—Excerpted from A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles

Disease is love turned into fear--our own energy, meant to sustain us, turned against ourselves. Energy
cannot be destroyed. Our job is not to kill disease, but to turn its energy back in the direction it came
from--to turn fear back into love.

Seeing sickness as our own love that needs to be reclaimed, is a more positive approach to healing than is
seeing the sickness as something hideous we must get rid of. Energy cannot be destroyed. It can,
however, be miraculously transformed. That miracle emerges from our own thoughts, our own decision to
let go our belief in fear and danger, and to embrace instead, a view of the world that is based on hope and
love.

No matter what the illness or addiction or distorted physical expression, its cause is in the mind, and only
there can it be healed. The greatest power we're given, says the Course, is the power to change our mind.
Our physical condition does not determine our emotional condition. The experience of peace comes only
from the mind. 'Peace of mind,' says A Course in Miracles, 'is clearly an internal matter.

The greatest gift we can give to a person in pain is to hold in our own minds the thought that there is a
light beyond this darkness. What goes on externally is only the tip of the iceberg in any situation. The
lessons, the real changes, the opportunities to grow--these are things the body's eyes can't see. They
remain beneath the spiritual water line, but they are there. And they represent a much more vast picture of
the soul's journey than what we can see from the perspective of our physical senses. Growth is not always
about getting what we think we want. Always, it's about becoming the men and women we have the
potential to be. Loving, pure, honest, clear.

When fear is expressed, we recognize it as anger, abuse, disease, pain, greed, addiction, selfishness,
obsession, corruption, violence, and war.

A lot of us know we have what it takes--the looks, the education, the talent, the credentials. But in certain
areas, we're paralyzed. We're not being stopped by something on the outside, but by something on the
inside

The change we're really looking for is inside our heads. Events are always in flux. One day people love
you; the next day you're their target.

When you really learn to give, receiving is not only possible but is also another opportunity to give. This
cycle repeats itself. We receive and give again and again. The prosperity of blessings also lays in the
Biblical scripture, 'God loves a cheerful giver.' As you learn to give gladly and gladly receive, giving
helps release our fears. As we bless others, we bless the world.
There's a biblical story where Jesus says we can build our house on sand or we can build it on rock. Our
house is our emotional stability. When it is built on sand, then the winds and rain can tear it down. One
disappointing phone call and we crumble; one storm and the house falls down. When our house is built on
rock, then it is sturdy and strong and the storms can't destroy it.

Inside of our minds, the peace of God is waiting to be embraced. As we understand the that this peace
belongs to us and everyone else, we can love others and see the peace in them.  The longing for peace is a
life of love without fear.  As we move into this consciousness our thoughts become clearer, our minds are
strengthened, crooked paths are made straight and we are restored.  We shine our lights and usher in a
spirit of peace.
God is the love within us. Whether we 'follow Him,' or think with love, is entirely up to us.

There is a lovely line in this lesson that refers to the world: "It offers you its flowers and its snow." When
we see the world as God created it, all things become beautiful and necessary to us. We can understand
that the love of God goes from one spectrum to another, from the beauty of flowers to the cold but lovely
sight of snow. We can feel, touch, smell and see God. We can bless others by speaking love to them
because we have been touched by God's love.
When we choose to love, or to allow our minds to be one with God, then life is peaceful. When we turn
away from love, the pain sets in.

You have been going through many lessons and so it is easy to see the joy of God. Why would you
choose pain? Pain is a choice that your thoughts make. Pain is a choice of the ego. As you learn to bring
your thoughts under the power in you through the Holy Spirit, you understand that joy belongs to you and
God wants you to have joy. This is not happiness that comes and goes with what is happening, this is a
joy that is continuous through all other emotions because you have made the choice of the joy of God.
And whether we love, or close our hearts to love, is a mental choice we make, every moment of every
day.

As you read this lesson, remember the importance of forgiveness. Who are you not forgiving? How can
forgiveness be applied to your situation? When you live in a state of forgiveness, you are able to complete
the function God would have you fill, and by completing your function, you are operating in the Kingdom
of God.
We think we authored God, rather than realizing that He authored us. The Course says we have an
'authority problem.'

