Lesson 46: God is the Love in which I forgive.

Feb 18 in Feed

💡 Hi everyone! Glad to be back with such a lovely lesson! I took a very-needed break of two days, not so much from the lessons but from my computer. I needed to unplug a bit to reconnect with myself and simply rest because I was physically and mentally exhausted. I guess the healthier way I'm going to go through these lessons this year is... lovingly. And that entails admitting when I need to slow down or stop and allowing it. I did hear my sneaky spiritual ego go into judgment and try to torment me because I took a break... 😌 I chose to smile at it, and proceeded to apply a face mask that I hoped to indulge in for weeks, among other things. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your lessons. My forgiveness practice has a lot to do with the idea of 'doing what has to be done no matter what' and not taking care of myself. If you feel like sharing what is going on in the forgiveness department for you these days, I'd be happy to read you 🙂

🧩 UNDERSTANDING FORGIVENESS

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💡 This is the first time in these lessons that Jesus is openly discussing forgiveness. I feel like his words are so clear and transparent in this beautiful lesson that they scarcely need commenting. I will just point out the main points of today's idea:

In Kenneth's words, forgiveness is "an illusion since it corrects what never happened" :

📘 "God does not forgive because He has never condemned. ²And there must be condemnation before forgiveness is necessary. ³Forgiveness is the great need of this world, but that is because it is a world of illusions." (ACIM, W-46.1:1-3)

Forgiveness has nothing to do with what's outside of us but everything to do with the guilt we had within us and chose to project so that we wouldn't have to look at it. That's why forgiveness is the correction of one's illusions:

📘 ""Those who forgive are thus releasing themselves from illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to them. ⁵As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive only yourself." (ACIM, W-46.1:4-5)

Forgiveness takes place in our right mind as a reflection of the real thought of God's love in our Christ Mind. It is mainly a corrective principle to 'undo' the errors produced by fear:

📘 ""Yet although God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the basis of forgiveness. ²Fear condemns and love forgives. ³Forgiveness thus undoes what fear has produced, returning the mind to the awareness of God." (ACIM, W-46.2:1-3)

Salvation in ACIM has nothing to do with its traditional or religious meaning. It represents our breaking free from the illusory idea of sin and guilt:

📘 ""For this reason, forgiveness can truly be called salvation. ⁵It is the means by which illusions disappear." (ACIM, W-46.2:4-5)

🧩 EXPERIENCING FORGIVENESS

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📘 ""The purpose of the first phase of today’s practice periods is to put you in a position to forgive yourself." (ACIM, W-46.5:1)

💡 This is what makes forgiveness possible. It doesn't depend on others' willingness to 'be forgiven' or to 'forgive ourselves'. It has nothing to do with what has happened or is happening out there. It has everything to do with what is happening in our minds:

🔎 “Forgiving yourself” is what this course is all about. I think I am forgiving someone outside me, but I am really forgiving myself. Again, needless to say, this thought is the central theme of A Course in Miracles. It reflects the dynamic of projection, wherein we seek to place in others the guilt we cannot accept within ourselves. Once having projected the guilt, we have no further awareness of its ongoing presence in our minds, which for all intents and purposes has been forgotten beneath the double shield of oblivion (W-pI.136.5:2)—the belief in guilt in ourselves (mind) and in others (body). Only by recognizing our unforgiveness of another can we be led to the unforgiveness of ourselves, and beyond that to the Atonement that links us back to the Love we never truly left.” Excerpt from Journey through the Workbook of "A Course in Miracles", Kenneth Wapnick, Vol. 1, p. 151.

💡 The instructions for today's idea are concerned with experiencing forgiveness in our minds by finding those 'bodies' in which we have projected and hidden our own guilt. We usually have no trouble finding those being we were so willing to blame for our misery, right? This is where our newly trained mindfulness must kick in: what effects does repeating the idea "God is the Love in which I forgive you, [name]" have on us? Is there a feeling of relief? Is there some resistance? Would we rather cling to our resentment? This is not to judge ourselves if we do. It is just to know where we stand and what has yet to be corrected.

💡 I can share that my feelings were mixed when I did the exercise. On one hand, I am still attached to the 'pleasure' of resenting or hating these beings that have played a role in my grand scenario. On the other hand, I am tired... And I just want to be free. So I am willing to try and hopeful that I will succeed at setting us all free. Because I've been trying to 'forgive' some of these beings for a long time. It just keeps coming back, layer after layer! And it's okay! I can 'forgive' myself for that too! 🙂

💙🪄 With much Love 🪄💙

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* My comment on this lesson follows my studying of the in-depth comment of the same lesson by Kenneth Wapnick in his published work, Journey through the Workbook of "A Course in Miracles". While it may sometimes contain my thoughts on it, it is essentially my humble take and summary of the masterful work of Kenneth. I share them here in the hope that someone might find them helpful.

** I also share, in these ACIM posts, the wallpaper images that I use on my phone and change every day to help me commit to my lesson, in the hope that some might enjoy them as well. Here is the link to a Dropbox folder where you can download the lessons's wallpaper for mobile I have uploaded so far.

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