Lesson 20
I am determined to see.
W-pI.20.1. We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. 2 There has been virtually no attempt to direct the time for undertaking them, minimal effort has been required, and not even active cooperation and interest have been asked. 3 This approach has been intentional, and very carefully planned. 4 We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your thinking. 5 The salvation of the world depends on it. 6 Yet you will not see if you regard yourself as being coerced, and if you give in to resentment and opposition.
W-pI.20.2. This is our first attempt to introduce structure. 2 Do not misconstrue it as an effort to exert force or pressure. 3 You want salvation. 4 You want to be happy. 5 You want peace. 6 You do not have them now, because your mind is totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, love and fear. 7 You are now learning how to tell them apart. 8 And great indeed will be your reward.
W-pI.20.3. Your decision to see is all that vision requires. 2 What you want is yours. 3 Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for an indication that our goal is of little worth. 4 Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? 5 And can the world be saved if you are not? 6 God has one Son, and he is the resurrection and the life. 7 His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on earth. 8 In your determination to see is vision given you.
W-pI.20.4. The exercises for today consist in reminding yourself throughout the day that you want to see. 2 Today’s idea also tacitly implies the recognition that you do not see now. 3 Therefore, as you repeat the idea, you are stating that you are determined to change your present state for a better one, and one you really want.
W-pI.20.5. Repeat today’s idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today, attempting to do so every half hour. 2 Do not be distressed if you forget to do so, but make a real effort to remember. 3 The extra repetitions should be applied to any situation, person or event that upsets you. 4 You can see them differently, and you will. 5 What you desire you will see. 6 Such is the real law of cause and effect as it operates in the world.
Journal
Well, I guess we have graduated from preschool. Haha. We are now asked to give more effort, to engage our determination. Jesus explains that for the first 19 lessons he was being deliberately casual so as not to cause us to regard ourselves as being coerced, and so we would not become resentful and oppose the lessons. But we must not think that this means they were not important.
We are being tasked with saving the world and our part in this is to save ourselves. Don’t worry, we are not doing this alone and our part is quite doable. Remember that we have the Holy Spirit in our mind to guide and direct us, to comfort us when we need that, and to heal our mind. So, what is our part? Each of us has the part of wanting that healing and that is why this lesson is so important. We are declaring our desire to see. We are stating that we are determined to see.
If you are new to this, you probably don’t have a clear idea of what you are to see or even what that means, really. I know I didn’t when I first did the Lessons. But I knew enough to realize that I wasn’t seeing the world in a way that made me happy and that brought peace to my mind. I realized that I was being offered a way for this to happen and I wanted that.
Now I realize how extraordinary this lesson is. Everything I genuinely want is given to me. This is because I already have it, being given everything in my creation. What is actually happening is that with my determination to see, I am opening my mind to what is mine. The first and most important thing I must do is to desire this to happen. Thus, today’s lesson. Another thing I must do is release what I now believe if I want to see what is there in reality, but this will not happen either without the desire for vision.
Right now, I am determined to see healing differently. Jesus tells us in the Manual for Teachers and elsewhere in the Course that healing is certain. He also tells us that doubt is the result of conflicting wishes and to be sure what you want and doubt becomes impossible. So, I am determined to see healing in all things, body and otherwise, and to never doubt. I am determined to see and this kind of seeing has nothing to do with the body’s eyes, so I will disregard any ego ‘proof’ that healing has not occurred and return my mind to my determination to see.