ACIM Lesson 290 My present happiness is all I see. Eyes that begin to open see at last. And I would have Christ’s vision come to me this very day.
My present happiness is all I see.
1. Unless I look upon what is not there, my present happiness is all I see. ²Eyes that begin to open see at last. ³And I would have Christ’s vision come to me this very day. ⁴What I perceive without God’s Own Correction for the sight I made is frightening and painful to behold. ⁵Yet I would not allow my mind to be deceived by the belief the dream I made is real an instant longer. ⁶This the day I seek my present happiness, and look on nothing else except the thing I seek.
2. With this resolve I come to You, and ask Your strength to hold me up today, while I but seek to do Your Will. ²You cannot fail to hear me, Father. ³What I ask have You already given me. ⁴And I am sure that I will see my happiness today.
Image Makers
This morning, I closed my eyes and I thought about a duck. I saw a white duck in my imagination. My eyes were closed and there was no duck there but I could have drawn the duck that I saw if I were an artist. My thought of a duck made an image of a duck. This is actually how we made the world. As Lesson 15 tells us, our thoughts are images we have made.
Using the power of creation, we made up a whole world by closing off our true vision and imagining what we want to see instead of what is there. We made bodies and gave them eyes so that they could show us our thoughts. We did such a good job and did it for so long, that we have forgotten that our eyes don’t really see. They are just image makers. We have forgotten that we have true vision and that there is something real to see.
Let’s See What Is Really There
What is really there is bright and beautiful and brings joy and peace. What we made to take the place of reality is dark and frightening because it was made to be unlike reality. What is real shows us our unity with each other and our oneness in God. The images we made show us separation, discord, competition, guilt, fear, suffering, and death.
As we let go of the desire for our images, we start to see past them to what is really there. It doesn’t feel like what we have always called ‘seeing.’ I haven’t reached the point that I see the real world, but I am getting glimpses and more consistently. I know I am by the effects of Christ’s vision. People that used to irritate me I now feel love for. Things I used to worry about go unnoticed. I’m happy most of the time and usually at peace.
The Mind Can’t Take Us Where We Don’t Want to Go
Those times when I do worry or I feel irritated with someone, I notice it right away. I realize that I have become focused on the image and have failed to see the beauty that is right there in front of me. I look again, this time with the Holy Spirit, and the image becomes unimportant and I feel once more. I have to be vigilant for this kind of thing, though.
For instance, I woke up this morning feeling out of sorts. There was nothing really wrong but I didn’t feel happy. At first, I tried to think about what must be wrong and of course, I could think of possible problems. Then, I realized that nothing was wrong, and I just let go of the mood. The mind is my servant. It can’t take me anywhere I don’t want to go but it took a few minutes for me to remember that. As I continue to be consistent in choosing reality rather than images we made, these slips into illusion will cease. Already, they are becoming rarer.
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