Download to Color: Mandala of the Week

Lesson 160: ”I am home. Fear is the stranger here.”

Reframe:  I rest in presence; fear has no place here.

Suggested Practice:
Five-fifteen minutes, morning and evening, sit with today’s idea:

I am home. Fear is the stranger here.

And ponder the answer to this question from the lesson:

”Who is the stranger? ²Is it fear or you who are unsuited to the home which God provided for His Son? ³Is fear His Own, created in His likeness? ⁴Is it fear that love completes, and is completed by? ⁵There is no home can shelter love and fear.⁶They cannot coexist. ⁷If you are real, then fear must be illusion. ⁸And if fear is real, then you do not exist at all.” (ACIM, W-160.4:1-8)

Message

The lesson starts with this:

”Fear is a stranger to the ways of love. ²Identify with fear, and you will be a stranger to yourself. ³And thus you are unknown to you. ⁴What is your Self remains an alien to the part of you which thinks that it is real, but different from yourself. ⁵Who could be sane in such a circumstance? ⁶Who but a madman could believe he is what he is not, and judge against himself?” (ACIM, W-160.1:1-6)

This lesson reminds us that fear and love cannot coexist. In any given moment, we’re either siding with our True Self or—as the Course puts it—we do not exist at all. That’s quite a leap. When we side with fear, we give it our rightful place. Like an elaborate costume, it disguises every aspect of our Self so thoroughly that we don’t even recognize ourselves. We assume the costume is real, yet our pain and suffering tell us something feels off.

What does that look like? One of my fears—or limiting beliefs—is that no one wants to hear what I have to say. Intellectually, I know that’s not entirely true. I can recall many instances where people wanted to hear my thoughts and stories. And yet, many times I’ve held back because I felt inadequate or intimidated by the potential listener. Even when I did share, I usually did so without confidence in myself or in what I was saying.

I realize now that if I feel safe with people or a situation, I have no problem talking or sharing my thoughts. If I don’t feel safe, I either remain quiet or speak nervously, coming off weak or shy. It’s about safety for me. Which means I’m siding with fear in both cases; fear decides whether I’m safe or not. But safe from what? Ridicule? Judgment? Attack? Rejection?

This lesson reminds me that I am at home when I side with Love. It’s no longer a question of safety, but rather: “What would love have me do in this moment?” For my fear, that translates to: “What would love have me say in this moment?”

When I’ve asked myself that, the response is often to remain quiet because there’s a good chance I don’t know the whole story. This brings to mind those filter questions to ask before speaking: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it useful? Is it necessary? Is it for me to say? In other words, do I want to speak from fear or from love?

The lesson concludes: “You are not a stranger to your Father, nor is your Creator stranger made to you. Whom God has joined remain forever one, at home in Him, no stranger to Himself.” (ACIM, W-160.8:1-5)

Fear is the stranger. Love is home.

“My job as one of its many ‘press agents’ is to let the world know that we are loved unconditionally—always, without exception, no matter what.”
— “The Course in Miracles Experiment” by Pam Grout

Blessings & Peace,

Maureen,
The Mandala Lady

transforming soul whispers
into mandalas & channeled messages
for clarity, peace, and joy

 About the 2026 Mandalas of the Day — ▶️ A Note About A Course in Miracles