THE GIFTS OF GOD — Sondra Ray and Markus Ray on A Course in Miracles

What you give you also receive. This is the basic tenant of A Course in Miracles. Give more love and you receive more love. Give anger, hate and resentment, and you receive more of that back to yourself. This Lesson discusses the fundamental principle that the Course is putting forth. How clear we are to extend forgiveness, because when we do, we receive the absolution of all of our mistakes and lack of love, and receive the gifts of God.

Giving increases us. The ego thinks when we give something away we have less of it. Giving thus becomes a "sacrifice." To feel this "loss" when we give is to affirm sacrifice is real. But when we receive God's Gifts we are increased, and God is increased when these Gifts are given. If we give more Love, we increase that Love in us and in the others to whom we are giving. Giving Gratitude increases the Gratitude. Giving Mercy away increases it—so it is not a sacrifice. Can we give and receive as one action? In this action there is no sacrifice. AMEN.

What would get us into the Heaven State of Being? This is what Markus Ray discusses in this overview of A Course in Miracles in the Belgian Loving Relationships Training (The LRT®). What is the Paradigm of Joy? How can we get into it and maintain it? ACIM offers us miracles to "undo" the hell we made up, and help us accept the Heaven of our original creation. We can remember who we are, and forgiveness gives us the means to erase the illusions of our past. Markus leads us to accept what the Course is saying as true—a guideline to follow, to restore our minds to the Heaven State of Being.

This Lesson is the "door to Heaven" through which we are asked to pass, and the "key" to opening this door is complete forgiveness. We let forgiveness rest upon every atom of creation in the universe—all things. Nothing short of complete forgiveness will be the "key to happiness." The means of our salvation is the Atonement. The key is in our own hands. This Lesson # 342 is the key Lesson to accepting the Atonement for ourselves. We give thanks to our Father for saving us from the "hell" we made. Perfect Happiness is ours now. Let's go through this doorway of complete forgiveness and be in the Blazing Light of Truth and remember God.

 "How pure, how safe, how holy, then, are we, abiding in Your Smile, with all Your Love bestowed upon us, living one with You, in brotherhood and Fatherhood complete; in sinlessness so perfect that the Lord of Sinlessness conceives us as His Son, a universe of Thought completing Him." We are afraid of accepting this Truth, and the miracles that would establish this Truth in our minds. The word of God is our inheritance. Can we accept them, so they shape our reality? This is what is given us to do as students of ACIM.

Can we see that suffering is something we bring upon ourselves? Christ's vision would apply forgiveness to all things that are not Pure Joy. There is no room for anything but Joy and Perfect Happiness This Lesson can free us from fear, attack, guilt, anger and all forms of suffering. We must let forgiveness rest upon all things. We must apply it to receive the results of freedom from suffering. This is the inner work we have to do.

What are we requesting? If we receive what we "do not want," somewhere in our frequency we have requested it. If we are in pain, there are thoughts we have that put us in pain. This Lesson #339 gets us clear that we receive what we have requested. And all the more reason we need to forgive ourselves for the subconscious memories and thoughts that bring us ill effects. We need to make no decisions by ourselves. Can we ask that God's Will be made manifest in us? Only "perfect happiness" would be the result of this sincere and unilateral request. Let's make it then.

What is the content of our mind? This content is composed of memories and thoughts. These thoughts and memories have their effects. There are Thoughts in the Mind of God that we share with our Creator. Are these the Thoughts we are "thinking?" Are we aware of our Divine Thoughts? All thought produces form at all levels. The mind never sleeps. It is always with thoughts of separation or Thoughts of our True Identity in God. The focus of our mind is our decision to make. "I rule my mind, which I alone must rule." Let us decide for heaven. Let us "think" with the Thoughts of God. Then we only have the effects of Love.

Markus Ray speaks in Valencia, Spain, on the importance of ACIM in these times. He gives the background of this modern day scripture, and what the challenges are in studying it. A correction of Christianity lies underneath the direct relationship with Jesus that one forms by being a student of ACIM. Spoken to a Spanish audience, this intro to ACIM can awaken the interest of spiritual seekers to take up ACIM as an authentic and meaningful daily practice.

We are the Self God Loves. As this Self we are entitled to perfect happiness all of the time. Yet, we have to let go of the "self we made" that thinks it is a "sinner." We have made mistakes, but we are absolved of all consequences from those mistakes when we accept the Atonement for ourselves. God holds nothing against us when we are willing to give up our judgments, attack thoughts, and grievances. Are we willing to see the truth exactly as it is? Do we trust God's Peace and Joy are ours to claim? Forgiveness offers them to us.