Lesson 25. I do not know what anything is for.
Lesson 25. I do not know what anything is for.
Purpose is meaning. Today's idea explains why nothing you see means anything.
You do not know what it is for. Therefore, it is meaningless to you. Everything
is for your own best interests. That is what it is for; that is its purpose;
that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that your goals become unified.
It is in recognizing this that what you see is given meaning.
You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego goals.
These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests, because the ego is
not you. This false identification makes you incapable of understanding what
anything is for. As a result, you are bound to misuse it. When you believe this,
you will try to withdraw the goals you have assigned to the world, instead of
attempting to reinforce them.
Another way of describing the goals you now perceive is to say that they are all
concerned with "personal" interests. Since you have no personal interests, your
goals are really concerned with nothing. In cherishing them, therefore, you have
no goals at all. And thus you do not know what anything is for.
Before you can make any sense out of the exercises for today, one more thought
is necessary. At the most superficial levels, you do recognize purpose. Yet
purpose cannot be understood at these levels. For example, you do understand
that a telephone is for the purpose of talking to someone who is not physically
in your immediate vicinity. What you do not understand is what you want to reach
him for. And it is this that makes your contact with him meaningful or not.
It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give up the goals you have
established for everything. The recognition that they are meaningless, rather
than "good" or "bad," is the only way to accomplish this. The idea for today is
a step in this direction.
Six practice periods, each of two-minutes duration, are required. Each practice
period should begin with a slow repetition of the idea for today, followed by
looking about you and letting your glance rest on whatever happens to catch your
eye, near or far, "important" or "unimportant," "human" or "nonhuman." With your
eyes resting on each subject you so select, say, for example:
I do not know what this chair is for.
I do not know what this pencil is for.
I do not know what this hand is for.
Say this quite slowly, without shifting your eyes from the subject until you
have completed the statement about it. Then move on to the next subject, and
apply today's idea as before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 25. "I do not know what anything is for."
*This lesson directly discusses the theme of <purpose>, so crucial in A Course
in Miracles. Indeed, one could say that purpose alone helps us understand the
ego's thought system, the world's role within it, and how through shifting the
world's purpose the Holy Spirit uses the ego's plan to undo it.*
(1) "Purpose is meaning. Today's idea explains why nothing you see means
anything. You do not know what it is for. Therefore, it is meaningless to you.
Everything is for your own best interests. That is what it is for; that is its
purpose; that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that your goals become
unified. It is in recognizing this that what you see is given meaning."
*Jesus is picking up from the early lessons, including the preceding one, by
helping us realize why nothing here means anything. Something has meaning for us
only because we do not understand what it is for, which comes from not knowing
our own best interests. We think these have to do with satisfying our
specialness needs, whether physical or emotional, while what is truly in our
interest is learning to forgive. That is why everything in this world is for our
own best interests, if we choose the right Teacher. Every situation or
relationship can become a classroom in which we are helped to understand that
the world we made comes from our attack thoughts, and everything we see, given
to the Holy Spirit to reinterpret for us, can be a reminder that we can choose
to look at the world differently. This process, as we have already seen, and
shall see many times still, involves shifting our perception of the problem, and
therefore our understanding of our best interests, from the <body> to the
<mind>. To accomplish such a perceptual shift is the main goal of these lessons,
not to mention A Course in Miracles itself.
The ego sees the meaning and purpose of everything in the world as an
opportunity to satisfy its specialness needs. Jesus, on the other hand, sees
opportunities, after our first making the ego mistake, to turn to him for help
and be taught there is another way of looking at everything. This other way of
looking, summarized in the three steps of forgiveness in Lesson 23, is realizing
that what we see outside is a projection of what we have first seen within. Once
again, Jesus is teaching us to shift our attention from the body to the mind.
We learn that our perceptions, and the way we organize our personal world and
relate to others, are based on the premise that we have an ego that has to be
treated a certain way; that we have definite needs based on our separated
existence that dictate how we must see our world, especially the people in it.
Now we have a teacher who shows us what we perceive outside is a projection of
an inner thought, we can change this thought by having changed teachers. The
world now has great meaning for us, for its new purpose has become our
classroom, in which we learn from our new teacher his lessons of forgiveness.
When Jesus says purpose is everything, he means there are two: the ego's purpose
of rooting us in this world so that our individuality -- located in the mind --
is safe; and the Holy Spirit's purpose of our realizing there is no world, for
there is nothing in us that needs defense. Thus it is the world's new purpose to
help us learn that happy fact, which is our salvation from our belief in guilt.
"Perception and Choice" in the text summarizes the dual purpose of our split
mind:
"But this world has two who made it, and they do not see it as the same. To
each it has a different purpose, and to each it is a perfect means to serve the
goal for which it is perceived. ... There is another purpose in the world that
error made, because it has another Maker Who can reconcile its goal with His
Creator's purpose." (T-25.III.3:3-4;5:1-2).
Thus is the real world of forgiveness made by the Holy Spirit's as correction
and substitute for the ego's error-filled world of guilt and hate.*
(2:1) "You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego
goals."
*This idea could not have been stated more clearly. The "ego goals," as we have
seen, are some expression of the need to preserve your own identity,
individuality, and specialness. Through the mind-searching exercises you need to
realize how true that is. Watch the way you think about things throughout the
day -- not necessarily your whole life, just your day; how everything is
organized around what will meet your needs, what will make you feel good
physically and emotionally. Then see how those needs distort how you perceive
the world. In fact, it is those very specialness needs that cause you to believe
you are perceiving the world at all!*
(2:2-4) "These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests, because
the ego is not you. This false identification makes you incapable of
understanding what anything is for. As a result, you are bound to misuse it."
*This is an extremely important statement. The <you> of which Jesus speaks is
not the ego -- the physical or psychological self; it is what we have referred
to as the decision maker. Jesus makes the same point in the text, as we have
already seen, when he asks rhetorically: "Who is the 'you' who are living in
this world?" (T-4.II.11:8). This early lesson is the beginning stage in having
us dis-identify or disassociate from the ego self and realize that the <you>
Jesus is addressing is in the mind.
By virtue of our having chosen the wrong teacher we have made the wrong
identification. Consequently, we shall misunderstood, misinterpret, and distort
everything that goes on around us because our perceptions will be geared toward
fulfilling the purpose of preserving that identification. The guilt associated
with our special relationships is thus reinforced, because we are misusing
everyone and everything. This guilt seems so enormous that we can never let
ourselves look at what we are doing. That is why it is so important to change
teachers and allow Jesus to look at our guilt with us. Let him look with us at
our misperceptions, misuse, distortions, and attacks, and he will help us
realize they come from one mistake. In our joining with him is that mistake of
separating from love undone.*
(2:5) "When you believe this, you will try to withdraw the goals you have
assigned to the world, instead of attempting to reinforce them."
*When we realize what we are doing, we will inevitably change the goal. In the
text Jesus reflects this change as the shift from the unholy to the holy
relationship; a relationship whose purpose was guilt or illusion becoming one
whose purpose is forgiveness or truth -- the letting go of guilt:
"And as the unholy relationship is a continuing hymn of hate in praise of
its maker, so is the holy relationship a happy song of praise to the Redeemer of
relationships."
"The holy relationship ... is the old, unholy relationship, transformed and
seen anew." (T-17.V.1:7--2:2).*
(3) "Another way of describing the goals you now perceive is to say that they
are all concerned with "personal" interests. Since you have no personal
interests, your goals are really concerned with nothing. In cherishing them,
therefore, you have no goals at all. And thus you do not know what anything is
for."
*"Personal" is in quotes because there is no "personal." Within the dream,
having personal interests means I have interests that are separate from yours.
This can be true only if the separation were real. However, if minds are joined,
there can be no personal interests; only the single interest we share as one Son
to awaken from this dream and return home.
A careful and thoughtful reading of these lines is bound to engender tremendous
anxiety -- and that is certainly a mild understatement. Jesus is saying you have
no personal interests, and where does that leave you but nowhere? in essence
this means you do not exist. Incidentally, <personal> in this context has the
same meaning as <special>.
Again, Jesus is not asking you to accept his words and live as if they were
true; he is asking you only to begin to understand the insanity of your thinking
and distorted perceptions because you are literally believing and seeing what is
not there. If you do not question these beliefs and perceptions, if only
intellectually, you will never be open to receive the answer that is waiting for
you. Thus, you need to observe your everyday thoughts, moment to moment, and
realize how they come from everything Jesus is speaking about. They are all
based on preserving an ego goal, which is your own identity. This means that you
do not care about anyone or anything else, but only about having your needs met
and goals fulfilled.*
(4) "Before you can make any sense out of the exercises for today, one more
thought is necessary. At the most superficial levels, you do recognize purpose.
Yet purpose cannot be understood at these levels. For example, you do understand
that a telephone is for the purpose of talking to someone who is not physically
in your immediate vicinity. What you do not understand is what you want to reach
him for. And it is this that makes your contact with him meaningful or not."
*We all are aware of superficial purposes, but we are not aware of the true
purposes underlying them. Using the example of the telephone, the <real> purpose
of the call is to provide an opportunity for us to reconsider the ego's goal of
separate interests in favor of the Holy Spirit's goal of shared or common
interests. Therefore, what makes A Course in Miracles so simple is that it
teaches us there are only two purposes we ever need consider, as we have already
discussed: the ego's purpose, which is to retain individuality and separation,
make the world real, and prove Jesus wrong; and Jesus' purpose, which is to
<un>learn everything we had learned before, and finally accept with humility
that he was right and we were wrong -- the separation from God was a dream that
never happened in reality.*
(5:1) "It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give up the goals you
have established for everything."
*Remember, because the goal you have established for everything is the
preservation of your individuality, Jesus is asking that you abandon this
purpose. That is why these lessons are so difficult, and must be perceived by
our egos as extremely threatening.
The rest of the lesson underscores a point we have already seen: illusions
remain illusions, regardless of the attributes we project onto them. From the
ego's point of view, all illusions -- <good> or <bad>, <important> or
<unimportant>, <human> or <non-human> -- serve the single purpose of convincing
us that they are what they are not. That is why we do not know what they are
for. These ostensibly simple sentences continue Jesus' training of our minds
<not> to make distinctions among illusions, learning instead to make the <only>
distinction that is valid -- between the purposes of the ego and the Holy
Spirit: *
(5:2-6:8) "The recognition that they are meaningless, rather than "good" or
"bad," is the only way to accomplish this. The idea for today is a step in this
direction."
"Six practice periods, each of two-minutes duration, are required. Each practice
period should begin with a slow repetition of the idea for today, followed by
looking about you and letting your glance rest on whatever happens to catch your
eye, near or far, "important" or "unimportant," "human" or "nonhuman." With your
eyes resting on each subject you so select, say, for example:
I do not know what this chair is for.
I do not know what this pencil is for.
I do not know what this hand is for.
Say this quite slowly, without shifting your eyes from the subject until you
have completed the statement about it. Then move on to the next subject, and
apply today's idea as before."
*A more sophisticated statement of this teaching of the illusory nature of
everything is found in the following passage from the text, which describes the
shared insanity of our special relationships -- our "little, senseless
substitutions":
"Your little, senseless substitutions, touched with insanity and swirling
lightly off on a mad course like feathers dancing insanely in the wind, have no
substance. They fuse and merge and separate, in shifting and totally meaningless
patterns that need not be judged at all. To judge them individually is
pointless. Their tiny differences in form are no real differences at all. None
of them matters. That they have in common and nothing else. Yet what else is
necessary to make them all the same?" (T-18.I.7:6-12)
Recognizing the inherent meaninglessness of everything allows us to accept the
Holy Spirit's purpose of making room for His truth as replacement for the ego's
illusions.
We are ready now to move to the next segment of our training: understanding the
relationship between our attack thoughts and our perceptions of attack.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 24. I do not perceive my own best interests.
Lesson 24. I do not perceive my own best interests.
In no situation that arises do you realize the outcome that would make you
happy. Therefore, you have no guide to appropriate action, and no way of judging
the result. What you do is determined by your perception of the situation, and
that perception is wrong. It is inevitable, then, that you will not serve your
own best interests. Yet they are your only goal in any situation which is
correctly perceived. Otherwise, you will not recognize what they are.
If you realized that you do not perceive your own best interests, you could be
taught what they are. But in the presence of your conviction that you do know
what they are, you cannot learn. The idea for today is a step toward opening
your mind so that learning can begin.
The exercises for today require much more honesty than you are accustomed to
using. A few subjects, honestly and carefully considered in each of the five
practice periods which should be undertaken today, will be more helpful than a
more cursory examination of a large number. Two minutes are suggested for each
of the mind-searching periods which the exercises involve.
The practice periods should begin with repeating today's idea, followed by
searching the mind, with closed eyes, for unresolved situations about which you
are currently concerned. The emphasis should be on uncovering the outcome you
want. You will quickly realize that you have a number of goals in mind as part
of the desired outcome, and also that these goals are on different levels and
often conflict.
In applying the idea for today, name each situation that occurs to you, and then
enumerate carefully as many goals as possible that you would like to be met in
its resolution. The form of each application should be roughly as follows:
In the situation involving ______, I would like ______ to happen, and ______
to happen, . . . .and so on.
Try to cover as many different kinds of outcomes as may honestly occur to you,
even if some of them do not appear to be directly related to the situation, or
even to be inherent in it at all.
If these exercises are done properly, you will quickly recognize that you are
making a large number of demands of the situation which have nothing to do with
it. You will also recognize that many of your goals are contradictory, that you
have no unified outcome in mind, and that you must experience disappointment in
connection with some of your goals, however the situation turns out.
After covering the list of as many hoped-for goals as possible, for each
unresolved situation that crosses your mind say to yourself:
I do not perceive my own best interests in this situation,
. . . and go on to the next one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from his book set
called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles." which can be
purchased at the following site:??~ M. Street.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 24 " I do not perceive my own best interests."
*This lesson introduces the theme of humility. We are so sure we know what is
best for us, let alone what is best for others. In one sense, as this lesson
makes it clear, it is understandable we would think that way. In one way or
another we have been taught that if we do not take care of ourselves, who will?
We learn we cannot trust the world; it is not set up to meet our needs
instantaneously -- physically -- or emotionally. We cannot completely trust our
parents either, for even the best of them, as judged by the world, are never
there for us <all> the time. A part of us thus learns we must take care of
ourselves: we cannot fully trust anyone. The context of this lesson, therefore,
is the correction of the conviction that we know our best interests.*
(1) "In no situation that arises do you realize the outcome that would make you
happy. Therefore, you have no guide to appropriate action, and no way of judging
the result. What you do is determined by your perception of the situation, and
that perception is wrong. It is inevitable, then, that you will not serve your
own best interests. Yet they are your only goal in any situation which is
correctly perceived. Otherwise, you will not recognize what they are."
*No ego is going to read these lines without being highly insulted! Jesus is
saying we have no guide because we have chosen ourselves as the guide,
reminiscent of the lines from the text I frequently quote: "Resign now as your
own teacher ... for you have been badly taught" (T-12.V.8:3;T-28.I.7:1). This,
then, is a subtle plug for choosing him as our guide.
The reasoning behind this teaching is obvious, once we think of it. To know what
is in our best interests presupposes that we truly know our needs, problems, and
desires. Only then, it goes without saying, could we know how to meet our needs,
solve our problems, and desires. And yet, as we have already seen and have been
clearly taught in the text, the world and the body were <literally> made to keep
the separation -- <in our minds> -- hidden from us. Therefore, our experience of
our needs and problems is but a smoke screen, the purpose of which is to root
our attention to our <bodies> -- physical and psychological -- thus distracting
us from the <mind>, wherein is found both the problem and the answer.
Moreover, an inevitable result of our initial arrogance compounds it still
further by asking Jesus or the Holy Spirit to help us with a problem that we
have determined needs to be solved. Thus we expect Them to share our insane need
to protect our separation from ever being undone. We shall return to this
important theme below.*
(2) "If you realized that you do not perceive your own best interests, you could
be taught what they are. But in the presence of your conviction that you do know
what they are, you cannot learn. The idea for today is a step toward opening
your mind so that learning can begin."
*The humility required is the admission that you do not know what is best for
you, and that there is Someone within you who does, and Whom you will ask for
help. The next step is to realize how much you do not want His help, and when
you do ask for it, how often it is for help on your own terms -- in which case
you are not giving up your investment in believing you know what the problem
<and> the answer are.
Moreover, why are you going to learn something when you already believe you have
the answer? How can you he help you, then, if you already believe you know the
answer to your question, the solution to your problem. That is why in A Course
in Miracles Jesus needs you to understand that you do not know. Thus he teaches
you that real learning is <un>learning: you cannot be taught the truth until you
first understand you do not know it. That is why Jesus always impresses on his
students the <undoing> aspects of his correction (see, e.g., T-I.1.26:2-3;
T-28.1.1:1-4; W-pII.2.3:1-3; M-4.X.3:6-7).
Jesus is asking here that you trust him enough to suspend all your beliefs, and
then say with sincerity: "I do not perceive my own best interests." His is a
plea for total humility, and implied in that plea is that we choose him as our
teacher instead of the ego. The beginning of the next paragraph echoes Jesus
plea:*
(3) "The exercises for today require much more honesty than you are accustomed
to using. A few subjects, honestly and carefully considered in each of the five
practice periods which should be undertaken today, will be more helpful than a
more cursory examination of a large number. Two minutes are suggested for each
of the mind-searching periods which the exercises involve."
*In expressing himself this way, Jesus is telling us we have not been all that
honest up to now. This is why there is repeated emphasis on searching our minds.
Part of the problem inherent in our mind searching is that we think we are
searching our brains. At this point we really do not understand the distinction
in A Course in Miracles between the brain and the mind, and understandable
mistake when we consider our almost complete identification with the body. Thus
we forget our brain is a defense. If the world were made as an attack of God,
then certainly the body was made as an attack on God as well, and the brain is
the principle organ of the body: governing what it thinks, perceives, says, and
does.
Jesus is asking us to be able to come to him and say: "I do not understand
anything. Please teach me." We need to get in touch with how difficult that is.
There is a part of us that truly believes we know what is best for ourselves.*
(4) "The practice periods should begin with repeating today's idea, followed by
searching the mind, with closed eyes, for unresolved situations about which you
are currently concerned. The emphasis should be on uncovering the outcome you
want. You will quickly realize that you have a number of goals in mind as part
of the desired outcome, and also that these goals are on different levels and
often conflict."
*Note the use of the word <uncovering> in sentence 2, echoing our discussion of
the centrality of <undoing> to practice of forgiveness. It is also clear from
Jesus' instructions how we do not <really> know what is in our best interests.
How could we? In case we had any doubts about this, the following exercise makes
it crystal clear to us:*
(5) "In applying the idea for today, name each situation that occurs to you, and
then enumerate carefully as many goals as possible that you would like to be met
in its resolution. The form of each application should be roughly as follows:
In the situation involving ______, I would like ______ to happen, and ______
to happen,
. . . .and so on. Try to cover as many different kinds of outcomes as may
honestly occur to you, even if some of them do not appear to be directly related
to the situation, or even to be inherent in it at all."
This sets the stage for the next paragraph , which contains the lessons' central
point:*
(6) "If these exercises are done properly, you will quickly recognize that you
are making a large number of demands of the situation which have nothing to do
with it. You will also recognize that many of your goals are contradictory, that
you have no unified outcome in mind, and that you must experience disappointment
in connection with some of your goals, however the situation turns out."
*The message of this lesson, therefore, is that if we are truly honest we would
recognize the contradictory nature of much of our desires and goals. This is
inevitable when you consider the impossibility of having non-conflicted goals
when we do not recognize our own best interest. To our ego, this interest is
self-preservation, but since this conflicted self is filled with guilt and fear,
how could satisfaction of our goals be anything but conflicted and fraught with
the same guilt and fear that led to them?
The lesson's final paragraph emphasizes one more time the essential point to be
learned if we are successfully to complete A Course in Miracles curriculum:*
(7) "After covering the list of as many hoped-for goals as possible, for each
unresolved situation that crosses your mind say to yourself:
I do not perceive my own best interests in this situation,
. . . and go on to the next one."
*Jesus wants us to generalize this lesson to all situations in our lives. To be
certain we did not miss the point, nor forget it, he continues this teaching in
Lesson 25.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 23. I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.
Lesson 23. I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.
The idea for today contains the only way out of fear that will ever succeed.
Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless. But this way cannot
fail. Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is
with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is
to be changed.
If the cause of the world you see is attack thoughts, you must learn that it is
these thoughts which you do not want. There is no point in lamenting the world.
There is no point in trying to change the world. It is incapable of change
because it is merely an effect. But there is indeed a point in changing your
thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effect will
change automatically.
