Lesson 288: Let me forget my brother’s past today.

Jesus is your brother, and he has asked that you forgive him, along with every brother you have ever judged against. You are to leave your brothers’ mistakes in the past along with yours, instead of carrying the memory of them around with you like a pair of sunglasses to block the light of the present. You are to see your brother as your savior, who points the way to God, not away from God.

Brothers, is what you made with the ego worth hanging onto, when you could choose instead to see the world forgiveness offers? Let go of the past, let go of guilt, and see the loveliness planned as the end of judgment and of dreams. Accept His Own replacement for dreams in a present world which the past has left untouched and free of error. Let your mind be free of the clouds of the past, yours and your brothers, so you may see the light of the present. Now in the present you will find comfort, peace, joy and rest from the ego world of the past, rather than finding peace in the “future” as you may have supposed. This – here – now -- is your opportunity for a new start, a new life to accept as “the new normal,” erasing completely the “normal” you used to accept as it no longer serves you.

Honor him who bears God’s Name of Love, remembering that you share the Name of Love with him, as you and he are Brothers in Oneness. See only the light of holiness in him and in you, or you will lose the way to walk to God. God is not found in the shadows of the world – no truth is found there. Instead of living life halfway – half in the present, half in the past – live life NOW in the FULLNESS OF GOD.

Lesson 289: The past is over. It can touch me not.

Unless the past is relegated to the past, and unless it is over in your mind, the real world will escape your sight. Were you conscious of the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the past? Were you aware of your holiness and the holiness of your brothers in the past? Was Love the only thought that guided you in your interactions with your brothers in the past? No? And, lo, the inexorable burden of remembering the past and all its offenses, the misguided choices and unfair happenings, and the guilt that accompanied your mistakes and your erroneous perceptions – allow it to fester and the past will tire you in the present, will rob you of the expectancy of Joy, and block you from receiving Happiness now.

You are mistaken if you think the past was real, and that it is a part of you that will never leave you. Shake it all off like a dog shakes off water when it is wet. Emerge free of the glue of the past which makes you feel heavy and stuck, unable to be “the real you” in the present. Let your brothers know that you are not like they knew you before, that you have changed and come into the light brought to you by forgiveness and the joy of life. Let your behavior -- your thoughts, your words, your actions -- show the world that you are now free, and invite your brothers to join you in that freedom.

Let old conversational habits disappear, and exchange them for words the Holy Spirit guides you to use. Words of hope and trust pave the way for a future that is a beautiful extension of an ever-bright present. Erase the lines of demarcation that separate you from your brothers, and let them bask in the light with you. Have only holy encounters and leave fear far behind in the dust of the world. You are new, now. You are You, now. The past is over. It can touch you not.

Lesson 290: My present happiness is all I see.

Unless you choose to look upon what is not here, your present happiness is all you will see -- in front of you, behind you, all around you, where you stand, and within you. Happiness is in every situation and in every relationship that you see truly. What you perceive without God’s Own Correction is frightening and painful to behold, and robs you of energy and joy. Be deceived no longer. With holy resolve, choose to see present happiness and nothing else. Ask for His strength to see with Christ’s vision.

Theme of Relevance 8: What is the Real World?

The real world is a symbol, like the rest of what perception offers. The real world holds a counterpart for each unhappy thought reflected in your world; a sure correction for the sights of fear and sounds of battle which your world contains. The real world shows a world seen differently, through quiet eyes and with a mind at peace. Nothing but rest is there. And the sights are gentle. Only happy sights and sounds can reach the mind that has forgiven itself. Look on a world forgiven, and He Who calls to you will come to take you home, reminding you of your Identity Which your forgiveness has restored to you.

Lesson 291: This is a day of stillness and of peace.

To have stillness, to have peace, you must accept Christ’s vision in place of ego sight. You simply cannot hold grievances against your brother and expect to enjoy the peace of God. The two do not coincide and cannot be in the mind at one and the same time. Two thought systems cannot be in operation simultaneously. It is one or the other. Grievances or peace -- this is your choice and only one is true. Surely this is clear by now. Accept Christ's vision and you will see loveliness and holiness surrounding you. It is a holiness you share with your brothers, and it is the Holiness of God Himself.

With your quiet mind, you receive the Thoughts He offers you. Accept only what comes from sharing the Thoughts of God, instead of allowing what comes from the ego to sustain a place in your mind. For the Holy Spirit, God’s own Voice, knows the way to God, and He is your goal. The ego does not know the way. For the Holy Spirit is wholly certain, and the ego is always unsure and always wrong. Let forgiveness be complete; let your memory of God return. Be still and know Him – and be at peace.

