The light has come?

[Please note: ACIM passages quoted in this article reference the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) Edition.]

The last few days, I’ve been practicing Lesson 75, “The light has come.” It is a beautiful lesson affirming that, whatever my life looks like at any given moment, the light has come, for I have forgiven the world, and I can see the glorious new world revealed by my forgiveness right here and right now.

The lesson begins with such reassuring, inspiring words:

The light has come. You are healed and you can heal. The light has come. You are saved and you can save. You are at peace, and you bring peace with you wherever you go. Darkness and turmoil and death have disappeared. The light has come.

Today we celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster. There are no dark dreams now. The light has come. Today the time of light begins for you and everyone. It is a new era, in which a new world is born. The old one has left no trace upon it in its passing. Today we see a different world, because the light has come. (1:1-2:7)

The thing that has always hung me up with this lesson is its confident, unambiguous assertion that all these things are true right now. I find myself comparing these assertions to my actual life and asking, “How can all this be so, given what my life looks like? I mean, sure, there are lots of good things in my life, but overall it seems like the light hasn’t come. If the light has come, then why do I still have dark days sometimes? Why don’t I always feel healed and saved? Why don’t I heal and save others all the time? Why don’t I always feel at peace? Why don’t I seem to bring peace with me at all times wherever I go? There still seems to be at least some disaster in my life. Where’s that new world that is supposedly here right now, today?”

The same types of questions arise when I contemplate the line the lesson has us repeat: “The light has come. I have forgiven the world?” My response is “Really? I’ve forgiven the world? Then why am I still upset with Uncle Joe? Why do I still get irritated so easily when that guy in front of me doesn’t use his turn signal (or worse, throws his lighted cigarette butt out the window)? Why am I still aghast at that BP oil spill? It sure doesn’t look like I’ve forgiven the world.”

As we go on with the lesson, though, it becomes clear what the lesson getting at: The light has come, we have forgiven the world, that new world is here, but our current thoughts can block our vision and prevent us from seeing what is right in front of us. It is a lesson in setting aside the darkness we think we’re seeing, and opening our minds to the light that is already present, just waiting to be discovered:

Dwell not upon the past today. Keep a completely open mind, washed of all past ideas and clean of every concept you have made. You have forgiven the world today. You can look upon it now as if you never saw it before. You do not know yet what it looks like. You merely wait to have it shown to you. While you wait, repeat several times, slowly and in complete patience:

The light has come. I have forgiven the world. (6:1-9)

A number of attitudes are encouraged as we repeat these words. One is desire: “This is what we want to see, and only this” (4:2). Another is patience: We are to “wait patiently for [the Holy Spirit]” (7:8) to reveal that new world to us. Another is confidence: “Tell [the Holy Spirit] you know you cannot fail because you trust in Him. And tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He promised you” (8:1-2). Another is gratitude: We “offer thanks for the passing of the old and the beginning of the new” (3:1). Another is celebration: “We celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster” (2:1); we remind ourselves often that “today is a time for special celebration” (9:1).

Finally, we are to watch with vigilance, not only vigilance for the new vision we’re seeking, but also vigilance against any thoughts that might obscure that vision. “Should you be tempted, say to anyone who seems to pull you back into darkness: The light has come. I have forgiven you” (10:4-6). “We do not want to see the ego’s shadow on the world today” (5:1). We don’t want any party crashers to come into our minds and spoil the celebration of the light that has come.

I’m trying to bring all of these attitudes into the repetition of those practice lines. I’m trying to open my mind to the possibility that maybe, just maybe, the light really has come, I really have forgiven the world, and I really can see that glorious new world right this instant. So far, so good. I can’t say I’ve had a major epiphany, but I do feel a warm glow inside when I repeat those lines. Something in me tells me that the glow will expand into a blazing light if I just keep at it. I look forward to the day when I can say with the full conviction that comes from direct experience, “The light has come. I have forgiven the world.”