ACIM Podcasts

Workbook Topics Discussed:

My salvation comes from me.

All temptation is nothing more than some form of the basic temptation not to believe the idea for today. Salvation seems to come from anywhere except from you. So, too, does the source of guilt. You see neither guilt nor salvation as in your own mind and nowhere else. When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your mind, you also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same place. In understanding this you are saved.

The seeming cost of accepting today's idea is this: It means that nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself can give you peace. But it also means that nothing outside yourself can hurt you, or disturb your peace or upset you in any way. Today's idea places you in charge of the universe, where you belong because of what you are. This is not a role that can be partially accepted. And you must surely begin to see that accepting it is salvation.

It may not, however, be clear to you why the recognition that guilt is in your own mind entails the realization that salvation is there as well. God would not have put the remedy for the sickness where it cannot help. That is the way your mind has worked, but hardly His. He wants you to be healed, so He has kept the Source of healing where the need for healing lies.

You have tried to do just the opposite, making every attempt, however distorted and fantastic it might be, to separate healing from the sickness for which it was intended, and thus keep the sickness. Your purpose was to ensure that healing did not occur. God's purpose was to ensure that it did.

Today we practice realizing that God's Will and ours are really the same in this. God wants us to be healed, and we do not really want to be sick, because it makes us unhappy. Therefore, in accepting the idea for today, we are really in agreement with God. He does not want us to be sick. Neither do we. He wants us to be healed. So do we.

We are ready for two longer practice periods today, each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes. We will, however, still let you decide when to undertake them. We will follow this practice for a number of lessons, and it would again be well to decide in advance when would be a good time to lay aside for each of them, and then adhering to your own decisions as closely as possible.

Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for today, adding a statement signifying your recognition that salvation comes from nothing outside of you. You might put it this way:

My salvation comes from me.
It cannot come from anywhere else.

Then devote a few minutes, with your eyes closed, to reviewing some of the external places where you have looked for salvation in the past;--in other people, in possessions, in various situations and events, and in self-concepts that you sought to make real. Recognize that it is not there, and tell yourself:

My salvation cannot come from any of these things.
My salvation comes from me and only from me.

Now we will try again to reach the light in you, which is where your salvation is. You cannot find it in the clouds that surround the light, and it is in them you have been looking for it. It is not there. It is past the clouds and in the light beyond. Remember that you will have to go through the clouds before you can reach the light. But remember also that you have never found anything in the cloud patterns you imagined that endured, or that you wanted.

Since all illusions of salvation have failed you, surely you do not want to remain in the clouds, looking vainly for idols there, when you could so easily walk on into the light of real salvation. Try to pass the clouds by whatever means appeals to you. If it helps you, think of me holding your hand and leading you. And I assure you this will be no idle fantasy.

For the short and frequent practice periods today, remind yourself that your salvation comes from you, and nothing but your own thoughts can hamper your progress. You are free from all external interference. You are in charge of your salvation. You are in charge of the salvation of the world. Say, then:

My salvation comes from me.
Nothing outside of me can hold me back.
Within me is the world's salvation and my own.

Text Topics Discussed:

Today's reading comes from ReginaDawnAkers.com

http://reginadawnakers.com/?p=637

You are closer to the Kingdom than you think

Question: Holy Spirit, the last 24 hours have been amazing, and I am grateful for all of it. I'm not going to pretend that I know what question to ask, because I don't. But I know you have something helpful to share...something that is deeply helpful. What is it?

Answer: Asking an open-ended question when the mind has experienced an array of emotions is useful. It allows Me to address everything without singling anything out as most important. Thank you. This is what I have been asking you to do.

The main challenge now is that of letting go of personality, and the personality does not seem willing to go. That is because the light is suffering from the delusion that it is the personality, so it is using the power of light to hold to that which it sees as itself. It's good for you to see this...to realize this...because this takes you back to the teaching of the power of light. As you see the great resistance you put against releasing the ideas of the personality, while also realizing that all of those forms of resistance come from you, you once again step into the realization of your power. This realization is a great place to be, because it is accepting the truth of who you are. Accepting this truth will move you closer to releasing your hold on personality, which is another step in the direction of realizing fully who you are.

Look at everything now through the lens I have given you. There is nothing that can occur in your life that you do not have tools with which to see. Everything can be understood through the messages I have given you. When you are not understanding something, you are making it more complicated than it needs to be. Everything is simple, and seeing everything through this simplicity will show you exactly how to see.

You are at a place in your willingness where you are ready to know yourself as you are. In order to take this step, you must stop avoiding the games you try to play. Let the games come to you without seeing them as fearful...without trying to hide. Hiding from games or denying them only teaches the mind that they are real.

Let the games come to you now...all of them. Let them come that you may say good-bye. Each one that comes is a blessing. Recognize the purpose and remember your truth, and you will know how to say good-bye.

I could tell you this will be difficult, but I will not. The part of your mind that wants to hear this is the part of your mind that wants to drag this out. That isn't necessary now. You are closer to the Kingdom than you think. Keep your face turned in this direction. Do not turn to look at the signs that say you have very far to go. Those signs are only distractions, and they do not change what you already know.

You know this:

Your only error is listening to the false and believing the false is true. You sometimes do not recognize the false, but I am pointing those times out to you. Now you must continue walking forward in trust, always asking Me to help you see. As I point a tripping stone out to you, gently remove it from your path. Eager willingness will keep your steps consistent with Me.

When you are afraid, see only resistance to letting go of seeing the false as true. When you recognize resistance as hailing the false as true, your desire to hold to fear will die. That's because your true desire is strong now. You've come along the way enough to know there is no turning back. When you know you cannot go back, there is also no reason for delay.

Resistance is strong. I won't tell you it isn't. But resistance only comes from you. If it comes from you, you must be stronger than it is. Resistance can never win over you. This is an impossibility. It can only rule as you let it rule. When you have tired of its hold, you will let go and it will fall away.

Remember that no situation is different. No two things can be anything but the same. Treat it as having no difference and it shall all be handled the same.

Make a list now of everything that seems different. Accept it is the same.