No one can suffer loss unless it be his own decision. No one suffers pain except his choice elects this state for him. No one can grieve nor fear nor think him sick unless these are the outcomes that he wants. And no one dies without his own consent. Nothing occurs but represents your wish, and nothing is omitted that you choose. Here is your world, complete in all details. Here is its whole reality for you. And it is only here salvation is.The very next line says, "You may believe that this position is extreme," and indeed it seems to be just that. But on some level, whether consciously or unconsciously, we do create the world around us. Everything begins with thought. Our thoughts create the "reality" in which we live. Of course, this is a different sort of reality than the one which is our Truth. The reality here on earth is one that's ever-changing, bending to whichever thought we may be thinking at the time. We cannot seem to make up our minds, and so what we end up making is nothing short of chaos.
Perhaps we may claim that it's the other way around - that we are living at the effect of the world around us. But to make such a claim would mean that we have no power whatsoever. What, then, would be the point of thinking at all? Of course, those who believe that they are at the effect of the world tend not to think, but merely coast by, filling their lives with distraction after distraction so as not to take responsibility for anything that happens. In believing as such, they make it so, not even aware that they are the ones doing it.
On the other hand, it is not easy to accept that we are the ones creating the diseases which we suffer, or the terrible accidents in our lives, or the abuse inflicted by another human being. How can it be so that we asked for such atrocities? This is where the idea of karma comes into play. The form in which the universe presents our circumstances may not be precisely what we chose, but what they offer is exactly what we asked for. Take, for instance, a hypothetical situation where you find yourself in a car accident and wake up to discover that both your arms were amputated. Perhaps, on a deep subconscious level, you desired to experience your own power of resiliency and strength. Perhaps your triumph in learning to survive without your arms inspired others to step up and do much more with their own lives than they believed they ever could. Now, did you ask to have your arms taken away? Of course not, but remember that any physical circumstance is just an illusion anyway. The Real experience you longed for was to know your own strength and resilience, your own ability to inspire. Karma, always working in the favor of your soul growth, presented the perfect situation in which you could achieve just that.
Maybe the most important inference we can take from today's lesson is that no matter what occurs in our lives, we alone are the ones who determine how we will react. The decision to respond in a loving manner will create more loving circumstances in our lives. Yes, this is easier said than done. But we begin to lead our lives this way when we accept that we have the power to decide. There must be another way. That simple statement marks the turning point in a life lived passively to a life lived actively and purposefully. It then will start to dawn on us that we were created to live Divinely. Why should we choose destruction over creation? What good purpose would that serve? What joy would that bring us?
Along this line of thinking, the Course provides us with the following meditation for today:
The power of decision is my own. This day I will accept myself as what my Father's Will created me to be.
God, our Creator, willed for us to be like Him - free to live in permanent Joy and to spread Love and Happiness wherever we go. Why would we want to live any other way? Yet look around and you will know that we have often decided to oppose this way of being. We have been tricked by our egos to think that the Will of God is false. As a result we've turned our thinking completely upside-down, believing what is True is false and what is false is true. We must decide to right our thoughts if we are to create a better way of life. Thoughts have enormous power. What we think will be. Decide to be Divine, and you'll remember your True Being. Decide to live in Harmony, and you will see the world shift accordingly. Decide to reside in everlasting Bliss, and no situation will threaten your happiness.
Remember, when in doubt, to tell yourself: There must be another way.
Until tomorrow,
Journeyman
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