When We Observe with Love, We Observe Truly

“It will seem at first as if you are asked to deny the facts that you see before you in order to observe something other than what is there. You must constantly remember that your observance is now an act of worship and of devotion and that you are called to observe the truth rather than illusion no matter how real illusion may still seem to be.” (ACOL, T3:18.8)

This passage again refers, first of all, to our observance of our brothers and sisters. If we find people still trapped in illusion, we are not to take seriously whatever they may say, though of course we are still to respect their insanity, because we respect them. But most importantly, we don’t put any credence in their insanity. And when they are speaking from the ego, they are speaking from madness.

When we observe rightly, we are both worshipping and being devoted to the real world, to true reality. Our brothers and sisters, whether they still live in illusion or not, deserve our heartfelt consolation. They need us as much as we need them. And when we observe with love, we will observe truly. Surely our loving observance goes a long way toward meeting them outside the house of illusion, in the House of Truth.

This is the way to go about our day today: Observe our brothers and sister, and observe the events and situations in which we and they are embroiled. This will prompt a miracle that will make all better.

Observation of our world will show us how to live well, if we are attentive to higher truths. And being attentive to higher truths is our great need.

Prayer

I have sought to be attentive to my brothers and sisters today. This will pay off in the long run. Thank You for calling me to this mind slant.

Be with me as the day moves to a close. Help me to learn much from the observance of others that I do. Help me not to be misled by the madness of those still caught in illusion. And keep me from being ensnared by illusion also. Thank You.

Amen.

Seek No More

“The Christ in you has no need to plan. A need to come to know…yes. But a need to plan…no. The Christ in you needs not for you to choose a lesson plan, but to let life itself be your chosen way of learning.” (ACOL, T2:10.19)

This quotation for today is an echo of an admonition from A Course in Miracles. There we are told to weave no plans against contingencies to come, unless these plans are prompted by the Holy Spirit. Planning is part of the trio of activities that will keep Awakening, or Christ-consciousness, from us. Along with attack and judgment, planning separates us from God’s present moment promptings. Of course, there may be practical plans that need to be made, and, if so, we will be told of them. Then and then only should we proceed.

Later on in A Course of Love, we find out that observation of life is our new way of learning. We are no longer to turn to the wisdom of the past, other people’s wisdom. Instead, we are to let our lives teach us what we need to know. And here we see the foreshadowing of this new idea: “. . .let life itself be your chosen way of learning.”

We do need to come to know. Not perceive, but know. And only when we are in right relationship to God will we know anything of value. Perceptions, particularly perceptions of the ego, mislead. But knowing is of God, and therefore blessed.

We have, many of us, been excellent students of past wisdom. We were taught how to learn in school, and we have benefited greatly, as the world views it, from this learning. We are about to find that learning, as such, is no longer needed nor necessary. Of course, we can still choose to learn, but this will be a choice only; and many who want to create a new world will not fall into these paths of the past. We can cease our seeking into various spiritual traditions, if we wish. Our seeking can come to an end, because we have now found. With A Course of Love, we have our way home, our way back to God. And the glory of Christ-consciousness will affirm that we have made the right choice.

When one has found, he/she can be contented in no longer seeking. Many of us have been seekers most of our lives, but where does this end? Jesus has recognized this propensity in us, and he has sought to let us know that we are already The Accomplished, that we have already, now, found. We are the prodigal sons and daughters who have returned home, and, with this final step, we no longer need to seek. We have arrived home, safe and secure at last. Christ-consciousness is only a breath away.

Prayer

Help this day to be good. I have a busy day ahead, as have many of us. I need to realize that planning for the unforeseen is a trap, that planning cannot be predicted, that it shouldn’t be predicted at all. Be with me this day as I let my free spirit out to play.

Thank You for all that You do for me. Even when I am confused, indeed especially then, You clear my mind. I would keep a clear mind throughout the day. With Your help.

Amen.

Don’t Make Life More Complicated than It Is

“To live in relationship is to accept all that is happening in the present as your present reality, and as a call to be in relationship with it. It is the willingness to set aside judgment so that you are not contemplating what “should” be happening rather than what is happening. It looks past percep¬tion of “others” to relationship and wholeness. To live in relationship is to live in harmony even with conflict. It is an understanding that if conflict arises in your present there is something to be learned from your relation¬ship with conflict.” (ACOL, C:27.14)

This quotation enlarges on the concept of relationship, a concept that is given great play in A Course of Love. We are to be in relationship with what happens in our world as well as with the people in that world. And even if we encounter conflict, we are to know that there is something in conflict for us to learn from. Later on in ACOL, we are taught that our learning is to come from observation of the people and things in our outer world, no longer from books of the past, what people have told us about experience. We are to experience directly through this observation.

