Lesson 14, God did not create a meaningless world
When one does this workbook lesson, it is helpful to do it with the attitude of wanting to uncover false beliefs and see through them to truth/reality.
However, seeing through false beliefs is not the same as denial and repression. Denial and repression come from fear. This attitude avoids looking too hard and denies feeling/experience to the best of its ability. It is the attitude that has become cliché regarding the ACIM or non-duality student: A person’s family member dies and the ACIM/non-dual student says, “He/she was just an illusion anyway.”
That misguided form of denial is not what we are after with this workbook lesson. We seek truth by seeing through illusion.
Today’s lesson says, “The world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist.”
You aren’t denying that the ‘horrors’ are experienced, because they are. You are simply denying that they are truth or reality. Realize war is experienced, but experience is not reality. In order to see what is real, first you must remove your belief that the horrors are reality.
Bryon Katie imparts a similar message in her teachings. Her message is that your suffering is not based on reality. She doesn’t say you aren’t suffering. She doesn’t say you didn’t have an experience, but she does say there is another way of looking at your experience.
The mind is the cause of the world and I am not the world’s victim. I am not in the world, the world is in my mind. The world is not external. The lesson says “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.”
“What God did not create can only be in your own mind apart from His. Therefore, it has no meaning.” Something else is reality. You can choose to give the thoughts and the world another purpose. God’s purpose. You can choose to focus on your true desire, which is to see the truth. Have the willingness to see right through suffering to truth. Have the curiosity, “What is real?” Let that curiosity grow in you so that it becomes a motivating force within you.
In short, do not deny that experience is experienced, but be intensely curious to see and know truth.
