Lesson 18

Lesson 18

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

The idea for today is another step in learning that the thoughts which give rise to what you see are never neutral or unimportant. It also emphasizes the idea that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later on.

Today’s idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it. Therefore, the exercises for today emphasize this aspect of your perception. The three or four practice periods which are recommended should be done as follows:

Look about you, selecting subjects for the application of the idea for today as randomly as possible, and keeping your eyes on each one long enough to say:

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see _________.

Conclude each practice period by repeating the more general statement:

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

A minute or so, or even less, will be sufficient for each practice period.

 

Journal

“Today’s idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it. Therefore, the exercises for today emphasize this aspect of your perception.” 

We project the world we see and then we decide what it means. We often share our projections. We are in agreement about the world we see on the whole. We agree on the sky and stars and planets. We agree on the landscape in general. So when we look at the world our eyes show us and believe it is real, we reinforce for all of us the belief in these agreed upon illusions. We keep all of us in thrall to the ego. When we accept that the world is part of our hallucination, we loosen the hold the ego has on the mind and thus we bring all of us closer to freedom.

Jesus says this: “Christ-controlled miracles are part of the Atonement. But Christ-guidance is personal and leads to personal salvation.” Here is what I think about this expressed as an example. For a while after Trump was elected, I held him in contempt, and this caused me to lose my peace and forget my purpose.

When I could no longer tolerate the lack of peace, I asked for correction. I asked for another way to see this situation and this man. Because I was wholehearted in my desire for peace, the shift in thinking was immediate and I was again at peace. I began to pray for my brother rather than curse him. This guidance I received was for my personal salvation.

But it does not end there. When I was in contempt, I was feeding contempt into the Consciousness and strengthening hatred within the Sonship. When I chose healing instead, I began to feed love and peace into the Sonship. In both cases, the Sonship (all of us) was affected by my choice. Whoever was receptive to the belief in hatred was influenced by that choice. Whoever was receptive to awakening was influenced by my healed thoughts. So I was never alone in the experiencing the effects of my seeing.

Past Entries

Here is what we are learning so far about our thoughts.

• Everything you see is the result of your thoughts.
• Your thoughts are never neutral. They are true or false. Those that are true create their own likeness. Those that are false make theirs.
• Every thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion; either it extends the truth or it multiplies illusions.
• A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is impossible.
• It is always the thought that comes first, despite the temptation to believe that it is the other way around.

 

Now we are learning one more thing. Not only do our thoughts give rise to what we see, and so are never neutral or unimportant, we are reminded that minds are joined. We are not alone in what we perceive. The word “perceive” has two meanings in the Course. It refers to what we see, and how we see it. Jesus has been talking about what we perceive, but today he is emphasizing how we choose to perceive that which we have projected.

From an insane belief come insane thoughts that are then projected onto the world as insane situations. They are insane because they are beliefs that are outside of reality. But insane or not, unreal or not, they make effects. Once the effect is part of the world we still have choices. We can choose how we would perceive this bit of insanity.

Her is a simple example. One morning just as I woke up, I noticed this news alert on my phone. It was some bit of political news, a blurb about a Clinton vs Sanders debate. I thought about what that means and this thought brought me to other candidates. I thought about what it would mean to the country if this one won or that one. I became anxious and discouraged for our country as more and more disheartening outcomes came to mind. In this frame of mind, I had other fearful thoughts about other things.

All of that happened very quickly, the ego mind following the fear and guilt thoughts as it always will. But I have formed the habit of happiness and so I asked the Holy Spirit for another way to see this. I asked for a new perception more in line with the truth. This world does not offer Truth or Reality, but it can get much closer. It is such an amazing thing to see how quickly and easily perception shifts to happiness when I ask for this. It’s like the wind blows the dark clouds away and the sun shines bright and clear. Nothing changed in the world this morning, but how I saw it took on new meaning for me. I chose to perceive it differently and so was given a new perception.

I was thinking about how I feel about this idea of shared perceptions. On the one hand, it is reassuring to know that I am not the only one that perceives in the way I do. Sometimes my perceptions are so judgmental and so unkind that I have a hard time letting go of the guilt I feel upon this realization. Then I read something from a fellow student and realize we all have these thoughts. This helps me to remember that we all share the one ego, and so the guilt doesn’t feel so personal and so is easier to let go.

Another thing that occurs to me is that if our minds are joined, then when someone changes their mind, that change is available to my mind as well. This is why we can say that Jesus awakened, not just for himself, but for all of us. This is why we cannot fail to awaken. One aspect of our shared mind made a different choice and so the different choice is now part of the entire mind and is available to me.

On the other hand, it used to be disconcerting to think that we all share the same mind. I had always thought of my mind with its crazy thoughts, as a private place, a place I could hide my real self, not just from other people, but from God. The Course taught me this is not true. I am not alone in my mind, and so I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts. To the untrained mind, this can be alarming, which is why Jesus is easing us into the truth.