ARCIM

Daily Lesson 43 ~
February 12

The Divine is my Source. I can see only in alignment with It.

Perception in any form is not an Attribute of the Divine. The Divine is the Realm of pure Knowledge which perception, even true vision, cannot access directly. Yet the Divine has created the Holy Spirit as the Intermediary between perception and Knowledge. Without this Link with the Divine, perception would have replaced Knowledge forever in the minds of the separated ones. With this Link, perception becomes so purified and transformed that it will lead to Knowledge through true vision. That is perception’s function as the Holy Spirit sees It. Therefore, that is its function in Truth.

The Divine cannot be perceived even through vision. Perception has no function in the Divine, and in the Realm of Heaven perception does not exist. Yet in awakening and Atonement – the undoing of what never was – perception has a mighty purpose. Made by the separated ones for a purpose not in accord with their creation by the Divine, it must become the means for the restoration of their holiness to their awareness. Perception has no meaning in itself, yet does the Holy Spirit give it a Meaning very close to Heaven. Healed perception becomes the means by which the Children of the Divine forgive their sisters and brothers and thus forgive themselves. Just as truly, forgiveness is the means by which healed perception is achieved. Both statements are true because forgiveness and healed perception are one.

You can see only in alignment with the Divine because you exist only because the Divine is your Source. Whatever you do that’s meaningful you do in the Divine, because whatever you think that’s real you think with the Divine’s Mind. If perception is real, and it is real to the extent to which it shares the Holy Spirit’s Purpose, then you can see only in alignment with the Divine.

Three five-minute practice periods are required today, one as early in the day and another as late in the day as possible. The third may be undertaken at the most convenient and suitable time that circumstances and readiness permit. At the beginning of these practice periods, repeat today’s idea to yourself with your eyes open. Then glance around you for a short time, applying today’s idea specifically to what you perceive. Four or five subjects for this phase of the exercise are sufficient. You might say, for example:

“The Divine is my Source. I can see this tablecloth only in alignment with It.”

“The Divine is my Source. I can see that horse only in alignment with It.”

Although this part of the exercise period should be relatively short, be sure that you select the subjects for this phase indiscriminately, without self-directed inclusion or exclusion.

For the second and longer phase of the exercise period, close your eyes, repeat today’s idea again, and then let whatever relevant thoughts occur to you enhance the idea in your own personal way. Thoughts such as:

“I see through the eyes of forgiveness.”

“I see the world as blessed.”

“The world can show me my Self.”

“I see my own true Thoughts, which are like Spirit’s.”

or any thoughts related more or less directly to today’s idea are suitable. The thoughts need not bear an obvious relationship to the idea, but they should not be in opposition to it.

If you should find your mind wandering, if you begin to be aware of thoughts that are clearly out of accord with today’s idea, or if you seem to be unable to think of anything, open your eyes, repeat the first phase, and then try the second phase again. Do not allow any protracted period to occur in which you become preoccupied with irrelevant thoughts. Return to the first phase as often as necessary to prevent this.

In applying today’s idea in the shorter practice periods, the form may vary according to the circumstances and situations in which you find yourself during the day. When you are with someone else, for example, try to remember to say to them silently:

“The Divine is our Source. I can see you only in alignment with It.”

This form is equally applicable to strangers as to those you know well. Try, in fact, not to make distinctions of this kind at all.

Today’s idea should also be applied throughout the day to various situations and events that may occur, particularly those that distress you in any way. For this kind of application, use this form:

“The Divine is my Source. I can see this only in alignment with It.”

If no particular subject presents itself to your awareness at the time, merely repeat the idea in its original form.

Try today not to allow long periods of time to slip by without remembering today’s idea, and thus remembering your true function on Earth.

 

Corresponding Text Section

 

Principle of Miracles 43

Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind. Being One, this state of mind is shared by anyone who chooses to experience it, even without the personal awareness of the miracle worker.

Commentary

The impersonal nature of miracles is because Atonement Itself is One, uniting all Divine Children with their Creator.

In seeking to unite with one another, sex and miracles are both ways of relating. The nature of any interpersonal relationship, in contrast to the Relationship of the Divine and Its Children, is defined or limited by what you want it to do, which is why you want it in the first place. Relating is a way of achieving an outcome.

Responding indiscriminately to sexual impulses results in the misperception or self-image of being a body. Such responses are an expression of an indiscriminate attempt to reach deep connection with others through their bodies and one’s own. This involves not only misdirected self-identification, but also disrespect for the true Identity of others.

Self-control is not the entire answer to this problem, though it may play a part. It must be understood, however, that the underlying unconscious mechanism causing the misplaced impulses has to be uprooted. All shallow roots have to be uprooted because they are not deep enough to truly sustain you. The illusion that shallow roots can be deepened and thus made to hold is one of the pivot points on which the reversal, or opposite, of the Golden Rule, referred to previously, is attempted to be balanced. As these false underpinnings are uprooted, or given up, equilibrium is experienced temporarily as unstable. But the fact is that nothing is less stable than an orientation that is upside down. Anything that holds the mind in an upside-down orientation is hardly conducive to greater stability.

The entire danger of defenses lies in their propensity to hold misperceptions rigidly in place. This is why rigidity is regarded as stability by those who are “off the mark.” A rigid orientation can be extremely reliable, even if it is upside down with respect to Reality. In fact, the more consistently upside down it is, the more reliable it may appear to those who insist that illusions are reality. A person can be completely reliable and entirely wrong.

All actions that stem from reversed or upside-down thinking are literally the behavioral expressions of those who know not what they do. A mind that is in true Relationship with Spirit can’t be upside down. An emphasis of “feet on the ground and fingertips in Heaven” is right. Although this image may be too literal for some, many know exactly what it means, so it can be a miraculous thought for them.

Note that miracles can take many forms depending on the need, including miraculous thoughts and healing words, miracles of devotion and of intervention, dissolution of old chains of lacks of Love and correction of current mistakes, and the sharing of abundance in apparent situations of lack, which can be expressed in something as simple as a smile. Whatever corrects or atones for any sense of fear or lack of Love, regardless of form, is a miracle.