Teacher of God, Teacher of Love, Teacher of Peace
by Tom Baker
Lesson: Text, Chap. 6, The Lessons of Love, III. The Relinquishment of Attack;
Workbook, Lessons 23 through 29
Date: August 24, 2008
When we study A Course In Miracles we are in training to be teachers of God. This does not mean we are learning to teach the Course or that we are becoming ministers in any formal way. It means, first of all, that we are learning that we are love by teaching others that they are love. This idea is encapsulated in the phrase: "Teach only love, for that is what you are." From the Holy Spirit's perspective, all learning is done through teaching. The teacher of God is learning that he or she is love by teaching love in all the ways he or she is in the world, as Thomas Merton put it in how to recognize a saint, "in the way he sits and stands and how he holds things in his hands." In the bigger picture, the teacher of God is teaching others (and herself) what they really are, namely, that they are holy. This is the miracle. It happens in large and small moments with people we know and don't know, and it is guided by the Holy Spirit and directed by Jesus.
"That is why you must teach only one lesson. If you are to be conflict-free yourself, you must learn only from the Holy Spirit and teach only by Him. You are only love, but when you deny this, you make what you are something you must learn to remember. I said before that the message of the crucifixion was, 'Teach only love, for that is what you are.' This is the one lesson that is perfectly united, because it is the only lesson that is one. Only by teaching it can you learn it. 'As you teach so will you learn.' If that is true, and it is true indeed, do not forget that what you teach is teaching you. And what you project or extend you believe. <
The only safety lies in extending the Holy Spirit, because as you see His gentleness in others your own mind perceives itself as totally harmless. Once it can accept this fully, it sees no need to protect itself. The protection of God then dawns upon it, assuring it that it is perfectly safe forever. The perfectly safe are wholly benign. They bless because they know that they are blessed. Without anxiety the mind is wholly kind, and because it extends beneficence it is beneficent. Safety is the complete relinquishment of attack. No compromise is possible in this. Teach attack in any form and you have learned it, and it will hurt you. Yet this learning is not immortal, and you can unlearn it by not teaching it." (T. Chap. 6, III. The Relinquishment of Attack, pp. 99-100).
The lessons that go with this are early ones, explicitly beginning with Lesson 23 and moving through Lesson 29:
Lesson 23: I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.
"The idea for today contains the only way out of fear that will ever succeed....Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is to be changed." (W. p. 34).
Lesson 24: I do not perceive my own best interests.
"In no situation that arises do you realize the outcome that would make you happy." (W. p. 36).
Lesson 25: I do not know what anything is for.
"Purpose is meaning. Today's idea explains why nothing you see means anything. You do not know what it is for. Therefore, it is meaningless to you. Everything is for your own best interests. That is what it is for; that is its purpose; that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that your goals become unified. It is in recognizing this that what you see is given meaning." (W. p. 38).
Lesson 26: My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.
"It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked you are not invulnerable. You see attack as a real threat. That is because you believe that you can really attack." (W. p. 40).
Lesson 27: Above all else I want to see.
"Today's idea expresses something stronger than mere determination. It gives vision priority among your desires."
(W. p. 42).
Lesson 28: Above all else I want to see things differently.
"When you say, 'Above all else I want to see this table differently,' you are making a commitment to withdraw your preconceived ideas about the table, and open your mind to what it is, and what it is for. You are not defining it in past terms. You are asking what it is, rather than telling it what it is. You are not binding its meaning to your tiny experience of tables, nor are you limiting its purpose to your little personal thoughts." (W. p. 43).
Lesson 29: God is in everything I see.
"The idea for today explains why you can see all purpose in everything. It explains why nothing is separate, by itself or in itself. And it explains why nothing you see means anything. In fact, it explains every idea we have used thus far, and all subsequent ones as well. Today's idea is the basis for vision." (W. p. 45).
When we stop attacking with our thoughts we will see God who is love, who brings peace and who feels like joy...everywhere. Joy to the world!
© Copyright Tom Baker 2008