Any judgments we have about the material we are contemplating will get in the way of receiving wisdom. If we have any judgments at all about the material, we serve ourselves best by being willing to look at our judgments and let them go.

Grievances block wisdom, and that includes any grievance we may hold against any written word.

Regina’s Personal Contemplation of Lesson 116:

Well … that doesn’t mean there isn’t more to be gained through contemplation. Joseph Benner had realization after realization, resulting in a book called “The Impersonal Life,” through contemplating one short quote continuously. The quote: “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

Consider this story on contemplation by William Samuel, written in his book “The Awareness of Self-Discovery”:

“Once, in China, I was given a simple verse to read and then to give my interpretation. I was ready to give an answer immediately but was informed that I had twenty-eight days to think about it. ‘Why so long?’ asked I, with the usual impatience of a Westerner.

“’Because nothing has been read once until it has been read twelve times,’ was my answer. ‘Read and reread.’

“I did. Twelve times twelve to make twelve readings … and I heard a melody I could not have heard otherwise. Since then I have known why it is that certain lines in the Bible (or any other book) that have been read countless times will one day, upon just one more reading, suddenly take on a grand new significance.

“So reader, with a very gentle touch, read and re-read. If you are earnest, and act with the earnestness you are, one day when you least expect it, you will hear and feel your Heart within complete [the] words without.”

The quote William Samuel was asked to contemplate for 28 days was: “The same moon shines on ten thousand rivers.”

Regina’s Personal Contemplation of Lesson 115:

Salvation is my only function here. Getting to know my Self is my only function. For what other purpose could I have been born except the purpose of knowing my Self? The gift of life is given so we can celebrate life. The gift of awareness is given so we can love awareness. The gift of spontaneity is given so we can enjoy the miracle of spontaneity. I will embrace this birth by becoming intimately enthralled with my Self. This Regina-suit is the perfect medium for getting to know what I am.

My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation. If the plan is for the whole to be happy and celebrate, how can that be done without me? Can the whole be happy without my happiness? Can the whole celebrate without my celebration? I am integral to this plan. Most importantly, I can only know its gifts through my individual cooperation with it.

For example, do I expect wisdom to be poetic? Do I expect it to use words I don’t use? Do I expect it to sound like A Course in Miracles or some other written scripture? Do I expect it to use certain spiritual words and avoid non-spiritual, everyday terms? Do I expect it to come from a voice in my head that is very different from my own?

Any expectations that I have about inner wisdom can block the flow of inner wisdom, so it is worthwhile to look for those expectations and let them go.

Sometimes when wisdom begins to flow, it isn’t immediately brilliant to me. The first few words that appear may seem uninteresting or unorganized. I remember I’ve promised not to judge what comes, and I start writing whatever comes. This seems to open the flow more, and soon I have perfect wisdom for me now. And that’s really all it has to be … the perfect wisdom for me now.

If what comes feels like something that is good for you to focus on today, that’s it. That’s the wisdom. Don’t expect anything else. All you really need is today’s “daily bread.” Today’s daily bread, one day at a time, will take you all the way to the top of the mountain.

Regina’s Personal Contemplation of Lesson 114:

I am spirit. The body experience is here. That cannot be denied. But when I look, am I the body? Thought is here. Ongoing commentary happens, but when I look, am I commentary? What experiences the body and sees thought? What am I?

I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation. Awakening is a personal endeavor. Only I can dive into my heart. Only I can question my thoughts. Only I can choose where my attention is focused. No one can do this for me, and I cannot do this for anyone else. I accept the responsibility of being inward focused and being still. I accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.