LESSON 29. God is in everything I see.

The lesson begins: “The idea for today explains why you can see all purpose in everything. It explains why nothing is separate, by itself or in itself. And it explains why nothing you see means anything. In fact, it explains every idea we have used thus far, and all subsequent ones as well. Today’s idea is the whole basis for vision.”

It would be easy to practice this lesson through rote application or as some sort of detached mantra. (I know, I’ve done it that way in the past). Such practice, however, would miss the point of the lesson entirely. What we are attempting with this lesson is to move beyond our conception of ourselves as bodies (or even as spirits encased within bodies) as opposed to or separated from everything else in our experience.

NTI Colossians 1 explains our “place” in the universe:

You are the flow that is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the creator of all things within time. You are the heavens and the earth, the bees and the sunshine. You are the process that made all things and is all things, so that they live through the process that created them. You are the flow of Life and separate from nothing that is Life, for that which flows through them is the process that you are. You are beyond concepts and differences and form, and within the Life Force that is all things.

We have been focused on the thoughts which come into the mind and how the thoughts to which we have habitually given attention keep us locked within the concept of ourselves as limited beings separate and apart from others. It is this self-concept that makes it seem silly, irreverent, senseless, funny and even objectionable to think that God or is-ness or being-ness could be located in a table, a lamp, etc.

The lesson states that all things share the same purpose and “what shares the purpose of the universe shares the purpose of its Creator.” Purpose is defined as “the reason for which something exists.” (Dictionary.com). What then is this purpose?

As we have seen, we are the process of creation that is God. NTI Colossians 1 reiterates this point:

The Christ is your truth, It is the law of Love, It is the process of creation, It is That Which is you.

As the process of creation, or the extension of God, extension is purpose. NTI Matthew 16 tells us, “The Spirit of God is one, and His Son is one with Him. There is no separateness. There is only the Father and His extension of His Self, which is His Son.” The extension of God is the reason all things exist.

The shared purpose of all things is indeed the extension of that which you are and that which you be. There is no contraction or collapse within beingness, though there is a recognition of the sameness of all that is. This is a difficult concept because our mind works in terms of dimension and what we are and what we be, cannot be contained with the dimensionality of the thinking mind. All things that be and are, only be and are as God, through God and for God. God, Is-ness, Creation’s joy is the extension of itself. This is joining in the play of creation. Such creation is the source of all joy. It is the way in which God knows himself.

NTI Colossians 1 tells us, “Your imaginings have cut you off from the awareness of the Life Force that you are, but that awareness has not been cut off from you. … Feel its flow within you. Feel it expanding and pushing out from the center of your Heart to all things through the willingness of your mind.”

This is the practice we adopt in doing the lesson today. We are invited to actually contemplate that inanimate objects, others, everything, is that Is-ness, power of Love, extension of God and I Am That.

Lesson 28, Above all else I want to see things differently

In ACIM’s description of the tiny mad idea, we thought, what would it be like if everything was different than it was. How was it prior to this idea, you might ask.  Everything was One.  Oneness was (is).  There was nothing outside of me (Oneness).  There was no subject/object split.  There was nothing distinctly separate from me.  Everything was Whole.  In NTI Luke, the Holy Spirit asked that you no longer accept “that there is a ‘you’ and a ‘them’ who is separate from you.  This is the view the ego has of the world.”

So, it is worth repeating, there is nothing distinctly separate from me. But, in lesson 28, Jesus says “you see a lot of separate things about you, which really means you are not seeing at all.  You either see or not.”

Jesus uses a table as an example in his lesson and says we are defining the table in past terms and “you will not question what you have already defined.”  Isn’t this an example of the perceptual loop?  Once I have an idea and I decide the idea has merit, I cast attention on the idea, I experience it the way I thought and…What I think, I see.  What I see, I experience.  What I experience, I think. Jesus admonishes us to let the table’s purpose be revealed to us, instead of placing our own judgement upon it.

