On Friday March 13, 2009 I finished my last lesson from The Course' Workbook for Students. After starting to study The Course for a little over a year ago, beginning by reading the text, and then doing the workbook lessons, A Course in Miracles is a very simple course. It repeats itself over and over and over again. As a matter of fact, I like to quote these words by Dr. Kenneth Wapnick:

"Because it is so simple, it is so threatening. All you have to do is look. You don't have to do anything, you don't have to practice anything else. All the workbook exercises, if you really understand the content underneath them, it's all about looking at your ego. And understanding that there are two ways of looking, one is the ego, which is not looking, that's judging, and the other is the Holy Spirit, which is looking with that gentle smile. It's all you have to do. People want to make this easier, which means they want to make it more complicated. What could be easier than this? 'I need do nothing.'"

As for me, the two lessons that stuck the most are lesson 50 and lesson 189. Lesson 50, paragraphs 1-4 states:

"I am sustained by the Love of God.

Here is the answer to every problem that will confront you, today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, "protective" clothing, influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the "right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers.

All these things are your replacements for the Love of God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body identification. They are songs of praise to the ego. Do not put your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you.

Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances. It will lift you out of every trial, and raise you high above all the perceived dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It will transport you into a state of mind that nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God.

Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself."

And lesson 189, paragraph 7 states:

"Simply do this: Be still, and lay aside all thoughts of what you are and what God is; all concepts you have learned about the world; all images you hold about yourself. Empty your mind of everything it thinks is either true or false, or good or bad, of every thought it judges worthy, and all the ideas of which it is ashamed. Hold onto nothing. Do not bring with you one thought the past has taught, nor one belief you ever learned before from anything. Forget this world, forget this course, and come with wholly empty hands unto your God."

As a matter of fact, if we look at lesson 189, and just practice that paragraph, there is nothing else to do, or to learn, or to figure out. It is that simple! I love what the Beatles once said:

"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be."

But what is the ego saying?

"When I find myself in times of trouble, the ego comes to me, speaking words of fear, DO SOMETHING!"

Yes, I can read the text every day, study it, dissect it, attempt to understand it, intellectualize it, in other words, learn the theology, but that is not going to get me to the experience. That's just going to keep me stuck in the dream FOREVER!!! Actually, that's not the case because we have already awaken, all that it will do is, making us feel separate for a longer period of time, which could be thousands of lifetimes.

So as I put the Course on the shelf, and leave it alone, here is how I have been practicing the teachings of the Course, and will continue to do so, unless Spirit guides me otherwise;

1) If I find myself being disturbed by an image, a comment, anything that is in field of awareness that triggers me, all I do is to forgive myself for having created that illusion that is not real, and to offer it to the Holy Spirit.

2) In that moment, I ask the Holy Spirit to help me see this differently. In other words I invite the Holy Spirit to help me see the truth as opposed to what I am seeing, i.e. projecting. In doing so, I am simply humbling myself and recognizing that I know nothing.

3) And finally, or first, because there is really no specific order in which I practice what I am sharing, I simply ask for peace of mind, and not for specifics. In peace of mind I trust that it is all happening in divine order and because I am clear that I don't know, I simply trust and resist nothing. From that space, if there is something I need to do, I trust that it will be revealed to me. And if I am still confused, I just simply make a decision, always inviting the Holy Spirit while being open. I bring that up because many students become paralyzed, thinking that they need to hear a voice, or that they need to be certain of specific instructions. I would like to share an email I sent to a friend of mine who was caught up in trying to figure out if Spirit was guiding her or if it was her ego:

"Here you go again, wanting to be "certain." That's how the ego gets you. Just do what you are inspired to do and don't give it a second thought. Because within that fear is your greatest opportunity to practice forgiveness. What is it to be certain or uncertain of if nothing in this world is real?"

Before finishing this post, here is one thing I want you to be aware of, which I share with Course's students at my speaking engagements. When we find ourselves dealing with painful situation, we tend to forgive. But when we seem to be having lots of pleasure, we tend to forget. Forget what, you may ask? Forget that whatever it is that is bringing us pleasure, it is also an illusion. And since the ego's life is at stake, if the ego cannot manipulate us through pain, it will do it through pleasure.

That's why we need to be very vigilant. That does not mean we cannot have a wonderful time. What I am saying is, as we are enjoying our pleasurable times, to offer them to God, just so that we are clear that we are not putting anything of this world before our God.

And finally, how do I start each and every day? Aside from the fact that I intend to love everything and everyone, for that which I am seeing out there, which is not really out there, is really me, I say these words upon awakening;

"This morning I open my heart to Your Divine guidance. I surrender all my thoughts and decisions to You, trusting that You will lead me in the right direction. All I ask of You, is to tell me where to go, what do to, what to say, and to who. Because today, the only thing I want, is to do Your Will. In surrendering my will to Yours, I experience peace."

As I continue to practice, I trust that the time will come, hopefully sooner than later, when I'll be opening my eyes gradually, and remember who I really am.

I will continue to post since it is something I enjoy doing. The way I do so in case you ask, I open The Course, and in whatever page it lands, I look for a quote, a sentence or even a paragraph that jumps at me, and then I elaborate a bit on it. And that's it. I hope what I just shared helped and remember that I love you unconditionally!

As for me, I'm done with The Course, meaning, "the theology." As lesson 189 suggested: "..,forget this course, and come with wholly empty hands unto your God."

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