We are reminded that these early Lessons are essential in setting the groundwork for the discipline of mind watching. We are entertaining the possibility that the way we think about everything has been based on false premises. In fact, Jesus says very clearly that our minds are untrained and
"An untrained mind can accomplish nothing."
(W.PI.IN.1.3) If you do the exercises as prescribed in the workbook, you will be undoing the way you see now (the first half of the workbook) and gaining new (true) perception through the Lessons in Part II of the workbook. This does not hold completely, as we are also learning about true perception in the Lessons in this part of the workbook.
I have been with the Course for over 25 years and have done the Lessons many times, but I can attest to the significant changes that took place in my thinking after doing the Lessons in the first year. This was in spite of my very limited understanding of the metaphysics of the Course. Jesus promises us that as we apply ourselves to the workbook mind training in a systematic way, we will have a
"different perception of everyone and everything in the world."
(W.PI.IN.4.1) Every step we take is strongly reinforced.
"Were not each step in this direction so heavily reinforced, it would be hard indeed!"
(M.4.I.A.7.9)
Today we are again reminded that any upset, big or small, results in a loss of peace. We can't be a little bit peaceful. Either we are at peace or we are not. Anything that is upsetting to us, that brings to mind worry, fear, depression, anxiety, anger, expectations, or desires is disturbing to our peace. There is no hierarchy of big or small upsets.
"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."
(W.6.3.2-6) They are all the same because they are all unreal. While upsetting thoughts are talked about here, the same would apply to what we call pleasurable thoughts. They too are related to nothing outside of us and they too detract from our real thoughts in our right minds.
These Lessons are now helping us look at our thoughts and recognize that they interfere with our peace because they are blocking the peace already in our minds. What is important about this Lesson is to see that there is nothing outside of us. It is all illusion. This is not easy for us, as we do experience things that seem to come from outside of us, and we attribute our upsets to them. But more and more we will understand that everything that upsets us starts with our own inward condition. What is upsetting to me is the meaning I am giving to what is actually neutral. The good news is we have the power within us to change our condition.
Today we are asked to specifically identify our feelings.
"I am angry at ____because I see something that is not there."
(W.6.1.4) We take a few minutes to search our minds for feelings of upset. Sometimes we get so used to the painful feelings, which are literally there all of the time. We have no idea they are always playing in the background of our minds. They cannot be healed if we don't look at them, so this first step is necessary.
Don woke up this morning from a distressing dream and as he told me about it, I said it must be a relief that it was just a dream. He was distressed by something that was not there. Isn't it a relief to know that the disturbing things we dream are not there? This is the kind of relief we feel when we realize in our waking dream that we are also seeing something that is not there. It is not unlike something that upset us as children when we think there is something menacing in our bedroom and see nothing is there when our parents turned on the lights. In the same way, we are seeing what is not there. Everything we see is a projection of a thought in the mind, and these projections are illusions because they are not there either.
It does not mean that an event hasn't occurred in the illusion. Yesterday and today, I was involved in a significant controversy related to some events that took place at my mother's seniors' residence. I was worried, angry, frustrated and distressed by something I deemed very important. The event seemingly occurred, but my interpretation of it being real and that I was at its mercy is what I am releasing by affirming I was seeing something that in reality was not there. It is no different than a nighttime dream. I have given it my interpretation as being real and my reaction to that interpretation is what has upset me. Each of us may perceive it differently. While the event may have occurred on the level of form, my upset about it is what I am invited to look at. I am responding to a thought in my mind.
This is not a course in behavior. It is a course in mind training. A Course in Miracles is addressing the mind, and is concerned only with the content of the mind. A perceived problem in the world may still need our attention while we seem to be here, but the real work is in our own minds. When we take the time to look at our minds and ask the Holy Spirit how to see this problem differently, sometimes the solution we thought was applicable in form is no longer required.
"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."
(T.11.V.1.1-2)(ACIM OE T.10.VI.39)
"The 'dynamics' of the ego will be our lesson for a while, for 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.1.5-6)(ACIM OE T.10.VI.39)
The Course is taking us to the realization that God created everything that exists, but he created only that which is real. In other words, only that which is eternal. Nothing in the world of form could be created by God because it is all temporary, including our bodies. At the beginning of the Course Jesus tells us,
"Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God."
(T.IN.2.2-3)(ACIM OE T.IN.4-5) Can we accept, God did not create upsetting things? And if God did not create those things that upset us, they can't be real and they don't exist. Jesus tells us the world was not created by God, but it is a projection of the wrong mind. The mind believes it has separated from God and is a body living in this world. We are just reliving that moment of terror when we seemed to separate from eternity, and now we are replaying that moment over and over in these upsetting incidents of fear and distress. Each upsetting incident is just a small part of this whole separation saga we replay again and again.
Slowly, step by step, we are being led to a serenity that cannot be disturbed by the circumstances and events of the world. We are slowly undoing the normal human way we have learned to see things. We are opening to a new possibility where we are slowly learning to release the attachment we have to the world of form and to our thoughts about it. Our interpretations are being brought to question. Again, we don't even have to believe these Lessons for them to have effect.
The important thing is to do the exercises as prescribed. Our current way of thinking all comes from our guilt of having stolen our identity from God, which is the cause of all of our pain and distress. This is a process of undoing our current way of seeing. We just need to trust we have been brought to this path because we are ready to find a better way to live our lives and to ultimately wake up to the truth of who we are.
Thus, the steps involved in applying these teachings begin by: 1. Seeing the problems we have made up in the world. 2. Dealing with the problems in the normal way (i.e., paying taxes and bills). 3. Learning to recognize that the problems are made up as a smokescreen for the real problem. 4. The real problem is the choice in the mind to take the thought of separation seriously.
The purpose the ego assigns to the world's problems is to keep us invested in the illusion so we will not look within and see the real problem is guilt. Since we believe the world with its bills and taxes is real, we hold judgments that need to be acknowledged because they reveal our hidden beliefs in scarcity, victimization, and loss. Our feelings reflect the beliefs and values we hold. They cannot be dispelled if we are unaware of them.
In the same way, belief in the body cannot be undone by denying it and then ignoring the specific conditions of life in a body. Not paying bills or taxes would certainly bring on an avalanche of other problems. The exacerbated situation would reinforce the ego's smokescreen, and would not facilitate healing. Only when the real problem, which is belief in separation, is recognized can we turn to the Holy Spirit in our minds to seek the real solution, which is the undoing of this belief in separation. It is undone through forgiveness, which is simply bringing our dark thoughts to the Holy Spirit. When forgiveness is complete, we will see that the world with all its "problems" is not real, and move beyond this illusion to the truth.
Love and blessings, Sarah