The world you see is a vengeful world, and everything in it is a symbol of
vengeance. Each of your perceptions of "external reality" is a pictorial
representation of your own attack thoughts. One can well ask if this can be
called seeing. Is not fantasy a better word for such a process, and
hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?
You see the world that you have made, but you do not see yourself as the image
maker. You cannot be saved from the world, but you can escape from its cause.
This is what salvation means, for where is the world you see when its cause is
gone? Vision already holds a replacement for everything you think you see now.
Loveliness can light your images, and so transform them that you will love them,
even though they were made of hate. For you will not be making them alone.
The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in the world
you see, because its cause can be changed. This change requires, first, that the
cause be identified and then let go, so that it can be replaced. The first two
steps in this process require your cooperation. The final one does not. Your
images have already been replaced. By taking the first two steps, you will see
that this is so.
Besides using it throughout the day as the need arises, five practice periods
are required in applying today's idea. As you look about you, repeat the idea
slowly to yourself first, and then close your eyes and devote about a minute to
searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as occur to you. As each one
crosses your mind say:
I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts about ______.
Hold each attack thought in mind as you say this, and then dismiss that thought
and go on to the next.
In the practice periods, be sure to include both your thoughts of attacking and
of being attacked. Their effects are exactly the same because they are exactly
the same. You do not recognize this as yet, and you are asked at this time only
to treat them as the same in today's practice periods. We are still at the stage
of identifying the cause of the world you see. When you finally learn that
thoughts of attack and of being attacked are not different, you will be ready to
let the cause go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 23. "I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts."
*This is among the most important lessons in the workbook, providing us with a
clear statement about the nature of the world, and what salvation is <and> what
it is not. Another valuable aspect of this lesson is its simple language, which
makes it even more difficult to mistake its message. This certainly does not
mean, of course, that people will not try valiantly to overlook it.
The title itself is a blockbuster. The world we see is a world of death:
vengeance, violence, pain, and suffering. It might also be described as a world
of pleasure and happiness, but no pleasure and happiness in this world lasts. As
they begin to fade, our anxiety and anger grow, our specialness feels
unfulfilled, and we inevitably experience pain. Jesus is teaching us now that
the way to escape from this pain is not by doing anything to the world, but by
changing how we <look> on the world.*
(1:1-3) "The idea for today contains the only way out of fear that will ever
succeed. Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless. But this way
cannot fail."
*You do not deal with fear by overcoming it directly, or by changing anything in
the world or the body. You can escape from fear only by changing its <cause>,
which is the decision to be separate. Many of the world's methods will work, but
not all the time. In other words, the gains you may receive from following the
world's guidelines will not last -- no matter how noble and ideal they might
seem -- because the <cause> of the distress is overlooked. This was Jesus'
pointed response to Helen, to which we shall return periodically, when early in
the dictation she asked him to remove her fear:
"The correction of fear is your responsibility. When you ask for release from
fear, you are implying that it is not. You should ask, instead, for help in the
conditions that have brought the fear about. These conditions always entail a
willingness to be separate. ... You may still complain about fear, but you
nevertheless persist in making yourself fearful. ... If I intervened between
your thoughts [cause] and their results [effect], I would be tampering with a
basic law of cause and effect; the most fundamental law there is. I would hardly
help you if I depreciated the power of your own thinking. This would be in
direct opposition to the purpose of this course. It is much more helpful to
remind you that you do not guard your thoughts carefully enough."
(T-2.VI.4:1-4;VII.1:1-4).
Jesus was thus appealing to the power of Helen's mind to <choose> to be afraid,
directing her attention to the <cause> of her distress, away from the <effect>.*
(1:4-5) "Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It
is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world
is to be changed."
*This is another statement of cause and effect, and one that is meant literally.
The <cause> of everything in the world is our thoughts, and the <effect> is
everything we experience in the world. This principle, however, must be
understood from the point of view of the mind, otherwise we would be tempted to
believe that a particular thought of ours could have a harmful effect on
something external. For instance, if you as an individual have an angry thought
about someone, and then something unfortunate occurs, you could mistakenly think
this lesson means you are responsible for what happened to that person. The
intention here is not to induce guilt because something happens to someone with
whom you are angry. Jesus is talking about a thought in the mind, which means
that if the person falls off a ladder, it is to be viewed as a choice that that
person made, perhaps along with you if you react to it -- but not the <you> that
you think you are.
It is essential to remember that thoughts are of the mind, not the brain. What
we usually identify as our thoughts belong to the brain, which, we are told time
and again, does not truly think. Jesus is speaking to us exclusively about the
mind. Remember, the mind is outside of time and space, and the world of time and
space emanates from the one thought of separation. Once we believe we are here,
everything appears to be real and governed by laws we have established. These
will always be some expression of cause and effect. For instance, I drink poison
and my body experiences the effect: I become ill and may even die. Both the
seeming cause -- my drinking poison -- and the seeming effect -- my bodies
illness or death -- are effects of a larger cause, which is the thought that
says: "I am going to prove I am right and God is wrong. I am going to prove that
separation is real, the body is real, and that sin most definitely has an
effect: my death."
This lesson, as is obvious, does not really discuss these principles; that is
the function of the text. But its underlying teachings are certainly <reflected>
here. Jesus is not expecting students at this point to have a thorough
understanding of the text's theoretical principles. He simply asks us to begin
practicing the exercises. Consistent practice will eventually lead to an
understanding of the deeper metaphysics of A Course in Miracles' thought system.
Recall that the world was made as a defense against getting in touch with the
thoughts in our <minds>.
"It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work" is an extremely important
statement. This is a course in mind training, a course in changing your mind and
how you perceive. In practice, changing how you think really means changing the
teacher from who you will learn. The bottom line of A Course in Miracles is
always: Do I choose my ego to teach me how I should perceive the world, or do I
let the Holy Spirit be my Teacher? My thoughts -- guilt, anger, and suffering;
or thoughts of peace and forgiveness -- automatically follow from the teacher I
have chosen. That is why it is important to understand that an integral part of
the Course's curriculum is developing a personal relationship with Jesus or the
Holy Spirit. From that relationship our right-minded thoughts, and therefore our
right-minded perceptions and behavior will inevitably follow.*
(2) "If the cause of the world you see is attack thoughts, you must learn that
it is these thoughts which you do not want. There is no point in lamenting the
world. There is no point in trying to change the world. It is incapable of
change because it is merely an effect. But there is indeed a point in changing
your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effect will
change automatically."
*It is necessary first to accept the premise that the cause of the world is
attack thoughts. This is true both on the larger level -- the cause of the
entire physical universe is an attack thought -- as well as on the personal
level -- that the individual world of our physical and psychological self is
caused by an attack thought, which is the belief that we are separate.
Jesus is telling us that -- to express it in a specific example -- if you do not
like a shadow on a wall, you do not approach it and try to change the shadow,
ignoring the object that is casting the shadow. If you do not like what you see
on the wall, change the object! To try to peel off the shadow, or modify it in
some way is silly. The physical universe can be likened to a shadow, reminiscent
of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, which is why Jesus says in an oft-quoted line:
"Trust not your good intentions. They are not enough" (T-18.IV.2:1-2). It is the
well-intentioned people in the world who want to change, fix, or make it better.
They may succeed up to a point, but they will ultimately fail if they ignore the
world's underlying cause of separation.
Statements such as the ones expressed here -- i.e., "There is no point in trying
to change the world" -- have frequently been taken out of context by students of
A Course in Miracles and wrongly interpreted to mean that we literally are to do
nothing: They erroneously think this means that we should let rapists go free,
Hitlers invade countries, the environment go to hell, pay no attention to what
we put into our stomachs, etc. -- because the world and body are illusory and
all we need do is change our minds. This, however, is exactly the opposite of
what Jesus is teaching us. Ultimately it is true that the universe is illusory
and nothing here matters; but as long as we believe we are here, our bodies are
symbols, and before letting them go, we first have to change what they symbolize
-- from separation to joining, attack to forgiveness.
We thus return to the central point -- changing our teacher. If we have chosen
Jesus, he will have us act in a loving way, in forms understood by the world.
Lesson 184 makes this explicit point. These passages, therefore, should not be
used as excuse for doing nothing in the world, or our or other people's bodies.
Rather, whatever we do about the world or ourselves should be done with Jesus'
guidance instead of the ego's. As he says later on in the context of perceiving
specifics to learn abstraction: "We need to see a little, that we learn a lot"
(W-p1.161.4:8). Thus we practice on the "little" things of the body, so that we
may come to learn about the magnitude of spirit.
It is highly unlikely Jesus would tell you: "Do not do anything because I will
bring everything to you, and the world is an illusion." He will not teach you
that because you are still too terrified of understanding and accepting it. As
long as you identify with your body (and that includes everyone who studies this
course), its <meaning> for you has to be changed. You do not give up the body;
you do not go from nightmare dreams of the ego to the happy dreams of the Holy
Spirit:
"Nothing more fearful than an idle dream has terrified God's Son, and made
him think that he has lost his innocence, denied his Father, and made war upon
himself. So fearful is the dream, so seeming real, he could not waken to reality
without the sweat of terror and a scream of mortal fear, unless a gentler dream
preceded his awaking, and allowed his calmer mind to welcome, not to fear, the
Voice That calls with love to waken him; a gentler dream, in which his suffering
was healed and where his brother was his friend. God willed he waken gently and
with joy, and gave him means to waken without fear." (T-27.VII.13:3-5).
This means that the body comes to serve another purpose and has a different
meaning: the means for undoing all guilt and hatred of others. With this new
purpose in mind, you are free to use the body lovingly, treating yourself and
others more kindly. The forms do not matter: the <teacher> you choose does.
Everyone, however, is tempted to skip steps, because the fear of looking at what
it truly means to live in the ego's world is too painful. As a result, A Course
in Miracles all too often becomes a way of escaping the pain of our everyday
lives, rather than the means of <undoing> it.
When Jesus talks about changing your thoughts, understand him to mean changing
the <teacher> of your thoughts. Again, if you choose him as your teacher, all
your thoughts, perceptions, and behavior will be loving. But be wary of the ego
ploy that would have you believe you are choosing Jesus, when you are really
choosing the ego itself. You can tell you have chosen the ego when you are
caught in a way of thinking that causes you to look different from others,
separating yourself in some way -- behavior that makes you special. Anything
that causes you to deny your body or to live in a way that calls attention to
yourself you can bet 99.99 percent of the time is of your ego and not Jesus. The
real <cause> you want to change is your need to prove that you are right and
Jesus is wrong, which you do by establishing your personal identity. Remember,
this identity is one of specialness, which is a red flag signaling you have
chosen the ego as your teacher.
Another expression of the ego's hidden agenda of specialness is the <special>
focus students of A Course in Miracles place on the <effect> of the mind's
change. Indeed, very often the physical world will change as our thoughts
change, but this means nothing if the world is nothing. The <effect> that
<always> changes is the inevitable result of our attack thoughts: guilt,
anxiety, fear, depression, disease, etc. Peace will always result when these
attack thoughts are given up. To place emphasis on the <form> of the effect is
merely to allow the ego thoughts back into our minds. We must always "be
vigilant only for God and His Kingdom" (T-6.V-C).*
(3:1) "The world you see is a vengeful world, and everything in it is a symbol
of vengeance."
*These are very strong statements, and as uncompromising as any you will come
across in the text. <Everything> in this world is a symbol of vengeance. Why?
Because if you believe there is a world, you are saying God no longer exists. If
God no longer exists, it is because you killed Him and perforce believe He is
justified in taking vengeance on you. You block out that horrendous thought and
conflict, project it out, and then believe it is the world that will seek its
vengeance on you. There is of course another meaning we can give to the symbol
of the world -- the Holy Spirit's purpose of forgiveness -- but here the focus
is on the ego.*
(3:2) "Each of your perceptions of "external reality" is a pictorial
representation of your own attack thoughts."
*"External reality" is in quotes because there is no reality outside. This is
similar to the idea Jesus presents early in the text: "All thinking produces
form at some level" (T-2.VI.9:14), which appears in the first paragraph of this
lesson: "Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see." By
"pictorial representation" Jesus means <projection>, as we have already seen in
this statement that cannot be quoted too often:
"It [the world] is the witness to your state of mind, the outside picture of
an inward condition." (T-21.in.1:5)
Once again, Jesus refers to the thinking occurring within the ego system, which
always reflects some aspect of attack.*
(3:3-4) "One can well ask if this can be called seeing. Is not fantasy a better
word for such a process, and hallucination a more appropriate term for the
result?"
*<Fantasy> is a psychological term for thoughts that are not real, usually
pertaining to bringing you something you want. This means calling upon the ego's
trusted ally: specialness. If you want to defend against guilt, you invoke
fantasies of killing someone or attaining vengeance on another; or if you feel
you are in a state of lack, you indulge fantasies of pleasure, of getting what
you want. Everything in this world -- special hate or special love -- comes from
a fantasy thought. Thus the world gives me what I want: a haven in which I can
hide from God. And since the world is the effect of a thought of fantasy, it
exists in the realm of hallucination -- the perceptual counterpart of the mind's
delusional thought system of fantasy.*
(4:1) "You see the world that you have made, but you do not see yourself as the
image maker."
*This is denial, discussed in detail later in Lesson 136, "Sickness is a defense
against the truth," which instructs us that we make up a sickness, and then
forget we did so. It is another way of saying we are the dreamer of the dream,
but have forgotten the dream's source and instead believe the dream is dreaming
us. This is a major theme in the text, to which we shall return. For now, note
these representative statements that can serve as prelude to the more extensive
discussions to come:
"This is how all illusions came about. The one who makes them does not see
himself as making them, and their reality does not depend on him. Whatever cause
they have is something quite apart from him, and what he sees is separate from
his mind. He cannot doubt his dreams' reality, because he does not see the part
he plays in making them and making them seem real. ... You are the dreamer of
the world of dreams. No other cause it has, nor ever will."
(T-27.VII.7:6-9;13:1-2).
"Let us return the dream he gave away unto the dreamer, who perceives the
dream as separate from himself and done to him." (T-27.VIII.6:1)
"The miracle does not awaken you, but merely shows you who the dreamer is.
... He [the dreamer] did not see that he was author of the dream, and not a
figure in the dream." (T-28.II.4:2;7:4)*
(4:2-3) "You cannot be saved from the world, but you can escape from its cause.
This is what salvation means, for where is the world you see when its cause is
gone?"
*Ultimately you cannot be saved from the world because there is no world. You
are saved from your belief system that tells you there is a world. This belief
system, as I have been saying, rests on the self-accusation we have killed God
we could exist in His place.
In the real world you are literally outside the dream and totally identified
with the Holy Spirit's Love. You no longer identify with the <cause> of the
world, which is the belief in separation from God. You may appear to be in the
world, as Jesus did, but your reality remains outside of it, and so for you the
world has disappeared.*
(4:4-5) "Vision already holds a replacement for everything you think you see
now. Loveliness can light your images, and so transform them that you will love
them, even though they were made of hate."
*<Vision> is the Course's term for right-minded or true perception, identifying
with the Holy Spirit's thought system of Atonement.
This refers back to Lesson 15, "My thoughts are images I have made," which
talked about the sparks of light that creep up around objects. I explained then
that the references to light were originally meant for a friend of Helen's and
Bill's, and not to be taken literally. They are best understood in terms of
<content>, which means we learn to see things differently. This new way of
seeing is represented by light: "Loveliness can light your images." Everything
in the world now becomes lovely in our light-filled perception, because its
purpose has been changed. We shall return to the important concept of purpose.
Even though our images were made of hate -- a stronger word than "attack" -- the
purpose is now changed. We look at them in love, despite their origin. As the
text says of specialness in an important statement we have already quoted: "Such
is the Holy Spirit's kind perception of specialness; His use of what you made,
to heal instead of harm" (T-25.VI.4:1). The purpose of our making the world was
to protect our individuality and sinful thoughts through projection. With its
purpose changed, the world becomes a classroom in which we learn there is no
world by reversing the projection, bringing it back to the mind that was its
source. This lovely thought frees us, as its loveliness lights up our vision and
everything we see.*
(4:6) "For you will not be making them alone."
*This is another expression of the principle that minds are joined. Jesus is not
speaking of bodily joining of any kind. We "will not be making them alone"
because when we choose to identify with Jesus we are making a distinct choice
against the separation and for unity. That is the meaning of being with Jesus.
If he is the Christ because he is God's one Son and I join with him in a holy
instant, I am the Christ, too, along with everyone else.
When I choose the <un>holy instant, since everyone is one with me within the ego
thought system as well, I am sending out the message that we are right in our
belief that we are separated; you are right in feeling unfairly treated, and I
am right in feeling angry at you. We are thus not alone in experiencing the
effects of our wrong-minded or right-minded thoughts, the effects of what we see
or Christ's vision; the mind of God's Son is one.
This principle has nothing to do with this world or with our experience here,
but only with our mind's thoughts, of which there are two, both perfectly
unified: the ego's thought of separation that we share as one Son, and the
Atonement correction for that thought, which we also share.
In the text Jesus says that vision or judgment are our choice, but not both of
them (T-20.V4:7). Vision sees us all as one, reflected in this world through
sharing a common purpose. Judgment sees guilt over the sin of murdering God so
we could exist; and because of this guilt we try continually to kill another,
fulfilling the ego's principle of <one or the other>. We thus have the power to
reinforce our decision for the ego, or to remind each other there is another
choice to be made.
Paragraph 5 is the principle source for the three steps of forgiveness I have
taught for so many years.*
(5:1-2) "The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in
the world you see, because its cause can be changed. This change requires,
first, that the cause be identified and then let go, so that it can be
replaced."
*Identifying the cause is to recognize the problem is not what is in the world;
my upset is not caused by what someone else's body does or does not do to me.
The cause rests in a decision made in my mind. That is the <first step> in
forgiveness.
Letting go -- <the second step> -- means asking Jesus for help to look at my
guilt and attack thoughts differently. I realize that as my attack on you was a
made-up projection, so was my attack on myself made up, too -- I remain as God
created me; who I am as God's Son has not changed. Letting go thus entails
looking at my guilt with the love of Jesus beside me. And then <the third step>:
In the instant in which I ask Jesus for help in looking at my guilt, his shining
and forgiving light causes the guilt to disappear. My responsibility is only to
bring the guilt to him, the meaning of accepting the Atonement for myself
(T-2.V.5:1).
To briefly summarize these steps: 1) I bring back within my mind the guilt I
have projected onto you; 2) By looking with Jesus, I bring my mind's guilt to
him, in which instant, 3) the guilt is gone, for I have accepted the love and
light that was already present but had been concealed beneath the darkness of my
guilt, protected by my attack thoughts.*
(5:3-6) "The first two steps in this process require your cooperation. The final
one does not. Your images have already been replaced. By taking the first two
steps, you will see that this is so."
*Our job, again, is simply -- the reflection of the "little willingness" -- to
bring to Jesus our ego thoughts, those we projected out, wherein we made the
world, and those we made up about ourselves.
Everything we believe in has already gone, as the passage I quoted earlier
states: "This world was over long ago" (T-28.1.1:6). We just <believe> the world
is here, which is why Jesus uses the term <hallucination> to describe it
(T-20.VIII.7-8). We come to realize the truth of the Atonement principle by
changing our minds about what we were so sure was right: there is an external
world that victimizes us and others. Moreover, we unconsciously believe this
hostile world is a defense against an inner world of guilt that is even more
painful. We were wrong about the world outside and the world inside.*
(6:1-2) "Besides using it throughout the day as the need arises, five practice
periods are required in applying today's idea. As you look about you, repeat the
idea slowly to yourself first, and then close your eyes and devote about a
minute to searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as occur to you."
*As I have already discussed, "searching your mind" is a prominent theme in A
Course in Miracles because our attack thoughts are hidden. Part of the training
we undergo as students of the workbook and of the Course itself is to allow
ourselves to see the heretofore concealed thoughts in our minds.*
(6:3-5) "As each one crosses your mind say:
I can escape from the world I see
by giving up attack thoughts about ______.
Hold each attack thought in mind as you say this, and then dismiss that thought
and go on to the next."
*These instructions highlight the important process of bringing the darkness of
our illusions to the light of truth. These lessons are not meant to be
affirmations that simply state this truth. Rather, they are meant to represent
the truth, <to which> we bring our thoughts of attack. Bringing light to
illusion merely strengthens the illusion. On the other hand, bringing illusions
to the light is what shines them away.*
(7) "In the practice periods, be sure to include both your thoughts of attacking
and of being attacked. Their effects are exactly the same because they are
exactly the same. You do not recognize this as yet, and you are asked at this
time only to treat them as the same in today's practice periods. We are still at
the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see. When you finally learn
that thoughts of attack and of being attacked are not different, you will be
ready to let the cause go."