Sometimes we give a gift but remain emotionally attached to receiving gratitude in return. This lesson
teaches us that it is in the giving of the gifts--not someone else's reaction to it--that we are blessed.
Thought is Cause; experience is Effect. If you don't like the effects in your life, you have to change the
nature of your thinking.

Peace is available to us at all times. We can rest in peace in all circumstances. This is the peace that we
want, and it is the peace that belongs to us, allowing our spirits to live beyond our mortal bodies.
Fear does not promote learning. It warps us. It stunts us. It makes us neurotic. And by the time we were
teenagers, most of us were severely cracked. Our love, our hearts, our real 'self' were constantly
invalidated by people who didn't love us and by people who did. In the absence of love, we began slowly
but surely to fall apart.

Since a miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love, are you afraid of the world around you, or are
you living in the true reality of a God-made world that depends on you? Are you doing your part in
forgiving others? If so, continue to walk in the light. If not, press through the darkness into light--the
world is waiting.
Thought separated from love is a profound miscreation. It's our own power turned against ourselves.

The phrase "God bless you" has become so common, we may not realize its importance. God has blessed
us all. As we walk in the blessings of God, we bless others with our forgiveness, our love and our
openness to the Holy Spirit in our lives. What you are giving in any situation is the proof of this
understanding. As you give to others, realize that you are giving to yourself. You are blessing and being
blessed. God bless you
Taking responsibility for our lives, then, means taking responsibility for our thoughts. And praying to
God to 'save' our lives, means praying for Him to save us from our own negative thoughts.
The Holy Spirit is God's alternative to fear. The Holy Spirit was God's answer to the ego. He is God's
'eternal communication link with His separated Sons,' a bridge back to gentle thoughts, 'the great
Transformer of Perception.'

Everything we do in our lives will be used, or interpreted, by the ego or the Holy Spirit. The ego uses
everything to lead us further into anxiety. The Holy Spirit uses everything to lead us into inner peace.

We have a mission--to save the world through the power of love. The world needs healing desperately,
like a bird with a broken wing. People know this, and millions have prayed. God heard us. He sent help.
He sent you.

When you look at your life, what do you see? Do you see all the wonderful ways in which you can be
grateful and express gratitude? Be grateful for rain, for the many colors of green that lead spring into
summer, for learning how to deal with the illusion of illness, for the time in between employment, for the
life we lived with a loved one who is no more, for the peace that someone else may have, for the
opportunity for friendship. Gratitude can truly take the place of any negative emotion. As you review,
walk in love, walk in gratitude.
God, as love, is constantly expanding, flourishing and creating new patterns for the expression and
attainment of joy. When our minds, through focus on love, are allowed to be open vessels through which
God expresses, our lives become the canvases for the expression of that joy. That's the meaning of our
lives.

Can anyone really hold on to the future or predict it? The answer to that question seems very obvious. We
do not know the future, but God does. When we place our anxieties about the future into the Hand of
God, we release the anxiety of the unpredictable and stand in the presence of a loving God.
Our self-perception determines our behavior. If we think we're small, limited, inadequate creatures, then
we tend to behave that way, and the energy we radiate reflects those thoughts no matter what we do. If we
think we're magnificent creatures with an infinite abundance of love and power to give, then we tend to
behave that way. Once again, the energy around us reflects our state of awareness.

It is a very freeing concept to understand that we can learn from whatever is going on in our lives. It is the
understanding of the miraculous to know that God wants us to learn from every situation and that it is
God's lesson we should learn, not our own.

The function that God has for you is the only function that will offer freedom. That function is
forgiveness. As we review this lesson, think about who you have not forgiven and forgive.
Holy Child of God, when will you learn that only holiness can content you and give you peace?

Surrender means, by definition, giving up attachment to results. When we surrender to God, we let go of
our attachment to how things happen on the outside and we become more concerned with what happens
on the inside.

In every situation and circumstance, what we do becomes the choice we have made. Would any of us
knowingly choose pain in any situation? In our right minds, in our God minds, we would all choose the
joy of God. As you review this lesson, review your choices and correct those that need to be corrected. It
is a choice
We respect the laws of nature in order to survive. And what is the highest internal law? That we love one
another. Because if we don't, we will all die. As surely as a lack of oxygen will kill us, so will a lack of
love.

