Today’s idea accurately describes you as God created you. You are one
within yourself, and One with Him. Yours is the unity of all creation.
Your perfect unity makes change in you impossible. You do not accept
this, and you fail to realize it must be so, only because you believe
that you have changed yourself already. You see yourself as a ridiculous
parody on God’s creation, weak, vicious, ugly and sinful, miserable and
beset with pain.
Such is your version of yourself; a self divided into many warring
parts, separate from God, and tenuously held together by its erratic and
capricious maker, to which you pray. It does not hear your prayers, for
it is deaf. It does not see the Oneness in you, for it is blind. It does
not understand you are the Son of God, for it is senseless and
understands nothing.
We will attempt today to be aware only of what can hear and see, and
what makes perfect sense. We will again direct our exercises towards
reaching your One Self,Which is united with Its Creator. In patience and
in hope we try again today.
The use of the first five minutes of every waking hour for practicing
the idea for the day has special advantages at the stage of learning in
which you are at present. It is difficult at this point not to allow
your mind to wander if it undertakes extended attempts. You have surely
realized this by now. You have seen the extent of your lack of mental
discipline, and of your need for mind training. It is necessary that you
be aware of this, for it is indeed a hindrance to your advance.
Frequent but shorter practice periods have other advantages for you at
this time. In addition to recognizing your difficulties with sustained
attention, you must also have noticed that, unless you are reminded of
your purpose frequently, you tend to forget about it for long periods of
time. You often fail to remember the short applications of it for the
day, and you have not yet formed the habit of using it as an automatic
response to temptation.
Structure, then, is necessary for you at this time, planned to include
frequent reminders of your goal, and regular attempts to
reach it. Regularity in terms of time is not the ideal requirement for
the most beneficial form of practice in salvation. It is advantageous,
however, for those whose motivation is inconsistent, and who remain
heavily defended against learning.
We will therefore keep to the five minutes an hour practice periods for
a while, and urge you to omit as few as possible. Using the first five
minutes of the hour will be particularly helpful, since it imposes
firmer structure. Do not, however, use your lapses from this schedule as
an excuse not to return to it again as soon as you can.
There may well be a temptation to regard the day as lost because you
have already failed to do what is required. This should, however, merely
be recognized as what it is; a refusal to let your mistakes be
corrected, and an unwillingness to try again.
The Holy Spirit is not delayed in His teaching by your mistakes. He can
be held back only by your unwillingness to let them go. Let us therefore
be determined, particularly for the next week or so, to be willing to
forgive ourselves for our lapses in diligence, and our failures to
follow the instructions for practicing the day’s idea.
This tolerance for weakness will enable us to overlook it, rather than
give it power to delay our learning. If we give it power to do this, we
are regarding it as strength, and are confusing strength with weakness.
When you fail to comply with the requirements of this course, you have
merely made a mistake. This calls for correction, and for nothing else.
To allow a mistake to continue is to make additional mistakes based on
the first, and reinforcing it. It is this process that must be laid
aside, for it is but another way in which you would defend illusions
against the truth. Let all these errors go by recognizing them for what
they are. They are attempts to keep you unaware you are One Self, united
with your Creator, at one with every aspect of creation, and limitless
in power and in peace.
This is the truth, and nothing else is true. Today we will affirm this
truth again, and try to reach the place in you in which there is no
doubt that only this is true. Begin the practice periods today with this
assurance, given to your mind with all the certainty that you can give:
“I am One Self, united with my Creator,
At one with every aspect of creation,
And limitless in power and in peace.”
Then close your eyes and tell yourself again, slowly and thoughtfully,
attempting to allow the meaning of the words to sink into your mind,
replacing false ideas:
“I am One Self.”
Repeat this several times, and then attempt to feel the meaning which
the words convey. You are One Self, united and secure in light and joy
and peace. You are God’s Son, One Self with One Creator and one goal; to
bring awareness of this Oneness to all minds, that true creation may
extend the Allness and the Unity of God.
You are One Self, complete and healed and whole, with power to lift the
veil of darkness from the world, and let the light in you come through
to teach the world the truth about itself. You are One Self, in perfect
harmony with all there is and all that there will be. You are One Self,
the holy Son of God, united with your brothers in this Self; united with
your Father in His Will.
Feel this One Self in you, and let It shine away all your illusions and
your doubts. This is your Self, the Son of God Himself, sinless as Its
Creator, with His strength within you and His Love forever yours. You
are One Self, and it is given you to feel this Self within you, and to
cast all your illusions out of the One Mind Which is this Self, the holy
truth in you.
Do not forget today. We need your help, your little part in bringing
happiness to all the world. And Heaven looks to you in confidence that
you will try today. Share, then, its surety, for it is yours. Be
vigilant. Do not forget today.
Throughout the day do not forget your goal. Repeat today’s idea as
frequently as possible, and understand each time you do so, someone
hears the voice of hope, the stirring of the truth within his mind, the
gentle rustling of the winds of peace. Your own acknowledgment you are
One Self, united with your Father, is a call to all the world, to be at
one with you. To everyone you meet today
be sure to give the promise of today’s idea and tell him this:
“You are One Self with me,
united with our Creator in this Self.
I honor you because of what I am,
And what He is, Who loves us both as one.”