Lesson 189: “I feel the Love of God within me now.”

I. The Core Teaching

This lesson is not asking you to create love, to deserve love, or to reach for love somewhere outside yourself. It is asking you to feel what is already there.

“I feel the Love of God within me now” is a statement about your *true Identity*. It is not a hope, not a wish, but a description of what is always quietly true beneath every thought of fear, guilt, or separation.

What the ego is trying to hide

The ego is the belief that you are separate—from God, from others, and even from your own Self. It lives on the assumption that you are a small, vulnerable being in a dangerous world. To keep this story going, the ego must hide the one thing that would undo it completely:

The ego is trying to hide the fact that you are already safe, already loved, already whole.

If you truly felt the Love of God within you, the ego’s entire identity would fall apart. There would be no need to defend, compare, attack, or strive. You would know you cannot be harmed, cannot be diminished, and cannot be abandoned. The ego’s world of problems would lose its meaning.

So the ego hides this Love by:

• Distracting you with constant thinking, planning, and worrying.
• Convincing you that peace must be earned or achieved through effort.
• Telling you that love is something you must get from others and can also lose.
• Whispering that if you really went inward, you’d find darkness, not light.

The ego’s secret fear is that if you look within with willingness and gentleness, you will discover *not sin, but innocence; not emptiness, but fullness; not loneliness, but God*.

What the Holy Spirit is revealing

The Holy Spirit is the quiet Voice of truth in your mind. It does not argue with the ego; it simply offers another way of seeing. In this lesson, the Holy Spirit is revealing:

1. *Your innocence* – You are not the guilty self you think you are. The Love of God is within you because you were created by Love. That has never changed.

2. *Your unity with all life* – The Love you feel within is the same Love that lives in everyone. There is only one Love, one Life, one Mind.

3. *The present reality of God – God is not in the past or future. The Love of God is here now*, not after you fix yourself, not after you solve your problems.

4. *The end of seeking – You have been searching outside yourself for peace, safety, and love. The Holy Spirit gently says: “Stop. Come home. It is already here.”*

To “feel the Love of God within me now” is to pause the search and allow what is already true to be recognized.

II. Applied to Daily Life

This lesson is meant to be lived, not just understood. Let’s look at how it can touch different areas of life.

1. Relationships

When you’re upset with someone—hurt, angry, jealous, or disappointed—the ego says:

• “They did this to me.”
• “I’m not enough.”
• “They should be different.”

In that moment, you can silently say:

“I feel the Love of God within me now.”

You are not denying your feelings; you are inviting a deeper truth into your awareness. You might add:

• “This Love is my safety, not their behavior.”
• “This Love is in them as well, even if I can’t see it yet.”

As you rest in this inner Love, you may notice:

• The need to attack softens.
• You feel less desperate for them to fix your pain.
• You become more honest and gentle, both with yourself and them.

You begin to relate from fullness, not from lack.

2. Work and responsibilities

At work, the ego says your worth depends on:

• Performance
• Recognition
• Income
• Status

This creates pressure, anxiety, and comparison. Bring this lesson into your workday:

• Before a meeting: “I feel the Love of God within me now. I am not alone.”
• When you make a mistake: “The Love of God in me is untouched by this.”
• When you feel inferior or superior: “The same Love is in everyone here.”

You may still do your tasks, meet deadlines, and handle practical issues. But you are no longer using work to prove your value. You are letting your value be established by God and felt within.

3. Illness and physical pain

Illness can trigger fear and a sense of betrayal by the body. The ego says:

• “I am my body.”
• “If my body is weak, I am weak.”

This lesson doesn’t ask you to deny symptoms. It invites you to remember:

“There is something in me that is not sick, not fragile, not threatened.”

In a moment of pain or fatigue, you might gently say:

• “I feel the Love of God within me now. This Love is not in pain.”
• “My body can be uncomfortable, but my Self remains whole.”

This can bring a quiet sense of spaciousness around the pain. You may feel more compassion for yourself, less fear, and sometimes even physical relaxation. Healing, in ACIM, begins with the mind remembering its union with Love.

4. Anxiety and daily stress

When anxiety rises, the mind races into the future: “What if…?” “How will I…?” “What’s going to happen?” The ego insists that safety lies in control.

This lesson offers another experience:

• Pause.
• Breathe.
• Place a hand on your heart or chest if that helps.
• Say slowly: “I feel the Love of God within me now.”

You’re not trying to push anxiety away. You’re letting a deeper Presence be with it. You might notice:

• Your breath slows a little.
• The thoughts lose some of their urgency.
• A sense of “being held” begins to arise.