You see, the problem is in the mind, not in the world because there is nothing outside of me.  The world was an idea in my mind.  As long as we cast attention on individual parts we can’t know the whole picture (Wholeness).   NTI Luke 6 tells us:

We are the song as one sound together.  Love the entire song.  Every aspect is equally important to the whole, every aspect valuable and cherished for its part in it.  Share the perspective of the song by seeing yourself as the song and by loving the entire song, just as it is, without judgement or desire that the song should be played differently.

Break the loop.  Withdraw your interpretations.  “The ego-mind is not aware that it interprets,” but “since the ego-mind is a split or fraction, its perspective or viewpoint is not whole.  Since it is not whole, it is not Knowledge, which is why it interprets.”  NTI Luke Chapter 6.

There is nothing but your mind that separates you from anything else.  Let your desire to want to see things differently show you that everything is connected and shares the same purpose.

LESSON 27. Above all else I want to see.

In this lesson, Jesus tells us that the idea for the day “expresses something stronger than mere determination. It gives vision priority among your desires.” This is why it is such a powerful practice to remind yourself throughout the day that you want to see. To want to see is to want Truth more than anything else. What desires might block my sight? Well, all of them. For example, my desire to be treated with respect, to be heard when I speak or to be seen as knowledgeable are all desires that reinforce the idea of myself as a separate individual with needs that come from the perspective of the individual.

The lesson states that “There may be a great temptation to believe that some sort of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above all else.” To assume that I have needs that come before the truth is to assume that I am somehow lacking. It is this “threat” that entails a sense of sacrifice when we are called upon to affirm and reaffirm our true desire. You mean I should want to see more than I want to be loved? More than I want to be safe? More than I want ….?

Jesus also warns: “You may feel hesitant about using the idea, on the grounds that you are not sure you really mean it.” It is the belief that we must set about protecting ourselves lest we be alone, unloved and unsafe that might make us question our honesty as we repeat today’s lesson. What is actually required is the willingness to remember that our habitual patterns of casting attention have not brought us the happiness, safety, security and peace of mind they seem to promise. This lesson is asking us to loosen our allegiance to those old ways of being and focus on our true desire. It is asking us to take a break from believing our interpretations – to step out of the loop of “What I think I see, what I see I experience, what I experience I think.” NTI Luke 6 advises:

When you notice that you have an interpretation, take a break from what you see. Seek quiet time with Me, and share your interpretation with Me. Do not share your interpretation as if you must be right, expecting Me to support you and lead you to the righteousness of your way. Share your interpretation expecting that you are wrong, because you have seen and believed without knowledge. In such humility, you can let go of your interpretation; you will see that it is nothing of value to you. And what you receive in its place you will extend, and that which you share shall be peace and restfulness.

This peace and restfulness is the result of your desire to see above all else. This lesson seems to require faith that the truth is true: I am safe, I am loved, I cannot suffer. Your true desire IS the faith required to do the lesson. As the Holy Spirit tells us in Luke 6, “To listen to Me and practice what I say is to find true peace that cannot be shaken, because it is knowledge.” And (skipping ahead to NTI Luke 7), “As you seek, you shall find. You cannot fail to find that which you seek in honesty of faith.”

Our true desire is the desire to move beyond the self-protective mode to which we have become habituated. I am reminded of the scene from “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” where Saint Claire pleads with Saint Francis to let her join his group and tells him “I’m not seeking to be understood anymore, I want to understand. I’m not asking to be loved, I want to love. Where there is sadness, please, please help me find joy.” It is this re-prioritization of desires which this lesson asks of us. We trade the desire to be satisfied as the person for the desire to step into the Truth. As we continue in our practice, we each will come to recognize this as our true desire and the only source of lasting peace and joy.

Here is the scene from Brother Sun, Sister Moon if you would like to watch it.

Lesson 26, My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability

Today’s workbook lesson says, “…what would have effects through you must also have effects on you. It is this law that will ultimately save you, but you are misusing it now. You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests.”