*There is no difference between being a victim or victimizer. Attack is attack
is attack. Jesus reiterates that he does not expect us to understand this, let
alone identify with, or even believe in it, but he is asking us to practice it,
and he tells us precisely how to do so.
As we learn there is no difference between self-attack (guilt) and attack, we
realize that being a victim is the most vicious form of attack possible. If we
see ourselves as victims, it is clear that someone else will pay the price of
punishment for <our> sin. It is this victimized suffering that points the
accusing finger at another (see, e.g., T-27.1.1-4). Giving up our investment in
seeing ourselves as victims is the hardest illusion of all to lose; our very
existence is based on the idea that <we> are the victims. We did not choose to
come into this world -- it was our parents who brought us here; we did not
choose to have our bodies, personalities, or problems -- it was our genes or
environment that were the determining factors. So we believe.
It is very difficult to accept that seeing yourself at the mercy of forces
beyond your control is an attack. Yet this is the point of the lesson. Again,
Jesus is not asking us to accept it just yet, but he is asking that we hear his
words and try to understand them, and thus include thoughts of victimization in
our practice periods. Needless to say, we are still in the early stages of our
mind training.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 22. What I see is a form of vengeance.
Lesson 22. What I see is a form of vengeance.
Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack thoughts in
his mind must see the world. Having projected his anger onto the world, he sees
vengeance about to strike at him. His own attack is thus perceived as self
defense. This becomes an increasingly vicious circle until he is willing to
change how he sees. Otherwise, thoughts of attack and counter-attack will
preoccupy him and people his entire world. What peace of mind is possible to him
then?
It is from this savage fantasy that you want to escape. Is it not joyous news to
hear that it is not real? Is it not a happy discovery to find that you can
escape? You made what you would destroy; everything that you hate and would
attack and kill. All that you fear does not exist.
Look at the world about you at least five times today, for at least a minute
each time. As your eyes move slowly from one object to another, from one body to
another, say to yourself:
I see only the perishable.
I see nothing that will last.
What I see is not real.
What I see is a form of vengeance."
At the end of each practice period, ask yourself:
Is this the world I really want to see?
The answer is surely obvious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 22. "What I see is a form of vengeance."
*This continues Lesson 21, which discussed anger and attack; specifically that
there are no differences among their many forms -- from annoyance to rage -- for
they all conceal the thought of separation and victimization. This lesson takes
those principles one step further.
It is extremely important as we proceed to keep in mind the impossibility of
being in this world without attack thoughts. If the world is made as an attack
on God, as Jesus says much later in the workbook (W-pII.3.2:1) -- to prove we
are right and He is wrong -- and if we identify with this world and the body, we
are an inherent part of that thought system of attack. Therefore, the very
concept of individual existence entails attack, if not murder, because in order
for there to be existence God had to be destroyed. Consequently, it is
impossible to identify with the body -- physically and psychologically --
without sharing the entirety of the ego thought system. Of the many words that
encapsulate the ego, <attack> is certainly high on the list.*
(1:1-2) "Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack
thoughts in his mind must see the world. Having projected his anger onto the
world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him."
*As long as there are attack thoughts in our minds, we must see the world about
to take vengeance on us. The second sentence, which is the classic description
of projection, provides the reason. We all harbor attack thoughts, because,
again, our individual identity is based on it. Given its origin -- if I am to
exist, then God must be destroyed -- it rests on the principle of <one or the
other> or <kill or be killed>. We all believe we are sinful because we believe
we attacked God. This sense of sinfulness, along with the guilt that inevitably
follows from it, is so overwhelming it cannot be tolerated. The ego therefore
tells us to push sin and guilt into our unconscious and then project them out.
Furthermore, since the expectation of punishment is inherent in the very idea of
guilt, the world arises as the ego's means to prove we deserve to be punished,
unfairly treated, and victimized.
The beginning of our physical lives -- conception and birth -- is then seen as
proof that we are the innocent victims of what other people have done to us. We
are not here as a result of of our own choices, but of a biological accident.
This reflects the almost universal belief that we had nothing to do with our
birth. Everything that happens to us from the time we are conceived is seen in
the context of our being innocent victims of powers and forces beyond our
control. The ego will always interpret these powers and forces as some form of
attack on us, which the ego convinces us we deserve because of our original
attack on God.
This is the central idea of the lesson. In fact, without understanding this
unconscious dynamic one will not be able to understand A Course in Miracles --
either the thought system of the ego, or its undoing through the Holy Spirit. As
long as we believe we are separated, we believe we have attack thoughts, and
these attack thoughts <must> be projected out. We will further believe,
therefore, that others are doing, are about to do, or have already done to us
what we believe we originally did to God and to His Son.
We can certainly assume that Jesus' ongoing assignment to us as his student is
understanding these dynamics in the context of the lessons and exercises in the
workbook. He then asks us to apply the principles of their undoing --
forgiveness -- to our personal lives by recognizing how we manifest these ego
thoughts in our everyday behavior.*
(1:3) "His own attack is thus perceived as self defense."
*We forget we had the original attack thought, for we have projected it and now
see everyone and every aspect of the world poised to attack <us>. We therefore
feel justified in attacking in self-defense. This is the "face of innocence" I
mentioned earlier, a concept described in greater detail in many places in the
text (e.g., T-27.1;T-31.V). In Lesson 170 we shall see this concept of
self-defense elaborated on in more depth as well.*
(1:4-6) "This becomes an increasingly vicious circle until he is willing to
change how he sees. Otherwise, thoughts of attack and counter-attack will
preoccupy him and people his entire world. What peace of mind is possible to him
then?"
*Jesus says this <vicious circle> of attack and defense -- defense is always
counterattack -- cannot change until we change how we see. This means changing
how we think, because perception and thinking are one: <Ideas leave not their
source>. What we perceive outside is simply a shadow of what we first perceived
and made real in our minds. Whenever we feel at the mercy of forces beyond our
control -- forces within our bodies, the bodies of others, the laws of the world
or of nature -- we affirm the truth of the ego's thought system, which means
that the reality of God and the Love of God are untrue.
Again, once we begin with the premise that we exist as separate, individual
selves, it is impossible not to be trapped in this vicious circle of attack and
counterattack. There is no way out unless we change the premise of our thinking,
a process which is explained in more depth in Lesson 23.*
(2:1-2) "It is from this savage fantasy that you want to escape. Is it not
joyous news to hear that it is not real?"
*It is most definitely <not> joyous news if you still believe you exist and are
important, not to mention special. As long as you cling to your individual
identity, it is not joyous news to be told that you could escape from this. This
explains everyone's resistance to these lessons, both in understanding them and
certainly in applying them, not to mention resistance to what the text teaches.
It would be extremely helpful as you go along to identify how much you cling to
your self and the conviction you are right.*
(2:3-5) "Is it not a happy discovery to find that you can escape? You made what
you would destroy; everything that you hate and would attack and kill. All that
you fear does not exist."
*What we destroy is other people, as well as any other objects of our anger. We
made the world that we seek to destroy, and that we believe seeks to destroy us.
Everything we hate, would attack, and kill is part of our "savage fantasy," the
purpose of which is to prove our existence, but that someone else is responsible
for it. Once again, we perceive ourselves to be the innocent victims of what has
been done to us.
As you do this lesson, try to identify the fear and anxiety that arise as you
begin to think about what Jesus is saying. The next paragraph provides a good
opportunity for practicing this:*
(3:1-6) "Look at the world about you at least five times today, for at least a
minute each time. As your eyes move slowly from one object to another, from one
body to another, say to yourself:
I see only the perishable.
I see nothing that will last.
What I see is not real.
What I see is a form of vengeance."
*Do this exercise in front of a mirror and see how much you believe what you
say. As you gaze at a reflection of your separated self, and "I see only the
perishable"; "I see nothing that will last." If you do this properly and
thoughtfully, there is bound to be anxiety. If not, search your mind for your
defenses against it. As long as you think you exist, and are special, unique,
and important -- whether positively or negatively -- you will find these
lessons difficult and anxiety-inducing, and will need to identify the resistance
in yourself. Thus you will be better able to honestly address the final three
sentences.*
(3:7-9) "At the end of each practice period, ask yourself:
Is this the world I really want to see?
The answer is surely obvious."
*While the answer may be quite obvious to the right mind, to our egos this
perishable self is nonetheless <our> self, and so the unfortunate, yet honest
answer is: "Yes, I do want to see this." But again, we are still, to quote
Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice: "at the very start of the
beginning stage for the first journey" (P-3.II.8:5). There is much for us to
learn.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 21. I am determined to see things differently.
Lesson 21. I am determined to see things differently.
The idea for today is obviously a continuation and extension of the preceding
one. This time, however, specific mind-searching periods are necessary, in
addition to applying the idea to particular situations as they may arise. Five
practice periods are urged, allowing a full minute for each.
In the practice periods, begin by repeating the idea to yourself. Then close
your eyes and search your mind carefully for situations past, present or
anticipated that arouse anger in you. The anger may take the form of any
reaction ranging from mild irritation to rage. The degree of the emotion you
experience does not matter. You will become increasingly aware that a slight
twinge of annoyance is nothing but a veil drawn over intense fury.
Try, therefore, not to let the "little" thoughts of anger escape you in the
practice periods. Remember that you do not really recognize what arouses anger
in you, and nothing that you believe in this connection means anything. You will
probably be tempted to dwell more on some situations or persons than on others,
on the fallacious grounds that they are more "obvious." This is not so. It is
merely an example of the belief that some forms of attack are more justified
than others.
As you search your mind for all the forms in which attack thoughts present
themselves, hold each one in mind while you tell yourself:
I am determined to see ___ [name of person] differently.
I am determined to see ___ [specify the situation] differently.
Try to be as specific as possible. You may, for example, focus your anger on a
particular attribute of a particular person, believing that the anger is limited
to this aspect. If your perception is suffering from this form of distortion,
say:
I am determined to see ___ [specify the attribute] in ___ [name of person]
differently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 21. "I am determined to see things differently."
*This lesson directly follows from the preceding one. It is interesting to note
that Jesus talks specifically about anger in this lesson, even though it is not
reflected in the title at all. He illustrates the idea that there is no
hierarchy of illusions by having us realize that anger consists of a wide range
of thoughts. We begin with the specific instructions, which usually come at the
end of the lesson:*
(1:1-2:2) "The idea for today is obviously a continuation and extension of the
preceding one. This time, however, specific mind-searching periods are
necessary, in addition to applying the idea to particular situations as they may
arise. Five practice periods are urged, allowing a full minute for each."
"In the practice periods, begin by repeating the idea to yourself. Then close
your eyes and search your mind carefully for situations past, present or
anticipated that arouse anger in you."
*This is the mind searching we had discussed earlier, and now Jesus wants us to
focus specifically on our anger. The problem is that we cannot be determined to
see things differently at the same time we are angry, because our anger says: "I
am determined to see things the way <I> have always seen them. <My> perception
is right, Jesus' is wrong, and I will go to my death to prove it." Jesus is now
helping us realize that before we can say "I am determined to see differently,"
we have to understand our thoughts, which is why he asks us to get in touch with
them. In other words, vision can come <only> by undoing our thoughts of anger,
or correcting our mistaken decision for the ego. Saying <no> to the ego is the
way of learning to see.*
(2:3-5) "The anger may take the form of any reaction ranging from mild
irritation to rage. The degree of the emotion you experience does not matter.
You will become increasingly aware that a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing
but a veil drawn over intense fury."
*This last line is the one I mentioned earlier in Lesson 16, one of the more
famous lines in A Course in Miracles. It is so important, in fact, that Jesus
virtually repeats it in the manual for teachers (M-17.4:5). Everything is the
same. Forms vary, but their content remains the same, as this lesson clearly
explains. Statements such as these illustrate just how radical this course is.
For all intents and purposes it invalidates <all> our experiences and beliefs.*
(3:1-2) "Try, therefore, not to let the "little" thoughts of anger escape you in
the practice periods. Remember that you do not really recognize what arouses
anger in you, and nothing that you believe in this connection means anything."
*We think that what arouses anger in us is what people do or fail to do, but
what truly arouses our anger is the need to project responsibility for the
separation:
"Anger always involves projection of separation, which must ultimately be
accepted as one's own responsibility, rather than being blamed on
others."(T-6.in.1:2)
That fact is what we do not want to acknowledge. We need to proclaim: "I am not
guilty of the sin of murdering God and betraying His Love. Someone else is."
When I see it out there -- because I put it there -- I believe I am justified in
getting angry; a neat trick, at which we all are pretty expert. It matters not
whether I am enraged or only mildly annoyed. Either way I am saying that my well
being depends on something or someone external. In the absence of that special
object I will be upset, and it will not be my fault.*
(3:3-5) "You will probably be tempted to dwell more on some situations or
persons than on others, on the fallacious grounds that they are more "obvious."
This is not so. It is merely an example of the belief that some forms of attack
are more justified than others."
*For the first time we see a specific example of the principle that there is no
hierarchy of illusions. Jesus uses anger as the example because it is so central
to the to the ego's thought system. Everyone walks around angry, because
everyone walks around guilty over the separation and not wanting to accept
responsibility for it. Thus again, before we can be determined to see things
differently, we have to recognize and understand the <interference> to seeing
things differently; there is something out there -- whether in our own body or
another's -- that causes us pain that is not of our doing. In other words, our
thoughts have no power, and thus cannot cause us distress. Someone else has
brought this upset about, or some disease or circumstance. We are innocent, the
helpless victim of forces beyond our control.
The rest of the lesson repeats instructions we have seen before.*
(4-5) "As you search your mind for all the forms in which attack thoughts
present themselves, hold each one in mind while you tell yourself:
I am determined to see ___ [name of person] differently.
I am determined to see ___ [specify the situation] differently."
"Try to be as specific as possible. You may, for example, focus your anger on a
particular attribute of a particular person, believing that the anger is limited
to this aspect. If your perception is suffering from this form of distortion,
say:
I am determined to see ___ [specify the attribute] in ___ [name of person]
differently."
*"Try to be as specific as possible" is the key here. Our temptation will often
be to gloss over the specific forms of upset of our life, unconsciously trying
to deny them as the means of denying their source. Thus our ego would get us
twice: first by teaching us to deny our guilt, and then to deny its specific
defense of anger This is a double shield of oblivion Jesus describes in Lesson
136.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 20. I am determined to see.
Lesson 20. I am determined to see.
We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. There has been
virtually no attempt to direct the time for undertaking them, minimal effort has
been required, and not even active cooperation and interest have been asked.
This approach has been intentional, and very carefully planned. We have not lost
sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your thinking. The salvation
of the world depends on it. Yet you will not see if you regard yourself as being
coerced, and if you give in to resentment and opposition.
This is our first attempt to introduce structure. Do not misconstrue it as an
effort to exert force or pressure. You want salvation. You want to be happy. You
want peace. You do not have them now, because your mind is totally
undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and
pain, love and fear. You are now learning how to tell them apart. And great
indeed will be your reward.
Your decision to see is all that vision requires. What you want is yours. Do not
mistake the little effort that is asked of you for an indication that our goal
is of little worth. Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? And can
the world be saved if you are not? God has one Son, and he is the resurrection
and the life. His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on
earth. In your determination to see is vision given you.
The exercises for today consist in reminding yourself throughout the day that
you want to see. Today's idea also tacitly implies the recognition that you do
not see now. Therefore, as you repeat the idea, you are stating that you are
determined to change your present state for a better one, and one you really
want.
Repeat today's idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today,
attempting to do so every half hour. Do not be distressed if you forget to do
so, but make a real effort to remember. The extra repetitions should be applied
to any situation, person or event that upsets you. You can see them differently,
and you will. What you desire you will see. Such is the real law of cause and
effect as it operates in the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 20. "I am determined to see."
*There are relatively few lessons like this in the workbook: Lesson 95 is
especially similar. Their importance lies not so much in the specific theme, as
much as it lies in Jesus explaining what he is doing in these exercises: how to
do them, and how not to do them. He begins by discussing the practice periods.*
(1:1-2) "We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. There
has been virtually no attempt to direct the time for undertaking them, minimal
effort has been required, and not even active cooperation and interest have been
asked."
*In other words, Jesus is being very gentle. He says: "Take a minute or two, and
if that is too much, take less. Do it two or three times a day. If that is too
much, do it less." He explains: *
(1:3-6) "This approach has been intentional, and very carefully planned. We have
not lost sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your thinking. The
salvation of the world depends on it. Yet you will not see if you regard
yourself as being coerced, and if you give in to resentment and opposition."
*Thus Jesus tells us: "I am not trying to convince you that I am right and you
are wrong, nor am I trying to compel you to believe these concepts. I am being
gentle as I can, asking only that you go along with me, whether you believe in
this or not." This is not an argument. Since Jesus is not trying to prove that
you are wrong and he is right, you should not be trying to prove yourself right
and him wrong. Our <only> reason for reversing our thinking should <not> be
because of <him>, but because of <us>: we would feel better if we did. Becoming
happy is the motivation Jesus is trying to instill in us, as we shall see
presently. It is important to proceed as you would with a new pair of shoes: Try
them on and walk around for a while. If they feel comfortable, keep them; if
not, discard them. And so, pardon the pun, we are ready for the next step as
Jesus says: "I have not been giving you a lot of structure, <until> now":*
(2:1-5) "This is our first attempt to introduce structure. Do not misconstrue it
as an effort to exert force or pressure. You want salvation. You want to be
happy. You want peace."
*Motivation now is the focus. The ego's motivation is the exact opposite of
happiness. Everyone would <say> they want salvation, happiness and peace, but it
is always acquired at someone else's expense, an inevitably of the ego thought
system. If I am happy, I have to get something from someone else; if I have to
get something, someone will have less of it. This is the essence of the special
relationship, a term, incidentally, that does not appear at all in the workbook,
although clearly its hateful dynamics are reflected throughout. Jesus is thus
trying to tell us we really <want> salvation, which of course means we really
<want> to be free of our guilt. We really <want> to be happy and peaceful.*
(2:6) "You do not have them now, because your mind is totally undisciplined ..."
*If you have any questions about this, just think how difficult it is for you to
go around realizing that everything you see or react to is literally not there.
That provides some idea of the undisciplined nature of your mind. You can be
attentive right now and understand everything that is being said. Yet, it is
almost guaranteed that within minutes, if not seconds, you will return to your
old way of being: holding grievances, becoming upset about something, and
actually believing there is no connection between your thoughts and the images
you perceive. That is what Jesus means by being "undisciplined." He is not
rebuking us, but simply saying: "You must recognize that this is true. Otherwise
you will not let me help you." *
(2:6-8) "... and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and
pain, love and fear. You are now learning how to tell them apart. And great
indeed will be your reward."
*This is a major theme in A Course in Miracles, both here and in the text (e.g.,
T-7.X; T-7.X;T-8.II;T-19.IV-B.12-15). It has not been the first time we have
made this observation, nor will it be the last. It goes to the heart of Jesus'
attempt at motivating us to learn his course so that we would be truly happy and
joyful. Normally, what brings us joy and pleasure is getting what we want. We
think love is specialness -- having our needs met -- and we are not aware that
this is part of the ego system, and thus will only bring us guilt and pain.*
(3:1) "Your decision to see is all that vision requires. What you want is
yours."
*The problem is that we do not want to see, and so Jesus first has to help us
realize how much we do not want to, a wish that comes from the recognition that
if we see through his eyes we can no longer blame anyone. Seeing through his
eyes means that reality is not what we perceive outside, but his love for us,
the reflection of the reality of God's Love.
Thus we need to be aware of how much we do not want to give up our certainty
that we are right about our perceptions, because we certainly do not want to
give up our certainty about what we perceive inside -- our sinful and guilty
self. As painful as that self-image may be, it is still <my> selfishness, which
establishes <my> existence. I am reminded of one of Helen's favorite poetic
lines -- which she would misquote, by the way -- from Yeat's poem, "Aedh wishes
for the Cloths of Heaven": "Tread lightly on my dreams. They are my dreams. Yet
they are <my> dreams." *
(3:2-8) "Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for an indication
that our goal is of little worth. Can the salvation of the world be a trivial
purpose? And can the world be saved if you are not? God has one Son, and he is
the resurrection and the life. His will is done because all power is given him
in Heaven and on earth. In your determination to see is vision given you."
*The language in these passages is clearly biblical: New Testament terms and
descriptions of Jesus. He is God's Son, and "resurrection and the life," and
"all power is given him in Heaven and on earth." But Jesus is telling us here:
"Yes, this is true of me, but it is also true of you. Moreover the world cannot
be saved if your are not." It is obvious by now that this world is not external,
for Jesus' focus is always on the internal -- what we <think>. Again, we need to
be motivated to <think> differently, and thus to see differently.*
(4) "The exercises for today consist in reminding yourself throughout the day
that you want to see. Today's idea also tacitly implies the recognition that you
do not see now. Therefore, as you repeat the idea, you are stating that you are
determined to change your present state for a better one, and one you really
want."
