ACIM Workbook Lesson 155 – for Saturday, June 4, 2011
Affirmation: “I will step back and let Him lead the way.”
“There is a way of living in the world that is not here, although it seems to be. You do not change appearance, though you smile more frequently. Your forehead is serene; your eyes are quiet. And the ones who walk the world as you do recognize their own. Yet those who have not yet perceived the way will recognize you also, and believe that you are like them, as you were before. (WB291)”
Reflections:
1 – A Benign Secret Society
A lovely passage and a favorite. It suggests a kind of benign secret society of those who have found salvation. And we find each other, those who, like us, have come to know God. Yet we do not appear changed to people who are still struggling to find the Way. We can take our place anonymously in the world.
2 – We Are Not “Special”
This can be turned into an egotistical playground, but God would not have to do so. We are not “special” (or not any more special than anybody else). We do not have anything that is not meant for everyone else; we just may have it sooner. And we are meant to share, to the extent that our brothers and sisters are ready for us to share with them.
3 – Smile
“. . .[Y]ou smile more frequently.” Yes! In the Manual, Jesus asserts that some in our world are ready for only a smile. This passage seems to echo that, but for ourselves this time. We do smile in our world when we are walking in grace. And if we are not walking in grace, then this boon can be ours, immediately, for the asking.
4 – The Solution is Always with the Problem
This immediacy of A Course in Miracles is repeated and implied throughout all three volumes. We do not have to wait to receive God’s blessings. And when we have a problem, the solution is always with that problem. There does not have to be a time delay, and, if there is, we must, unfortunately, lay the blame at our own feet. God wills for the good to come to us at the point of our asking. But asking is imperative. He means us well.
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
I would walk the world and be recognized by others who are also seekers of the Way–not in an egotistical way, but in a way that acknowledges that our leader is God Himself. May this way of viewing the world and the people in it never be turned to a wrong mindset, for myself or for others.
Help me to have a good day as I walk this world, which so many times seems full of woe. I would not share its woe, but I would pray for its recovery to the pristine state of innocence that once was its own.
Amen.
