Lesson 248: “What is the world?”  “Whatever suffers is not part of me.”

We learn in the Course to be above the battleground at all times. 

We have the world with seeming crazy circumstances.

Truly, we see it to be totally insane, totally separate from God, God’s wishes and God’s purpose. 

When we just take a look at the world, it is a sight to see.  With confusion, darkness, loneliness, and despair, we find the world to be a quite the nightmare from which we are ready to escape immediately.

This is the best thing that could ever happen, because we learn in the Course, that all we need to do is have just that instant of doubt in our minds that we are content with the world’s insanity.

All we need is the seed of doubt, nothing else, but just that open space in our minds where we are open to looking for something else. 

We don’t have to figure it out because God does that for us with the Holy Spirit’s help and guidance. 

We don’t have to extend great effort.  In fact it is the most simple thing when we just get out of the way and let God in.  Then, we just have to show up.  That’’s it.

The tough part is that part of us that might feel vulnerable when we realize we are letting in some different reality than the ego’s crazy nightmare. 

We can sure have moments of just sitting with a new reality when we choose God that make us feel a bit cautious because we may not be used to this. 

We are learning to forgive that cautiousness, and instead use that time when we sit and notice how we feel ,at last as a time for celebration. 

We can feel amazing that we have this inner willingness to grow when we just let this happen.  Just appreciate our willingness to stay on task.

It works when we work it.  The Course’s message works if we apply it.

That is the only important thing we need to do and it does absolutely serve us in time, when we allow it to do so. 

We must just be vigilant in the process of correcting our minds.

When we entertain a moment of feeling like we are amidst our suffering, it is our job to remember we have power in the situation if we pay attention to what is happening in  our minds. 

Our minds are a fertile ground and get the perfect manicured lawn if we just stay in the process of changing our minds constantly.  

This mind altering is the only way to stay above the battleground in situations we find ourselves where we might believe we are suffering. 

This is why practice is the only thing we can do to truly change this old draw to pain. 

We are invited to stay in the focus of knowing that our pain is just as not real as we can make it.  We need to appreciate that we can’t always just wish away pain with saying what the Course says is unreal.

Sometimes it is not entirely realistic and not something we may be able to do in the moment. 

But it is the best  long term way of dealing with pain over time.

We can just stay committed to believing and wholeheartedly absorbing that we can change our experience of suffering when we are willing to make the effort and vigilance to change it in our thinking. 

Then over time it becomes less intense when we stay on the practice even if we don’t get it to disappear completely. 

The most important thing is to know how empowered we are with this awareness that we can change our experience of suffering. 

This is what makes us ultimately far happier and more peaceful because we have the clarity and a strong potency from the knowledge that we have the gift of that inner power in choosing thoughts to keep us above the battleground as much as possible.