Hello, good morning, and welcome to today's workbook lesson from of Course in
Miracles. God, I've already forgotten, but I think it's less than fifty
six. I think we are now, you know, just two months,
two months and six days or so into the year, and already we have
covered in terms of time, AONs and AONs and millennia upon millennia of teaching.
And I mean, this is stuff that would that certainly has taken thousands
and thousands and thousands and thousands of years, and to finally here we are
in a single recognition that this whole thing, this whole time, this whole
world has really only been going on in my own mind. It's an idea,
and it really is like I'm plugged into some kind of virtual reality equipment
and watching a movie with which I have become completely identified and totally kind of
engrossed in, so much so that I don't remember that there is life,
that there is real life that has nothing to do with this VR movie that
I've been watching. And so finally I'm awakening from that. I'm recognizing that
this is a movie, and this is the workbook of a course of miracles,
the workbook of course in miracles, you know, gives us lessons every
day, But those lessons are not how we would normally think of lessons in
terms of the acquisition of data, for instance, But these lessons are really
a practice in being what we really truly are and in being in the state
of mind that is actually natural to us, rather than locking ourselves up in
those kind of virtual reality scenario. And so we're not acquiring data, we're
getting into the habit of being whole and true as we actually were created.
Today's lesson is really an extraordinary lesson in their again, it re emphasizes the
truth about you and what you really have to be about. As you kind
of wander around in a place where you do not belong. So as you
are in this VR studio, you begin to remember, and you remember consistently
that you are in a VR studio, and not only are you in a
VR studio, you built that studio, You directed the movie that's going on,
you play every single part, that you really are in charge of this
production, and you have to remember that it's a production. And as you
remember that it's a production, that that figure that you call yourself is not
really you at all. Something else really begins to happen in your mind in
the sense that you now become more cognizant of who you truly are. You
become less emotionally invested in making this movie. Actually the script all of a
sudden that you have written that you have cherished no longer really holds any value,
because you begin to experience reality as so much more interesting and so much
more fun, in fact, so much more than your VR idea, that
you wonder why you have persistently adhered to this virtual reality. Okay, so
I'm speaking here in parables, I'm speaking in metaphor, and you know,
I know that that's clear to you. And all I'm really trying to say
is that the world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is
of your own making and it doesn't exist, And that these lessons that we
are doing every single day are lessons in remaining aware of the truth, in
remaining aware, not necessarily of the truth, but that this is a dream.
Yeah, that this is a dream, this is a game that you're
playing. That none of this is so. And not only is it a
dream and a game that you're playing, your involvement in it is really calm.
You sickness and pain and death and all of that stuff that you apparently
don't like and thought you had no control over. And you really begin to
see that your mind is such that every little sliver of an idea has huge
effect on you, and the effect that it has on you is really to
obliterate from your awareness the reality of light and love, the reality of God
in which you actually truly share. So these little slivers of ideas and judgments
and definitions and what have you are not neutral. And this is why you
have to let them go, because sometimes when you think of, oh,
it's just a movie, you don't really realize the impact that the movie is
having on your consciousness and how you suffer as a result of this. So
this is the workbook of the course in Miracles. So let's take a moment
here before we get into the lesson of the day. And the lesson of
the day is less than fifty six. My only function is the one that
God gave me. That's a huge statement, and it's not really about the
statement as such. It's not really about believing or not believing it, but
it's really about coming to realize that that is in fact true by driving it
round the block. Okay, so let's take a moment here, take a
deep breath and relax. Just relax as much as you possibly can, you
know, just melt into everything. Okay. Let go of any tension that
you are aware of anywhere in your mind or body. Just let go.
Take a vacation from all of that. Today we're getting on holiday. Take
a vacation. Relax. We're about to embark on an exciting journey. So
to get us started on our way, how about we play a song.
Yeah, I think we'll play straight the path. I like that song.
Here we go, no more, said Bard. Now you bend, but
you all laz gonna lie, so Ury, No, don't wait straight the
bath a narrow the game, straight the bath, and narrow the game.