This is referring to the Law of Love, which we learned about in NTI Ephesians last week. The mind receives an idea. If we cast attention on it, we activate it and deliver it to our oneness (which ACIM calls projection). What we deliver, we also receive.

That can also be summed up with, “What I think I see (project); What I see, I experience; What I experience, I think.” Etc.

Let’s first review the law of Love then we’ll look at how the attack thoughts are simply a misuse of the law.  Regina Dawn Akers describes the law in this way: “Love is Spirit giving to Spirit, through Spirit, that which Spirit requests.” NTI Ephesians reminds us that although we think of ourselves as separate from one another, we are one through the law of Love:

Through this law, the ones that seem many are one.  And in fact, they have always been one, as they are bound as one through the law. … Through Christ all are bound together and there is no separateness, this is the law of Love.  This is what you are.  You are inseparable from it.

In teaching us this lesson, Jesus specifically points to what the Course calls attack thoughts. Attack thoughts are very simply a way of maintaining your belief in yourself as a separate individual. By projecting my attack thoughts onto something or someone “outside of me,” I continue to create a world where I am both guilty of and subject to attack. Thus, Jesus points out that my attack thoughts cause me to fear attacks. This is the misuse of the law of Love.

Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable. Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the attack thoughts are. Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted together. They contradict each other.

As we saw in the tip for yesterday’s lesson, everything is for my own best interest.  When we withdraw the meaning we would give, we find that everything that happens within the tapestry of this world is all being used to bring remembrance of the one true desire, which is to recognize that which we are.  And not to get too circular, but that which we are is the law of Love or inseparable oneness!

Okay, but what do the practice lessons have to do with attack thoughts and my vulnerability? Jesus tells us:

Practice with today’s idea will help you to understand that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you are vulnerable. And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not so.

If we do the lesson and do it thoroughly, we will find out that our misplaced and projected fears are going to show us how we are attacking ourselves.  Mine went something like this:  I’m concerned that it is raining again today.  I am afraid that if it continues to rain like it has for the past month it will only exacerbate the problems we are having at work with supplying wooden pallets and products to our customers. The customers are already shouting from the roof tops, “You aren’t giving me all I need as fast as I need it!” I’m afraid the stress of trying to decide which customers should have their orders filled and which customers will have to wait and the work and decision making that scenario entails would put my management employees over the top.  I’m afraid those employees might quit.  I am afraid I couldn’t operate the business without them.  I am afraid I’m not good enough to continue the business in their absence. I’m afraid I’m not good enough.

You see, I blamed (attacked) everything and everyone from the rain, to my customers, to my people in management for my own thoughts of vulnerability.  This blame, attack or judgement “that you make assumes something within illusion is real. Judgement accepts as real and then separates.”

NTI Luke 6 tells us how to escape this loop of attack and defense:

The world is a great temptation for you, because the world was made as a distraction from truth.  Everything in the world is not truth, and yet you want to make sense of it and make it real.  To the degree that you can let go of the world and not be concerned about  it, that is to the degree that you can accept healing.  And to the degree that you are involved in the world and taking care of its many problems, that is to the degree that you reject healing as the answer to its problems.

Healing comes from pulling back and dis-identifying from those attack thoughts (resting, accepting and trusting).  It is coming to know these attack thoughts aren’t real thoughts.  They are just misplaced, projected thoughts that we have about ourselves because we believe we are separate.  Because our true identity is in our oneness as the Son of God, we receive as we ask. With this knowledge, we have both the motivation and the tools needed to escape from the cycle of attack and defense.

LESSON 25. I do not know what anything is for.

Today’s lesson begins:

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.

This lesson brings together the lessons that told us nothing that I see has any meaning, I am upset because I see something that is not there, I see only the past, etc., and yesterday’s lesson which informed us that we don’t know what is in our own best interests. Doing these lessons again, I am so surprised that they seem to say what I had not seen before. I was surprised, therefore, to find out today that everything is for my own best interests. When I withdraw the meaning I would give, I find that everything that happens within the tapestry of this world is all being used to bring me to remembrance of my true desire.

