It has been one week now since the beginning of the New Year, and I have been doing the early lessons of A Course in Miracles each morning, and they are brand new.
This morning an idea came floating into my mind, a phrase from the past, a Zen question, “Does a fish know water?” And my next thought was, “To what extent am I aware, moment-to-moment, of my total immersion in my thoughts making up this dream, this illusion, this mirage, surrounding me?” To what extent am I so familiar with this imaginary world that I am oblivious of floating in it? Preoccupied with form, I forget that I am formless; while submerged in the world, I forget that I am not of the world. It is always a matter of forgetting and remembering.
My habitual preoccupation with my immersion in thought is the reason Jesus begins His Workbook as He does:
Lesson 1, Nothing I see means anything.
Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see. (Paragraph 1: Line 1)
Sitting on my couch, looking around the room, I slow down and glance at objects, one at a time. But I find that I can hardly look at an object and move on because associations rapidly pour into my mind, instantaneously. . . the new bird feeder attached to the window, my son, Stephen, gave me that for Christmas. . .my coffee cup, containing French-pressed Italian Roast from World Market. . .the wood-burning stove, the Woodman delivers wood from northern Wisconsin.
Here I am practicing that none of these thoughts mean anything, and not for the first time, either, and yet I automatically bring associations to each object my eyes light upon, giving each object a particular meaning. Thus, in my immersion, Jesus offers a lifeline, a reminder, this truth, nothing, no thing, no object I see, no thoughts I think, means anything.
(At the end of this post, each of the 7 Lessons is printed in its entirely.)
Lesson 2, I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.
Oh, I see. Each object has a personal meaning, and another person looking at it would see only a meaning personal to him/her. Furthermore, the phrase, Oh, I see, reminds me that we associate seeing with understanding. The false connection between seeing/understanding is built into our language.
It is also obvious that when you and I look at something, some thing, we each see our own meaning, making true communication between us extremely difficult.
If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. 1:5
Now, this gets me every time. Not only do I personally give meaning to every thing, every thing is not even there until I perceive it! I am walking around with this camera-head, making personally real only what I focus on, while all other objects disappear because they are not appearing in my camera lens, my eyes. . . what was behind you.
Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. 2:1
When Jesus says relative importance to you, He reminds me of the associations I am making rapidly, automatically, habitually. Now I understand why Master Teacher often referred to us as “Associations,” and those of us at Endeavor Academy belong to an “Association.”
Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room.
Because I am in a constant state of mind of associating ideas with objects, it is impossible for me in this state to understand, or to see, any thing as it is.
Anything is suitable if you see it. 1:5
Here we go again. . .if you see it. The object is not even there until I see it, until my camera-eyes snap a picture of it. As far as the metaphor of a camera, would it only be so that my eyes were as objective as a camera.
Some of the things you see may have emotionally-charged meaning for you. 1:6
To this point, Jesus has only emphasized thoughts and understanding and associations, and now He brings in emotions and feelings. Jesus is methodically revealing to us exactly how our minds work. And once again, the teaching is not to resist, not to stifle these thoughts and feelings, but simply be aware of them and lay such feelings aside. 1:7
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. 2:1
All I need do is clear my mind, and that is everything. Most likely, I was not even aware that my mind was cloudy in the first place. Probably, before this exercise, I had no reference point other than my total immersion in the world of thoughts and objects. And Jesus slips in now; now, this moment, is the only time there is. Being present with a clear mind is the only time there is. Now is not an interval between the past and present; it is a state of mind of clarity.
Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.
The only thing that could possibly cloud my mind is a thought. Because of the rapidity of thought, I am not aware of the nano-second of a clear mind before and after the cloud passes. Jesus asks us merely to note these thoughts, not associate with them. He tells us not to evaluate them as good or bad. Just be aware of each thought as it rises and falls, as it floats across our minds. We really cannot label them as good or bad, anyway.
This is why they do not mean anything. 1;7
These passing thoughts that we hold near and dear mean nothing. Thoughts are thoughts and real meaning is something else.
