I am never upset for the reason I think.
* This is another way of saying that all irritations are equal. It is in other places in the Course as well, you do not have to take my word for it but it is what comes to mind.
* Yep, that means that a sliver is as out of sink with reality as is murder.
* Why? Because of its alignment with fear and the denial of God’s Existence.
* If you think of God as “over there” this will make NO SENSE WHATSOEVER and I cannot do ANYTHING about that.
* But IF you realize that God is ALL-POWERFUL, ALL-KNOWING, and EVERYWHERE then you can see how even having a sliver defies this truth.
* There is NO SEPARATION from God and NEVER could have been. Period.
1. This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain. ²Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. ³The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. ⁴This is not true. ⁵However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. ⁶Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.
* Eventually, we will understand that FORM does NOT matter. Do not take this to mean that it has no right to exist at all and therefore we have no need to address it as it appears. It means that FORM is currently a significant part of the “blinders” that we have on about the Reality of God’s Existence EVERYWHERE.
2. When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset, and the cause which you ascribe to it. ²For example:
³I am not angry at _________ for the reason I think.
⁴I am not afraid of _________ for the reason I think.
3. But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for “sources” of upset in which you believe, and forms of upset which you think result.
4. In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. ²It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:
³There are no small upsets. ⁴They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
* Okay, pause here, please. Do not think that Jesus is leading you to “a bed of roses.” You will live in the confused consciousness of Christ while in this existence on earth anyway until you leave it and go on to something else when you lay your body down in what we think of as death.
* This Course and especially the Workbook will allow you to become an “Observer” of the confusion and enable you to be able to make decisions with the Guidance of the Holy Spirit rather than the emotional attachment to the story that you think is so very real.
* Do these exercises to the best of YOUR ability and understanding. That shows your willingness to get real answers and the Holy Spirit will step in and Guide you. This you can count on.
5. Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.
6. You may also find yourself less willing to apply today’s idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. ²If this occurs, think first of this:
³I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. ⁴For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.
7. Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them.
²Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of the feeling as you experience it. ³Further examples are:
⁴I am not worried about _________ for the reason I think.
⁵I am not depressed about _________ for the reason I think.
⁶Three or four times during the day is enough.
* Eventually, you will find that you are able to see yourself as separate, NOT from God and the rest of creation but from the chaos and irritations that life currently SEEMS to make SO VERY REAL.
* Free stock photo: This was under frustration in pexels.com. I am not trying to make a commentary on any religious perspective but only to the topic of Lesson 5 which is that you are never upset for the reason you believe.
(ACIM, W-5.1:1–7:6)
Till next time, God bless, debi.
Freedom Principles; At-One-Meant Now 
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