We don’t need to argue with our experiences. We don’t need to place “should’s” and “ought’s” on what is going on around us. If something that we don’t like is going on, there is still something for us to learn from this lamentable set of circumstances. And, likewise, if there is something that we like going on, we can relax in the joy and derive pleasure from our surroundings as well.

We don’t need to get in tangles with our world. We simply, directly, observe our surroundings, just as we simply and directly observe our reactions to our surroundings. Don’t make life more complicated than it truly is. Take life by the smooth handle. Relax and be happy, joyous. The way home is not a struggle, and if we insist on struggling, we will miss the mark. The only way home is through, not around, but that “through” is not meant to be a mire. We walk smoothly and easily, along a smooth pathway. And if we find briars where we thought that we would find smoothness, if we trip and fall, we just need to pick ourselves up and try again. The briars are of our own making.

Find wholeness today in our relationship with others and with God. We are a part of that wholeness, and the wholeness is all positive—if we don’t get lot in ruminations of making things different from what they are. We take life at face value, simply and peacefully.

Then we know that we have found the right route through and beyond our troubles.

Dear Father/Mother,

I find myself in conflict from time to time, and I wonder if this is a pattern, in memory, from egoic living. I know that we don’t have to remain in conflict, because turning to You will ease our way, and turning to You will ease our way immediately. Thank You for being there, deep within me, embodying the Self who is my inner Christ. This Self is my little part of You, and knowing that this little Self is part of the All is reassuring in the extreme.

Be with us today. Thank You for the good morning that I had, and may the rest of the day unfold in just such a good manner.

Amen.

Ceasing to Learn in the Old Way

1 – Learning

“Learning is not meant to last. This is why even this course work comes to an end. It comes to an end here and now as we move past study and learning to observation, vision, and revelation. (A Course of Love: Treatise on the New, 9.1)”

2 – Controversial

This first quotation from Treatise on the New is startling in its implications, and well it is meant to be. To say, “Learning is not meant to last,” is a controversial assertion. If we believe that it is Jesus who says it, we will think twice before dismissing whatever might be meant. The whole Treatise on the New seeks to explain what awaits us as the old ways of learning fall away from us.

As readers, we have been seekers, probably all of our lives. We have longed to know of the hidden things of heaven and earth. Surely many who preceded our time in this world were also seekers. It is our blessing to have more words of reassurance upon which to draw, words from these more recent readings. Many of us do view both A Course in Miracles and A Course of Love as channeled writings of Jesus.

3 – Relentless Seeking

Are we to keep seeking through our reading, and through other means, relentlessly? Is there a place where we will rest easy, that we are justified?

4 – Transformation

A Course in Love indicates that there is a time when learning, as such, ought to cease. Or perhaps to be transformed into another means of coming to know. It does take a a bit of “learning” to understand what is meant by “observation, vision, and revelation.”

5 – Observation

“Observation” is akin to noticing what surrounds us, even in this sometimes misguided world. “Vision” and “revelation” are familiar words from A Course in Miracles also. Vision gives us the means to see, and it is viewed in ACIM as a gift of the Holy Spirit. Revelation is viewed in ACIM as a gift of God, and proceeds from God to us (never the reverse). A significant passage from ACIM indicates that revelation may occasionally reveal the end to us, but to get there the means are needed.

6 – Welcome News

It ought to be welcome news to us that there comes a time to end learning in the old way. We do still learn, of course, but the new way is effortless—mainly through observation of what surrounds us in this world. And, if we have been following Jesus, what surrounds us will have been transformed. We may see suffering and pain, but it won’t affect us in the same way that it used to. We will simply categorize all suffering and pain as unreal. It is not of God, and so it is unreal, a manifestation of illusion in a world of dreams, a world of unreality.

7 – Hard

Learning in the old way has always been hard, even when we were enjoying what we were coming to know. It takes work, intense concentration, and it tires us out.

