Today we begin a new special theme, “What is Salvation?” Salvation is an idea that has no meaning in truth. Awareness-life-presence is unchanged, so it does not need salvation.

At the same time, attention, which is the moving aspect of presence, has the ability to taste anything it dips into. Since it has dipped deeply into thought, emotion and appearance, it has become confused about what it is. It is like sunlight that shines through a stained glass window. It has taken on the appearance of red and green and blue. However, attention has identified with the appearance, thereby forgetting that it has no color at all.

Salvation is undoing this misidentification. The means of salvation is “failing to support” the misidentification. We do that in two ways:

1. Forgiveness. Instead of believing thought, emotion and appearance, and instead of acting based on belief, we watch thought, emotion and appearance without acting from it. We abide as presence. When we are not able to do that easily, we use inquiry or another forgiveness tool to help us see through and detach from mistaken beliefs.

 

2. Awareness-watching-awareness meditation. Instead of going out into appearance, attention is brought back to its source. When attention pays attention to presence, it sees that it is one with presence and the same as presence. It therefore remembers itself as presence and drops the confusion that it is appearance.

Father, I will but to remember You.

Appearance is full of variety. Therefore, it is tempting to mind and attention. When mind and attention are unleashed, they jump around from one desire to another.

There is nothing wrong with experiencing temporary appearance. Attention was created so that we can experience appearance. However, the grasping energy of desire is a distortion of this ability. I call it a distortion because it is based on a sense of lack. It is based on the idea that I am not fulfilled within my beingness, so I need something else from outside of me to fulfill me.

When we looked at Lesson 185, we looked carefully at our desires. We asked, “Why do I want this thing that I desire? What do I expect to get from it?” We saw that what we really seek is the peace of truth realization. We seek the fulfillment of knowing our Self. That is our true desire.

Today, we remember this again.

If you have 30-minutes for meditation today, and you would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation:

Desire for Truth

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Forgiveness,” to contemplate Lesson 230, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description I

Today is our last day with the special theme, “What is Forgiveness?” If you have time during the day today, listen again to the audio teaching on “What is Forgiveness?”.

Now will I seek and find the peace of God.

The peace of God is not found in thought. Also, thought is not what you are. These statements are keys to finding the peace of God.

The peace of God is not found in thought. – If you observe thought, you will notice there are some joyful, peaceful thoughts, but those thoughts are not constant. All thoughts come and go. When attention is focused on the movement of thought, you experience change. If thoughts are currently joyful or peaceful, you have those experiences temporarily. However, when they are replaced by worrisome thoughts, thoughts of guilt or unworthiness, blame, annoyance, anger, etcetera, you experience loss of peace.

The peace of God is constant. Since thought is not constant, the peace of God cannot be found in thought.

Thought is not what you are. – Today’s workbook lesson says, “In peace I was created. And in peace do I remain. It is not given me to change my Self.”

Peace is what you are.

Today, when you pay attention to awareness during meditation, notice it is perfect peace. Thoughts change, and thoughts come and go, but the awareness they arise in is perfectly open, changeless peace.

Also, as you watch awareness today, notice that you are not thought. You are the perfectly open, changeless peace that thought arises in. If an emotion arises, notice you are not emotion. Like thought, emotion comes and goes; emotions change. But you are the awareness that is aware of emotion. You are the perfectly open, changeless peace that emotions arise in.

To seek and find the peace of God is merely to seek our Self. To know the peace of God is to identify with our ever-present Self, instead of identifying with the moving show of thought.

Please take time this morning to read, “What is Forgiveness,” to contemplate Lesson 229, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth:

AWA Description H

Love, which created me, is what I am.

Love is open, all-embracing, perfectly allowing and naturally accepting.

There is no judgment in love. It does not compare. There is no resistance in love. It does not wish for something that is different than what is. Love is not controlling. It does not manipulate. Love is quietly and peacefully present with what is.

Your true nature is love. The ego is not love.

Our purpose now is to live from our true nature, and let go of the ego illusion. I call it the “ego illusion,” because the ego pretends to be you, but it is not. Therefore, it is an illusion of you, but not the truth of you.

Today, while observing awareness-presence in meditation, notice it is love. Notice it is incapable of being anything but love. It has no judgment in it, no comparison, and no resistance. Also, notice it is what you are. This means, of course, that you are love.

Throughout the day today, remember to practice the Loving All Method. If you would like another review of the Loving All Method, read Chapter 12 of The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss again. Notice that when you practice the Loving All Method, you are practicing abiding as love.

Today, I practiced two meditations. First, I practiced AWA Description H (above). Next, I listened to an older mediation audio called “Love Meditation.” It is a fantasy meditation. I found the instructions from Description H naturally stayed with me as I listened to the Love Meditation. There were different feelings and a few thoughts that occurred during the Love Meditation, but as I concentrated on awareness in a relaxed manner, it was easy to see that I am the love that allowed the experience that occurred during the Love Meditation. There were a few thoughts; there were feelings; I am the openness (love) that allowed them.

The Love Meditation

If you would like to do both meditations, I recommend practicing Description H before listening to the Love Meditation. If you do not have time for both meditations in the morning, I recommend practicing Description H in the morning, and then listening to the Love Meditation later in the day.