*This is how Jesus begins the process of changing our motivation -- from guilt
to happiness. We do not want to see now because we believe vision will bring
pain. Only when we learn that it brings happiness will we want to change from
the ego's form of seeing.*
(5:1-2) "Repeat today's idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today,
attempting to do so every half hour. Do not be distressed if you forget to do
so, but make a real effort to remember."
*Jesus is slowly and gently introducing us to the all-important concept of sin
vs error. To forget today's idea is not a sin, but merely an error or mistake
that we wish to correct <so that we shall feel better>. It is Jesus' gentle
teaching that undoes the ego's harshness, and provides us with a model of
kindness for <all> our interactions.
And finally:*
(5:3-6) "The extra repetitions should be applied to any situation, person or
event that upsets you. You can see them differently, and you will. What you
desire you will see. Such is the real law of cause and effect as it operates in
the world."
*If we see separation, vengeance, betrayal, or suffering, it is because we
<want> to see them. This desire is the cause, and what we see is the effect.
Jesus is trying to convince us that we really want to see differently. We
obviously are not as yet convinced.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 19. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.
Lesson 19. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.
The idea for today is obviously the reason why your seeing does not affect you
alone. You will notice that at times the ideas related to thinking precede those
related to perceiving, while at other times the order is reversed. The reason is
that the order does not matter. Thinking and its results are really
simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate.
Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined. This is rarely a
wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to carry with it an enormous sense
of responsibility, and may even be regarded as an "invasion of privacy." Yet it
is a fact that there are no private thoughts. Despite your initial resistance to
this idea, you will yet understand that it must be true if salvation is possible
at all. And salvation must be possible because it is the Will of God.
The minute or so of mind searching which today's exercises require is to be
undertaken with eyes closed. The idea for today is to be repeated first, and
then the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that
time. As you consider each one, name it in terms of the central person or theme
it contains, and holding it in your mind as you do so, say:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ___.
The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as possible in selecting subjects
for the practice periods should be quite familiar to you by now, and will no
longer be repeated each day, although it will occasionally be included as a
reminder. Do not forget, however, that random selection of subjects for all
practice periods remains essential throughout. Lack of order in this connection
will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order in miracles meaningful to
you.
Apart from the "as needed" application of today's idea, at least three practice
periods are required, shortening the length of time involved, if necessary. Do
not attempt more than four.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 19. "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts."
(1) "The idea for today is obviously the reason why your seeing does not affect
you alone. You will notice that at times the ideas related to thinking precede
those related to perceiving, while at other times the order is reversed. The
reason is that the order does not matter. Thinking and its results are really
simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate."
*Jesus extends the idea of one split mind, saying that not only are our minds
joined, but our minds and the world are joined as well; the world being nothing
but the projection of the mind's thought of separation. This is another way of
saying <ideas leave not their source>, a principle that is central to the
teaching of A Course in Miracles. It is emphasized in the text
(e.g.,T-26.VII.4), and Jesus brings it up later in the workbook
(e.g.,W-p1.132.5;W-pI.156.1) -- <ideas do not leave their source>; effects do
not leave their cause; the world does not remain separated from the mind.
We are so sure, however, that we are right -- the world exists <outside> us --
because we actually see ourselves here as well as see a separated world outside.
Even further, by minimizing, if not negating the power of our thoughts, we are
proven right by our perceptions of ourselves as victims of what the world does
to us. We think our thoughts have no effect, and therefore we split them off and
hide them behind a physical shield, so that we are aware only of our bodies; how
they and other bodies react. This has come about because we think the world is
separate from our minds; that the <effect>, which is the world, is separate from
the <cause> which is the mind. But remember, again -- <ideas leave not their
source>.
As an analogy, whatever you see on a movie screen is nothing but a film in the
projector that is projected out. Yet what is on the screen never left is source,
the film running through the projector. To expand on that analogy, what is on
the film is what the script writer, director, producer, actors, and actresses
<wanted> to be on the film. Therefore, once it is there it will be projected and
seen on the screen <as if it were> on the screen.
Shifting to our lives, we, as the decision maker, are the writer, director,
producer, not to mention the people starring in it. The film is exactly what we
have chosen, precisely so we <could> and <would> see it on the screen. People
would not go through the trouble of making a movie if they did not want others
to see it. And if we did not react to movies as though they were real we would
not go to see them. Thus, we attend movies for excitement, enlightenment, and
distraction because we like to believe there is something out there that can
affect us, positively or negatively. That is the goal, and everything leading up
to it is purposive.
That is exactly what we do in the world. There is a very specific purpose in
making up our dream. We want people to react to it, including ourselves, <as if
it were real>. Thus I see everything out there in the world, totally forgetting
it is my movie. Not only did I make it up, but I made it up to see sin all
around me; to see victimizers in everyone except in me.
Once we see that cause and effect are never separated, we understand what we are
seeing outside, to repeat, is simply an image that came from a thought. The key
point to keep in mind is that there is a specific motivation -- which we will
get to in the next lesson -- to learn that the ego's lessons are true but we are
not responsible for them. The ego teaches that we have separated from God,
victimized and murdered Him, and thus acquired our individual existence. We
believe this to be true, except we are not responsible for it: <someone else
is>.
Thus we have all gone to great trouble, with a very high budget indeed -- it has
cost us <Everything> -- to make this grandiose movie of our lives. We invest
tremendous energy in this movie in order to fulfill the ego's ultimate purpose:
proving the separation is real, but <we are not responsible for it>. We forget
we are actors with specific names and roles in the movie, as well as being
script writers, directors, and producers.
If we were to realize we made the whole thing up, that we, as directors, <are>
in control of our movie by virtue of excluding another Director, we would
suddenly recognize that our greatest efforts were nothing because everything we
had done was a defense against the truth. In a passage with which will become
increasingly familiar, we read:
"What if you recognized this world is an hallucination? What if you really
understood you made it up? What if you realized that those who seem to walk
about in it, to sin and die, attack and murder and destroy themselves, are
wholly unreal? Could you have faith in what you see, if you accepted this? And
would you see it?" (T-20.VIII.7:3-7).
In other words, the defensive purpose of the world is sustained by keeping cause
and effect separate, not remembering that our minds are the cause of the world.
One other point about this lesson: the way I see does not affect me alone. The
great illusion of the world is that I can have my private, hateful thoughts
without affecting anyone. Yet if the Sonship is one, there must be an effect,
because thoughts are unified and minds are joined. These effects are not usually
observable, which is part of the reason for making the movie, yet they are
there. That is why our guilt is so great -- deep down we know the effect of our
anger, for example. Whether or not we express it -- whether it be physical,
verbal, or in our conscious thoughts -- anger's effect is continually telling
God and Jesus They are wrong and we are right: the separation is alive and well,
and we have the power to destroy Heaven. Again, this is the source of our guilt,
and why Jesus is telling us to look at our expressions of anger, and even more
importantly, at their underlying thoughts. If they do not change, nothing will
change.
We return to the idea of oneness:*
(2:1-3) "Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined. This is
rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to carry with it an
enormous sense of responsibility, and may even be regarded as an "invasion of
privacy." Yet it is a fact that there are no private thoughts."
*Within the dream there certainly are private thoughts. We all have the illusion
we have them. We think, for example: "Thank God I didn't say that, so my friend
doesn't know what I <really> think." On a conscious level that person may not
know, but remember, we are all part of the one mind, and on that level another's
fear and guilt are reinforced by our thoughts, just as we are. Therefore, the
effects of our thoughts may not show up right away on an individual level within
the dream, but in the larger mind, of which all of us are an effect, thoughts
have tremendous power as they reinforce the ego's thought system. They are
reminders to everyone that the ego is alive and well, and Jesus does not know
what he is talking about.*
(2:4-5) "Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet understand
that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. And salvation must be
possible because it is the Will of God."
*What is important here is that salvation is possible only if there is <one>
problem. The key to salvation within A Course in Miracles is its first
principle: <there is no order of difficulty among miracles>. This tells us that
each problem is like every other problem, and so the solution -- the miracle --
is the same for all. The problem is unreal; but we will not know its unreality
until we realize that every problem is the same. The seemingly external form of
each problem is but a shadow of the inner problem: the single thought that says:
"I am separated and am on my own." If we <could> be separated and have private
thoughts, that would mean the separation is real. Salvation can occur only when
we realize the separation is illusory, which means we can have no private
thoughts.
The concluding three paragraphs present the daily exercise to be performed:*
(3) "The minute or so of mind searching which today's exercises require is to be
undertaken with eyes closed. The idea for today is to be repeated first, and
then the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that
time. As you consider each one, name it in terms of the central person or theme
it contains, and holding it in your mind as you do so, say:"
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ___."
*Here Jesus is having us focus solely on our thoughts, as reflecting their unity
with the Sonship.*
(4-5) "The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as possible in selecting
subjects for the practice periods should be quite familiar to you by now, and
will no longer be repeated each day, although it will occasionally be included
as a reminder. Do not forget, however, that random selection of subjects for all
practice periods remains essential throughout. Lack of order in this connection
will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order in miracles meaningful to
you."
"Apart from the "as needed" application of today's idea, at least three practice
periods are required, shortening the length of time involved, if necessary. Do
not attempt more than four."
*In a sense, Jesus is revealing his process with us, explaining the purpose of
the first nineteen lessons. Over and over, he insists that we not discriminate
in the choice of objects we perceive outside, or in our choice of thoughts as we
search our minds. Jesus wants us to realize that <everything> we perceive and
think is the same. By learning to practice this idea with specific objects in
the room and specific thoughts within our minds, we will come to realize that
everything is the same, and therefore our problems have one solution -- the
miracle.
Thus we find a clear statement of Jesus' underlying method, and why the workbook
lessons appear to be as simple as they are. He wants us to practice on a level
that is comfortable -- coat hangers, waste baskets, lamp, telephone, cup, etc.
-- until we get the idea they are all the same, serving the purpose of proving
the reality of the separation and the absence of our responsibility for it. This
helps us ultimately to realize there is no hierarchy of illusions; the
correction for the first law of chaos, which seeks to establish this hierarchy.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 18. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
Lesson 18. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
The idea for today is another step in learning that the thoughts which give rise
to what you see are never neutral or unimportant. It also emphasizes the idea
that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later on.
Today's idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it.
Therefore, the exercises for today emphasize this aspect of your perception. The
three or four practice periods which are recommended should be done as follows:
Look about you, selecting subjects for the application of the idea for today as
randomly as possible, and keeping your eyes on each one long enough to say:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see ___.
Conclude each practice period by repeating the more general statement:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
A minute or so, or even less, will be sufficient for each practice period.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 18. "I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing."
*I noted in my Prelude that in the workbook, as well as in the text, Jesus often
develops a specific theme, sets that one down and returns to the previous one.
We see here the introduction of the idea that minds are joined, a theme central
to A Course in Miracles -- the oneness of God's Son and, specifically here, the
oneness of God's Son in his separated state.*
(1) "The idea for today is another step in learning that the thoughts which give
rise to what you see are never neutral or unimportant. It also emphasizes the
idea that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later on."
*Just as things in the world are different projections of the one thought of
separation, so are the seemingly different people but part of the one separated
Son. This means that all split minds are joined, because they come from one
thought.
Before the fragmentation occurred, a topic discussed at the beginning of Chapter
18 of the text, there was only one error or thought, just as in Heaven there is
only one Son. Minds are joined as one, because there is only the Mind of Christ,
which is One, and at one with the Mind of God. Much more importantly for our
purposes, however, is the principle that all <split minds> are joined too. We
are but fragmented perceptions and images that we -- our decision-making minds,
outside time and space -- made so we would believe that separation is reality.
In truth, all the seemingly separated fragments of God's Son, which we usually
think of as homo sapiens, but actually include everything we perceive -- animate
and inanimate -- are simply split-off parts of the one thought that says: "I
have achieved the impossible. I am separate, autonomous, independent, free, and
in control of my life." Here is that important passage from Chapter 18, which
presents the concept of the <one> thought that made the world:
"You who believe that God is fear made but one substitution. It has taken
many forms, because it was the substitution of illusion for truth; of
fragmentation for wholeness. It has become so splintered and subdivided and
divided again, over and over, that it is now almost impossible to perceive it
once was one, and still is what it was. That one error, which brought truth to
illusion, infinity to, time, and life to death, was all you ever made. Your
whole world rests upon it. Everything you see reflects it, and every special
relationship that you have ever made is part of it."
"You may be surprised to hear how very different is reality from what you
see. You do not realize the magnitude of that one error. It was so vast and so
completely incredible that from it a world of total unreality had to emerge.
What else could come of it? Its fragmented aspects are fearful enough, as you
begin to look at them. But nothing you have seen begins to show you the enormity
of the original error, which seemed to cast you out of Heaven, to shatter
knowledge into meaningless bits of disunited perceptions, and to force you to
make further substitutions." (T-18.1.4-5)*
(2) "Today's idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it.
Therefore, the exercises for today emphasize this aspect of your perception. The
three or four practice periods which are recommended should be done as follows:"
*This is the point I mentioned earlier -- perception is not only <what> we see,
but <how> we see it. There is no distinction between the two. We make a
distinction for teaching purposes, but it is arbitrary because the
<interpretation> is what gives rise to what we see. The ego's interpretation is
that I <want> to see a separated, hostile, vengeful world so I do not have to
see these attributes in myself. In other words, the fact that my need to see a
certain way determines what I see is why we can say that what we see and how we
see it are one and the same.
The instructions in the remainder of the lesson are certainly familiar to us by
now.*
(3) "Look about you, selecting subjects for the application of the idea for
today as randomly as possible, and keeping your eyes on each one long enough to
say:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see ___.
Conclude each practice period by repeating the more general statement:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
A minute or so, or even less, will be sufficient for each practice period."
*We thus move from our specific perceptions to the generalization that teaches
us that <all> our perceptions are the same, for they emanate from the same split
mind that unites the Sonship as one.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 17. I see no neutral things.
Lesson 17. I see no neutral?things.
This idea is another step in the direction of identifying cause and effect as it
really operates in the world. You see no neutral things because you have no
neutral thoughts. It is always the thought that comes first, despite the
temptation to believe that it is the other way around. This is not the way the
world thinks, but you must learn that it is the way you think. If it were not
so, perception would have no cause, and would itself be the cause of reality. In
view of its highly variable nature, this is hardly likely.
In applying today's idea, say to yourself, with eyes open:
I see no neutral things because I have no neutral thoughts.
Then look about you, resting your glance on each thing you note long enough to
say:
I do not see a neutral ___, because my thoughts about ___ are not neutral.
For example, you might say:
I do not see a neutral wall, because my thoughts about walls are not
neutral.
I do not see a neutral body, because my thoughts about bodies are not
neutral.
As usual, it is essential to make no distinctions between what you believe to be
animate or inanimate; pleasant or unpleasant. Regardless of what you may
believe, you do not see anything that is really alive or really joyous. That is
because you are unaware as yet of any thought that is really true, and therefore
really happy.
Three or four specific practice periods are recommended, and no less than three
are required for maximum benefit, even if you experience resistance. However, if
you do, the length of the practice period may be reduced to less than the minute
or so that is otherwise recommended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 17 "I see no neutral things."
*This follows directly from "I have no neutral thoughts." We find the same
pattern seen in the earlier lessons, where Jesus goes back and forth between our
thoughts and what we perceive, trying to help us understand they are the same.
His purpose is to cultivate in us a vigilance in watching how we think,
realizing that nothing we think, perceive, or interpret as the truth is correct.
This takes great humility. The ego's arrogance seeks to cover the fear of
realizing we are wrong about absolutely everything, which ultimately includes
ourselves.
Any time you see an enemy "out there," or believe someone has the power to
victimize, betray, or hurt you, you are saying you are right and Jesus is wrong:
you are right because you can see and feel the attack, and have the evidence to
prove it. However, you are not aware that <you> planted the evidence so you
could find it. What you see is what you <want> to see, and so you put the
evidence there and say: "See! My thoughts are <not> the problem. In fact, my
thoughts are nothing. The problem is out there That is the problem." And almost
always there is some special person that is the focus of your problem.
These lessons attempt to train your mind to think this way all the time, so that
you automatically translate what you perceive outside into an inner thought. It
does not matter so much with coat hangers or waste paper baskets, but it does
matter with the important relationships in your life. It also matters with
<un>important ones, but there are always special people that take center stage.
Remember, you see outside what you put there because you <want> to see it in the
<body>, not the <mind>, thereby saying: "My thoughts are unimportant because
what I see is the fact." Thus you must first realize the <fact> is what you
think. When you can look at that thought with Jesus, you will finally realize it
is not a fact at all. As the text says, God is the only Fact (T-3.1.8:2).*
(1:1) "This idea [ I see no neutral things ] is another step in the direction of
identifying cause and effect as it really operates in the world."
*The thoughts in our minds are the <cause>, and our perceptions are the
<effect>. This is another way of expressing the important principle we cited in
the first paragraph of commentary 8 above: "Projection makes perception." I
first choose my teacher, the ego or the Holy Spirit, and that choice determines
the thought system with which I identify: separation or forgiveness. I have made
it real, because that is what I perceive within me (the cause) and, once
projected, I perceive its manifestations all around me (the effects).*
(1:2-3) "You see no neutral things because you have no neutral thoughts. It is
always the thought that comes first, despite the temptation to believe that it
is the other way around."
*We can most likely attest to the fact, even though we have read these lines
both here and in the text, and on some level believe they are true, that our
daily lives do not reflect this understanding at all. We react to what is
external, forgetting that what we are really reacting to is our having pushed
Jesus away once again, and then identifying with the ego's thought system of
guilt. We quickly forget this "fact," project the guilt from our minds and see
it in people, events, and things -- all threatening to hurt us and take away our
peace.
The purpose of these lessons and exercises is to practice seeing how we do <not>
live this way; how we react to what is outside us. Remember, what is outside not
only includes other people's bodies, but our own as well, for <outside> refers
to what is outside our <minds>, not bodies. The point again is that we are not
reacting to the world, but to our mind's decision. Moreover, it is important to
remember that the decision for the ego is made up, for we react to the ego's
illusory thought system that tells us how worthless, sinful, and wretched we are
-- "the home of evil, darkness and sin" as Lesson 93 states (1:1). This is the
insanity we have made real and never challenge. Thus we are learning that not
only is the world a defense, but so is our thought system of separation. The
reality <beyond> both the world and the thoughts that made it is the Love of God
-- the only truth.*
(1:4) "This is not the way the world thinks, but you must learn that it is the
way you think."
*Jesus is making it unmistakably clear that this causal connection between mind
and body is something we have to learn, as he also makes it clear in other
lessons, and that it takes tremendous vigilance and practice because our way of
life is set up in the opposite way. We have been programmed to think that is the
world that impinges on us, and that the bad guys are out there in the world. Yet
Jesus is saying to us here: "This is something you are not going to understand
right away, for it requires much practice. I am introducing it to you now for
the first time, but we will go over it again and again." Jesus is therefore
emphasizing that we are the student and he our teacher, and whenever we have
difficulty with the text, workbook, or manual, it is simply because we have
become afraid of what he is teaching us.*
(1:5) "If it were not so, perception would have no cause, and would itself be
the cause of reality."
*If it were correct that the world determines what we think, then perception
would be a reality and a <cause>; namely, the objects of our perception would
cause us to think and feel in certain ways. The truth, however, is that
perception is the <effect>, caused by our thoughts. Always keep in mind that
<projection makes perception>. If perception has no cause but is a reality
independent of our thoughts, then it simply exists and there is nothing we can
do about it. This, of course, describes the condition of practically everyone in
the world. That is why there is no hope once we have bought into the ego thought
system: we cannot change what is. If our perceptions are not effects caused by
our thoughts, then they must real. Thus do death, evil, war, and suffering
become reality, and there is nothing we can do except get through our lives as
best as we can. Jesus, therefore, teaches that what is out there -- is an
<effect>, and the <cause> rests within our minds. Once we identify the cause we
can do something about it. Otherwise, again, it is a hopeless situation.
And this final comment about perception:*
(1:6) "In view of its highly variable nature, this is hardly likely."
**Perception, obviously, is highly variable. We can see that even within
ourselves. A perception we had of someone one day, when we forgive, the next day
becomes quite different. Depending on or inner state -- choosing the ego or the
Holy Spirit as our teacher -- we either perceive the world through the eyes of
judgment and hate, or through forgiveness.
The exercise follows, continuing the training of our minds to understand the
relationship between our thoughts and our perceptions:*
(2) "In applying today's idea, say to yourself, with eyes open:
I see no neutral things because I have no neutral thoughts.
