ACIM Workbook Lesson 18 – for Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Affirmation: “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.”
Selected Passage:
“The idea for today is another step in learning that the thoughts which give rise to what you see are never neutral or unimportant. It also emphasizes the idea that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later on. (WB29)”
Reflections:
We are all One. This idea is stressed repeatedly, though we are particularly apt to overlook it in our study of ACIM. The Manual answers a question about psychic matters, and the answer is that there are far more channels to reach us (and our brothers and sisters) than are recognized by this world. If there were not many means, the teaching of salvation would be impossible.
Have we not all had the experience of “reading the mind” of someone near and dear to us, when we both think the same thing at the same time, and then say it simultaneously? Likewise, we may have a bad dream about our brother or sister, and then find that he or she has also awakened in a bad mood. These are everyday occurrences, but ACIM, I can imagine, would see them as evidence that our minds are joined. We cannot think alone, and our actions affect others as well as ourselves. This is the direct explanation of the affirmation for today.
A related thought to the passage for today is the fact that projection makes perception (an ACIM tenet, explained further in the introduction to the Text). So we are encouraged in this sequence of lessons to watch our minds, not to let them wander into negative and therefore fearful thinking. This idea may at this point sound much easier said than done, and this fact may be true for a very long time. But, as Jesus stresses, once we are started on the pathway, the ending is certain. Let us, as he counsels, be patient. The Awakening is our end, and if the way seems long, let us be aware that we are seeking the highest and best that we can know (as opposed to “perceive”).
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
We actually can read each other’s minds, though we are not usually aware of this when it happens. Help us to watch our minds, and to entertain thoughts about ourselves and each other that are only uplifting. We can do no less if we are to know Awakening.
Be with me today as I seek to think only of the good and brave in my brothers and sisters. Help me to forgive myself, as I forgive others as well, for the wrongs that I have perceive I have done. You are with me, to help a better day arrive.
Amen.
