ACIM Workbook Lesson 55 – for Thursday, February 24, 2011
Affirmation: “I am determined to see things differently.”
Selected Passage:
“I am determined to see the witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those which show me an illusion of myself. (WB90)”
Reflections:
We see illusions in ourselves, others, and this world, until we give up the illusions. There is no other way. How do we give up illusions? We make a determination that we will ask to see the real world, and then we wait patiently until the world changes. And we will not have long to wait. Jesus is in charge of time (a Text tenet).
Affirmation: “What I see is a form of vengeance.”
Selected Passage:
“The world I see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts. It is a picture of attack on everything by everything. . .It is my own attack thoughts that give rise to this picture. My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world, and give me the peace God intended me to have. (WB90)”
Reflections:
This passage reflects a summary of all that has recently gone before. We need to make a decision to give up attack, once and for all. We need to choose love, and then our perception of the world will change (because our projections have changed), and we will have peace.
Affirmation: “I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts.”
Selected Passage:
“As forgiveness allow love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace and safety and joy. (WB90)”
Reflections:
Forgiveness is our only function in this world. And we forgive only what has actually never happened in reality. Our brothers and sisters, and we ourselves, have only made mistakes, and these can be corrected. A mistake is a call for help and a call for love (ACIM says this for attack). May we allow forgiveness to overcome us today, and may we live peacefully.
Affirmation: “I do not perceive my own best interests.”
Selected Passage:
“I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me to find out what my own best interests are, recognizing that I cannot perceive them by myself. (WB91)”
Reflections:
The Guide is the Holy Spirit, a frequent emphasis in ACIM. When we let the Holy Spirit, the Universal Inspiration (a Text term), speak to us, then we will know our best interests. And peace will overtake us. This may not happen all at once, because the ego still may be strong in us, but it will happen sufficiently for us to see the truth of the passage quoted above.
Affirmation: “I do not know what anything is for.”
Selected Passage:
“The purpose I have given the world has led to a frightening picture of it. Let me open my mind to the world’s real purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and learning the truth about it. (WB91)”
Reflections:
May we not let our own thoughts frighten us. We are quite capable of doing so; in fact, this is why we are so frequently frightened. May, instead, we extend loving thoughts, and then our own fear will recede.
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
I am going to try to go through this day without any attack thoughts toward myself or others. If I vow to give up illusions of myself and others, and to see only the loving in myself and others, I will have a better chance of having this peaceful day that I want. Be with me throughout the day as I seek to make good on my promise.
Help us to give up illusions of ourselves, the illusions that are borne of egoistic thinking. May my view of myself change to a more benign concept, leading eventually to the truth that I do not truly understand myself at all. Only You can give me the understanding that I will need to carry out my function of forgiveness in Your world.
Amen.
