Daily Lesson

  

L e s s o n  6   

I am upset because I see something
that is not there

<AUDIO> 
Hear Today's Lesson~Voice & Music by
Martin Weber-Caspers [maz] 
<GUIDANCE from ELDER BROTHER>

¹ 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:

² I am angry at ___ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ___ because I see something that is not there.

³Today'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.

⁴ 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:

⁵There are no small upsets. They are all
equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

⁶And:

⁷ 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.

Workbook - Part 1
 Introduction 

 <AUDIO> <VIDEO>      

Voice & Music by Martin Weber-Caspers [maz] 

¹ A theoretical foundation such as the text is necessary as a background to make these exercises meaningful. Yet it is the exercises which will make the goal possible. An untrained mind can accomplish nothing. It is the purpose of these exercises to train the mind to think along the lines which the course sets forth.

² The exercises are very simple. They do not require more than a few minutes, and it does not matter where or when you do them. They need no preparation. They are numbered, running from 1 to 365. The training period is one year. Do not undertake more than one exercise a day.

³ The purpose of these exercises is to train the mind to a different perception of everything in the world. The workbook is divided into two sections, the first dealing with the undoing of what you see now and the second with the restoration of sight. It is recommended that each exercise be repeated several times a day, preferably in a different place each time and, if possible, in every situation in which you spend any long period of time. The purpose is to train the mind to generalize the lessons, so that you will understand that each of them is as applicable to one situation as it is to another.

⁴ Unless specified to the contrary, the exercise should be practiced with the eyes open, since the aim is to learn how to see. The only rule that should be followed throughout is to practice the exercises with great specificity. Each one applies to every situation in which you find yourself and to everything you see in it. Each day's exercises are planned around one central idea, the exercises themselves consisting of applying that idea to as many specifics as possible. Be sure that you do not decide that there are some things you see to which the idea for the day is inapplicable. The aim of the exercises will always be to increase the application of the idea to everything. This will not require effort. Only be sure that you make no exceptions in applying the idea.

⁵ Some of the ideas you will find hard to believe, and others will seem quite startling. It does not matter. You are merely asked to apply them to what you see. You are not asked to judge them, nor even to believe them. You are asked only to use them. It is their use which will give them meaning to you, and show you they are true. Remember only this-you need not believe them, you need not accept them, and you need not welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter nor decrease their efficacy. But allow yourself to make no exceptions in applying the ideas the exercises contain. Whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than this is required.

ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections 

Lesson  6   
I am upset because I see something that is not there.     

Sarah's Commentary:         

It is important to reiterate that these early lessons are essential in setting the groundwork for watching our thoughts and considering the possibility that the way we think about everything has been based on false premises. In fact the introduction to the lessons says very clearly that our minds are untrained and as such they can accomplish nothing. If you do the exercises as prescribed in the workbook, you will be undoing the way you see now (the first half of the workbook) and gaining new (true) perception with the exercises in Part II of the workbook. This does not hold completely as we are also learning about true perception in Part I as well.

I have been with the Course for over 25 years and have done the lessons many times but I can attest to the significant changes that took place in my thinking after doing the lessons in the first year in spite of very limited understanding of the metaphysics of the Course.   Jesus promises us that as we apply ourselves to the workbook mind training, we will have a "different perception of everyone and everything in the world".  Every step we take is reinforced.     "Were not each step in this direction so heavily reinforced, it would be hard indeed!" (M.4.I.A.7.9)

 Today we are again reminded that any upset, big or small, results in loss of peace. We can't be a little bit peaceful. Either we are at peace or we are not. So that anything that is upsetting us whether worry, fear depression, anxiety, anger, expectations, desires, is disturbing to our peace. There is no hierarchy of big or small upsets. "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 exercise then I will regard them all as the same." (3.) They are all the same because they are all unreal. While upsetting thoughts are talked about here, the same would apply to what we call pleasurable thoughts. They too are related to nothing outside of us and they too detract from our real thoughts in the right mind.  

These lessons are now helping us to look at our thoughts and helping us to recognize that they interfere with the peace because these thoughts are blocking the peace that is already in our mind. What is important about this lesson is to see that there is nothing outside of us. This is not easy for us as we do see things outside of us and we attribute our upsets to them.  

But more and more, we will understand that everything that upsets us starts with our own inward condition. What is upsetting to me is within. The good news is that it reinforces that it is I myself that has the power in me to change my condition.

The thought for today asks us to specifically identify the feeling "I am angry, distressed, frustrated etc.....at......because I see something that is not there". We take a few minutes to search our minds for feelings of upset . Sometimes we get so used to the painful feelings that are there, literally all of the time, that we have no idea that they are always playing in the background of our minds. They cannot be healed if we don't look at them so this first step is necessary.

