A Course In Miracles Lesson 80
A Course In Miracles Lesson 80
Can I let this problem go?
A Course In Miracles Lesson 80 states: Let me recognize my problems have been solved. Yesterday we learned that there is always only ever one problem which can appear as many different problems. But choosing to see our problems as divers is the way we keep our problems unsolved. Because there is only ever one problem (a belief in separation from Creation) there can ever only be one solution, a change in that mistaken belief.
The belief that we are alone in life and that we, alone must figure out how to solve our problems is our actual problem. A Course In Miracles Lesson 80 wants us to understand that this problem has actually been solved, we just aren’t aware of that fact yet. All our problems will be solved all at once when we decide to believe we are not alone in this life. We are not out here in isolation forced to face hatred, violence, and overwhelming odds to no end. If we were, we would already be gone. The seeming destructive ‘powers that be’ would have already done us in.
The Creative Field that is reality has already solved our problem of feeling separate. Creation created the solution in the same instant the problem of separation occurred. A Course In Miracles calls this event the Holy Instant. We can call it what Eckhart Tolle refers to as the Power of Now. That instant, the Now, is the moment of realization from within your own mind that you are still connected to that which you believe was lost. You have not been separated from That Which Created you.
Where to find the solution
The answer to the separation problem was placed inside our minds where we would always be able to eventually find it whenever we finally decided to look for it. The answer to ending suffering comes in the form of a voice within your thoughts. This voice is someone you can talk to either silently by thinking or through writing or just sitting quietly and listening to the nature all around you. The curtains billow… that is a movement of love. A bird lands, a car swishes by… Peace is within all of life. We need only recognize it.
The voice within will never leave you in the same way your ethnicity can never leave you. You are that voice of peace within and so it can never be lost. This is why our problems have been solved. We are of a nature and a power that simply does not have a problem. We come from wholeness, complete and loving. All is well where we really are. To think that our current life situation is all there is to what and who we are is the only problem we ever have.
A Course In Miracles Lesson 80 says that if we are willing to recognize our problems as the one problem of feeling isolated, we will be able to recognize that our problems are not really problems. This is because isolation is not really ever possible. Only illusions of isolation are possible and illusions, by definition are not real. We do not really have a problem because we are not this one single manifestation of a body.
We may have goals and ambitions for this body we are living in. Not achieving those goals will feel painful if we disconnect from the timeless dimension. If we stay connected to the Creative Field, our goals are an exciting adventure of discovery rather than a source of disappointment or frustration. Remembering that we have all of time to learn, grow, and achieve our interests is how we can relax enough to begin to make progress. Relaxation is the required condition for all learning and growth. Releasing the pressures of time help bring relaxation. In Reality, we are not alone and we are not vulnerable. We are visitors in our current bodies and wear this body like the clothing we have on now. We will journey on from this physical expression into another expression. We will never be without what we need.
You can choose to experience lack and need but this will only be a temporary and meaningless illusion. Like a fence, in a meadow, you can walk around this belief and access the Field at any time.
Today’s lesson may cause irritation. It could feel like you are being asked to just disregard genuine concerns and simply “get over it,” whatever “it” may be. But this is only because of the limitations of the book. It is true that no written guidance will be able to listen to your specific struggle or bear witness to the unique challenge you face. All a book can do is remind you that no matter what that problem is, you can shift it by reconnecting with a larger power than your one perspective.
Redefinition of Terms
This lesson uses religious language to explain that freedom from conflict (salvation) has been given to you and that you are ready to take your rightful place in the Universal process (God’s Plan) of restoring peace. We could also call “God’s Plan” the Tao, the Movement of Grace, The Way. Whatever we call it, it leads to relief. It is there for us to find and follow.
The plan for restoring peace is not like the plans we find in history that followed the paths of war to help kings and priests justify invasions. Those were the plans of people dressed up and disguised as righteousness. Calling something “God’s plan” may cause wariness because of how often such so-called plans led to arrogant and violent behavior. Being wary of such a phrase only indicates a true compass within yourself and an awareness of how easy it is to abuse language for the purpose of manipulation. Wariness indicates discernment and a commitment to following what is true. If the words, “God’s Plan” or “salvation” cause a conflict in your mind, simply replace the phrase with your definition.
