Download to Color: Mandala of the Week

Lesson 169: ”By grace I live. By grace I am released.

Reframe:  Through awareness and trust, I am free and at peace.

Suggested Practice:
Spend 5-15 minutes, a moments throughout the day, pondering today’s idea. Start with embracing how the Course explains the term grace:

“Grace is an aspect of the Love of God which is most like the state prevailing in the unity of truth. ²It is the world’s most lofty aspiration, for it leads beyond the world entirely. ³It is past learning, yet the goal of learning, for grace cannot come until the mind prepares itself for true acceptance. ⁴Grace becomes inevitable instantly in those who have prepared a table where it can be gently laid and willingly received; an altar clean and holy for the gift.” (ACIM, W-169.1:1-4)

Start your practice with this prayer:

³By grace I live. ⁴By grace I am released.
⁵By grace I give. ⁶By grace I will release.
(ACIM, W-169.15:3-6)

Message

From the Lesson:

“Grace* is acceptance of the Love of God within a world of seeming hate and fear. ²By grace alone the hate and fear are gone, for grace presents a state so opposite to everything the world contains, that those whose minds are lighted by the gift of grace can not believe the world of fear is real.”

“Grace is not learned. ²The final step must go beyond all learning. ³Grace is not the goal this course aspires to attain.⁴Yet we prepare for grace in that an open mind can hear the Call to waken. ⁵It is not shut tight against God’s Voice. ⁶It has become aware that there are things it does not know, and thus is ready to accept a state completely different from experience with which it is familiarly at home.”(ACIM, W-169.2:1–3:6)

I have to be honest: right now, I’m not in a place to accept grace. There’s anxiety and frustration here, and I’m aware of it.

I also know what to do to release myself from it. Just writing and talking about it helps—I can feel myself moving toward neutral, which is a better mindset because then I can observe the inner tug-of-war: stick with the frustration, or claim grace.

If I truly wanted grace, I know I could just call on the Holy Spirit to show me a different view. But I also feel the resistance to doing that. It’s interesting to watch.

So here’s my plan: I’ll stay in Observer mode for a while, watching the ego mind do its thing, while knowing the Holy Spirit is there as my lifeline whenever I’m ready to let go and receive grace. And that’s okay.

Sometimes in this 3-D world, the best we can do is prep for acceptance.

“Grace is not learned. ²The final step must go beyond all learning. ³Grace is not the goal this course aspires to attain.⁴Yet ”yyGrace is acceptance of the Love of God within a world of seeming hate and fear. ²By grace alone the hate and fear are gone, for grace presents a state so opposite to everything the world contains, that those whose minds are lighted by the gift of grace can not believe the world of fear is real.”

*Grace – the state of being where we release the ego mind and rise to the Divine in gratitude and love.

“My beliefs are the brakes that stop the natural, always-flowing current of good, the grace this lesson promises.”
— “The Course in Miracles Experiment” by Pam Grout in

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