You are innocent by Margareth Lee

A Course in Miracles, a spiritual discipline

The Blessed Art of Blessing

You are innocent

Lesson 200 - The peace of God

Description of The Light in the Lord's Prayer The Light in the Lord's Prayer

A few chapters from "The Light in the Lord's Prayer" by Margareth Lee

Lesson 51-60

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LESSON 51

The review for today covers the following ideas:

1. (1) Nothing I see means anything.
²The reason this is so is that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning. 3It is necessary that I recognize this, that I may learn to see. 4What I think I see now is taking the place of vision. 5 I must let it go by realizing it has no meaning, so that vision may take its place.

2. (2) I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me.

2I have judged everything I look upon, and it is this and only this I see. 3This is not vision. 4 It is merely an illusion of reality, because my judgments have been made quite apart from reality. 5I am willing to recognize the lack of validity in my judgments, because I want to see. 6My judgments have hurt me, and I do not want to see according to them.

3. (3) I do not understand anything I see.

2How could I understand what I see when I have judged it amiss? 3What I see is the projection of my own errors of thought. 4 I do not understand what I see because it is not understandable. 5 There is no sense in trying to understand it. 6 But there is every reason to let it go, and make room for what can be seen and understood and loved. 7I can exchange what I see now for this merely by being willing to do so. 8Is not this a better choice than the one I made before?

4. (4) These thoughts do not mean anything.

2The thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything because I am trying to think without God. 3What I call "my" thoughts are not my real thoughts. 4My real thoughts are the thoughts I think with God. 5I am not aware of them because I have made my thoughts to take their place. 6I am willing to recognize that my thoughts do not mean anything, and to let them go. 7I choose to have them be replaced by what they were intended to replace. 8My thoughts are meaningless, but all creation lies in the thoughts I think with God.

5. (5) I am never upset for the reason I think.

2I am never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to justify my thoughts. 3I am constantly trying to make them true. 4I make all things my enemies, so that my anger is justified and my attacks are warranted. 5I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see by assigning this role to it. 6I have done this to defend a thought system that has hurt me, and that I no longer want. 7I am willing to let it go.

LESSON 52

Today's review covers these ideas:

1. (6) I am upset because I see what is not there.

2Reality is never frightening. 3 It is impossible that it could upset me. 4 Reality brings only perfect peace. 5 When I am upset, it is always because I have replaced reality with illusions I made up. 6The illusions are upsetting because I have given them reality, and thus regard reality as an illusion. 7Nothing in God's creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine. 8I am always upset by nothing.

2. (7) I see only the past.

2As I look about, I condemn the world I look upon. 3I call this seeing. 4 I hold the past against everyone and everything, making them my enemies. 5When I have forgiven myself and remembered Who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I see. 6There will be no past, and therefore no enemies. 7And I will look with love on all that I failed to see before.

3. (8) My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
2I see only my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past. 3What, then, can I see as it is? 4 Let me remember that I look on the past to prevent the present from dawning on my mind. 5Let me understand that I am trying to use time against God. 6Let me learn to give the past away, realizing that in so doing I am giving up nothing.

4 (9) I see nothing as it is now.

2If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing. 3I can see only what is now. 4 The choice is not whether to see the past or the present; the choice is merely whether to see or not. 5What I have chosen to see has cost me vision. 6 Now I would choose again, that I may see.

5 (10) My thoughts do not mean anything.

2I have no private thoughts. 3 Yet it is only private thoughts of which I am aware. 4 What can these thoughts mean? 5 They do not exist, and so they mean nothing. 6 Yet my mind is part of creation and part of its Creator. 7 Would I not rather join the thinking of the universe than to obscure all that is really mine with my pitiful and meaningless "private" thoughts?

LESSON 53

Today we will review the following:

(11) My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.

2Since the thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world that pictures them can have no meaning. 3What is producing this world is insane, and so is what it produces. 4Reality is not insane, and I have real thoughts as well as insane ones. 5I can therefore see a real world, if I look to my real thoughts as my guide for seeing.

