Lesson 345 • December-11
I offer only miracles today, for I would have them be returned to me.
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.
Commentary
The basic thought is similar to yesterday's: what I give is returned to me. Realizing this is so, let me decide as this day starts, and as every day starts, to offer only what I want. Miracles. To give a miracle means to see past the illusions of my brothers, and to see them as they really are, as God's creations. It means not to accept and support the image my brother has of himself as a limited ego, a tiny fragment of mind trapped in a body. Instead, I see him as an unlimited being of spirit, magnificent in glory. In Chapter 8 of the Text we are told:
But when you look upon a brother as a physical entity, his power and glory are "lost" to you and so are yours.…Do not see him this way for your own salvation, which must bring him his. Do not allow him to belittle himself in your mind, but give him freedom from his belief in littleness, and thus escape from yours. (T-8.VII.5:3, 5-6)
That is giving a miracle. Refusing to see my brother in the limited way he sees himself; seeing the Christ in him, for him. The miracle thus blesses both me and my brother, for as my mind is healed of illusions, it reflects on him as well and brings light to his mind. I give him the opportunity to see himself as God sees him.
The law of love is universal. Even here, it takes a form which can be recognized and seen to work. (1:2-3)
The "law of love" was stated yesterday: "that what I give my brother is my gift to me." The form this law takes here is something I can recognize. It isn't merely abstract; it takes form, it becomes concrete. When I offer miracles to those around me, they return to me, not in exactly the form in which I offered them, but in just the form I need to meet my needs as I perceive them (1:4). In Heaven there are no needs (1:5); here on earth, I do perceive needs, and the law of love adapts to my perception (1:6).
I can offer a miracle with a profound act of forgiveness, or I can offer a miracle with a smile to a passerby that tells him, "You are loveable." I offer a miracle with every gesture of kindness, every token of courtesy, every expression of respect, and every act of caring. Whatever the form, if the content of the message is "You are loveable. You are worthy. You are innocent," I have offered the miracle, and it will return to me.
Let me choose, Father, to enter into my day determined to offer nothing but miracles to those around me. May I say, from the depth of my heart:
Peace to all seeking hearts today. The light has come to offer miracles to bless the tired world. (2:1-2)
And before I step out into the bustle of today, let me pause for a few minutes and spend them simply offering peace to every seeking heart that comes to mind. No such effort is ever wasted, and I will receive as much as I am willing to give.
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