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Review IV: "My mind holds only what I think with God." and "When I am
healed I am not healed alone. Heaven is the decision I must make."”

I experience this whole world because I still think the ego thought system offers me something I
want. It doesn't seem that this world is of my own making. Certainly I didn't sit down consciously and
dream up the tree-lined lake that my body's eyes see as I look out the window. The world tells me it
was there thousands of years before this body existed.

To me it's the illusion of time that seems to make this world so real. If I could really fully recognize
that time is an illusion I have made up as well, I believe it would be easier to recognize that all the
images of the world are projections from my mind. Time makes those images appear not to come
from me. But if all those images occur only now, because there is no time, then I can't claim that
some seed that sprouted a hundred years ago is the cause of the tree I am looking at. My mind is so
ingrained with the belief in the reality of time and space that it is still hard for me to fathom that the
physical world I perceive is not real.

Yet as I practice remembering statements like, "Heaven is the decision I must make," the importance
I place on the images I see through the body's eyes diminishes. This is a valuable step toward
recognizing fully that the world I see is an illusion. I have observed as I work with the thought system
of the Course, that I make less and less big deals. It's the importance I give things that is the basis for
my big deals.

If I drop a sock on the floor as I'm gathering clean laundry from the dryer, I simply gather it in and
continue on my way with hardly a thought about it. But if I think my worth is based on my tidiness
and coordination, I might get upset, call myself a klutz and a slob and make a big deal out of the
simple event of dropping a sock on the floor. The same event is given different meanings based on
the belief system I hold dear.

As I accept more and more that the sock and all other images in this world are illusions, they become
less and less the source of my value and happiness. As I turn away from seeking happiness and value
in the world, I become more and more open to making the decision for Heaven and accepting God's
gift of joy.

Affirming that my mind holds only what I think with God focuses my attention on the part of my
mind that already knows its worth, its joy, its very life is in God, the one Source of all that is real. The
frustration, disappointment and depression that come from seeking for value where it cannot be
found diminishes and the experience of God's peace and joy and the safety of His Love grows
stronger.

Today I will practice with gratitude and happy anticipation, remembering that when I am healed, I
am not healed alone. My healing comes from making the decision for Heaven and remembering,
"My mind holds only what I think with God."

I recently read a section of the Text that reminded me that I do not and cannot make decisions on
my own. With every decision, we are either joining with the ego thought system or with the Holy
Spirit. We are always joining with one or the other. When I join with the ego thought system, I see

Lessons by Marlyn Marval Feb 23th thru April 9th 2015