Don't speak of sir fes for no, you found the world worth any pre
So now don't wait straight the bath and narrow the game, straight the bath,
and narrow the game no more and bad for now you remain. You've
all always been love so her. No, don't wait straight the bath and
narrow the game, Straight the bath, and narrow the game. Don't speak
of sack que fu, for you found the bird w ne Pries so her,
No, don't wait. Straight the bathom, narrow the game straight the
bath and narrow the game them goes for all you own event you all always
love. So now don't wait. Straight the bathom, narrow the game straight
the bathom, narrow the game straight the bath and narrow again, straight the
bas nagain straight the bar in namal theget straight bathless, narrow the game straight
bat straight the bar stra strict, straight straight stern. Wow, beautiful song,
thank you so much, manage well. A gorgeous song that is straight
the path and narrow the gate. And it's really great because the whole idea
of straight the path and narrow the gate, the narrowness of the gate doesn't
make it difficult for you to go through. It just makes it difficult for
you to be distracted, to wander off in any direction, which has been
what the problem has been. And the narrowness has nothing to do with width.
It's just that it's impossible for you to get lost once you're on that
path. And you know that path is not like a like a road,
it's a way of being, it's a mindfulness of God. It's how would
I say that it is really a realization that you are mind and only mind,
and all of this is going on in your own mind in that realization.
And when I talk about realization, I don't mean about, oh,
just the fleeting idea that you think, oh, that's a good ideas.
I'm talking about a real realization that becomes part of how you operate. This
is what a function is. Your function is what you are. It's not
different from what you are. I love the way that that was done in
one of the one of the episodes of the movie The Matrix, one of
the episodes of the trilogy where we encountered the key Maker. I think it
was in The Matrix reloaded. That could be completely wrong, but the thing
about the key Maker, the key Maker was really kind of a representative or
a symbol of this idea of your function. You know, you are what
you do. What you do and what you are not separate. And this
was the whole idea of the key Maker in the movie. I'm not going
to go into it because you know, you probably haven't seen it, and
if you have, you've probably forgotten it, and so it's not really going
to have a huge, you know, impact on you as an example,
as an analogy. So we're going to move on from there. But the
point I was trying to make is that the whole idea of your function.
Remember, and we've come across this idea quite a few times in the lessons
that we've been doing, that forgiveness is your function, that this is what
you do, this is what you are. You're doing and your being are
not really separate, because we really are speaking mindfully. You are mind and
purely mind. Don't forget that the world you see, which includes the body
that you're looking at, has nothing to do with reality. It's not real.
It's not what you are. And so when we speak about doing,
we're not really speaking about physical activity. You know. We really are speaking
mindfully here, you know. And indeed, well, never mind, let
me just let me move on, because I don't want to get sidetracked into
that conversation. So let's start reading the lesson and let's let's see where we
go from there. Okay, remember straight the path and narrow the gate,
and so that if you actually begin to entertain this lesson within your own mind,
there is nowhere else that you can go except heaven. Because it's really
it's a different way of being. It's a it's a new order of thought,
it's a whole new realm of thought. And that's what you're being guided.
And I use the word advisedly, but you really are being guided in
that direction in recognizing the true function of your mind and how it operates.
Okay, my only function is the one God gave me. My only function
is the one God gave me. It is the one. God did not
give you a whole bunch of different functions. God did not create a whole
bunch of different things. He creates you. So you are life. You
are the creation of God. I mean in that sense, God does only
one thing. Because God is one. There aren't different things, There aren't
different types of life. Yeah, there is just one God. This is
we were doing the Torah teachings just the other day. This is the whole
basis of the the of the Torah, of the law. The law is
one. There is one God. But again, unfortunately, when you think
of one, you think in terms of numbers. You immediately go to opposite
and then you start looking to reconcile it. And you know, the Easterners
would say not two, but it does. It doesn't really matter. The
words you used don't matter. You know, God is one. The oneness
that we're speaking about here is unopposed. That can't be an opposite because the
one, when we speak about one, it's not objective, it's not one
as opposed to something else. That is not true. We just don't.
We lack the language to express oneness because it's an experience of no other.
And in that experience, words are gone. There are no words necessary.
Why would you need words? Okay, that's that's so, that's just my
only function is the one God gave me, God gives himself, God creates.
Your function cannot not be that. The idea for today reaffirms your commitment
to salvation. It also reminds you that you have no function other than that.
