Lesson 227

This is my holy instant of release.

For the full lesson text, visit acim.org.

Lesson Practice

Today's lesson — "This is my holy instant of release." — invites you into a deeper experience of the Course's central teaching. As with every lesson in the workbook, the emphasis is on application rather than intellectual understanding. Let the idea for today accompany you throughout your day.

Begin your practice periods by repeating the idea slowly to yourself. Then close your eyes and let your mind be still for a moment. Don't try to force any particular experience — simply hold the idea gently in your awareness and notice what arises.

Throughout the day, return to today's idea whenever you remember. Each time you apply it — especially in moments of stress, conflict, or uncertainty — you strengthen your connection to the peace that lies beneath all surface appearances.

Key Themes

• Release: This lesson touches on the Course's teaching about release, inviting you to explore what this means in your direct experience.
• Freedom: This lesson touches on the Course's teaching about freedom, inviting you to explore what this means in your direct experience.
• Time: This lesson touches on the Course's teaching about time, inviting you to explore what this means in your direct experience.
• Grace: This lesson touches on the Course's teaching about grace, inviting you to explore what this means in your direct experience.

Practice Notes

• Repeat the idea for today slowly and with intention at the start of each practice period
• Close your eyes and sit quietly for a moment after repeating the idea
• Apply the idea specifically to situations and people throughout your day
• Don't judge yourself if you forget — simply return to the idea when you remember
• Let the practice be gentle and without pressure

Contemplation

Sit with today's idea for a few quiet moments. There is no need to analyze or understand it intellectually. The workbook's approach is experiential — understanding comes through practice, not through thinking about practice.

What would your day look like if you truly held this idea in mind? How might your responses to people and situations shift? Let these questions rest lightly in your awareness without demanding answers.

From Walking the Workbook

The lesson today returns to the holy instant.

The holy instant, as we have covered in True Forgiveness and throughout this companion, is the moment in which the mind steps briefly out of the running story and recognizes what is always available. Today the lesson asks the practitioner to declare a specific moment — this one — as the holy instant of release.

Not a future moment. Not a planned moment. The one in front of you. The holy instant is, the Course is saying, in the practitioner's hands, declarable now.

For today. Repeat the prayer. This is my holy instant of release. Each time you say it, treat the saying itself as the declaration. Continue.

A musical companion to today's lesson is available below.

Walking the Workbook, Volume Two is the ACIM.live companion for Lessons 121 through 240 — the middle third of the year, including the central forgiveness lessons and the opening of Part II. Read more about the book →

*This is original commentary and practice guidance, not the Course text itself. For the complete lesson, please visit The Foundation for Inner Peace.*