ACIM Workbook Lesson 283 – for Monday, October 10, 2011
Affirmation: “My true Identity abides in You.”
“Father, I made an image of myself, and it is this I call the Son of God. Yet is creation as it always was, for Your creation is unchangeable. Let me not worship idols. I am he my Father loves. My holiness remains the light of Heaven and the Love of God. Is not what is beloved of You secure? Is not the light of Heaven infinite? Is not Your Son my true Identity, when You created everything that is? (WB439)”
Reflections:
1 – We Make Personas
We all, in our egoic state, make personas, and then we live out what we are trying to present to the world. This is an egoic image, and images cannot talk. We find that others see through our personas, straight to our hearts, though they do not frequently see the love that actually resides there. They think, sometimes, that they are seeing something that deserves rejection. But nothing deserve rejection. If we are prone to attack or anger, we are actually making calls for help, an an ACIM student/teacher, in his/her better moments, will recognize this. We are acting at such time out of an ego that needs to wither away.
2 – We Are the Light of Heaven
We are the light of Heaven, though we do not often believe this. It is not arrogance to so believe, because we are talking about the Self that is Christ, the Self as God created us. But it is up to us to save the world, though not through overbearing means. Not everybody is ready for our message, and many will actively discount it, believing that what we say is of the “devil.” But there is no devil; there is only an ego that projects a devil. This is part of the theology of ACIM.
3 – Hell Is Guilt
Even hell is not real, according to ACIM. Hell is guilt that we experience right here on earth. Of course, we can make images that appear to be hell, but that does not make them real. Jesus asks if the number of pitchforks a devil carries make us believe in him/her more readily (a paraphrase from ACIM)? Certainly not. We either believe or not, but the extent of the delusion matters not.
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
May I live today the real person that I am, the Self that You created. May I not remain mired in an image of myself that is not true. May I not wear a mask before the world. Let me show my real Self, the Daughter of You, as You would have me do.
May today be good in all respects. May I remain patient in trials, if they come, and may I realize that trials are but a chance to make a new choice, a better choice than something that I once chose before. Be with me as I seek to live the Self whom You would have me be.
Amen.
