Internal Dialogue

This is a "mini" "A Course in Miracles" workbook. The full ACIM workbook is 365 daily lessons. This 21 lesson workbook is from Lee Jampolsky's "Healing The Addictive Mind - Freeing Yourself from Addictive Patterns and Relationships."

These daily lessons are designed to help us choose peace more consistently in our lives. It is by actually practicing the exercises that the addictive thought system can be dismantled and peace of mind can be more consistently experienced. Do not worry about believing all of the ideas; simply be open to the power of love. The exercises presented offer you a systematic and practical means for living a life free of addiction (drug, alcohol, food, relationships, work, money, etc). Each of the 21 daily lessons is intended to help you remove blocks to the awareness of love.

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Lesson One
I have given everything I see in this room (on this street, from this window, in this place) all the meaning it has for me.

Because this lesson completely contradicts the addictive thought system, it can be confusing at first. This lesson says that there is nothing inherent in anything that gives it a set value or meaning. You alone define what is important to you and what is not.
When you are addicted to something or someone, it is because you have invested too much in one area, thinking it would bring you happiness. You compulsively pursue something that continually leaves you feeling empty inside. A true statement about our lives is

Peace and choice come from realizing that I give everything all the meaning it has for me.

To understand today's lesson, visually scan the room in which you now are. Start with things that are close to you and apply the lesson, in boldface, to all things upon which your eyes rest (large or small, people or objects, bright or dull). Then widen your gaze and look all around you, near and far, and apply the idea to everything you see, hear, taste, smell or feel. Do not try to systematically include everything. Rather, just relax and apply the idea to anything that comes into your awareness. Do not decide to exclude anything either. Simply apply the idea in an equal fashion to everything, regardless of your seeming attachment or nonattachement to anyone or anything. Say to yourself thoughts such as the following:

I give this chair all the meaning that it has for me.
I give these clothes all the meaning that they have for me.
I give this person all the meaning they have for me.
I give this substance (drug, food, alcohol, and so on) all the meaning that it has for me.

Periodically throughout the day practice applying the lesson. If you catch yourself operating in the addictive thought system, say:

Peace comes from within me, and is not determined by people places or things.

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Lesson Two
My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

When you allow yourself to become burdened by guilt and shame, you are operating in the addictive thought system belief that the past always determines how you feel in the present. The love-based thought system recongnizes that

it is impossible to feel guilt and love at the same time.

When feelings of guilt, shame, low self-esteem, or negative self-judgment arise, you can say to yourself,

I am not at peace because I am looking upon everything and everyone through a distorting filter of the past. Peace abides in the freedom of the present moment.

Whenever you indentify with the past you preoccupy your mind and create blocks to experiencing love. When you use the past as a source of knowledge so that you can pass judgment and induce guilt, you further isolate yourself from love.
Today, be determined to break the cycle of addictive thinking. Begin by sitting comfortably with your eyes closed. Observe your mind. Note each thought as it comes and goes. Try not to spend too much time on any one thought. Simply watch your thoughts for a few minutes, with as little attachment as possible to each thought. Identify each thought by naming the central figure or theme of it. For example, as your thoughts come and go, say to yourself,

I am now thinking about (central figure or theme). And now I am thinking about (central figure or theme).

As you observe your thinking, note how many of your thoughts are based in the past and potentially can produce guilt. After a few minutes of this, say to yourself,

My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. But the past is gone, and today I am willing to let it go. In the present moment I look upon myself with loving eyes.

If you find yourself in conflict during the day, say:

1. I'm in conflict because my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
2. But the past is gone.
3. Therefore, I choose to see this (situation/person/object) only in the peace of the present moment.

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Lesson Three
I am not the victim of the world I see.

The addictive thought system tells you that other people or circumstances are responsible for how you feel. You may be a habitual finger pointer, always playing the role of the victim. When you think that you are a victim of the world, you give up your personal power and the ability to choose.
In order to recognize your personal power, and to understand that you have choice, today focus upon a simple fact:

I am not a victim.
My own thoughts and beliefs
determine what I see and what I experience.

