A Course In Miracles Workbook Lesson #205, Review of lesson 185 - I want the peace of God.

 Lesson #205

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

Review Lesson 185 - I want the peace of God.

When you ask people what they want out of life, they say, “I just want to be happy.” And when you ask them a follow up question, “What will make you happy” most of them will say something silly like “to win the lottery.” And if you ask them a further follow up question “what  would you do with the money from their lottery winning, they start to flounder. No one has said to me in response to my question what will make you happy, “the peace of God.

In Alcoholic Anonymous, it is suggested in step three to make a decision to turn out will and lives over to the care of God as we understand God. How hard can that be? Very hard because we are so attached to our egos.

In Unitarian Universalism, we covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and, ultimately, this search will take us to the peace of God.

Today, we are asked to spend some time in the morning and evening and all day long reminding ourselves that what will make us happy is the Peace of God and this comes from aligning our will with what we discern is God’s will for us.

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.”