Dare to journey beyond fear and discover what truly lies within you. Lesson 309 from A Course in Miracles challenges our fundamental resistance to self-examination with a powerful truth: what we're afraid to find inside ourselves doesn't actually exist.
Many of us avoid looking within because we fear confronting darkness, guilt, or sin. This fear stems from the ego's clever deception that we've somehow created a "second will" apart from God's—that we've successfully separated ourselves and become sinful beings. The profound revelation of this lesson is that such separation is impossible. When we summon the courage to look past the ego's meaningless chatter, we discover not the condemnation we feared but an untouched altar of innocence.
This innocence isn't something we need to earn, defend, or repair. It simply exists as our natural state because "it is God's will that it be there forever and forever." Within each of us resides a sanctuary—visualized around the heart space—where our true identity remains in perfect safety, completely untouched by any illusion. The spiritual practice shifts from self-criticism to self-recognition, from seeking flaws to remembering wholeness.
Hope Johnson guides us through practical applications of this teaching: visualizing the pristine altar within, questioning whether our self-judgments reflect God's will or a false will we can release, and affirming "within me is the holiness of God." Through these practices, we gradually dissolve our resistance to looking inward and recognize that anything appearing ugly or sinful simply isn't us. Our true identity remains eternally innocent, forever joined with God in perfect holiness that can never be compromised.
Ready to transform your relationship with yourself? Listen now, and remember: if your peace seems disturbed, you're merely dreaming. Your true self remains undisturbed, serene, and holy—just waiting for your recognition.
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