May 24
"My
mind holds only what I think with God."
"There
is no love but God's."
"The
world I see holds nothing that I want."
PRACTICE
SUMMARY
Review IVPurpose: To prepare for part II of the Workbook, by concentrating on readiness for it and by reviewing the last 20 lessons in a way that will facilitate that readiness.
Longer: 2--beginning and ending of the day for 5 minutes or more.
* Open your mind, clear it of all distracting thoughts. For five minutes let this thought alone occupy it, displacing all others: "My mind holds only what I think with God."
* Read the day's two ideas. Close eyes and repeat ideas slowly, without hurry, for this is what time was made for. Let each word shine with the meaning God gave it. Receive from each idea the gift God placed in it.
Remarks: Phase 1 will be enough to set your day along the lines God planned, making it a special time of blessing for you and for the world. It will be enough to place Him in charge of all your thoughts. Your thoughts will come from more than you. They will also come from Him and tell you of His Love. Thus will you, His completion, join with Him. And He, your completion, will join with you. He thanks you for your practicing. And as your day ends, His gratitude will surround you.
Shorter: hourly, for a quiet moment
* Say: "My mind holds only what I think with God." Spend a quiet moment with it.
* Then repeat the day's two ideas, slowly enough to see their gifts and receive their gifts.
COMMENTARY
How is it that the theme thought for the review, that my mind holds only what I think with God, "fully guarantees salvation to the Son" (W-rIV.In.3:5)? It means that there is nothing in my mind that opposes God. It means that what seems to be contrary to God's thoughts, the things I see within myself that are ungodlike or unloving, are misperceptions of myself. It means that there is nothing in reality that can keep me from completion as God's offspring. The enemies and obstacles that seem to stand in the way--most especially the ones that seem to be part of me--are not real, and have no substance.
If there is no love but God's, and my mind holds only what I think with Him, then the emptiness I sometimes feel within myself, the lack of love, the longing for a fully satisfying love that never fails and is always there, something I can depend upon in every situation, will be fulfilled. Thinking that I am seeking for love in this world is simply a mistake. The love I am looking for is within me, right in my own mind. I am not looking for anything in this world, although I so often think I am. I am looking for something I already have, but have denied. And the way to find it is to give it. To be it.
Love is not something I can possess. Love is something that can possess me, and in that possession is satisfaction. The attempt to collect love, to possess it and to hoard it brings me pain. My joy can be found in pouring love out, sharing it, blessing the world with it. To recognize that my mind holds only this love, and to open it to the world, is all that I truly want. This, and only this, will bring me happiness.
The words, "The world I see holds nothing that I want," could be spoken in despair. The unspoken thought behind them might be, "Nothing here is good enough for me. Nothing here satisfies, and I will therefore never be satisfied." Or, these words can be spoken with joy. If I am driving a brand new car, equipped with every accessory I have ever desired, and I pass an auto junkyard, I can look at that junkyard and say, "That junkyard holds nothing that I want," and speak the words with satisfaction. I can say the same thing as I pass a luxury car dealership. Because I already have what I want.
If there is no love but God's, and He has imparted Himself, His very thought, to my mind, I can look calmly at the world and realize that there is nothing in it to compare with what I have. I have an Artesian well of love springing up in my heart. I can never lack for love. I am the very love, and I see that same love in every being around me, springing from the same Source.
Love is all around me and within me, if I am only willing to see it. Let me look for God's Love today in everything I see, and let me rejoice every time I find it. Let me acknowledge it in every smile. Let me give it every chance I have to do so. Let me encourage every spark of it in others, and in myself. This is where salvation lies. This is my function and my happiness. And it is guaranteed, because my mind holds only God's loving thoughts.
Copyright © 1996, The Circle of Atonement, Sedona,
Arizona, USA.
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