Lesson 363: Final Lessons:

This lesson says, “If I need but stillness and a tranquil, open mind, these are the gifts I will receive of Him.” 

The Course asks us to not be at war with ourselves. 

Ideally, we want to practice and make habit of releasing those thoughts that clutter our minds.

If we are lax in our vigilance to watch them and release them, then we end up with so many excess thoughts in our minds, then finding open space there is difficult, if not impossible. 

This is the true purpose for this practice of mind watching, to simply give ourselves the ingrained habit of keeping an open mind.

We want to have just the thoughts we need to live fully but not excessively in fantasizing or being addicted to any thought pattern.

 We learn from the Course that we want to have the easiest time possible giving our minds to God. 

Thus, we want to not have to battle to make sure there is empty ground there where God can be invited in and have a place to sit and be present.  

We are asked to release any excess emotional baggage so we don’t end up encumbered in the simple process of getting to God.

 It is really easy when there are no blocks in the way to the flow of God.

It is already done if we just let it be the way it is. 

When we give God space to be within us, then, this works perfectly and God is always happy to come because God loves us so much.

We want to release our thoughts so that our minds are then easily connected with God within the open space there.

But if we can’t, we have the next best option, that is perfect as well. 

When we lose our way and can’t remember to release that old stuff that is within us that is very resistant to exit, we can come anyway and bless it. 

We always make the problem worse in the first place if we don’t come to that challenge we are facing and forgive ourselves immediately.  

Just appreciate that when we believe truly that there is a problem within us, then, we end up making it worse because when we don’t accept it without judgement.

We end up making the dark and dense nature of those challenging thoughts simply escalate in intensity.  

We contribute to the problem when we are not willing to forgive ourselves when we are not able to release that old baggage of ours. 

We are invited to keep listening to ourselves and love ourselves anyway even with any and all challenges.