IA´s Journal

[IA56]

LESSON 36

”My holiness envelops Everything I see.”

Today´s idea extends the idea for yesterday from the perceiver to the percieved. You are holy because your mind is part of God´s. And because you are holy, your sight must be holy as well. ”Sinless” means without sin. You cannot be without sin a little. You are sinless or not. If your mind is part of God´s you must be sinless, or part of His Mind would be sinful. Your sight is related to His holiness, not to your ego, and therefore not to your body. Four three-to-five minute practice periods are required for today. Try to distribute them fairly evenly, and make the shorter applications frequently, to protect your protection throughout the day.The longer practice periods should take this form:
First, close your eyes and repeat the idea for today several times, slowly. Then open eyes and look quite slowly about you, applying the idea specifically to whatever you note in your casual survey. Say, for example:

”My holiness envelops that rug.”
”My holiness envelops that wall.”
”My holiness envelops these fingers.”
”My holiness envelops that chair.”
”My holiness envelops that body.”
”My holiness envelops this pen.”

Several times during these practice periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea to yourself. Then open your eyes,and continue as before. For the shorter exercise periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea; look about you as you repeat it again; and conclude with one more repetition with your eyes closed. All applications should, of course, be made quite slowly, as effortlessly and unhurriedly as possible.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 37

”My holiness blesses the world.”

This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true function in the world, or why you are here. Your purpose is to see the world through your own holiness. Thus are you and the world blessed together. No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone;everyone gains through your holy vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice because it offers everyone his full due. There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice can be removed from the world´s thinking. Any other way of seeing will inevitably demand payment of someone or something. As a result, the perceiver will lose. Nor will he have any idea why he is losing. Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through your vision. Your holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see them selves as whole make no demands.Your holiness is the salvation of the world. It lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your holiness are all things blessed along with you. Today´s four longer exercise periods each to involve three to five minutes of practice, begin with the repetiotion of the idea for today,followed by a minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to whatever you see:

”My holiness blesses this chair.”
”My holiness blesses that window.”
”My holiness blesses this body.”

Then close your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using his name and saying:

My holiness blesses you, (name).”

You may continue the practice period with your eyes closed; you may open your eyes again, and apply the idea for today to your outer world if you so desire; you may alternate between applying the idea to what you see around you and to those who are in yourt houghts; or you may use any combination of these two phases of application that you prefer. The practice period should conclude with a repetition of the idea with your eyes closed, and another, following immediately, with your Eyes open. The shorter exercises consist of repeting the idea as often as you can.It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to anyone you meet, using his name as you do so. It is essential to use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. Offer him the blessing of your holiness immediately,that you may learn to keep it in your own awareness.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 38

”There is nothing my holiness cannot do.”

Your holiness reverses all the laws of the world. It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and limits of any kind. Your holiness is totally unlimited in its power because it establishes you as a Son of God, at one with the Mind of his Creator. Through you holiness the power of God is made manifest. Through you holiness the powerof God is made available. And there is nothing the power of God cannot do. Your holiness, then, can remove all pain, can end all sorrow, and can solve all problems. It can do so in connection with yourself and with anyone else. It is equal in its power to help anyone because it is equal in its power to save anyone. If you are holy, so is everything God created. You are holy because all things He created are holy. And all things He created are holy because you are.In today´s exercises, we will apply the power of your holiness to all problems,difficulties or suffering in any form that you happen to think of, in yoursel for in someone else. We will make no distinctions because there are no distinctions. In the four longer practice periods, each preferably to last a full five minutes, repeat the idea for today, close you eyes, and then search your mind for any sense of loss or unhappiness of any kind as you see it. Try to make as little distianction as possible between a situation that is difficult for you, and one that is difficult for someone else. Identify the situation specifically, and also the name of the person concerned. Use this form in applying the idea for today:

”In the situation involving……….in which I see myself, there is nothing that my holiness cannot do.”
”In the situation involving……….in which……….sees himself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do.”

From time to time you may want to vary this procedure, and add some relevant thoughts of your own. You might like, for example, to include thoughts such as:

”There is nothing my holiness cannot do because the power of God lies in it.”

Introduce whatever variations appeal to you, but keep the exercise focused on the theme, ”There is nothing my holiness cannot do.” The purpose of today´s exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense that you have dominion over the things because of what you are. In the frequent shorter application, apply the idea in its original form unless as pecific problem concerning you or someone else arises, or comes to mind. In that event, use the more specific form in applying the idea to it.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 39

”My holiness is my salvation.”

