LESSON 74. There is no will but God’s.

Some people feel fear, sacrifice or doubt upon hearing the idea, “There is no will but God’s,” but that is due to a lack of understanding. God’s will is what you are, life-awareness-intelligence-open-freedom. You are that, and in being that you are God’s will.

The funny thing is, you can’t stop being that (even though you can deny you are that), so you can’t stop being God’s will.

You are God’s will.

So now that we’ve got the truth out there, let’s look at the rest of this workbook lesson. There are three more important points in today’s lesson.

During the longer practice today, you are asked to “deal quickly with any conflict thoughts that may cross your mind. Tell yourself immediately: There is no will but God’s. These conflict thoughts are meaningless.”

This is the same teaching that we find in NTI 1 Thessalonians:

“When fear intrudes on peace, you will hear it if you are listening. There will seem to be a slight upset, a stab thrust upon your peace, and an immediate desire to deny the thought or feeling that has intruded on your peace. … Do not accept temptation to deny the interruptions to peace. Pick them up and look at them in joy. For you have recognized that which you were tempted to deny. Do not deny the thought that has occurred, and do not accept it. Set it aside because it is not true. And continue joyously on the path of peace.”

Today’s workbook lesson and NTI 1 Thessalonians outline the practice that heals our mind.

1. Look at it.
2. Let it go.

And if you do that with joy or with the heart, it will be twice as effective.

Here’s the way it works for me. Let’s say I feel some agitation that is caused by resisting what is. I say to myself, “I see this resistance.” Immediately I feel some relaxation, which is caused by acknowledging it instead of denying it. Next, I ask myself, “What do I really want?” I remember my purpose, my heart opens, and with the intelligent peace of the open heart, I let it go (which may look like letting it be).

This is the practice that consistently and gently lets go of ego until there is nothing left to let go of.

Another great thing about today’s workbook lesson is that it takes another step in teaching meditation. We are asked to close our eyes and relax during meditation, but there is a difference between meditating and falling asleep. For me, there is a thin line between the two, and I need a lot of focus to meditate without falling asleep. If I do not remain aware of the fact that I am meditating, I will fall asleep. I have learned to pull myself back into awareness whenever the mind begins to drift into sleep. This workbook lesson is teaching that skill, so if falling asleep is a challenge for you, pay close attention to the instructions in this lesson.

Finally, in “The Direct Means to Eternal Bliss,” Michael Langford writes: “For some people it might take a few days, others a few weeks and others a few months to start to feel something. At first it is subtle and you won’t know what it is, but you will know that you like it. It is pleasant. A new subtle feeling. You are beginning to feel: eternal life-love-peace.”

That’s what today’s Course lesson teaches too. It says, “Joy characterizes peace. By this experience you will recognize that you have reached it.”

Think about how simple that is! You are literally reaching God/Truth when meditation feels pleasant. You might experience it as lack of stress or worry, as tingling in the head, as an open heart or devotional feel, as butterflies in the belly or tingling in the legs and toes. It could show up in another way too, but when meditation feels good, you are reaching God. You are doing it !!!!!

This is important, because some people fail to recognize success in meditation because they are looking for bigger bells and whistles. Truth is subtle and simple, but it will change you. It will awaken you. So stay alert and follow the simple instructions for meditation. That is all there is to it.

LESSON 73. I will there be light.

Today we cross a threshold. We have stepped into a new level of commitment within ourselves.

We have learned of our creative power and because we recognize it is so, we have determined, through consistent gentle daily practice that we wish to employ that power on behalf of our True Will–that we be released from the suffering of our own making.

Through our daily practice, we have come to understand that what we once thought occurred to us, actually occurs through us. We have come to see that we suffer only if we lend our creative will to the wish to retain the illusion that we are separate—one from another—each of us and all of us separate from our Source and all the power of the Universe.

We have come to see that suffering from this illusion need not continue. We reclaim the creative power that is ours and wield that power each and every day to unwind our belief in the illusion we have created.

We also understand that we need not rely on the illusory power of the small and sickly will we thought was our own. We see that our True Will is in accord with the return of Awareness to the All That Is. We unite with this Awareness by letting go the belief in our littleness/separateness through our forgiveness practice—removing our attention from the belief in all that separateness would have us see and placing it firmly with the Truth.

As we have begun to learn the true power and function of forgiveness, we have strengthened our willingness to abide in the Truth of our One True Being. We proceed with the knowledge that, because this Pure Unaffected Consciousness is all that truly exists, our Will is unopposed.

All of this has happened naturally as we have practiced the workbook lessons one day at a time. Today’s deeper commitment is one miracle in a series of miracles that are bringing us home.