Our current goals:

• Widen the horizons of our vision
• Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
• Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
• Intensify our motivation for freedom

Today’s lesson says, “Protect the things you value by the act of giving them away, and you are sure that you will never lose them.“

Although I highly support giving in the material way, and I like to live this value, I don’t think that’s what this lesson is really talking about. The clue to what this lesson means comes near the end of the lesson. It says, “And as we look within, we see the purity of Heaven shine in our reflection of our Father’s Love. … What we have looked upon we would extend, for we would see it everywhere. We would behold it shining with the grace of God in everyone. We would not have it withheld from anything we look upon. And to ensure this holy sight is ours, we offer it to everything we see.”

I am reminded of something I once heard. “Be enlightened now.” I think it was Byron Katie that said this, but I can’t be sure. The idea behind the statement was this: Stop waiting to be enlightened someday. Be enlightened now.

How do you do that? Let me give you a few examples:

• Someone says something to you that feels like a strong insult. Be enlightened now. Don’t be defensive. Relax. Be present. Be still. Be open. Watch the energies inside of you, but don’t become involved with them.
• You find out that a friend has been taking money and other things from you, a little at a time, so that you hadn’t noticed. Be enlightened now. Instead of seeing your friend as guilty or betraying you, notice that you are unharmed.
• You go with a friend to her elderly mother’s house to help clean the house. While dusting some collectables, one slips from your hand and breaks into dozens of pieces. Be enlightened now. Watch the energies that may arise inside you, but don’t become involved with them. Apologize to your friend and her mother. If they seem upset, turn to intuition for guidance.
• A friend feels he needs some money. You’ve had lack thoughts lately too. Be enlightened now. Help your friend by giving him some money, and realize you are always taken care of.

I could go on forever.

• Your computer breaks down. Be enlightened now.
• You lose your wedding ring. Be enlightened now.
• Your spouse has an affair. Be enlightened now.
• Someone tells an unflattering lie about you in Facebook. Be enlightened now.

Being enlightened now has nothing to do with pretending you are awake. It has everything to do with being consciously tuned in to spiritual intuition. It has everything to do with asking, “What am I to do now? How am I to see this? How shall I respond?” Etc.

Again, today’s lesson says, “Protect the things you value by the act of giving them away, and you are sure that you will never lose them.” The key here is to be aware of what you truly value.

In the Bible, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found … Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Going and selling all that he had represents letting go of his attachment to his personal thinking. Buying the field represents living as the ground in which the treasure exists. It represents living from spiritual intuition.

By living from spiritual intuition, you discover what is within you. After all, you could not be enlightened now if enlightenment were not already present.

Today’s lesson mentions sacrifice as the idea that blocks our ability to be enlightened now. For example, I may think that if I let someone spread a lie about me on Facebook, my reputation will be ruined, and that may feel like a sacrifice. I may also fear that I will lose friends, which is another sacrifice.

As you can see, believing this type of thinking is an obstacle that can get in the way of choosing to be enlightened now.

The lesson says, “Never believe that you can sacrifice. There is no place for sacrifice in what has any value. If the thought occurs, its very presence proves that error has arisen and correction must be made.”

This is a good time for some form of self-inquiry. You might choose to practice root cause inquiry. You might choose to notice the difference between the idea of sacrifice and you, the awareness that sees the thought. You might feel its best to do nothing except rest, accept and trust. The point is, when you see the idea of sacrifice as an error that needs correction, you will make another choice, and that is being enlightened now. In this way, you bless the world because you’ve blessed yourself.

Our current goals:

• Widen the horizons of our vision
• Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
• Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
• Intensify our motivation for freedom

Today’s lesson is a reminder of how important the purpose of awakening is. The salvation of the world depends on our awakening. Although most people may not realize it consciously, they want us to awaken.

Is this true?

Yes, most definitely. Although most of the world may not consciously know it, the heart and soul of each person values awakening more than any other human accomplishment. How do we know that?

As one example, who is more revered in the hearts of most people, Jesus or Caesar Augustus? Both lived at the same time. Most people know at least a little about each man and his accomplishments. Who is loved more? Who touches people’s hearts and minds more?

You see, even though people in general are not consciously aware of it, everyone knows awakening is the most important thing a person can do in a lifetime, and everyone celebrates awakening when it is achieved.

