I am determined to see things differently – Susan Dugan and Bruce Rawles review

In this video, Susan Dugan and Bruce Rawles read and talk about Workbook Lesson 21 from A Course In Miracles: “I am determined to see things differently.” Here is the third paragraph of that lesson:

“Try, therefore, not to let the “little” thoughts of anger escape you in the practice periods. Remember that you do not really recognize what arouses anger in you, and nothing that you believe in this connection means anything. You will probably be tempted to dwell more on some situations or persons than on others, on the fallacious grounds that they are more ‘obvious.’ This is not so. It is merely an example of the belief that some forms of attack are more justified than others.” – W-pI.21.3

The habit of gentle mental discipline that requires our practice, practice, practice is a gentle discipline that leads to ever greater freedom when guided by the Inner Kindness Teacher that ACIM refers to as Holy Spirit, as contrasted with ego’s harsh, punitive and cruel (fake) discipline that is really just slavish allegiance to the thought system of sin, guilt, fear, and death.

Some related Course quotes about the importance of gentle discipline include:

“You are much too tolerant of mind wandering, and are passively condoning your mind’s miscreations.” T-2.VI.4:6

“Sustained concentration is very difficult at first. It will become much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less distractible.” W-pI.39.9:3-4

“This will be diffi­cult, at first particularly, since you are not proficient in the mind discipline that it requires. You may need to repeat “Let me not forget my function” quite often to help you concentrate.” W-pI.64.7:2-3

“It is difficult at this point not to allow your mind to wander, if it undertakes extended prac­tice. You have surely realized this by now. You have seen the extent of your lack of mental discipline, and of your need for mind training. It is necessary that you be aware of this, for it is indeed a hindrance to your advance.” – W-pI.95.4:2-4

Susan writes with clarity about A Course in Miracles in her helpful blog, ForaysInForgiveness.

Since these video recordings have been a “labor of love” for many years, we thought it would be helpful to remind viewers that donations are always appreciated to enable us to continue devoting time to making these conversations available publicly to fellow students of ACIM worldwide; our intent is to be truly helpful. The Donate button on Susan’s site is toward the top of the middle column on each page of her ForaysInForgiveness site, and a similar donation button on my site is at the bottom in the sidebar on each page of ACIMblog. (Please note that ACIMblog.com and ForaysInForgiveness.com do not represent charitable organizations, and any donations are not tax-deductible.)

We recommend these websites to all students of ACIM, both of which have recently updated websites with great resources:

• Foundation for A Course In Miracles (FACIM), which has new Course-related streaming videos and podcasts, including previously unreleased recordings.
• Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) which has numerous new features, including instant “zero-click” access via the ticker tape on each page to today’s calendar Workbook Lesson – available in 7 languages, a new comprehensive FAQs page and a wealth of Course-related news, contextually relevant and historical archival material about ACIM’s origins, outreach (study groups) and ongoing products and extensions around the globe, including over two dozen translations. There are numerous video conversations on ACIMblog with Dr. Bob Rosenthal, co-President of FIP.

(This video was recorded on January 22, 2020.)

View additional video conversations with Susan Dugan on ACIMblog here.