Lesson 164
Now are we one with Him Who is our Source.
With our eyes blessed from yesterday’s practice, we come to experience Oneness with our Creator through our sacred vision. We arrive to today’s lesson with certainty and with our worthiness. The only moment of Reality is NOW. There is no past and there is no future. There is nothing we have done wrong, all misperceptions fully forgiven, and there is no agenda that need be fulfilled. With awareness, we come to the present moment and abide with our True Source.
“How easily are all you seeming sings forgot, and all you sorrows unremembered. On this day is grief laid by, for sights and sounds that come from nearer than the world are clear to you who will today accept the gifts He gives” (ACIM Lesson 164 3:3-4).
In silence, do we find the ancient wisdom and promise of Oneness that is written on our hearts. Our call to God and Her response was never even a breath away. And without our effort, or even knowing, our call was heard. Although we have filled our lives with shadows and things that hold no real value, this ancient call and response was never forgotten and has continued to guide us along our journey to where we are today.
“There is an ancient peace you carry in your heart and have not lost. There is a sense of holiness in you the thought of sin has never touched” (ACIM Lesson 164 4:2-3).
We are known. Our Creator always celebrates our perfection, holiness, completeness, and beauty. It is one thing to understand our perfection intellectually but another to feel it on a deep cellular level. That is the difference between knowing and understanding. God does not care if we understand; God wants us to KNOW of our Light.
I have talked with many throughout this year who have lost a loved one, with none of them knowing one another. Separately, I have heard very similar responses from each person basically stating how he or she understands that a loved one is gone–physically–but the beloved presence is still with them as they grasp that the loved one has not truly died and lives eternally. However, even in this comprehension, those who I have spoken to, have said, in so many words, it is tough to know that when there is still a feeling of loss. This is understandable and I honor each person’s grieving process. It is the ultimate test of knowing of our eternity. Yet, I use this example as it does relate to our lesson today. Our journey into Oneness is not just for the purpose to intellectually understand but rather to recall that which we already know, that we are always one with Source. And no matter how we feel, it is so.
We come to see what is already in front of us. We see beyond the veil and shadows of what we created to the essence of God that is woven in anything. Today, we are invited not just to experience God but also to experience God in everything and see God in everything. We clear our minds of clutter, of all notion of time, and let God use the spaciousness for Her Will. We empty our vessel to recall that we are only Her vessel in Oneness.
“Open the curtain in your practicing by merely letting go all thing you think you want. Your trifling treasures put away, and leave a clean and open space within your mind where Christ can come, and offer you the treasure of salvation” (ACIM Lesson 164 8:1-2).
Sometimes, a practice period like today can leave one bouncing between feeling unworthiness of being One with God, to then wondering if anything is even happening at all. We discussed our worthiness above, the latter we shall focus on now. We believe that seeing with clear vision, with the eyes of Christ, that our world will look completely different. Well, it will and it also won’t. I close my eyes for a moment to a maddening world to then open them to a world of beauty. The difference? The miracle, the shift in perception. It is not that my experience has changed but my perception of my experience has changed. There is an array of various stories we can tell ourselves in any given moment from wondering if we are good enough, wondering if anyone even notices us in the world, wondering what the point of it all is, to wondering if anything we do makes an actual difference. Let me assure you of your questions, you are worthy, you are seen, you are the purpose of it all, and your presence makes all the difference in the world. A friend of mine once said, “We are all unique revelations of God.” You presence indeed is necessary and compulsory for the awakening of humanity. You offer something to the world, your uniqueness as a revelation of God, that no one else can. Thus, your experience of God today, is important and the shift that is guaranteed to happen, whether you “see” it or not, is truly the change that changes everything, for you and for us all.
“You may not see the value your acceptance gives the world. But this you surely want; you can exchange all suffering for joy this very day. Practice in earnest, and the gift is yours” (ACIM Lesson 164 9:3-5).
Not only dare to be known as the Light of the World but dare to be shown a new world as you embrace the eyes of Christ. With the spaciousness you create within, release it to God and let Her fill you up from the inside out. Let Her show you Her presence in You and in the world, NOW. You and world will never be the same again. Amen!