Lesson 338: “What is the ego?” “I am affected only by my thoughts.”
This lesson says, “His thoughts can frighten him, but since his thoughts belong to him alone, he has the power to change them and exchange each fear thought for a happy thought of love.”
This sentence is completely true and very easy to understood.
We all have thoughts of fear, and the ego gives us recurrent thoughts of fear, and therefore, they can seem quite difficult to manage or certainly to end.
But we have this wonderful realization in the Course that we have the power to change our thinking.
When we allow the ego to tell its perspective, changing our thinking looks like a very tall order.
And it certainly does when we try to practice.
If we have little experience, it is ever so hard to create anything like a habit because habits take real time and effort to create.
It just takes our willingness however.
Once we connect with our willingness, then all of the grunt work is way less taxing.
Suddenly we are making broad leaps in the air when we are asking our minds to simply stay vigilant in the task of choosing.
Our willingness is all we truly need to excel in whatever we choose to do.
We are invited to appreciate that our willingness just gives us that spark of initiation- where we can create that momentum to get up and start again when we happen to fall.
The Course says our willingness is all we need to get up that hill, no matter how steep it is.
We can fall beck on God’s powerful energy in our joining when we are connecting with our inner willingness.
We can simply get out of the way- in relying on God to teach us how to connect with that willingness that is the key to helping us move through the next part of our learning process.
We have the gift of of this amazing responsibly of choosing our thoughts.
It is a huge undertaking and we can get a bit frazzled in moments because of the enormity of the task.
But truly, we are nothing but blessed in the fact.
We all have the capacity to change our thinking. That means everyone.
Doesn’t matter what our socioeconomic standing or our level of education.
We all are included in this gift.
This is our proof that God loves us- with the greatest force and gentlest force possible.