Then look about you, resting your glance on each thing you note long enough to
say:
I do not see a neutral ___, because my thoughts about ___ are not neutral.
For example, you might say:
I do not see a neutral wall, because my thoughts about walls are not
neutral.
I do not see a neutral body, because my thoughts about bodies are not
neutral."
*Jesus' instructions for the exercises now focus on his ongoing refutation of
the ego's first law of chaos: the hierarchy of illusions:*
(3) "As usual, it is essential to make no distinctions between what you believe
to be animate or inanimate; pleasant or unpleasant. Regardless of what you may
believe, you do not see anything that is really alive or really joyous. That is
because you are unaware as yet of any thought that is really true, and therefore
really happy."
*There is no animate or inanimate, because nothing here is alive. As we recall,
one of the basic categories we are taught from grade school on up is that there
are living things that can be categorized as inanimate, part of "the great chain
of being," and non-living things that can be categorized as inanimate, like
wood, metal, etc. Yet both categories are illusory, as we see in "The Laws of
Chaos" section, which categorically states "there is no life outside of Heaven"
(T-23.II.19:1). Jesus means that quite literally.
Real life and real joy are found only by taking Jesus' hand and identifying with
his thought system of forgiveness. It is joyful because it returns us to our
real life as part of God, the only joy. However, we yet must learn how to attain
this life and joy, and these exercises, along with the gentle instruction we
find in this paragraph, are among the means Jesus employs to fulfill his
pedagogical purpose.*
(4) "Three or four specific practice periods are recommended, and no less than
three are required for maximum benefit, even if you experience resistance.
However, if you do, the length of the practice period may be reduced to less
than the minute or so that is otherwise recommended."
*Mention of our resistance is Jesus' helpful way of reminding us not to feel
guilty. He would not bring it up as frequently as he does if he were not
expecting us to be fearful of his teaching, and thus seek to resist it. Learning
to accept this resistance is an essential step toward letting it go.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 16. I have no neutral thoughts.
Lesson 16. I have no neutral thoughts.
The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that your
thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the result of your thoughts.
There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big or little; powerful or
weak. They are merely true or false. Those that are true create their own
likeness. Those that are false make theirs.
There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of "idle thoughts." What
gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called idle. Every
thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion; either it extends the
truth or it multiplies illusions. You can indeed multiply nothing, but you will
not extend it by doing so.
Besides your recognizing that thoughts are never idle, salvation requires that
you also recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war;
either love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is
impossible. There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant,
trivial and not worth bothering about that it is essential you recognize them
all as equally destructive, but equally unreal. We will practice this idea in
many forms before you really understand it.
In applying the idea for today, search your mind for a minute or so with eyes
closed, and actively seek not to overlook any "little" thought that may tend to
elude the search. This is quite difficult until you get used to it. You will
find that it is still hard for you not to make artificial distinctions. Every
thought that occurs to you, regardless of the qualities that you assign to it,
is a suitable subject for applying today's idea.
In the practice periods, first repeat the idea to yourself, and then as each one
crosses your mind hold it in awareness while you tell yourself:
This thought about ___ is not a neutral thought.
That thought about ___ is not a neutral thought.
As usual, use today's idea whenever you are are aware of a particular thought
that arouses uneasiness. The following form is suggested for this purpose:
This thought about ___ is not a neutral thought, because I have no neutral
thoughts.
Four or five practice periods are recommended, if you find them relatively
effortless. If strain is experienced, three will be enough. The length of the
exercise period should also be reduced if there is discomfort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 16. "I have no neutral thoughts."
*This idea is an attempt to correct the mistaken belief that our thoughts have
no power. On one level it is true they have no power, because they cannot change
Heaven nor can they destroy God. Within the dream, however, which is what Jesus
is speaking about here, our thoughts have tremendous power. Just imagine what
our thoughts are capable of doing: literally make up a physical universe, and a
physical and psychological self that dwells within it; this self then actually
believes it exists in the universe. That is Jesus' point in the first section of
Chapter 31, "The Simplicity of Salvation," when he urges us not to underestimate
the power of our learning skill. Although that was a message originally meant
for Helen Schucman, in response to her constant complaints, Jesus is saying to
each of us: "Do not tell me you cannot learn this course. Do not tell me your
mind and its thoughts have no power. Look at what your learning <is> capable of
doing." Here are <his> very clear words:
"What you have taught yourself is such a giant learning feat it is indeed
incredible. But you accomplished it because you wanted to, and did not pause in
diligence to judge it hard to learn or too complex to grasp."
"No one who understands what you have learned, how carefully you learned it,
and the pains to which you went to practice and repeat the lessons endlessly, in
every form you could conceive of them, could ever doubt the power of your
learning skill. There is no greater power in the world. The world was made by
it, and even now depends on nothing else. The lessons you have taught yourself
have been so overlearned and fixed they rise like heavy curtains to obscure the
simple and the obvious. Say not you cannot learn them. For your power to learn
is strong enough to teach you that your will is not your own, your thoughts do
not belong to you, and even you are someone else."
"Who could maintain that lessons such as these are easy? Yet you have
learned more than this. You have continued, taking every step, however
difficult, without complaint, until a world was built that suited you. And every
lesson that makes up the world arises from the first accomplishment of learning;
an enormity so great the Holy Spirit's Voice seems small and still before its
magnitude. The world began with one strange lesson, powerful enough to render
God forgotten, and His Son an alien to himself, in exile from the home where God
Himself established him. You who have taught yourself the Son of God is guilty,
say not that you cannot learn the simple things salvation teaches you!"
(T-31.I.2:7-4:6).
These are strong words, but upon their truth rests A Course in Miracles.
Throughout the text, as well as at the heart of these lessons, is Jesus'
overriding emphasis on the power of our mind to choose against God, which fact
alone contains the promise of salvation. The mind that housed the separation
thought is the <only> power in the universe that can save itself. And yet it has
been this power that the ego has seemingly and successfully stifled and silenced
by its plan to make a world and body, rendering the Son of God mindless. Jesus'
purpose in A Course in Miracles is simple: restore to our awareness the power of
our minds, that we may finally recognize our mistake, where it was made, and
<choose again.>
Thus, this lesson reminds us that our thoughts are tremendously powerful.
Indeed, that is the problem. We believe -- within the dream -- that these
thoughts have destroyed God, Heaven, and the Holy Spirit as well. We gave this
belief such power -- the power of guilt -- that we had to deny the thoughts,
project them out and make up a world, all as a defense against what the ego told
us: the tremendous power of our minds destroyed Heaven. That is why guilt is
such a powerful concept in A Course in Miracles, for it tells us we have
committed the unmentionable sin: destroying God and His Love. Before we can
understand these thoughts are literally nothing and have no effects, we first
must get in touch with the power these thoughts are having in our dreams. That
is the purpose of this lesson.*
(1:1-2) "The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that
your thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the result of your
thoughts."
*You should underline in multi-colors "Everything you see is a result of your
thoughts"! This important sentence needs to be understood on two levels, as it
means everything you see in terms of form, but also in terms of interpretation.
Both are the "result of your thoughts." Hence, on one level, since we believe we
separated from God, we see all kinds of separate things: people, chairs,
pencils, clocks, walls, etc. We see them as separate objects because they are
the direct result, or the shadow, of our thoughts of separation.
On another level and even more importantly, for the purposes of A Course in
Miracles and the workbook lessons specifically, we understand that it is not
only <what> we see, but <how> we see it. Jesus makes it very clear in the text
and manual that perception is interpretation (e.g., T-3.III.2.3;T-11.VI.2.:5-6;
T-21.in.5-6; M.-8.1-4; M-17.4:1-2). We cannot separate our perception of
"objective reality" from our interpretation of it, because they are one and the
same. Again, it is not only <what> we see, but <how> we see it."
As Jesus explains in many other places, especially in the text, if you begin
with guilty thoughts -- and guilt is rooted in our belief we betrayed Heaven and
sabotaged God's plan of creation, and thus demands punishment -- those are the
thoughts with which we will look out, the lens through which we look on
everything. We will therefore see not only a separated world, but a separated
world that will punish and betray us; a world in which there is no hope but only
despair of certain death. Thus we read, for example:
"The certain outcome of the lesson that God's Son is guilty is the world
you see. It is a world of terror and despair. Nor is there hope of happiness in
it. There is no plan for safety you can make that ever will succeed. There is no
joy that you can seek for here and hope to find." (T-31.I.7.4-8).
Further, as we monitor our perceptions and find ourselves becoming angry,
anxious, or depressed, the cause will always be an interpretation of something
we believe to be external to us. The interpretation will directly follow from
our secret thoughts, and if we accuse ourselves of betraying God, which is
<everyone's> secret sin, we must and will see betrayal all around us.*
(1:3-7) "There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big or little;
powerful or weak. They are merely true or false. Those that are true create
their own likeness. Those that are false make theirs."
*The true thoughts that "create their own likeness" are the Thoughts of God --
truth, love, spirit, etc., -- which constitute Heaven. The ego's false thoughts
are of separation -- guilt, betrayal, murder, death, suffering, etc. -- and they
will make their own likeness as well. If these are our thoughts, we will then
perceive a world in which all these things happen -- <to us.>
As we proceed through these early lessons it will become increasingly clear that
Jesus is trying to establish for us the causal connection between our thoughts
and what we perceive: Our thoughts determine the world we see: ultimately, then,
our minds are the <cause> and the world the <effect>.*
(2:1) "There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of "idle thoughts."
*Our thoughts cannot be "idle," as in the popular expression, because they have
the power either to create reality, our function in Heaven, or to make
illusions, at least in our dreams. Inherent in the power to make illusions is
the power to forget that we made them -- the power of denial. When we forget we
made them, we believe that what we perceive is fact. That is why we shall never
countenance anyone telling us that what we perceive is <not> what we perceive.
We are so sure we are right about what we perceive in the world because we are
so sure we exist. Since the world comes from that thought of separate existence,
we have the equal certainly that the world exists the way we made it up and the
way that we see it. Consequently, we would not at all be inclined to question
our perceptions of ourselves and the world.*
(2:2-4) "What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called
idle. Every thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion; either it
extends the truth or it multiplies illusions. You can indeed multiply nothing,
but you will not extend it by doing so."
*What is interesting here is that Jesus specifically says <perception> of a
world. He is making the distinction that thoughts do not give rise to a world,
but to a <perception> of a world. He does not always make such distinctions, but
he does here. He is essentially saying there is no world out there.
We are free within our dream to see whatever it is we want to see, as many times
over as we want to see it. But that does not make it real. <Extension> is a term
in A Course in Miracles that is almost always associated with the Holy Spirit,
and the Holy Spirit cannot extend nothing. In our insanity, however, we believe
we can, and multiply illusions as well. Yet in truth they are all nothing. One
times zero is the same as a thousand times zero.*
(3:1-2) "Besides your recognizing that thoughts are never idle, salvation
requires that you also recognize that every thought you have brings either peace
or war; either love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral
thought is impossible."
*In the next lesson Jesus will develop this even further by saying that what we
see outside is not neutral because what we think inside is not neutral either.
Jesus is thus telling us that what is important for salvation is recognizing the
power of our thought -- only within our dream, of course -- and that there are
only two thoughts in the split mind: the ego's which leads to war or fear, and
the Holy Spirit's, which leads to peace or love.
Therefore Jesus tells us first that our thoughts are not idle and are not
neutral. Then he says there are only two thoughts. That makes it very simple,
because our perceptions and interpretations can become quite complicated. For
instance, we believe, as we shall see presently, that there are gradations of
anger, such as "slight twinge of annoyance" or "intense fury" (W-p1.21.2:5). In
truth they are the same, because they come from one thought of separation. This
is what makes everything so simple, not easy, but simple because everything is
recognized as the same.*
(3:3-4) "There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant,
trivial and not worth bothering about that it is essential you recognize them
all as equally destructive, but equally unreal. We will practice this idea in
many forms before you really understand it."
*This is aimed at the "blissninnies" who say that God and love are truth, and
everything else trivial and unimportant, not worth bothering about because it is
an illusion. From the point of view of Heaven this is indeed the case, but in
this world it is <not> so, and that is why Jesus says temptation to dismiss fear
thoughts as unimportant, telling ourselves that since A Course in Miracles
teaches these thoughts are not real we do not have to pay attention to them. We
then cover them with a blissninny smile and see only love and calls for love,
wherein all will reach home as one happy chorus sings a hymn of joy, and on and
on and on, < ad nauseam>. However, we are not aware that we have dismissed the
thought that we have destroyed Heaven. Within our deluded minds that is hardly
trivial and unimportant, and so it cannot be denied if we are truly to let it
go.
That is why Jesus says "it is so essential that you recognize them all as
equally destructive, but equally unreal." Before you can see them as equally
unreal, you first have to realize their destructive nature. In the text Jesus
says that "what is not love is murder"(T-23.IV.1:10), and that love without
ambivalence is impossible in this world (T-4.III.4:6). If you add two and two,
you get four: If love is not possible in this world, and what is not love is
murder, then all thoughts in this world are murderous and equally destructive,
whether a thought is a mild twinge of annoyance or a thought of outright fury
that says: "I want to destroy you." We clearly are talking only about what goes
on in the wrong mind, but within that wrong mind all our thoughts are "equally
destructive" -- there is no hierarchy of illusions, as we have already observed.
This one paragraph is extremely important. You should read it very carefully and
see how, even though you may not think of yourself as a blissninny, it is
tempting to fall into the trap of dismissing your ego thoughts. Jesus certainly
is not telling us to obsess about the ego or make its thoughts into a big deal;
after all, they <are> inherently unreal. But it cannot be said often enough that
before you can dismiss these thoughts as unreal, you must first look at what
they are. This point is strongly and often emphasized in the text where, for
example, Jesus says:
"No one can escape from illusions unless he looks at them, for not looking
is the way they are protected. There is no need to shrink from illusions, for
they cannot be dangerous. We are ready to look more closely at the ego's thought
system because together we have the lamp that will dispel it ... we must look
first at this to see beyond it, since you have made it real. We will undo this
error quietly together, and then look beyond it to truth." (T-11.V.1:1-3,5-6).
The next paragraph is about mind searching, a central theme throughout A Course
in Miracles. This term occurs in Jesus' instructions to us in almost all these
early lessons, where he accentuates the importance of looking within our minds
at our thoughts. Again, if we are not aware of what is there, how can we bring
them to him for help and for correction?*
(4) "In applying the idea for today, search your mind for a minute or so with
eyes closed, and actively seek not to overlook any "little" thought that may
tend to elude the search. This is quite difficult until you get used to it. You
will find that it is still hard for you not to make artificial distinctions.
Every thought that occurs to you, regardless of the qualities that you assign to
it, is a suitable subject for applying today's idea."
*This is another example of Jesus teaching us there is no order of difficulty in
miracles. A miracle undoes problems regardless of their form, because they are
the same. We must realize that even our seemingly unimportant thoughts conceal
the enormity of the ego thought system, as do the so-called major thoughts.
"Artificial distinctions" would be deciding, for example, that one thing is
important, another is not; or that this little annoyance is not important, but
the grievance I hold against this person really is.
The last two paragraphs of this lesson repeat the same gentle instructions we
have been seeing in the lessons so far, indicating once more the need for us to
apply the idea for the day to each instance of discomfort we experience:*
(5-6) "In the practice periods, first repeat the idea to yourself, and then as
each one crosses your mind hold it in awareness while you tell yourself:
This thought about ___ is not a neutral thought.
That thought about ___ is not a neutral thought.
As usual, use today's idea whenever you are aware of a particular thought that
arouses uneasiness. The following form is suggested for this purpose:
This thought about ___ is not a neutral thought, because I have no neutral
thoughts.
Four or five practice periods are recommended, if you find them relatively
effortless. If strain is experienced, three will be enough. The length of the
exercise period should also be reduced if there is discomfort."
*We are thus gently and kindly trained in the healing process of looking at our
thoughts, especially learning to become aware of those that produce uneasiness.
We most likely had not allowed ourselves to feel discomfort, let alone recognize
its source of guilt in our minds.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 15. My thoughts are images that I have made.
Lesson 15. My thoughts are images that I have made.
It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not
recognize them as nothing. You think you think them, and so you think you see
them. This is how your "seeing" was made. This is the function you have given
your body's eyes. It is not seeing. It is image making. It takes the place of
seeing, replacing vision with illusions.
This introductory idea to the process of image making that you call seeing will
not have much meaning for you. You will begin to understand it when you have
seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see now.
That is the beginning of real vision. You can be certain that real vision will
come quickly when this has occurred.
As we go along, you may have many "light episodes." They may take many different
forms, some of them quite unexpected. Do not be afraid of them. They are signs
that you are opening your eyes at last. They will not persist, because they
merely symbolize true perception, and they are not related to knowledge. These
exercises will not reveal knowledge to you. But they will prepare the way to it.
In practicing the idea for today, repeat it first to yourself, and then apply it
to whatever you see around you, using its name and letting your eyes rest on it
as you say:
This ___ is an image that I have made.
That ___ is an image that I have made.
It is not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the
application of today's idea. It is necessary, however, to continue to look at
each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. The idea should be repeated
quite slowly each time.
Although you will obviously not be able to apply the idea to very many things
during the minute or so of practice that is recommended, try to make the
selection as random as possible. Less than a minute will do for the practice
periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. Do not have more than three application
periods for today's idea unless you feel completely comfortable with it, and do
not exceed four. However, the idea can be applied as needed throughout the day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 15. "My thoughts are images that I have made."
(1:1) "It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you
do not recognize them as nothing."
*The "images" are what we perceive in the world outside us. The ego takes our
thoughts of separation -- sin, guilt, and fear -- and projects them so that we
"see" them in the world, rather that accepting their presence within. Thus we
perceive these thoughts as images of a person, room, coat hanger, clock, and
everything else. We can have an image of a vengeful or benevolent God, a happy
or miserable world, but all images of specific forms are projections of our
separation thoughts. Because we believe we see something outside, we believe
that what we see is real.
This process, then, becomes the ego's ultimate line of defense. Since we believe
that the world outside is real, we never think about the fact that the images we
perceive outside are coming for our inner thoughts, and if we do not know they
are coming from our thoughts, there is no way we can realize that the thoughts
themselves are really nothing. The entire thought system of the ego, and all the
specific thoughts associated with it, are <nothing>-- a defense against the
reality of Who we are, our true Identity as Christ.
The phrase "the thoughts you think you think" is extremely important. We
actually think we are thinking, as we discussed in the earlier lessons. In fact,
we could say that the fundamental ego problem is that we <think> -- not <what>
we think so much as the fact that we think we can think (cf., again,
T-31.V.14:3-4). We believe our thoughts <are> our thoughts. In other words, we
believe they belong to <us>, and we do not realize that the only true Thought is
the Thought of our Identity as Christ, which is one with God's Thought.
Thus, the fact that we believe we can think presupposes that we have an
autonomous mind or self that is outside and independent of God. Once again you
can see how, even though the language of these early lessons is simple, it is a
deceptive simplicity in that it covertly reveals the Course's metaphysical
foundation.*
(1:2-6) "You think you think them, and so you think you see them. This is how
your "seeing" was made. This is the function you have given your body's eyes. It
is not seeing. It is image making."
*Jesus puts "seeing" in quotes because this is really not seeing. Since we
literally see nothing, how could we see anything? The ego has us substitute the
magnitude of our Identity as Christ for the littleness of our autonomous
individuality, which is what we cherish above all else. In order to have us keep
this individuality intact, the ego then has us identify it with the sin of
separating from God. This leads to guilt, which means we believe we deserve to
be punished. This is the competition with God discussed in Lesson 13.
This constellation of separation and sin is so terrifying that we deny and
project it out in order to forget it, which itself protects the thought of
individuality. We are then left with the images we have made, but with no
recollection of how we made them. At that point there is absolutely no hope for
correction. Again, by "image making" Jesus means that we literally make up an
image of our own thoughts. Since our thoughts are nothing, the images that come
from them must also be nothing.*
(1:7) "It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions."
*Rather than sharing Christ's or the Holy Spirit's vision, based on the
Atonement thought that says the separation never happened, the ego replaces that
vision or thought with its own. Thus we first make these ego thoughts real in
our minds, and then project them out and "see" them as real things outside us.
Jesus teaches us in this lesson that the images we perceive outside ourselves
are but the reflections or shadows of the thoughts we have made real within.
He, of course, is not really talking about images of a clock, waste paper
basket, or pencil. His ultimate purpose is to have us realize that the most
frightening aspect of this process is the image we have made of ourselves --
separated, autonomous beings, in control of our lives. This image of ourselves
comes from a thought, too -- wanting to be separate -- and that is why, as I
have been saying, if you really pay attention to these lessons they should
strike terror in your heart, for they literally say you do not exist. You thus
want to explore more and more how frightening these thoughts are, trying to
identify how you defend against them. This is extremely important -- watch how
you defend against what these lessons are teaching you.*
(2:1) "This introductory idea to the process of image making that you call
seeing will not have much meaning for you."
