Lesson 123: “I thank my Father for His gifts to me.”

The Course teaches us how to be emotionally appropriate within ourselves and in the world.  This then appropriate feeling and behavior is the state of equanimity or peace. 

The Course wants us to get into the habit of being peaceful all the time because our true purpose to show up with peaceful heart and be joyful about living our typical life.

The Course says that we don’t need to feel guilty for not measuring up to what the world’s standards might be.  The Course teaches us that God always loves us cherishes us, and gives us all the support we need in our human functioning because God simply loves to do it.

As regular as clockwork, the ego tells us that God is angry at us for not measuring up and God will hold a grudge against us if we don’t behave in x, y, or z way. 

This means we get stuck in terrible old limitation in guilt when we can’t help but let the ego run wild in obsessing over guilt.

The problem is when we think we are at odds with God.

The world gives us the sad tale that God is the grumpy type and eager to condemn us and be harsh because God likes that.

The Course’s version of what is meant to be emotionally appropriate is that we are not meant to be overcome with guilt.  The Course says ideally we want to simply stay vigilant in watching our minds when guilt comes up and instantly block it from our minds.  We take a deep breath and we breathe it out.  We make a quick connection to our willingness and then stand up and take the effort needed to clear our minds of any guilt that may come up for us.

Guilt can still be helpful in some ways- to simply ask it what it is meant to show us or to demonstrate to us.  All inner processes occur for a reason.  It helps to simply inquire about what its purpose is.

We take this information and we learn how to be more whole and integrated people in dealing with this guilt when it comes up. 

Then we let it go. 

The Course teaches us that we have absolutely no reason to feel guilty.  Because God loves us all equally with such devotion and well into the wide range of what we do as humans, God has absolutely no judgement because this is the way God does things.  We learn about this God who loves us wholeheartedly.  There is never a hint of problem when God is questioned about why and what He loves about us.

God always comes through because this is the nature of the God we believe in.

This then means that we can feel completely at ease in communicating with God about everything because God loves us and God’s love for us extends into each aspect of what it requires to be human.

Because we have this relationship with God that we learn in the Course, then we can give our thanks to God for all the gifts God has given us and trust that we have every reason to believe that God is completely satisfied with our answer.

He is so happy to give us all the content of the happy dream because this is the nature of God. We can express our feelings to God and know that this is completely sufficient for God.

We don’t have to sacrifice a lamb or do anything extreme.

God is happy when we just sit and share our appreciation.

When we feel the feeling this is perfect to give to God.  The Course says that our relationship with God is already healed and whole and that God and I are already healed and whole, therefore we don’t have to do anything beyond that.  Therefore, we can give thanks to God without even words of gratitude.

We can let go of any idea that God needs thanks because God needs nothing of the sort.

Giving thanks is a blessing to us because we get to feel the gratitude.  But the Course says that God is perfect and therefore, needs nothing from us.