None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by
them. 2:3
Now Jesus makes a distinction between unreal and real thoughts. This is intriguing because I was not aware for my entire life of a layer of real thoughts covered over by thoughts that are unreal, meaningless.
Jesus uses the word train; He is training our minds to learn to separate the meaningless from the meaningful. In truth, we are full of meaning, although we have squandered a great deal of time on things with less, actually, no meaning. Jesus moves us from things that appear outside, to the thoughts we experience inside.
It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. 3:3
When did I ever look at thoughts before. Prior to this time, thoughts were to me like water to a fish. Yet, Jesus cautions:
You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied. 5:4
There it is. I have a chance to become aware, but not pointlessly preoccupied with meaningless thoughts because I am being trained purposefully.
Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.
I'd like to think of myself as a reasonable person, i.e., I can connect the dots; I can move from facts to conclusions. I can certainly be reasonable about my upsets. I have a lot of practice connecting my upsets with persons, (Christine, my wife, did not do what I expected her to do.), situations (The squirrels are ruining my bird feeders.), and events (It is 5 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit, and my car won’t start.). I am reasonably upset.
Michael Brown, the author of The Presence Process, makes a great play on the word, “upset.” Here's an example in the training:
I am not angry at Christine for the reason I think. 2:3
Michael Brown calls these upsets, “set ups.” They are opportunities for us to come into the recognition that these thoughts do not mean anything, either about the event, or the feeling. Jesus gives us the opportunity to use these upsets as set ups by connecting the event with the feeling, realizing that they are both of our own making, based on thoughts that have no source in reality. In fact, this preoccupation is covering up, clouding over, our real thoughts. We can learn to use the set up to break through our "reasonable" connecting of the dots, connecting events and feelings.
Lesson, 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.
Now I am learning that I am applying my reasonability improperly. I am not connecting the dots properly. There are no dots. My emotional reactions, and what I think is causing them are not connected. I have been set up, heavily invested in the premise that seeing is believing. Yet, Jesus brought that into question in is His very first Lesson, Nothing I see means anything. Here is the first exercise in Lesson 6;
I am angry at Christine because I see something that is not there. 1:4
Here is how Jesus concludes His Introduction to His Course:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
Recognizing the difference between what is real and what is unreal will lead to my peace of mind, my clarity of mind, my experience of now.
Lesson 7, I see only the past.
In this Lesson, Jesus makes clear why we are simply associations, associative thinkers. I am simply incapable of looking at an object without seeing, or understanding , it in reference to my past experiences.
Here is a demonstration of how we see only the past.
Please glance at this sketch.
What do you see? The chances are good that when you looked at the picture, you associated it with the sketch and saw a young woman. You may say, what else is there to see?
Please look at this sketch.
Now look back at the compossite picture. What did you see this time? You probably saw an old woman.
Our past thoughts predispose us to seeing what we are now looking at. Notice the rapidity of past thoughts and the impact they have on the present.
So, Happy New Year! I am so grateful to begin the New Year being reminded that all my thoughts about form mean nothing because all things in form are given current meaning by past references. This is a good beginning that will lead me to experience what is real and formless, and Herein lies the peace of God.
And now back to my beginning query: “Does a fish know water?” A fish cannot know water without a reference point different from water. I am rather amazed that while writing this post, an article appeared in the newspaper that announces that there is just such a fish. Paleontologists in Poland report finding the footprint of a tetrapod.
The water-dwelling ancestors of modern-day mammals, reptiles and birds, emerged onto land millions of years earlier than previously believed. A set of fossilized footprints show that the first tetrapods—a term applied to any four-footed animal with a spine—were treading upon ground 397 million years ago, well before scientists thought they existed.
This was a critical period in evolution when sea-based vertebrates took their first steps toward becoming dinosaurs, mammals, and—eventually—human beings, giving our fishy forebears an incentive to explore open land. (Emergence of 4-legged animals pushed back, Raphael G. Satter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Section B, p. 3, January 9, 2020.)
