LESSON 155
June 4

June 4

"I will step back and let Him lead the way."

PRACTICE SUMMARY

Morning/Evening Quiet Time: 5 minutes - at least; 10 - better; 15 even better; 30 or more - best

Practice gladly with this thought: "I will step back and let Him lead the way, for I would walk along the road to Him." Think of Him a while and let Him tell you of His limitless Love and trust in you.

Hourly Remembrance: as the hour strikes, for more than 1 minute (reduce if circumstances do not permit)

Frequent Reminder: Repeat: "I will step back and let Him lead the way, for I would walk along the road to Him."

Response To Temptation: Whenever you feel tempted, say: "I will step back and let Him lead the way, for I would walk along the road to Him."

COMMENTARY

"There is a way of living in this world that is not here, although it sems to be" (1:1). And to this way of living we all aspire. The remarkable thing about the Course is that it offers what might be called a middle way between renouncing the world and diving into it. Many, perhaps the majority of, spiritual seekers make the mistake of thinking that a spiritual life must somehow look different. Some dress differently; some abjure the modern conveniences; some find spirituality in vegetables; some fill their homes with incense; some live in poverty, or apart from normal worldly concourse.

This lesson is one of the clearest statements in the Course that a good Course student does not change appearance - except that perhaps he smiles more frequently. There are spiritual paths that demand a changed appearance - a shaved head, difference in dress - and this is not to put down these other paths. But they are not the way of the Course. One of the more difficult lessons for students of the Course, in my observation, seems to be learning to be normal. A true student of the Course is like anyone else, so much so that "those who have not yet perceived the way will...believe that you are like them, as you were before" (1:5).

Yet we are different. The difference is inward; we have stepped back, taken our hands off the controls of our lives, and we are letting our Inner Guide lead the way to God. Everyone, including ourselves, came to this world by choice, "seeking for a place where they can be illusions, and avoid their own reality" (2:2). But we have discovered that we cannot escape our reality, and we have chosen to place diminishing importance on the illusions, and to follow the truth. We have taken up our function, and we recognize that we are here now, not for ourselves alone, but to serve those around us as we serve ourselves (5:4). We walk to God, and we lead the world to God with us (12:1; 13:1). We step back, and let Him lead the way.

LESSON 155June 4

LESSON 155
June 4