Commentary on ACIM Lesson 105

©2010 Rev. David Seacord

 

 

God's peace and joy are mine.

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I have been thinking about several things... I'll start with my thoughts about the 'First Person revisions', which I got some feedback on today.  

 

To me, for my 'Christ Self' to manifest through this body/mind/spirit matrix, 'I' must learn to think 'like a Christ'.  That is the stated purpose of the Course, to retrain the way we think. So the intention behind translating Jesus' words from third to first person is simply for me to step into my personal Christ consciousness and then speak what is so from there.  When I looked at the feedback that the first person version was 'losing Jesus' voice', I realized that part of the problem might be simply that italicizing all of my text changes (so it would be easy to see where the changes were) ALSO gave a sense of unintended emphasis to those words.  I realized I really have no idea if other people are concerned about the changes being italicized or not.  Anyway, today as an experiment, I'm not going to italicize.   Please let me know if it is an easier read that way, and if that makes your read of the original lesson deeper.

 

2.  I've recognized a Commentary 'five part structure' is evolving....which I have listed below. This is being stated simply because it is possible some readers may not be scrolling down far enough to discover everything.  So now they know what is in these emails.... 

 

Art Image

Personal Share

Revised Lesson

Notes/Commentary on Revised Lesson 

Text of Original Lesson

 

3. As we're in the Personal Share part right now, it is appropriate to share a bit of my growing insight in the 'relationship domain' so that you are not left 'wondering'.  Basically, I am being shown the causal roots of my relationship history, which is a history of serial monogamy followed by periods of being single.  Both being in and being out of 'relationship' have their gifts, when embraced.  If I am happily 'in a committed relationship', Great.  If I am happy 'being a single', Great too.  But if I am one, and wish to be 'the other', I can get into trouble spiritually, because I am then resisting, and not choosing/not embracing, what is.  

 

Further, I share my process of spiritual discovery in this area in order to be of value as a human 'on the path', but not as a 'call for love'.  My coaches are very clear about this, for my ability to fulfill on my true mission as a teacher of God requires I recognize and maintain appropriate personal ethical boundaries.  It's an area I am now seeing I have not been so clear about or impeccable in, and while I believe I have been under Grace and have not caused unintentional or unrepairable damage, I do see I have projected inappropriately at least twice during this authorship, and been several other times 'on the edge'.   Please forgive me.  I apologize for those projections.  (And, they are in the process of being privately cleaned up.) 

 

As I said a few days ago, this issue is my personal Achilles Heel, or 'my weakest area' (that I know about).  I have to be upfront and expose this, or I run the risk of going unconscious about it again.   That I did not receive (or rejected) parental modeling of 'good boundaries' is clear to me, but that is not a justification for any perpetuation.  Now is the only time re-learning healthy (wholeness based) relating patterns is possible.  I choose to learn this lesson now.  

 

And that's enough, 'for now'. 

 

Namaste, 

 

David  

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First Person edited version. 

 

  

Lesson 105

God's peace and joy are mine.

God's peace and joy are mine. Today I will accept them, knowing they belong to me. And I will also understand these gifts increase as I receive them. Peace and Joy are not like to the gifts the world can give (in which the giver loses as he gives the gift and the taker is the richer by the givers loss). Such exchanges are not gifts, but bargains made with guilt. The truly given gift entails no loss. It is impossible that one can gain because another loses. This implies a limit and an insufficiency.

No gift is given thus. Such "gifts" are but a bid for a more valuable return; a loan with interest to be paid in full; a temporary lending, meant to be a pledge of debt to be repaid with more than was received by him who took the gift. This strange distortion of what giving means pervades all levels of the world I see. It strips all meaning from the gifts I give, and leaves me nothing (in the ones I could take).

A major learning goal this course has set is to reverse my view of giving,so that I can receive. For giving has become a source of fear, and so I would avoid the only means by which I can receive. Accept God's peace and joy, and I will learn a different way of looking at a gift. God's gifts will never lessen when they are given away. They only increase thereby.

As Heaven's peace and joy intensify when I accept them as God's gift to me, so does the joy of my Creator grow when I accept His joy and peace as mine. True giving is creation. It extends the limitless to the unlimited, eternity to timelessness, and love unto itself. It adds to all that is complete already, not in simple terms of adding more, for that implies that it was less before. It adds by letting what cannot contain itself fulfill its aim of giving everything it has away, and thereby, securing it forever for itself.

Today I will accept God's peace and joy as mine. I will let Him complete Himself as He defines completion. I will understand that what completes Him must complete His Son as well. He cannot give through loss. No more can I. I will receive His gift of joy and peace today, and I know He will thank me for my gift to Him.

Today my practice periods will start a little differently. I will begin today by thinking of those brothers who have been denied by me the peace and joy that are their right under the equal laws of God. Here I have denied them to myself. And here I must return to claim them as my own.

I will think of my "enemies" a little while, and tell each one, as they occur to me:

My brother, peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.

Thus I will recognize God's gifts are to all, and let my mind be free of anything that would prevent success today. Now am I ready to accept the gift of peace and joy that God has given me. Now am I ready to experience the joy and peace I have denied myself. Now I can say, "God's peace and joy are mine," for I have given what I would receive.

I will succeed today, if I prepare my mind as my Holy Spirit now suggests. For I will let all bars to peace and joy be lifted up, and what is mine can come to me at last. I will tell myself, "God's peace and joy are mine," and close my eyes a while, and let His Voice assure me that the words I speak are true.

Thus I will spend my five minutes with Him each time I can today (but I will not think that less is worthless when I cannot give Him more). I will at least remember hourly to say the words which call to Him to give me what He wills to give me, and wills that I receive. I will determine not to interfere today with what He wills. And if a brother seems to tempt me to deny God's gift to him, I will see it as but another chance to let myself receive the gifts of God as mine. Then I will bless my brother thankfully, and say:

My brother, peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.

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Notes:  Today, no notes.  Just read the lesson (either version) several times.  I have been.  It is healing me to do so.  

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