2 (12) I am upset because I see a meaningless world.

2Insane thoughts are upsetting. 3 They produce a world in which there is no order anywhere. 4 Only chaos rules a world that represents chaotic thinking, and chaos has no laws. 5I cannot live in peace in such a world. 6I am grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless I choose to value it. 7And I do not choose to value what is totally insane and has no meaning.

3. (13) A meaningless world engenders fear.

2The totally insane engenders fear because it is completely undependable, and offers no grounds for trust. 3 Nothing in madness is dependable. 4 It holds out no safety and no hope. 5 But such a world is not real. 6 I have given it the illusion of reality, and have suffered from my belief in it. Now I choose to withdraw this belief, and place my trust in reality. 8 In choosing this, I will escape all the effects of the world of fear, because I am acknowledging that it does not exist.

4 (14) God did not create a meaningless world.

2How can a meaningless world exist if God did not create it? 3He is the Source of all meaning, and everything that is real is in His Mind. 4It is in my mind too, because He created it with me. 5Why should I continue to suffer from the effects of my own insane thoughts, when the perfection of creation is my home? 6 Let me remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I really abide.

5. (15) My thoughts are images that I have made.

2Whatever I see reflects my thoughts. 3It is my thoughts that tell me where I am and what I am. 4The fact that I see a world in which there is suffering and loss and death shows me that I am seeing only the representation of my insane thoughts, and am not allowing my real thoughts to cast their beneficent light on what I see. 5Yet God's way is sure. 6The images I have made cannot prevail against Him because it is not my will that they do so. ⁷My will is His, and I will place no other gods before Him.

LESSON 54

These are the review ideas for today:

1. (16) I have no neutral thoughts.

2Neutral thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power. 3They will either make a false world or lead me to the real one. 4But thoughts cannot be without effects. 5 As the world I see arises from my thinking errors, so will the real world rise before my eyes as I let my errors be corrected. 6My thoughts cannot be neither true nor false. 7They must be one or the other. 8 What I see shows me which they are.

2. (17) I see no neutral things.

2What I see witnesses to what I think. 3 If I did not think I would not exist, because life is thought. 4 Let me look on the world I see as the representation of my own state of mind. 5I know that my state of mind can change. 6And so I also know the world I see can change as well.

3. (18) I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

2If I have no private thoughts, I cannot see a private world. 3Even the mad idea of separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world I see. 4Yet that sharing was a sharing of nothing. 5I can also call upon my real thoughts, which share everything with everyone. 6As my thoughts of separation call to the separation thoughts of others, so my real thoughts awaken the real thoughts in them. 7And the world my real thoughts show me will dawn on then· sight as well as mine.

4. (19) I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.

2I am alone in nothing. 3 Everything I think or say or do teaches all the universe. 4 A Son of God cannot think or speak or act in vain. 5 He cannot be alone in anything. 6 It is therefore in my power to change every mind along with mine, for mine is the power of God.

5. (20) I am determined to see.

2Recognizing the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see. 3I would look upon the witnesses that show me the thinking of the world has been changed. 4I would behold the proof that what has been done through me has enabled love to replace fear, laughter to replace tears, and abundance to replace loss. 5I would look upon the real world, and let it teach me that my will and the Will of God are one.

LESSON 55

Today's review includes the following:

1. (21) I am determined to see things differently.

2What I see now are but signs of disease, disaster and death. 3This cannot be what God created for His beloved Son. 4The very fact that I see such things is proof that I do not understand God. therefore I also do not understand His Son. 6What I see tells me that I do not know who I am. 7I am determined to see the witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those which show me an illusion of myself.

2.        (22) What I see is a form of vengeance.

2The world I see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts. 3It is a picture of attack on everything by everything. 4It is anything but a reflection of the Love of God and the love of His Son. 5It is my own attack thoughts that give rise to this picture. 6My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world, and give me the peace God intended me to have.

3.        (23) I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts.