8 – New World

Jesus would have us learn from him now that in the new world, we won’t be so overcome with fatigue from being faced with an impossible learning situation. Such learning situation are essentially disheartening, and very depressing. The new way of observation will mean that we learn effortlessly, and this is something with which all of us can look forward to experiencing.

9 – Time of Christ

ACIM is meant to be those means for the time of the Holy Spirit. A Course of Love, meant for the time of Christ, takes us a step farther along.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

As I reach forth to understand what living in the time of Christ really means, may I be reassured that You are always there. This time is what many generations have waited to find.

Be with all of us as we embark on a consideration of the Treatise on the New. Give us understanding that comes not from fretful learning, but from the vision that comes to us effortlessly.

Thank You for my life during this time.

Thank You that I can be reassured that my life does not have to be a constant seeking, that there is an end point, a point of arrival. Help me to know what this means as my pathway ahead unfolds.

Amen.

Observation

“You may wonder rightly then, how those who have not learned by the Holy Spirit will learn. They will now learn through observation. (Treatises of A Course of Love: Treatise on the Personal Self, 18.1)”

Affirmation: “I would learn through observation today.”

Reflections:

1 – Observation and Mindfulness

This passage indicates that many of us have not learned all that the Holy Spirit would teach, and for those of us who are moving into the new age of Christ-consciousness, we will learn in a new way—observation. What does this mean? I think that “observation” is a synonym for mindfulness.

2 – Meditation

Mindfulness is a concept closely related to meditation, and meditation as such is not taught in A Course in Miracles, though the final days of the Workbook of ACIM seem to be akin to meditation. The quietness of these final lessons, and the paucity of words in the lessons, suggest that we turn inward in mindfulness and meditation.

3 – A Definition of Observation

What is mindfulness (or observation)? We pay attention to what we say and especially what we do, as we are doing it. We just let the world be, not trying to change anything. The concept is especially elaborated in books on Zen Buddhism, but here we are getting into perennial wisdom that spans the most mystical aspects of most religions in our world.

4 – Flow

Observation works. It is also part of that peace that passeth understanding, something that we all want and need. We slow down naturally, and we pace ourselves. We are in “flow,” which means that we intuit what to do next, relaxing into life and not worrying about what happens. We are serene.

5 – When Emotionally Overwrought

Observation won’t work if we are emotionally overwrought. That is also when guidance is most elusive, guidance both from the Holy Spirit and the Self within. We need to recognize as well how to calm ourselves. Taking a timeout, spending some time without speaking, and turning to prayer, will lead to a still mind. Then we will be observing mindfully again.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

Thank You for this good day. I am grateful for the peace that a new day brings, the hope that is riding on a new flow to my day. If I listen to You, this is the day that will be given me—a day of flow and peace. May I truly listen, even when my own initiative threatens to interfere.

Thank You for the thought that seemed to merge “observation” with mindfulness. I pray that this linking in my mind is in line with truth. It is my own interpretation, and it is meaningful to me. Thank You for the ease with which You inform me, or at least that I think You inform me. Be with me as I seek to observe today through the mindful movement of thought and deed.

Amen.

Coming to Know Once Again

“Why, then, is this called learning? Learning simply means to come to know. If what you know has been forgotten, you still are in need of the learning that assists you in coming to know once again. (Treatises of A Course of Love: Treatise on the Nature of Unity and Its Recognition, 10.11)”

Affirmation: “I would learn about salvation today.”

Reflections:

1 – Forgotten Much

We have forgotten much. That is the reason that salvation needs to come to us. We have learned much, but often we have learned the wrong things. And we have learned things that are not eternal, often wanting those things just because they weren’t eternal.

2 – Observation

Now we move to learning that which will stay with us. And we learn, we find from elsewhere in A Course of Love, that we learn through observation, not intense study. We rest easy in this world, looking both inside and outside, for our learning. We learn, most of all, through guidance, because guidance lets us know what to do next. Following intuition is one of the secrets of a successful life.

3 – Intuition

When I am particularly obstinate on any given day, I am not inclined to follow intuition. My ego has moved back in ascendancy, and I am not having a good day. This happens to all of us to one extent or another.

4 – To Start the Day Anew

But it does not have to be so. We can take a quiet moment of reflection to start the day anew, as Jesus recommends in the Text of A Course in Miracles. We can always start the day over, and indeed we really ought to do so if we are consistently choosing a different action from the one that intuition is prompting.