Begin your practice with the following:

When I see the world as responsible for how I feel, I am seeing myself as a victim, and consistent peace is impossible. Regardless of the circumstances I find myself in, I can maintain my power to choose.
When I am stuck in a rut, it may be because I am seeing myself as a victim. Today, if I feel victimized, I will not attack another or defend myself. Instead, I will remind myself,

I am not a victim of the world I see. I choose the feelings I experience, and decide upon my own goals.

The Addictive Thought System says, Changing others is how I am released from being a victim.
You choose the peaceful alternative when you recognize the truth:

Changing my mind-seeing that I am not a victim-is how I am released from being a victim.

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Lesson Four
I could see peace instead of this.

You are constantly choosing between the addictive thought system and the love-based thought system. You are always only a choice away from peace. Today's lesson focuses on the fact that you have the ability to direct your mind.
Peace of mind begins in your own mind. When you are not peaceful, it is because your eyes are closed to love. In addiction you see yourself as seperate from others in a world that appears to be harsh, without meaning, threatening and fragmented. You end up seeing yourself as vulnerable and in constant need of defense. But you can choose instead to see a united world where every situation offers you the opportunity to learn of love.
If you become depressed, sad, angry, guilty or fearful, say to yourself,

I can choose peace right now instead of this.

If you find yourself caught in the addictive cycle of judging yourself or others, stop and silently say, I want peace of mind. Instead of judging, I choose to practice forgiveness.
By concentrating on forgiveness you train your mind to know where to look for peace. You come to understand that there is no need to wait any longer for peace of mind, because forgiveness is a choice you can make each minute of the day.

To demonstrate and ensure my choice for peace, let all my actions be gentle and loving.

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Lesson Five
Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved

The addictive thought system says that in order to solve your problems and be happy you need to change someone or some circumstance. It also tells you that acquiring something new will lessen your problems. The last thing the addictive thought system would have you do is look at the contents of your thoughts, for this would reveal the flimsy foundation of the addictive thought system. The addictive thought system presents you with endless problems to be solved, yet always keeps the real problems hidden.
You cannot solve a problem if you do not know what it is. Today, instead of seeing yourself as having a number of problems to solve, concentrate on recognizing the one problem that is at the root of all others: the belief that you are unworthy of love, separate from love, alone, and empty.
This belief is the only problem that needs to be addressed, because it is from feeling of emptiness and unworthiness that leads you to look outside of yourself for happiness.
The addictive thought system has many costumes, which gives the illusion of many problems in need of many solutions. Today, be determined to look beyond the cloaks and masks and see the real problem. Seeing the underlying consistency to all problems is the first step to realizing that you have the means to solve them.
Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Tell yourself, my only problem is that I feel empty and so look outside of myself for happiness. As you allow your mind to become more quite, the awareness of love will replace the endless list of worries. One by one, gently release the numerous problems you think you have from your mind. As you let go of each "problem," begin to feel the tranquility that comes from ceasing worry. Tell yourself, Whatever the problem, love is the answer.
When problems arise, you can say to yourself,

Let me not be deceived about what the problem is here.
Let me recognize that the real problem is my lack of an awareness of love.
I invite love to make itself known to me.

You can also say to yourself,

Today I see boundless love
where yesterday I say endless problems.

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Lesson Six
Forgiveness offers everything I want.

The addictive thought system tells you that constant analysis and judgment ensures your safety. But these activities are born of fear and only perpetuate fear. Today, instead of judging, choose to practice the gentle means that uproots the addictive thought system: forgiveness.

Sometimes you may be confused about what you want. Consistent peace of mind is possible only through forgiveness. When you judge another as guilty you reinforce your own sense of guilt and unworthiness. This is because what you see are your own thougths projected outward.
Forgiveness is always the peaceful solution. Forgiveness, being based on unity, recognizes that to free another from the chains is to unbind yourself as well. In short, forgiveness is the water that extinguishes the raging fire of hte addictive thought system.
Today, beginn to use forgiveness as a means to bring about peace. Start by thinking of someone you dislike or see as having done something "unforgivable" to you. Close your eyes and picture this person standing in front of you. Tell yourself that only the present moment matters. Look upon this person as if you know nothing of his or her "wrongdoing." Notice a pray of light in this once fearful and hateful picture. Allow this light to spread, permeating and surrounding this person, until you hold a mental image bright and unmarred by the past. Hold this image in your mind for a few minutes. Notice, as you release the past and allow light to fill and surround this person, how peaceful you feel. After a few minutes, open your eyes and tell yourself,

Forgiveness offers everything I want.