Lesson 292: A happy outcome to all things is sure.

Does it appear that only happy outcomes are the result of all your interactions and activities? No?

Yet God’s promises have no exceptions. He guarantees that only joy can be the final outcome found for everything. Yet, it is up to you when that outcome will be reached; it is up to you how long you will let an alien will come between you and the truth. While you adhere to an alien will, you will not find the end He has promised as the outcome of all problems you perceive, all trials you undergo, and every situation you encounter. Yet the ending IS certain. For God’s Will is done in earth and Heaven. His Will is perfect happiness for His Son. Wherever you may think you are, you share His Will with Him.

So do not interfere with God’s Will for you by choosing an alien will. God has guaranteed only happy outcomes in the end. Do not delay them by choosing unhappiness in the interim. There need be no “interim.” Happiness is available NOW, by choosing His Will instead of any other. This is so incredibly SIMPLE AND EASY. Just CHOOSE HAPPINESS. If you slip, do not allow remorse to enter. Just give it to the Holy Spirit and simply CHOOSE HAPPINESS once again!

Lesson 293: All fear is past and only love is here.

Without a source, without a cause, there is no fear. Only thoughts of fear produce the appearances and effects of fear. Fear does not come from anything outside of you, because everything which appears outside of you is only an image. It is a projection of your thoughts. Even effects of those thoughts you do not choose to recognize or to accept will appear also. Note: Your mind is not consciously aware of ALL your thoughts and it is not aware of any of your thoughts ALL the time.

The effects of your thoughts may appear to be outside of you, but there is no “outside.” Picture a camera projecting images onto a screen -- the images are not real, even if they appear to be so. You know that because when the camera is turned off, the images disappear. Your mind functions as the camera, and fear is the image projected. Turn off fear thoughts, and the fearful images will disappear. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your projector and protector. He will show you only love.

A soldier was in the service. He and his squadron were in the field. They were being shown

pictures of tanks and other armaments of war from a projector onto a portable screen. When the

film was over, the screen was blank. Curious natives, who were standing behind the squadron,

rushed to the back of the screen to see where the tanks went. They were nowhere. The natives

were confused. (By courtesy of Michael Michelsen, Veteran of the United States of America.)

Now ask yourself this question: Can the world seem bright and clear and safe and welcoming, with thoughts of all your past mistakes being projected upon it and oppressing it? The answer is surely obvious. There is, however, a real world which the present holds safe from all past mistakes. With the help of the Holy Spirit, project and extend only love, and you will therefore see only this real world where you are safe.

Though you may sometimes, or often, think that you have no power in the world -- well, you do. You have the power to not see what you do not want to see, and you have the power to see what you do want to see -- just by following the Holy Spirit and choosing happy thoughts with God. It all begins with the choice of the Holy Spirit as your Mentor, and ends with your choice of what thoughts you allow into your mind.

The power is yours, Son of God. Be certain to use it well.

Therefore, think only happy thoughts of love, see and experience only love, project and extend only love. For what you project you will see, and is love a happier choice to see than fear? Of course! Once the source of fear (ego fear thoughts) is gone, love remains the only present state, the only truth, the only reality, the only joy. Just forgive and thus remove fear thoughts, and do not allow them to return to your mind. “All fear is past and only love is here.” And Love’s Source is here forever and forever.

Lesson 294: My body is a wholly neutral thing.

This lesson teaches you once and for all that death is not real. The idea of death involves the body, and the body is not real! It is wholly neutral. It cannot die because it never lived. It cannot live because God did not create it. God did not create anything that is mortal and corruptible.

The body is to be used for the service of the Holy Spirit for a while, and to be kept useful while it is serving. Then it may be laid aside as functionless, unneeded and cast off. It is not sick, nor old nor hurt. And it does not “die.” It is simply “discarded,” and is no longer maintained on earth. The need for it is gone.

As neutral, the body cannot therefore be seen as good or bad, as sinful or sinless. And as neutral, it cannot be the Son of God. Love is not neutral. The body is not what thinks or feels, though it may appear to be. It is the mind that does the thinking and projects the manifestations of its thoughts upon the wholly neutral body. See the body this way: of service for a while and fit to serve, keeping its usefulness while it can serve, and then to be replaced for greater good. (W-294.1:10)

So the body serves as a manifestation of the mind’s thoughts, no more than that. If the mind is thinking fearfully, it will manifest fear in the body in the form of tension, illness, pain, anger, etc. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, a mind check is indicated. Who are you following? If the mind is lovingly serving as a messenger of the Thoughts of God, the body will manifest holy ease, health and peace. Your thoughts are the determiner of your experience. You are not the body; you never were and never will be “the body.”