A Course in Miracles Lesson 187
I bless the world because I bless myself.
No one can give unless they have.
In fact,
Giving is proof of having.
We have made this point before.
No one can doubt that you must first possess what you would give.
Having had and then given,
The world asserts that you have lost what you possessed.
The truth maintains that giving will increase what you possess.
Ideas must first belong to you before you give them.
When you give ideas away,
You strengthen them in your own mind.
If you are to save the world,
You first accept salvation for yourself.
Say to yourself,
Say in your mind,
I bless the world because I bless myself.
I bless the world because I bless myself.
Protect all things you value by giving them away,
And you are sure that you will never
lose them.
What you thought you did not have is thereby proven to be yours.
Give gladly.
You can only gain by giving.
The thought remains and grows in strength as it is reinforced by giving.
Never forget,
You give only to yourself.
Say to yourself,
Say in your mind again,
I bless the world because I bless myself.
I bless the world because I bless myself.
No form of sacrifice and suffering can long endure before the face of one who has forgiven
and has blessed themselves.
Now we are one in thought,
And here,
One God,
One Father,
One Creator,
We stand together
as one child of God.
Not separate from God,
Who is our Source.
Not distant from one brother.
Not distant from one sister,
Who is part of our one self and whose innocence has joined
us all as one.
We stand in blessedness and give as we receive.
As we look within,
We see the purity of heaven shine in our reflection of our Father's love.
Now we are blessed,
And now we bless the world.
We would not have our blessing be withheld from anything we look upon,
And to ensure
this holy sight is ours.
We offer it to everything we see,
For where we see it,
It will be returned to us in the
form of lilies we can lay upon our altar,
Making it a home for innocence itself,
Who
dwells in us and offers us God's holiness as ours.
Ponder on this.
Ideas must first belong to you before you give them.
If you are to save the world,
You first accept salvation for yourself.
Give blindly.
You can only gain by giving.
The thought remains and grows in strength as it is reinforced by giving.
No form of sacrifice and suffering can long endure before the face of one who has forgiven
and has blessed themselves.
I bless the world because I bless myself.
Never forget,
You give only to yourself.
I bless the world because I bless myself.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
