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May 26, 1969
W 1 In1
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.
W 1 In1
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.
W 1 In1
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.
W 1 In1
4. Unless
specified to the contrary, the exercise should be practiced with the eyes open,
since the aim[2] 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 W(2) of the
exercises will always be[3] 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.
W 1 In1 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.
January 1
W 1 L 1.
Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this
idea very specifically to whatever you see:[4]
“This table does not mean anything.”
“This chair does not mean anything.”
“This hand does not mean anything.”
“This pen does not mean anything.”
W 1 L 2.
Then look farther away from your immediate area, and
apply the idea to a wider range: W(3)
“That door does not mean anything.”
“That body does not mean anything.”
“That lamp does not mean anything.”
“That sign does not mean anything.”
“That shadow does not mean anything.”
W 1 L 3.
Notice that these statements are not arranged in any
order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which
they are applied. That is the purpose of the exercise. The
statement is merely applied to anything you see. As you practice applying
the idea for the day, use it totally indiscriminately. Do not attempt to
apply it to everything you see, for these exercises should not become
ritualistic. Only be sure that nothing you see is specifically
excluded. One thing is like another as far as the application of the idea
is concerned. W(4)
January 2
W 2 L 1.
The exercises with this idea are the same as those for
the first one. Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the
idea to whatever your glance rests on. Then increase the range
outward. Turn your head so that you include whatever is to either
side. If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind
you. Remain as indiscriminate as possible in selecting subjects for its
application, do not concentrate on anything in particular, and do not attempt
to include everything in an area or you will introduce strain. Merely
glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size,
brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you.
W 2 L 2.
Take the subjects simply as you see them. Try to
apply the exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an
arm or an apple. The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is
merely that your eyes have ‘lighted on it. Make no attempt to include
anything in particular, but be sure that nothing is specifically excluded. W(5)
January 3
W 3 L 1.
Apply this idea in the same way as the previous ones, without
making distinctions of any kind. Whatever you see becomes a proper
subject for applying the idea. Be sure that you do not question the
suitability of anything for the application of the idea. These are not
exercises in judgment. Anything is suitable if you see it. Some of
the things you see may have emotionally-charged meaning for you. Try to
lay such feelings aside, and merely use these things exactly as you would
anything else.
W 3 L 2.
The point of the exercises is to help you clear your
mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now,
and to realize how little you really understand about them. It is
therefore essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by
judgment, in selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be
applied. For this purpose one thing is like another; equally suitable and
therefore equally useful. W(6)
January 4
W 4 L 1.
Unlike the preceding ones, these exercises do not
begin with the idea for the day. In these practice periods, begin with
noting the thoughts that are crossing your mind for about a minute. Then
apply the idea to them. If you are already aware of unhappy thoughts use
them as subjects for the idea. Do not, however, select only the thoughts
you think are “bad.” You will find, if you train yourself to look at your
thoughts, that they represent such a mixture that, in a sense, none of them can
be called “good” or “bad.” This is why they do not mean anything.
W 4 L 2.
In selecting the subjects for the application of
today's idea, the usual specificity is required. Do not be afraid to use
“good” thoughts as well as “bad.” None of them represent your real
thoughts, which are being covered up by them. The “good” ones of which
you are aware are but shadows of what lies beyond, and shadows make sight
difficult. The “bad” ones are blocks to sight, and make seeing
impossible. You do not want either.
W 4 L 3.
This is a major exercise, and will be repeated from
time to time in somewhat different form. The aim here is to train you in
the first steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the
meaningful. It is a first attempt in the long-range purpose of learning
to see the meaningless as outside you and the meaningful within. It is
also the beginning of training your mind to recognize what is the same and what
is different. In using your thoughts for application of the idea for
today, identify each thought by the central figure or event it contains; for
example:
“This
thought about ___
does not mean anything. It is like the things I see in this room (or
wherever you are)” W(7)
W 4 L 4.
You can also use the idea for a particular thought
which you recognize as harmful. This practice is useful, but is not a
substitute for the more random procedures to be followed for the
exercises. Do not, however, examine your mind for more than a minute or
so. You are too inexperienced as yet to avoid a tendency to become
pointlessly preoccupied. Further, since these exercises are the first of
their kind, you may find the suspension of judgment in connection with thoughts
particularly difficult. Do not repeat these exercises more than three or
four times during the day. We will return to them later. W(8)
January 5
W 5 L 1.
This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with
any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it
specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the
description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The
upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy,
or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This
is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each
form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the
same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately
recognizing they are all the same.
W 5 L 2.
When using the idea for today for a specific perceived
cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the
upset, and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:
“I
am not angry at ____ for the reason I think.”
“I am not afraid of ____
for the reason I think.”
But again,
this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search
your mind for “sources” of upset in which you believe, and forms of upset which
you think result.
W 5 L 3.
In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones,
you may find it hard to be indiscriminate, and to avoid giving greater weight
to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises
with the statement:
“There are no small upsets. They
are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.”
Then examine
your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little
you think it is doing so.
W 5 L 4.
You may also find yourself less willing to apply
today's idea W(9) to
some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think
first of this:
“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.”
Then search
your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of
different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance
you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the
name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it, and of the feelings as
you experience it. Further examples are:
“I
am not worried about ____
for the reason I think.”
“I am not depressed about ____
for the reason I think.”
Three
or four times during the day is enough. W(10)
January 6
W 6 L 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:
“I am angry at ____ because I see something that is
not there.”
“I am worried about ___because
I see something that is not there.”
W 6 L 2.
Today'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.
W 6 L 3.
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:
“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
exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same” W(11)
January 7
W 7 L 1.
This idea is particularly difficult to believe at
first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.
It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it
has for you. It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean
anything, and why they are like the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the
reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see
something that is not there.
W 7 L 2.
Old ideas about time are very difficult to change,
because everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not
learning these new ideas about it. Yet that is precisely why you need new
ideas about time. This first time idea is not really so strange as it may
sound at first. Look at a cup, for example.
W 7 L 3.
Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your
past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup,
feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast, and so on?
Are not your aesthetic reactions to the cup, too, based on past
experiences? How else would you know whether or not this kind of cup will
break if you drop it? What do you know about this cup except what you
learned in the past? You would have no idea what this cup is except for
your past learning. Do you, then, really see it?
W 7 L 4.
Look about you. This is equally true of whatever
you look at. Acknowledge this by applying the idea for today
indiscriminately to whatever catches your eye. For example: W(12)
“I see only the past in this pencil.”
“I see only the past in this shoe.”
“I see only the past in this hand.”
“I see only the past in that body.”
“I see only the past in that face.”
Do not
linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to omit nothing
specifically.[5] Glance
briefly at each subject, and then move on to the next. W(13)
January 8
W 8 L 1.
This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only
the past. No one really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts
projected outward. The mind's preoccupation with the past is the cause of
the total misconception about time from which your seeing suffers. Your
mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is. It
therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand anything.
W 8 L 2.
The only wholly true thought one can hold about the
past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to
think about illusions.[6]
Very few minds have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or
in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this,
because it is not really thinking about anything.
W 8 L 3.
The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train
your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While
thoughtless “ideas” preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked.
Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing
that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to
vision.
W 8 L 4.
The exercises for today should be done with eyes
closed. This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is
easier to recognize that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are
not seeing anything. With as little investment as possible, search your
mind for the usual minute or so, merely noting the thoughts[7] you
find there. Name each one by the central figure or theme it contains, and
pass on to the next. Introduce the practice period by saying:
“I seem to
be thinking about ___.” W(14)
Then
name each of your thoughts specifically, for example:
“I seem to be thinking about (name of person), about
(name of object), about (name of emotion), and so on,”
concluding
at the end of the mind-searching period with:
“But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.”
W 8 L 5.
This can be done four or five times during the day,
unless you find it irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four
times is sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your
irritation, or any emotion which the idea[8] may
induce, in the mind-searching itself. W(15)
January 9
W 9 L 1.
This idea obviously follows from the two preceding
ones. But while you may be able to accept it intellectually, it is
unlikely that it will mean anything to you as yet. However, understanding
is not necessary at this point. In fact, the recognition that you do not
understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas. These
exercises are concerned with practice, not with understanding. You do not
need to practice what you really understand. It would indeed be circular
to aim at understanding, and assume that you have it already.
W 9 L 2.
It is difficult for the untrained mind to believe that
what seems to be pictured before it is not there. This idea can be quite
disturbing, and may meet with active resistance in any number of forms.
Yet that does not preclude applying it. No more than that is required for
these or any other exercises. Each little[9] step
will clear a little of the darkness away, and understanding will finally come
to lighten every corner of the mind which[10] has
been cleared of the debris which darkens it.
W 9 L 3.
These exercises, for which three or four practice
periods are sufficient, involve looking about you and applying the idea for the
day to whatever you see, remembering[11] the
need for its indiscriminate application, and the essential rule of excluding
nothing. [12]It is
emphasized again that while complete inclusion should not be attempted,
specific exclusion must be avoided. Be sure you are honest with yourself
in making this distinction. You may be tempted to obscure it. W(16)
W 9 L 4.