Heaven, according to the Course, is neither a condition nor a place, but rather the 'awareness of perfect
oneness.' Since the Father and the Son are one, then to love one is to love the other. The love of God is
not outside us.
When we know who we are, we know how deeply we are loved. It is like understanding that we have a
Father who knows all things, sees all things and believes in us. This omnipotent, omniscient God is our
Father, and we can enjoy a relationship filled with love and the answers to all our questions.
Forgiveness is the key to inner peace because it is the mental technique by which our thoughts are
transformed from fear to love.

In the holy relationship, we don't seek to change someone, but rather to see how beautiful they already
are. Our prayer becomes 'Dear God, take the scales from in front of my eyes. Help me to see my brother's
beauty.' It is our failure to accept people exactly as they are that gives us pain in a relationship.

We must face our own ugliness. We often must become painfully aware of the unworkability of a pattern
before we're willing to give it up. It often seems, in fact, that our lives get worse rather than better when
we begin to work deeply on ourselves. Life doesn't actually get worse; it's just that we feel our own
transgressions more because we're no longer anesthetized by unconsciousness.

So what are we to do with our fear, our anger, the clouds that cover the love inside us? Relinquish them to
the Holy Spirit. He transforms them through love, and never through an attack on another person.

Our barriers to love are rarely consciously chosen. They are our efforts to protect the places where the
heart is bruised.

For some, this may be a tall order; for others, it may not be a struggle. Yet many of us will fall
somewhere in between. As you take this day to notice your thoughts and retrain your mind, realize that by
judging nothing that occurs today, you have surrendered the day to God. You are ushering in peace and
freeing yourself from the ego mind.
The Holy Spirit accepts people unconditionally. To the ego, this is an outrageous thought, because
unconditional love is the death of the ego.

We often hear about hurricanes and storms. But our internal weather report can be at peace in any
circumstance when we realize that we are protected by God. God is with us and we can have no danger
come near us. We walk with God and He guides us and lovingly protects us.
In order to truly communicate, we must take responsibility for the heart space that exists between us and
another. It is that heart space, or the absence of it, which will determine whether communication is
miraculous or fearful.

Accepting the peace of God helps us live in the light and love of God. But our acceptance of peace helps
our brothers and sisters. When we live in the peace God has made available to us, we attract others to that
peace. God is seen through us. We recognize our oneness with God and our brothers and sisters.
Commitment in a relationship means commitment to the process of mutual understanding and
forgiveness--no matter how many conversations it takes, nor how uncomfortable those conversations
might sometimes be.

The road to love is the road to God. By ridding ourselves of unforgiveness, we can accept God's will.
Our needs are not separate. If we contribute to another person's pain, it will always come back to haunt
us. If we do what we can to help them, someone will always come around to do the same for us.

If we ever wonder why we blunder around without truly loving our brothers and ourselves, it is because
we cannot see. Once we see through eyes of forgiveness, vision comes to us through God and His Son

There is a perfection in our spirit when we realize who we are. As we learn and practice living without
fear, we find ourselves as God created us. We understand that we are one with God.
I am only here to be truly helpful. I am here to represent Him who sent me. I do not have to worry about
what to say or what to do, because He Who sent me will direct me. I am content to be wherever He
wishes, knowing He goes there with me. I will be healed as I let Him teach me to heal.
While the ego's voice is fearful and chaotic, the voice for God is small and still. With this exercise, we
command the mind to hear only the voice of love.

People don't normally associate business with kindness, because business has come to be regarded as
simply a tool for making money. Miracle-worker are not in business only to make money; they're in
business to inject love into the world.

While it seems that we are constantly at the effect of worldly dramas, in fact we can choose to live in
peace. This lesson teaches us that a peaceful life is a choice we make, regardless of what goes on around
us.
We might not know how or where our talents would best be put to use, but the Holy Spirit does. "A
Course in Miracles" teaches us to 'avoid self-initiated plans, and to instead surrender our plans to God.'

The world we live in presents us with endless choices, but inner peace is only found when we choose to
live in God. Love and forgiveness become our only goal, that we might know his peace.

God does not demand sacrifice. The life of sacrifice is the life we live before we find a higher sense of
identity and purpose: the sacrifice of the memory of how magnificent we really are, and what an
important job we came here to do. And that's a lot to sacrifice, because when we can't remember why
we're going somewhere, we have a hard time acting on full throttle once we get there. Love gives energy
and direction. It's spiritual fuel.

