ACIM Workbook Lesson 299 – for Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Affirmation: “Eternal holiness abides in me.”
“Father, my holiness is not of me. It is not mine to be destroyed by sin. It is not mine to suffer from attack. Illusions can obscure it, but can not put out its radiance, nor dim its light. It stands forever perfect and untouched. (WB448)”
Reflections:
1 – Are We Holy?
We are hesitant to call ourselves “holy.” We do not seem worthy, regardless of how far along the pathway we have walked. We think somehow that it is an unseemly thing to say or even to think.
2 – Our Retreat into Feverish Dreams
But Jesus would say that this is the arrogance of the ego. We are actually holy because God has called us thus. We have not changed our Self since we were created. We have merely retreated into feverish dreams, illusions, maya. But we are still as God created us (from the Workbook). We are still holy.
3 – Our Holiness = Not Changed by Detour into Fear
Our holiness has not been touched by the detour into fear that we made at the time that we thought that we separated from God (paraphrases from the Text). We have not, it is true, been in communication with God, for we have been asleep. But we can awaken, and He will effect this for us when we are ready. Even early on, we will see glimpses of Awakening before it is sustained. And A Course of Love is all about the elevated Self of form, the walking in this world of an Awakened individual. (Many view A Course of Love as a sequel to ACIM, one that was also channeled by Jesus.)
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
May I feel humble as I retreat from arrogance and contemplate the idea that I am still the holy individual that You created. May I not let these thoughts cause the ego to reemerge. May I know that I am still as You created me, though I have detoured into fear, and I have made mistakes that beg for correction.
Help my correction to be gentle. Jesus says that we do not have to learn through pain. I ask today that I learn and experience all that You would wish for me, in the manner that You wish. I do realize that You would not have me suffer pain, and even that You do not grant any credence to this illusion, because it is illusion. Help me to learn through rewards, which can only come when I have surrendered to Your Teacher, the Holy Spirit.
Thank You for leading me this far, and thank You that my detour into fear has been as benign as it has been. This does not mean that I will never again know pain, only that it is unnecessary. May I follow in the Way that You point out to me through Your Universal Inspiration, the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
