Day 43

Today's Lesson:

God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him.

Today we begin to understand the distinction between perception and knowledge. Perception is not an attribute of God. God's realm is the realm of knowledge. Perception is what we think we see through the body's eyes. Knowledge is what we Know because of God. God has given us the Holy Spirit to act as the Mediator between perception and knowledge. Without this link with God, our perception would have replaced knowledge forever in our minds. With this link with God, our perception will become so changed and purified that it will lead to knowledge.

We are also encouraged to use three five-minute practice periods today, one as early and one as late as possible in the day. This Course demonstrates how important it is to be quiet and Know our Source. The lesson assures us that our perception will be changed and purified - but we have to slow down and be still.

Miracles I'm noticing:

I'm becoming more aware all the time of the importance of stillness and quietness in my life. All the great teachers and authors who speak of our link to spirituality in any area of our lives tell us that meditation and stillness are essential to our whole person growth. I find that as I start to get very busy, I'm given subtle and not-so-subtle reminders that stillness is an essential part of my own personal growth (see a previous post about my experience with the highway patrolman).

Today's lesson proves - in the spiritual sense - something I've been teaching in my manufacturing training, and shows how everything is connected. One of the quotes I've been using for the past 4 years in my Job Relations training comes from an HR group in Minnesota. It says:

We are measured not by what we are, but by the perception of what we seem to be; not by what we do, but by how we appear to do it.

Notice the word "perception." Today we learn that perception is not an attribute of God - it is our human way of seeing. God Knows. We perceive. I think the best way to get beyond perception - ours or others' - is to have a conversation. When we can be very aware of our intention in any given moment, and are certain that our intention is loving and, as today's lesson tells us, through God as our Source - we can deal with our own and others' perception much differently than if we saw perception the same as we know knowledge.

What do you see as the distinction between perception and knowledge in your own life? How might these distinctions move you to a higher level of understanding?