Lesson 232 • August-20
Be in my mind, my Father, through the day.
Practice Instructions
See complete instructions in separate document. A short summary:
- Read the commentary paragraph slowly and personally.
- Pray the prayer, perhaps several times.
- Morning and evening: Repeat the idea and then spend time in Open Mind Meditation.
- Hourly remembrance: Repeat the idea and then spend time in Open Mind Meditation.
- Frequent reminders: Repeat the idea and then spend a quiet moment in meditation.
- Response to temptation: Repeat the idea whenever upset, to restore peace.
- Read the "What Is" section slowly and thoughtfully once during the day.
Practice suggestion: The prayer for today's lesson is one of my favorites in the Workbook. I have benefited from a practice that you may want to try today: Attempt to have the kind of day the prayer describes by focusing on each part of the prayer at the time of day which that part speaks of. Here is how it might look:
- From the moment of waking to 9 am, make this line your frequent reminder: "Be in my mind, my Father, when I wake, and shine on me throughout the day today."
- From 9 am to 5 pm make this line your frequent reminder: "Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You."
- On the hour throughout the day, repeat: "And let me not forget my hourly thanksgiving that You have remained with me, and always will be there to hear my call to You and answer me."
- From 5 pm to 9 pm, make this line your frequent reminder: "As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love."
- As you begin evening quiet time and while you drop off to sleep, repeat, "And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son."
Commentary
When I wake, God is in my mind; His Presence is with me and in my awareness. His Love, and the joy and peace of knowing God are with me; they take precedence over any other thoughts. Physical discomfort and concerns about scheduling the day arise, but none of these displace the peace of God; it is my bedrock, my foundation, and my first concern. It is a constant awareness, like the background hum of an air conditioner, always there, often unnoticed, but ready to be noticed any time I turn my attention to it.
"Let every minute be a time in which I dwell with You" (1:2). Here is my desire! To dwell with God every minute of the day. It reminds me of John 15 in the New Testament: "Abide in me, and I in you" (John 15:4). Or the Old Testament expression of the same idea: "The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27, nasb). Let me remember today, each hour, to say, "Thank You for being with me today. Thank You for always being with me."
As evening comes, let all my thoughts be still of You and of Your Love. And let me sleep sure of my safety, certain of Your care, and happily aware I am Your Son. (1:4-5)
Sure of my safety. Thus, free of all fear. For the most part, our lives are run by fears of various kinds; the ego is driven by fear. Peace is the absence of fear. And since fear is only the absence of love, peace and love are interdependent. When I am loving, I am peaceful. When I am peaceful, I am loving. Where I am sure of my safety, knowing the Presence of God in every moment, I am at peace and love flows through me.
"This is as every day should be" (2:1). This is the goal for life in this world: to live every day with God in my mind. To wake in His Presence, to walk in His shining Love, and to sleep in His care and protection. To so live that His Presence becomes my foreground and all else, the hum and bustle of the world, becomes background.
What is a day like for someone who has learned what the Course is teaching? Simply this: To constantly practice the end of fear. To walk with faith in Him Who is my Father, trusting all things to Him, letting Him reveal all things to me, and in everything to be undismayed because I am His Son (2:1-5).
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