If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? Like the text for which this workbook was written, the idea used for the exercises are very simple, very clear and totally unambiguous. We are not concerned with intellectual feats nor logical toys. We are dealing only in the very obvious, which has been overlooked in the clouds of complexity in which you think you think. If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? This is not difficult, surely. The hesitation you may feel in answering is not due to the ambiguity of the question. But do you believe that guilt is hell? If you did,you would see at once how direct and simple the test is, and you would not need a workbook at all. No one needs practice to gain what is already his. We have already said that your holiness is the salvation of the world. What about your own salvation? You cannot give what you do not have. A savior must be saved.How else can he teach salvation? Today´s exercises will apply to you,recognizing that your salvation is crucial to the salvation of the world. As you apply the exercises to your world, the whole world stands to benefit. Your holiness is the answer to every question that was ever asked, is being asked now, or will be asked in the future. Your holiness means the end of guilt, and therefore the end of hell. Your holiness is the salvation of the world, and your own. How could you to whom your holiness belongs be excluded from it? God does not know unholiness. Can it be He does not know His Son? A full five minutes are urged for the four longer practice periods for today, and longer and more frequent practice sessions are encouraged. If you want to exceed the minimum requirements, more rather than longer sessions are recommended,although both are suggested. Begin the practice periods as usual, by repeating today´s idea to yourself. Then, with closed eyes, search out your unloving thoughs in whatever form they appear; uneasiness, depression, anger, fear,worry, attack, insecurity and so on. Whatever form they take, they are unlovingand therefore fearful. And so it is from them that you need to be saved.Specific situations, events or personalities you associate with unloving thoughts of any kind are suitable subjects for today´s exercies. It is imperative for your salvation that you see them differently. And it is your blessing on them that will save you and give you vision. Slowly, withou tconscious selection and without undue emphasis on any one is particular, search your mind for every thought that stands between you and your salvation. Apply the idea for today to each of them in this way:

”My unloving thoughts about……….are keeping me in hell. My holiness is my salvation.”

You may find these practice periods easier if you intersperse them with several short periods during which you merely repeat today´s idea to yourself slowly a few times. You may also find it helpful to include a few short intervals in which you just relax and do not seem to be thinking of anything. Sustained concentration is very difficult at first. It will become much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less distractable. Meanwhile, you should feel free to introduce variety into the exercise periods in whatever form appeals to you. Do not, however, change the idea itself as you vary the method of applying it. However you elect to use it, the idea should be stated so that its meaning is the fact that your holiness is your salvation. End each practice period by repeating the idea in its original form once more, and adding:

”If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?”

In the shorter applications,which should be made some three or four times an hour and more if possible, you may ask yourself this question, repeat today´s idea, and perferably both. If temptations arise, a particularly helpful form of the idea is:

”My holiness is my salvation from this.”

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 40

”I am blessed as a Son of God.”

Today we will begin to assert some of the happy things to which you are entitled, being what you are. No long practice periods are required today, but very frequent short ones are necessary. Once every ten minutes would be highlly desirable, and you are urged to attempt this schedule and to adhere to it whenever possible. If you forget, try again. If there are long interruptions, try again. Whenever you remember, try again. You need not close your eyes for the exercise periods, although you will probably find it more helpful if you do. However, you may be in a number of situations during the day when closing your eyes would not be feasible. Do not miss a practice period because of this. You can practice quite well under any circumstances, if you really want to. Today´s exercises take little time and no effort. Repeat the idea for today, and then add several of the attributes you associate with being a son of God, applying them to yourself. One practice period might, for example, consist of the following:

”I am blessed as a Son of God. I am happy, peaceful, loving and contented.”

Another might take this form:

”I am blessed as a Son of God. I am calm, quiet, assured and confident.”

If only a brief period is available, merely telling yourself that you are blessed as a Son of God will do.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 41

”God goes with me wherever I go.”