5 – Learn Anew

We need to learn anew, to learn once again. We forgot vital things eons ago, and just now are we coming to our own again. The way is not hard, though it may be long. Millions of years long, but we who study the way of ACIM and ACOL can shorten this time for ourselves and others. Sometimes a thousand years and more are saved (from ACIM).

6 – Learn Aright

Ask for the right way to learn today. Don’t delay, for delay is likely to be of the ego, which tries to make everything that is easy, difficult. Difficulty is of the ego, for Jesus’s way is smooth and peaceful and effortless. Ask for his way today. He will show you what he means and how to do it.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would start my day aright. I know that I can always start the day over again if things go awry, but why waste time? I wish for a good day. I ask You for a good day. And I ask to learn what I need to learn to be ready for You to choose consistent Awakening for me.

May all of us walk the path today. May all of us help each other, to the extent that any of us are willing to be helped. The day goes smoothly when we are calm, tranquil, and when we reach out to others. Thank You for this insight.

Amen

Revelation

“Revelation is a proper description of the mode by which the art of thought teaches and helps you learn.  It is not through study, effort, or re-interpretation but through revelation.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 4.23)”

Affirmation:  “Revelation is now how I will learn.”

Reflections:

1 – Now Ready

This passage for today is a sea change from previous passages cited from A Course of Love, because the passage indicates that we are now ready for revelation.  And the implication is that this revelation will be constant and ongoing.  What a blessing!

2 – Do We Recognize Revelation?

Perhaps we will not be aware of all the times that revelation comes to us.  Perhaps revelation has already come many times and often in recent weeks and months, as we study A Course of Love, and we did not recognize revelation for what it was.  This is my interpretation, that we just didn’t recognize the times that God has spoken to us, has revealed to us that which we needed to learn.

3 – Observation

We do know that no longer do we learn through intense study, but through observation–an observation that is more of the abstract mind than the concrete (an interpretation, not stated in ACOL).  Now we find that it is not just our personal self that observes, but the Self/Christ within that senses revelation and therefore is guided about what to say or do next.  Our minds and hearts are guided.  We know beyond doubt that we are not alone.  And it is our Self/Christ that has risen to the forefront in our very being.

4 – Do Not Analyze

This passage also says a great deal about what Jesus means by the “art” of thought, the title of this treatise.  We are no longer to analyze, but to receive, and then, in turn, to give.  We receive from the Self/Christ within, a Self that is in intimate contact with our God within, and then we know how to respond.  And our response is very, very important.  We don’t take responsibility for our brothers and sisters, for that is their role for themselves, but we do respond to their needs whenever appropriate.

5 – ACIM

In A Course in Miracles, we learned that revelation would occasionally show us the end, but to get there the means were needed.  And the means were being explaining in ACIM.  (Paraphrases from ACIM, the Text.)  Now we are encouraged to accept that revelation will be much more of a constant in our lives.  The passage does not say, and does not even imply, that we need to be enlightened before we can receive from revelation.  The books in the trilogy of A Course in Love are to be read in sequence, and it is not until the last half of the third book that we go to the mountaintop (metaphorically) with Jesus, and there become the elevated Self of form (assumingly reaching Christ-consciousness).  The Treatise of the Art of Thought is the first of four treatises in the second book in the sequence.  So we are not at Christ-consciousness when revelation begins to speak to us in an ever-more constant way.

6 – Revelation Now More Constant

We learn that revelation is more constant today, from this passage.  May we learn in this new way, and may we thank God for the new means of learning.  We will make great strides, if our heart is right, from  now on.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I learn how to distinguish revelation from something else.  It seems akin to intuition, but perhaps You need to teach me further.

May I be open to revelation today.  May I learn this new way of knowing, in the depths of my being, in my Self.

Amen.

No Better Way to Spend a Day

“The new means of thinking is referred to here as the ‘art’ of thought in order to call your wholehearted attention to the continual act of creation that is the relationship between creator and created.  Creation is but a dialogue to which you have not responded.  The art of thought will free you to respond.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 2.12)”

Affirmation:  “I will practice the art of thought.”

Reflections:

1 – Unlearning

We need to unlearn the way that we have been “learning.”  We have been using our ego-mind, and now we are encouraged to observe through wholeheartedness.  This is the art of thought, as Jesus describes it.  We arre unlearning the old way, and we are “learning” through observation.  We no longer use our left brain as much.  Our thought is more abstract.  And this is the very reason that reading and “learning” A Course of Love can seem frustrating.  We are still trying to learn in the old manner.

