Lesson 176 is a review lesson. It asks us to remember and practice:

• **“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**
• **“I am as God created me.”**

These two ideas go together like a key and a door. One opens us to seeing our brother truly; the other opens us to remembering ourselves truly. Together they undo the entire thought system of the ego.

I. The Core Teaching

1. “Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”

On the surface, this sounds like we are asking another person to bless us. But metaphysically, it is much deeper.

• **“Holy Son of God”** is how the Course describes our true Identity: the one Christ-Self we all share, beyond bodies, personalities, and histories.
• When you say, *“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God,”* you are really saying:
• “Let me see the truth in you.”
• “Let me receive the blessing that comes from recognizing who you really are.”
• “Let me no longer use you to confirm my ego’s judgments.”

The ego wants to see others as separate, guilty, flawed, dangerous, or at least disappointing. Why? Because if others are guilty, the ego can feel “innocent by comparison.” If others are separate, the ego can pretend it has its own private, special identity.

So the ego is trying to hide this:

**That every brother is your Self.**

That the “other” is not really “other” at all, but the same Christ-Self wearing a different costume.

The Holy Spirit is revealing:

• That every encounter is an opportunity to recognize the Christ in another and therefore in yourself.
• That when you ask for your brother’s blessing, you are actually asking to remember your shared holiness.
• That your brother is not the body, not the past, not the behavior. He is the holy Son of God, just as you are.

To ask for your brother’s blessing is to drop your weapons: your grievances, your secret judgments, your subtle comparisons. It is to say, “I want to see you as God created you, not as my ego has invented you.”

2. “I am as God created me.”

This is one of the central declarations of the Course. It appears again and again because it undoes the ego at its root.

The ego’s whole story is:

“You are what your past made you. You are your wounds, your mistakes, your body, your personality, your traumas, your achievements, your failures.”

The Holy Spirit’s answer is:

“You are as God created you: changeless, innocent, whole, and eternally loved. Nothing that seems to have happened here has altered your true Identity.”

Metaphysically, this means:

• You are not the character you appear to be in this world.
• You are not the “self” that feels guilty, ashamed, or afraid.
• You are not the “self” that succeeds or fails.
• You are Spirit, created by God, and that creation has never been undone.

The ego is trying to hide:

• That guilt is entirely made up.
• That your sense of unworthiness is a dream.
• That you have never truly separated from God.

The Holy Spirit is revealing:

• Your innocence is not something you earn; it is what you are.
• Your holiness is not fragile; it is guaranteed by God.
• You can remember this at any moment by choosing to accept it.

When you put the two ideas together:

• **“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**
• **“I am as God created me.”**

You are saying:

“I choose to see the truth in you, and in seeing it, I remember the truth in me.”

II. Applied to Daily Life

1. Relationships

Imagine you are upset with a partner, friend, or family member. Perhaps they said something hurtful or failed to meet a need.

The ego’s script:

• “They don’t care about me.”
• “They always do this.”
• “I’m not safe with them.”

The practice of this lesson:

• Pause and say inwardly: **“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**
• You are not asking their ego to bless you.
• You are turning to the Christ in them and saying, “Show me who you really are.”
• Then remember: **“I am as God created me.”**
• “I am not this wounded, abandoned self I feel like right now. I am still whole and loved.”

You might still need to speak honestly, set boundaries, or make changes in the relationship. But you do it from a place of remembering that both of you are innocent learners, not guilty enemies.

2. Work and Career

At work, you may feel:

• Inadequate
• Overlooked
• Threatened by competition
• Afraid of failure

The ego says:

• “Your worth depends on your performance.”
• “You are what your boss thinks of you.”
• “You are your productivity.”

The lesson invites you to pause and say:

• **“I am as God created me.”**

“My value is not on the line here. My true Self cannot be hired or fired.”

• When you think of colleagues or bosses, silently:

*“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”*

“Let me see you as more than a role. Let me receive the blessing of seeing the Christ in you, not just a rival or authority figure.”

This softens fear and competition. It turns the workplace into a classroom of forgiveness rather than a battlefield of survival.

3. Illness and the Body

When you are sick or in pain, the ego says:

• “You are this body.”
• “You are weak, broken, and vulnerable.”
• “Your identity is now ‘sick person.’”

The Holy Spirit gently whispers:

• **“I am as God created me.”**

“My true Self is not sick. My spirit is untouched by this condition.”

This does not mean you deny symptoms or avoid treatment. It means:

• You receive medical help while remembering that your *real* Self is not at stake.
• You can look at the body’s condition without making it your identity.

You can also look at caregivers, doctors, or even your own body and say:

• **“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**

“Let me see the Christ in this situation. Let me receive the blessing of trust, patience, and deeper remembrance of who I am.”

