive. The only way we can protect all things that we value is by giving them away and this is the only way we can be sure to never lose them. The only caveat is this: Do not value form – no form ever endures. It is the thought behind the form of things that is unchangeable.
Today’s idea is a kingdom principle that when applied in form will simply not work. Do not be deceived into thinking that this is a get rich quick scheme. It does not work with anything of form. If people tell you that the way to get God’s blessing is to send them a hundred dollars, you can tell them to pound sand. If someone tells you however, to receive God’s blessing you must bless other people in your words, thoughts, and deeds – you know that you are in the presence of a teacher of God. If someone tells you that to retain God’s blessing upon your life, you must continue to bless others in your words, thoughts, and deeds – this is truth – it will cost you no money, it will take little of your time, but you will see the miracles it brings to everyone you see.
To receive blessings, no sacrifice is ever demanded – there is no pain or sense of loss, no sickness or sorrow, no poverty, starvation, or death. We do not beg God to bless us, to remove a curse, to smite our enemies. We can laugh at such crude depictions of our Father who loves all of Creation. Blessings are received as they are given. Blessings are retained as they are never denied to anyone. It is like a stream of living water – it is freely given as long as it is not dammed up, hoarded, or doled out to a select few. When kept for oneself, it dries up and becomes that which will never quench one’s thirst or water one’s garden.
There is purity in understanding the flow of God’s blessings and coming to understand how we are one in thought when fear of one another is laid aside and we stand together as God’s Son. Our grievances toward one another are washed away when we bless each other. All those people whom we simply cannot stand, whom we love but want to stay away from, whom we see as shadows who have infringed upon our joy and taken away our sunshine – we bless. We offer them a blessing and we are blessed. We lay down our past dealings – the things that were said, the way we were made to feel, the ways in ways in which our kindness was met with hostility, the times when we felt unwanted and unwelcome. When we bless others who have hurt us, disappointed us, cast us off for someone new and exciting and stopped returning our calls – we are blessed. Jesus says we make our minds a home for Innocence Itself, Who dwells in us and offers us His Holiness as ours.
For those of us who have grown cynical in the world, who mock innocence, who enjoy playing people for the fool – pointing out mistakes and keeping the past alive in order to keep others from following their joy and reaching their destiny – let there be no mistake. Jesus tells us that this principle also works when we fail to bless others. When we fail to bless others, we fail to recognize our own blessings. We fail to realize our own salvation. We fall into a dirty stream of blame and shame and end up full of sorrow, ashamed, and forsaken. In other words, we make our own hell.
Today we bless the world because we bless ourselves. It is the way we love our Selves the best – by blessing everything and everyone we see. We value blessing and so we give it away – this is the way to our salvation and to the salvation of the world. No matter how lowdown and dirty someone wants to play, let us bless them and move on, offering them no spite, no mean words, no nasty recriminations – simply a blessing and not a curse.
Again we wrap up today’s devotional practice with this refrain: I am not a body, I am free. For I am still as God created me.
I bless you because I bless myself, and you bless me because you bless yourself. We are one in Christ, today and always.
[1]A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 207. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition (1992).
Audio credit: http://www.eckiefriar.com
the friar patch 