L e s s o n  325

All things I think I see reflect ideas. 
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IAMBIC PENTAMETER 
format from URTEXT by Lee Flynn

   This is salvation's keynote. What I see 

   reflects a process in my mind that starts

   with my idea of what I want. From there,

   the mind makes up an image of the thing

   the mind desires, judges valuable,

   and therefore seeks to find. These images

   are then projected outward, looked upon,

   esteemed as real, and guarded as my own.

   From insane wishes comes an insane world.

   From judgment comes a world condemned. And from

   forgiving thoughts a gentle world comes forth,

   with mercy for the holy Son of God,

   to offer him a kindly home where he

   can rest a while before he journeys on,

   and help his brothers walk ahead with him

   and find the way to Heaven and to God.

   "Our Father, Your Ideas reflect the truth,

    and mine apart from Yours but makes up dreams.

    Let me behold what only Yours reflect,

    for Yours and Yours alone establish truth."

         ~ Original Handscript of ACIM 
 

   Creation is the sum of all God's Thoughts,

   in number infinite, and everywhere

   without all limit. Only Love creates,

   and only like Itself. There was no time

   when all that It created was not there.

   Nor will there be a time when anything

   that It created suffers any change.

   Forever and forever are God's Thoughts

   exactly as They were and as They are,

   unchanged through time and after time is done.

   God's Thoughts are given all the power that

   Their own Creator has. For He would add

   to Love by Its extension. Thus His Son

   shares in creation, and must therefore share

   in power to create. What God has willed

   to be forever one will still be one

   when time is over; and will not be changed

   throughout the course of time, remaining as

   it was before the thought of time began.

   Creation is the opposite of all

   illusions, for Creation is the truth.

   Creation is the holy Son of God,

   for in Creation is His Will complete

   in every aspect, making every part

   container of the whole. Its oneness is

   forever guaranteed inviolate;

   forever held within His holy Will

   beyond all possibility of harm,

   of separation, imperfection and

   of any spot upon its sinlessness.

   We are creation; we the Sons of God.

   We seem to be discrete and unaware

   of our eternal unity with Him.

   Yet back of all our doubts, past all our fears,

   there still is certainty. For Love remains

   with all Its Thoughts, Its sureness being Theirs.

   God's memory is in our holy minds,

   which know their oneness, and their unity

   with their Creator. Let our function be

   only to let this memory return,

   only to let God's Will be done on earth,

   only to be restored to sanity,

   and to be but as God created us.

   Our Father calls to us. We hear His Voice,

   and we forgive creation in the Name

   of its Creator, Holiness Itself,

   Whose holiness His own creation shares;

   Whose holiness is still a part of us.

   ~ Original Handscript of ACIM  January 12, 1971

I remember being with a group of Course students one night and watching the Apprentice featuring Donald Trump. Each of us had an opinion as to what we were seeing whether it hurt us to watch the one that was seemingly rejected; or we identified with the winner, or relished in the special relationships, or we made judgments about other aspects of the show, how it should have come out, who we liked or didn't like etc.  In fact there was no meaning in what was going on except for the one we were giving it, which goes right back to lesson 1 in the Course. Everything we are seeing is completely neutral. It is our judgments and our projections that give it all the meaning it has for us. You may notice your reaction as you watch a movie where some character is going to walk into a dangerous situation and you want to yell at him not to go there as if the images on the screen can be changed by your injunctions.

It is really no different with the world. When we try to change the world instead of changing our thoughts it is the same as trying to change the outcome of the movie on the screen instead of changing the film in the projector. Our minds project whatever it is that we see in the world and only by changing our minds can we let go of our ideas of how things should be.

You may remember in lesson 130, par. 1 we read that "perception is consistent. What you see reflects your thinking. And your thinking but reflects your choice of what you want to see. Your values are determiners of this, for what you value you must want to see, believing what you see is really there. No one can see a world his mind has not accorded value. And no one can fail to look upon what he believes he wants."
 
What we see with our eyes is not real. It is all just a process that is going on in our minds. As we make judgments and condemn, we are seeing a world of condemnation. But as we heal our thoughts and look with the vision of the Holy Spirit, meaning through the "eyes" of forgiveness, of love, of truth, we see a world of gentleness and loveliness. So as our thoughts change, the world we see changes.

 As Chapter 21.I reminds us "Projection makes perception. The world you see is what you gave it. Nothing more than that. But though it is no more than that, it is not less. Therefore to you it is important. It is the witness to your state of mind, the outward picture of an inward condition. As a man thinketh, so does he perceive. Therefore seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world." And later "The world you see but shows you how much joy you have allowed yourself to see in you, and to accept as yours. And if this is its meaning then the power to give it joy must lie within you". So our normal experience is that perception is caused from without. But this says exactly the opposite. Our minds project their own meaning on neutral forms. It is my state of mind that I see reflected outward, hard as that is to conceive.