2Herein lies salvation, and nowhere else. 3Without attack thoughts I could not see a world of attack. 4As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness, I will see a world of peace and safety and joy. 5And it is this I choose to see, in place of what I look on now.

4.        (24) I do not perceive my own best interests.

2How could I recognize my own best interests when I do not know who I am? 3What I think are my best interests would merely bind me closer to the world of illusions. 4I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me to find out what my own best interests are, recognizing that I cannot perceive them by myself.

5.        (25) I do not know what anything is for.

2To me, the purpose of everything is to prove that my illusions about myself are real. 3It is for this purpose that I attempt to use everyone and everything. 4It is for this that I believe the world is for. 5Therefore I do not recognize its real purpose. 6The purpose I have given the world has led to a frightening picture of it. 7Let me open my mind to the world's real purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and learning the truth about it.

LESSON 56

Our review for today covers the following:

1.        (26) My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.

2How can I know who I am when I see myself as under constant attack? 3Pain, illness, loss, age and death seem to threaten me. 4A11 my hopes and wishes and plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot control. 5Yet perfect security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance. 6I have tried to give my inheritance away in exchange for the world I see. 7But God has kept my inheritance safe for me. 8My own real thoughts will teach me what it is.

2.        (27) Above all else I want to see.

2Recognizing that what I see reflects what I think I am, I realize that vision is my greatest need. 3The world I see attests to the fearful nature of the self-image I have made. 4If I would remember who I am, it is essential that I let this image of myself go. 5As it is replaced by truth, vision will surely be given me. 6And with this vision, I will look upon the world and on myself with charity and love.

3.        (28) Above all else I want to see differently.

2The world I see holds my fearful self-image in place, and guarantees its continuance. 3While I see the world as I see it now, truth cannot enter my awareness. 4I would let the door behind this world be opened for me, that I may look past it to the world that reflects the Love of God.

4.        (29) God is in everything I see.

2Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged. 3Behind every veil I have drawn across the face of love, its light remains undimmed. 4Beyond all my insane wishes is my will, united with the Will of my Father. 5God is still everywhere and in everything forever. 6And we who are part of Him will yet look past all appearances, and recognize the truth beyond them all.

5.        (30) God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.

²In my own mind, behind all my insane thoughts of separation and attack, is the knowledge that all is one forever. 3I have not lost the knowledge of Who I am because I have forgotten it. 4It has been kept for me in the Mind of God, Who has not left His Thoughts. 5And I, who am among them, am one with them and one with Him.

LESSON 57

Today let us review these ideas:

1.        (31) I am not the victim of the world I see.

2How can I be the victim of a world that can be completely undone if I so choose? 3My chains are loosened. 4I can drop them off merely by desiring to do so. 5The prison door is open. 6I can leave simply by walking out. Nothing holds me in this world. 8Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. 9I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last.

2.        (32) I have invented the world I see.

2I made up the prison in which I see myself. 3A11 I need do is recognize this and I am free. 4I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to imprison the Son of God. 5I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer want. 6The Son of God must be forever free. 7He is as God created him, and not what I would make of him. 8He is where God would have him be, and not where I thought to hold him prisoner.

3.        (33) There is another way of looking at the world.

2Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way of looking at it. 3I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are the opposite of truth. 4I see the world as a prison for God's Son. 5It must be, then, that the world is really a place where he can be set free. 6I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place where the Son of God finds his freedom.

4.        (34) I could see peace instead of this.

2When I see the world as a place of freedom, I realize that it reflects the laws of God instead of the rules I made up for it to obey. 3I will understand that peace, not war, abides in it. 4And I will perceive that peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me.

5.        (35) My mind is part of God's. 2I am very holy.

3As I share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this peace comes from deep within myself. 4The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. 5In this light I begin to see what my illusions about myself kept hidden. 6I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me.

LESSON 58

These ideas are for review today:

1. (36) My holiness envelops everything I see.

2From my holiness does the perception of the real world come. 3Having forgiven, I no longer see myself as guilty. 4I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me. 5Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself.

2.        (37) My holiness blesses the world.

