Lesson 196 – The Enemy Is Not Outside

"It can only be myself I crucify"

Lesson 196 of A Course in Miracles brings us to a central truth of the spiritual path: real pain does not come from outside, but is created within ourselves. We are the only ones who can truly hurt us, not because we deserve punishment, but because we have the power to choose between fear and Love at every moment.

"When we attack, judge, or project guilt onto others, we end up reinforcing pain in our own minds. The illusion that hurting another will bring us relief sustains our separation and suffering. The ego, clever and persistent, feeds this belief to keep us in a cycle of defense, guilt, and fear, thereby distancing us from true healing."

The good news is that we can choose again. When we interrupt this cycle, even briefly, we make room for Love to reveal a new vision: peace in others begins within ourselves.

This lesson also reminds us that we are not bodies destined for condemnation, but spiritual beings on a path of inner resurrection. Every step taken with willingness is a move toward freedom. It is not time that heals, but our sincere surrender to the present, the sacred now where all transformation occurs.

The Course invites us to honestly examine the unconscious beliefs we carry, including the fear of God,

that deep, ancient confusion that makes us believe He judges or punishes us. But this fear is only an illusion, born of a fragmented mind that believes in separation.

When we realize no attack is real, that nothing outside can truly harm us, we begin to dismantle the foundations of fear. This shift in perception dissolves the inner prison. We begin to see each challenge as a gateway to rebirth.

Salvation is no longer a distant promise, it becomes a present choice. It does not lie in the world’s hands, but within us. The final resistance — that terror we sometimes feel just before surrendering to the truth — is simply the ego’s last breath before it dissolves.

As we welcome the loving guidance of God’s Thoughts, we allow the memory of the Creator to be reborn in our hearts.

No external force can block us when we accept truth with simplicity. The direction is clear: it is Love. This lesson reminds us that even though we have believed in guilt and crucifixion, we are also the doorway to redemption. We are indeed responsible for our choices, but that is liberation. If pain comes from within, so does healing.

May this teaching echo gently in your awareness.

May it bring lightness, clarity, and freedom in the now.

And may you remember that if you can only crucify yourself, it is also in you that Love wishes to be reborn.

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