The phrase is actually a way of describing a concept of optimism. The term “God’s Plan” is conveying the idea that there is a Grace in this world that can, like a cool breeze, carry us out of a dilemma we alone do not know how to resolve. “God’s Plan” refers to the idea that the resolution of problems is something that can be done for us rather than by us on our own. When we are willing to accept the concept of the Creative Field as real and living, we begin to learn how it is possible to live without problems.
Could we really not have any problems?
What would we do with all the energy we would have if we stopped spending it on being frustrated? What would we grow with the volumes of inspiration that would arise if we removed the fence from the middle of our perfectly thriving field? Could we not have problems?
This is not to say we would stop encountering contrasting situations in need of navigation. But these situations would not need to be problems. They could be yet another way to deepen our connection with the Creative Field. The power of the Creative Field is that it creatively uses any illusion we may conjure up as a potential resource for finding our way out of that very illusion. Turn a problem into a resource and a tool for locating Grace.
Our perception of any situation is very small. It may seem there is no solution to the specific dilemma you are in. But just because you can not see a solution does not mean a solution does not exist. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. We do not know how to find solutions to our problems. If we did, we would not have them. They’d be gone by now. A Course In Miracles Lesson 80 is asking us to put down our personal struggles, put down the notion that we are operating alone in isolation under impossible odds. Find a willingness to be guided by a larger power than yourself out of your dilemma.
Apply today's lesson The Practice
We can not ever understand the insane. You can not understand situations that are caused by a belief in chaos and destruction. Such a belief is utterly irreconcilable with the belief in unified creation. Only one belief is true. The one you choose will become true for you, but that will not have any effect on the actual true and correct belief. You can believe in misguided logic. Doing so only effects your experience. It has no effect on the unassailable truth.
Lesson 80 wants to help you navigate your thoughts by inviting you to recognize all day, as often as you can remember that any problem you encounter has already been solved. When you ask for resolution, it is given. If conflict persists, ask yourself if you would be willing to let go of believing this conflict is needed. Remind yourself you are willing to learn how to become someone who can let in easy solutions and relaxing interactions.
In religious Christian terms, todays idea is expressed in the story of the “coming of Christ” which is really only a demonstration of someone choosing to reconnect with the power of Divine Creation. The story of the agony on the cross was not teaching the idea that suffering is something Creation wants for us. It was a demonstration that suffering can be overcome. There is a reason the story is so outrageously violent. Its outrageousness is a tool to compare all problems to. You can overcome even this much suffering. But because it has been proven now as possible, let that whole conversation with pain go. We need not suffer to learn peace. Let that story of pain be the last lesson in pain we ever need. Let us take that event forward from there into a new capacity to learn through joy. Let an increase in joy be our motivator, not an increase in sacrifice, compromise, or pain.
Do not choose suffering as a pathway to Christ Consciousness or the Buddha-nature. Choose to reconnect to the tremendous power of kindness, releasing yourself from the bonds of anger. Your problem is nothing when you take time to reconnect with the infinite.
God is not a concept. God is a living conscious Field of unification. There is no problem that Field can not solve. There is nothing that Field can not include. You and all your beliefs (right or wrong) are included in that Field. To release your problems, give them to that Field where they will at once vanish away, never having been real. This is what is meant when it is said, In God, all is forgiven. Errors and mistakes are not held against us in the Unified Field.
Why would we not want to lay every problem down at such a Resource? Why would we want to carry a burden when we do not have to? What is your real interest in this burden? What does it do for you? What about it fascinates you so much you want to keep struggling with it? Can you put the problem down? Can you not have this problem? Can you see that your problem has been solved?
Summary of Lesson 79
Remind yourself often throughout the day that your problems have been solved. Say to each one as you feel the tension in your mind and body rise up, “This problem has been solved. I am willing to learn how to not have this problem. I turn now to the power of Creation. I let Creation in to navigate this problem for me. I step aside and let Grace lead the way.”
About the Author
Hi, I’m Jess. This blog is an ongoing discussion and practice of A Course In Miracles. All content is based on and cited from the original publication. Learn more about Jess…