Both these thoughts are obviously necessary for a total commitment. Okay, now
this is really very interesting. This is because we come from this idea of
one, and the next thing that Jesus says is both these thoughts. Why,
because we're speaking to you. If you realize your oneness, there would
be no course in miracles. The only thing that we're dealing with here is
your idea that there's more than one, is the idea that you exist as
a separate entity, separate from the one, making two. Okay. This
is why the Easterners would say, not too all right, And so we're
addressing you in this condition because even in this insanity of thinking that are there's
more than one, and that you are somehow not God or not of God,
the idea of salvation must be introduced because your mind has to be shown
that this idea of two is not true. Okay, all right, Both
these thoughts are obviously necessary for a total commitment. Salvation cannot be the only
purpose you hold while you still cherish others and the others. The other purpose
that you hold that you cherish is the idea of you as a separate being
in time and space doing stuff. And so when we never mind, let
me just let me move on, because I was just about to go into
that you need do nothing thing, but we'll we'll get there, okay.
So, while you still cherish the idea that you are this identity that you
call yourself, and that you have things to do, and that there is
a state that you can be in that's not heavenly, and that you,
for whatever reason, have to maintain that awareness of that separate state, you
need help Okay, while you cherish that goal, it's literally impossible to recognize
your oneness and perfection is created by God. What you don't realize is that
that maintenance of the idea of a separate self me me me me me me,
me me me, is actually a goal. You think a goal is
something that you see set having established yourself as a separate identity. Not so.
The separate identity is, in fact what your goal is, and is
a very persistent goal, and it's one that you work very very hard to
make real and to make true. Okay, so let's continue. So salvation
cannot be the only purpose you hold while you still cherish others. The full
acceptance of salvation as your only function necessarily entails two phases, the recognition of
salvation as your function and the relinquishment of all the other goals you have invented
for yourself. So, yes, there's only one, and yet you believe
in two. While you believe in two, we must speak to you through
both avenues. We cannot not. So you have to recognize two things.
A the recognition of salvation as your function, and b the relinquishment of all
the other goals you have invented. For yourself. Okay, So that your
only function, the only reason that, the only thing that you have to
do, the only thing that you have going for you, is to go
home to God. And two that you must then let go of everything else
that is not that you cannot hold two goals that are in conflict simultaneously.
Okay, Wow, isn't that great? So it's really what is happening here
is the integration of your mind, the fusing, if you like, of
the two hemispheres. This is the only way in which you can take your
rightful place among the saviors of the world. This is the only way in
which you can say and mean my only function is the one God gave me.
See, there's no way that you can say that and mean it if
you don't accept it. And so it doesn't really do you any good to
say, well, the courses, I don't have to accept it. No,
it's literally impossible to practice this with any kind of earnestness if you don't
accept it. In other words, you do have to be willing to relinquish
all the other goals that you have invented for yourself. That's the only way.
There is no other way. We call it forgiveness. I mean,
don't worry about this. You don't have to figure out how to do anything.
You know, as you've noticed already, Jesus has moved in with you.
He's moved in with you, He's living with you. All you've got
to do is let him be will to turn over your thoughts to him,
give those to him, give him your mind, let him help you straighten
it out. We're just speaking in parables here, Okay, then send me
an email and go, well, yeah, I'm not a body. If
you knew that, you would not be sitting listening to this. Okay,
So chill, Okay. This is the only way in which you can take
your rightful place among the saviors of the world. This is the only way
in which you can say and mean, my only function is the one God
gave me. This is the only way in which you can find peace of
mind. I'm going to repeat that, this is the only way in which
you confind peace of mind. You are not going to find peace of mind
in any other way. There you can take as many vacations as you want.
You can reorganize your space in any way that you want. You can
travel to all the countries you want to go to. You can eat all
the food that you you can do whatever it is you think you need to
do. You are not going to be at peace. As long as you
think that you are an entity separate from God. Without accepting your only function,
your only God given function, you will not be at peace. It's
that simple, because you are literally, in defining yourself as separate from God,
you are quite literally denying yourself, the piece in which you are created.