Today´s idea will eventually overcome completely the sense of loneliness and abandonment all the separated ones experience. Depression is an inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety, worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering and intense fear of love. The separated ones have invented many ”cures” for what they belive to be ”the ills of the world.” But the one thing they do not do is to question the reality of the problem. Yet its effects cannot be cured because the problem is not real. The idea for today has the power to end all this foolishness forever. And foolishness it is, despite the serious and tragic forms it may take. Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready to radiate through you and out into the world. It will cure all sorrow and pain and fear and loss because it will heal the mind that thought these things were real, and suffered out of its allegiance to them. You can never be deprived of your perfect holiness because its Source goes with you wherever you go. You can never suffer because the Source of all joy goes with you wherever you go. You can never be alone because the Source of all life goes with you wherever you go. Nothing can destroy your peace of mind because God goes with you wherever you go. We understand that you do not believe all this. How could you, when the truth is hidden deep within, under a heavy cloud of insane thoughts, dense and obscuring, yet representing all you see? Today we will make our first real attempt to get past this dark and heavy cloud, and to go through it to the light beyond. There will be only one long practice period today. In the morning, as soon as you get up if possible, sit quietly for some three to five minutes, with your eyes closed. At the beginning of the practice period, repeat today´s very slowly. Then make no effort to think of anything. Try, instead, to get a sense of turning inward, past all the idle thoughts of the world. Try to enter very deeplyt into your own mind, keeping it clear of any thoughts that might divert your attention. From time to time, you may repeat the idea if you find it helpful. But most of all, try to sink down and inward, away from the world and all the foolish thoughts of the world. You are trying to reach past all these things. You are trying to leave appearances and approach reality. It is quite possible to reach God. In fact it is very easy, because it is the most natural thing in the world. You might even say it is the only natural thing in the world. The way will open, if you believe that it is possible. This exercise can bring very startling results evven the first time it is attempted, and sooner or later it is always successful. We will go into more detail about this kind of practice as we go along. But it will never fail completely, and instant success is possible. Throughout the day use today´s idea often, repeating it very slowly, preferably with eyes closed. Think of what you are saying; what the words mean.Concentrate on the holiness that they imply about you; on the unfailing companionship that is yours; on the complete protection that surrounds you. You can indeed afford to laugh at fear thoughts, remembering that God goes with you wherever you go.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 42

”God is my Strength. Vision is His gift.”

The idea for today combines two very powerful thoughts, both of major importance. It also stes forth a cause and effect relationship that explains why you cannot fail in your efforts to achieve the goal of the course. You will see because it is the Will of God. It is His strength, not your own, that gives you power. And it is His gift, rather than your own, that offers vision to you. God is indeed your strength, and what He gives is truly given. This means that you can receive it any time andd anywhere, wherever you are, and in whatever circumstance you find yourself. Your passage through time and space is not at random. You cannot but be in the right place at the right time. Such is the strength of God. Such are His gifts. We will have two three-to-five minutes practice periods today, one as soon as possible after you wake, and another as close as possible to the time you go to sleep. It is better, however, to wait until you can sit quietly by yourself, at a time when you feel ready, than it is to be concerned with the time as such. Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today slowly, with your eyes open, looking about you. Then close your eyes and repeat the idea again, even slower then before. After this, try to think of nothing except thoughts that occur to you in relation to the idea for the day. You might think, for example:

”Vision must be possible, God gives truly.”
Or:
”God´s gifts to me must be mine, because He gave them to me.”

Any thought that is clearly related to the idea for today is suitable. You may, in fact, be astonished at the amount of course-related understanding some of your thoughts contain. Let them come without censoring unless you find your mind is merely wandering, and you have let obviously irrelevant thoughts intrude. You may also reach a point where no thoughts at all seem to come to mind. If such interference occur, open your eyes and repeat the thought once more while looking slowly about; close your eyes, repeat the idea once more, and then continue to look for related thoughts in your mind. Remember, however, that active searching for relevant thoughs is not appropriate for today´s exercises. Try merely to step back and let the thoughts come. If you find this difficult, it is better to spend the practice period alternating between slow repetitions of the idea with eyes open, then with eyes closed, than it is to strain to find suitable thoughts. There is no limit on the number of short practice periods that would be beneficial today. The idea for the day is a beginning step in bringing thoughs together, and teaching you that you are studying a unified thought system in which nothing is lacking that is needed, and nothing is included that is contradictory or irrelevant. The more often you repeat the idea during the day, the more often you will be reminding yourself that the goal of the course is important to you, and that you have not forgotten it.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 43

”God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him.”

