Lesson 11. My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
This is the first idea we have had that is related to a major phase of the correction process; the reversal of the thinking of the world. It seems as if the world determines what you perceive. Today's idea introduces the concept that your thoughts determine the world you see. Be glad indeed to practice the idea in its initial form, for in this idea is your release made sure. The key to forgiveness lies in it.
The practice periods for today's idea are to be undertaken somewhat differently from the previous ones. Begin with your eyes closed, and repeat the idea slowly to yourself. Then open your eyes and look about, near and far, up and down,-anywhere. During the minute or so to be spent in using the idea merely repeat it to yourself, being sure to do so without haste, and with no sense of urgency or effort.
To do these exercises for maximum benefit, the eyes should move from one thing to another fairly rapidly, since they should not linger on anything in particular. The words, however, should be used in an unhurried, even leisurely fashion. The introduction to this idea, in particular, should be practiced as casually as possible. It contains the foundation for the peace, relaxation and freedom from worry that we are trying to achieve. On concluding the exercises, close your eyes and repeat the idea once more slowly to yourself.
Three practice periods today will probably be sufficient. However, if there is little or no uneasiness and an inclination to do more, as many as five may be undertaken. More than this is not recommended.
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Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site:??~ M. Street
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Lesson 11. "My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world."
*Jesus is now explicitly draws the connection between our thoughts and what we perceive, so that the reason nothing we see around us has any meaning (Lesson 1) is that what we are supposedly seeing comes from a thought that has no meaning. This lesson clearly expresses that cause-effect relationship.*
(1:1-2) "This is the first idea we have had that is related to a major phase of the correction process; the reversal of the thinking of the world. It seems as if the world determines what you perceive."
*We could add: "what you feel, what you think, your emotions, your problems," etc. For example, I perceive two people having a fight because they are fighting. Or my body feels cold because the temperature is below freezing. That is how the world thinks, and how everyone experiences the world. However, if all this comes from our thoughts, part of the ego's dream of separation, it must be these thoughts that dreamt the freezing temperature and the bodies react to it. Our sensory apparatus, therefore, proves to us there is a world that is independent of us, and that we are the innocent victims of events beyond our control. This surely does not mean we are to feel guilty if we are discomforted by a bitterly cold day. It simply means we should realize we are cold because we identify with the body, which in turn means we identify with the ego's thought system of separation, all of which is meaningless.
Again:*
(1:3-5) "Today's idea introduces the concept that your thoughts determine the world you see. Be glad indeed to practice the idea in its initial form, for in this idea is your release made sure. The key to forgiveness lies in it."
*This is an extremely important statement. Jesus is telling us simply to listen to him and practice this idea in its initial form. He is implying that he is going to build this up over the course of the year of workbook lessons and though our systematic study of the text. That is how we learn forgiveness. I cannot forgive a world that is real. I cannot forgive others for what they have actually done, regardless of the seeming effect it has had on me. I can forgive you only by realizing I am the one who put you in my dream, and it is <my> dream. That is the key to forgiveness, and to the important definition in A Course in Miracles that you forgive your brother for what he has <not> done to you (e.g., W-pII.1.1:1). It may very well be that the person has done a great deal to you or to others on the physical or psychological level. But on the level of your mind he has done nothing, because he is nothing but a thought in your mind. Just as you, the victim of the victimizer, are also a thought in your mind. Victim and victimizer are one and the same. It should be noted that the mind, which antedates the temporal and spatial world, is outside time and space. As I discussed earlier in this book, time and space are but a projection into form of the mind's content of separation, and sin, guilt, and fear.
All this is implied here, though not stated explicitly. Indeed, Jesus does not have to state it clearly here, because that is the purpose of the text. The workbook's purpose is to have us <begin> the process of applying these ideas, and to <begin> to understand that what we think we see is not what we are really seeing. We see but a projection of a thought within our minds; a purposive thought, as I mentioned briefly before, which ensures that our thought system wins out and Jesus' loses; we are right and he is wrong. The separated world of pain and suffering witnesses to the fact we are right. That is why we made it the way we did.
Now to the gentle instructions for the day's exercise:*
(2) "The practice periods for today's idea are to be undertaken somewhat differently from the previous ones. Begin with your eyes closed, and repeat the idea slowly to yourself. Then open your eyes and look about, near and far, up and down,-anywhere. During the minute or so to be spent in using the idea merely repeat it to yourself, being sure to do so without haste, and with no sense of urgency or effort."
*We begin the exercise with our eyes open as we look around, and then close them. Jesus again underscores that there is no difference between what we see and what we think. They are one and the same. Note again Jesus' instructions in ease and effortlessness; pressure merely strengthens the very ego we are trying to undo.
Jesus' words in the next paragraph underscores the <process> of mind training he is leading us through:*
(3) "To do these exercises for maximum benefit, the eyes should move from one thing to another fairly rapidly, since they should not linger on anything in particular. The words, however, should be used in an unhurried, even leisurely fashion. The introduction to this idea, in particular, should be practiced as casually as possible. It contains the foundation for the peace, relaxation and freedom from worry that we are trying to achieve. On concluding the exercises, close your eyes and repeat the idea once more slowly to yourself."
*As the tortoise taught us: Slow and easy wins the race. Jesus is setting the tone for our learning, undoing the ego's need to fight, struggle, and overcome -- even itself. He asks us to practice, using terms such as "unhurried," "leisurely," "casually," "peace," "relaxation," "freedom from worry," and "slowly," Our mind training should be as free from tension and conflict as possible.
The final paragraph recounts the familiar instructions that gently urge us on:*
(4) "Three practice periods today will probably be sufficient. However, if there is little or no uneasiness and an inclination to do more, as many as five may be undertaken. More than this is not recommended."
*More is not better, at least not in the thought system Jesus is imparting to us. If we can do five practice periods, fine. If not, then three will do. But -- let us not strive for more, Jesus says. I am not in Heaven keeping score. In other words, it is the <content> he is interested in, not the <form>; quality, not quantity.*
