This Lesson can really raise the bar on the level of resistance you might be experiencing. How do we know we are in resistance? We may respond by finding this Lesson to be silly, irreverent, senseless, funny and even objectionable. We may find we 'forget' to do the Lesson during the day, or we may think of giving up on the Course altogether. Resistance in various forms may go on for a long time because we are not going to give up our investment in the body and the world very readily. It is what we know and where our comfort is, even if we suffer. Remember, resistance is our fear of Love and of God, even though we deny this and are not even aware this is so.
Being willing to be taught, and staying open to what is being taught, without putting our own spin on the Lesson, is a challenge any student of the Course will face. However, increasing peace and happiness is a direct result of applying the Lessons. The Lessons and the text are intended to teach us to become disciplined and are part of the mind training, so we will increasingly be able to discern between the thought systems of the ego and of the Holy Spirit.
This is a good time to go back to the Introduction to the Workbook, which reminds us we do not need to believe the ideas, accept them or even welcome them. We can even actively resist them, but "None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy." (W.29.9.3) It is a time for trust. My approach to the Lessons is "just do them." The results will be there. Our progress will be as fast or slow as our fear will allow. Whatever your level of progress, it is important not to fight yourself. Make whatever commitment you can, willingly, but not out of a sense of coercion. Remember in the Lesson yesterday, Jesus said we would be making a series of commitments, but at this point we need not be concerned about whether we will keep them. He only asks for our willingness to take this first step in making a commitment for today. The rest will follow.
When we say, "God is in everything I see," it is not about seeing with our eyes. As Jesus says, "Certainly God is not in a table, for example, as you see it," (W.29.2.3) but the way we are seeing now, with the body's eyes, is actually obscuring God. All of our seeing has been made by the ego to make us believe in the world of form. It is a material world we have made real. "Try then, today, to begin to learn how to look on all things with love, appreciation and open-mindedness." (W.29.3.1) It is not how we see now. We see forms, which we deem as pretty, ugly, shiny, useful, broken, light, dark, made of wood, steel, glass, dirty, enticing, etc. These forms make up the world we think of as reality. In fact, it is all an illusion. When we look with our eyes, we are not really seeing at all. We are projecting the thought system in our minds. You could say we are actually hallucinating. It is all a shadow of the thought system we hold within.
"The concept of the self stands like a shield, a silent barricade before the truth, and hides it from your sight. All things you see are images, because you look on them as through a barrier that dims your sight and warps your vision, so that you behold nothing with clarity. The light is kept from everything you see. At most, you glimpse a shadow of what lies beyond."
(T.31.VII.7)(ACIM OE T.31.VII.74)
What we see now is a reflection of all our past understandings, which define and give meaning to what we perceive. Our range of seeing is very limited. Jesus reminds us, "Nothing is as it appears to you." (W.29.3.4) We can't see with our eyes. To see, we need vision, which is of the mind. This is where the practice is taking us. With vision we can 'see' beyond the forms, although our sight obscures the meaning. This is exactly why, in the very first Lesson in this Course, we are told, "Nothing I see in this room means anything." (W.1) This is because what we see with our eyes is only the physical world we have made up. The meaning is there, but we currently don't see it because it is obscured by our thoughts which are now projected out as images. This Lesson suggests there must be a whole other way of seeing. There is a whole other world we will see with the help of the Holy Spirit that we don't see now. It is a world lit up by holiness! When we see that, we will wonder why we couldn't see it before. We are surrounded by holiness, but we don't know it.
This is an important Lesson because Jesus tells us, "Today's idea is the whole basis for vision." (W.29.1.5) That is quite a statement, isn't it? Yet having said that, he says, "You will probably find this idea very difficult to grasp at this point." (W.29.2.2) It may even seem silly, funny, and objectionable to us. "Certainly God is not in a table, for example, as you see it. Yet we emphasized yesterday that a table shares the purpose of the universe." (W.29.2.3-4) What is important here is purpose. If our purpose is to wake up from the dream, then this world, and everything in it, can be used as a classroom for undoing the separation. "Nothing is as it appears to you. Its holy purpose stands beyond your little range." (W.29.3.4-5) The Holy Spirit's purpose is to use everything we have made that keeps us rooted in the world as an opportunity for learning there is another way of seeing.
With spiritual sight, we can see God in everything. There is nowhere God is not when we "look on all things with love, appreciation and open-mindedness." (W.29.3.1.1) To say God is the various forms we see may seem ridiculous to us. The idea behind this exercise is that God is actually not in any of these forms because these forms don't even exist! There is only mind, which is abstract, and nothing else exists.
Everything we see shares the purpose of the universe and that purpose is forgiveness. What this means is as we look at the meaning we give the various forms of this world, we begin to recognize that we made it all up. We become more willing to accept that we may actually be seeing what is not there. It is about recognizing that the thoughts we hold about everything are a block to real vision. Forgiveness is the way to release these thoughts and choose the Holy Spirit, rather than the ego, as our Guide to seeing. Thus, we learn that nothing we perceive about this world is real. The only reality is God/Love.
There are some forms in the world we might see as sacred or holy and may be inclined to worship these forms. Yet, they too are just meaningless forms just like everything else. Why are we asked to say God is in that form? It is to remind ourselves God is everywhere, all the time and in everything because God is all there is. Jesus reminds us, "The test of everything on earth is simply this; What is it for? The answer makes it what it is for you. It has no meaning of itself, yet you can give reality to it, according to the purpose that you serve." (T.24.VII.6.1)(ACIM OE T.24.VIII.67) My mind is projecting these images and giving them reality, and thus blocking real vision. All that really counts is God and His purpose, not the stuff around me. Today with this Lesson, I let the ordinary forms around me remind me of His presence and His purpose.
I have to admit to resistance when I do this Lesson. For me, Lesson 264, "I am surrounded by the Love of God," (W.264) speaks more clearly about His presence where it says, "You are in all the things I look upon, the sounds I hear, and every hand that reaches for my own." (W.264.1.2) But each workbook Lesson is designed to undo our perceptions bit by bit, and we are asked simply to trust and do what is asked. Be aware of your reactions as they come up, and be willing to release them and simply, willingly, cooperate with the process of undoing to the extent you can. It is important to recognize the resistance is not really to the Lesson, but to leaving this world of illusion we have invested in. Our investment in the self we have invented, with its thoughts, beliefs, opinions and perspectives, is what we still think we want. Jesus is gentle and patient with us. This undoing process invites daily discipline, while still being gentle with ourselves.
When resistance comes up, it is good to be aware of it and ask for help. To the extent possible, we are asked to stay open-minded and willing to be taught. Open mindedness is the tenth characteristic of the Teacher of God, talked about in the Manual for Teachers. It is not about being open to everything, but only to keep our minds open to the truth.
In the practice periods today, we are asked to do six two-minute practices by repeating the Lesson, then applying it randomly by choosing subjects about us, naming each one specifically and letting go of our preconceptions of where we think God would be and where he would not be. "Your list of subjects should therefore be as free of self-selection as possible." (W.29.5.1)
There is an additional requirement where we repeat the idea at least once an hour, saying the words unhurriedly to ourselves. As we do this, we should experience a sense of restfulness. If we feel restful in doing this Lesson hourly, it is certainly a blessing.