Today’s lesson encourages us to accept awakening as the role given to us by God. Some people may think it is arrogant to think that our individual spiritual paths have such monumental importance, but this lesson points out that is confusion regarding what arrogance is and what humility is. According to the lesson, arrogance is any thought that says awakening is not our God-given function. It could be the thought that I am not worthy of awakening, or it could be the thought that there is something else I want to do. Any thought that denies awakening as my role in this lifetime is arrogance.

Humility is accepting my role with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my mind.

Today’s lesson asks us to listen to God’s Voice that He may “reveal to us what He would have us do.” That means, listen to the part of you that is always coaching you toward awakening. It speaks to us all through the day. We just need to tap into it, so that we hear its instructions in every instant and can choose to follow them every step of the way.

There are two things that will help us hear (or feel) this Voice within us:

First, we must want to hear (or intuitively feel) this Voice over the personal thoughts in the mind.

Second, it is helpful to ask for this Voice’s guidance. Because the Voice speaks to us all through the day, we want to ask for its guidance all through the day.

A good message that helps us learn to do that is “The Purpose of Surrender” from The Teachings of Inner Ramana. That message encourages us to ask within, “What am I to do now?” throughout the day. It says that this question is a fully inclusive question, which also includes, “How shall I see this?”, “What am I to hear?”, “How shall I respond?”, etc. In other words, when we use the question “What am I to do now?” we are asking inner spiritual intuition to guide us in every aspect of our day.

Today’s lesson says, “He has Thoughts which answer every need His Son perceives.” This means that inner spiritual intuition will provide guidance for every situation we find ourselves in. In NTI Acts, the Inner Voice says:

In each circumstance and every situation along the way to Me, I am there with you, offering help and guidance. Never am I not there. Never can you make a mistake that will drive Me away. But it is also true that you can only hear My Word and accept My Help if you are willing to see that the answer to all things is Me.

If you choose to limit the circumstances in which I may help, My Help is limited. If you choose to solve your problems on your own, My answer remains unheard. Always, I am with you, able to help. Always, without exception, I am there. But you must be willing to know Me and accept Me in order to receive Me as yours.

Yesterday we inquired into our desires to discover what we truly want, and then we asked for that directly. Today, let’s remember to ask for guidance from the One who knows how to lead us to what we truly want. Let’s let that One guide in every detail of our life.

Our current goals:

• Widen the horizons of our vision
• Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
• Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
• Intensify our motivation for freedom

Before commenting on today’s workbook lesson, I’d like to say something about the practice we’ve used for the last two days, repeating the Name of God.

There are many things that we do each day that have become well wired into our brains, so that we do not need to pay full attention in order to complete the task. Examples include showering, housework, exercising, and even driving. Because these activities do not require the full attention of our brains, our minds tend to wander a lot when we are busy with these types of activities.

If it feels helpful to you, you can replace mindless mind wandering with the Name of God mantra when you are engaged in activities (or non-activity) that do not require the full attention of your brain. This is not a new assignment for the Gentle Healing Group, but some of you may recognize value in this practice and may want to add it to your other practices. If that’s the case, you may find it helpful to read, “Instructions for Using the Mantra” from The Teachings of Inner Ramana.

Now, let’s look at today’s lesson:

“I want the peace of God. To say these words is nothing. But to mean these words is everything. If you could but mean them for just an instant, there would be no further sorrow possible for you in any form. … To mean you want the peace of God is to renounce all dreams. For no one means these words who wants illusions, and who therefore seeks the means which bring illusions. He has looked on them, and found them wanting. Now he seeks to go beyond them, recognizing that another dream would offer nothing more than all the others.”

“Today devote your practice periods to careful searching of your mind, to find the dreams you cherish still. What do you ask for in the heart? … Consider but what you believe will comfort you, and bring you happiness.”

I’ve just done that. I looked and found one dream remaining in my heart. It’s not a new dream. When I was around twenty years old, I created a book of dreams by cutting out pictures from magazines and putting them in a photo album. I spent hours looking at the book of dreams over the next several years. Most of those dreams have come true in this lifetime. I suppose I attracted them by staring at that picture album hour after hour, day after day, year after year. In fact, today’s workbook lesson says, “And dreams will come as you requested them.” And so they did.

However, there is one dream left. It is very close to me now, almost in reach. All I have to do is give up everything else, and I can have that one final dream. For me, this dream seems like the ultimate. It seems that if I just had that, I could die happy.

