The more I work with the Course, the more I see its simplicity. It all points to the basic principle that there is one problem and one solution. Today we are seeing that the problem is described as hanging on to the past. Guilt is always about something from the past. But what is over cannot be in the present, unless I bring it with me in my mind. When I bring the past with me I cannot see the present, because I have projected the past in its place.

The simple solution is to recognize that the past is not here and let it go. With this simple recognition, I am free to see the present clean and clear as what it is. Love is now, because Love is all there is.

Though the problem and the answer are always the same, my investment in the reality of the problem makes it seem difficult to accept the solution. The ego has concocted countless schemes and images to make the past seem real so that it covers the present. The seeming complexity of these images belies the simplicity of the false idea that underlies them all. This is the ego\'s defense, for the more complicated the problem appears to be, the less likely the solution will be recognized. And above all else, the ego does not want the solution to be seen.

Gratefully the Holy Spirit does not grab us by the scruff of the neck and hurl us into Heaven when we would perceive it as loss and death. Instead He is present in our mind to teach us, as we are willing, that this world is really nothing and when we let it go, we are letting go of nothing so that we can accept everything that is real.

The past does not hold on to us, for it has no power of its own. It is we who must let go of the power we give the past in our minds. We let go through forgiveness and see that the past is over and cannot touch us.

Holy Spirit, I ask Your help today to let the past go so that I can see the Love and peace and joy that are here now, and share it with all my brothers. I thank You for Your gentle teaching that leads me Home to the Light.

In the Text, Jesus talks about the tiny tick of time and the fact that with the thought of separation came its undoing. We never really could make a world of separation in reality. That thought of separation was undone in an instant. So the whole dream of separation has been undone. It is over. It is a dream of time with a past and future that never happened. The whole dream in its entirety was an attempt to cover up the truth that we, as extensions of Love, are still safe in the eternal Mind of God.

As we learn to hand over each part of the dream to the Holy Spirit to be undone, we gradually undo our belief in the dream. We gradually let go of what never was. We let go of thinking that guilt could ever be real. We let go of projecting guilt onto imaginary images of separation. We gradually recognize that the past is over. We see that all that we feared is merely a dream that in fact is over. We are led to recognize that we are still Love and that can never change. We gradually free ourselves from the chains that our belief in separation has bound us with.

We see that the one solution that really heals is to let go of our belief in separation. The truth of our oneness in Love is true and will forever be true. The past (the imaginary dream of separation) can touch us not as we cease to place our belief in it. This whole dream world of separation is over. A return to Love is the only answer that has any meaning. "The past is over. It can touch me not."

The only reason we seem to have problems is because we think the ego thought system (alien will) is real. As long as we believe that, we are clueless about what is actually real. We have no idea of the Love and joy that is ours because they are God\'s Will. We flounder around in a world of chaos and uncertainty, oblivious to the happiness God has in store for us. But we do not have to be stuck in this belief system. We need only ask for God\'s help to give us the strength and certainty to not interfere with His Will.

Because the ego believes in sin and punishment, the ego tells us that God\'s Will for us is punishment and that He will demand sacrifice of us if we "yield" to His Will. The ego has us convinced that it is God\'s Will that is alien to us. Yet in truth, we share God\'s Will. It is the ego\'s will that is alien. The ego\'s view of God\'s Will is simply a projection of the ego\'s belief in sin, punishment and sacrifice.

Again and again the Course tells us in different ways that God\'s Will for us is perfect happiness. It seems hard to believe because in our identification with the ego we have never experienced a wholly benevolent will. Our lives are filled with suspicion and doubt. It seems that even our best friends have the potential to turn on us and become our enemies. This is because the relationships we have in this world are based on specialness that is ever changing. God\'s Love is unknown in this world, because this world was made to keep Love out.

By the grace of God, this need not be. He has given us a healing dream that helps us let go of the fearful world we think we have made. This healing dream is the dream of forgiveness. There would be no need for forgiveness if we did not believe in sin and condemnation. But the illusion of forgiveness is used to help us let go of the guilt and the accompanying fear that comes with the belief that we have separated from Love.

We have help with forgiveness. We need only ask for this help and the strength of God is ours. It is with His strength that we forgive. It is available to us in every moment. A happy outcome is assured because only happiness is real. Forgiveness lets go of the interference that blinds us to the joy and love that is ever present.

Holy Spirit, I ask your help today to let go of the interference, so that I may recognize the happy endings promised me for every problem I perceive.

The sentence that stands out to me in this lesson is, "Help us not to interfere, and so delay the happy endings You have promised for us for every problem that we can perceive, for every trial we think we still must meet." (2:2) How do I not interfere with the happy ending? Day by day I practice being mindful of the ego\'s thought system. I observe it and hand it over to the Holy Spirit for a changed perception.

I practice stepping back from what I think I already know and ask to be shown the truth. I let go of thinking I know anything. I ask for the peace of God and open my mind to receive it. I give times during the day to quiet my mind and leave it open for Holy Spirit\'s inspiration. I practice resting in peace, resting in God\'s Love, resting in the remembrance that only Love is real. I ask often, "What would you have me do, where would you have me go, what you have me say and to whom?"

I remember that guilt is what makes the world go round and delays the happy outcome. I watch for the times when I am tempted to believe that guilt is real. As soon as I see it, I hand it to the Holy Spirit and ask for a new perception because I have had enough of the alien will. It has not brought me happiness. Separation is really hell. I do not know how to get out of hell, but the Holy Spirit in my mind does. And so day by day, I practice taking all my perceptions of separation to the Holy Spirit to be undone.

As long as I continue to believe in the reality of separate bodies with separate minds, I have more to hand over to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit shows me in each instance the unreality of my perceptions. The Holy Spirit shows me the undivided Love that is behind each perception of separation. Whenever I think I have a problem, the Holy Spirit shows me that there is another way of looking at it.

Holy Spirit, help me not interfere and so delay the happy endings.