As we learned in NTI Ephesians, we are awakening to our own true desire, while the remnants of a past thought seem to be in operation. We are letting go of our old desire–to experience something other than truth–and reclaiming our true desire, which is to recognize that which we are. This recognition unifies our myriad goals.

Let’s talk about ego goals for a moment. What could the ego ever want but to keep you safe and loved and happy. That’s what we all want, right? There can be no fault found in wanting such things, correct? Well, yes, however … ego’s goals are based on the belief that you and I could have goals that conflict; they are based on the belief that what is in my best interests may not also be in your best interests. If we were, indeed, separate beings, this would make sense. What we must understand is that we do not have separate interests. You are safe and loved and happy. We all are. Our unified purpose is to come to the recognition that this is true–that safety and love and happiness are inherent in what we are. I need not (and indeed, cannot) find safety and love and happiness at your expense. It is only the belief that these things are limited that conjures up a world where I have to “get mine before you get yours.” It is this distortion within which ego operates. There is no separate you and me who are in competition for a limited supply of something. This is, however, always ego’s interpretation.

NTI Luke 6 says:

The world is a great temptation for you, because the world was made as a distraction from truth. Everything in the world is not truth, and yet you want to make sense of it and make it real. To the degree that you can let go of the world and not be concerned about it, that is to the degree that you accept healing. And to the degree that you are involved in the world and taking care of its many problems, that is to the degree that you reject healing as the answer to its problems.

It is within the world that you seem to be, so it is within the world that I come to lead you. But I ask you to look at the world differently now. No longer accept that there is a “you” and a “them” who is separate from you. This is the view the ego has of the world.

I am reminded of Charles Darwin who wrote of the great mystery and majesty of the earth’s animals. He told of how the herds and prides and flocks move in harmony with no visible communication between the animals. He spoke repeatedly about love and sympathy as forces that consistently moved the creatures of the earth. Is this the legacy that has been assigned to him? No. His work has been filtered through ego interpretation to mean that under the law of “Survival of the Fittest,” I must get mine before you get yours.

It is this habitual orientation and misunderstanding of the truth of our oneness that prevents us from detecting our own best interests in any given situation. As NTI Luke tells us, “Everything that you see and experience, you see and experience through the filter of your mind.” Thoughts of lack, limitation, separateness and competition form the filter through which we see. So what is blocked? How is the world seen truly? That answer is given in NTI Luke 6:

My view is that the world is all one song with different notes played in harmony to create the one. It is the song that is cherished, not the notes. And the song is being played perfectly by Me, who is the director of the music. If you look at the song from My point of view, you see its beauty and perfection. But if you look at the song from the point of view of one note, who believes it is separate and competing with other notes, the song seems to be a war filled with attack and grievance and worry.

Remember that you are not the note. That is a distorted view of the music. We are the song as one sound together.

Love the entire song. Every aspect is equally important to the whole, every aspect valuable and cherished for its part in it. Share the perspective of the song by seeing yourself as the song and by loving the entire song, just as it is, without judgment or desire that the song should be played differently.

This is peace; this is happiness; this is love. This is who we are. We are learning to release the filter that would say otherwise.

Lesson 24, I do not perceive my own best interest.

In this lesson, I do not perceive my own best interest, Jesus is restating the same idea that he has taught in many of the preceding lessons:

What I see is a form of vengeance

I am determined to see things differently

I see no neutral things

I have no neutral thoughts

He is letting us know that we have a perceptual problem.  Jesus counsels that “we have no guide to appropriate action” because we are relying on our own perception and “that perception is wrong.”

In NTI Luke 5, the Holy Spirit uses equally direct language, saying, “Things are not as they seem. This is why I ask you to trust Me and follow Me. I know how things are. You are blind to these facts, for you only know what you think you know, and that is nothing but a deep and burdensome slumber.”

In today’s lesson, Jesus states, “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.”