A tetrapod leaving his footprint on dry land now knows water in reference to knowing land.
Now, this fish knows water!
Dear Reader, this may be a long way to go to explain the idea for us who are totally immersed in our meaningless thoughts to recognize with gratitude that Jesus in His Course in Miracles is guiding us to the experience of a reference point, a footprint, enabling us to stand on the firm ground of reality, the peace of God.
In Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, Jesus offers several phrases, expressing a place to stand, reference points enabling us to emerge from our immersion in thought, anchors to hold us steady.
. . .perfect peace and safety
The eternal calm of the Son of God.
The Love of God within you.
. . .a blanket of protection and surety the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.
In summary, here is the analogy:
fish: water
man: thought
And:
fish: a tetrapod's footprint
man: The Love of God within you
In this New Year, as we continue to walk in the world of form, and not of the world, being formless, we need to be reminded constantly that we are God's Son, sustained by His Love. This reference point will strengthen us to remember when we forget, to help us remember, to help us emerge from our long immersion in thought.
Here is Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, in its entirety.
Here is the answer to every problem that will confront you, today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, "protective" clothing, influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the "right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers.
All these things are your replacements for the Love of God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body identification. They are songs of praise to the ego. Do not put your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you.
Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances. It will lift you out of every trial, and raise you high above all the perceived dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It will transport you into a state of mind that nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God.
Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.
For ten minutes, twice today, morning and evening, let the idea for today sink deep into your consciousness. Repeat it, think about it, let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow peace to flow over you like a blanket of protection and surety. Let no idle and foolish thoughts enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.
Happy New Year!
Lesson 1, Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.
This morning an idea came floating into my mind, a phrase from the past, a Zen question, “Does a fish know water?” And my next thought was, “To what extent am I aware, moment-to-moment, of my total immersion in my thoughts making up this dream, this illusion, this mirage, surrounding me?” To what extent am I so familiar with this imaginary world that I am oblivious of floating in it? Preoccupied with form, I forget that I am formless; while submerged in the world, I forget that I am not of the world. It is always a matter of forgetting and remembering.
My habitual preoccupation with my immersion in thought is the reason Jesus begins His Workbook as He does:
Lesson 1, Nothing I see means anything.
Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see. (Paragraph 1: Line 1)
Sitting on my couch, looking around the room, I slow down and glance at objects, one at a time. But I find that I can hardly look at an object and move on because associations rapidly pour into my mind, instantaneously. . . the new bird feeder attached to the window, my son, Stephen, gave me that for Christmas. . .my coffee cup, containing French-pressed Italian Roast from World Market. . .the wood-burning stove, the Woodman delivers wood from northern Wisconsin.
Here I am practicing that none of these thoughts mean anything, and not for the first time, either, and yet I automatically bring associations to each object my eyes light upon, giving each object a particular meaning. Thus, in my immersion, Jesus offers a lifeline, a reminder, this truth, nothing, no thing, no object I see, no thoughts I think, means anything.
(At the end of this post, each of the 7 Lessons is printed in its entirely.)
Lesson 2, I have given everything I see all the meaning it has for me.
Oh, I see. Each object has a personal meaning, and another person looking at it would see only a meaning personal to him/her. Furthermore, the phrase, Oh, I see, reminds me that we associate seeing with understanding. The false connection between seeing/understanding is built into our language.
It is also obvious that when you and I look at something, some thing, we each see our own meaning, making true communication between us extremely difficult.
If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. 1:5
Now, this gets me every time. Not only do I personally give meaning to every thing, every thing is not even there until I perceive it! I am walking around with this camera-head, making personally real only what I focus on, while all other objects disappear because they are not appearing in my camera lens, my eyes. . . what was behind you.
Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. 2:1
When Jesus says relative importance to you, He reminds me of the associations I am making rapidly, automatically, habitually. Now I understand why Master Teacher often referred to us as “Associations,” and those of us at Endeavor Academy belong to an “Association.”
Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room.
Because I am in a constant state of mind of associating ideas with objects, it is impossible for me in this state to understand, or to see, any thing as it is.
Anything is suitable if you see it. 1:5
Here we go again. . .if you see it. The object is not even there until I see it, until my camera-eyes snap a picture of it. As far as the metaphor of a camera, would it only be so that my eyes were as objective as a camera.
Some of the things you see may have emotionally-charged meaning for you. 1:6
To this point, Jesus has only emphasized thoughts and understanding and associations, and now He brings in emotions and feelings. Jesus is methodically revealing to us exactly how our minds work. And once again, the teaching is not to resist, not to stifle these thoughts and feelings, but simply be aware of them and lay such feelings aside. 1:7
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. 2:1
All I need do is clear my mind, and that is everything. Most likely, I was not even aware that my mind was cloudy in the first place. Probably, before this exercise, I had no reference point other than my total immersion in the world of thoughts and objects. And Jesus slips in now; now, this moment, is the only time there is. Being present with a clear mind is the only time there is. Now is not an interval between the past and present; it is a state of mind of clarity.
Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.
The only thing that could possibly cloud my mind is a thought. Because of the rapidity of thought, I am not aware of the nano-second of a clear mind before and after the cloud passes. Jesus asks us merely to note these thoughts, not associate with them. He tells us not to evaluate them as good or bad. Just be aware of each thought as it rises and falls, as it floats across our minds. We really cannot label them as good or bad, anyway.
This is why they do not mean anything. 1;7
These passing thoughts that we hold near and dear mean nothing. Thoughts are thoughts and real meaning is something else.
None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by
them. 2:3
Now Jesus makes a distinction between unreal and real thoughts. This is intriguing because I was not aware for my entire life of a layer of real thoughts covered over by thoughts that are unreal, meaningless.
Jesus uses the word train; He is training our minds to learn to separate the meaningless from the meaningful. In truth, we are full of meaning, although we have squandered a great deal of time on things with less, actually, no meaning. Jesus moves us from things that appear outside, to the thoughts we experience inside.
It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. 3:3
When did I ever look at thoughts before. Prior to this time, thoughts were to me like water to a fish. Yet, Jesus cautions:
You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied. 5:4
There it is. I have a chance to become aware, but not pointlessly preoccupied with meaningless thoughts because I am being trained purposefully.
Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.
I'd like to think of myself as a reasonable person, i.e., I can connect the dots; I can move from facts to conclusions. I can certainly be reasonable about my upsets. I have a lot of practice connecting my upsets with persons, (Christine, my wife, did not do what I expected her to do.), situations (The squirrels are ruining my bird feeders.), and events (It is 5 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit, and my car won’t start.). I am reasonably upset.
Michael Brown, the author of The Presence Process, makes a great play on the word, “upset.” Here's an example in the training:
I am not angry at Christine for the reason I think. 2:3
Michael Brown calls these upsets, “set ups.” They are opportunities for us to come into the recognition that these thoughts do not mean anything, either about the event, or the feeling. Jesus gives us the opportunity to use these upsets as set ups by connecting the event with the feeling, realizing that they are both of our own making, based on thoughts that have no source in reality. In fact, this preoccupation is covering up, clouding over, our real thoughts. We can learn to use the set up to break through our "reasonable" connecting of the dots, connecting events and feelings.
Lesson, 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.
Now I am learning that I am applying my reasonability improperly. I am not connecting the dots properly. There are no dots. My emotional reactions, and what I think is causing them are not connected. I have been set up, heavily invested in the premise that seeing is believing. Yet, Jesus brought that into question in is His very first Lesson, Nothing I see means anything. Here is the first exercise in Lesson 6;
I am angry at Christine because I see something that is not there. 1:4
Here is how Jesus concludes His Introduction to His Course:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
Recognizing the difference between what is real and what is unreal will lead to my peace of mind, my clarity of mind, my experience of now.