Don woke up this morning from a distressing dream and as he told me about it, I said it must be a relief that it is just a dream. He was distressed by something that was not there. Isn't it a relief to know that the disturbing things that we dream are not there?   This is the kind of relief that we feel when we realize that in our waking dream we are also seeing something that is not there. It is not unlike something that has upset us as children when we think that there is something menacing in our bedroom and see that nothing is there when our parents turned on the lights. In the same way, we are seeing what is not there. Everything we see is a projection of a thought in the mind and these projections are illusions because they are not there either.

It does not mean that an event hasn't occurred in the illusion. Yesterday and today, I was involved in a significant controversy related to some events that took place at my mother's seniors' residence. I was worried, angry, frustrated and distressed by something that I deemed very important. So, the event did seemingly occur. But, MY interpretation of it being real and that I was at its mercy is what I am releasing by affirming that I was seeing something that in reality was not there. Again, it is no different than a nighttime dream. I have given it my interpretation as being real and my reaction to that interpretation is what has upset me. Each of us may perceive it differently.  So while the event may have occurred on a form level it is MY upset about it that I am invited to look at. I am responding to a thought that is in MY mind.

 This is not a Course in behavior -- it is a Course in mind training. A Course in Miracles is addressing the mind, and is concerned only with the content of the mind. A perceived problem in the world may still need our attention while we seem to be here but the real work is in our own minds. And when we do take the time to look at our mind and ask how to see this problem differently, sometimes the solution that we thought was applicable in form, is no longer required.

  "No one can escape from illusions unless he looks at them, for not looking is the way they are protected. There is no need to shrink from illusions, for they cannot be dangerous...The "dynamics" of the ego will be our lesson for a while, for we must look first at this to see beyond it, since you have made it real. We will undo this error quietly together, and then look beyond it to truth" (T.11.V.1:1,2,5,6;)  

The Course is taking us to the realization that God created everything that exists. But he created only that which is real. In other words it is only that which is eternal. Nothing that is in the world of form could be created by God because it is all temporary, including our bodies. At the beginning of the Course Jesus tells us "nothing real can be threatened and nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God". So can we accept that God did not create upsetting things? And if God did not create those things that upset us then they can't be real and they don't exist.  Jesus tells us that the world was not created by God but is a projection of the egoic mind. We are just reliving that moment of terror when we seemed to separate from eternity and are now replaying that moment over and over in these upsetting incidents of fear and distress.    Each upsetting incident is just a small part of this whole separation saga that we replay again and again.

 Slowly, step by step we are being led to a serenity that cannot be disturbed by the circumstances and events of the world. We are slowly undoing the normal human way we have learned to see things and opening up to a new possibility where we slowly learn to release the attachment we have to the world of form and to our thoughts about it. Our interpretations are being brought to question. Again, we don't even have to believe these lessons for them to have effect.   

 The important thing is to do the exercises as prescribed. Our current way of thinking all comes from our guilt of having stolen our identity from God which is the cause of all of our  pain and distress. This is a process of undoing our current way of seeing.  We just need to trust that we have been brought to this path because we are ready to find a better way to live our lives and to ultimately wake up to the truth of who we are.  

Thus, the steps involved in applying the Course's teaching begin with seeing the problem as we have made it up in the world, dealing with the problem in the normal way (i.e., paying taxes and bills), while learning to recognize that the problem is made up as a smokescreen for the real problem, which is the choice in the mind to take the thought of separation seriously.  

Recognizing the purpose the ego assigns to the world's problems is what the Course means by "looking within." Since we believe the world with its bills and taxes is real, we do have judgments which need to be acknowledged because they reveal our hidden beliefs in scarcity, victimization, etc. This is part of the process of looking within. The world and our feelings are showing us the "dark secrets" (T.22.VI.9:5) our minds contain. They cannot be dispelled if we are unaware of them.

In the same way, belief in the body cannot be undone by denying it and then ignoring the specific conditions of life in a body. Not paying bills or taxes would certainly bring on an avalanche of other problems. The exacerbated situation would reinforce the ego's smokescreen, and would not facilitate healing. Only when the real problem -- belief in separation -- is recognized can we turn to the Holy Spirit in our minds to seek the real solution -- undoing the belief in separation through forgiveness. Once this is accomplished, we will be ready to believe that the world with all its "problems" is not real, and move beyond it to the truth.  

