Loss is not loss when properly perceived. Pain is impossible. There is no grief with any cause at all. And suffering of any kind is nothing but a dream. Such is the truth; at first to be but said, and then repeated many times;and next, to be accepted as but partly true, with many reservations. Then to be considered seriously more and more, and finally accepted as the truth. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. And I would go beyond the words today, go past all reservations, and arrive at full acceptance of the truth in them.
Father, what You have given cannot hurt, and grief and pain must be impossible. Let me not fail to trust in You today, accepting but the joyous as Your gifts; accepting but the joyous as the truth.
✨ Summary & practice
You can change all thoughts that hurt you.
After recognizing that your identity is not your image (lesson 283), this lesson gives you the power to transform your thinking. In the curriculum, it is a practical teaching on correcting perception. A loss is not a loss, when rightly perceived. Pain is impossible. There is no sorrow that has a cause. Suffering is but a dream. This is the truth, and you can learn to fully accept it, first by saying it, then by repeating it, then by accepting it as true.
The central idea is that you can choose to change all thoughts that hurt. You are invited to go beyond words and reservations, into full acceptance of the truth. What God has given cannot hurt. Grief and pain are impossible in God’s reality. You will not lack trust in God today, accepting only joy for His gifts, accepting only joy for the truth. The transformation of thought is your natural power.
This lesson builds upon the previous ones (281–283) and prepares for lessons 285–290 on holiness, silence, purpose, and forgiveness. It echoes lesson 248 (suffering is not part of me), lesson 249 (forgiveness ends all suffering), and lesson 251 (I need nothing except the truth). The power to change thoughts is the power to change all experience.
In practice, today, choose a recurring painful thought, a belief about yourself or the world that causes you suffering. Repeat the opposite truth: 'This is not true. The truth is...' Then repeat this truth several times. Do not try to believe it immediately. Just repeat it. Gradually, the old thoughts will lose their grip. In time, the truth will become as natural as the lie once was. You have the power to change your mind.
You are not at the mercy of your thoughts. You are the one who thinks, and you have the choice. Today, choose thoughts that heal instead of those that hurt. You have the power.
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