We read in the Manual for Teachers, "Where do all these differences come from? Certainly they seem to be in the world outside. Yet it is surely the mind that judges what the eyes behold. It is the mind that interprets the eyes' messages and gives them 'meaning'. And this meaning does not exist in the world outside at all." Again it is all about our interpretation that gives meaning to anything. As this lesson says, it all "starts with my idea of what I want". (1.1) Then the mind makes up an image of that desire. And this is projected outward and looked upon. So I am putting this image out there while still believing that I am at the mercy of things out there that seem to be the cause of my reactions. In other words events outside seem to have control over my response. Yet, if it all starts in my mind then the good news is that this is where the power to see it differently resides. 

The primary question of what is it that we want is whether we still want to hold onto our individuality and special self or whether we want the Atonement? Do we want to continue in this dream of suffering or do we want to awaken to the truth of who we are?  Do we want fear or do we want love? What motivates us?

We have absolute power over how we respond to every circumstance. We are not the victim of forces outside of us. That can be a bit of a stretch for our minds to absorb...that everything we experience is the effect of our decision of what we wish for. But if we hold onto our insane desire to be separate, unique, special, condemning, attacking, retaliating, we will absolutely experience the results of those thoughts. Conflict, loss lack, competition, all come from these insane thoughts. So what this looks like is that whatever is in our minds, we see in the world. We think that the world is punishing us and that we are at its mercy, when in actual fact, the world is simply bringing us the results of everything we ask for because of our own guilt. That is actually the good news, because now we have the power to do something about it by looking at our guilt and bringing it to the healing light of the Holy Spirit where it is washed away. 

In Chapter 27.VII we are given another way to see our relationships that are the source of many of our difficulties as we perceive them. Instead Jesus tells us to "dream softly of your sinless brother, who unites with you in holy innocence. And from this dream the Lord of Heaven will Himself awaken His beloved Son. Dream of your brothers kindnesses instead of dwelling in your dreams on his mistakes. Select his thoughtfulness to dream about instead of counting up the hurts he gave. And do not brush aside his many gifts because he is not perfect in your dreams. He represents his Father Whom you see as offering both life and death to you. Brother, He gives but life. Yet what you see as gifts your brother offers represent the gifts you dream your Father gives to you. Let all your brother's gifts be seen in light of charity and kindness offered you. And let no pain disturb your dream of deep appreciation for his gifts to you."

Can you feel how much resistance there is to give up your judgments of a brother that is seemingly causing you difficulty? My mind is holding judgment of someone today and I can see how I am building my case with all of the 'reasons' for the judgments. I am not saying that his bad behaviors are not there but only that it is up to me to how I interpret them and whether I choose to throw away my peace as a result. Seeing sin in my brother allows me to escape responsibility for the sin that I believe is in me. And now I see him as guilty and hope that God is watching and he will be punished for it and not me.

 Can you see how you actually don't want to give up your way of seeing? It is because we want to be right about ourselves. Yet, only when we are willing to release our judgments can we make space for the truth of who we are to emerge. Only when we release our desire to attack and to gain at our brother's expense can we experience the peace and joy that comes with our willingness to forgive. Giving up our attack thoughts is the only way out of this insanity. Anything else simply perpetuates the cycle of sin, guilt and fear. It does this by projecting on our brothers our own guilt that we want to see in them so that God will punish them and see that we are simply innocent victims.  

If we really saw that projecting our guilt on others is how we keep ourselves in fear, would we not want these thoughts healed by the Holy Spirit so that we can experience the peace that is behind our attack thoughts?   When we want this more than anything else, then our motivation to give up our dreams of attack and revenge is heightened. When we truly get that we are doing it all to ourselves we can wonder at the insanity of it all!! If we recognized that all of our suffering is something that we have invited because of our own guilt and its consequences, would we not be very willing to give up the insanity? "What I see reflects a process in my mind which starts with my idea of what I want".

So any situation or person that seems to be causing you distress today is a good focus for the lesson today. Each situation that is distressing, provides us with another opportunity to look at  our own judgmental thoughts,  our own need to be right, to feel superior, to purchase  our innocence at the expense of  our brother's guilt. Choose to bring these thoughts to the light of truth and offer to let them go recognizing that what you see just reflects your own judgmental thoughts. Ask for help to see the reflection of your loving thoughts instead. So remember that the problem that starts this whole process is that you want to feel superior to your brother, or you want to feel innocent by making someone else guilty. So now we have an image of a sinful brother. Instead we start the process by determining that we want to know our own holiness. So now we have an image of a holy brother. It is up to us. In every situation, determine in advance what it is you want. That is a kind of power that is available to us when we change our minds about our goal.

Love and blessings, Sarah

Sarah's Home Page

Quotes in this article are from Foundation for Inner Peace edition; To locate the same quotes in the 'Original Edition', use this link:  http://www.jcim.net/acim_us/Acim.php  
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^{A Course in Miracles
 TEXT
 Chapter Thirty One
The Simplicity of Salvation}

I. Introduction