For example:
“I
do not see that[13]
typewriter as it is now.”
“I do not see this key as it is now.”
“I do not see this telephone as it is now.”
Begin
with things that are nearest you, and then extend the range:
“I
do not see that coat rack as it is now.”
“I
do not see that face as it is now.”
“I
do not see that door as it is now.”[14] W(17)
January 10
W 10 L 1.
This idea applies to all the thoughts of which you are
aware, or become aware in the practice periods. The reason the idea is
applicable to all of them is that they are not your real thoughts. We
have made this distinction before, and will again. You have no basis for
comparison as yet. When you do, you will have no doubt that what you once
believed were your thoughts did not mean anything.
W 10 L 2.
This is the second time we have used this kind of
idea. The form is only slightly different. This time, the idea is
introduced with “My thoughts” instead of “These thoughts,” and no link is made
overtly with the things around you. The emphasis is now on the lack of
reality of what you think you think.
W 10 L 3.
This aspect of the correction process began with the
idea that the thoughts of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather than
within; and then stressed their past rather than their present status.
Now we are emphasizing that the presence of these “thoughts” means that you are
not thinking. This is merely another way of repeating our earlier
statement that your mind is really a blank. To recognize this is to
recognize nothingness when you think you see it. As such, it is the
prerequisite for vision.
W 10 L 4.
Close your eyes for these exercises, and introduce
them by repeating the idea for today quite slowly to yourself. Then add:
“This idea will help to release me from all that I
now believe.”
The
exercises consist, as before, in searching your mind for all the thoughts which
are available to you, without selection or judgment. Try to avoid
classification of any kind. In fact, if you find it helpful to do so, you
might imagine that you are watching an oddly assorted procession going by,
which has little if any personal meaning to you. As each one crosses your
mind, say:
“This thought about ____ does not mean anything.”
“That
thought about ____ does not mean anything.” W(18)
W 10 L 5.
Today's idea can obviously serve for any thought that
distresses you at any time. In addition, five practice periods are
recommended, each involving no more than a minute or so of
mind-searching. It is not recommended that this time period be extended,
and it should be reduced to half a minute or even less if you experience
discomfort. Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly before applying
it specifically, and also to add:
“This
idea will help to release me from all that I now believe.” W(19)
January 11
W 11 L 1.
This is the first idea we have had which is related to
a major phase of the correction process; the reversal of the thinking of the
world. It seems as if the world determines what you perceive.
Today's idea introduces the concept that your thoughts determine the world you
see. Be glad indeed to practice it in this initial form, for in this idea
is your release made sure. The key to forgiveness lies in it.
W 11 L 2.
The practice periods for today's idea are to be
undertaken somewhat differently from the previous ones. Begin with eyes
closed, and repeat the idea slowly to yourself. Then open your eyes
and look about, near or far, up or down, -- anywhere. During the minute
or so to be spent in using the idea, merely repeat it to yourself, being sure
to do so without haste and with no sense of urgency or effort.
W 11 L 3.
To do these exercises for maximum benefit, the eyes
should move from one thing to another fairly rapidly, since they should not
linger on anything in particular. The words, however, should be used in
an unhurried, even leisurely fashion. The introduction to this idea
should be practiced as casually as possible. It contains the foundation
for the peace, relaxation and freedom from worry that we are trying to achieve.
On concluding the exercises, close your eyes and repeat the idea once more,
slowly to yourself.
W 11 L 4.
Three practice periods today will probably be
sufficient. However, if there is little or no uneasiness and an
inclination to do more, as many as five may be undertaken. More than this
is not recommended. W(20)
January 12
W 12 L 1.
The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it
contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. You think that
what upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or
an insane world. All these attributes are given it by you.
The world is meaningless in itself.
W 12 L 2.
These exercises are done with eyes open. Look
around you, this time quite slowly. Try to pace yourself so that the slow
shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant
time interval. Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly
longer or shorter, but try, instead, to keep a measured, even tempo
throughout. What you see does not matter. You teach yourself this
as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time.
This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value.
W 12 L 3.
As you look about you, say to yourself:
“I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a
hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world,”
and so
on, using whatever descriptive terms happen to occur to you. If terms
which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. For
example, you might think of “a good world,” or “a satisfying world.” If
such terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. You may not yet
understand why these “nice” adjectives belong in these exercises, but remember
that “a good world” implies a “bad” one, and “a satisfying world” implies an
“unsatisfying” one. All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects
for today's exercises. Their seeming quality does not matter.
W 12 L 4.
Be sure that you do not alter the time intervals
between applying today's idea to what you think is pleasant and what you think
is unpleasant. For the purposes of these exercises, there is no
difference between them. W(21) At the
end of the practice period, add:
“But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.”
W 12 L 5.
What is meaningless is neither good nor bad.
Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you? If you could accept the
world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would
make you indescribably happy. But because it is meaningless, you are impelled
to write upon it what you would have it be. It is this you see in
it. It is this that is meaningless in truth. Beneath your words is
written the Word of God. The truth upsets you now, but when your words
have been erased, you will see His. That is the ultimate purpose of these
exercises.
W 12 L 6.
Three or four times is enough for practicing the idea
for today. Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute. You may
find even this too long. Terminate the exercises whenever you experience
a sense of strain. W(22)
January 13
W 13 L 1.
Today's idea is really another form of the preceding
one, except that it is more specific as to the emotion aroused. Actually,
a meaningless world is impossible. Nothing without meaning exists.
However, it does not follow that you will not[15] perceive
something that has no meaning. On the contrary, you will be particularly
likely to think you do[16] perceive
it.
W 13 L 2.
Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety
in all the separated ones. It represents a situation in which God
and the ego “challenge” each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the
empty space which meaninglessness provides. The ego rushes in frantically
to establish its own “ideas” there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used
to demonstrate its own unreality. And on this alone it is correct.
W 13 L 3.
It is essential, therefore, that you learn to
recognize the meaningless, and accept it without fear. If you are
fearful, it is certain that you will endow the world with attributes which it
does not possess, and crowd it with images that do not exist. To the ego
illusions are safety devices, as they must also be to you who equate yourself
with the ego.
W 13 L 4.
The exercises for today, which should be done about
three or four times, for not more than a minute or so at most each time, are to
be practiced in a somewhat different way from the preceding ones. With
eyes closed, repeat today's idea to yourself. Then open your eyes and
look about you slowly, saying:[17]
“I am looking at a meaningless world.”
Repeat
this statement to yourself as you look about. Then close your eyes and
conclude with:
“A
meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in competition with God.”
W(23)
W 13 L 5.
You may find it difficult to avoid resistance, in one
form or another, to this concluding statement. Whatever form such
resistance may take, remind yourself that you are really afraid of such a
thought because of the “vengeance” of the “enemy.” You are not expected
to believe the statement at this point, and will probably try to dismiss it as
preposterous. Note carefully, however, any signs of overt or covert fear
which it may arouse.
W 13 L 6.
This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause
and effect relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in
recognizing. Do not dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even
to think of it except during the exercise periods. That will suffice at
present.
W(24)
January 14
W 14 L 1.
The idea for today is, of course, the reason why a
meaningless world is impossible. What God did not create does not
exist. And everything that does exist exists as He created it. The
world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making,
and it does not exist.
W 14 L 2.
The exercises for today are to be practiced with eyes
closed throughout. The mind-searching period should be short, a minute at
most. Do not have more than three practice periods with today's idea unless
you find them comfortable. If you do, it will be because you really
understand what they are for.
W 14 L 3.
The idea for today is another step in learning to let
go the thoughts which you have written on the world, and see the Word of God in
their place. The early steps in this exchange, which can truly be called
salvation, can be quite difficult and even quite painful. Some of them
will lead you directly into fear. You will not be left there. You
will go far beyond it. Our direction is toward perfect safety and perfect
peace.
W 14 L 4.
With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the
world that cross your mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then
deny its reality. God did not create it, and so it is not real. Say,
for example:
“God did not create that war, and so it is not
real.”
“God did not create that airplane crash, and so it
is not real.”
“God did not create that disaster (specify) so it
is not real.”
“God did not create that illness (specify with name
of person) and so it is not real.”[18]
W 14 L 5.
Suitable subjects for the application of today's idea
also include anything you are afraid might happen to you, or to anyone about
whom you are concerned. In each case, name the “disaster” quite
specifically. W(25) Do not
use general terms. For example, do not say, “God did not create illness,”
but, “God did not create cancer,” or heart attacks, or whatever may arouse fear
in you.
W 14 L 6.
This is your personal repertory of horrors at which
you are looking. These things are part of the world you see. Some
of them are shared illusions, and others are part of your personal hell.
It does not matter. What God did not create can only be in your own mind
apart from His. Therefore, it has no meaning. In recognition of
this fact, conclude the practice periods by repeating today's idea.
“God did not create a meaningless world.”
W 14 L 7.
The idea for today can, of course, be applied to
anything that disturbs you during the day, aside from the practice
periods. Be very specific in applying it. Say:
“God did not create a
meaningless world. He did not create (specify the situation which is
disturbing you), and so it is not real.” W(26)
January 15
W 15 L 1.