Is it true?

This is what we are asked to look at today: Do we really want our dreams or do we want the peace of God, which is awakening from dreams entirely? What is it that we truly seek?

I pulled up a picture that represents my one remaining dream, and I looked at it. I could feel the dream burning in my heart. I could feel how much I seem to want it. And with all of that happening within me, I looked at the picture and asked, “Why do I want this? What do I think I will get if I can achieve this one final dream?

The answer that came is, “Unending peace, true heart-fulfillment, joyous rest, and meaningful communion, all resulting in absolute satisfaction.”

Next I asked myself, “So what is it that I truly want? Do I want that dream because of what it is, or do I want that dream because of what I think it will get me?”

I looked at the picture of my dream again, and I asked, “Would I want that if it did not give me unending peace, true heart-fulfillment, joyous rest, meaningful communion, and absolute satisfaction? Would I want that even if I knew it meant there would be new problems to resolve, one after another until the day I die? Is it actually that that I want, for better or for worse, or do I really want the peace of God, also known as unending peace, true heart-fulfillment, joyous rest, meaningful communion, and absolute satisfaction?”

It became clear that the picture is not what I actually want. The picture, the dream, merely represents what I want. As today’s lesson says, “You want the peace of God. And so do all who seem to seek for dreams.”

After seeing this clearly, I sat and looked at the picture of my dream. I recognized it is just a symbol for what I truly want. I do not need that object, because it isn’t really the object that I want. I want the peace of God.

Our lesson today says, “No one who truly seeks the peace of God can fail to find it. For he merely asks that he deceive himself no longer …”

We deceive ourselves when we think we want the object or circumstance that we dream of. That isn’t what we want. We want what we think that object or circumstance will bring us. So why dream about an object or circumstance that is an imagined intermediary for what we truly want? Why not ask for what we truly want directly?

Our current goals:

• Widen the horizons of our vision
• Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
• Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
• Intensify our motivation for freedom

It has always amazed me that a huge dog, like a Great Dane, and a very small dog, like a Chihuahua, recognize each other as the same animal. The huge Great Dane does not mistake the Chihuahua for a squirrel or rodent, and the Chihuahua doesn’t think the Great Dane is a monster. They recognize each other as the same.

Today’s workbook lesson asks us to be more like the Great Dane and the Chihuahua. You see, we have a tendency to focus on differences. In fact, we do more than that. We define a thing based on its difference from another thing. We also define circumstances based on their difference from other circumstances. The lesson says, “By this split you think you are established as a [individual] unity which functions with an independent will.”

In other words, we get our sense of separation from the tendency to focus on and define by differences.

Today’s workbook lesson says, “Such is the teaching of the world. It is a phase of learning everyone who comes must go through. But … Learning that stops with what the world would teach stops short of meaning. In its proper place, it serves but as a starting point from which another kind of learning can begin, a new perception can be gained, …”

We are not asked to drop the many names and descriptors that humans have given to things. These, the Course admits, are helpful to communication. But we are asked to drop believing that these many named differences have any real meaning. We are asked to look to the “one Identity which all things share.” We are asked to remember the “single Source which unifies all things within Itself.”

The workbook lesson says, “God has no name. And yet His Name becomes the final lesson that all things are one, and at this lesson does all learning end. … No one can fail who seeks the meaning of the Name of God. Experience must come to supplement the Word. But first you must accept the Name for all reality, and realize the many names you gave its aspects have distorted what you see, but have not interfered with truth at all. One Name we bring into our practicing. One Name we use to unify our sight.”

Today we will continue to use the Name of God mantra. However, as we use this mantra today, let’s contemplate the sameness in all things as it relates to the Name of God, a sameness that is represented by the Name of God.

Our current goals:

• Widen the horizons of our vision
• Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
• Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
• Intensify our motivation for freedom

Swami Ramdas was a twentieth century Indian saint who found awakening through the constant repetition of the name of God. Here’s what Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) wrote about Swami Ramdas and the practice of mantra:

“The first time I started to work with beads and the repetition of either the mantra in praise of RAM, “Sri Ram Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram,” or just the single word, “Ram” in 1968, I recognized the potential power of this simple devotional technique to rend the veil of ignorance from moment to moment thus allowing one to imbue one’s life with spirit.