Lesson 7, I see only the past.
In this Lesson, Jesus makes clear why we are simply associations, associative thinkers. I am simply incapable of looking at an object without seeing, or understanding , it in reference to my past experiences.
Here is a demonstration of how we see only the past.
Please glance at this sketch.
Now look at this picture.
What do you see? The chances are good that when you looked at the picture, you associated it with the sketch and saw a young woman. You may say, what else is there to see?
Please look at this sketch.
Now look back at the compossite picture. What did you see this time? You probably saw an old woman.
Our past thoughts predispose us to seeing what we are now looking at. Notice the rapidity of past thoughts and the impact they have on the present.
So, Happy New Year! I am so grateful to begin the New Year being reminded that all my thoughts about form mean nothing because all things in form are given current meaning by past references. This is a good beginning that will lead me to experience what is real and formless, and Herein lies the peace of God.
And now back to my beginning query: “Does a fish know water?” A fish cannot know water without a reference point different from water. I am rather amazed that while writing this post, an article appeared in the newspaper that announces that there is just such a fish. Paleontologists in Poland report finding the footprint of a tetrapod.
The water-dwelling ancestors of modern-day mammals, reptiles and birds, emerged onto land millions of years earlier than previously believed. A set of fossilized footprints show that the first tetrapods—a term applied to any four-footed animal with a spine—were treading upon ground 397 million years ago, well before scientists thought they existed.
This was a critical period in evolution when sea-based vertebrates took their first steps toward becoming dinosaurs, mammals, and—eventually—human beings, giving our fishy forebears an incentive to explore open land. (Emergence of 4-legged animals pushed back, Raphael G. Satter, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Section B, p. 3, January 9, 2020.)
A tetrapod leaving his footprint on dry land now knows water in reference to knowing land.
Now, this fish knows water!
Dear Reader, this may be a long way to go to explain the idea for us who are totally immersed in our meaningless thoughts to recognize with gratitude that Jesus in His Course in Miracles is guiding us to the experience of a reference point, a footprint, enabling us to stand on the firm ground of reality, the peace of God.
In Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, Jesus offers several phrases, expressing a place to stand, reference points enabling us to emerge from our immersion in thought, anchors to hold us steady.
. . .perfect peace and safety
The eternal calm of the Son of God.
The Love of God within you.
. . .a blanket of protection and surety the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.
In summary, here is the analogy:
fish: water
man: thought
And:
fish: a tetrapod's footprint
man: The Love of God within you
In this New Year, as we continue to walk in the world of form, and not of the world, being formless, we need to be reminded constantly that we are God's Son, sustained by His Love. This reference point will strengthen us to remember when we forget, to help us remember, to help us emerge from our long immersion in thought.
Here is Lesson 50, I am sustained by the Love of God, in its entirety.
Here is the answer to every problem that will confront you, today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, "protective" clothing, influence, prestige, being liked, knowing the "right" people, and an endless list of forms of nothingness that you endow with magical powers.
All these things are your replacements for the Love of God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body identification. They are songs of praise to the ego. Do not put your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you.
Only the Love of God will protect you in all circumstances. It will lift you out of every trial, and raise you high above all the perceived dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace and safety. It will transport you into a state of mind that nothing can threaten, nothing can disturb, and where nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God.
Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail you. Put all your faith in the Love of God within you; eternal, changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever confronts you today. Through the Love of God within you, you can resolve all seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.
For ten minutes, twice today, morning and evening, let the idea for today sink deep into your consciousness. Repeat it, think about it, let related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow peace to flow over you like a blanket of protection and surety. Let no idle and foolish thoughts enter to disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the Kingdom of Heaven. Such is the resting place where your Father has placed you forever.
Happy New Year!
* * *
Lesson 1, Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.
Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see:
Then look farther away from your immediate area, and apply the idea to a wider range:This chair does not mean anything.
This hand does not mean anything.
This foot does not mean anything.