It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as
images that you do not recognize them as nothing. You think you think
them, and so you think you see them. This is how your “seeing” was
made. This is the function you have given your body's eyes. It is
not seeing. It is image-making. It takes the place of seeing,
replacing vision with illusions.
W 15 L 2.
This introductory idea to the process of image-making
which you call seeing will not have much meaning for you. You will begin
to understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same
familiar objects which you see now. That is the beginning of real
vision. You can be certain that real vision will come quickly when this
has occurred.
W 15 L 3.
As we go along, you may have many “light
episodes.” They may take many different forms, some of them quite
unexpected. Do not be afraid of them. They are signs that you are
opening your eyes at last. They will not persist, because they merely
symbolize true perception, and they are not related to knowledge. These exercises
will not reveal knowledge to you. But they will prepare the way to it.
W 15 L 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:
“This
____ is an image which I
have made.”
“That ____
is an image which I have made.”
It is
not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the
application of today's idea. It is necessary, however, to continue to
look at each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. The idea
should be repeated quite slowly each time. W(27)
W 15 L 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. Less than a minute will
do for the practice periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. Do not have
more than three application periods for today's idea unless you feel completely
comfortable with it, and do not exceed four.[19] W(28)
January 16
W 16 L 1.
The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling
the belief that your thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the
result of your thoughts. There is no exception to this fact.
Thoughts are not big or little; powerful or weak. They are merely true or
false. Those which are true create their own likeness.[20]
Those which are false make theirs.
W 16 L 2.
There is no more self-contradictory concept than that
of “idle thoughts.” What gives rise to the perception of a whole world
can hardly be called idle. Every thought you have contributes to truth or
to illusion; either it extends the truth or it multiplies illusions. You
can indeed multiply nothing, but you will not extend it by doing so.
W 16 L 3.
In addition to never being idle, salvation requires
that you recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war;
either love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral
thought is impossible. There is such a temptation to dismiss fear
thoughts as unimportant, trivial, and not worth bothering about that it is
essential you recognize them all as equally destructive but equally
unreal. We will practice this idea in many forms before you really understand
it.
W 16 L 4.
In applying the idea for today, search your mind for a
minute or so, with eyes closed, and actively seek not to overlook any “little”
thought which tends to elude the search. This is quite difficult until
you get used to it. You will find that it is still hard for you not to
make artificial distinctions. Every thought that occurs to you,
regardless of the quality which you assign to it, is a suitable subject for
applying today's idea. W(29)
W 16 L 5.
In the practice periods, first repeat the idea, and
then as each one crosses your mind, hold it in awareness while you tell
yourself:
“This
thought about ____ is not a neutral thought.”
“That thought about ____ is not a neutral thought.”
W 16 L 6.
As usual, use today's idea whenever you are aware of a
particular thought which arouses uneasiness. The following form is
suggested for this purpose:
“This thought about ____ is not a neutral thought,
because I have no neutral thoughts.”
W 16 L 7.
Four or five practice periods are recommended, if you
find them relatively effortless. If strain is experienced, three will be
enough. The length of the exercise period[21] should
also be reduced if there is discomfort. W(30)
January 17
W 17 L 1.
This idea is another step in the direction of
identifying cause and effect as it really operates. You see no neutral
things because you have no neutral thoughts. It is always the thought
that comes first, despite the temptation to believe that it is really the other
way around. This is not the way the world thinks, but you must learn that
it is the way you think. If it were not so, perception would have no
cause, and would itself be the cause of reality. In view of its highly
variable nature, this is hardly likely.
W 17 L 2.
In applying today's idea, say to yourself, with eyes
open:
“I see no neutral things because I have no neutral
thoughts.”
Then look
about you, resting your glance on each thing that catches your eye long enough
to say:
“I
do not see a neutral ____
because my thoughts about ____ are not neutral.”
For example,
you might say:
“I do not see a neutral wall, because my thoughts
about walls are not neutral.”
“I do not see a neutral body, because my thoughts
about bodies are not neutral.”
W 17 L 3.
As usual, it is essential to make no distinction
between what you believe to be animate or inanimate; pleasant or
unpleasant. Regardless of what you may believe, you do not see anything
which is really alive and really joyous. That is because you are unaware
as yet of any thoughts which are really true and therefore really happy.
W 17 L 4.
Three or four specific practice periods are
recommended, and no less than three are required for maximum benefit, even if
you experience resistance. However, if you do, the length of the practice
period may be reduced to less than the minute or so which is otherwise
recommended.
W(31)
January 18
W 18 L 1.
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.
W 18 L 2.
Today's idea does not refer to what you see as much as
to how you see it. Therefore, the exercises for today will emphasize this
aspect of your perception. The three or four practice periods which are
recommended should be done as follows:
W 18 L 3.
Selecting subjects for the application of the idea
randomly, look at each one long enough to say:
“I
am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see ___.”
Conclude the 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. W(32)
January 19
W 19 L 1.
The idea for today is obviously the reason why your
seeing does not affect you alone. You will notice that at times the ideas
related to thinking precede those related to perceiving, while at other times
the order is reversed. The reason is that the order does not actually
matter. Thinking and its results are really simultaneous, for cause and
effect are never separate.
W 19 L 2.
Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are
joined. This is rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to
carry with it an enormous sense of responsibility, and may even be regarded as
an “invasion of privacy.” Yet it is a fact that there are no private
thoughts. Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet
understand that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. And
salvation must be possible because it is the Will of God.
W 19 L 3.
The minute or so of mind-searching which today's
exercises require are[22] to be
undertaken with closed eyes. The idea is to be repeated first, and then
the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that
time. As you consider each one, name it in terms of the central person or
theme it contains, and holding it in your mind as you do so, say:
“I
am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ____.”
W 19 L 4.
The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as
possible in selecting subjects for the practice period should be quite familiar
to you by now, and will no longer be repeated each day, although it will
occasionally be included as a reminder. Do not forget, however, that
random selection of subjects for all practice periods remains essential
throughout. Lack of order in this connection will ultimately make the
recognition of lack of order in miracles meaningful to you. W(33)
W 19 L 5.
Apart from the “as needed” application of today's
idea, at least three practice periods are required, shortening the length of
time involved, if necessary. Do not attempt more than four. W(34)
January 20
W 20 L 1.
We have been quite casual about our practice periods
thus far. 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. This casual approach has been
intentional, and very carefully planned. We have not lost sight of the
crucial importance of the reversal of your thinking. The salvation of the
world depends on it. Yet you will not see if you regard yourself as being
coerced, and if you give in to resentment and opposition.
W 20 L 2.
This is our first attempt to introduce
structure. Do not misconstrue it as an effort to exert force or
pressure. You want salvation. You want to be happy. You want
peace. You do not have them now because your minds are totally
undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and
pain, love and fear. You are now learning how to tell them apart.
And great indeed will be your reward.[23]
W 20 L 3.
Your decision to see is all that vision
requires. What you want is yours. Do not mistake the little effort
that is asked of you for a sign that our goal is of little worth. Can the
salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? And can the world be saved
if you are not? God has one Son, and he is the resurrection and the life.[24]
His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on earth.[25]
In your determination to see is vision given you.
W 20 L 4.
The exercises for today consist in reminding yourselves
throughout the day that you want to see. Today's idea also tacitly
implies the recognition that you do not see now. 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(35)
W 20 L 5.
Repeat today's idea slowly and positively at least
twice an hour today, attempting to do so every half hour. Do not be
distressed if you forget to do so, but make a real effort to remember.
The extra repetitions should be applied to any situation, person, or event
which upsets you. You can see them differently, and you will. What
you desire you will see. Such is the real law of cause and effect as it
operates in the world. W(36)
January 21
W 21 L 1.
The idea for today is obviously a continuation and
extension of the preceding one. This time, however, specific
mind-searching periods are necessary in addition to applying the idea to
particular situations as they arise. Five practice periods are urged,
allowing a full minute for each.
W 21 L 2.
In the practice periods, begin by repeating the idea
to yourself. Then close your eyes and search your mind carefully for
situations past, present or anticipated, which arouse anger in you. The
anger may take the form of any reaction ranging from mild irritation to
rage. The degree of the emotion you experience does not matter. You
will become increasingly aware that a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing but
a veil drawn over intense fury.
W 21 L 3.
Try, therefore, not to let the “little” thoughts of
anger escape you in the practice periods. Remember that you do not really
recognize what really arouses anger in you, and nothing that you believe in
this connection means anything. You will probably be tempted to dwell
more on some situations than on others, on the fallacious grounds that they are
more “obvious.” This is not so. It is merely an example of the
belief that some forms of attack are more justified than others.
W 21 L 4.
As you search your mind for all the forms in which
attack thoughts present themselves, hold each one in mind and tell yourself;
“I
am determined to see ____ (name of person) differently.”
“I am determined to see ____ (specify the
situation) differently.”
Try to be as
specific as possible. You may, for example, focus your anger on a
particular attribute of a particular person, believing that the anger is
limited to this aspect. If your perception of the person is suffering
from this form of distortion, say:
“I am determined to see____ (specify the attribute) in____
(name of person) differently.” W(37)
January 22
W 22 L 1.
Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who
holds attack thoughts in his mind must see the world. Having projected
his anger onto the world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him. His
own attack is thus perceived as self-defense. This becomes an
increasingly vicious circle until he is willing to change how he sees.
Otherwise, thoughts of attack and counterattack will preoccupy him, and
people his entire world. What peace of mind is possible to him then?
W 22 L 2.
It is from this savage fantasy that you want to
escape. Is it not joyous news to hear that it is not real? Is it
not a happy discovery to find that you can escape? You made what you
would destroy; everything that you hate and would attack and kill. All
that you fear does not exist.
W 22 L 3.
Look at the world about you at least five times today,
for at least a minute each time. As your eyes move slowly from one object
to another, from one body to another, say to yourself:
“I see only the perishable.
I see nothing that will last.[26]
What I see is a form of vengeance.”
At the end
of each practice period, ask yourself:
“Is this the world I really want to see?”
The
answer is surely obvious. W(38)
January 23
W 23 L 1.
The idea for today contains the only way out of fear
that will[27] succeed.
Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless. But this
way cannot fail. Every thought you have makes up some segment of the
world you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your
perception of the world is to be changed.
W 23 L 2.
If the cause of the world you see is attack thoughts,
you must learn that it is these thoughts which you do not want. There is
no point in lamenting the world. There is no point in trying to change
the world. It is incapable of change because it is merely an
effect. But there is indeed a point in changing your thoughts about the
world. Here you are changing the cause. The effects will change
automatically.
W 23 L 3.
The world you see is a vengeful world, and everything
in it is a symbol of vengeance. Each of your perceptions of “external
reality” is a pictorial representation of your own attack thoughts. One
can well ask if this can be called seeing. Is not fantasy a better word
for such a process, and hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?
W 23 L 4.
You see the world which you have made, but you do not
see yourself as the image-maker. You cannot be saved from the world, but
you can escape from its cause. This is what salvation means, for where is
the world you see when its cause is gone? Vision already holds a replacement
for everything you think you see now. Loveliness can light your images,
and so transform them that you will love them even though they were made of
hate. For you will not be making them alone. W(39)
W 23 L 5.
The idea for today introduces the thought that you are
not trapped in the world you see, because its cause can be changed. This
change requires, first, that the cause be identified and then let go, so that
it can be replaced. The first two steps in this process require your
cooperation. The final one does not. Your images have already been
replaced. By taking the first two steps, you will see that this is so.
W 23 L 6.
Besides using it throughout the day as the need
arises, five practice periods are required in applying today's idea. As
you look about you, repeat the idea slowly to yourself, and then close your
eyes and devote about a minute to searching your mind for as many attack
thoughts as occur to you. As each one crosses your mind, say:
“I
can escape from the world by giving up attack thoughts about ___.”
Hold each
one in mind[28] as you say this, and then
dismiss that thought and go on to the next.
W 23 L 7.
In the practice periods, be sure to include both your
thoughts of attacking and of being attacked. Their effects are exactly
the same, because they are exactly the same. You do not yet
recognize this, and you are asked at this time only to treat them as the same in
today's practice periods. We are still at the stage of identifying the
cause of the world you see. When you finally realize that thoughts of
attack and of being attacked are not different, you will be ready to let the
cause go.
W(40)
January 24
W 24 L 1.
In no situation which arises do you realize the
outcome that would make you happy. Therefore you have no guide to appropriate
action, and no way of judging the result.[29]
What you do is determined by your perception of the situation, and that
perception is wrong. It is inevitable, then, that you will not serve your
own best interests. Yet they are your only goal in any situation
which is correctly perceived. Otherwise you will not recognize what they
are.
W 24 L 2.
If you realized that you do not perceive your own best
interests, you could be taught what they are. But in the presence of your
conviction that you do know what they are, you cannot learn. The idea for
today is a step toward opening your mind so that learning can begin.
W 24 L 3.
The exercises for today require much more honesty than
you are accustomed to using. A few subjects, honestly and carefully
considered in each of the five practice periods which should be undertaken
today, will be more helpful than a more cursory examination of a large
number. Two minutes are suggested for each of the mind-searching periods
which the exercises involve.
W 24 L 4.
Practice periods begin with repeating today's idea,
followed by searching the mind, with closed eyes, for unresolved situations
about which you are currently concerned. The emphasis should be on
uncovering the outcome you want. You will quickly realize that you have a
number of goals in mind as part of the desired outcome; and also that these
goals are on different levels, and often conflict.
W 24 L 5.
Name each situation that occurs to you, and enumerate
carefully as many goals as possible that you would like to be met in its
resolution. The form of each application should be roughly as follows: W(41)
“In
the situation involving ___, I would like ____ to happen, and ____ to happen,”
and so on.
Try to cover
as many different kinds of outcome as may honestly occur to you, even if some
of them do not appear to you to be directly related to the situation, or even
to be inherent in it at all.
W 24 L 6.
If these exercises are done properly, you will quickly
recognize that you are making a large number of demands of the situation which
have nothing to do with it. You will also recognize that many of your
goals are contradictory, that you have no unified outcome in mind, and that you
must experience disappointment in connection with some of your goals however
the situation turns out. After covering the list of as many hoped for
goals as possible for each unresolved situation that crosses your mind, say to
yourself:
“I do not perceive my own best interests in this
situation,”
and go on to the next. W(42)
January 25
W 25 L 1.
Purpose is meaning. Today's idea explains why
nothing you see means anything. You do not know what it is for.
Therefore it is meaningless to you. Everything is for your own best
interests. That is what it is for; that is its purpose; that is what it means.
It is in recognizing this that your goals become unified. It is in
recognizing this that what you see is given meaning.
W 25 L 2.
You perceive the world and everything in it as
meaningful in terms of ego goals. These goals have nothing to do
with your own best interests, because the ego is not you. This
false identification makes you incapable of understanding what anything is
for. As a result, you are bound to misuse it. When you believe
this, you will try to withdraw the goals you have assigned to the world,
instead of attempting to reinforce them.
W 25 L 3.
Another way of describing the goals you now perceive
as valuable is to say that they are all concerned with “personal”
interests. Since you have no personal interests, your goals are really
concerned with nothing. In cherishing them, therefore, you have no goals
at all. And thus you do not know what anything is for.
W 25 L 4.
Before you can make any sense out of the exercises for
today, one more thought is necessary. At the most superficial levels, you
do recognize purpose. Yet purpose cannot be understood at these
levels. For example, you do understand that a telephone is for the
purpose of talking to someone who is not physically in your immediate
vicinity. What you do not understand is what you want to reach him
for. And it is this that makes your contact with him meaningful or not. W(43)
W 25 L 5.
It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give
up the goals you have established for everything. The recognition that
they are meaningless, rather than “good” or “bad,” is the only way to
accomplish this. The idea for today is a step in this direction.
W 25 L 6.
Six practice periods, each of two minutes duration,
are required. Each practice period should begin with a slow repetition of
the idea for today, followed by looking about you and letting your glance rest
on whatever happens to catch your eye, near or far, “important” or
“unimportant,” “human” or “unhuman,” with your eyes resting on each subject you
so select, say, for example:
“I do not know what this chair is for.”
“I do not know what this pencil is for.”
“I do not know what this hand is for.”
Say
this quite slowly, without shifting your eyes until you have completed the
statement. Then move on to the next subject, and apply today's idea
as before.
W(44)
January 26
W 26 L 1.
It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked you
are not invulnerable. You see attack as a real threat. That is
because you believe that you can really attack. And what would have
effects through you must also have effects on you. It is this law that
will ultimately save you. But you are misusing it now. You must
therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests, rather than
against them.
W 26 L 2.
Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will
fear attack. And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not
invulnerable. Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own
mind, which is where the attack thoughts are. Attack thoughts and
invulnerability cannot be accepted together. They contradict each other.
W 26 L 3.
The idea for today introduces the thought that you
always attack yourself first. If attack thoughts must entail the belief
that you are vulnerable, their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes.
Thus they have attacked your perception of yourself. And because you
believe in them, you can no longer believe in yourself. A false image of
yourself has come to take the place of what you are.
W 26 L 4.
Practice with today's idea will help you to understand
that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts.
Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. Nothing except your thoughts
can make you think you are vulnerable. And nothing except your thoughts
can prove to you this is not so. W(45)
W 26 L 5.
Six practice periods are required in applying today's
idea. A full two minutes should be attempted for each of them, although
the time may be reduced to a minute if the discomfort is too great. Do
not reduce it further.
W 26 L 6.
The practice period should begin with repeating the
idea for today, then closing your eyes and reviewing the unresolved situations
whose outcomes are causing you concern. The concern may take the form of
depression, worry, anger, a sense of imposition, fear, foreboding, or
preoccupation. Any problem as yet unsettled which tends to recur in your
thoughts during the day is a suitable subject. You will not be able to
use very many for one practice period, because a longer time than usual should
be spent with each one. Today's idea should be applied as follows:
First, name
the situation:
“I am concerned about ____.”
Then go over
every possible outcome which has occurred to you in that connection and which
has caused you concern, referring to each one quite specifically, saying:
“I am afraid ____
will happen.”