It was easy to keep the mantra going in my room in the ashram, but as I ventured forth into the world, I found that the fascinations, seductions and slings and arrows of daily life so often distracted me from ‘remembering.’ It was hard for me to imagine how it could be otherwise.

Then in 1970 I came upon the writings of Swami Ramdas (or ‘Papa Ramdas’, as I thought of him). And there it was, so innocently presented, a testament to the possibility that by remembering Ram (God), one’s life could be transformed, totally transformed, moment by moment, into divine lila (play).”

Eknath Easwaran, translator of the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Dhammapada, wrote this regarding Swami Ramdas:

“The very presence of Papa Ramdas comforted and strengthened us. He was visible proof that a man apparently like you and me—not an austere, emaciated monk, but a former textile technician who had lived in the midst of worldly activity—had become established in the awareness of God.”

Today’s workbook lesson asks us to spend one day in the devotional practice that Swami Ramdas followed. We are asked to spend one day repeating the Name of God, remembering that His Name is also our own. The lesson says:

“Practice but this today; repeat God’s Name slowly again and still again. Become oblivious to every name but His. Hear nothing else. Let all your thoughts become anchored on this. No other word we use except at the beginning, when we say today’s idea but once. And then God’s Name becomes our only thought, our only word, the only thing that occupies our minds, the only wish we have, the only sound with any meaning, and the only Name of everything that we desire to see; …”

The Course does not tell us what God’s name is. Maybe this is left to us, so we can use the name that feels most devotional to us.

Swami Ramdas recited, “Sri Ram Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram.” If this suits your heart, you may recite this mantra today.

According to Biblical tradition, the name of God that was given to Moses is “I am that I am.” That was also the mantra that was given to me in May of 2008.

Many people have told me they do not like the mantra, “I am that I am,” because they do not know what it means. “That” is a pronoun specifically linked to identification. It refers to a specific thing already mentioned or understood, and it ascribes a specific feature to that thing, a feature that is essential to identification. For example, the table that is round or the blouse that is blue.

“I am that I am” ascribes “I am” as a specific identifying feature to “I am”. In other words, it is “I am” doubly repeated and emphasized. It is similar to how Ramana Maharshi sometimes referred to the Self as “I-I.”

Today, if you choose to use the mantra “I am that I am” as the Name of God, remember that today’s lesson says, “To call upon God’s Name is but to call upon your own.” With this thought in mind, say to yourself, “I am that I am.” Notice I am is doubly repeated and emphasized. Feel the meaning of that in your soul. Let yourself linger in that silent meaning, and then repeat the mantra again. As today’s lesson instructs:

“Sit silently, and let His Name become the all-encompassing idea that holds your mind completely. Let all thoughts be still except this one. And to all other thoughts respond with this, and see God’s Name replace the thousand little names you gave your thoughts. … Today you can achieve a state in which you will experience the gift of grace. … No prayer but this is necessary, for it holds them all within it.”

Note: You may replace today’s awareness-watching-awareness practice with this practice. You might also try watching awareness as you practice the Name of God mantra.

Footnotes:

• If you are interested in learning more about Swami Ramdas and his practice of mantra, I recommend his book, “In Quest of God.”
• If you are interested in reading the story of Moses and the name “I am that I am,” you can read Exodus 3:1-15 at this link.

Let’s review our current goals.

• Widen the horizons of our vision
• Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
• Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
• Intensify our motivation for freedom

The ego likes to fill our time. There’s an expression that I have used many times in my life. It’s “kill time,” as in, “How are we going to kill time this weekend?” The thought behind that expression is this:

Having nothing to do is so undesirable that we have to find something, anything to do, in order to avoid simply sitting quietly with ourselves.

Filling time is undeniably an ego preservation strategy.

It’s helpful to begin to notice how we fill time. There are some things that we do that are necessary to this human life. There are other things that we do which are guided by intuition. And then there are the things that we do to “kill time,” to avoid simply sitting quietly with ourselves. Are we ready to be self-honest and discern between these three?

Today’s workbook lesson says, “When you are still an instant, when the world recedes from you, when valueless ideas cease to have value in your restless mind, then will you hear His Voice. So poignantly He calls to you that you will not resist Him longer. In that instant He will take you to His home, and you will stay with Him in perfect stillness, silent and at peace, beyond all words, untouched by fear and doubt, sublimely certain that you are at home. Rest with Him frequently today.”