Anytime you are upset during the day you can tell yourself,

As peace is my single goal, forgiveness is my function.

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Lesson Seven
All that I give is given to myself.

The addictive thought system makes no connection between what you think and how you feel about yourself. You may not realize that your thinking determines your experience, but your thoughts are like a boomerang, always coming back to you.
Today, embrace the idea that giver and receiver are the same, that what you put out you receive back. Imagine what life would be like today if you had no goal besides peace, saw no value in negative judgement. You would be giving yourself the gift of peace of mind.
In your communication with others, if you offer acceptance, understanding, honesty, and forgiveness, you will find peace. If you offer judgement, attack, fear, and condemnation, you will be inviting distance and pain into your life. Examine your own past communications to see how this simple truth operates. Then start fresh today by saying to yourself,

Today I want peace and so I will offer only this to others.
Today I choose to hold love in my heart for others. I do so not because I am superior or because I am inferior, but because offering love is how I receive love.

Now close your eyes and spend a few minutes thinking of people in your life while focusing on deepening your love for them. Another helpful thing to do is to ask yourself,

Am I, right now, giving what I want for myself?

If not, simply change your mind and begin giving to others what you want for yourself.

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Lesson Eight
I will not value what is valueless.

Nothing, in and of itself, has value. When you assign so much value to something that it results in an external pursuit of happiness, you are operating in the addictive thought system. This is important to remember, for you may behave as thought you can't live without something, forgetting that you gave it all of the value that it has for you.
Once you realize that valuing the valuable ensures peace and valuing the valueless creates conflict, you are on the path to peace of mind. Yet what are the criteria for deeming something either valueable or valueless? Today's lesson addresses this question.
What you value determines what you want. Following is a list of criteria by which to judge all things that you think you want. No matter how much you want something, if it does not meet all these requirements, it has the potetial to bring you conflict.

1. Will what I want last forever?
If not, its valueless. Love, for example, is eternal, and is therefore valueable. Time can never diminish its value. Yet it is important to realize that it is not the impermanent things in themselves that bring pain, it is your attachment to them that creates addiction and conflict. Ask yourself, If I lost (specify), would my peace of mind be affected?

2. Will getting what I want result in someone else's loss?
If it will, it is valueless and will not bring you lasting happiness. If you seek to take something away from somebody, or harm another in any way, you have deceived yourself into thinking that another's loss and pain can be your gain. To give is to receive. To take at another's expense only harms myself.

3. Why is what I want of value to me?
Arms can be used to strike in anger or embrace with love. An airplane can drop bombs or packages of food. If you want peace, use all things as a means to create peace. Things are, in and of themselves, not bad, but attachment to them makes you a slave to them.
That which you value is that which you think will bring happiness, yet pursuit of it may result in frustruation, depression, loss, and despair. When this happens it is probably because you have placed value on the valueless. Perhaps you think that things like money or prestige will give your life meaning. But when you look to them for happiness you are valuing the valueless and will always end up in conflict. If you want peace today, do not value the valueless.

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Lesson Nine
If I defend myself I am attacked.

When you operate from the addictive thought system, you busy yourself building walls of defense and are always on the lookout for attack. Love becomes lost. How can your heart be open to love when it lies behind a fortress of fear?
When you defend yourself, you believe that your defense, if strong enough, will protect you. Perhaps, when hurt, you are quick to erect defenses. But those defenses keep you isolated and afraid. Your walls of defense lock out what you want the most: love.
You are mistaken if you think that your defenses protect you. In fact, your defenses simply help perpetuate the cycle of attack and defense. Nobody builds defenses who does not have fear in his or her heart.
You make defenses bacause you fear attack. Yet with each new defense, your fear of attack increases. How can defenses offer safety when they escalate fear? Today, recognize the truth about defenses:

Defenses always bring what they were meant to guard against.

