ACIM Workbook Lesson 57 – for Saturday, February 26, 2011
Affirmation: “I am not the victim of the world I see.”
“How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so choose?. . .I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last. (WB94)”
Reflections:
Walking in to the sunlight is a great boon. What a blessing to know that the door is open, and that we do not have to stay in a prison made by the part of ourselves that is insane–the ego. May we choose anew to let the ego wither away, and may we reaffirm this desire often today.
Affirmation: “I have invented the world I see.”
“I made up the prison in which I see myself. All I need do is recognize this and I am free. (WB94)”
Reflections:
We would leave this prison that we made up. When we know that it is we ourselves that “did this” to ourselves, then we are well on our way to undoing it.
Affirmation: “There is another way of looking at the world.”
“I see the world as a prison for God’s Son. It must be, then, that the world is really a place where he can be set free. (WB94)”
Reflections:
This is a favorite quotation from the Workbook. Yes, this world is a place where we can be set free. Why? Most of what we see, everything outside the real world, is the exact opposite of what is true. And this world is easily dismissed when we recognize that the loving world, the real world, is what we want.
Affirmation: “I could see peace instead of this.”
“. . .I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me. (WB95)”
Reflections:
Peace is in the hearts of others, too. We perhaps do not recognize this when they are attacking us. But they do so out of ignorance. And they do so as a call for help. Let us recognize that peace is actually under all the hostility, and let our own denunciations cease. May forgiveness of our innocent brothers and sisters return.
Affirmation: “My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.”
“The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. (WB95)”
Reflections:
This affirmation is a very reassuring one. We are holy, though we do not believe this of ourselves. When we feel forgiveness, we probably feel more justified in the sight of God, and we may feel more holy. But we are always holy, because we are as God created us (a Workbook tenet). Our real Self has not changed because we chose to believe a little self that was consumed by a part of our belief, the part called “ego.”
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
I am not a victim, though often in this world all of us try to see ourselves as victims. Help me to recognize that seeing peace in this world is a choice. Not everything seems perfect; in fact, many things seem very wrong. But the things that happen to me are choices of my Higher Self, and I can choose how I will react to them. Indeed, I must choose how I will react to what happens to me in this world.
Thank You for reassuring me that my mind is holy because it is part of Yours. This is a welcome idea, not always something that I have known, and even now I have trouble understanding all that this promise holds out to me. May I come closer to understanding this blessing today.
Amen.