*Jesus is once again making a mild understatement. The idea will not have much
meaning for us because we do not want to accept what it is saying. One of the
more important lines of defense that the ego uses is to prevent our
understanding what Jesus is really saying here. That is why he says, again, this
will probably not have much meaning for you, and that is because we are
defending against that very meaning as a means of defending our individual
identity.*
(2:2-4) "You will begin to understand it when you have seen little edges of
light around the same familiar objects which you see now. That is the beginning
of real vision. You can be certain that real vision will come quickly when this
has occurred."
*In my earlier tape set, "The Workbook of A Course in Miracles: Its Place in the
Curriculum -- Theory and Practice," I went into this passage in depth. Rather
than repeat that here, let me say briefly that Jesus is not talking about
<literally> seeing edges of light around objects. This was originally meant for
a friend of Helen and Bill's. You will do much better to understand this
statement in terms of the <content>. When Jesus says you will see "little edges
of light" around objects, he is really talking about the light of understanding
or vision that is coming to you. In other words, you will understand that the
objects are images you made as projections of the thoughts of separation you do
not want to look at in your mind. If you try to take this literally you will
guiltily feel yourself to be a failure when you do not see "little edges of
light" around objects, not to mention glorifying those who claim they do.*
(3:1-4) "As we go along, you may have many "light episodes." They may take many
different forms, some of them quite unexpected. Do not be afraid of them. They
are signs that you are opening your eyes at last."
*If you do have perceptions of light, all is well and good, but Jesus is saying
that what would really instill fear in you is your recognition that this thing
you are looking at is not there at all. When suddenly a "light" goes on in your
mind and you realize: "My God! This is what Jesus is talking about," and you
realize that if this waste paper basket is not really there, being a projection
of a thought, what about those who believe they are perceiving the waste paper
basket? Again, that recognition is the source of fear. No one really cares if a
waste paper basket is there or not, but you <do> care whether <you> are there or
not.*
(3:5-7)"They will not persist, because they merely symbolize true perception,
and they are not related to knowledge. These exercises will not reveal knowledge
to you. But they will prepare the way to it."
*In many places, especially in the text, Jesus makes it clear that the goal of A
Course in Miracles is not Heaven, knowledge, or love (T-in.1:6-7; T-8.in.1:1-2),
but the correction of the ego's false perception, which would be true perception
or vision, the peace that forgiveness or the miracle brings about.
Jesus also makes the same point in the text that he does here in 3:5: "...
visions, however holy, do not last" (T-3.III.4:6). That is because all forms,
however holy their content, are still part of the illusion of separation.
Therefore they but <reflect> truth, and are not the truth itself.
The remaining two paragraphs reiterate the need to be non-selective yet not
compulsive, as well as emphasizing the crucial idea of <specific> application
whenever we find ourselves tempted to be upset. These emphases are the <content>
behind the exercises' <form>:*
(4-5) "In practicing the idea for today, repeat it first to yourself, and then
apply it to whatever you see around you, using its name and letting your eyes
rest on it as you say:
This ___ is an image that I have made.
That ___ is an image that I have made.
It is not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the
application of today's idea. It is necessary, however, to continue to look at
each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. The idea should be repeated
quite slowly each time.
Although you will obviously not be able to apply the idea to very many things
during the minute or so of practice that is recommended, try to make the
selection as random as possible. Less than a minute will do for the practice
periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. Do not have more than three application
periods for today's idea unless you feel completely comfortable with it, and do
not exceed four. However, the idea can be applied as needed throughout the day."
*Being faithful to the specifics of the daily exercises allows us to generalize
the lesson of the inherent sameness of all things to each and every experience
of our lives. Such generalization is the heart of forgiveness, and the key to
achieving the peace that is Jesus' goal for us.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 14. God did not create a meaningless world.
Lesson 14. God did not create a meaningless world.
The idea for today is, of course, the reason why a meaningless world is impossible. What God did not create does not exist. And everything that does exist exists as He created it. The world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist.
The exercises for today are to be practiced with eyes closed throughout. The mind-searching period should be short, a minute at most. Do not have more than three practice periods with today's idea unless you find them comfortable. If you do, it will be because you really understand what they are for.
The idea for today is another step in learning to let go the thoughts that you have written on the world, and see the Word of God in their place. The early steps in this exchange, which can truly be called salvation, can be quite difficult and even quite painful. Some of them will lead you directly into fear. You will not be left there. You will go far beyond it. Our direction is toward perfect safety and perfect peace.
With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that cross your mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then deny its reality. God did not create it, and so it is not real. Say, for example:
God did not create that war, and so it is not real.
God did not create that airplane crash, and so it is not real.
God did not create that disaster [specify], and so it is not real.
Suitable subjects for the application of today's idea also include anything you are afraid might happen to you, or to anyone about whom you are concerned. In each case, name the "disaster" quite specifically. Do not use general terms. For example, do not say, "God did not create illness," but, "God did not create cancer," or heart attacks, or whatever may arouse fear in you.
This is your personal repertory of horrors at which you are looking. These things are part of the world you see. Some of them are shared illusions, and others are part of your personal hell. It does not matter. What God did not create can only be in your own mind apart from His. Therefore, it has no meaning. In recognition of this fact, conclude the practice periods by repeating today's idea:
God did not create a meaningless world.
The idea for today can, of course, be applied to anything that disturbs you during the day, aside from the practice periods. Be very specific in applying it. Say:
God did not create a meaningless world. He did not create [specify the situation which is disturbing you], and so it is not real.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lesson 14. "God did not create a meaningless world."
(1) "The idea for today is, of course, the reason why a meaningless world is impossible. What God did not create does not exist. And everything that does exist exists as He created it. The world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist."
*Lines like these are frequently used by students of A Course in Miracles as a way to dilute the metaphysics and claim that the Course does <not> say that God did not create the world. Rather they claim that the Course teaches only that God did not create the world <we see>. It is true that the words of some statements say just that, but only because Jesus is teaching us to pay careful attention to what we perceive. He makes it abundantly clear both in the workbook, as well as many, many other places in the rest of the material that God could not have created the world because it is His opposite. (See, for example, T-4.1:11; T-29.VI.2:7-10; W-p1.132.4-6; W-p1.152.5-7;C-4.1). Everything in the world of specifics and form changes and dies. Such a world is outside of God, and therefore could not exist.
The very fact that we <perceive> the world means it is unreal, and also that we are unreal. Again, this does not mean just the world we see. Students sometimes mistakenly think this means, for example, that God did not create the cancer I am perceiving. The very fact that I see a world at all is saying there is a reality outside of God; if I perceive a world, there must be a perceiver and perceived, subject and object, observer and observed, which means we are rooted in duality. God can create only like Himself, which means a Being or Spirit of perfect Oneness and Love, changeless and eternal. In other words, what God did not create does not exist, and everything that does exist, exists as He created it -- the state of Heaven.*
(2) "The exercises for today are to be practiced with eyes closed throughout. The mind-searching period should be short, a minute at most. Do not have more than three practice periods with today's idea unless you find them comfortable. If you do, it will be because you really understand what they are for."
*Again, Jesus asserts no pressure on us. The fourth sentence is an interesting one, because our comfort can also be due to our <not> understanding, as we are so afraid of this very purpose of retraining our minds, which these periods of mind searching will bring about. In this instance our "comfort" would be a spurious one, which is not Jesus' point here.*
(3:1) "The idea for today is another step in learning to let go the thoughts that you have written on the world, and see the Word of God in their place."
*Jesus is helping us understand there is a specific motivation involved in holding onto our thoughts. They do not come and go as if by magic, a phrase used later (W-pI.158.4:1); they do not just appear. For example, when, I am trying to be quiet, in order to mediate and pray, and all of a sudden extraneous, distracting thoughts arise, they do not come out of nowhere. They come because I am afraid of the love and peace that arise in my mind if I am quiet. I therefore quickly have to substitute <my> thoughts instead of Jesus' thoughts, my experience of specialness rather than the experience of his love.
What is important and clearly implied here is that there is a specific motivation for the way I perceive the world and the thoughts that give rise to it. If I can release those thoughts, which occurs when I ask Jesus for help in looking at them, they will disappear. What is left is the Word of God, which, as defined earlier, is the principle of the Atonement that says that the separation never happened.*
(3:2-3) "The early steps in this exchange, which can truly be called salvation, can be quite difficult and even quite painful. Some of them will lead you directly into fear."
*This is the first time Jesus makes such a statement in the lessons. More will follow, and they are found throughout the text and manual as well -- forgiveness is a difficult process, and cannot but arouse tremendous fear (e.g., T-27.VII.13:3-5; W-p1.196.10; M-4.1-A.3-5,7). There is almost certainly something wrong if you do not struggle with this issue; if you do not fight against forgiveness, become terrified or bored with it, or even want to throw the book away. If you never experience anything like this discomfort, it almost always means you are not paying careful attention to what is being said.
A Course in Miracles says frightened people can be vicious (T-3.1.4:2). These lessons have to arouse anxiety because they challenge not only the way you perceive something outside you, but challenge your basic identity. That is what is referred to in Lesson 13 when Jesus says: "Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all the separated ones." Anyone who believes he is a separated and autonomous being will experience anxiety with these thoughts. Jesus is thus telling you it is all right if you find this difficult, fear-inducing, and are therefore resistant.
These statements are extremely important, because probably the biggest mistake people make with A Course in Miracles is to deny the ego and the difficulty inherent in looking at it, thereby letting it go. Everyone wants to smooth over the process and "make nice," because no one really wants to deal with the full implications of these thoughts. These are, again, that you literally do not exist. Recall the line I quoted earlier (T-28.1.1:6) -- if the world were over long ago, and you are part of the world, <you> were over long ago. Who, then, is the <you> that is thinking and feeling, and doing these exercises? The answer to this question leads "directly into fear." *
(3:4-6) "You will not be left there. You will go far beyond it. Our direction is toward perfect safety and perfect peace."
*Jesus wants you to understand that the anxiety, terror, resistance, and difficulty are part of a longer process, and there is Someone with you Who will lead you through it. As we have seen, he talks about the Holy Spirit being there to lead you through seeming terror. He will lead you through the circle of fear to the Love of God that is on the other side (T-18.IX.3). That is why it is essential to cultivate a relationships with Jesus or the Holy Spirit: Someone within you, some non-ego thought that can lead you through the process. If you try to look at your ego without Him, you will either be thrown into terror or denial, believing that everything is really wonderful. Jesus is telling you, "Yes, there will be difficulty and resistance and fear, but I will lead you through it."
Paragraph 4 and 5 caution against being compulsive about the exercises, at the same time urging us <not> to exclude anything from our perceptual field. Needless to say, this is the easier said than done, which is why Jesus makes non-exclusivity in our practice a central theme in this first part of his mind-training program for us:*
(4-5) "With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that cross your mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then deny its reality. God did not create it, and so it is not real. Say, for example:
God did not create that war, and so it is not real.
God did not create that airplane crash, and so it is not real.
God did not create that disaster [specify], and so it is not real.
Suitable subjects for the application of today's idea also include anything you are afraid might happen to you, or to anyone about whom you are concerned. In each case, name the "disaster" quite specifically. Do not use general terms. For example, do not say, "God did not create illness," but, "God did not create cancer," or heart attacks, or whatever may arouse fear in you."
*Jesus wants us to be sure to include both personal and collective horrors, reflecting the importance of recognizing there is no hierarchy of illusions:
Now to paragraph 6:*
(6:1) "This is your personal repertory of horrors at which you are looking."
*Jesus is focusing on the negative. He could just as easily have focused on positive things, too. Thus, God not only did not create an airplane crash; but he also did not create a rocket ship that lands safely on the moon.*
(6:2-8) "These things are part of the world you see. Some of them are shared illusions, and others are part of your personal hell. It does not matter. What God did not create can only be in your own mind apart from His. Therefore, it has no meaning. In recognition of this fact, conclude the practice periods by repeating today's idea:
God did not create a meaningless world."
*Anything you think that has to do with duality, separation, individuality, or specialness is not in God's Mind, because His is only perfect Oneness and Love, in which there is no separation at all. Therefore, if it is not in His Mind, it can have no meaning and certainly does not exist. Note the term "shared illusions." As part of the one Sonship -- the one mind -- we agree on certain things that are perceived in the physical world: size, shape, color, etc. Yet the fact they are shared does not make them real. These are <shared Illusions>: "Nothing so blinding as perception of form" (T-22.III.6:7), the text states, an important statement to which we shall frequently return. Only God's knowledge is true, in contrast with the ego's illusory world of perception.*
(7) "The idea for today can, of course, be applied to anything that disturbs you during the day, aside from the practice periods. Be very specific in applying it. Say:
God did not create a meaningless world. He did not create [specify the situation which is disturbing you], and so it is not real."
*You can see how Jesus is repeatedly asking us in these lessons to apply his teachings very specifically to our everyday lives. Not doing so ensures they will never truly be learned, which of course is always the temptation of our ego's. Gently, he guides us in learning the process of bringing the illusions of our specific world of <form> to the <content> of his non-specific truth of forgiveness.*
*In these last seven lessons, following upon the first group of seven, we can observe Jesus building one lesson or idea upon another. He leads us from understanding that the meaninglessness of the world we perceive is coming from the meaninglessness of the world we made real in our minds, to understanding that at the core of these meaningless thoughts is the most terrible thought of all: God is in competition with us and will most certainly destroy us. It is important to understand, even though it is not stated here, that that thought, too, is a defense. It says I exist, am important and have the power to make God angry, making Him think as insanely as I, as the text explains in this telling passage from "The Laws of Chaos":
"Think what this seems to do to the relationship between the Father and the Son. Now it appears that they can never be one again. For one must always be condemned, and by the other. Now are they different, and enemies. And their relationship is one of opposition, just as the separate aspects of the Son meet only to conflict but not to join. One becomes weak, the other strong by his defeat. And fear of God and of each other now appears as sensible, made real by what the Son of God has done both to himself and his Creator.... Here is a principle that would define what the Creator of reality must be; what He must think and what He must believe; and how He must respond, believing it. It is not seen as even necessary that He be asked about the truth of what has been established for His belief. His Son can tell Him this, and He has but the choice whether to take his word for it or be mistaken.... For if God cannot be mistaken, He must accept his Son's belief in what he is, and hate him for it." (T-23.II.5; 6:2-4,6).
God now reacts as psychotically as I, mirroring my vicious and sinful vengeance in His Own:
"If this were so, would Heaven be opposed by its own opposite, as real as it. Then would God's Will be split in two, and all creation be subjected to the laws of two opposing powers, until God becomes impatient, splits the world apart, and relegates attack unto Himself. Thus has He lost His Mind, proclaiming sin has taken His reality from Him and brought His Love at last to vengeance's heels." (T-26.VII.7:3-5).
Imagine the power this gives me! Moreover, if I am powerful enough to force God to react to me, I must exist. Recognizing the ultimate meaninglessness of that thought engenders my anxiety.
Thus, the anxiety over the anticipated vengeance from God is a defense against the real anxiety, which is that I do not exist at all. I can live very well with the thought that God wants to kill me. It may not make me happy, but I know how to deal with that -- I can establish a religion: make bargains with God, perform rituals to appease His wrath, and project responsibility onto non-believers in justified judgment for their heresies. I do not, however, know how to deal with the thought I do not exist, except to deny it and quickly make up something to take its place.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
|
Lesson 13. A meaningless world engenders fear.
Lesson 13. A meaningless world engenders fear.
Today's idea is really another form of the preceding one, except that it is more specific as to the emotion aroused. Actually, a meaningless world is impossible. Nothing without meaning exists. However, it does not follow that you will not think you perceive something that has no meaning. On the contrary, you will be particularly likely to think you do perceive it.
Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all the separated ones. It represents a situation in which God and the ego "challenge" each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the empty space that meaninglessness provides. The ego rushes in frantically to establish its own ideas there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used to demonstrate its own impotence and unreality. And on this alone it is correct.
It is essential, therefore, that you learn to recognize the meaningless, and accept it without fear. If you are fearful, it is certain that you will endow the world with attributes that it does not possess, and crowd it with images that do not exist. To the ego illusions are safety devices, as they must also be to you who equate yourself with the ego.
(The exercises for today, which should be done about three or four times for not more than a minute or so at most each time, are to be practiced in a somewhat different way from the preceding ones. With eyes closed, repeat today's idea to yourself. Then open your eyes, and look about you slowly, saying:
I am looking at a meaningless world.
Repeat this statement to yourself as you look about. Then close your eyes, and conclude with:
A meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in competition with God.
You may find it difficult to avoid resistance, in one form or another, to this concluding statement. Whatever form such resistance may take, remind yourself that you are really afraid of such a thought because of the "vengeance" of the "enemy." You are not expected to believe the statement at this point, and will probably dismiss it as preposterous. Note carefully, however, any signs of overt or covert fear which it may arouse.
This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause and effect relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in recognizing. Do not dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even to think of it except during the practice periods. That will suffice at present.
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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 13. "A meaningless world engenders fear."
(1} "Today's idea is really another form of the preceding one, except that it is more specific as to the emotion aroused. Actually, a meaningless world is impossible. Nothing without meaning exists. However, it does not follow that you will not think you perceive something that has no meaning. On the contrary, you will be particularly likely to think you do perceive it."
*This is because you do not want to realize that what you perceive has no meaning. Once again, if what I see out there in the world has no meaning the thought within me that gave rise to it has no meaning either. Since I <am> my thoughts, it follows that *I* do not have any meaning, which means *I* do not exist. Therefore, rather than realize everything is meaningless within and without, I will substitute my own meaning. Obviously, if I perceive something I think is out there, which effects me, I have already pronounced it real. And I want to keep the underlying thought real so *I* can continue to exist.*
(2:1) "Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all the separated ones."
*The anxiety arises because at some level I realize that the meaningless extends to <my> existence.*
(2:2) "It represents a situation in which God and the ego "challenge" each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the empty space that meaninglessness provides."
*The ego challenges, but God does not; that is why the word is in quotes. To the ego, then, competition is the nature of its relationship with God. An "empty space" exists because the ego is nothing. Yet it believes it must get to the emptiness before God, to claim the Son's identity as its own; thus the perceived competition with the Creator. If my existence as an ego is predicated on the belief in <one or the other> -- I exist at God's expense; I killed Him so I can live -- I will project that thought and believe He is doing the same thing to me. This deeply rooted belief is the source of our perception that people are out to get us, to hurt, abandon, and sabotage us, because we accused ourselves of doing the same to others, and ultimately to God. As Jesus states near the end of the text:
"You never hate your brother for his sins, but only for your own. Whatever form his sins appear to take, it but obscures the fact that you believe it to be yours, and therefore meriting a "just" attack." (T-31.III.1:5-6).*
(2:3-4) "The ego rushes in frantically to establish its own ideas there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used to demonstrate its own impotence and unreality. And on this alone it is correct."
*Namely, that it is nothing. The ego knows, as I have explained before, that its power rests in the decision maker, because the ego in and of itself is impotent. To ensure that we never recognize its inherent nothingness and meaninglessness, it seeks to make itself important and powerful through sin, guilt, and fear. If I have sinned against God and destroyed Him, I am certainly important and powerful. This also makes me fearful, but at least I have become something that God notices, which also makes me important.
The most frightening thing of all is to realize God does not even know about us, because then we are literally nothing -- impotent and unreal. Thus we want God to pay attention to us, either because we are His most devoted follower or the most wretched sinner. It makes no difference to the ego, as long as God takes notice. Our real fear, of course, is that He knows nothing about us. Somewhere deep inside we know that to be true. But rather than accept its truth, we cover it over with the ego's lies; first with the thoughts of separation -- sin, guilt, and fear -- and next with a world that reflects those thoughts.*
(3:1) "It is essential, therefore, that you learn to recognize the meaningless, and accept it without fear."
*This acceptance comes from developing a relationship with Jesus or the Holy Spirit that allows you to look at your ego without fear, helping you realize its meaninglessness. If you are fearful or guilty about your ego, or if you embrace it, you obviously believe it is real. Once again, however, if you step back and watch this "oddly assorted procession" go by, you realize it is nothing, understanding its meaning lies in trying to protect you from what <is> meaningful. Finally, since we want that meaningfulness more than anything else -- it is our identity as God's Son -- we would then realize everything else makes no sense and choose against it.*
(3:2) "If you are fearful, it is certain that you will endow the world with attributes that it does not possess, and crowd it with images that do not exist."