When I read NTI Luke again, I heard the Holy Spirit say in a commanding voice, “Step away from the mind Lady and I will show you what you don’t think is possible and prove to you that it is true.” Wow, I had better be about the lesson and let the Holy Spirit prove his point.  So my workbook exercise went something like this:

In the situation involving my desire to retire from the family business and my daughter Katy’s potential to take over, I would like to see Katy more involved. I would like proof that she has the interest to run an enterprise that has so many intricacies.  We serve over a hundred companies.  Each company has one to fifty different products that we custom manufacture for them.  We have over twenty-five employees, which subjects the company to all the federal laws like family leave and military leave and other compliance laws.  And, of course, there is Osha and DOT, not to mention bookkeeping and complicated tax laws. And, in the mist of all this I would like to taper back my involvement.  I want to work less or not at all. But I want Katy to be happy, but not stressed with all there is to know and do.  But, with her laid back personality, can she handle all that needs to be handled?

Whew! In my attempts to uncover the outcomes that I wanted in the scenario I picked, I realized these views about how everything should be resolved were all perceptual concepts and perceptual concepts imply personhood.  But this is what I’ve been learning: to step back and Rest, Accept (allow) and Trust.  I know what I really want in any unresolved situation isn’t the conflicting goals or desired outcomes and the un-related expectations that my mind was showing me.  Present Awareness is what I really want; to heal my mind with Knowledge which is of God, not my interpretations. That is what is in my best interest.

Workbook Lesson 23, I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts

 I am so excited about today’s workbook lesson. This lesson tells us exactly how to heal, and it tells us “this way cannot fail.” Let me outline the steps to healing that are outlined in this workbook lesson.

1. “You must learn that it is [attack thoughts] you do not want.” Although this sentence is stated in the negative, ‘you do not want’, it is a statement of desire. Our first step in healing is to want healing. Honestly, the more we want healing, the more we will heal. If you feel that it is possible that you do not want healing enough, it is very good to put contemplative-effort, inquiry-effort and awareness-effort into increasing your desire for freedom (for healing). You can do this by noticing how much you are suffering and/or how much others are suffering while continually asking yourself questions like, “Is this the world I want to see?”As you recognize that you do not want suffering, the desire for freedom increases. However, remember we saw that the brain is re-programmed best with a positive goal. So, the awareness that you do not want suffering is used to drive up the awareness that you do want freedom, happiness, love, etc. And then focus on the positive goal. Any positive goal that feels genuine for you and that motivates you to spiritual practice is good.
2. “This change [from attack to love, darkness to light, illusion to truth] requires, first, that the cause be identified and then let go, so that it can be replaced. The first two steps in the process require your cooperation. The final one does not.” Without stating it directly, this is talking about Rest, Accept and Trust.First the cause needs to be identified. The cause is casting attention on thoughts that have been received by the mind. Sometimes the thought comes in and we cast attention on it so quickly, that we never see the thought. Our first indication that we have cast attention on a thought is the emotion we are feeling. Rest and Accept is what we do when we notice we have slipped into the cause by casting attention on a thought (or thought stream). Rest and Accept is how we let go. Rest is the opposite of casting more attention. Accept is the opposite of repressing a false belief in the form of emotion. Through resting the mind and accepting the emotion as it is, we let it go. Trust is realizing that Rest-Accept is the only part of the healing process that requires our cooperation.
3. “Hold each attack thought in the mind as you say [the workbook lesson for the day].” One challenge to healing is that the neural pathways in our brain are so well formed that they are like waterslides. The “attack thoughts” slip by so fast that we do not really see them. It’s like our brain is on automatic pilot.Let me give you an analogy. When you first learned to drive a car, you had to really pay attention to everything you did. “Put the key in. Now put your feet on the break. Turn the key in the ignition. That’s enough; let go of the key. Keep your foot on the brake and put the car in reverse. Turn and look over your shoulder. Now move your foot from the brake to the gas and give it just a little gas; not too much; back out slowly, etc. …”Now you don’t have to give so much attention to driving. You can carry on a conversation with someone and do all of this pretty efficiently because neural pathways have been formed in your brain. Your brain can almost drive a car without your attention, and unfortunately sometimes it does drive a car without your attention. That’s an example of how the brain can operate on auto-pilot because of well-formed neural pathways.The brain can also believe thoughts on auto-pilot because a neural pathway has been formed for those types of thoughts. If a completely alien thought is received for which there is no neural pathway, it will call to your attention so a value-decision can be made, but if you have already formed grooves in your brain for a certain type of thought, the brain doesn’t need your attention to process that thought through the already formed neural pathway.