4. Anxiety and Daily Stress

When anxiety arises—about money, family, the future—the ego says:

• “You are alone.”
• “You are at the mercy of the world.”
• “You are vulnerable and unsupported.”

The lesson gives you a different anchor:

• **“I am as God created me.”**

“I am not this frightened self. I remain as God created me: safe in His Mind.”

• And about the people involved in your stress—family, coworkers, strangers—you can say:
• **“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**

“Let me see that you are not my enemy, not my obstacle. Let me see that we share the same Source.”

This begins to loosen the tight grip of fear. You are not trying to fix every external problem first; you are remembering your Identity and theirs.

III. Overcoming Resistance

This lesson can feel difficult because it challenges the ego’s favorite beliefs.

1. “If I see others as holy, I’ll be taken advantage of.”

The ego fears that seeing others as holy means ignoring behavior or abandoning boundaries. But the Course never asks you to be naive or passive. It asks you to:

• See the truth of your brother’s Identity.
• Let that perception guide your actions.

You may still say “no,” leave a situation, or protect yourself physically. But you do it without hatred, without making the other guilty in your mind. You protect the body while remembering that both of you are more than bodies.

2. “I don’t feel holy. ‘I am as God created me’ feels like a lie.”

You are not being asked to feel holy. You are being asked to accept a truth that is deeper than your feelings.

Think of it like this:

• Clouds may cover the sun, but they do not change the sun.
• Your feelings of guilt, shame, or unworthiness are clouds.
• “I am as God created me” is the sun.

You may say this idea while still feeling unworthy. That is okay. You are not affirming your current emotions; you are affirming what is eternally true beneath them.

3. Fear of letting go of the personal story

The ego is very attached to the story:

• “I am this person with this history, these wounds, these special traits.”
• It fears that if you accept, “I am as God created me,” you will lose your uniqueness.

But what you lose is only the painful uniqueness of separation. What you gain is:

• A shared Identity with all creation.
• A peace that does not depend on your story.
• A love that does not fluctuate with circumstances.

The Holy Spirit is not erasing you; He is restoring you to your true Self.

IV. Today’s Practice

Here is a gentle way to practice Lesson 176 today.

1. Morning (5–10 minutes)

1. Sit quietly, close your eyes, and take a few slow breaths.

2. Say slowly, with as much willingness as you can:

• **“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**
• **“I am as God created me.”**

3. Let the words sink in. You don’t have to force belief. Just be willing.

4. Imagine someone you know—anyone. Silently say to them:

• “Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”

See if you can look past their body, their history, and sense a light in them.

5. Then say to yourself:

• “I am as God created me.”

Let it rest in your mind like a soft blanket.

2. During the Day (frequent, brief reminders)

Whenever you:

• Feel irritated with someone
• Judge yourself
• Feel anxious, stressed, or guilty

Pause for a few seconds and say inwardly:

• Toward the other person:

*“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”*

“Let me see you as you truly are.”

• Toward yourself:

*“I am as God created me.”*

“Nothing real about me has been harmed.”

You can also use shortened forms:

• “Blessing, holy Son of God.”
• “As God created me.”

3. Evening (5–10 minutes)

Before sleep:

1. Recall any moments of the day where you felt upset or guilty.

2. Bring each person or situation to mind and say:

• **“Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**

“I choose to see your innocence and mine.”

3. Then close with:

• **“I am as God created me.”**

“Today did not change the truth of what I am.”

Let this be your last thought as you drift into sleep.

V. Comparable ACIM Lessons

Several lessons echo and deepen the same themes:

• **Lesson 94: “I am as God created me.”**

This is the original, full treatment of today’s second idea. It focuses on your true Identity as the Christ.

• **Lesson 110: “I am as God created me.”**

Repeats the same idea, emphasizing that this one thought can save the world because it undoes guilt.

• **Lesson 132: “I loose the world from all I thought it was.”**

Connected because when you accept “I am as God created me,” you also begin to release the world from the ego’s meanings.

• **Lesson 161: “Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”**

The original lesson for today’s first idea. It explains that every person you meet is either a symbol of your hatred or a savior offering you release, depending on how you choose to see them.

• **Lesson 158: “Today I learn to give as I receive.”**

Related because as you receive the blessing of recognizing your own holiness, you naturally extend it to others.

All of these lessons work together to shift your perception from separation to shared Identity.

VI. Closing Thought

You do not have to make yourself holy today. You only have to allow the possibility that you already are, and that everyone you meet shares that same holiness.

Let these two thoughts walk with you gently:

• “Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.”
• “I am as God created me.”

Each time you remember them, you take a quiet step out of fear and back into the memory of Love.