Perception is not an attribute of God. His is the realm of knowledge. Yet He has created the Holy Spirit as the Mediator between perception and knowledge. Without this link with God,perception would have replaced knowledge forever in your mind. With this link with God, perception will become so changed and purified that it will lead to knowledge. That is its function as the Holy Spirit sees it. Therefore, that is its function in truth. In God you cannot see. Perception has no function in God, and does not exist. Yet in salvation, which is the undoing of what never was, perception has a mighty purpose. Made by the Son of God for an unholy purpose, it must become the means for the restoration of his holiness to his awareness. Perception has no meaning. Yet does the Holy Spirit give it an meaning very close to God´s. Healed perception becomes the means by which the Son of God forgives his brother, and thus forgives himself. You cannot see apart from God because you cannot be apart from God. Whatever you do you do in Him, because whatever you think, you think with His Mind. If vision is real,and it is real to the extent to which it shares the Holy Spirit´s purpose, then you cannot see apart from God. Three five-minute practice periods are required today, one as early and one as late as possible in the day. The third may be undertaken at the most convenient and suitable time that circumstances the readiness permit. At the beginning of these practice periods, repeat the ideafor today to yourself with eyes open. Then glance around you for a short time,applying the idea specifically to what you see. Four or five subjects for this phase of the practice period are sufficient. You might say, for example:

”God is my Source. I cannot see this desk apart from Him.”
”God is my Source. I cannot see this picture apart from Him.”

Although this part of the exercise period should be relatively short, be sure that you select the subjects for this phase of practice indiscriminately, without self-directed inclusion or exclusion. For the second and longer phase, clolse your eyes,repeat today´s idea again, and then let whatever relevant thoughts occur to you add to the idea in your own personal way. Thoughts such as:

”I see through the eyes of forgiveness.”
”I see the world as blessed.”
”The world can show me myself.”
”I see my own thoughts, which are like God´s.”

Any thought related more or less directly to today´s idea is suitable. The thoughts need not bear any obvious relationship to the idea, but they should not be in opposition to it. If youfind your mind wandering; if you begin to be aware of thoughts which areclearly out of accord with today´s idea, or if you seem to be unable to think of anything, open your eyes, repeat the first phase of the exercise period, andthen attempt the second phase again. Do not allow any protraced period to occurin which you become preoccupied with irrelevant thoughts. Return to the firstphase of the exercises as often as necessary to prevent this. In applying today´s idea in the shorter practice periods, the form may vary according to the circumstances and situations in which you find yourself during the day.When you are with someone else, for example, try to remember to tell him silently:

”God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him.”

This form is equally applicable to strangers as it is to those you think are closer to you. In fact, try not to make distinctions of this kind at all. Today´s idea should also be applied throughout the day to various situations and events that may occur,particularly to those which seem to distress you in any way. For this purpose,apply the idea in this form:

”God is my Source. I cannot see this apart from Him.”

If no particular subject presents itself to your awareness at the time, merely repeat the idea in its original form. Try today not to allow any long periods of time to slip by without remembering today´s idea, and thus remembering your function.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 44

”God is the Light in which I see.”

Today we are continuing the idea for yesterday, adding another dimension to it. You cannot see in darkness, and you cannot make light. You can make darkness and then think you see in it, but light reflects life, and is therefore an aspect of creation. Creation and darkness cannot coexist, but light and life must go together, being but different aspects of creation. In order to see, you must recognize the light is within, not without. You do not see outside yourself, nor is the equipment for seeing outside you. An essential part of this equipment is the light that makes seeing possible. It is with you always, making vision possible in every circumstance. Today we are going to attempt to reach that light. For this purpose, we will use a form of exercise which has been suggested before, and which we will utilize increasingly. It is a particularly diffcult form for the undisciplined mind, and represents a major goal of mind training. It requires precisely what the untrained mind lacks. Yet this training must be accomplished if you are to see. Have at least three practice periods today, each lasting threee to five minutes. A longer time is highly recommended, but only if you find the time slipping by with little or no sense of strain. The form of practice we will use today is the most natural and easy one in the world for the trained mind, just as it seems to be the most unnatural and difficult for the untrained mind. Your mind is no longer wholly untrained. You are quite ready to learn the form of exercise we will use today, but you may find that you will encounter strong resitance. The reason is very simple. While you practice is this way, you leave behind everything that you now believe and all the thoughts that you have made up. Properly speaking, this is the release from hell. Yet perceived through the ego´s eyes, it is loss of identity and adescent into hell. If you can stand aside from the ego by ever so little, you will have no difficulty in recognizing that its opposition and its fears are meaningless. You might find it helpful to remind yourself, from time to time,that to reach light is to escape from darkness, whatever you may believe to the contrary. God is the Light in which you see. You are attempting to reach Him.Begin the practice period by repeating today´s idea with your eyes open, and close them slowly, repeating the idea several times more. Then try to sink into your mind, letting go every kind of interferece and intrusion by quietly sinking past them. Your mind cannot be stopped in this unless you choose to stop it. It is merely taking its natural course. Try to observe your passing thoughts without involvement, and slip quietly by them. While no particular approach is advocated for this form of exercise, what is needful is a sense of the importance of what you are doing; its in estimable value to you, and anawareness that you are attempting something very holy. Salvation is your happiest accomplishment. It is also the only one that has nany meaning, because it is the only one that has any real use to you at all. If resistance rises in any form, pause long enough to repeat today´s idea, keeping your eyes closed unless you are aware of fear. In that case, you will probably find it more reassuring to open your eyes briefly. Try, however, to return to the exercises with eyes closed as soon as possible. If you are doing the exercises correctly,you should experience some sense of relaxation, and even a feeling that you are approaching, if not actually entering into light. Try to think of light, formless and without limit, as you pass by the thoughts of this world. And do not forget that they cannot hold you to the world unless you givet hem the power to do so. Throughout the day repeat the idea often, with eyes open or closed as seems better to you at the time. But do not forget. Above all, be determined not to forget today.