*In this sense we talk about the world as powerful, hostile, threatening, wonderful, peaceful, blissful, holy, etc. These are its attributes; and the "images that do not exist" are everything we see in the world, which are of course the projections of thoughts that do not exist.*
(3:3) "To the ego illusions are safety devices, as they must also be to you who equate yourself with the ego."
*Safely devices are defenses. Sin, guilt, fear, and the world that arises from them are illusions, the purpose of which is to preserve the fundamental illusion that I exist as a separate individual.
And now we go to the blockbuster line in the next paragraph:*
(4) "The exercises for today, which should be done about three or four times for not more than a minute or so at most each time, are to be practiced in a somewhat different way from the preceding ones. With eyes closed, repeat today's idea to yourself. Then open your eyes, and look about you slowly, saying:
I am looking at a meaningless world.
Repeat this statement to yourself as you look about. Then close your eyes, and conclude with:
A meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in competition with God."
*We thus go from our mind's thoughts to our bodies' perceptions, and then back within. To state it once again, the world is fundamentally meaningless. Yet we strive to give it meaning, since that ultimately gives meaning to our separated self. Listening to the ego we make up a thought system of <sin, guilt, and fear>. Our <sin> of separation leads to the experience of <guilt> which culminates in the <fearful> belief that we deserve to be punished by a vengeful God, who now is in mortal competition with us for existence, either He survives, or we do, as the manual states: <kill or be killed> (M-17.7:11). But the inherent meaningless of this constellation of insanity does not preclude its having tremendous power, for we have invested our belief in it. Such investment means we must strive to give it meaning so we can defend against the ego's meaningless thought system, which is the basis for our meaningless identity.
To summarize this important point. When I realize the world is nothing, since it is simply a defense against the mind's thoughts, I am thrown back to these thoughts. If the world is meaningless and I am meaningless, I do not exist, which means God has won. But rather than lose the battle, I strive to give meaning to myself and to the world around me.
Jesus is helping us realize how we project everything onto the world. If we pay careful attention to our perceptions and what we value here, we would realize none of them comes from anything inherent in the world, because there is no world. They are but the result of a need within ourselves to justify and reinforce the spurious fact that we exist.*
(5:1-2) "You may find it difficult to avoid resistance, in one form or another, to this concluding statement. Whatever form such resistance may take, remind yourself that you are really afraid of such a thought because of the "vengeance" of the "enemy."
*The fear is that this a competition we cannot win -- God will be victorious. The terror engendered by such insanity is beyond what we can tolerate. We defend against it by constructing a thought system and then a world, behind which we can hide. Having become identified with this defense that culminates in the body, we <resist> having it taken from us, which exposing its foundation to the truth of the Atonement would surely do. And so we do not think about the wrath of God. That thought, as horrifying as it is, nonetheless protects the individual identity, which in turn defends against our acceptance of the Atonement.*
(5:3-4) "You are not expected to believe the statement at this point, and will probably dismiss it as preposterous. Note carefully, however, any signs of overt or covert fear which it may arouse."
*Obviously, if you are relatively new to A Course in Miracles, this statement will make no sense. But Jesus is asking for your vigilance, that you pay careful attention to any anxiety or fear that is within you.*
(6) "This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause and effect relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in recognizing. Do not dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even to think of it except during the practice periods. That will suffice at present."
*The cause and effect connection is between our thoughts -- the ego's thought system of sin, guilt, and fear -- and the way we perceive the world. In other words, I am fearful <not> because of what is outside me, but because of my thought system, which tells me that survival is between God and me. Note, too, how Jesus does not confront or attack our resistance. He simply and gently reminds us of the truth. This allows us to accept it when we are ready, without any pressure or guilt inflicted on us. A wonderful example for all Course students!*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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Lesson 12. I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
Lesson 12. I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. You think that what upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or an insane world. All these attributes are given it by you. The world is meaningless in itself.
These exercises are done with eyes open. Look around you, this time quite slowly. Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval. Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter, but try, instead, to keep a measured, even tempo throughout. What you see does not matter. You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time. This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value.
As you look about you, say to yourself:
I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world,
and so on, using whatever descriptive terms happen to occur to you. If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. For example, you might think of "a good world," or "a satisfying world." If such terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. You may not yet understand why these "nice" adjectives belong in these exercises but remember that a "good world" implies a "bad" one, and a "satisfying world" implies an "unsatisfying" one. All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today's exercises. Their seeming quality does not matter.
Be sure that you do not alter the time intervals between applying today's idea to what you think is pleasant and what you think is unpleasant. For the purposes of these exercises, there is no difference between them. At the end of the practice period, add:
But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
What is meaningless is neither good nor bad. Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you? If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy. But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be. It is this you see in it. It is this that is meaningless in truth. Beneath your words is written the Word of God. The truth upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His. That is the ultimate purpose of these exercises.
Three or four times is enough for practicing the idea for today. Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute. You may find even this too long. Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of strain.
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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 12. "I am upset because I see a meaningless world."
*Lessons 5 and 6 stated that "I am never upset for the reason I think," and "I am upset because I see something that is not there." This lesson amplifies these ideas. Thus, "I am upset because I see a meaningless world." Jesus now explains why that statement is true:*
(1) "The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. You think that what upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or an insane world. All these attributes are given it by you. The world is meaningless in itself."
*We perceive violence, hostility, insanity, and a myriad of other conditions. Jesus is not denying what we perceive. He is simply saying that what we perceive is not real. He is not saying, however, that we should deny our experiences (see, e.g., T-2.IV.3:8-11). Rather, he is helping us realize where the experiences are coming from. If I am upset, it is not because of what someone or something in the world has done to me, as we are also taught later in Lesson 31: "I am not the victim of the world I see." This is the central theme throughout A Course in Miracles: the world itself is meaningless because it comes from a meaningless thought. The meaningless thought is that I can be separate from God; in fact, not only <can> I be separate, but I <am> separate. It is meaningless because the thought is a defense against what alone has meaning: God and His unified creation. Thus, when you believe you can separate from the only meaning, everything inevitably becomes meaningless.*
(2:1-2) "These exercises are done with eyes open. Look around you, this time quite slowly."
*Jesus returns to having us focus on what we see, having already taught us there is no difference between what we see and what we think.
Note in the following the focus on all illusions being equal and thus equally illusory:*
(2:3-7) "Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval. Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter, but try, instead, to keep a measured, even tempo throughout. What you see does not matter. You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time. This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value."
*In introducing Lesson 1 I briefly discussed the ego's first law of chaos -- there is a hierarchy of illusions, which means there are certain things and people that are more important than others. It will be difficult to break that strongly ingrained habit of making distinctions in practicing this idea that "I am upset because I see a meaningless world." Jesus wants us to understand that everything is equally meaningless, because it all comes from the same meaningless thought.
Everything we see in the universe of time and space, including ourselves, is nothing more or less than a fragment of the original thought we could be, and are, separate from God and on our own. Every fragment retains the characteristics of that original thought, a "tiny, mad idea, at which the Son of God remembered not to laugh" (T-27.VIII.6:2). Our need is to remember to laugh at it because of its meaninglessness, not because it is funny in the usual sense of the word. We laugh with a gentle smile that says it does not mean anything because it is an impossibility. To use a familiar image, it was as if a huge pane of glass fell, shattering into billions and billions of fragments. Each fragment retains the characteristics of the original pane; each has the chemical composition of glass, for example. Each of us, as well as everything in the world, is but one of those fragments -- all meaningless because they come from a meaningless thought.
The reason I am upset, then, is that the world witnesses to the seeming fact that I am right about the world. Since I believe I exist in a world that is out there, this world reminds me of the original thought that gave rise to it, let alone to my individual existence: I destroyed Heaven and murdered God. This is extremely upsetting because I believe God will now return to punish me for what I did. This concept will be elaborated on in the next two lessons.
Again, Jesus does not ask you, as his student doing the workbook lessons, to understand the full implications of these statements. Such understanding comes from the study of the text. But he does want you to begin the practice of not taking your perceptions all that seriously.
In the next paragraph Jesus asks us to include terms in the exercise that are positive as well as negative:*
(3:1-6) "As you look about you, say to yourself:
I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world, and so on, using whatever descriptive terms happen to occur to you. If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. For example, you might think of "a good world," or "a satisfying world." If such terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. You may not yet understand why these "nice" adjectives belong in these exercises but remember that a "good world" implies a "bad" one, and a "satisfying world" implies an "unsatisfying" one."
*What is implied here without being specifically discussed is that contrasts and opposites root us solidly in the world of dualistic thinking. The text defines Heaven as "an awareness of perfect Oneness," in which there is no duality (T-18.VI.1:6). Thus, there is no good and evil in Heaven -- only God. Learning to recognize this is an important part of our training.*
(3:7-8) "All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today's exercises. Their seeming quality does not matter."
*In other words, it does not matter whether or not the terms are important or holy; everything in the world comes from the one illusory thought; an illusion is an illusion is an illusion.*
(4) "Be sure that you do not alter the time intervals between applying today's idea to what you think is pleasant and what you think is unpleasant. For the purposes of these exercises, there is no difference between them. At the end of the practice period, add:
But I am upset because I see a meaningless world."
*This important point about there being no real distinction between pleasant and unpleasant echoes the discussion in "The Obstacles to Peace," where Jesus states twice that pleasure and pain are the same (T-19.IV-A.17:10-12; IV-B.12). This distinction holds only if there <were> a hierarchy of illusions. Slowly and inevitably we are being taught there is <not>.*
(5:1) "What is meaningless is neither good nor bad."
*When you say something is good or bad you obviously are assigning it a value. At the beginning of Chapter 24 Jesus says that "to learn this course requires willingness to question every value that you hold" (T-24.in.2:1). The same idea is stated here, although more simply. Having assigned a value to something, I am thereby saying it has a meaning. If it has meaning, I must believe it comes from a meaningful thought, because what I perceive outside can only come from a thought that is within.
What, then, is the "meaningful" thought? It is that distinctions are valid, duality is real, and there is a value in esteeming one thing over another. The core of that thought is that I value my individual identity over the oneness of Christ; my life and my world over Heaven. If this is so, distinctions become all important because they establish me as a dualistic being in a dualistic world. That, then, is the world I perceive and stubbornly insist is real.*
(5:2) "Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you?
*If you are affected by anything in the world, you obviously believe this is not a meaningless place. You would believe that because you think <you> are meaningful. To the ego, what is meaningful is what feeds our specialness; what is meaningless is anything irrelevant to it. Therefore, the ego tells us, we need to focus on what serves our special needs. The next lesson will explain why a meaningless world is upsetting.*
(5:3) "If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy."
*If we accepted the world as meaningless we would be saying: "My mind is a blank." That would allow the Holy Spirit's Atonement principle to shine through and have Jesus' love become our only reality. That is the truth, which would make us "indescribably happy." Since this is a self that is no longer identified with the thought system of separation and guilt, what makes us indescribably happy is finally realizing we were wrong and Jesus was right. However, as long as we identify with a separated and special self we will fear the truth that all this is a dream. Thus we are continually choosing <not> to be indescribably happy, because to cite the well-known line, we prefer to be right than happy (T-29.VII.1:9). To be sure, the thought of non-existence would not be very happy making, to say the very least. That is why Jesus continually urges us to take "little steps" (W-p1.193.13:7); otherwise our fear of being "abruptly lifted up and hurled into reality" (T-16.VI.8:1) would be to overwhelming. The happy and gentle dreams of forgiveness are the transition from our nightmare ego world to awakening in God (T-27.VII.13:4-5).*
(5:4-6) "But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be. It is this you see in it. It is this that is meaningless in truth."
*Because the world is meaningless in itself I have to give it a meaning. Similarly, because the world is nothing and *I* am nothing, I have to pretend I am something. Indeed, we all think we are something -- wonderful or wretched. The ego does not care how the specialness game is played, whether we are God's gift or Satan's gift, as long as we are a special gift. The one thing we do not want is to be nothing. Near the end of "The Anti-Christ" Jesus speaks of the ego as always wanting more of something -- it does not matter whether it is more pleasure or more pain, it just wants <more> (T-29.VIII.8:6-12).
We are terrified of the possibility that we do not exist. This needs frequent repeating since it is the underlying assumption to these lessons, not to mention A Course in Miracles itself. This thought is the source of the resistance to the Course in general, and to the workbook specifically. I have to pretend I exist, and so quickly make up a thought system that I then project, thereby making up a world -- cosmically, (as we are all part of the one Son) as well as individuality. The point is that we always seek to impose meaning, because otherwise we will be confronted by the inherent meaninglessness of our thinking, not to mention our separate self. This takes place on the metaphysical level of the mind, where it is a question of <existence> or <being>, as discussed earlier. However, on the level of our personal experience, as bodies living in the world, we fear losing our problems and grievances -- all of which establish the self we believe ourselves to be, what the end of the text refers to as our face of innocence (T-31.V.1-3).
The real fear, as we shall see in the next lesson, is that if I do not put <my> meaning on the world, Jesus will put <his>. And so I have to beat him to the punch. This helps explain why being really quiet tends to make us anxious, and why we experience difficulty in meditating or praying: If we quiet our minds, Jesus will get there first -- "The memory of God comes to the quiet mind" (T-23.1.1:1) -- and if he does, our ego is out of business, as is our thought system of separation and specialness. This is why we end up, as we shall see in the next lesson, believing we are in competition with God, and also with Jesus and his course. As a result, before these ideas can penetrate our minds, giving us an opportunity to choose them, we quickly have to substitute our own. Finally, this is also why practically everyone attempts to change A Course in Miracles in some way or another -- to write a better or simpler one, for example. We are terrified at what this course really says. Thus, before we would ever let its words and thoughts affect us, we will change them to suit our own special needs.*
(5:7) "Beneath your words is written the Word of God."
*The "Word of God" in A Course in Miracles is almost always used as a synonym for the principle of the Atonement, or the Holy Spirit. It can also be understood as forgiveness, the correction for the ego's word of separation, which we chose to keep God's Word hidden.*
(5:8-9) "The truth upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His. That is the ultimate purpose of these exercises."
*Now you know why you do not want to do these exercises: if your words are erased, then the thought system -- the source of your words -- is erased as well. Jesus will expand on this in Lesson 14.
The lesson closes with the now familiar expression of Jesus' gentle understanding of our resistance to his teaching:*
(6) "Three or four times is enough for practicing the idea for today. Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute. You may find even this too long. Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of strain."
*No imposition, no bullying, no guilt-inducing demands to be disciplined, let alone spiritual. Who would not have wished for teachers like this when we were growing up?*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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Lesson 11. My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
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.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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Lesson 10. My thoughts do not mean anything.
Lesson 10. My thoughts do not mean anything.
This idea applies to all the thoughts of which you are aware, or become aware in the practice periods. The reason the idea is applicable to all of them is that they are not your real thoughts. We have made this distinction before, and will do so again. You have no basis for comparison as yet. When you do, you will have no doubt that what you once believed were your thoughts did not mean anything.
This is the second time we have used this kind of idea. The form is only slightly different. This time the idea is introduced with "My thoughts" instead of "These thoughts," and no link is made overtly with the things around you. The emphasis is now on the lack of reality of what you think you think.
This aspect of the correction process began with the idea that the thoughts of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather than within; and then stressed their past rather than their present status. Now we are emphasizing that the presence of these "thoughts" means that you are not thinking. This is merely another way of repeating our earlier statement that your mind is really a blank. To recognize this is to recognize nothingness when you think you see it. As such, it is the prerequisite for vision.
Close your eyes for these exercises, and introduce them by repeating the idea for today quite slowly to yourself. Then add:
This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe.
The exercises consist, as before, in searching your mind for all the thoughts that are available to you, without selection or judgment. Try to avoid classification of any kind. In fact, if you find it helpful to do so, you might imagine that you are watching an oddly assorted procession going by, which has little if any personal meaning to you. As each one crosses your mind, say:
My thought about ___ does not mean anything.
My thought about ___ does not mean anything.
Today's thought can obviously serve for any thought that distresses you at any time. In addition, five practice periods are recommended, each involving no more than a minute or so of mind searching. It is not recommended that this time period be extended, and it should be reduced to half a minute or less if you experience discomfort. Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly before applying it specifically, and also to add:
This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe.
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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 10. "My thoughts do not mean anything."
*Lesson 4 stated: "These thoughts do not mean anything." As Jesus explains in the second paragraph, he now says "My" instead of "These," thus making the teaching much more personal for us.*
(1) "This idea applies to all the thoughts of which you are aware, or become aware in the practice periods. The reason the idea is applicable to all of them is that they are not your real thoughts. We have made this distinction before, and will do so again. You have no basis for comparison as yet. When you do, you will have no doubt that what you once believed were your thoughts did not mean anything."
*Our "real thoughts" would be anything in our right minds, anything that comes from the Holy Spirit. In this sense, an <unreal> thought would be, for example, that someone is attacking me. The <real thought> would be that this is call for love, and it is a call for love that is shared by me. However, as Jesus is teaching us here, we are still far too identified with <our> thoughts to be able seriously to entertain what he is saying to us about the thoughts that our thoughts are covering. But, we are only on Lesson 10!*
(2) "This is the second time we have used this kind of idea. The form is only slightly different. This time the idea is introduced with "My thoughts" instead of "These thoughts," and no link is made overtly with the things around you. The emphasis is now on the lack of reality of what you think you think."
*Jesus is not talking about what we perceive outside, he is now talking about what we <think>. You can see in these lessons how he goes back and forth in his gentle attempts at convincing us that we are not who we think we are. It is a process that gradually leads us through the labyrinth of our ego's thought system -- the seeming terror of the circle of fear he describes in the text (T-18.IX.3:7-4:1) -- to the Love of God that happily awaits us just beyond.
Paragraph 3 is a nice statement of projection, although the term itself is not used:*
(3) "This aspect of the correction process began with the idea that the thoughts of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather than within; and then stressed their past rather than their present status. Now we are emphasizing that the presence of these "thoughts" means that you are not thinking. This is merely another way of repeating our earlier statement that your mind is really a blank. To recognize this is to recognize nothingness when you think you see it. As such, it is the prerequisite for vision."
*Jesus wants us to understand that our thoughts are nothing. However, we take these thoughts of nothingness and project them because we think they are real. Thus are they seen as real images in the outside world. Jesus wants us to understand that the thoughts that are now the projected source of our perceptions are not really there. Our minds, to repeat this important idea, are filled with thoughtless thoughts, or thoughtless ideas, because they are based on the ego's illusory thought system of separation.*
(4) "Close your eyes for these exercises, and introduce them by repeating the idea for today quite slowly to yourself. Then add:
This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe.
The exercises consist, as before, in searching your mind for all the thoughts that are available to you, without selection or judgment. Try to avoid classification of any kind. In fact, if you find it helpful to do so, you might imagine that you are watching an oddly assorted procession going by, which has little if any personal meaning to you. As each one crosses your mind, say:
My thought about ___ does not mean anything.
My thought about ___ does not mean anything."
*This is an example of what it means to look with Jesus at your ego, the importance of which we continually emphasize. The <you> that looks, with no personal attachment to these thoughts, is the decision-making part of our minds, return to which is the Course's goal and the meaning of the miracle that gives A Course in Miracles its name. The process entails standing back with Jesus, watching your ego make a case against someone or yourself; seeing it take a fragment here and piece from there, weaving together a seemingly complete picture in order to prove you are right about your perceptions of victimization in the world, and that everyone else is wrong, including the Holy Spirit. You simply watch your ego in action -- "an oddly assorted procession going by" -- its purpose being to confuse us about our identity, making us believe we are a <body> not a <mind>. While Jesus is not giving us his full teaching here, he is laying out its basic principles. ... Finally:*
(5) "Today's thought can obviously serve for any thought that distresses you at any time. In addition, five practice periods are recommended, each involving no more than a minute or so of mind searching. It is not recommended that this time period be extended, and it should be reduced to half a minute or less if you experience discomfort. Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly before applying it specifically, and also to add:
This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe."
*You can see, once again, the importance generalization holds for Jesus. We are asked to practice -- with the same gentle kindness he exhibits toward us -- with our specific misperceptions, in order to generalize the principles learned in these applications to <all> our experiences. This theme continues to recur throughout these early lessons.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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Lesson 9. I see nothing as it is now.
Lesson 9. I see nothing as it is now.
This idea obviously follows from the two preceding ones. But while you may be able to accept it intellectually, it is unlikely that it will mean anything to you as yet. However, understanding is not necessary at this point. In fact, the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas. These exercises are concerned with practice, not with understanding. You do not need to practice what you already understand. It would indeed be circular to aim at understanding, and assume that you have it already.
It is difficult for the untrained mind to believe that what it seems to picture is not there. This idea can be quite disturbing, and may meet with active resistance in any number of forms. Yet that does not preclude applying it. No more than that is required for these or any other exercises. Each small step will clear a little of the darkness away, and understanding will finally come to lighten every corner of the mind that has been cleared of the debris that darkens it.
