A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #204, Review of Lesson #184, The Name Of God is my inheritance.

 Lesson #204

I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.

Review Lesson #184 - The Name Of God is my inheritance.

A lot of people are interested in genealogy which involves discovering one’s ancestors, the so-called, “family roots.” How far back do you want to go? If we go all the way back, we would find that we all are related. And if we go all, all, all the way back, we would find that we have a common creator whom we name “God,” or “Higher Power,” or “Transcendent Source.” So when we go all the way back, we can say with appreciation and gratitude, awe and humility, “The Name Of God” is my inheritance.

It is suggested in Alcoholics Anonymous, in step eleven, that we seek to improve our conscious contact with God through prayer and meditation. Great suggestion is it not?

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person which stems from our inheritance which is the Divine Source.

Today, it is suggested that we take fifteen minutes at the beginning and end of the day and many times in between to reflect on from whence we have come and what is our common inheritance. From this reflection comes great peace and joy, some say, even bliss.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #203, Review of lesson 184 - I call upon God's Name and on my own.

 Lesson #203

I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.

Lesson 184 - I call upon God’s Name and on my own.

Once again, to understand today’s lesson, it is helpful to understand the metaphysics of A Course In Miracles. One of the descriptions for A Course In Miracles is to call it a “thought system.” The basic component of the thought system is non dualism, the idea that we all are One, what Unitarian Universalists call the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Given, then, that we are One with our Transcendent Source we can say with confidence, “I call upon God’s name and on my own” because we are one in the Same.

In Alcoholic Anonymous it is suggested in step eleven that we improve our conscious contact with “God as we understand Him.” through prayer and meditation. Today, we call this prayer and meditation “mindfulness.” In other words, the eleventh step encourages us to be mindful throughout our day of our Transcendent Source and our connection with It.

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote our love for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part which is to “call upon God’s name and on my own.”

Today, it is suggested that we take fifteen minutes at the beginning and end of the day and frequently during the day to remind ourselves that we are One with God’s name and so it is our own.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #202, Review of lesson 182, I will be still and instant and go home,

Lesson #202

I am not a body, I am free. For I am still as God created me.

Review of lesson 182 - I will be still and instant and home.

“Going home,” in A Course In Miracles, is that meditative state of no thoughts, no mind. We become totally relaxed and centered. It is this place which is our real Self with a capital S meaning that it is a place far beyond our ego and body. It is communing with the All. It is what the hippies called “cosmic consciousness.”

In Alcoholic Anonymous, it is suggested in the twelfth step that we improve our conscious contact with God as we understand God through prayer and meditation. Isn’t this a good idea?

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote the love for the interdependent web of which we all are a part. Another great idea.

Today, it is suggested that we take fifteen minutes at the beginning and end of the day and many times in between to be still a moment and go home.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #201, Review of 181, I trust my brothers, who are one with me.

 Lesson #201

I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.

181 - I trust my brothers, who are one with me.

The theme for this sixth review period is “I am not a body, I am free, For I am still as God created me.” There are twenty daily lessons all focused in some way on this theme. The first review lesson, today, is about our Oneness in the Body of Christ or what Emerson called the “Oversoul” or what back in the 60s we called “Cosmic Consciousness”

So, if my brothers and sisters are one with me that means that my Self extends far beyond my body.

In Alcoholic Anonymous, it is suggested in step twelve that we share our recovery with others. It is not to be kept for ourselves alone. It is meant to be shared. It is strengthened when its shared. Our recovery belongs to everybody.

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote the love for the interdependent web of existence of which we, of course, are a part. All for One and One for All.

Today, it is suggested that we take 15 minutes at the beginning of the day and 15 minutes at the end of day and many times in between and clear our minds of chatter, annoyances, resentments, fears, and remind ourselves that we are one with all our brothers and sisters. In this we trust.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #200, There is no peace except the peace of God.

 

Lesson #200

There is no peace except the peace of God.

The metaphysical model of A Course In Miracles is based on the idea there are two worlds. The first is the world of God from which we separated ourselves at our incarnation and the second is the world of the ego in which we are socialized and conditioned to believe that it holds the things that can make us happy.

Slowly, we learn that the world of the ego has been false and we have been told lies. The things of the world of the ego are impermanent, constantly changing, coming and going providing infatuation and grief. In the world of the ego there is no peace but ultimately only pain, anguish, and sorrow.

However in the world of God, the world of the Oneness of Love, there is tremendous joy and peace. It has been there all the time. We have forgotten we have left it. Most of us slowly realize that there is no peace except the peace of God.

In Alcoholic Anonymous, it is suggested in step eleven that we seek this conscious contact with the World of God. It is simple if we choose. All we have to do is turn our egos over to the care of God as we understand God, our Transcendent Source.

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote the love for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. The seventh principle calls us to cosmic consciousness where we abide with our Transcendent Source, the Ground of our Being.

Today, it is suggested that we continually remind ourselves throughout the day that there is no peace but the peace of God.

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #199, I am not a body. I am free.

Lesson #199

I am not a body. I am free.

Are you a body with a soul or a soul with a body? This is a crucial question for one who wants to grow spiritually. The answer is that we are a soul with a body. Today’s lesson is very blunt. “I am not a body. I am free.” Wow! Hallelujah!

In Alcohol Anonymous, it is suggested in step three that we turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understand the concept of God, our Transcendent Source. In other words, it is suggested that we give up the identification with our body and focus on our soul.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. This “inherent worth and dignity” does not emanate from our body but from our soul, our mind, our spirit. This emanation is grounded in our Transcendent Source for which our soul is a conduit.

Today, it is suggested that we remind ourselves frequently throughout the day that we are not a body, but a soul and as such we are free from bodily constraints. We can say with peace and joy, “I am not a body. I am free.”

A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #198, Only my condemnation injures me.

 Lesson #198

Only my condemnation injures me.

Most people have probably heard the saying “judge not that you will not be judged” and don’t really understand what it means because they don’t understand the metaphysical model underlying the meaning of the saying. 

In A Course In Miracles it is taught that we all are One, one big Self with a capital S. What we do to others spiritually we do to ourselves. So if we condemn others we are condemning a part of Ourself. So, “only my condemnation injures me.” 

The opposite of condemnation is forgiveness.

In Alcoholic Anonymous, it is suggested in step nine that we make amends to all the people we have harmed and by doing so have blamed them, attacked them, abused them, misused them, caused pain and suffering. It is an important part of recovery to give up the condemnations and instead to forgive and take responsibility for our own state of mind.

In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We come to appreciate that there is nothing inherent in any person to condemn or we condemn a part of our Self. So when it comes to condemnation we stop it. We just stop it. And if we are annoyed, aggrieved, resentful, hurt, we rise above it and take responsibility for ourselves and stop making other people responsible for our own unhappiness.

Today, throughout the day, it is suggested that we review our experiences and realize that only my condemnation injuries me and I would be far better off if I forgave instead and set everyone free..