If you are
doing the exercises properly, you should have some five or six distressing
possibilities available for each situation you use, and quite possibly
more. It is much more helpful to cover a few situations thoroughly than
to touch on a larger number.
W 26 L 7.
As the list of anticipated outcomes for each situation
continues, you will probably find some of them, especially those which occur to
you toward the end, less acceptable to you. Try, however, to treat them
all alike to whatever extent you can.
W 26 L 8.
After you have named each outcome of which you are
afraid, tell yourself:
“That thought is an attack upon myself.”
Conclude
each practice period by repeating today's idea once more. W(46)
January 27
W 27 L 1.
Today's idea expresses something stronger than mere
determination. It gives vision priority among your desires. You may
feel hesitant about using the idea on the ground that you are not sure you
really mean it. This does not matter. The purpose of today's
exercises is to bring the time when the idea will be wholly true a little
nearer.
W 27 L 2.
There may be a great temptation to believe that some
sort of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above all
else. If you become uneasy by the lack of reservation involved, add:
“Vision has no cost to anyone.”
If fear of
loss still persists, add further:
“It can only bless.”
W 27 L 3.
The idea for today needs many repetitions for maximum
benefit. It should be used at least every half hour, and more often if
possible. You might try for every 15 or 20 minutes. It is
recommended that you set a definite time interval for using the idea when you
wake or shortly afterwards, and attempt to adhere to it throughout the
day. It will not be difficult to do this, even if you are engaged in conversation
or otherwise occupied at the time. You can still repeat one short
sentence to yourself without disturbing anything that is going on.
W 27 L 4.
The real question is how often will you
remember? How much do you want today's idea to be true? Answer one[30] of
these two questions, and you have answered the other. You will
probably miss several applications, and perhaps quite a number. Do not be
disturbed by this, but do try to keep on your schedule from then on. If
only once during the day you feel that you were perfectly sincere while you
were repeating today's idea, you can be sure that you have saved yourself many
years of effort.
W(47)
January 28
W 28 L 1.
Today we are really giving specific application to the
idea for yesterday. In these practice periods you will be making a series
of definite commitments. The question of whether you will keep them in
the future is not our concern here. If you are willing at least to make
them now, you have started on the way to keeping them. And we are still
at the beginning.
W 28 L 2.
You may wonder why it is important to say, for
example, “Above all else I want to see this table differently.” In itself
it is not important at all. Yet what is by itself? And what
does “in itself” mean? You see a lot of separate things about you, which
really means you are not seeing at all. You either see or not. When
you have seen one thing differently, you will see all things differently.
The light you will see in any one of them is the same light you will see in
them all.
W 28 L 3.
When you say “Above all else I want to see this table
differently,” you are making a commitment to withdraw your preconceived ideas
about the table, and open your minds to what it is and what it is for.
You are not defining it in past terms. You are asking what it is, rather
than telling it what it is. You are not binding its meaning to your tiny
experiences of tables, nor are you limiting its purpose to your little personal
thoughts.
W 28 L 4.
You will not question what we have already
defined. And the purpose of these exercises is to ask questions and
receive the answers. In saying, “Above all else I want to see this table
differently,” you are committing yourself to seeing. It is not an
exclusive commitment. It is a commitment which applies to the table just
as much as to anything else, neither more nor less. W(48)
W 28 L 5.
You could, in fact, gain vision from just that table,
if you could withdraw all your own ideas from it, and look upon it with a
completely open mind. It has something to show you; something beautiful
and clean and of infinite value, full of happiness and hope. Hidden under
all your ideas about it is its real purpose, the purpose it shares with all the
universe.
W 28 L 6.
In using the table as a subject for applying the idea
for today you are therefore really asking to see the purpose of the
universe. You will be making the same request of each subject which you
use in the practice periods. And you are making a commitment to each of
them to let their purpose be revealed to you, instead of placing your own
judgment upon them.
W 28 L 7.
We will have six two minute practice periods today, in
which the idea for the day is stated first, and then applied to whatever you
see in looking about you. Not only should the subjects be chosen
randomly, but each one should be accorded equal sincerity as today's idea is
applied to it, in an attempt to acknowledge the equal value of them all in
their contribution to your seeing.
W 28 L 8.
As usual, the applications should include the name of
the subject which your eyes happen to ’light on, and you should rest your eyes
on it while saying:
“Above all else, I want to see this ___
differently[31]”
Each
application should be made quite slowly and as thoughtfully as possible.
There is no hurry. W(49)
January 29
W 29 L 1.
The idea for today explains why you can see all
purpose in anything. It explains why nothing is separate, by itself or in
itself. And it explains why nothing you see means anything. In
fact, it explains every idea we have used thus far, and all subsequent ones as
well. Today's idea is the whole basis for vision.
W 29 L 2.
You will probably find this idea very difficult to
grasp at this point. You may find it silly, irreverent, senseless, funny,
and even objectionable. Certainly God is not in a table, for example, as
you see it. Yet we emphasized yesterday that a table shares the purpose
of the universe. And what shares the purpose of the universe shares the
purpose of its Creator.
W 29 L 3.
Try then, today, to begin to learn how to look on all
things with love, appreciation, and open-mindedness. You do not see them
now. Would you know what is in them? Nothing is as it appears to
you. Its holy purpose stands beyond your little range. When vision
has shown you the holiness that lights up the world, you will understand
today's idea perfectly. And you will not understand how you could ever
have found it difficult.
W 29 L 4.
Our six two minute practice periods for today should
follow a now familiar pattern; begin with repeating the idea to yourself, and
then apply it to randomly chosen subjects about you, naming each one
specifically. Try to avoid the tendency toward self-directed selection,
which may be particularly tempting in connection with today's idea because of
its wholly alien nature. Remember that any order which you impose is
equally alien to reality.
W 29 L 5.
Your list of subjects should therefore be as free of
self-selection as possible. For example, a suitable list might include: W(50)
“God is in this coat hanger.”
“God is in this magazine.”
“God is in this finger.”
“God is in this lamp.”
“God is in that body.”
“God is in that door.”
“God is in that wastebasket.”
W 29 L 6.
In addition to the assigned practice periods, repeat
the idea for today at least once an hour, looking slowly about you as you say
the words unhurriedly to yourself. At least once or twice you should
experience a sense of restfulness as you do this. W(51)
January 30
W 30 L 1.
The idea for today is the springboard for
vision. From this idea will the world open up before you, and you will
look upon it and see in it what you have never seen before. Nor will what
you saw before be even faintly visible to you.
W 30 L 2.
Today we are trying to use the new kind of
projection. We are not attempting to get rid of what we do not like by
seeing it outside. Instead, we are trying to see in the world what is in
our minds, and what we want to recognize is there. Thus we are trying to
join with what we see, rather than keeping it apart from us. That is the
fundamental difference between vision and the way you see.
W 30 L 3.
Today's idea should be applied as often as possible
throughout the day. Whenever you have a moment or so, repeat it to
yourself slowly, looking about you, and trying to realize that the idea applies
to everything you do see now, or could see now if it were within the range of
your sight.
W 30 L 4.
Real vision is not limited to concepts such as “near”
and “far.” To help you begin to get used to this idea, try to think of
things beyond your present range as well as those you can actually see, as you
apply today's idea. Real vision is not only unlimited by space and
distance, but it does not depend on the body's eyes at all. The mind is
its only source.
W 30 L 5.
To aid in helping you to become more accustomed to
this idea as well, devote several practice periods to applying today's idea
with your eyes closed, using whatever subject comes to mind, and looking within
rather than without. Today's idea applies equally to both. W(52)
January 31
W 31 L 1.
Today's idea is the introduction to your declaration
of release. Again, the idea should be applied to both the world you see
without and the world you see within. In applying the idea, we will use a
form of practice which will be used more and more, with changes as
indicated. Generally speaking, the form includes two aspects, one in
which you apply the idea on a more sustained basis, and the other consisting of
frequent applications of the idea throughout the day.
W 31 L 2.
Two longer periods of practice with the idea for today
are needed, one in the morning and one at night. Three to five minutes
for each of them is recommended. During that time, look about you slowly
while repeating the idea two or three times. Then close your eyes and
apply the same idea to your inner world. You will escape from both together,
for the inner is the cause of the outer.
W 31 L 3.
As you survey your inner world, merely let whatever
thoughts cross your mind come into your awareness, each to be considered for a
moment and then replaced by the next. Try not to establish any thought of
hierarchy among them. Watch them come and go as dispassionately as
possible. Do not dwell on any one in particular, but try to let the
stream move on evenly and calmly, without any special investment on your
part. As you sit and quietly watch your thoughts, repeat today's idea to
yourself as often as you care to, but with no sense of hurry.
W 31 L 4.
In addition, repeat the idea for today as often as
possible during the day. Remind yourself that you are making a
declaration of independence in the name of your own freedom. And in your
freedom lies the freedom of the world.
W 31 L 5.
The idea for today is a particularly useful one to use
as a response to any form of temptation. It is a declaration that you
will not yield to it and put yourself in bondage. W(53)
February 1
W 32 L 1.