Love

[IA56]

LESSON 45

”God is the Mind with which I think.”

Today´s idea holds the key to what your real thoughts are. They are nothing that you think you think, just as nothing that you think you see is related to vision in any way. There is no relationship between what is real and what you think is real. Nothing that you think are real thoughts resemble your real thoughts in any respect. Nothing that you think you see bears any resemblance to what vision will show you. You think with the Mind of God. Therefore you share your thoughts with Him, as He shares His with you. They are the same thoughts, because they are thought by the same Mind. To share is to make alike, or to make one. Nor do the thoughts you think with the Mind of God leave your mind, because thoughts do not leave their source. Therefore, your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you are. They are in your mind as well, where He is. As you are part of His Mind, so are your thoughts part of His Mind. When, then, are your real thoughts? Today we will attempt to reach them. We will have to look for them in your mind, because that is where they are. They must still be there, because they cannot havve left their source. What is thought by the Mind of God is eternal, being part of creation. Our three five-minute practice periods for today will take the same general form that we used in applying yesterday´s idea. We will attmept to leave the unreal and seek for the real. We will deny the world in favor of truth. We will not let the thoughts of the world hold us back. We will not let the beliefs of the world hold us back. We will not let the beliefs of the world tell us that what God would have us do is impossible. Instead, we will try to recognize that only what God would have us do is possible. We will also try to understand that only what God would have us do is what we want to do. And we will also try to remember that we cannot fail in doing what He would have us do. There is every reason to feel confident that we will succeed today. It is the Will of God. Begin to exercises for today by repeating the idea to yourself, closing your eyes as you do so. Then spend a fairly short period in thinking a few relevant thoughts of your own, keeping the idea in mind. After you have added some four to five thoughts of your own to the idea, repeat it again and tell your self gently:

”My real thoughts are in my mind. I would like to find them.”

Then try to go past all the unreal thoughts that cover the truth in your mind, and reach to eht eternal. Under all the senseless thoughts and mad idea with which you have cluttered up your mind are the thoughts that you thought with God in the beginning. They are there in your mind now, completely unchanged. They will always be in your mind, exactly as they always were. Everything you have thought since then will change, but the foundation on which it rests is wholly changeless. It is this foundation toward which the exercise for today are directed. Here is your mind joined with the Mind of God. Here are your thoughts one with His. For this kind of practice only one thing is necessary; approach it as you would an alter dedicated in Heaven to God the Father and to God the Son. For such is the place you are trying to reach. You will probably be unable as yet to realize how high you are trying to go. Yet even with the little understanding you have already gained, you should be able to remind yourself that this is no idle game, but an exercise in holiness and an attempt to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. In the shorter exercise periods for today, try to remember how improtant it is to you to understand the holiness of the mind that thinks with God. Take a minute or two, as you repeat the idea throughout the day, to appreciate your mind´s holiness. Stand aside, however briefly, from the thoughts that are unworthy of Him Whose host you are. Andd thank Him for the thoughts He is thinking with you.

Love