Let’s do two things today.

First, let’s not avoid our meditation practice today. Our gentle healing homework asks us to spend 15-20 minutes in meditation daily. Let’s be sure to do that at least once today. You might also see if you can find 15-20 minutes at least two additional times today. That will help fulfill the request, “Rest with Him frequently today.” Another option is to give 5 minutes every hour. Follow your individual intuition to find your way of fulfilling this request.

Secondly, let’s begin to notice the difference between time that is spent in necessary activities and time that we are “killing.” That is, time that could be used to sit quietly instead of being filled with something that is completely unnecessary.

There is one more thing worth commenting on before ending this tip. You know this, but let’s bring it into awareness now anyway.

Ego will attempt to use any time we allot to sitting for active thinking. Thinking is another way to “kill time” and avoid being still. Remember that your attention does not have to go to thought. Initially, you can place attention on the sounds in your environment, on the breath, or on sensations in the body. Let attention rest with something other than thought, and thought will slow down and quiet. Once thought has grown quieter, place attention with awareness and abide there. “Be still” by holding attention with yourself as the observer. Pay attention to what you are, and stay there, no matter what may happen in mind during the meditation.

Here’s a story that Mooji tells about ‘staying as the watcher’ during meditation. It is called, “The Yogini.” Buddha remained still as Mara attacked with desire, anger and fear. Notice that the Yogini remains still in the same way as the mind attempts to distract her with a different kind of trick:

A great Yogini was deep in meditation. Suddenly, beautiful and melodious sounds could be heard, appearing as if from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously. It was like nothing she had ever heard. She felt, “This music is truly wonderful, but it cannot be what I am, for I am here to hear it.” She remained inside her meditation, and the music faded away.

Next appeared the most exquisite colors, shimmering with so much luminosity and brilliance, like no painter could paint; nor could any flower display it, for it was not of this earthly realm. She thought, “This is, indeed, astonishingly beautiful. However, it cannot be the ultimate, for I am here to perceive it.” This phenomenon, too, she ignored. Shortly afterwards, it also vanished in the presence of her deep and unmoving silence.

Shortly after this, there appeared several beings shaped as if from pure light, floating through space and smiling lovingly at her in a welcoming manner. She felt profoundly touched and filled with loving emotions, but inwardly she somehow kept her composure. “How profound,” she felt, “but this also cannot be what is the unchanging reality, for, were I not here, who would see them?”

As soon as this insight occurred, the figures vanished. Her mind entered her heart and could no more produce any effects. A deep silence prevailed as her mind merged inside her indivisible, unconquerable and essential being. She awakened completely to Truth.

The introduction to lessons 181 – 200 setup our goals for the next 20 days.

• Widen the horizons of our vision
• Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
• Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
• Intensify our motivation for freedom

It is good to pause before beginning lesson 181 to ask ourselves if we will accept these goals as our goals. We are not asked to add these goals to the list of goals that we have already set for ourselves. We are asked to change our minds about our goals. Are we willing to see the goals we had previously set for ourselves as unimportant, and adopt these goals as our only goals now?

[Please pause to contemplate before continuing.]

Lesson 181 focuses on the first goal, widening the horizons of our vision. It says, “Perception has a focus. It is this that gives consistency to what you see. Change but this focus, and what you behold will change accordingly.”

We have all experienced how this works in the most benign of ways. For example, recently I bought a Toyota 4Runner. One week before buying a Toyota 4Runner, I had never heard of them. I told my boyfriend what I wanted in my next car. He did some research and selected the 4Runner as the car that was best for me. Since buying a 4Runner, I notice them everywhere. It seems like 4Runners are one of the most popular cars in Colorado, yet I never saw them before. It is as if they did not exist at all, and now they are everywhere. What changed?

The focus of my perception changed. That’s all.

Lesson 181 asks us to let go of seeing the faults in others, as well as their mistakes, and focus on awareness-life-presence as what they are. It says, “We instruct our minds that it is this we seek, and only this, for just a little while.”

Let me demonstrate how this might work:

Imagine I am talking to my boyfriend, and he tells me that he just sent a large amount of money to his sister to help her out of a financial challenge. Let’s imagine that I have a similar financial challenge, but he has not offered to help me. An upset begins to arise in me. It feels like jealousy, unfairness, rejection and anger all rolled into one. I project it out onto him in this way:

“He doesn’t care about me. Why have I wasted 25 years of my life with him?”