2 – Read like a Story

Let us stop this inefficiency of learning now.  Let us relax in our learning, reading as we would ready a story.  We do not need to concentrate with wrinkled brow.  There is a better way.  And the art of thought shows us what it is.

3 – Christ-Consciousness

We experience more real creation, rather than the things that we made with our ego.  Our Christ-consciousness creates in a way that the ego-mind never could (though it tried mightily).

4 – Create

Let us create today.  Let us ask for help in creating.  There is no better way to spend a day.

5 – Call to Create

We have not responded to this call to create previously.  We have chosen to be afraid instead.  Let us drop fear now, and create with the art of thought–the means of observation that will help us to learn aright.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

I would observe rather than allow my ego-mind to ruin what could be a good day.  I will observe the world around me, and I will ask for help in understanding what I am seeing.  I will practice the new way of learning through the “art of thought.”

Be with me as I seek to make this transformation real.  There is no better way to proceed on my walk to You.  Be with me, with Your felt Presence, as I try to convert an old way of learning to a new, more effective way.  It is time for all of us to do what we can to effect transformation in ourselves and in our world.  But You must call the shots.  We are lost without Your guiding Presence.

Amen.

Being in the Right Place at the Right Time

“But now this alternative [learning with the heart] is being revealed to you and it does call for a change of thought so extensive that all thought, as you once knew it, does need to cease.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 2.8)”

Affirmation:  “May I comprehend the new way of thinking.”

Reflections:

1 – What We Need

We do need to learn with the heart.  The heart knows things that our mind does not understand.  Frequently the mind wanted proof of God, and the heart knows of His existence without proof.  I do not mean that we never question, for that would not be realistic, but we rest in assurance that all that we need to know will be provided us.  And it will be.  We do not need to check our minds at the door of salvation.  But learning through the heart takes us through the door of salvation.

2 – Cease the Old Way of Thinking

It does seem daunting that we are asked to cease to think in the old way.  How will this be accomplished?  It seems so impossible and perhaps even impractical.  But it works.  We are reminded, at the point of need, of plans that need to be made.  When we listen to intuition, we know without being told.  We follow guidance, and we are where we need to be at the right time.

3 – Jesus

Can we make this shift?  Yes, but not totally alone.  Jesus promises to be with us, and in A Course of Love, he says that it is necessary that we accept him.  He does not mean that he is the only way to salvation, but if we have made our home in ACIM and ACOL, then he is our way to salvation.  We have made our choice, and we need seek no longer.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I follow the guidance that comes with today’s passage.  May I listen to intuition, guidance, and may I follow–turn on a dime.  May I learn to even think in a new way.  May I listen with my heart, and not second guess.

Be with me today as I seek to make these changes that will be more in line with Your will for me.

Amen.

Disengage the Ego-Mind

“The closing pages of A Course of Love instructed you to think no more.  A break in time was needed for you to disengage the ego-mind that produced the type of thinking that needs to come to an end.  This ending is but a beginning in truth and has led you to readiness to learn the art of thought.  (The Treatises of A Course of Love:  Treatise on the Art of Thought, 2.1)”

Affirmation:  “May I remember that thinking is not always required.”  

Reflections:

1 – Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now; A New Earth), an enlightened current-day teacher, tells us that his own thinking processes are much reduced in number.  We ourselves usually have such busy minds, busy minds that match our busy bodies.  But we would not have it so.

2 – Break in Reading ACOL

A break is recommended between reading A Course of Love, the original volume, and the remaining two volumes in the trilogy.  The Treatises are the second volume, and to be read next, after the break.  Here we learn the reason for the break.  We needed to teach the ego that it was not in charge any longer.  And the ego has been bent on its kind of learning.  We are now to learn to think a new way, because that is what this treatise is about.

3 – Observation

We are beginning something very new.  The art of thought is basically observation without engaging the thinking mind and its egotistical bent.  We have in truth left the ego behind by now, but we may not fully comprehend what this means.  The Treatise on the Art of Thought will tell us.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I truly leave the ego behind in the days and weeks ahead, as I study the art of thought as described by Jesus.  I would not be buffeted about by fate, succumbing to times of depression brought on by an egoic thrust toward ecstasy.  The ego always knows highs and lows, and I would have my right mind seek drama no more.  Drama is not necessary, and the sooner that all of me recognizes this, the better off I will be.