   However, the brain does need your attention to stop a thought from sliding down an old neural pathway, and it does need your attention to create a new neural pathway. This is why you have to hold a thought in awareness as you say the workbook lesson for the day.

   Imagine the thought as a child who is about to go down a waterslide that is too dangerous for the child’s age. You need to reach out, grab the child and then gently redirect it to an age-appropriate slide.

   That’s similar to what we are doing as we heal (reprogram the brain). We reach out and grab the thought with our awareness and hold it still so it doesn’t slide down the old neural pathway, and then by holding it as we say the current day’s workbook lesson, we redirect it to a new neural pathway.

   The new neural pathway is a different type of waterslide. Instead of a waterslide of belief, which tosses the thought back into our oneness to be shared and sent back to us, the new one is a waterslide that takes the thought to the exit door, and the thought drops out of the game. A Course in Miracles calls this process “forgiveness.”

4. “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.”When we give too much attention to the world, we are not giving attention to our thoughts and they are rushing around splashing down the old neural pathways doing what we have already trained them to do. Since we are not alone in experiencing the effects of our thoughts, the world continues to turn in the same way that it always has. If we want to have a positive effect on the world, we must turn our attention inward and give healing attention to the image-maker, the process of casting attention that goes on within our minds.

Workbook Lesson 22, What I see is a form of vengeance

“Vengeance” is retaliation for something. It could be called returning like for like.

The world as “a form of vengeance” comes from the thinking-seeing loop. For example, if there is an idea in the mind that I am not as good as others, I begin looking out at the world through the filter of that idea, and I perceive others who are smarter, prettier, more committed, etc. This ‘seeing’ strengthens my idea about me.

One day my boss says to me, “I don’t think you put 100% of your effort into this project. You must not understand how important it is to our success.”

When the boss says this I experience a quick feeling of shame, which morphs into embarrassment and then anger. I walk away thinking angry thoughts about the boss. I think about how the boss doesn’t understand just how difficult that project was. I think about how no one else helped me with the project. I decide everyone on the team is out for their own success. There’s no teamwork here!

I begin to look around the office and notice the cliques that have formed. There are small groups of people who band together, but overall there is a complete breakdown of team.

I feel myself getting angrier.

One day I notice a woman I work with glance at me as I walk by with an armful of new contracts that need to be reviewed. She quickly turns around and says something that I can’t hear to the person at the next desk.

Oh, I know what she said! They are talking about how incompetent I am. They are talking about how I never review the contracts thoroughly enough. But do they offer to help? NO!!!!!!

Hatred begins to boil within me. I start to hate my job. I dread walking into that place everyday. I decide I need to find another job. … And the story continues.

This loop of retaliation in my mind makes the world of vengeance that I perceive.

However it is also more than that, because I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts, and I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing. As I give attention to the thoughts and perceptions in my ‘personal’ world, I activate them with spirit, and the spirit of those thoughts and perceptions (unworthiness, anger, hatred, victimhood, etc) go out into the world and are shared. They become manifest as other thoughts, as other perceptions and as circumstances in form.

This is why today’s workbook exercise ends with the question, “Is this the world I really want to see?” That question is intended to generate heart-willingness within us, so we will have the desire to step out of our old habits, which is the thinking-seeing loop, and step into new habits, new ways of casting attention.

First comes willingness. New habits are born out of genuine willingness.