Defensiveness sets up a cycle in which you cannot be peaceful. Attack leads to defense and defense leads to attack.
Today, instead of making your armor thicker, invite love to replace your defenses. Love needs no defense. Love grows through being shared and is unaffected by time. Waiting for you, beneath your defenses, is undisturbed peace. It is this peace you can find today.
A good thing to remind yourself of throughout the day is

If I defend myself I am attacked. Love is what I want and love needs no defense. Today I offer love instead of defensiveness.

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Lesson Ten
The power of decision is my own.

Your ability to choose is what constitutes your freedom. The power to decide which thoughts you hold in your mind is the richest gift you have, for it makes you the director of your life. You are always choosing between the addictive thought system and the love-based thought system. The decision you make determines your experience. Today, make this process of choosing conscious, and come to realize the power of decision.
You decide what to believe and thus choose your experience. It is not the world that molds and shapes you; you do it yourself. If you are in conflict, it is because you have accepted a false belief as true. You are the director of your life.
You decide between a script containing only scenes of peace and a horror story with terror and attack lurking in every corner. Your power of decision is a tool that you may have forgotten how to use to your benefit. Today, learn that your power of decision can ensure your peace of mind.

The power of decision is my own. Today, I use this power to choose only love-based thougths.

There is a quiet place within you that is undisturbed, full of love, and complete. When you quiet your mind you can hear this inner love guiding your way. Many refer to this inner guidence as their Higher Power, in contrast with the lower voice of the ego. Today, if you find yourself in conflict, you can say,

Right now my power of decision can change how I feel. I can choose to listen to my Higher Power instead of the confusing chatter of the ego.

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Lesson Eleven
Today I learn to give as I receive.

The addictive thought system wants you to believe that the more you get, take, buy, and conquer, the better you will feel. The emphasis is always on getting, never on giving. In the adictive thought system, giving is a manipulation, a way to get something that you want. The addictive thought system says that to give something is to lose something. In contrast, the love-based thought system says that to give is to receive.
In others you but see yourself. if you see others as having done unforgivable things, so must you see yourself. If you look upon one person or one thousand with condemnation and hate, somust you condemn and hate yourself. Likewise, when you see others through the soft, loving eyes of forgiveness, so must you love and forgive yourself.
There is not lapse of time between giving and receiving. As you give, so do you receive. This is why peace is always a possible alternative. Today's lesson offers the alternative to loneliness because

You can give and receive forgiveness and love at any moment you so choose.

Today's lesson is very practical. You can easily and continually try it and verify the benefits throughout the day. As you see the effectiveness and results of giving and receiving love, the truth of giving and receiving will unfold to you.
Today, offer love, kindness, and compassion to everyone you meet or think about, and see how quickly the awareness of love returns to you. Begin the day by closing your eyes and saying to yourself,

To give is to receive. I will receive what I am giving now.

Then picture in your mind a specific person and say, for example,

To this person I offer peace of mind. To this person I offer tranquility. To this person I offer calmenss.

Again, try not to exclude anyone today from the gifts you give. In the end, any exclusion is an exclusion of yourself. Every person you meet today offers you another chance for peace. If you find yourself hostile or defensive, ask yourself,

Is this what I want to give myself?

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Lesson Twelve
I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.

The addictive mind is like a wild animal thrashing around uncontrollably. Today, begin to tame your unruly mind by realizing that you determine the thoughts that you think and thus the feelings that you have.
At times it may seem that you have no control over your life. Thoughts fly through your mind and you never question your beliefs. Instead of looking inward you begin to think that other people are the cause of your anger, fear, unhappiness and depression. When you believe this, you cease to be the ruler of your own mind. Take the first step in deciding to rule your mind by taking resposability for your own feelings and thoughts.
Today, understand that you alone rule your mind, choosing between the voice of the ego and the voice of love, deciding what thoughts to have, how to feel, and how to act. Today,determine to listen to the ever present peaceful preference within.
If you are to have peace, you first must take charge of your own mind. You can always direct your mind to recognize, listen to, and choose the peaceful alternative.
Whenever you experience an unwanted thought, you can silently say,

I rule my mind, which I alone must rule. I choose to let go of this addictive belief (specify) and direct my mind toward love.

