Lesson 15
My thoughts are images that I have made.
W-pI.15.1. It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing. 2 You think you think them, and so you think you see them. 3 This is how your “seeing” was made. 4 This is the function you have given your body’s eyes. 5 It is not seeing. 6 It is image making. 7 It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.
W-pI.15.2. This introductory idea to the process of image making that you call seeing will not have much meaning for you. 2 You will begin to understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see now. 3 That is the beginning of real vision. 4 You can be certain that real vision will come quickly when this has occurred.
W-pI.15.3. As we go along, you may have many “light episodes.” 2 They may take many different forms, some of them quite unexpected. 3 Do not be afraid of them. 4 They are signs that you are opening your eyes at last. 5 They will not persist, because they merely symbolize true perception, and they are not related to knowledge. 6 These exercises will not reveal knowledge to you. 7 But they will prepare the way to it.
W-pI.15.4. In practicing the idea for today, repeat it first to yourself, and then apply it to whatever you see around you, using its name and letting your eyes rest on it as you say:
2 This _____ is an image that I have made.
3 That _____ is an image that I have made.
4 It is not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the application of today’s idea. 5 It is necessary, however, to continue to look at each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. 6 The idea should be repeated quite slowly each time.
W-pI.15.5. Although you will obviously not be able to apply the idea to very many things during the minute or so of practice that is recommended, try to make the selection as random as possible. 2 Less than a minute will do for the practice periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. 3 Do not have more than three application periods for today’s idea unless you feel completely comfortable with it, and do not exceed four. 4 However, the idea can be applied as needed throughout the day.
Journal
If you are new to the Lessons, the idea that you are not seeing what is there is startling, but this is what Jesus has been leading us to. That first sentence is very interesting. He says, the thoughts you think you think, to remind us that these are not our real thoughts but are ‘thoughtless ideas.’ While we are focused on these thoughtless ideas we are not really thinking. Then he tells us that these thoughtless ideas we think of as our thoughts appear as images and this is why we don’t recognize them as nothing.
Jesus prepared us for this discovery when in Lesson 8 he told us that 2 No one really sees anything. 3 He sees only his thoughts projected outward.And in Lesson 11 he said, Today’s idea introduces the concept that your thoughts determine the world you see.But now he is getting more specific and explaining how it is that our eyes do not really see. He calls them image makers instead. What an idea! We have always thought that we look at the world with our eyes and from what we see there, we have ideas, interpretations of what actually exists. But this is not true. We begin with an idea of what we want to see and then we use the body’s eyes to make an image of it. We look at the image and say, “See, there it is, it must be true.” 7 It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.
Holy cow! Right? This changes everything. These changes are not immediately evident because we have more to learn, but it is an amazing reveal. If you are new at the lessons, this won’t make a lot of sense to you but that’s ok. Let’s not forget that Jesus wants us to take him at his word for now with the promise that the results of doing these lessons will prove them true. Having practiced the Course for 40 years, I can promise that you will not be disappointed. Right now, just do the simple practice.