Daniel Day 4

Chapter 7.VI "From Vigilance to Peace" in ACIM is so powerful.

• Your ability to direct your thinking as you choose is part of its (your mind's) power.
• ...its power is not of its own making.
• ...attack must be relinquished entirely...The mind that accepts attack cannot love.
• Love is your power, which the ego must deny.
• Appreciation brings love. The ego opposes all appreciation, recognition, sane perception and knowledge.

Part of my time of fasting is for silence. I remember this in the evening hours when I can just sit in silence; denying my ego its incessant grabbing for more. My ego thinks I am spiritual in order to achieve Illumination, write a book and get rich. My inner being is fine with just sitting in God's presence with no perceptible indulgences.

Last evening, I relaxed into sleep thinking, "God, I offer myself to you to do with me and build with me as you will...may I at last abandon myself utterly to you." (AA's 3rd step prayer)

I have felt completely safe from eating the things not on my original list. I must have made a total commitment to the spirit of Daniel; determined not to defile myself with the royal food. I have been free of conflict on this issue and any little inkling of "maybe eat this" is answered with "oh no, I am on a Daniel fast." A total decision and commitment is hard to shake when the support of God is accepted.

I feel so safe in my commitment that it occurred to me that I finally have an idea of how I make and keep commitments; and that the commitment to a Daniel fast could be expanded to a total commitment to the Holy Spirit's thought system (instead of the ego thought system). Fear, doubt, conflict and attack are the ego's delusional thought system. To keep my commitment to the Holy Spirit's thought system: when I think I want to attack another in my thoughts, judge them, entertain doubts of God's existence, enter conflict about God or fear what will happen to me, I say, "oh no, I am under the Holy Spirit's thought system." It’s not that my ego won't offer me its corruption, but that I can deny it. I have the power which comes from God. I am free. Today I understand what to do.

I am totally committed to the Holy Spirit's thought system therefore I abstain from the ego's delusional attack, conflict, doubt and fear because they are not true. Only God is true.