Be with my brothers and sisters today.  May I respond in a compassionate way to real need, though I would not take on obligations that do not belong to me.  May I love with my whole heart, but in no way seek love from another who is unwilling to offer it.  May the blessings of this earth be bestowed on others whom I know, and may these blessings also come to me. 

Amen.

Experiencing Love Removes Fear

“This is a simple exercise, and enjoyable too.  It but calls for you to ask one thing:  Ask yourself what you already know of the spirit of the person you observe.  You will be amazed at the knowledge you already have and the joy it brings you to remember it.  (A Course of Love, 13.2)”

Affirmation:  “Let me observe my significant other today.”

Reflections:

1 – Feel Love

Certainly it is clear from A Course of Love that feeling love for another alleviates fear.  And this understanding may be the reason that Jesus recommends this helpful little exercise.  When we reach out to another in love, and we really feel the connection, we are saved from the anxiety that sometimes threatens to engulf us.

2 – Notice Our Significant Others

May we take a few moments, from time to time today, to notice our significant others.  To really see them in their spirits, which are pure.  We can overlook much that has distressed us (an ACIM tenet).  We would not feel joy when we think of the spirit of another unless that spirit were truly good.  And all spirits are good.  We just have to remember that, and to recognize that in this world we normally cannot live without some conflict.

3 – A Green Earth

If we thank God for these insights, we will walk a green earth today.  We will be joyous.  We will be appreciative for the blessings of our loved ones.  And we will never let fear dog our steps today.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I know the tranquility that comes from love today.  May I recognize that fear brings on all that which I do not want.  And love pushes fear out.  Always.

If I love my significant others enough, I will be free of fear.  Is this not wonderful motivation?

Be with me today as I seek to carry out the simple exercise in this passage.

Amen.

Effortless Ease

“Even those who feel the power of these words within their hearts and vow to go slowly and carefully through each page and section, giving total dedication to what this text would have them do, are at risk of trying too hard to be earnest rather than simply desiring to learn.  (A Course of Love, 11.3)”

Affirmation:  “May I read ACOL with simple pleasure.”

Reflections:

1 – Trying Too Hard

Jesus seems to be saying that those of us who have studied earnestly are perhaps trying too hard.  He has say elsewhere that there is an effortlessness about salvation, an effortlessness that many of us have never given any credence.  May we give credence to the ease of salvation today.

2 – Learning Mode

In the first volume of the trilogy, we are still in learning mode and have not yet advanced to the observation that will stand us in good stead for the rest of our lives.  We have sought and sought, seeking new and different methodologies, new commentaries on salvation, and Jesus seems to tell us in A Course of Love that we have not recognized when we have actually accomplished what we set out to do.  We just keep seeking, never stopping, never looking inward, but always going to yet another outward source.

3 – A Time to Be Finished Learning

But there is a stopping point.  And Jesus says in the Dialogues of A Course of Love that the time to be finished with learning is now.  This is, however, the third of the trilogy, and now, still, we are in learning mode in this, the first volume.  Perhaps we need to start a bit of practicing for what will follow, to disengage a bit and realize that what we need to learn will come easily, peacefully.

4 – Jesus

Can you imagine Jesus in his life on earth, struggling to understand what he read in the Torah?  I think not.  When he read the scriptures before others, he asserted that this day what he was reading was fulfilled, and he meant “in him.”  This kind of authority, to my eye, is resplendent throughout A Course of Love (and also A Course in Miracles).

5 – Be Glad

Let us listen to the authority of Jesus, and be glad that we do not have to work so hard to learn.  We can just let the words sink in.  And with a grateful heart,, we will come to understand those words.

Prayer:

Dear Father/Mother,

May I read A Course of Love with effortless ease.  Even as I seek, in reading this first volume, to learn precisely what Jesus has to say.  May my days be spent inn effortless ease, as he would also counsel.  His way is not hard, and it is our own ego, not yet withered away, that seeks to have us try to hard.  Our minds get in the way of our hearts.

Help me throughout this day.  May we rejoice in all that Jesus has said in ACOL.  His way is surely easy and peaceful, and he would have us walk a joyful path.

Amen.