2The perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. Everyone and everything I see in its light shares in the joy it brings to me. 4There is nothing that is apart from this joy, because there is nothing that does not share my holiness. 5As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of the world shine forth for everyone to see.

3.        (38) There is nothing my holiness cannot do.

2My holiness is unlimited in its power to heal, because it is unlimited in its power to save. 3What is there to be saved from except illusions? 4And what are all illusions except false ideas about myself? 5My holiness undoes them all by asserting the truth about me. 6In the presence of my holiness, which I share with God Himself, all idols vanish.

4.        (39) My holiness is my salvation.

2Since my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing my holiness is recognizing my salvation. 3It is also recognizing the salvation of the world. 4Once I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid. 5And because I am unafraid, everyone must share in my understanding, which is the gift of God to me and to the world.

5.        (40) I am blessed as a Son of God.

2Herein lies my claim to all good and only good. 3I am blessed as a Son of God. 4A11 good things are mine, because God intended them for me. 5I cannot suffer any loss or deprivation or pain because of Who I am. 6My Father supports me, protects me, and directs me in all things. 7His care for me is infinite, and is with me forever. 8I am eternally blessed as His Son.

LESSON 59

The following ideas are for review today:

1.        (41) God goes with me wherever I go.

2How can I be alone when God always goes with me? 3How can I be doubtful and unsure of myself when perfect certainty abides in Him? 4How can I be disturbed by anything when He rests in me in absolute peace? 5How can I suffer when love and joy surround me through Him? 6Let me not cherish illusions about myself. 7I am perfect because God goes with me wherever I go.

2.        (42) God is my strength. 2Vision is His gift.

3Let me not look to my own eyes to see today. 4Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. 5Christ's vision is His gift, and He has given it to me. 6Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity.

3.        (43) God is my Source. 2I cannot see apart from Him.

3I can see what God wants me to see. 4I cannot see anything else. 5Beyond His Will lie only illusions. 6It is these I choose when I think I can see apart from Him. 7It is these I choose when I try to see through the body's eyes. 8Yet the vision of Christ has been given me to replace them. 9It is through this vision that I choose to see.

4.        (44) God is the light in which I see.

2I cannot see in darkness. 3God is the only light. 4Therefore, if I am to see, it must be through Him. 5I have tried to define what seeing is, and I have been wrong. 6Now it is given me to understand that God is the light in which I see. 7Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me.

5.        (45) God is the Mind with which I think.

2I have no thoughts I do not share with God. 3I have no thoughts apart from Him, because I have no mind apart from His. 4As part of His Mind, my thoughts are His and His Thoughts are mine.

LESSON 60

These ideas are for today's review:

1.        (46) God is the Love in which I forgive.

2God does not forgive because He has never condemned. 3The blameless cannot blame, and those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. 4Yet forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. 5It is the reflection of God's Love on earth. 6It will bring me near enough to Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me up to Him.

2.        (47) God is the strength in which I trust.

2It is not my own strength through which I forgive. 3It is through the strength of God in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. 4As I begin to see, I recognize His reflection on earth. 5I forgive all things because I feel the stirring of His strength in me. 6And I begin to remember the Love I chose to forget, but which has not forgotten me.

3.        (48) There is nothing to fear.

2How safe the world will look to me when I can see it! 3It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now. 4Everyone and everything I see will lean toward me to bless me. 5I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend. 6What could there be to fear in a world that I have forgiven, and that has forgiven me?

4. (49) God's Voice speaks to me all through the day.

2There is not a moment in which God's Voice ceases to call on my forgiveness to save me. 3There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts, guide my actions and lead my feet. 4I am walking steadily on toward truth. 5There is nowhere else I can go, because God's Voice is the only Voice and the only Guide that has been given to His Son.

5. (50) I am sustained by the Love of God.

2As I listen to God's Voice, I am sustained by His Love. 3As I open my eyes, His Love lights up the world for me to see. 4As I forgive, His Love reminds me that His Son is sinless. 5And as I look upon the world with the vision He has given me, I remember that I am His Son.

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