Welcome to Active Meditation,
A Course in Miracles,
Lesson 121.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
Here is the answer to your search for peace.
Here is the key to meaning in a world that seems to make.
Here is the way to safety in apparent dangers that appear to threaten you at every turn,
That appear to bring uncertainty to all your hopes of ever finding quietness and peace.
Here are all questions answered.
Here the end of all uncertainty ensured.
The unforgiving mind is full of fear.
The unforgiving mind offers love no room to be itself.
The unforgiving mind offers love no place where it can spread its wings in peace and soar above the turmoil of the world.
The unforgiving mind is sad without the hope of respite and release from pain.
The unforgiving mind suffers and abides in misery.
The unforgiving mind peers about in darkness,
Seeing not yet certain of the danger lurking there.
The unforgiving mind is torn with doubt,
Confused about itself and all it sees.
The unforgiving mind is afraid and angry,
Weak and blustering,
Afraid to go ahead,
Afraid to stay,
Afraid to waken or to go to sleep,
Afraid of every sound,
Yet more afraid of stillness.
The unforgiving mind is terrified of darkness,
Yet more terrified at the approach of light.
What can the unforgiving mind perceive but its damnation?
What can it behold except the proof that all it sins?
The unforgiving mind sees no mistakes,
But only sins.
It looks upon the world with sightless eyes and shrieks as it beholds its own projections rising to attack its miserable parody of life.
The unforgiving mind wants to live,
Yet it wishes it were dead.
It wants forgiveness,
Yet it sees no hope.
It wants escape.
It can conceive of none,
Because it sees the sinful everywhere.
The unforgiving mind is in despair,
Without the prospect of a future which can offer anything but more despair.
Yet the unforgiving mind regards its judgment of the world as irreversible and does not see it has condemned itself to this despair.
The unforgiving mind thinks it cannot change,
For what it sees bears witness that its judgment is correct.
The unforgiving mind does not ask,
Because it thinks it knows.
It does not question,
Certain it is right.
Forgiveness is acquired.
It is not inherent in the mind,
Which cannot sin,
As sin is an idea you taught yourself.
Forgiveness must be learned by you as well,
But from a teacher other than yourself,
Who represents the higher self in you.
Through your higher self,
You learn how to forgive the self you think you made and let it disappear.
Thus,
You return your mind as one to your higher self.
The one who can never sin.
Each unforgiving mind presents you with the opportunity to teach your own unforgiving mind how to forgive itself.
Each unforgiving mind awaits release from hell through you and turns to you,
Imploring for heaven here and now.
Each unforgiving mind has no hope,
But you become its hope.
As its hope,
You become your own.
The unforgiving mind must learn,
Through your forgiveness,
That it has been saved from hell.
As you teach salvation,
You will learn.
Yet,
All your teaching and your learning will not be of you,
But of the teacher who was given to show you the way.
Today we practice learning to forgive.
If you are willing,
You can learn today to take the key to happiness and use it on your own behalf.
We will devote ten minutes in the morning and at night another ten,
To learn how to give forgiveness and receive forgiveness too.
The unforgiving mind does not believe that giving and receiving are the same,
Yet we will try to learn today that they are one,
Through practicing forgiveness toward one whom you think of as an enemy and one whom you consider as a friend.
As you learn to see them both as one,
We will extend the lesson to yourself and see that their escape included yours.
Let's practice.
Think of someone you do not like,
Who seems to irritate you or to cause regret in you if you should meet them,
One you actively despise or merely try to overlook.
It does not matter what form your anger takes.
You probably have chosen them already.
This one will do.
I'll be silent.
While you identify someone you do not like,
Now see them in your mind.
Look at them a while.
Try to perceive some light in them,
Somewhere,
A little gleam which you never notice.
Try to find a little spark of brightness shining through the ugly picture that you hold of them.
Look at this picture till you see a light,
Somewhere within it.
Then try to let this light extend until it covers them and makes the picture beautiful and good.
Look at this changed perception for a while.
Turn your mind to one you call a friend.
Try to transfer the light you learned to see around your former enemy to this person.
Perceive them now as more than a friend to you,
For in that light their holiness shows you you're a savior.
Save and saving,
Heal and whole.
Now let them offer you the light you see in them,
And let your enemy and friend unite in blessing you with what you gave.
Now you are one with them,
And they with you.
Now have you been forgiven by yourself.
Let's practice again.
Repeat after me.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
I will awaken from the dream.
I will awaken from the dream that I am mortal.
I will awaken from the dream that I am fallible and full of sin.
I will awaken from the dream and know I am the perfect child of God.
Do not forget throughout the day the role forgiveness plays in bringing happiness to every unforgiving mind with yours among them.
Every hour tell yourself I will awaken from the dream and know I am the perfect child of God.
Ponder on this.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
I will awaken from the dream.
I will awaken from the dream that I am fallible and full of sin.
I will awaken from the dream.
I will awaken from the dream and know I am the perfect child of God.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
Nothing real can be threatened exists.
Herein lies the peace.