So it's not that peace is being withheld from you because you've been a
bad person. It is that by being a person and wandering around in the
world doing all the stuff that persons do, you quite literally are denying yourself
your peace of mind. You are not this person wandering around in space and
time. In fact, the whole idea of personages wandering around in space and
time are that whole idea is your idea. It's going on solely in your
mind. And as you become more aware of that and willing to relinquish that
very persons and dream, as you become more willing to do that, you
will begin to experience a different state of mind, a more peaceful state of
mind, and you will want it more and more. Okay, let's continue
today and for a number of days to follow, set aside ten to fifteen
minutes for a more sustained practice period in which you try to understand and accept
what the idea for the day really means, what it really means. Today's
idea, my only function is the one God gave me, offers you escape
from all your perceived difficulties, all of them, not some of them,
all of them. Now you begin to get a sense of the commitment that
you really have to make. You begin to get a sense we are speaking
totally here, We're not speaking partially. Wow. Great, isn't that so
good? Wow? Today's idea offers you escape from all your perceived difficulties.
Listen to this. It places the key to the door of peace, which
you have closed upon yourself, in your own hands. And I will give
on to you the to the Kingdom of Heaven, that whatsoever you shall bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth
shall be loose in heaven. The key is in your hand, and it's
in your hand. Now, that's amazing, that's awesome. You have to
accept the key, and you're gonna use it, otherwise it's useless to you.
That's the whole teaching. It gives you the answer to all the searching
you have done since time began. That's what I was trying to express earlier.
Okay, so let's just take a moment here and really get a sense
of what's being offered here. And I'm usual you read the paragraphs very quickly.
Again, we'll play some music and then we'll come back and we'll embark
on the exercise. Okay, So my only function is the one God gave
me. The idea for today reaffirms your commitment to salvation. It also reminds
you that you have no function other than that. Both these thoughts are obviously
necessary for a total commitment. Salvation cannot be the only purpose you hold while
you still cherish others. The full acceptance of salvation as your only function necessarily
entails two phases. The recognition of salvation is your function, and the relinquishment
of all the other God you have invented for yourself. This is the only
way in which you can take your rightful place among the saviors of the world.
This is the only way in which you can say and mean my only
function is the one God gave me. This is the only way in which
you can find peace of mind today and for a number of days to follow,
set aside ten to fifteen minutes for a more sustained practice period in which
you try to understand and accept what the idea for the day really means.
Today's idea offers you escape from all your perceived difficulties. It places the key
to the door of peace which you have closed upon yourself, in your own
hands. It gives you the answer to all the searching you have done since
time began. Okay, so we're going to take a moment here. We're
going to play some music and just just be with that idea for a second.
Okay, So let me go and find my playlist here and up the
road. Okay, up the road. Here we go. Go. The
road a bit about a mile. I can see the sun of it coming
overtherhill. What a thrill in the distance, What a lie I can see?
And the closer I again more, I can see it's me on coming
for to it's me, th river. He removes me like like a river
flowing free. Th Wow. Okay, so let's continue the reading here here
we go. Okay, try if possible, to undertake the daily extended practice
periods at approximately the same time each day. Try also to determine this time
in advance and then adhere to it as closely as possible. The purpose of
this is to arrange your day so that you can set apart the time for
God as well as for all the trivial purposes and goals you will pursue.
This is part of the long range, long range disciplinary training your mind needs
so that the Holy Spirit can use it consistently for the purpose he shares with
you. For the longer practice period, begin by reviewing the idea for the
day. Then close your eyes, repeat the idea to yourself once again,
and watch your mind carefully to catch whatever thoughts cross it. At first,
make no attempt to concentrate only on thoughts related to the idea of for the
day. Rather, try to uncover each thought that arises to interfere with it.
Okay, note each one as it comes to you, with as little
involvement or concern as possible, dismissing each one by telling yourself, this thought
reflects a goal that is preventing me from accepting my only function, And what
is really amazing about that is that it doesn't really matter what the thought is.