Stable, meaningful external effects don't occur until we've experienced an internal stirring. Once an
internal stirring has occurred, external effects cannot fail to happen. We're all capable of an internal
stirring, and are in fact coded for it. It is our potential for greatness. Achievement doesn't come from what
we do, but from who we are. Our worldly power results from our personal power. Our career is an
extension of our personality.

We have so many goals, but at certain points we often feel that none of them have brought us the
satisfaction we were longing for. With this lesson, we remember to make God our highest goal.

We don't get our lives together and then give them to God, but rather we give our lives to God and then
things start coming together. As our hearts open, our talents and gifts begin to blossom. Many people
have told me that once they're successful and have made a lot of money, they will use that success to help
the world. But that's a delay technique by which the ego tries to keep us from showing up fully in our own
lives. Even if we don't yet consider ourselves successful, we can devote our work now to being used in
the service of the healing of the world. From that point of power our careers will take off.

When we understand that we are created by God, just as his son was created by God, we understand that
God is our source and that we bear his name. This is where our peace can be found.

Each day, we make a choice to live in love or be controlled by our ego mind and live in fear. For every
situation, we make a choice. We can choose to see the purity of the situation or circumstance surrounding
us. In this lesson, we are encouraged to live, love and see in the purity that the holy vision of God
provides. Blink, clear your eyes and see in love.

The ego is our mind's endless need to attack itself. And how do we escape this? Through the acceptance
of God's will as our own. God's will is that we be happy. God's will is that we forgive ourselves. God's
will is that we find our place in Heaven now.

Angels are the thoughts of God, and in Heaven, humans think like angels. Angels light the way. Angels
do not begrudge anyone anything, angels do not tear down, angels do not compete, angels do not constrict
their hearts, angels do not fear. That's why they sing and that's how they fly. We, of course, are only
angels in disguise.
Every true thing reminds us of God's gentleness. The gentleness of clouds and blades of grass reminds us.
The miracle of our own life reminds us. We were created in the gentleness of a breath. Let us remember
to be gentle with ourselves and one another. This lesson reminds us not to focus on sin, that missing of
the mark. Today see the light of heaven and yourself as a perfect creation by God

The end of the world is not its destruction, but its translation into Heaven.

There is more than one way to see. As we choose Christ's vision, we accept the gift of God. This vision is
a world in which people are forgiven and the world is forgiven. Our will becomes his will. This is how we
become blessed. In this quiet, we see with new eyes, eye untarnished by fear, eyes filled with the love of
God.

The decisions we make today, individually and collectively, will determine whether the planet goes to
hell or goes to Heaven. One thing, however, is sure: we are the transitional generation. The critical
choices lie in our hands. Future generations will know who we were. They will think of us often. They
will curse us, or they will bless us.

We are ready to act. We hear God's voice, we live in God's peace, we are surrounded by his love. From
this safe place, we can move forward in the world knowing that we are protected and all anxiety has been
removed. We are healed through the voice of God.

"What limits can I lay upon God's Son?" The answer to this question is none. Are there limits to a God
who created the wonder of the human body, the simplicity of grass or the properties of water? We realize
that God is limitless. With every hurricane or simple rainfall, we can choose to live in freedom because
we are seeking, learning and living in the limitless power of God.

When you realize that thought is the level of cause, you begin to think differently. Not worrying or
fretting or overanalyzing a matter, but thinking the thoughts of God. What would God think about a
situation or circumstance? You may not know, but as you study and reflect, you begin to think with God.
By thinking with God, your thoughts are no longer hurtful to you or others. Your thoughts become an
expression of the love of God.

Our job is to tend to our own growth as people, our grace and integrity and humility. We need no other
goal. The core of our being then grows into a substantial power, externally as well as internally. Our
ministry becomes a direct line of creation, from God through us to all mankind.

Ultimately, it is not our credentials but our commitment to a higher purpose that creates our effectiveness
in the world.

Often we set goals, but the most powerful goal is inner peace. Making God our goal, we make peace our
goal. And from that place of power, anything we contribute to our happiness flows into our lives with
effortless ease.

Miracles shift us from a 'get' to a 'give' mentality. The desire to get something reflects a core belief that
we don't have already. As long as we believe there is scarcity inside us, we'll continue to manufacture
scarcity around us because that is our basic thought. No matter what we get, it will never be enough.