And then I remember to practice today’s lesson. I pause for a moment and remember my goal to widen the horizon of what I see. I notice awareness-life-presence in me first. I notice it is fine, still being aware, still living, and still present in me. It has not been affected by what was just said or thought.

Next, I look at him. I notice he is also awareness-life-presence. He is being aware. He is living. He is present here now. I see us as joined in our basic essence, awareness-life-presence, and I let my attention rest there.

Lesson 181 says, “A major hazard to success has been involvement with your past and future goals.” This is why it is important to replace the goals we set for ourselves with the goals set in the introduction to this section of the Course.

In the scenario above, I could have two goals that would interfere with effective practice of today’s lesson. One goal might be to feel financially secure. The other goal might be for my boyfriend to behave the way I want him to behave. If I keep either goal, it will interfere with my practice. But if I am willing to drop both goals and genuinely replace them with “widen the horizon of my vision”, this practice becomes easy because it is what I want. In fact, the degree to which this practice is difficult for me is the degree to which I cling to the goals I had previously set.

Today’s lesson says, “We recognize that we have lost this goal if anger blocks our way in any form.” It also tells us, “And if a brother’s sins occur to us, our narrowed focus will restrict our sight, and turn our eyes upon our own mistakes, which we will magnify and call our ‘sins.’”

In other words, just as I see 4Runners everywhere, if we let our vision narrow, we will see faults, mistakes, sins, guilt, blame and unworthiness everywhere, including in ourselves. Our narrowed vision blocks our own freedom.

The lesson reminds us, “So, for a little while, without regard to past or future, should such blocks arise we will transcend them with instructions to our minds. … As our focus goes beyond mistakes, we will behold a wholly sinless world. When seeing this is all we want to see, when this is all we seek for in the name of true perception, are the eyes of Christ inevitably ours. … We look neither ahead nor backwards. We look straight into the present. And we give our trust to the experience we ask for now.”

We look neither ahead nor backwards, because there we will find the goals we had previously set. We look straight into the present, because that is where we find awareness-life-presence. It is here right now.

Steady our feet, our Father. Let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be still, and speak to us. We have no words to give to You. We would but listen to Your Word, and make it ours. Lead our practicing as does a father lead a little child along a way he does not understand. Yet does he follow, sure that he is safe because his father leads the way for him.

So do we bring our practicing to You. And if we stumble, You will raise us up. If we forget the way, we count upon Your sure remembering. We wander off, but You will not forget to call us back. Quicken our footsteps now, that we may walk more certainly and quickly unto You. And we accept the Word You offer us to unify our practicing, as we review the thoughts that You have given us.

Review Lesson 180:

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(169) By grace I live. By grace I am released.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(170) There is no cruelty in God and none in me.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

Steady our feet, our Father. Let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be still, and speak to us. We have no words to give to You. We would but listen to Your Word, and make it ours. Lead our practicing as does a father lead a little child along a way he does not understand. Yet does he follow, sure that he is safe because his father leads the way for him.

So do we bring our practicing to You. And if we stumble, You will raise us up. If we forget the way, we count upon Your sure remembering. We wander off, but You will not forget to call us back. Quicken our footsteps now, that we may walk more certainly and quickly unto You. And we accept the Word You offer us to unify our practicing, as we review the thoughts that You have given us.

Review Lesson 179:

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(167) There is one life, and that I share with God.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(168) Your grace is given me. I claim it now.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

Steady our feet, our Father. Let our doubts be quiet and our holy minds be still, and speak to us. We have no words to give to You. We would but listen to Your Word, and make it ours. Lead our practicing as does a father lead a little child along a way he does not understand. Yet does he follow, sure that he is safe because his father leads the way for him.

So do we bring our practicing to You. And if we stumble, You will raise us up. If we forget the way, we count upon Your sure remembering. We wander off, but You will not forget to call us back. Quicken our footsteps now, that we may walk more certainly and quickly unto You. And we accept the Word You offer us to unify our practicing, as we review the thoughts that You have given us.

Review Lesson 178:

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(165) Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.

(166) I am entrusted with the gifts of God.

God is but Love, and therefore so am I.