This pen does not mean anything.
Notice that these statements are not arranged in any order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied. That is the purpose of the exercise. The statement should merely be applied to anything you see. As you practice the idea for the day, use it totally indiscriminately. Do not attempt to apply it to everything you see, for these exercises should not become ritualistic. Only be sure that nothing you see is specifically excluded. One thing is like another as far as the application of the idea is concerned.That door does not mean anything.
That body does not mean anything.
That lamp does not mean anything.
That sign does not mean anything.
That shadow does not mean anything.
Each of the first three lessons should not be done more than twice a day each, preferably morning and evening. Nor should they be attempted for more than a minute or so, unless that entails a sense of hurry. A comfortable sense of leisure is essential.
Lesson 2, I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me.
The exercises with this idea are the same as those for the first one. Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the idea to whatever your glance rests on. Then increase the range outward. Turn your head so that you include whatever is on either side. If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. Remain as indiscriminate as possible in selecting subjects for its application, do not concentrate on anything in particular, and do not attempt to include everything you see in a given area, or you will introduce strain.
Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. Take the subjects simply as you see them. Try to apply the exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an arm or an apple. The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely that your eyes have lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything particular, but be sure that nothing is specifically excluded.
Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street, from this, window, in this place].
Apply this idea in the same way as the previous ones, without making distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a proper subject for applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the suitability of anything for application of the idea. These are not exercises in judgment. Anything is suitable if you see it. Some of the things you see may have emotionally charged meaning for you. Try to lay such feelings aside, and merely use these things exactly as you would anything else.
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. It is therefore essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment, in selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be applied. For this purpose one thing is like another; equally suitable and therefore equally useful.
Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.
They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place]. Unlike the preceding ones, these exercises do not begin with the idea for the day. In these practice periods, begin with noting the thoughts that are crossing your mind for about a minute. Then apply the idea to them. If you are already aware of unhappy thoughts, use them as subjects for the idea. Do not, however, select only the thoughts you think are "bad." You will find, if you train yourself to look at your thoughts, that they represent such a mixture that, in a sense, none of them can be called "good" or "bad." This is why they do not mean anything.
In selecting the subjects for the application of today's idea, the usual specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use "good" thoughts as well as "bad." None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by them. The "good" ones are but shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows make sight difficult. The "bad" ones are blocks to sight, and make seeing impossible. You do not want either.
This is a major exercise, and will be repeated from time to time in somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in the first steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful. It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of training your mind to recognize what is the same and what is different.
In using your thoughts for application of the idea for today, identify each thought by the central figure or event it contains; for example:
This thought about _______ does not mean anything. It is like the things I see in this room [on this street, and so on].
You can also use the idea for a particular thought that you recognize as harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a substitute for the more random procedures to be followed for the exercises. Do not, however, examine your mind for more than a minute or so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied.
Further, since these exercises are the first of their kind, you may find the suspension of judgment in connection with thoughts particularly difficult. Do not repeat these exercises more than three or four times during the day. We will return to them later.
Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.
This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.
When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset, and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:
I am not angry at ______ for the reason I think.
I am not afraid of ______ for the reason I think.
But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for "sources" of upset in which you believe, and forms of upset which you think result.
In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:
There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.
You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first of this:
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.
Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of the feeling as you experience it. Further examples are:
I am not worried about ______ for the reason I think.
I am not depressed about ______ for the reason I think.
Three or four times during the day is enough.
Lesson 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.
The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:
I am angry at ______ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ______ because I see something that is not there.
Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you, and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.
Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:
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.
Lesson 7, I see only the past.
This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.
It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.
It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.
Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first.
Look at a cup, for example. Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast and so on? Are not your aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else would you know whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? What do you know about this cup except what you learned in the past? You would have no idea what this cup is, except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see it?
Look about you. This is equally true of whatever you look at. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye. For example:
I see only the past in this pencil.
I see only the past in this shoe. I see only the past in this hand.
I see only the past in that body.
