Lesson 50

"I am sustained by the Love of God."

Here is the answer to every problem that will confront you, today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, protective clothing, influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the "right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers.

All these things are your replacements for the Love of God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body identification. They are songs of praise to the ego. Do not put your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you. Only the love of God will protect you in all circumstances. It will lift you out of every trial, and raise you high above all the perceived dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It will transport you into a state of mind that nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God. Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in the love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfeeling. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and insure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.

Morning and evening, let the idea for today sink deep into your consciousness. Repeat it, think about it, let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and the love peace to flow over you like a blanket of protection and surety. Let no idle and foolish thoughts of injury disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.

Review I

Beginning with today we will have a series of review periods. Each of them will cover five of the ideas already presented, starting with the first and ending with the fiftieth. There will be a few short comments after each of the ideas, which you should consider in your review. In the practice periods, the exercises should be done as follows:

Begin the day by reading the five ideas, with the comments included. Thereafter, it is not necessary to follow any particular order in considering them, though each one should be practiced at least once. Devote two minutes or more to each practice period, thinking about the idea and the related comments after reading them over. Do this as often as possible during the day. If any one of the five ideas appeals to you more than the others, concentrate on that one. At the end of the day, however, be sure to review all of them once more.

It is not necessary to cover the comments that follow each idea either literally or thoroughly in the practice periods. Try, rather, to emphasize the central point, and think about it as part of your review of the idea to which it relates. After you have read the idea and the related comments, the exercises should be done with your eyes closed and when you are alone in a quiet place, if possible.

This is emphasized for practice periods at your stage of learning. It will be necessary, however, that you learn to require no special settings in which to apply what you have learned. You will need your learning most in situations that appear to be upsetting, rather than in those that already seem to be calm and quiet. The purpose of your learning is to enable you to bring quiet with you, and to heal distress and turmoil. This is not done by avoiding them and seeking a haven of isolation for yourself.

You will yet learn that peace is part of you, and requires only that you be there to embrace any situation in which you are. And finally you will learn that there is no limit to where you are, so that your peace is everywhere, as you are.

You will note that, for review purposes, some of the ideas are not given in quite their original form. Use them as they are given here. It is not necessary to return to the original statements, nor to apply the ideas as was suggested then. We are now emphasizing the relationships among the first fifty of the ideas we have covered, and the cohesiveness of the thought system to which they are leading you.

Lesson 51

The review for today covers the following ideas:

Review:

• "Nothing I see means anything."
• "I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me."
• "I do not understand anything I see."
• "These thoughts do not mean anything."
• "I am never upset for the reason I think."

The course reemphasizes learning to see what one has to put aside and what one thinks one sees. It is a prerequisite to realize that applying meaning obstructs vision. The text explains that what you think you see is taking the place of vision. You must let it go by realizing that has no essential meaning, so that vision may take its place. What you see is the projection of your own errors of thought. It is enough to recognize that most of what we believe is consensual and arbitrary. There is every reason to let it go, and make room for what can be seen and understood and loved.

The text reminds us that our own thinking that is not dependent on the divine whole, is to not recognize that we are an integral part of a sacred connectedness. Be willing to recognize that your thoughts do not mean anything and let them go and choose to have them replaced by what they are intended to replace. All creation lies in the thoughts I think with God.

I am constantly trying to justify my thoughts, and constantly trying to make them true. By justifying my anger I make all things my enemies. I've not realized how much I've misused everything I see by assigning this role to it. I've done this to defend the thought system that does not further me and that I no longer want. I'm willing to let it go.

Lesson 52

Review:

• "I am upset because I see what is not there."
• "My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
• "I see only the past."
• "I see nothing as it is now."
• "My thoughts do not mean anything."

Our subjective mind creates a disparity between objective reality and our reaction to it. When we allow our biased reactions to events to cause us to feel stress we deny ourselves the refuge of God. Our lives are chaotic and crazy when experienced through the filter of our fears and past disappointments. It is only when we allow ourselves to experience the truth of seeing with both eyes open the truth of God and the intrinsic goodness and underlying order that permeates all being do we live life as our highest selves in our true potential. To dissolve illusion, forgive ourselves and others, let go of the past and let go of meaningless private thoughts is to allow ourselves the full range of a wondrous free life.

Lesson 53

Review:

• "My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world."
• "I am upset because I see a meaningless world."
• "A meaningless world engenders fear."
• "God did not create a meaningless world."
• "My thoughts are images that I have made."

When we allow insane chaotic pictures to take over our minds they erase the calm reality that exists in our unity with God. When we allow the unruly chaos of our meaningless thoughts to undo the natural peace and clarity that comes with knowing the true nature of reality we fall into the abyss of chaos and despair unable to grab the life preserver at the end of the rope of reality. Conversely, if we withdraw the veil of illusion that obscures our true vision we emerge once again into the light of truth. Knowing God and all creation is good, meaningful and orderly.

Lesson 54

Review:

• "I have no neutral thoughts."
• "I see no neutral things."
• "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."
• "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."
• "I am determined to see."

Thoughts can create our reality if we give them that power. We cannot allow the luxury of a negative thought to wreak havoc on our carefully designed world. Positive thought aligned with the goodness and orderliness of creation will free our minds of unhealthy chatter and unruly chaos, which, unchecked, can sabotage our best laid plans. When we change our state of mind to move with the positive flow we can undo the effects of flawed seeing and thinking.

Lesson 55

Review:

• "I am determined to see things differently now."
• "What I see is a form of vengeance."
• "I can escape from this world by giving up attack thoughts."
• "I do not perceive my own best interests."
• "I do not know what anything is for."

When we open our mind to real purpose by dissolving frightening pictures that exist only in our heads, we are able to view the truth that in turn will set us free. Our illusions of chaos and disaster liquidate and allow the return of God's love and order to fill us with peace, not chaos and insanity. We choose to escape these patterns when we let go of self-limiting thought and behavior. Love replaces fear, laughter replaces tears and abundance replaces loss.

Lesson 56

Review:

• "My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability."
• "Above all else I want to see differently."
• "Above all else, I want to see differently."
• "God is in everything I see."
• "God is in everything I see because God is in my mind."

God is truth, truth is beauty and God is in everything including our souls and hearts. Control of events outside ourselves is impossible, when we try to play God we are constantly reminded of our own fragile place in the swiftly moving river of life. When we let go and let God we assume our natural place in the scheme of life. Humility in the face of grand truth rather than arrogance in the face of illusion is our natural birthright. When we allow ourselves to be free of the illusions that hinder our progress we naturally move forward in God's light.