One of the reasons we're always trying to control the results in life is because we think the universe, when
left to its own devices, is chaotic. But God is the ultimate order. He is the principle of constantly
expanding love in action, in all dimensions, for all life.
Purity of heart will not make us poor. The exaltation of poverty as a spiritual virtue is of the ego, not the
spirit. A person acting from a motivation of contribution and service rises to such a level of moral
authority, that worldly success is a natural result.

Suffering is a sign that we do not understand. God wipes away our fears by guiding us to a new
interpretation of all things

The ego's world is based on finite resources, but God's world is not. In God's world, which is the real
world, the more we give, the more we have.

This lesson reminds you that a gift has already been prepared for your life. How many of us anticipate a
holiday or birthday? We know that something good will be coming our way, and we are excited for all
sorts of gifts, from hugs to flowers. Even remembering this extra acknowledgment of our lives and what
we mean to others helps us through dark moments.

This teaching today reminds us to seek the gift that is ready for us every moment of the day. The gift of
Christ is a gift of inner peace, forgiveness, strength and redemption, and it is always available.

A miracle is not a rearrangement of the figures in our dream. A miracle is our awakening from it.

What would happen if we looked inside ourselves and instead of fear, wrong, confusion or any bad thing,
we found peace, love and innocence? We would see the truth. God sees us in his image. It is his will that
we see ourselves in his image. Let's look inside, there is nothing to fear

Our job as a teacher of God, should we choose to accept it, is to constantly seek a greater capacity for
love and forgiveness within ourselves. We do this through a 'selective remembering,' a conscious decision
to remember only loving thoughts and let go of any fearful ones. This is the meaning of forgiveness.

Instead of judging ourselves or others, this exercise asks you to release judgment to God. As God is the
only just judge, the use of judgment is in its only right place; the hands of God. We are relieved of
judging ourselves or anyone else and freed to love ourself and others

We think there are different categories of life, such as money, health, relationships, and then, for some of
us, another category called 'spiritual life.' But only the ego categorizes. There is really only one drama
going on in life: our walk away from God, and our walk back.

Exchanging laughter with a friend, receiving sympathy from a loved one or receiving a simple "thank
you"; these are all gifts given to us from every son of God. As we accept these gifts from others and give
them, we become prosperous. We show our love for our brothers and learn to walk in peace.

Trusting in God helps you understand the worth of each of His gifts. You are a gift of God. As you give
to others, you are giving a part of yourself. As you change your life by giving, you change your brother's
life. In the giving, both receive.

The only way to heal the wounds of the past, ultimately, is to forgive them and let them go. The miracle
worker sees that his purpose in life is to be used in the service of the forgiveness of mankind--to awaken
us from our collective sleep.

Everything we do is infused with the energy with which we do it. If we're frantic, life will be frantic. If
we're peaceful, life will be peaceful. And so our goal in any situation becomes inner peace. Our internal
state determines our experience of our lives; our experiences do not determine our internal state.
Arrogance alerts us that we are struggling with ego. Once we release arrogance, we release the limit of
the ego and invite the limitless power of God in our lives. It is only through our surrender of arrogance,
our surrender to the will of God, that we learn that our father's will is all we need

God does not ask that we sacrifice anything, for what he asks us to let go are mere illusions. Renouncing
illusions, we are open to receive the truth of God's love.
Rather than accepting that we are the loving beings that He created, we have arrogantly thought that we
could create ourselves, and then create God. Because we are angry and judgmental, we have projected
those characteristics onto Him. We have made up a God in our image. But God remains who He is and
always has been: the energy, the thought of unconditional love.

Fear is an illusion. Our craziness, paranoia, anxiety, and trauma are literally all imagined. That is not to
say they don't exist for us as human beings. They do. But our fear is not our ultimate reality, and it does
not replace the truth of who we really are.

If we go for God, all that is not authentically ourselves will drop. Go for the light and darkness will
disappear. Focus on Christ means focus on the goodness and power that lie latent within us, in order to
invoke them into realization and expression.

Although we may not realize it, most of us are violent people--not necessarily physically, but
emotionally. We have been brought up in a world that does not put love first, and where love is absent,
fear sets in. Fear is to love as darkness is to light.