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Lesson Thirteen
Today I will judge nothing that occurs.

Judging others and yourself increases fear and guilt, shutting the door on love. Begin today by asking yourself the following questions:

1. If I stopped judging for one day, what would that day be like?
2. If I chose to concentrate on extending compassion instead of judgment, how would my experience change?
3. If I devoted a day to love rather than judgment, how would I feel around other people?

The thoughts that you hold toward others affect how you feel about yourself. For example, you cannot simultaneously feel hatred toward someone and feel love for yourself. It would be like trying to exhale and inhale at the same moment. You may have previously learned that it is both natural and healthy to judge situations and people, that it enables you to make good decisions. Today, begin to retrain your mind to see that your negative judgments do nothing but create feelings of separateness. Love-based thinking recognizes that any thought or action that condemns results in fear, guilt and aloneness.
Today, leave love free to exist undisturbed by your judgments. Instead of judging and separating, look at the interdependency of all life, of which you are an integral part.
Determine to view all people and events without negative judgment. When tempted to pass judgment, you can remind yourself,

If I judge this person I will rob myself of love.

Begin to turn inward and allow love to be your guide.

Today, turn away from your old habit of judgment and condemnation.
In looking for guidence, turn your focus inward, toward your heart.
Trade the sword of judgment for the tender touch of love,
and peace will dawn in your mind.

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Lesson Fourteen
Let me not see myself as limited.

The addictive thought system promotes limitation in every way possible. The ego constantly tells you that you are full of lacks that can be filled only by someone or something outside yourself: a person, a drug or a possession. Today, devote yourself to seeing yourself as whole, boundless, and with unlimited potential. Only your beliefs limit you. The only limits you have are self-imposed.
All thoughts of limitation are restrictive to relationships. When you place limits upon others, you bind yourself as well. There is no greater gift you can give than letting go of limitations. By doing so you unshakle yourself and others.
You may have limited yourself by perceiving darkness and weakness within and around yourself. Every limit that you impose on yourself or others is a chain that inhibits your growth. Today, give yourself strength by seeing the power of love everywhere and in everything.
Limits, which are created by the addictive thought system, appear very real. But regardless of the limitation the solution is the same: remember that you lack nothing to experience love this instant.
Today, begin to challenge any limitation, no matter how real it appears. For example, inadequate time and money are common lacks the addictive thought system invents. You may think that you do not have enought time to pause to relax, or perhaps not enough money to be happy and secure. Whenever you impose a limitation on yourself you can challenge it. For example, if you feel you lack time or money, you might say to yourself,

I am limitless. Do I not have the time to send a loving thought? Can I not afford to extend compassion from my heart?

The specific words are not important as long as you question the validity of every limit you have imposed, or are tempted to set. Especially question any phrase which can complete the following sentence: "Love is not possible now because ____."
The most important thing that you have to do today is to remember to remind yourself hourly:

I am not limited. Love is with me now

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Lesson Fifteen
This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.

The addictive thought system says that the only way to spend a day in peace would be to have all of your emotional needs met by someone, have many material possessions, and be able to control all situations. The problem is that the list of needs becomes endless, the desire to control becomes compulsive, and peace becomes impossible. Today, understand that that is not the way to peace.
Peace has never left your mind. Have faith that peace is within you now; it is only covered by a thin veil of addictive thoughts. Today, look past this veil and rest in the quiet peace that awaits you. Today's lesson is a declaration that inner peace is possible if you just give it a chance to emerge. Instead of listening to your addictive thoughts today, make peace of mind your single goal.
It may not seem possible to you to spend an entire day in peace. Perhaps you think that if you were in a more ideal circumstance, then you could have peace. Such an "if-only..." thought system leads nowhere but to conflict. Reverse this thought system by telling yourself many times throughout the day:

Right now I have everything I need to have peace of mind. If peace of mind is my single goal toady, what would I do now to ensure it?

