Lesson 20
I am determined to see.
We have been getting to know the mind, this small mind that we have been a slave to. After twenty days of various ways of observations, you may be noticing there is a more clear distinction of what it means to be happy or sad, angry or joyful, fearful or in love. You may have noticed a tape that is constantly playing in your head telling you who and what you think you are, which is most likely not the truth but rather more of the victim’s story. You may notice where you have been constantly living with a certain level of suffering or drama. Often on our journey Home, one starts to realize how crazy they have been acting as they have been choosing to live a stressful, worried, hurried, and dramatic sort of life. It is a beautiful realization that you do not have to live this way.
Our Walk in Miracles has been awakening us to be more sensitive to what the mind perceives and our reaction to it. It is a very personal journey as you only know the flavor of your mind and the various nooks and crannies of the darkened areas. This has been your subject for self-study thus far.
With your awareness in the practice periods, vision has already begun to show itself as our senses have been heightened and we see how our mind truly works. You now know that it is hard to trust the mind. Thoughts are so fleeting and meaningless that it is tough to believe that you been living by such thoughts. This is the revelation for which Real Sight will be shown. The encouraging thing about revelation is that once the mind has become aware of it, it has already happened. Revelation is so instantaneous and miraculous that the small mind only recognizes it when it has already occurred.
Today’s statement is powerful, so powerful that it is all we need in order to see. All we have to do is proclaim that we want to see as God intended and the way will be shown to us and each step will be lit so we can see the next. We are telling God that we are ready to come Home, a Home we never truly left but one we will experience as such.
“Your decision to see is all that vision requires. What you want is yours (ACIM Lesson 20 3:1-2).”
After twenty days of this journey we come back to our central commitment. As the mind jumps from here to there, it is helpful along our walk to come back to our central purpose from time to time to reinforce our commitment. As we move along this journey you will notice how pivotal this is as even during your daily practice periods you will find that you remember the few words of the lesson statement in the morning but, maybe, by an hour or so later, you have forgotten. This is normal as, of course, the mind wants you to forget you are unraveling it. Remember it has a stake in the game it has been playing. It does nothing for the mind for you realize that you are truly the Master of it rather than the other way around. Thus, reminders of our commitment are helpful and necessary.
I have found it useful during various lessons to write down the practice statement on a notecard and carry it with me throughout the day. I know others who use apps on their phone which give them hourly reminders. Doing such reinforced reminders are helpful as we begin to alter our practice periods to doing them a couple of times an hour. There is no need to judge yourself if you forget the lesson, just begin to implement ways to help you remember if you need to. Today’s lesson encourages us to invite more structure into our journey, not as a means for controlling it but just as a helpful tool in unraveling the mind. This is just another way of living from the awareness that you know your mind and know what you need to do to retrain it. It is empowering.
The simplicity of today is a blessing. In our determination is the journey already complete. We are merely watching it unfold. You can let go of the need to strive and strain in order to achieve your desire for True Sight.
“His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on earth. In your determination to see is vision given you (ACIM Lesson 20 3:7-8).”
Vision is a gift that is already yours. All it awaits upon is your readiness. In today’s statement we reinforce we are ready and walk further to claim our birthright. There is no way in which this cannot be so.
In loving and relaxed determination…
Namaste.