I see only the past in that face.
Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing specifically. Glance briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next. Three or four practice periods, each to last a minute or so, will be enough.
Lesson 2, I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me.
The exercises with this idea are the same as those for the first one. Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the idea to whatever your glance rests on. Then increase the range outward. Turn your head so that you include whatever is on either side. If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. Remain as indiscriminate as possible in selecting subjects for its application, do not concentrate on anything in particular, and do not attempt to include everything you see in a given area, or you will introduce strain.
Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you. Take the subjects simply as you see them. Try to apply the exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an arm or an apple. The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely that your eyes have lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything particular, but be sure that nothing is specifically excluded.
Lesson 3, I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street, from this, window, in this place].
Apply this idea in the same way as the previous ones, without making distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a proper subject for applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the suitability of anything for application of the idea. These are not exercises in judgment. Anything is suitable if you see it. Some of the things you see may have emotionally charged meaning for you. Try to lay such feelings aside, and merely use these things exactly as you would anything else.
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. It is therefore essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment, in selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be applied. For this purpose one thing is like another; equally suitable and therefore equally useful.
Lesson 4, These thoughts do not mean anything.
They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place]. Unlike the preceding ones, these exercises do not begin with the idea for the day. In these practice periods, begin with noting the thoughts that are crossing your mind for about a minute. Then apply the idea to them. If you are already aware of unhappy thoughts, use them as subjects for the idea. Do not, however, select only the thoughts you think are "bad." You will find, if you train yourself to look at your thoughts, that they represent such a mixture that, in a sense, none of them can be called "good" or "bad." This is why they do not mean anything.
In selecting the subjects for the application of today's idea, the usual specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use "good" thoughts as well as "bad." None of them represents your real thoughts, which are being covered up by them. The "good" ones are but shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows make sight difficult. The "bad" ones are blocks to sight, and make seeing impossible. You do not want either.
This is a major exercise, and will be repeated from time to time in somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in the first steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful. It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning to see the meaningless as outside you, and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of training your mind to recognize what is the same and what is different.
In using your thoughts for application of the idea for today, identify each thought by the central figure or event it contains; for example:
This thought about _______ does not mean anything. It is like the things I see in this room [on this street, and so on].
You can also use the idea for a particular thought that you recognize as harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a substitute for the more random procedures to be followed for the exercises. Do not, however, examine your mind for more than a minute or so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become pointlessly preoccupied.
Further, since these exercises are the first of their kind, you may find the suspension of judgment in connection with thoughts particularly difficult. Do not repeat these exercises more than three or four times during the day. We will return to them later.
Lesson 5, I am never upset for the reason I think.
This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.
When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset, and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:
I am not angry at ______ for the reason I think.
I am not afraid of ______ for the reason I think.
But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for "sources" of upset in which you believe, and forms of upset which you think result.
In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:
There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.
You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first of this:
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.
Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of the feeling as you experience it. Further examples are:
I am not worried about ______ for the reason I think.
I am not depressed about ______ for the reason I think.
Three or four times during the day is enough.
Lesson 6, I am upset because I see something that is not there.
The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:
I am angry at ______ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ______ because I see something that is not there.
Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you, and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.
Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:
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.
Lesson 7, I see only the past.
This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.
It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.
It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.
Old ideas about time are very difficult to change, because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning these new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new ideas about time. This first time idea is not really so strange as it may sound at first.
Look at a cup, for example. Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast and so on? Are not your aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past experiences? How else would you know whether or not this kind of cup will break if you drop it? What do you know about this cup except what you learned in the past? You would have no idea what this cup is, except for your past learning. Do you, then, really see it?
Look about you. This is equally true of whatever you look at. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye. For example:
I see only the past in this pencil.
I see only the past in this shoe. I see only the past in this hand.
I see only the past in that body.
I see only the past in that face.
Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing specifically. Glance briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next. Three or four practice periods, each to last a minute or so, will be enough.
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