Today we are continuing to develop the theme of cause
and effect. You are not the victim of the world you see because you
invented it. You can give it up as easily as you made it up. You
will see it or not see it, as you wish. While you want it you will see
it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there for you to see.
W 32 L 2.
The idea for today, like the preceding ones, applies
to your inner and outer worlds, which are actually the same. However,
since you see them as different, the practice periods for today will again
include two phases, one involving the world you see outside you, and the other
the world you see in your mind. In today's exercises, try to introduce
the thought that both are in your own imagination.
W 32 L 3.
Again we will begin the practice periods for the
morning and evening by repeating the idea for today two or three times, while
looking around at the world you see as outside yourself. Then close your
eyes, and look around your inner world. Try to treat them both as equally
as possible. Repeat the idea for today unhurriedly as often as you wish,
as you watch the images which your imagination presents to your awareness.
W 32 L 4.
For the two longer practice periods, three to five
minutes are recommended with not less than three required. More than five
can be utilized, if you find the exercises restful. To facilitate this,
select a time when few distractions are anticipated, and when you yourself feel
reasonably ready.
W 32 L 5.
These exercises are also to be continued during the day,
as often as possible. The shorter applications consist of repeating the
idea slowly, as you survey either your inner or outer world. It does not
matter which you choose.
W 32 L
6.
The idea for today should also be applied immediately to any
situation which may distress you. Apply the idea by telling yourself:
“I have invented this situation as I see it.”
W(54)
February 2
W 33 L 1.
Today's idea is an attempt to recognize that you can
shift your perception of the world in both its outer and inner aspects. A
full five minutes should be devoted to the morning and evening application.
W 33 L 2.
In these practice periods, the idea should be repeated
as often as you find profitable, though unhurried applications are
essential. Alternate between surveying your outer and inner perceptions,
but without an abrupt sense of shifting. Merely glance casually around
the world you perceive as outside yourself, then close your eyes and survey
your inner thoughts with equal casualness. Try to remain equally
uninvolved in both, and to maintain this detachment as you repeat the idea
throughout the day.
W 33 L 3.
The shorter exercise periods should be as frequent as
possible. Specific applications of today's idea should also be made
immediately when any situation arises which tempts you to become disturbed.
For these applications, say:
“There is another way of looking at this.”
W 33 L 4.
Remember to apply today's idea the instant you are
aware of distress. It may be necessary to take a minute or so to sit
quietly and repeat the idea to yourself several[32] times.
Closing your eyes will probably help in this form of application. W(55)
February 3
W 34 L 1.
The idea for today begins to describe the conditions
which prevail in the other way of seeing. Peace of mind is clearly an
internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend
outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the
world arises.
W 34 L 2.
Three longer practice periods are required for today's
exercises. One in the morning and one in the evening is advised, with an
additional one to be undertaken at any time in between which seems most
conducive to readiness. All applications should be done with your eyes
closed. It is your inner world to which the applications of today's idea
should be made.
W 34 L 3.
Some five minutes of mind-searching are required for
each of the longer practice periods. Search your mind for fear thoughts,
anxiety provoking situations, “offending” personalities or events, or anything
else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts. Note each one
casually, repeating the idea for today slowly, as you watch them arise in your
mind, and let each one go to be replaced by the next.
W 34 L 4.
If you begin to experience difficulty in thinking of
specific subjects, continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an unhurried
manner, without applying it to anything in particular. Be sure, however,
not to make any specific exclusions.
W 34 L 5.
The shorter applications are to be frequent, and made
whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way. The
purpose is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. If a
specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, the exercise should take
this form:
“I could see peace in this situation instead of what
I now see in it.”
If the
inroads on your peace of mind take the form of more generalized adverse
emotions, such as depression, anxiety or worry, use the idea in its original
form.
W(56)
W 34 L 6.
If you find you need more than one application of
today's idea to help you change your mind in any specific context, try to take
several minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense
of relief. It will help you if you tell yourself specifically:
“I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety,
or worry (or my thoughts about this situation, personality, or event) with peace.” W(57)
February 4
W 35 L 1.
Today's idea does not describe the way you see
yourself now. It does, however, describe what vision will show you.
It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this of
himself. Yet the reason he thinks he is in this world is because he does
not believe it.
W 35 L 2.
You will believe that you are part of where you think
you are. That is because you surround yourself with the environment you
want. And you want it to protect the image of yourself which you have
made. The image is part of it.[33]
What you see while you believe you are in it is seen through the eyes of
the image. It[34] is not
vision. Images cannot see.
W 35 L 3.
The idea for today presents a very different view of
yourself. By establishing your Source it establishes your identity, and
it describes you as you must really be in truth. We will use a somewhat
different kind of application for today's idea, because the emphasis for today
is on the perceiver, rather than on what he perceives.
W 35 L 4.
For each of the three five-minute practice periods
today, begin by repeating today's idea to yourself, and then close your eyes
and search your mind for the various kinds of descriptive terms in which you
see yourself. Include all of the ego-based attributes which you ascribe
to yourself, positive or negative, desirable or undesirable, grandiose or
debased. All of them are equally unreal because you do not look upon
yourself through the eyes of holiness.
W 35 L 5.
In the earlier part of the mind-searching period, you
will probably emphasize what you consider to be the more negative aspects of
your perception of yourself. Toward the latter part of the exercise
period, however, more self-inflating descriptive terms may well cross your
mind. Try to recognize that the direction of your fantasies about
yourself does not matter. Illusions have no direction in reality.
They are merely not true. W(58)
W 35 L 6.
A suitable unselected list for applying the idea for
today might be as follows:
“I see myself as imposed on.”
“I see myself as depressed.”
“I see myself as failing.”
“I see myself as endangered.”
“I see myself as helpless.”
“I see myself as victorious.”
“I see myself as losing out.”
“I see myself as charitable.”
“I see myself as virtuous.”
W 35 L 7.
You should not think of these terms in an abstract
way. They will occur to you as various situations, personalities, and
events in which you figure cross your mind. Pick up any specific
situation that occurs to you, identify the descriptive term or terms which you
feel are applicable to your reactions to that situation, and use them in
applying today's idea. After you have named each one, add:
“But my mind is part of God's. I am very
holy.”
W 35 L 8.
During the longer exercise periods, there will probably
be intervals in which nothing specific occurs to you. Do not strain to
think up specific things to fill the interval, but merely relax and repeat
today's idea slowly until something occurs to you. Although nothing
that does occur should be omitted from the exercises, nothing should be “dug
out” with effort. Neither force nor discrimination should be used.
W 35 L 9.
As often as possible during the day, pick up a
specific attribute or attributes which you are ascribing to yourself at the
time, and apply the idea for today to them, adding the idea to each of them in
the form stated above. If nothing particular occurs to you, merely repeat
the idea to yourself, with closed eyes. W(59)
February 5
W 36 L 1.
Today's idea extends the idea for yesterday from the
perceiver to the perceived. You are holy because your mind is part
of God's. And because you are holy, your sight must be holy as
well. “Sinless” means without sin. You cannot be without sin a
little. You are sinless or not. If your mind is part of God's
you must be sinless, or a part of His Mind would be sinful. Your sight is
related to His holiness, not to your ego and therefore not to your body.
W 36 L 2.
Four three to five minute practice periods are
required for today. Try to distribute them fairly evenly, and make the
shorter application frequently, to protect your protection throughout the
day. The longer practice periods should take this form:
W 36 L 3.
First, close your eyes and repeat the idea for today
several times slowly. Then open your eyes and look quite slowly about
you, applying the idea specifically to whatever you note in your casual
survey. Say, for example:
“My holiness envelops that rug.”
“My holiness envelops that wall.”
“My holiness envelops these fingers.”
“My holiness envelops that chair.”
“My holiness envelops that body.”
“My holiness envelops this pen.”
Several
times during these practice periods, close your eyes and repeat the idea to
yourself. Then open your eyes and continue as before.
W 36 L 4.
For the shorter exercise periods, close your eyes and
repeat the idea; look about you as you repeat it again; and conclude with one
more repetition with your eyes closed. All applications should, of course, be
made quite slowly, as effortlessly and unhurriedly as possible. W(60)
February 6
W 37 L 1.
This idea contains the first glimmerings of your true
function in the world, or why you are here. Your purpose is to see the
world through your own holiness. Thus are you and the world blessed
together. No one loses; nothing is taken away from anyone; everyone gains
through your holy vision. It signifies the end of sacrifice, because it
offers everyone his full due. And he is entitled to everything, because
it is his birthright as a Son of God.
W 37 L 2.
There is no other way in which the idea of sacrifice
can be removed from the world's thinking. Any other way of seeing will
inevitably demand payment of someone or something. As a result, the
perceiver will lose. Nor will he have any idea why he is losing.
Yet is his wholeness restored to his awareness through your vision. Your
holiness blesses him by asking nothing of him. Those who see themselves
as whole make no demands.
W 37 L 3.
Your holiness is the salvation of the world. It
lets you teach the world that it is one with you, not by preaching to it, not
by telling it anything, but merely by your quiet recognition that in your
holiness are all things blessed, along with you.
W 37 L 4.