The Love of God within you is not threatened by your anxious thoughts. It simply waits to be felt.

III. Overcoming Resistance

This lesson can feel difficult or even triggering. Here are some common forms of resistance and how to gently meet them.

1. “I don’t feel anything.”

You may say the words and feel nothing at all. The ego then says, “See? It’s not true.” But remember: this lesson is about *willingness*, not intensity.

You can respond:

• “I may not feel it yet, but I am willing to.”
• “My lack of feeling does not change the truth.”

Think of clouds covering the sun. The sun is still there, shining fully, even if you can’t see or feel its warmth. Your practice is not to create the sun, but to sit in quiet trust that it is there.

2. “I feel unworthy of God’s Love.”

Old guilt, shame, or self-judgment may arise. The ego says, “If you really knew what I’ve done, you’d know I don’t deserve this.”

The Holy Spirit answers:

• “God’s Love is not a reward. It is your creation and your nature.”
• “Nothing you believe you did has changed what you are.”

You can say:

“I bring my sense of unworthiness into this Love. I will not hide it. Let it be healed.”

You don’t have to fix your guilt first. You simply bring it into the light of this Love and let it be undone.

3. Fear of losing individuality

Part of you may fear: “If I merge with this Love, will I disappear? Will I become blank, passive, or detached from life?”

The Course reassures you: what disappears is only what hurts you—fear, loneliness, conflict. What remains is your true Self: alive, creative, joyful, and deeply connected. You do not lose yourself; you lose the mask.

You might say:

• “I am willing to let go of what is not truly me.”
• “I trust that what God created as me is safe to remember.”

IV. Today’s Practice

Here is a simple way to practice Lesson 189 today.

1. Set aside a quiet time

• Aim for at least 15–20 minutes, if possible.
• Sit comfortably, eyes closed if that feels right.

2. Begin with intention

Silently say:

“I am willing to feel the Love of God within me now.

I do not need to understand it.

I only need to be willing.”

Let your mind soften around these words.

3. Gently withdraw from the outer world

The lesson suggests laying aside all images of the world. You might do this by:

• Noticing any thoughts about the day, people, problems.
• Saying, “I let this go for now.”
• You’re not solving anything; you’re simply setting it down.

Imagine you are stepping back from a noisy street into a quiet garden within.

4. Turn inward

Now bring your attention inward. You might:

• Focus lightly on your heart area, or
• Simply rest in a sense of inner space.

Say slowly, with pauses:

“I feel the Love of God within me now.”

Repeat it gently, not as a demand, but as an invitation. If other thoughts come, let them pass like clouds and return to the sentence.

5. Allow, don’t force

You are not trying to manufacture a feeling. You are allowing a Presence that is already there to be noticed. You might experience:

• Warmth, peace, or a softening.
• Or nothing at all—just quietness or even restlessness.

Whatever arises, let it be. Your willingness is the practice.

6. End with gratitude

After your quiet time, say:

“Thank You that Your Love is in me, whether I feel it or not.

Help me remember this during the day.”

7. Use it throughout the day

Whenever you feel stressed, afraid, angry, or lonely, pause and repeat:

“I feel the Love of God within me now.”

Even for a few seconds. This is how the lesson becomes a living experience.

V. Comparable ACIM Lessons

Lesson 189 is closely connected with several other lessons:

• **Lesson 67: “Love created me like itself.”**

This establishes your identity as Love. Lesson 189 invites you to feel that identity now.

• **Lesson 93: “Light and joy and peace abide in me.”**

Both lessons say that your true nature is already filled with light and peace, regardless of appearances.

• **Lesson 109: “I rest in God.”**

To feel the Love of God within you is to rest in the safety and stillness of God’s Presence.

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

Lesson 189 asks you to lay aside the world’s images and go within to the Love that is beyond them.

• **Lesson 157: “Into His Presence would I enter now.”**

Very similar in tone: both invite you to enter the quiet place within where God’s Love is directly experienced.

These lessons together form a gentle pathway from believing you are a separate, guilty self to remembering you are a holy, beloved extension of God.

VI. Closing Thought

You do not have to make yourself worthy of God’s Love. You are practicing today only to remember what has always been true:

The Love of God is quietly shining in you now, unchanged by anything you think you’ve done, untouched by any pain you feel, and nearer than your own breath.

Each time you pause and say, “I feel the Love of God within me now,” you take a step toward home. Even if you feel nothing, the step is real.

Walk gently today. You are not alone.