These exercises, for which three or four practice periods are sufficient, involve looking about you and applying the idea for the day to whatever you see, remembering the need for its indiscriminate application, and the essential rule of excluding nothing. For example:
I do not see this typewriter as it is now.
I do not see this telephone as it is now.
I do not see this arm as it is now.
Begin with things that are nearest you, and then extend the range outward:
I do not see that coat rack as it is now.
I do not see that door as it is now.
I do not see that face as it is now.
It is emphasized again that while complete inclusion should not be attempted, specific exclusion must be avoided. Be sure you are honest with yourself in making this distinction. You may be tempted to obscure it.
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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 9. "I see nothing as it is now."
*Lesson 9 logically follows from Lessons 7 and 8. If my thoughts are meaningless because they are preoccupied with a past that does not exist, and the past does not exist because it is rooted in sin and separation, which never happened, then it must logically follow that "I see nothing as it is now."*
(1:1-2) "This idea obviously follows from the two preceding ones. But while you may be able to accept it intellectually, it is unlikely that it will mean anything to you as yet."
*This is a mild understatement. The idea will not mean anything to us because we are terrified of what it really means. In the holy instant, which is the meaning of "now," there is nothing to see. Chapter 18 in the text says: "At no single instant does the body exist at all." (T-18.VII.3:1), which means that in the holy instant there is no body. Why? Because there is no thought of separation; no sin, guilt, and fear, and therefore no body is needed to defend against those thoughts. These are the blocks to truth that Jesus referred to in the previous lesson. Thus, everything I "see" is a defense against the holy instant.*
(1:3-7) "However, understanding is not necessary at this point. In fact, the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas. These exercises are concerned with practice, not with understanding. You do not need to practice what you already understand. It would indeed be circular to aim at understanding, and assume that you have it already."
*This is the same idea I underscored in the previous lesson: the importance of recognizing that your mind is blank when it is thinking. We think we understand what we are thinking. But in truth we do not understand anything, because our so-called thinking is a block to real understanding, which in A Course in Miracles is equated with truth or vision.
I quoted earlier from "The Little Willingness" where Jesus says "you are still convinced that your understanding is a powerful contribution to the truth, and makes it what it is" (T-18.IV.7:5). In other words, our understanding is not necessary. What is necessary, however, is that we be willing to accept that we understand nothing. If we can accept that fact we are opening the way for our real Teacher to instruct us. But if we keep insisting that we understand and are right, there is no way Jesus can teach us. In our insane arrogance we believe there is nothing we need to learn. In a lesson to come later, we read:
"You will not question what you have already defined. And the purpose of these exercises is to ask questions and receive the answers." (W-p1.28.4:1-2)
Thus it is our willingness to <practice> and <apply> the lessons, each and every moment that we can, that will enable us ultimately to understand.*
(2:1) "It is difficult for the untrained mind to believe that what it seems to picture is not there."
*It is extremely hard for us to believe that what we are seeing is not there. We think we see a room full of people and chairs, a clock, a frozen lake [this class was held in the New York Catskills Mountains], etc. In "reality," all we are seeing is an out-picturing of our thoughts of separation, the specific forms that are projections of our illusory thought system.*
(2:2-3) "This idea can be quite disturbing, and may meet with active resistance in any number of forms. Yet that does not preclude applying it."
*Again, it is not necessary to understand or agree with the ideas in the workbook. Jesus is simply asking us to do them. The thought for today should be disturbing, and there is something wrong if it is not. As we have already discussed, if what you are seeing is not there, and you experience seeing yourself -- your physical self and your thoughts -- then <you> are not there. What could be more disturbing than that? It is not necessary to accept this idea as truth. Jesus is simply asking you to begin the process of training your mind to think the way he thinks.*
(2:4-5) "No more than that is required for these or any other exercises. Each small step will clear a little of the darkness away, and understanding will finally come to lighten every corner of the mind that has been cleared of the debris that darkens it."
*This is an extremely important theme, and one we shall restate again and again: undoing the interferences to remembering love. When you get the mind's darkening debris out of the way -- i.e., the meaningless thoughts rooted in the ego's thought system -- what is left is the vision of Christ, and that is understanding. This has nothing to do with what happens in the world, but with realizing that there is nothing in the world to understand. I am reminded of a statement Michelangelo made about his sculpture. He explained that he first saw the image in the stone, and then took away what did not belong. The image of Christ, which is the light of our true Identity, is already in our minds through the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is simply to bring to His truth the darkened debris of our illusions, which leads to an experience of the Love of God and the oneness of the Sonship.
The rest of the lesson provides instructions for the exercises. Note again that Jesus emphasizes indiscriminate application -- <excluding nothing>. He is helping us to be specific without being ritualistic and obsessive, the ultimate purpose being to generalize from the specific to <all> aspects of the perceptual world -- the trivial and important, both near and far. Jesus closes the lesson with still another reminder.*
(5) "It is emphasized again that while complete inclusion should not be attempted, specific exclusion must be avoided. Be sure you are honest with yourself in making this distinction. You may be tempted to obscure it."
*As you progress through the workbook, you will see the significance of these instructions not to exclude, as well as to be honest in seeing the resistance to undoing the ego.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
| | Lesson 9. I see nothing as it is now. |
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Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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Lesson 8. My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
Lesson 8. My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. No one really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts projected outward. The mind's preoccupation with the past is the cause of the misconception about time from which your seeing suffers. Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is. It therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand anything.
The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about illusions. Very few have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything.
The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While thoughtless ideas preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked. Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to vision.
The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. With as little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there. Name each one by the central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce the practice period by saying:
I seem to be thinking about ___.
Then name each of your thoughts specifically, for example:
I seem to be thinking about [name of a person], about [name of an object], about [name of an emotion],
and so on, concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:
But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
This can be done four or five times during the day, unless you find it irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four times is sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion that the idea for today may induce, in the mind searching itself.
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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 8. "My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
*There is a discernible sequence to the lessons as one continues to read and practice them. Jesus begins with simple ideas and statements about the way we perceive the world. He then quickly moves to the way we perceive our thoughts and, beginning with Lesson 8, he develops much more clearly the specific cause and effect connection between our thoughts and the world. Here, for the first time in the workbook, he speaks of the world's unreality. He also introduces the idea of projection, a principle that was implied in the first seven lessons, but will be clearly identified in the lessons to follow. Jesus has been telling us up to this point that what we see is meaningless because what we see comes from what we think. And what we think (in our ego minds) is meaningless because it denies true Meaning. This has not been clearly stated in the lessons to date, although we have discussed it, but it certainly has been implied and will be more explicitly stated in the lessons to come.*
(1:1) "This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past."
*Lesson 7, "I see only the past," introduces the idea that everything we perceive is meaningless because it is based on our thoughts of the past. In Lesson 8, Jesus continues and extends his discussion of time and the past: <My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts>. It is not simply that we see only the past, which, again, was the theme of Lesson 7, but we see only the past because we <think> only the past. Jesus is here introducing the idea that what we see <outside> comes from what we think <inside>, a major theme of the text: "Projection makes perception" (T-13.V.3.5;T-21.IN.1:1). What we believe and have made real about ourselves within, whether as children of the ego or children of God, will be directly reflected in what we perceive outside, because the inner and the outer are the same. This is a variation of the essential principle in A Course in Miracles that <ideas leave not their source>. We shall return later to this all-important theme. That <my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts> is, of course, why we see only the past (1:1). Although not clearly stated here, but clearly implied, is the principle that what we see comes from what we think. That is why:*
(1:2) "No one really sees anything."
*This is another of those statements that, when you begin to read the text and do the lessons, your mind would tend to gloss over, because you really do not want to accept what Jesus is saying. He means this literally: "No one really sees anything."
(1:3) "He sees only his thoughts projected outward."
*In the text there are many passages -- a couple in the workbook, too -- where Jesus explains that the body's eyes do not see, just as the body does not think, feel, hear, or do anything. It simply does what the mind tells it to do (e.g., T-28.V.5:3-8;VI.2:1-9;M-8.3:3-4:3). The body can be thought of then as simply a puppet or robot that carries out the dictates of its master. That is why we do not see anything. All that we "see," and basically this <see> should be in quotes, is a projection of what we have been thinking. And, as we have seen, what we have been thinking in listening to the ego is quite simply nothing.*
(1:4) "The mind's preoccupation with the past is the cause of the misconception about time from which your seeing suffers."
*In the Prelude, as well as in discussing the Introduction to the workbook, I mentioned that one way of understanding time as we know it, i.e., as linear -- past, present, and future -- is to see it as nothing more than a reflection or shadow of the ego's thoughts system of sin, guilt, and fear. When we choose our individuality over the Holy Spirit's oneness, and then seek to preserve this individual identity, the ego has us construct its thought system of sin, guilt, and fear. To restate this important dynamic: <sin> says we have sinned against God in the past; we experience <guilt> over what we have done in what the ego calls the present, and since guilt always demands punishment, we then become <afraid> of God's punishment, which we believe we deserve. That fear of punishment, of course, points to the future. If you keep in mind this "unholy trinity" of sin (past), guilt ("present"), and fear (future) as you read this first paragraph, it will make much more sense. When we look outside we see a world ruled by time. It is, of course, also a world of space. Space and time, as the text describes them, are opposite sides of the same mistake (T-26.VIII.1:3-5).
Thus, everything we see outside we see in terms of the past, because we see it through the lens of our individual identity. This identity is rooted in sin, the belief that we have separated from God and now exist as separate entities. Since we believe we are at war with God, a theme to be developed later, we must then also believe we are at war with everyone else. As a result, every perception in our world is geared toward dealing with the issue of specialness: who is the special person who will win, and who is the special person who will lose. When this is expressed directly, it is special hate; when concealed, it is special love. Moreover, specialness is rooted in the ego's notion of time, which, once again, comes from the belief in sin, guilt, and fear. Thus specialness cannot <not> be rooted in the past.
The "misconception about time" is that it is real -- there <is> a past, present, and future -- and that the present and future are directly caused by the past. Thus what we are today is because of our past. The future, likewise, will be merely an extension of the ego's present.*
(1:5) "Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is."
*The ego's present is not this "present," what A Course in Miracles refers to as the "holy instant." As this experience is not rooted in time, it is also not rooted in sin, guilt, and fear. It is rooted in the right-minded presence of the Holy Spirit, in which vision -- not based on the past, and certainly not on specialness -- becomes the means for love to guide us from within.*
(1:6) "It [your mind] therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand anything."
*This is because everything we think we understand is rooted in the seeming reality of the spatial and temporal world. As long as we identify ourselves as individuals, separate and autonomous, we must believe in the entirety of the ego system. Everything we perceive, therefore, will be a shadow of its illusory thought of separation, which means we will not understand anything.*
(2:1) "The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here."
*This is another of those lines that, if you pay careful attention to it, should have you jumping out of the window. If you are a creature of the past and there is no past, then it must mean there is no <you>. In "The Present Memory" that opens Chapter 28 in the text comes the sentence : "This world was over long ago" (T-28.1.1:6). If this is true, it means <you> were over long ago, too. This forces us to ask: Who is the <you> that you think is reading those words? Or, in Jesus' words in the text: "Who is the 'you' who are living in this world?" (T-4.II.11:8) In other words, our existence is literally made up, and if you paid close attention to that thought you would be terrified. If you are not, it is because you are not paying close attention to it. That statement is literally saying, as is this statement in Lesson 8, that you do not exist.
This would explain, as we had mentioned earlier why doing this workbook carefully and with diligence should make you extremely anxious, even if you are not quite sure where the anxiety is coming from. There is a part of you that recognizes what this is saying, even though, again, the language is simple and does not appear to have the same metaphysical weight found in the text. That is why you forget the lessons, do not want to do them, and tend to gloss over them and focus only on their more superficial aspects.*
(2:2) "To think about it at all is therefore to think about illusions."
*To think about the past is to think about illusions. Stop for a moment as you do this lesson and consider how almost every single thought you have throughout the day is based on the past, whether it is something as commonplace as picking up a coffee cup, or something that would seem far more important. Thoughts about a situation, relationship, your body, or anything else -- are all predicated on the past. And they must be, because the past is nothing more than sin's shadow, and sin is separation. As long as you believe you are a separate entity, you must believe in the reality of sin and therefore of time.*
(2:3-4) "Very few have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything."
*This statement is the basis of another statement we frequently say in workshops and classes: "The thoughts we think we think are not our real thoughts." If they are not our real thoughts, they do not exist. It follows then that since we have identified with our thoughts, <we> do not exist either. "The mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything." Not only is our existence an illusion; indeed, <all> existence is an illusion, for it contrasts with the reality of <being>. A discussion of this distinction can be found in T-4.VII.4-5.*
(3:1) "The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all."
*It is clear from statements like this, as well as many others, that Jesus' purpose in these lessons is to train our minds. Here, specifically, the focus is the idea of thinking -- to have us realize that we are really not thinking at all. We will become aware of this by recognizing how much our thoughts are rooted in the past, or, although this is not the point of this lesson, how much they are rooted in the fear of the future. We become preoccupied with what is going to happen -- whether we are talking about the next five minutes or the next five years -- because these concerned thoughts of the future are rooted in our concerned thoughts of the past.*
(3:2) "While thoughtless ideas preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked."
*This idea will be developed as we proceed -- the purpose of thoughtless ideas and holding onto the past is to block the truth. <Purpose> remains one of the central themes in A Course in Miracles, and Jesus repeatedly emphasizes it as the means for understanding the ego's thought system, as seen, for example, in his introduction to the laws of chaos (T-23.II.1:1-5). This then, is another pregnant statement our minds could slide past, because it reveals the motivation for holding onto thoughtless ideas, be they concerns of the past, fears of the future, or present feelings of guilt. They are all purposive attempts to keep hidden the truth of our Identity as Christ.*
(3:3) "Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to vision."
*As is the case throughout the three books of A Course in Miracles, Jesus' focus is on having us remove "the blocks to the awareness of love's presence" (T-in.1:7). These blocks are the problem. We do not have to be concerned about what Jesus or truth are doing, but we have to be vigilant about what the <ego> is doing. It is very helpful, therefore, to understand that in holding thoughtless ideas our minds are blank, because these ideas are about the past. That begins the process of opening up the door to true perception, the vision of true forgiveness that leads us to the truth.*
(4:1-3) "The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. With as little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there."
*Some of the earlier exercises call for our eyes to be open. The point here, and later on as well, is that there is no difference between what we see or what we think. They are the same. Here Jesus is not talking about what we are perceiving externally, but focusing on what we are thinking. We see again the important emphasis placed on not making any of our thoughts special, or more or less important than any other. ... The lesson moves now to our specific thoughts:*
(4:4-5:3) "Name each one by the central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce the practice period by saying:
I seem to be thinking about ___.
Then name each of your thoughts specifically, for example:
I seem to be thinking about [name of a person], about [name of an object], about [name of an emotion],
and so on, concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:
But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."
*Thus we are asked to practice the central aspect of the process of forgiveness: bringing the specifics of our illusions to the non-specific truth of the Holy Spirit, expressed here in the statement: "But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts." *
(6) "This can be done four or five times during the day, unless you find it irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four times is sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion that the idea for today may induce, in the mind searching itself."
*Here is another wonderful example of how Jesus , at the same time he inspires us with his gentleness and patience, uses our resistance as part of our healing. As he states in the text, in the context of specialness:
"Such is the Holy Spirit's kind perception of specialness; His use of what you made, to heal instead of harm." (T-25.VI.4:1)
Even our irritation can serve the Holy Spirit's purpose of forgiveness, if we let Him help us.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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Lesson 7. I see only the past.
Lesson 7. I see only the past.
This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.
It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.
It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.
Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first.
Look at a cup, for example. Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast and so on? Are not your aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else would you know whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? What do you know about this cup except what you learned in the past? You would have no idea what this cup is, except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see it?
Look about you. This is equally true of whatever you look at. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye. For example:
I see only the past in this pencil.
I see only the past in this shoe.
I see only the past in this hand.
I see only the past in that body.
I see only the past in that face.
Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing specifically. Glance briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next. Three or four practice periods, each to last a minute or so, will be enough.
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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 7. "I see only the past."
*Lesson 7 is essentially a summary of the previous six lessons, as we see in the first paragraph where they are repeated almost verbatim.
In the second paragraph we find Jesus returning to an idea he mentioned briefly in the second paragraph of Lesson 3 -- the importance of clearing our minds of past thoughts. Now, he elaborates: The reason that nothing means anything, that we have given everything the meaning it has, etc., is that we are seeing only the past. Keeping in mind the equation of sin, guilt and fear with the past, present, and future will help you understand the motivation for seeing only the past. Sin is equated with separation, which proves that I am an individual, autonomous from God. Once I believed this lie, it will automatically be projected out and take the form of the past. Thus, I see the past in everything, because I want to maintain my individual identity. Here is how Jesus says it:*
(2) "Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first."
*Whenever we are upset it is because we are equating something that just happened with something from the past. I see a particular person and I know what I am supposed to do: This is an authority, and so my hate is justified; this is my rival, and so I have to hate this person; this one is a certain color, which I hate. Hate is always based on the past. Most of the time, though, it is more subtle than these examples, which is why we need practice to recognize and accept this "first time idea."
In sum, then, the purpose of seeing the past in everything is that it enables me to say that I exist. Thus, making the past real is the same as saying sin or separation is real, and therefore so am I. Incidentally, note the word play on the word "time" in 2:2-3.
We are now given a very specific, albeit a seemingly trivial example:*
(3) "Look at a cup, for example. Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast and so on? Are not your aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else would you know whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? What do you know about this cup except what you learned in the past? You would have no idea what this cup is, except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see it?"
*But this is true of <everything>. We literally see <nothing>, because we are seeing the past, which is not there.*
(4) "Look about you. This is equally true of whatever you look at. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye. For example:
I see only the past in this pencil.
I see only the past in this shoe.
I see only the past in this hand.
I see only the past in that body.
I see only the past in that face."
*It is interesting to note Jesus' choice of objects to be perceived; they include inanimate as well as animate ones. We shall continue to return to this point, but for now let me underscore again the important teaching that since the world is "the outside picture of an inward condition" (T-21.in.1:5) and this inward condition is an illusion, too. Moreover, as there is no "hierarchy of illusions," there can be no intrinsic difference among all the objects of our perceptual world, inanimate or animate. They are <all> equally illusory, and thus they are the same. While it goes without saying that this flies in the face of our experience, we are also being taught that our experiences are false. In these lessons we are seeing Jesus' preliminary and subtle attempts at teaching us this truth as he gently leads us to their acceptance, and beyond them to God -- <the> truth.
Finally, still another caution against the temptation to exclude what we feel is not important, which very often is a veil concealing what we secretly believe to be quite important, what the text refers to as our "secret sins and hidden hates" (T-31.VIII.9:2):*
(5) "Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing specifically. Glance briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next. Three or four practice periods, each to last a minute or so, will be enough."
*Indiscriminateness in responding to the illusory world of perception remains the central focus of this early part of the workbook. It contains the means of undoing the ego's thought system of separation. The essence of miracles: there is no order of difficult among them (T1.1.1:1).*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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Lesson 6. I am upset because I see something that is not there.
Lesson 6. I am upset because I see something that is not there.
The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:
I am angry at ___ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ___ because I see something that is not there.
Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you, and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.
Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:
There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
And:
I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.
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Below, is from Kenneth Wapnick's commentaries on this lesson, from his book set, called: "Journey Through the Workbook of A Course in Miracles," which can be purchased at the following site:??~ M. Street
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Lesson 6. "I am upset because I see something that is not there."
*This lesson is a bombshell. What is so intriguing about these first lessons is that Jesus does not become involved with weighty metaphysics. Yet that is exactly what grounds the idea that "I am upset because I see something that is not there." What is upsetting me is <within> me, not outside. <There is nothing outside of me>. What I think I see is merely a projection of a thought in my mind, and this thought -- of separation from God -- is not there either! My perceptions are of illusions, the projections of thoughts that are themselves illusions. What else can an illusion breed but further illusions?
The first paragraph, as it itself states, is already familiar in its emphasis on specificity. Paragraph 2 should also be familiar: *
(2) "Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you, and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search."
*Mind searching is the focal point of Jesus' message and the means of applying his teachings to our daily experiences. He then returns to two ideas mentioned in Lesson 5:*
(3) "Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:"
There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
And:
I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go. For the purposes of these exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same."
*It would be difficult to over-emphasize the importance of this idea of the inherent <sameness> of all things -- both large and small upsets (as well as large and small pleasures). It occupies a central place in Jesus' teaching, as it is the means of our learning to tell the difference between illusion and truth or, in Plato's words, appearance and reality.*
Love and Blessings,
Lyn Johnson 719-369-1822
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