Today's four longer exercise periods, each to involve
three to five minutes of practice, begin with the repetition of the idea for
today, followed by a minute or so of looking about you as you apply the idea to
whatever you see:
“My holiness blesses this chair.”
“My holiness blesses that window.”
“My holiness blesses this body.”
Then close
your eyes and apply the idea to any person who occurs to you, using his name
and saying:
“My holiness blesses you,
(name)” W(61)
W 37 L 5.
You may continue the practice period with your eyes
closed; you may open your eyes again and apply the idea for today to your outer
world if you so desire; you may alternate between applying it[35] to
what you see around you and to those who are in your thoughts; or you may use
any combination of these two phases of application which you prefer. The
practice period should conclude with a repetition of the idea made with your
eyes closed, and another, following immediately, made with your eyes open.
W 37 L 6.
The shorter exercises consist of repeating the idea as
often as you can. It is particularly helpful to apply it silently to
anyone you meet, using his name as you do so. It is essential to
use the idea if anyone seems to cause an adverse reaction in you. Offer
him the blessing of your holiness immediately, that you may learn to keep it in
your own awareness. W(62)
February 7
W 38 L 1.
Your holiness reverses all the laws of the
world. It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance, and
limits of any kind. Your holiness is totally unlimited in its power
because it establishes you as a Son of God, at one with the Mind of his
Creator. Through your holiness the power of God is made
manifest. Through your holiness the power of God is made available.
And there is nothing the power of God cannot do.
W 38 L 2.
Your holiness, then, can remove all pain, can end all
sorrow, and can solve all problems. It can do so in connection with
yourself and with anyone else. It is equal in its power to help anyone,
because it is equal in its power to save anyone. If you are holy, so is
everything God created. You are holy because all things He created are
holy, and all things He created are holy because you are.
W 38 L 3.
In today's exercises, we will apply the power of your
holiness to all problems, difficulties, or suffering in any form that you
happen to think of in yourself or someone[36]
else. We will make no distinctions because there are no distinctions.
W 38 L 4.
In the four longer practice periods, each preferably
to last a full five minutes, repeat the idea for today, close your eyes, and
then search your mind for any sense of loss or unhappiness of any kind, as you
see it. Try to make as little distinction as possible between a situation
that is difficult for you and one that is difficult for someone else.
Identify the situation specifically, and also name the person
concerned. Use this form in applying the idea for today:
“In the situation involving ____ in which I see
myself, there is nothing that my holiness cannot do.”
“In the situation involving ____ in which
____ sees himself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do.” W(63)
W 38 L 5.
From time to time you may want to vary this procedure,
and add some relevant thoughts of your own. You might like, for example,
to include thoughts such as:
“There is nothing my holiness cannot do because the
power of God lies in it.”
Introduce
whatever variations appeal to you, but keep the exercises focused on the theme
“There is nothing your[37] holiness cannot do.”
The purpose
of today's exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense that you have
dominion over all things because of what you are.[38]
W 38 L 6.
In the frequent shorter applications, apply the idea
in its original form unless a specific problem concerning you or someone else
arises, or comes to mind. In that event, use the more specific form of
application.
W(64)
February 8
W 39 L 1.
If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? Like the
Text for which this Workbook was written, the ideas which
are used for these exercises are very simple, very clear, and totally
unambiguous. We are not concerned with intellectual feats nor logical
toys. We are dealing only in the very obvious, which has been overlooked
in the clouds of complexity in which you think you think.
W 39 L 2.
If guilt is hell, what is its opposite? This is
not difficult, surely. The hesitation you may feel in answering is not
due to the ambiguity of the question. But do you believe that guilt is
hell? If you did, you would see at once how direct and simple the text
is, and you would not need a Workbook
at all. No one needs practice to gain what is already his.
W 39 L 3.
We have already said that your holiness is the salvation
of the world. What about your own salvation? You cannot give what
you do not have. A Savior must be saved. How else can he
teach salvation? Today's exercises will apply to you alone, recognizing
that your salvation is crucial to the salvation of the world. As you
apply the exercises to your own world, the whole world stands to benefit.
W 39 L 4.
Your holiness is the answer to every question that was
ever asked, is being asked now, or will be asked in the future. Your
holiness means the end of guilt, and therefore the end of hell. Your
holiness is the salvation of the world, and your own. How could you to
whom your holiness belongs be excluded from it? God does not know
unholiness. Can it be He does not know His Son?
W 39 L 5.
A full five minutes are urged[39] for
the four longer practice periods for today. [40]Longer
and more frequent practice sessions are encouraged.[41]
If you want to exceed the minimum requirements more rather than longer sessions
are recommended, although both are encouraged. W(65)
W 39 L 6.
Begin the practice periods as usual, by repeating
today's idea to yourself. Then, with closed eyes, search out your
unloving thoughts in whatever form they appear; uneasiness, depression, anger,
fear, worry, attack, insecurity, and so on. Whatever form they take they
are unloving and therefore fearful. And so it is from them that you need
to be saved.
W 39 L 7.
Specific situations, events or personalities you
associate with unloving thoughts of any kind are suitable subjects for today's
exercises. It is imperative for your own salvation that you see them
differently. And it is your blessing on them that will save you and give
you vision.
W 39 L 8.
Slowly, without conscious selection and without undue
emphasis on any one in particular, search your mind for every thought that
stands between you and your salvation. Apply the idea for today to each
one of them in this way:
“My unloving thoughts about ____ are keeping me in
hell. My holiness is my salvation.”
W 39 L 9.
You may find these sessions[42] easier
if you intersperse the applications[43] with
several short periods during which you merely repeat today's idea to yourself
slowly a few times. You may also find it helpful to include a few short
intervals in which you just relax and do not seem to be thinking of
anything. Sustained concentration is very difficult at first. It
will become much easier as your mind becomes more disciplined and less
distractible.
W 39 L 10.
Meanwhile, you should feel free to introduce variety
into your application[44] periods,
in whatever form appeals to you. Do not, however, change the idea itself
in varying the method of applying it. However you elect to use it, the
idea should be stated so that its meaning remains[45] that
your holiness is your salvation. End each practice period by repeating
the idea in its original form once more, and adding:
“If guilt is hell, what
is its opposite?” W(66)
In the
shorter applications, which should be made some three or four times an hour and
more if possible, you may ask yourself this question, repeat today's idea, or
preferably both. If temptations arise, a particularly helpful form of the
idea is:
“My holiness is my salvation from this.” W(67)
February 9
W 40 L 1.
Today we will begin to assert[46] some
of the happy things to which you are entitled, being what you are. No
long practice periods are required today, but very frequent short ones are
necessary. Once every ten minutes would be highly desirable, and you are
urged to attempt this and to adhere to this schedule whenever possible.
If you forget, try again. If there are long interruptions, try
again. Whenever you remember, try again.
W 40 L 2.
You need not close your eyes for the exercise periods,
although you will probably find it more helpful if you do. However, you
may be in a number of situations during the day when closing your eyes would
not be appropriate. Do not miss a practice period because of this.
You can practice quite well under almost any circumstance, if you really want
to.
W 40 L 3.
Today's exercises take little time and no effort.
Repeat today's idea, and then add several of the attributes which you associate
with being a Son of God, applying them to yourself. One practice period
might, for example, consist of the following:
“I am blessed as a Son of God.
I am happy, peaceful, loving and contented.”
Another
might be something as follows:
“I am blessed as a Son of God.
I am calm, quiet, assured and confident.”
If
only a brief period is available, merely telling yourself that you are blessed
as a Son of God will do. W(68)
February 10
W 41 L 1.
Today's idea will eventually overcome completely the
sense of loneliness and abandonment which all the separated ones experience.
Depression is an inevitable consequence of separation. So are anxiety,
worry, a deep sense of helplessness, misery, suffering, and intense fear of
loss.
W 41 L 2.
The separated ones have invented many “cures” for what
they believe to be the “ills of the world.” But the one thing they do not
do is to question the reality of the problem. Yet its effects cannot be
cured because it is not real.
The idea for
today has the power to end all this foolishness forever. And foolishness
it is, despite the serious and tragic forms it may take.
W 41 L 3.
Deep within you is everything that is perfect, ready
to radiate through you and out into the whole world. It will cure all
sorrow and pain and fear and loss because it will heal the mind that thought
these things were real, and suffered out of its allegiance to these beliefs.
W 41 L 4.
You can never be deprived of your perfect holiness
because its Source goes with you wherever you go. You can never suffer
because the Source of all joy goes with you wherever you go. You can
never be alone because the Source of all life goes with you wherever you
go. Nothing can destroy your peace of mind because God goes with
you wherever you go.
W 41 L 5.
We understand that you do not believe all this.
How could you, when the truth is hidden deep within, under a heavy cloud of
insane thoughts, dense and obscuring, yet representing all you see?
W 41 L 6.
Today we will make our first real attempt to get past
this dark and heavy cloud, and to go through it to the light beyond. W(69) There
will be only one long practice period today. In the morning, as soon as
you get up if possible, sit quietly for some three to five minutes with your
eyes closed. At the beginning of this[47] practice
period, repeat today's idea very slowly. Then make no effort to think of
anything. Try, instead, to get a sense of turning inward, past all the
idle thoughts of the world. Try to enter very deeply into your own mind,
keeping it clear of any thoughts that might divert your attention.