The following are just a few examples of ways to ensure a day grows in peace:

1. Reach out to heal a relationship that has been wounded.
2. Let go of an ancient grudge
3. Focus on giving instead of getting
4. Extend a thought of compassion when you normally might defend yourself or judge someone
5. Do something nurturing for yourself.

Make your own list and commit yourself to carrying it out.

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Lesson Sixteen
I will not be afraid of love today.

The addictive thought system leads you down a path that results in your fearing love. In a mind full of guilt, fear, and judgment, the light of love is obscured by layers of darkness. Guilt keeps you from love, because you think that you are undeserving of it. Today, choose to welcome that which can heal you of all your misconceptions about yourself: love.
The foundation of your belief system is simple: you, like all people, identify with what you think will make you safe. If you use the addictive thought system you think that judgment, defenses, and attack are the keys to safety, and so you identify yourself with fear. If you use the love-based thought system you see that your safety lies in acceptance, forgiveness, and defenselessness, and so you identify yourself with love. What you choose to identify with-fear or love-will determine your feelings about yourself and your outlook on the world.
Today, invite truth into your mind. You have, no doubt, grown tired of hte illusions of the addictive thought system. Love is your safety. Fear cannot exist where love is present.
When you identify with love you feel safe. When fear is your guide you constantly run to or from someone or something. Today, hold the invitation to love in your heart. Remind yourself hourly:

Identify with love and I am safe. Identify with love and I am home. Identify with love and I find my Self.

Today, see the truth about fear by recognizing its presence in your life. When fear arises, face it. As you do, you will find that fear does not exist separate from the mind that made it. You give fear all the power it has. Fear does not exist in and of itself; it is formed and fueled by your thoughts. When you find yourself fearful, you can say to yourself,

Only my mind can produce fear. Fear is overcome when I allow love to be itself. I welcome love today.

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Lesson Seventeen
I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.

Realizing the truth of this simple statement is the first step toward freedom. It is the prescription for healing your addictive mind. In the past, when you have been hurt, you may have looked to others as the cause of your pain. Or perhaps you blamed your unhappiness on bad luck or bad situations. Today, reverse this way of thinking by realizing that you can be hurt by nothing but your own thoughts.
When you find yourself in pain of any kind, it is helpful to examine your thoughts. This will help begin to heal the only thing that can hurt you in any way: your mind.

Because my thoughts create the world I see and experience, it is with my thoughts that I must work.

I can change my thoughts about the world, about others, and about myself.

I cannot change other people or many of the situations in which I find myself.

When you are hurt it is because you have accepted an addictive thought as true. You are always, every second of every day, choosing the thoughts that fill your mind and thus are choosing how you will feel. When you focus your attention on your thoughts, you can learn to choose the contents of your mind, and, in turn, what you feel. If you do not become aware of your thoughts you will continue to feel that you have no choice as to what you experience.
Stop letting the addictive thought system rule your mind. Today, consciously choose what thoughts to hold in your mind. In this way you can direct your mind away from hurt and toward love.
You can begin to direct your mind by practicing the following process:

1. Whenever you find yourself anything other than peaceful, identify the addictive thought that you are holding in your mind.
2. Tell yourself that this thought is causing you pain and keeping love buried in darkness.
3. Turn inward and tell yourself,

Who I am is love. I can elect to change this addictive thought.

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Lesson Eighteen
Let me remember what my purpose is.

If you were always aware of your true purpose -love and forgiveness- there would be no reason to listen to the irrationality of the addictive thought system. It is in remembering your purpose that love can begin to shine in your mind. Today, concentrate on remembering love, instead of being bound by the chains of fear.
When you forget that your goal is peace of mind, you become confused and conflicted, unsure of your direction, and ultimately, unsure of who you are. When you forget your purpose, you become like a robot, automatically responding to external circumstances while having many conflicting goals. When you forget that your purpose is forgiveness, you judge others. In the absence of the awareness of love you become concerned with getting instead of giving, condemning instead of accepting. You become obsessively involved in pursuing that which is valueless. You have conflicted goals if you tell yourself that you want love, yet, at the same time, have a goal to change others to fit your specifications. Conflicting goals never lead to love.

When I have conflicting goals, conflict is what I'll get.

