Working through the Workbook

Now that I’ve read the entire text of A Course in Miracles, I’ve finally begun the accompanying workbook for students. It’s divided into 365 lessons which I can do daily, or stay longer with some lessons if I need to. The lessons appear at first to be simplistic, but as I continue to work through them, their meaning is profound. The idea is to re-train our minds to see holiness instead of judgment. The Course begins with:

Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God. ACIM Preface p.x

The point is to embody that idea in our daily lives. It’s the way to peace. It’s the way to remembrance. It’s the way to Oneness. The lessons illustrate that the world we see is a projection or illusion and that we give it all the meaning it has. It’s really that simple. We can choose to see it through the prism of the ego, or we can choose to see it as either an expression of love or a call for love. We can see it with judgment, or see it as nothing at all. In the Oneness, this world doesn’t exist. The workbook teaches us how to live in the world while remembering we’re not of the world.

The world of illusion is filled with drama. We don’t want to accept our role, much less our active participation, in that drama. But we must accept that responsibility or we’ll never accomplish the task at hand. The first twenty-five lessons focus on understanding that not only do I give meaning to whatever I’m seeing, but also my thoughts have power, that they’re not neutral. They have effect and keep the drama going. I can focus on thoughts of attack and judgment, believing that I am responding to what I see. But that’s the whole point..I’m responding to what I see. Not someone else..me. No one forces me to process things the way I do. I do that. I can choose something else. Choosing to stay above the fray and not judge, frees me to love unconditionally. I’m only at lesson twenty-five. Still having trouble with the unconditional part at times. We can attempt to control the outcome of situations, but as long as we stay in the drama, that will never happen. It’s only when we step away from it, and choose extending love over judgment that we choose to remember who we are as part of the Oneness that is God. That’s the only thing that’s real. The rest is a projection of our collective guilt over our perceived separation from God. It’s not true..we’re still part of that Oneness, existing here in our collective dream state. That ends when we all remember. The workbook furthers that goal.

Lesson 22 says that when we typically look upon the world, vengeance is what we project. We blame everyone for our so-called problems and feel justified in responding with attack. The drama is circular in nature and, therefore, self-reinforcing. It never ends unless we choose to step away and end it. In lesson 24, it suggests that nothing I do is in my best interest as long as I’m choosing judgment. It’s in my best interest to see holiness and Oneness, not judgment and separation. And yet that’s exactly what we all do. Our justification fosters more separation. Judgment gets us nowhere and never will.

Today’s lesson, twenty-five, tells me that everything I encounter is for my best interest. It doesn’t matter if it is an expression of love or a call for love, it gives me everything I need. These are opportunities to join with others in Oneness. They’re a blessing. If I devote my time to expressions of ego, then I don’t understand what my life is about. Remember that if only God is real, then this world of projection is meaningless. Focusing on or responding to meaningless projections instead of seeing them as love or a call for love, prevents my awakening.  If I extend love in whatever situation I find myself, then my awakening continues.

As the work continues, I’ll be posting more.. It’s going to be an interesting year..

Note: the above quotation is from A Course in Miracles. Foundation for Inner Peace. 2007