Sean Reagan

I am the light of the world.

A major teaching goal of A Course in Miracles is to teach us what we are in truth. Here, the course pulls no punches, and straight up tells. We are the light of the world. Indeed, given our Creator, what else could we be?

Critically, this is an interim move in the dance of salvation; it is not the end-game itself.

This is a beginning step in accepting your real function on earth. It is a giant stride toward taking your rightful place in salvation. It is a positive assertion of your right to be saved, and an acknowledgement of the power that is given you to save others (W-pI.61.3:2-4).

The risk in this lesson is that we will process it through the ego, turning it into “self-glorification” (W-pI.61.2:1). Look at me, the light of the world!

But imagine saying it in the same way you would say, “I have blue eyes” or “I’m from Topeka.” Imagine it as a statement of fact that is unremarkable in itself because it merely attests to a incontrovertible fact.

If it helps, you might think of your brothers and sisters and remind yourself that they, too, are the light of the world. This isn’t about you, the way that you tend to think of yourself.

It is the opposite of a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. It does not describe the self-concept you have made. It does not refer to any of the characteristics with which you have endowed your idols. It refers to you as you were created by God. it simply states the truth (W-pI.61.1:3-7).

This is important! Lesson 61 is speaking to our true self but recognizing that our investment in ego is still sufficiently strong that we might get confused.

The expectation, then, is not that we will not grasp this lesson’s intention for us perfectly, but rather that we will come to it open-mindedly, willing to deepen our commitment to awakening in truth. “I am the light of the world” is . . .

. . . the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore to all temptation. It brings all the images you have made about yourself to the truth, and helps you depart in peace, unburdened and certain of your purpose (W-pI.61.4:2-3).

Lesson 61 is a foundation which, when finished, becomes the bridge over which God takes us and all our brothers and sisters home. Critically, it is a collaborative venture, begun with Jesus and sustained in the shared mind of Christ.

In The Gift of Freedom in Chapter 8 of A Course in Miracles the authorial voice adopts the first-person, typically understood as Jesus, and affirms that he is “come as a light into a world that does deny itself everything” (T-8.IV.2:1). He declares that his purpose is to “overcome the world” (T-8.VI.2:8).

I do not attack it, but my light must dispel it because of what it is. Light does not attack darkness, but it does shine it away. If my light goes with you everywhere, you shine it away with me. The light becomes ours, and you cannot abide in darkness any more than darkness can abide wherever you go (T-8.IV.2:9-12).

So the light we are is also the light Jesus is. This is why the course will later remind us that “angels hover lovingly, to keep away all darkened thoughts of sin, and keep the light where it has entered in” (T-26.IX.7:1).

Your footprints lighten up the world, for where you walk forgiveness gladly goes with you. No one on earth but offers thanks to one who has restored his home, and sheltered him from bitter winter and the freezing cold (T-26.IX.7:2-3).

So we are slowly remembering what we are in truth, and as we remember, we become lighter in the world. There is less confusion and conflict, less anger and hate. There is less guilt, less anxiety, less sorrow.

This is the same as saying: there is more peace, joy, love and understanding. And this – this radiance, this beauty, this clarity – becomes the means by which God restores us fully and without condition to the One that has no other.

←Lesson 60
Lesson 62→

We have to question everything that arises from the ego’s dualistic belief system (e.g., T-11.VIII.3:8). This is what the lessons help us do: they are a practical means to apply the principles of A Course in Miracles to the day-to-day reality of our lives. But our questioning has to be undertaken with our eyes on awakening to the truth of our identity in God. It can’t be mere brain chatter. It can’t be just another idea.

When our questioning is animated by forgiveness, it leads to the undoing of all illusions, which is what allows us to wake up.

In A Course in Miracles, to forgive is to “overlook” (T-9.IV.1:2). We don’t focus on the so-called error – whether it be harsh words in the mouth of a brother or sister or the harsh judgment of them in our mind. In both cases, our goal is to see past the so-called error – the harsh words or judgment – to the perfection of the given brother or sister. We want to see them as God sees them, not as ego sees them.

This is hard! And figuring out how to do it is a process, one that A Course in Miracles is given to guide us through. We have to be willing to look at the seeming cause of our upset and question its reality. This person’s words hurt my feelings. My hurt is proof that I am a separate body and that pain is possible. Yet if we stay with the questioning we can also ask: is there another way to see this?

It is not my strength through which I forgive. It is through the strength of God in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. As I begin to see, I recognize His reflection earth (W-pI.60.2:2-4).

That reflection reaches our memory as “the Love I chose to forget, but which has not forgotten me” (W-pI.60.:6).

This begets both joy and responsibility. Joy because joy is what we are in truth. And responsibility because we can only remember what we are in truth when we awaken others.

Yet when we accept this responsibility it becomes possible to remember the fundamental insight of Lesson 34 – I could see peace instead of this. We can release our need to be right – so and so is mean, or I really am a bad person, or whatever – and instead choose peace.