You know, it doesn't say, well, if you're aware of the
horrible thoughts, use them. No whatever thought crosses your mind, because you
are just like this thinking machine, just chattering in your head the whole entire
time. And as we have observed many many times, all that stuff really
has nothing to do with real thinking at all. It really doesn't have any
things the thoughts that you share with God. Okay, and so in a
particular sense, you have to be super mindful in this exercise and not let
any thought get by you. And it's not you know, mere colpa,
mere corpa, what a horrible thought, Just whatever thought it is, you
know, Okay, this is this is a goal that's reflecting. You know
that this is a thought that that reflects a goal that is preventing me from
accepting my only function. Because I guarantee you that whatever the thought is,
it's going to be about you as this separate identity. It's going to be
a thought that reinforces the idea that you are this person, this body identity
guaranteed, so you can safely say it's one that's you know, reflecting a
goal that prevents you from accepting your only real function. Okay, after a
while, interfering thoughts will become harder to find. Try, however, to
continue a minute or so longer attempting to catch a few of the idle thoughts
that escaped your attention before. Okay, because you know, typical, you
are going to let some of them go and not even realize because you've become
this this chasibox, really, you know, and it's it's amazing. Whether
you think you're like this strong, silent person and you don't like to say
you don't like external noise, there's a ton of stuff that's going on in
there that has nothing to do with anything, you know. Okay, it
doesn't matter how you've defined yourself. Just do the exercise. But do it
earnestly, you know. Okay, So after a while, interfering thoughts will
become harder to find. Try, however, to continue a minute or so
longer, attempting to catch a few of the idle thoughts that escaped your attention
before. But do not strain or make our due effort in doing this.
Then tell yourself, on this clean slate, let my true function be written
for me. And you know, that's really when you say, on this
clean slate, it's really a clean slate, and you feel it, you
know it. There's a clarity. Okay, you need not use these exact
words, but try to get the sense of being willing to have your illusions
of purpose be replaced by truth. The willingness to have truth replace your craziness
is actually much more valuable than your definition of your mind as a clean slate,
so they start looking for a clean slate. Finally, repeat the idea
for today once more, and devote the rest of the practice period to trying
to focus on its importance to you, the relief its acceptance will bring you
by resolving your conflicts once and for all, and the extent to which you
really want salvation in spite of your own foolish ideas to the contrary. Repeat
the idea for today once more, and devote the rest of the practice period
to trying to focus on its importance to you, the relief its acceptance will
bring you by resolving your conflicts once and for all, and the extent to
which you really want salvation in spite of your own foolish ideas to the contrary.
In the shorter practice periods, which should be undertaken at least once an
hour. Use this form in applying today's idea. My only function is the
one God gave me. I want no other, and I have no other.
Sometimes close your eyes as you practice this, and sometimes keep them open
and look about you. It is what you see now that will be totally
changed when you accept today's idea completely. What you see now will be completely
changed when you accept that your only function is the one God gave you.
That you want no other and you have no other. So really it's a
mindfulness that you're going to maintain throughout the day, assuming that that last sentence
is true, I want no other and I have no other. How willing
then are you to allow this to be true for you, because that is
what determines your experience. So we are going to wrap this up because we'll
wrap up ten to ten, and you can use the ten minutes up till
ten o'clock to actually practice. Okay, so I'm just going to read a
couple of the salient points here. Again, your lesson today is my only
function is the one God gave me. Acceptance of salvation as your only function
necessarily entails two phases, the recognition of salvation as your function, and the
relinquishment of all the other goals you have invented for yourself. This is the
only way in which you can take your rightful place among the saviors of the
world. This is the only way in which you can say and mean,
my only function is the one God gave me. This is the only way
in which you can find peace of mind. So you do your lesson now,
and you watch the thoughts as they go by, and with each one
you say, this thought reflects a goal that is preventing me from accepting my
only function. And after a while those interfering thoughts will become harder to find.
But however, continue for a minute or so longer, attempting to catch
a few of the idle thoughts that escaped your attention. But do not strain
or make undue effort in doing this. Then tell yourself, on this clean
slate, let my true function be written for me, And every hour take
some moment, take a moment and remind yourself that your only function, my
only function, is the one God gave me. I want no other,
and I have no other. I love you with all my heart. Thank
you so much for joining me, and don't forget Spend the next ten minutes
in this practice. My only function is the one God gave me. I
love you always, I'll see you everywhere. Let us go our way rejoicing
in the recognition that our only function is the God given function. We want
no other and we have no I love you. You have been listening to
voice from Heaven live in the Miracles Healing Center. Remember that God's voice speaks
to you all through the day. That God goes with you wherever you go,
and that God is the mind with which you think. God bless us everyone,