Sarah's Home Page

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A Course in Miracles   
TEXT  

Chapter One 

Introduction to Miracles

I. Principles of Miracles

30. ⁴¹ Miracles praise God through men. They praise God by honoring His creations, affirming their perfection. They heal because they deny body-identification and affirm Soul-identification. By perceiving the spirit, they adjust the levels and see them in proper alignment. This places the spirit at the center, where Souls can communicate directly.

31. ⁴² Miracles should inspire gratitude, not awe. Man should thank God for what he really is. The Children of God are very holy, and the miracle honors their holiness.

⁴³ God's creations never lose their holiness, although it can be hidden. The miracle uncovers it and brings it into the light where it belongs. Holiness can never be really hidden in darkness, but man can deceive himself about it. This illusion makes him fearful because he knows in his heart it is an illusion, and he exerts enormous efforts to establish its reality. The miracle sets reality where it belongs. Eternal reality belongs only to the Soul, and the miracle acknowledges only the truth. It thus dispels man's illusions about himself and puts him in communion with himself and God.

32. ⁴⁴ Christ inspires all miracles, which are really intercessions. They intercede for man's holiness and make his perceptions holy. By placing him beyond the physical laws, they raise him into the sphere of celestial order. In this order, man is perfect.

⁴⁵ The Soul never loses its communion with God. Only the mind needs Atonement. The miracle joins in the Atonement of Christ by placing the mind in the service of the spirit. This establishes the proper function of the mind and corrects its errors.

33. ⁴⁶ Miracles honor man because he is lovable. They dispel illusions about him and perceive the light in him. They thus atone for his errors by freeing him from his own nightmares. They release him from a prison in which he has imprisoned himself, and by freeing his mind from illusions, they restore his sanity. Man's mind can be possessed by illusions, but his spirit is eternally free. If a mind perceives without love, it perceives an empty shell and is unaware of the spirit within it. But the Atonement restores the Soul to its proper place. The mind that serves the spirit is invulnerable.

34. ⁴⁷ Miracles restore the mind to its fullness. By atoning for lack, they establish perfect protection. The strength of the Soul leaves no room for intrusions. The forgiven are filled with the Soul, and they forgive in return. It is the duty of the released to release their brothers.

⁴⁸ The forgiven are the means of Atonement. Those released by Christ must join in releasing their brothers, for this is the plan of the Atonement. Miracles are the way in which minds which serve the spirit unite with Christ for the salvation or release of all God's creations.

35. ⁴⁹ Miracles are expressions of love, but it does not follow that they will always have observable effects. I am the only one who can perform miracles indiscriminately because I am the Atonement. You have a role in the Atonement, which I will dictate to you. Ask me which miracles you should perform. This spares you exhaustion because you will act under direct communication.

36. ⁵⁰ Christ-controlled miracles are part of the Atonement, but Christ-guidance is personal and leads to personal salvation. The impersonal nature of miracles is an essential ingredient because this enables me to control their distribution. Christ-guidance leads to the highly personal experience of revelation. This is why it involves personal choice. A guide does not control, but he does direct, leaving the following up to you. "Lead us not into temptation" means "guide us out of our own errors." "Take up thy cross and follow me" means, "Recognize your errors and choose to abandon them by following my guidance."

⁵¹ Remember that error cannot really threaten truth, which can always withstand it. Only the error is really vulnerable. You are free to establish your kingdom where you see fit, but the right choice is inevitable if you remember this:

⁵² The Soul is in a state of grace forever.
 Man's reality is only his Soul.
 Therefore, man is in a state of grace forever.

⁵³ Atonement undoes all errors in this respect and thus uproots the real source of fear. Whenever God's reassurances are experienced as threat, it is always because you are defending misplaced and misdirected loyalty. That is what projection always involves. Error is lack of love. When man projects this onto others, he does imprison them, but only to the extent that he reinforces errors they have already made. This makes them vulnerable to the distortions of others since their own perception of themselves is distorted. The miracle worker can only bless and this undoes their distortions and frees them from prison.

37. ⁵⁴ Miracles are examples of right thinking. Reality contact at all levels becomes strong and accurate, thus permitting correct delineation of intra- and interpersonal boundaries. As a result, the doer's perceptions are aligned with truth as God created it.

38. ⁵⁵ A miracle is a correction factor introduced into false thinking by me. It acts as a catalyst, shaking up erroneous perception and reorganizing it properly. This places man under the Atonement principle, where his perception is healed. Until this has occurred, revelation of the divine order is impossible.

39. ⁵⁶ The Spiritual eye is the mechanism of miracles because what It perceives is true. It perceives both the creations of God and the creations of man. Among the creations of man, it can also separate the true from the false by Its ability to perceive totally rather than selectively. It thus becomes the proper instrument for reality testing, which always involves the necessary distinction between the false and the true.