We only hurt because we have projected hurt outside of us. Unable to look at the pain inside us (because of ego’s interpretation of God as cruel and the self as unforgivable) – we push it onto others. They hurt us and we say, “I was right.” Their misdeeds become proof of ego’s dubious theory that God is mortally angry at us.

But if we question this thought process, then we can forgive it. If we see the hurt as being a projection we made, then the brother or sister who was the object of the projection can be seen as wholly innocent.

And we can also see that because we can see another way, then it must also be true that God is not actually angry at us and so we can look within. We can consider that there is another way live.

And then, inevitably, we remember our holiness.

As I open my eyes, God’s Love lights up the world for me to see. As I forgive, His Love reminds me that His Son is sinless. And as I look upon the world with the vision He has given me, I remember that I am His Son (W-pI.60.5:3-5).

This can sound complicated – many steps in a process, many ideas that are hard to work through. But it really comes down to our willingness to be taught a new way of living. We reject our old way of learning, guided by ego, and choose instead the wholly reliable and wholly holy instruction of the Holy Spirit. In a sense, to choose the Holy Spirit as a guide is to choose the path of ACIM forgiveness, for the two are not separate.

Lesson 59 reminded us the separation was not real. Lesson 60 reminds us of the process by which we can accept that truth in a real and pragmatic way. We do not need to suffer. Are we ready to live in the peace of Christ and the Love of God?

←Lesson 59
Lesson 61→

The body’s eyes see illusions because they are illusions. Like begets like. To the body, the world will always be real because body and world arise together, the one bringing the other forth.

But we are not bodies. This is not to suggest that what the body’s eyes see needs to be denigrated or denied. Let it be what it is, so that we might better remember our fundamental perfection as creations of a loving God.

Let me be willing to exchange my pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. Christ’s Vision is His Gift, and He has given it to me. Let me call upon this gift today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity (W-pI.59.2:4-6).

Vision is unrestrained by the body which is always a limit. Vision is not subject to time and space. It does not have dimensions. It is God’s Will creating in us as we are created in It.

I can see what God wants me to see. I cannot see anything else. Beyond His Will lie only illusions (W-pI.59.3:3-5).

The decision that we make is not see with or as God. Rather, it is to not see any other way. That is, our work is to release that which blocks the free flow of Love in us. The Love Itself already flows as a condition of what it is.

As we surrender our insistence on our own sight – which includes our own definitions and organization and systemics – we begin to understand the perfect clarity and uninterruptible oneness of Christ’s Vision.

Now it is given me to understand that God is the light in which I see. Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show me (W-pI.59.4:6-7).

This happiness is assured; it is the so-called endgame of our journey through A Course in Miracles. Because we one with God, we cannot think apart from God (W-pI.59.5:3). Thus, our thoughts are God’s thoughts and God’s Thoughts are ours (W-pI.59.5:4). Where is the separation now?

Grace and divine equanimity attend us when we attend A Course in Miracles as serious students committed to remembering our shared identity with our Creator. We become happy, not in a delirious or excitable way, but in a quiet way that naturally extends to all our brothers and sisters. The calm we bring forth in others is our calm; and by seeing it in others, we remember it is ours.

←Lesson 58
Lesson 60→

When we encounter resistance, it’s good to be patient. Resistance is a good teacher. Sometimes I open a lesson – review or otherwise – or read a section of the text, and I don’t understand it. Or it annoys me. I can feel myself obscuring the words, pushing their message as far away as possible. Or I get masochistic. I’m going to figure this out right now no matter what! And an hour later I still don’t know what’s going on, only now I have a headache and I’m late for work or I forgot to eat breakfast.

Resistance is part of our experience of practicing A Course in Miracles and healing our split mind. I felt it this morning, reading this lesson. What is all this abstract metaphysical nonsense? “As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of the world shine forth for everyone to see” (W-pI.58.2:5). Or “Seen through understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself” (W-pI.58.1:5).

What do those sentences actually mean? I start to argue with them. I get frustrated with myself for not getting it. People wake up  with A Course in Miracles. Why don’t I perceive the holiness of the world? Why do my eyes insist on confusion and separation rather than understanding?

When this happens, it’s okay to put the book away, make coffee, bake muffins, do a crossword. Eventually we learn that resistance isn’t as scary as it used to be. It’s just another symptom of fear. Of what are we so scared? Why are we unwilling to go into what scares us? Resistance is just unwillingness, which is just another form of fear.

What is there to be saved from except illusions? And what are illusions except false ideas about myself? My holiness undoes them all by asserting the truth about me (W-pI.58.3:3-5).

So get a little space. A few minutes to breathe. I watch chickens scratch the snow. Admire grackles and chickadees in the maple trees. The kids wake up. And then I remember. God is love extending love. Something in me softens. I take my coffee and read the lesson again.

Herein lies my claim to all good and only good. I am blessed as a Child of God. All good things are mine, because God intended them for me. I cannot suffer loss or deprivation or pain because of Who I am (W-pI.58.4:2-5).

