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

The resurrection is merely the ascendance out of the ego's thought system into the Holy Spirit's Thought System. If we are not doing this, then we are crucifying ourselves with Fear, Guilt, or Anger. Attack directed toward anyone is an attack upon our self. There are no exceptions to this. It is true, then, "It is but myself I crucify." We can stop doing this. It does not take time or practice, just willingness. Are you willing to leave the ego's "crucifixions" behind and resurrect into the Christ mind?

Love and gratitude go together. Grievances, comparisons, and unforgiveness go together and block our awareness of love. Which would we choose? We have the means to erase all the struggles and strife in our world. Will we walk that path of forgiveness and claim the Gifts of God? It's our choice which way we go. Go the way of love and forgive everything. Go the way of forgiveness and walk in gratitude!

This Lesson has the potential to undo all fear, especially the anxiety we all hold about the unknown future. Murphy's Law—"what can go wrong will go wrong," does not apply to us when we are placing the future in the Hands of God. "God gives us only happiness" is part of a prayer in Lesson #66. God and Happiness are inseparable. As long as we place our future in the hands of certain happiness, what is there to fear? What "guilt" is left to undo? Forgiveness is complete in us, and therefore we can relax and let go into the care of our Divine Creator. Isn't that a relief!

We have all heard the saying "shit happens." All things are lessons, and even the things that seem to go off are usually teaching us something about ourselves and  our place in the world based on the thoughts we have about it. These difficult incidents are "lessons in forgiveness" mostly. No matter how challenging or "unfair" a situation may seem, the lesson is always forgiveness and returning to our inner Peace. This Lesson #193 is a good reminder of this. Can we take the challenging things in stride and maintain our faith that even this has an element leading us to our ultimate good? This is our test. 

"Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world." This is Lesson #62. This Lesson is a reminder of that function, and also a booster knowing that God's will is that I fulfill this function in the world. We who have studied ACIM a long time know this directive inside and out. More so, that Forgiveness takes on new meaning and urgency in our lives. We may receive tougher lessons that test our minds even deeper into fulfilling our function. It is good to know that what God wills us to do, God also gives us the help in doing. The Holy Spirit is always there to help us in times of doubt and resistance. This help is there if we can accept it. Why not accept it? 

This is a supreme statement of Self-Identity. Getting this Lesson in your heart and bones is the whole purpose of A Course in Miracles. This is the ultimate Miracle—accepting your Self as God created you. The prayer is poignant: 

I am the holy Son of God Himself. I cannot suffer, cannot be in pain; I cannot suffer loss, nor fail to do all that salvation asks.

Can we step up today and accept this liberation from our lower self of the ego? What keeps us tied to the past? To the problems that are not really there? We have to make a decision at some point. Why not today.

HEAVEN or HELL. Which do we choose? The choice is ALWAYS ours. LIFE or DEATH. These are also functions of our consciousness. The fact that pain is a choice we make is not always so apparent. It is easy to feel like a "victim" of pain—something that "just happens to us beyond our control."  But our sub-conscious mind is in control. And this we are not always aware of how it is affecting us. But the fact is our mind, conscious or sub-conscious, is always manufacturing effects. If the effect is "pain," we can be sure our minds are off, and need the miracles of self-correction. This is what these Lessons in ACIM are: corrections of our mind, introduced by the Holy Spirit. The question is, do we really want to make these deep corrections. Only you would know that for yourself. 

This Lesson gives us the doorway to Heaven. The prayer at the end is profound: 

Father, we do not know the way to You. But we have called, and You have answered us. We will not interfere. Salvation's ways are not our own, for they belong to You. And it is unto You we look for them. Our hands are open to receive Your gifts. We have no thoughts we think apart from You, and cherish no beliefs of what we are, or Who created us. Yours is the way that we would find and follow. And we ask but that Your Will, which is our own as well, be done in us and in the world, that it become a part of Heaven now. Amen.

We have called God, and God knows the way to us. We just need to step back and allow the feeling of love come to us, as we make sure we would rather have The Love of God than our grievances, judgments, and attack thoughts. 

We have a light in us put there by our Creator. This is the light of Pure Joy, of Truth, of Perfect Happiness, of absolute Peace. This is the light this lesson is asking us to contact within ourselves. Do we give this contact importance in our life? "I am the light of the world" is Lesson #61. "Light and Joy and Peace abide in me," is Lesson #93. Clearly Light, Peace, and Joy are synonymous. Perhaps today we are ready to make this Divine Contact. 

We have the Peace of God within us. This is the blessing we extend. When we know we have something, we have it to give. But when we give something away, the ego thinks we have less of it. The Holy Spirit's Thought System knows when we give something valuable away, like Peace, we have more of it. It increases by giving it away. In fact, all that we give away becomes a blessing to ourselves and others. Lesson #187 is the answer for any trying person or situation we may encounter in life. Giving yourself a blessing of Peace extends Peace to others, even if they do not receive it right away. The Holy Spirit is in charge of their reception. We are in charge of giving the blessing to ourselves first.