The addictive thought system specializes in conflicting goals. These conflicting goals can make you depressed, frustrated, fearful, and angry. You can escape from conflicting goals by identifying which goal is bringing you pain. Release that goal and keep the one you know brings love. The key to remembering your purpose is to discipline your mind to identify and let go of what does not lead to love. An unexamined mind goes unchanged.
You can escape the pain of conflicting goals by determining to remember your purpose. You can tell yourself,

What I want is love. To have love I offer love- and forgiveness is how I offer it.

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Lesson Nineteen
My present happiness is all I see.

When you look at yourself through the window of the past, it is like looking in a curved amusement park mirror: you see a distorted image of yourself. With each new breath you move into a new moment, untouched by the past. Today your goal is to embrace your happiness through living in this new moment. The only thing that you need to do to see your happiness is to change your mind from being focused on the past to being focused on the present. The present moment is a beautifully wrapped gift of love. It is waiting for you to open it.
Only when you look upon a distorted past and anticipate a fearsome future does your present happiness escape you. When you see a world full of separation, what you see is painful and frightening. Do not allow yourself to be deceived into thinking that guilt is inescapable, because in the present moment guilt does not exist. Today, begin to see that there is no value in holding onto the past.
Throughout this day, seek to find nothing but your present happiness, and look upon only what you seek. Do not obsessively wish that something could be different, and don't invite fear into your mind by thinking that the future will duplicate the past. Realize that the only thing that keeps you from experiencing peace of mind is your procrastination in accepting it, for peace of mind is always available to you in the present moment.
Repeat to yourself often:

The past is past.
The future is in the future.
My present happiness is all I see.

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Lesson Twenty
This instant is the only time there is.

Today's lesson is an extension of yesterday's in that the emphasis is upon living in the present moment. When your mind is focused on love, the present moment is all that exists in your awareness. Fear is a stranger to the love-based thought system. In contrast, the addictive thought system uses the past as a branding iron, attempting to burn guilt deep into your mind.
If you want a tranquil mind you must change your idea about the purpose of time. you may have seen time as both a judge and a prison guard, sentencing you to the guilt of the past and the worry of the future, overlooking the serenity of the present moment. Such a conception of time defeats your goal of inner peace and hinds love from your awareness. How you perceive time determines what you will experience.

Emphasis upon the past produces guilt. Emphasis upon the future produces worry and fear. Emphasis upon the present yields love.

You may mistakenly have thought that love was something to be achieved. You may have put love off into the future by thinking that you had to do something to be loved. Love is not achieved, love is remembered in the present moment. It is in the eternal now that love waits patiently. You may have thought that you had to wait for certain things to be accomplished or changed in order to deserve love; the only thing that needs to change is your belief about time.

When I am anything less than joyous,
when I feel a lack of any kind,
when I want something I don't have,
when I think that peace is impossible
because of what has happened,
or that peace is impossible
because of what has not happened,
I need but remind myself:
I need to change my mind about time.
This instant is the only time there is.

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Lesson Twenty-One
Fear binds the world, forgiveness sets it free.

Today's idea is a summarization: within this lesson are all the other ideas presented in this course.
The addictive thought system of fear, judgment, and guilt bind you in conflict and pain. The love-based thought system of caring, forgiveness and peace heals your mind and cleanses your perception.
Choose to break the bars of the prison of fear and realize how much all people are alike. Today, allow the darkness of conflict to be healed by the light of forgiveness. No longer can separation, fear, and conflict be called by other names, denied, projected onto someone or something else, avoided, hidden or disguised.
Blocks to forgiveness, and , therefore, love, arise when you accept the addictive thought system as true. As you gently remove these obstacles, the awareness of love becomes free to blossom and grow.
Determine to no longer hold yourself and the world in fear. Today, use no relationship, object or situation to hold yourself in the past. Instead, in all situations, and with all whom you meet, see that another chance for peace given to you. With each new moment you can ensure your peace of mind by practicing forgiveness.
With all whom you see or think about, offer a gentle thought of forgiveness, and accept the same for yourself.

Fear binds the world.
Forgiveness sets it free.
This is the key to my healing