And I see it. All those references to our holiness . . . How can we read this lesson – or any of the lessons to which it makes reference – and come away thinking we are lost or hopeless or unlovable. We are perfect creations of a Loving God. When we accept this truth about ourselves, then we are finished with fear, and the world is blessed along with us (W-pI.58.4:4-5). Why see ourselves in any other light than the one in which God gifts both us and the world as one?

I can accept the innocence that is the truth about me. Seen though understanding eyes, the holiness of the world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself (W-pI.58.1:4-5).

I want to insist on being broken. I am invested in stumbling. Self-denigration and self-debasement are my mode. It’s a back-handed way of allowing ego’s judgment to go on. I might talk as if I am saved but secretly I do not accept this truth about myself. You maybe. And me someday. But not now.

There is another way.

And that other way is precisely what Lesson 58 insists we learn: right now, right here, without any modification or alteration whatsoever, we are blessed by God. We are God’s holy Children, a Family of perfect light and love, and we can take that knowledge with us everywhere and it will embrace every living thing we encounter.

That is what we resist: the peace, comfort and happiness for which we have been pining for so long. When we sit quietly with our resistance, perhaps we can see this. And seeing it, can offer to let go of our resistance. Give it to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, to Love. How we describe letting go of resistance is not nearly as important as what happens when we do let it go.

When we let it go, we become willing to be healed, to be one with the One whose desire for us is our desire for the One.

←Lesson 57
Lesson 59→

A Course in Miracles suggests that when it comes the illusion of being bodies in a world we are effectively willing prisoners. Our suffering is a decision we make. And because the power of decision is ours, we can make another.

Nothing holds me in this world. Only my wish to stay keeps me a prisoner. I would give up my insane wishes and walk into the sunlight at last (W-pI.57.1:7-9).

This is easy to say but hard to actually believe. We treat it as a passing concept about our being, rather than the truth of our being. But thinking this way is what keeps us imprisoned. A Course in Miracles does not argue with us – it doesn’t try to convince us. It merely offers us another way to see our situation.

Since the purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way of looking at it. I see everything upside down, and my thoughts are the opposite of truth (W-pI.57.3:2-3).

The question is not whether this statement is true or false; the question is whether we want it to be true or false.

You made the problem God has answered. Ask yourself, therefore, but one simple question:

Do I want the problem or do I want the answer?

Decide for the answer and you will have it, for you will see it as it is, and it is yours already (T-11.VIII.4:4-7).

The choice is not ambiguous. It is not unclear. Do we want God’s peace or the ego’s war (W-pI.57.4:3)?

When we choose peace without reservation peace becomes us because it is us. But our choice must be freely made and reflect our genuine willingness to remember what we are in truth. Half-measures are ineffective.

Our decision to side with God, means that we see the world as God sees it, which means that we begin to see “our” peace is also the peace that “abides in the hearts” of all our brothers and sisters (W-pI.57.4:4).

The world I look upon has taken on the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. In this light I begin to see what my illusions about myself kept hidden. I begin to understand the holiness of all living things, including myself, and their oneness with me (W-pI.57.5:3-6).

Our healed vision – flowing from the mind we share with God – restores us to holiness as it restores all of life to holiness. Nothing is excluded; indeed, it’s inclusion is what makes it – and us – holy.

In this way, A Course in Miracles makes us happy without taking anything away from us. We give up nothing in exchange for everything.

←Lesson 56
Lesson 58→

The egoic perspective is that we are bodies. Bodies are vulnerable. They get sick. They can be assaulted. They feel pain and discomfort. They even die. If in fact we are bodies, then defense measures – ranging from cardiovascular exercise to gun ownership – can make sense.

But if we are not bodies, then the whole attack-defense mechanism is not only in effective (what can be attacked? What can be defended?) but it’s affirmatively problematic because it serves to obscure our actual identity.

A Course in Miracles suggests that this dynamic is not our destiny.

I have tried to give my inheritance away in exchange for the world I see. But God has kept my inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what it is (W-pI.56.1:6-8).

Our “real thoughts” are abstract expressions of love that align with the full creative power of God. We are already thinking them; when we stop giving attention to egoic thinking, our real thoughts rise gently to the surface.

What we are in truth is holiness itself, and the gift of holiness is Vision – seeing not with the body’s eyes but with the mind that is creative because it was created in its Creator’s likeness. The real world reflects not the vulnerability of the body but “the Love of God” (W-pI.56.3:4).

Behind every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged. Behind every veil I have drawn across the face of love, its light remains undimmed. Beyond all my insane wishes is my will, united with the Will of my father (W-pI.56.4:2-4).

This is true because “God is still everywhere and in everything forever” (W-pI.56.4:5). We cannot see apart from God, because God is in our mind – and in all that our mind perceives. The truth of what we are is still held in the Mind of God (W-pI.56.5:4). We are one with God’s thoughts and with God (W-pI.56.5:5).

Our practice restores this fact to our memory, and in doing so leads us to a joy and peace that surpass our understanding.

←Lesson 55
Lesson 57→