Regina’s Tip for Lesson 3
As you do today’s Workbook exercise, you might notice the meaning you have given to some things. You might think, for example, “I do understand that photograph on the table. That is my family on vacation last year.”
When you think you understand what you see, simply notice that you think you understand, and then continue with the exercise by being as indiscriminate as possible.
What you witness when you think you understand is your egoic filter. That is your individual way of seeing through the self-referencing program.
For example, if you say, “That is a photograph of my family on our vacation last year,” you think you know who you are, what belongs to you, what a vacation is, what the opposite of a vacation is and what time (“last year”) is. All of those ideas are merely concepts; they are not ultimate truths. Some of the ideas may be useful, but they are not genuinely true, and they can cause trouble.
The Introduction to the Workbook said, “The purpose of the workbook is to train your mind in a systematic way to a different perception of everyone and everything in the world.”
The “different perception” the Introduction refers to is true perception.
Today’s Workbook lessons says, “The point of the exercise is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, …”
Without past associations that were built through self-referencing, can you say:
- That is a photograph?
- of my family?
- on our vacation?
- last year?
Can you say any of those things without past associations?
The Workbook lesson says, “The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now…”
If you had no past associations, would you even know “That is a photograph…?” What if you saw that object right now, for the very first time, without any past associations of any kind? Could you describe it at all?
The Workbook lesson says, “The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them.”
Is it possible that the understanding you think you have is covering up the reality of what you see? Is it possible there is something here that is incredibly amazing, and you do not see it, because you are looking through a mental filter that thinks it understands everything it sees?
Homework for the week:
- Homework Assignment A: ACIM Workbook Lessons 1-7
- First, read the lesson all the way through and then practice the lesson according to its instructions
- If you have done the ACIM workbook before, you may add what you hear and feel to the exercises for Lessons 1-3
- As you do exercises 1-3, you may notice the meaning you have given to things. Just notice and continue with the exercise
- Tip for Lesson 4: Sometimes people have trouble remembering to do the workbook lesson when it is to be done more than twice per day. They get on with their day and forget all about the lesson. Here’s a tip: When you finish the workbook lesson 4 in the morning, make a decision about when you will do it next. After you do the lesson the second time, make a decision about when to do it again. After the third time, make a decision about when to do it for the fourth time. If you make a conscious decision about when you will do the exercise next, you are less likely to forget to do it.
- Homework Assignment B: Read NTI Luke, Chapters 12 (p151-155), and Chapters 16-17 (p161-167).
- Do not read all at once. Read a little each day contemplatively.
- Explore the reading through journaling. Journal clarity, questions, confusion, resistance, willingness, etc.
- If there is a Bible icon before a verse reference, read those verses from the Bible before reading that interpretation from NTI
- Listen to Adyashanti video in Gentle Healing Playlist: Click Here to Watch