W 41 L 7.
From time to time you may repeat today's[48] idea,
if you find it helpful. But most of all, try to sink down and inward,
away from the world and all the foolish thoughts of the world. You are
trying to reach past all these things. You are trying to leave
appearances and approach reality.
W 41 L 8.
It is quite possible to reach God. In fact it is
very easy, because it is the most natural thing in the world. You might
even say it is the only natural thing in the world. The way will
open if you believe that it is possible. This exercise can bring very
startling results even the first time it is attempted, and[49] sooner
or later it is always successful. We will go into more detail in
connection with this kind of practice as we go along. But it will never
fail completely, and instant success is possible.
W 41 L 9.
Throughout the day use today's idea often, repeating
it very slowly, and preferably with eyes closed. Think of what you are
saying; what the words mean. Concentrate on the holiness which they imply
about you; on the unfailing companionship which is yours; on the complete
protection that surrounds you.
W 41 L 10.
You can indeed afford to laugh at fear thoughts,
remembering that God goes with you wherever you go. W(70)
February 11
W 42 L 1.
The idea for today combines two very powerful
thoughts, both of major importance. It also sets forth a cause and effect
relationship which explains why you cannot fail in your efforts to achieve the
goal of the course. You will see because it is the Will of God. It
is His strength, not your own, that gives you power. And it is His gift
to you, rather than your own, which offers vision to you.
W 42 L 2.
God is indeed your strength, and[50] what
He gives is truly given. This means that you can receive it any time and
anywhere, wherever you are and in whatever circumstances you find
yourself. Your passage through time and space is not random. You
cannot but be in the right place at the right time. Such is the strength
of God. Such are His gifts.
W 42 L 3.
We will have two three-to-five-minute longer exercise
periods today, one as soon as possible after you wake, and another as close as
possible to the time you go to sleep. It is better, however, to wait
until you can sit quietly by yourself at a time when you feel ready, than it is
to be concerned with the time as such.
W 42 L 4.
Begin the longer[51]
practice period by repeating the idea for today slowly, with eyes open, looking
about you. Then close your eyes and repeat the idea again, quite
slowly. After this, try to think of nothing except thoughts which occur
to you in relation to today's idea. You might think, for example:
“Vision must be possible. God gives truly.”
or,
“God's gifts to me must be mine because He gave
them to me.”
Whatever[52]
thought that is clearly related to the idea itself is suitable.
W 42 L 5.
You may, in fact, be astonished at the amount of course-related
understanding some of your own thoughts contain. Let them come without
censoring unless you realize that your mind is merely wandering, and you have
let obviously irrelevant thoughts W(71) intrude.
You may also reach a point where no thoughts at all seem to come to mind.
If such interferences occur, open your eyes and repeat the thought once more
while looking slowly about; close your eyes, repeat the idea once more, and
then continue to look for related thoughts in your mind.
W 42 L 6.
Remember, though, that active searching[53] is
not appropriate for today's exercises. Try merely to step back and let
the thoughts come. If you find this difficult, it is better to spend the
practice period alternating between slow repetitions of the idea with eyes
open, then[54]
closed, then[55] open,
and so on than it is to strain in order to find suitable thoughts.
W 42 L 7.
There is no limit on the number of short practice
periods which would be most beneficial. The idea for today is a beginning
step in bringing thoughts together and teaching you that what you are studying
is a unified thought system in which nothing is lacking that is needed, and
nothing is included that is contradictory or irrelevant. The more often
you repeat[56] the
idea during the day, the more often you will be reminding yourself that the
goal of the course is important to you, and that you have not forgotten it. W(72)
February 12
W 43 L 1.
Perception is not an attribute of God. His is
the realm of knowledge. Yet He has created the Holy Spirit as the
Mediator between perception and knowledge. Without this link with God,
perception would have replaced knowledge forever in your minds. With this
link with God, perception will become so changed and purified that it will lead
to knowledge. That is its function as the Holy Spirit sees it.
Therefore, that is its function in truth.
W 43 L 2.
In God you cannot see. Perception has no
function in God, and does not exist. Yet in salvation, which is the
undoing of what never was, perception has a mighty purpose. Made by the
Son of God for an unholy purpose, it must become the means for the restoration
of his holiness to his awareness. Perception has no meaning. Yet
does the Holy Spirit give it a meaning very close to God's. Healed
perception becomes the means by which the Son of God forgives his brother and
thus forgives himself.
W 43 L 3.
You cannot see apart from God because you cannot be
apart from God. Whatever you do you do in Him, because whatever you think
you think with His Mind. If vision is real, and it is real to the extent
to which it shares the Holy Spirit's purpose, then you cannot see apart from
God.
W 43 L 4.
Three five-minute practice periods are required today,
one as early as possible and another as late as possible.[57]
The third may be undertaken at the most convenient and suitable time which
circumstances and readiness permit. At the beginning of the[58] practice
period,[59]
repeat the idea[60] to
yourself with your eyes open. Then glance around you for a short time,
applying today's idea specifically to what you see. Four or five subjects
for this phase of the exercise are sufficient. You might say, for
example:
“God is my Source. I cannot see this desk
apart from Him.”
“God is my Source. I cannot see that picture
apart from Him.”
W 43 L 5.
Although this part of the exercise period should be relatively
short, be sure that you select the subjects for this phase indiscriminately,
without self-directed inclusion or exclusion. W(73) For
the second and longer phase of the exercise period, close your eyes, repeat
today's idea again, and then let whatever relevant thoughts occur to you add to
the idea in your own personal way. Thoughts such as:
“I see through the eyes of forgiveness,”
“I see the world as blessed,”
“The world can show me myself,”
“I see my own thoughts, which are like God's,”
or any thought
related more or less directly to today's idea is suitable. The thoughts
need not bear an obvious relationship to the idea, but they should not be in
opposition to it.
W 43 L 6.
If you should find your mind wandering; if you begin
to be aware of thoughts which are clearly out of accord with today's idea; or
if you seem to be unable to think of anything, open your eyes, repeat the first
phase; and then try the second phase again. Do not allow any protracted
period to occur in which you become preoccupied with irrelevant thoughts.
Return to the first phase as often as necessary to prevent this.
W 43 L 7.
In applying today's idea in the shorter practice
periods, the form may vary according to the circumstances and situations in
which you find yourself during the day. When you are with someone
else, for example, try to remember to tell him silently:
“God is my Source. I cannot see you apart
from Him.”
This form is
equally applicable to strangers and to those you know well.[61]
Try, in fact, not to make distinctions of this kind at all.
W 43 L 8.
The[62] idea
should also be applied throughout the day to various situations and events
which may occur, particularly those which distress you in any way. For
this kind of application, use this form:
“God is my Source. I cannot see this apart
from Him.”
If no
particular subject presents itself to your awareness,[63] merely
repeat the idea in its original form. W(74)
W 43 L 9.
Try today not to allow long periods of time to slip by
without remembering today's idea, and thus remembering your function. W(75)
February 13
W 44 L 1.
Today we are continuing with the idea for yesterday,
adding another dimension to it. You cannot see in darkness, and you
cannot make light. You can make darkness and then think you see in it,
but light reflects life, and is therefore an aspect of creation.
Creation and darkness cannot coexist, but light and life must go
together, being but different aspects of creation.
W 44 L 2.
In order to see, one[64] must
recognize that light is within, not without. You do not see outside
yourself. Nor is the equipment for seeing outside you. An essential
part of this equipment is the light which makes seeing possible. It is
with you always, making vision possible in every circumstance.
W 44 L 3.
Today we are going to attempt to reach that
light. For that[65] purpose,
we will use a form of practice which has been suggested once before, and which
we will utilize increasingly. It is a particularly difficult form for the
undisciplined mind because it [66]
represents a major goal of mind training. It embodies precisely what the
untrained mind lacks. Yet the training must be accomplished if you are to
see.
W 44 L 4.
Have at least three practice periods today, each lasting
three-to-five minutes. A longer time[67] is
highly recommended, but only if you find the time merely slipping by with
little or no sense of strain. The form of exercise we will use today is the
most natural and easy one in the world for the trained mind, just as it seems
to be the most unnatural and difficult for the untrained mind.
W 44 L 5.
Your mind is no longer wholly untrained. You are
quite ready to learn the form of exercise we will use today, but you may find
that you will encounter strong resistance. The reason is very
simple. While you practice in this form,[68] you
leave behind everything that you now believe, and all the thoughts which you
have made up. Properly speaking, this is the release from hell.
Perceived through the ego's eyes, it is loss of identity and a descent into
hell.
W(76)
W 44 L 6.
If you can stand aside from the ego[69] ever
so little, you will have no difficulty in recognizing that its opposition and
fears are meaningless. You might find it helpful to remind yourself from
time to time that to reach light is to escape from darkness, whatever you may
believe to the contrary. God is the Light in which you see. You are
attempting to reach Him.
W 44 L 7.
Begin the practice period by repeating today's idea
with your eyes open, and close them slowly, repeating the idea several times
more. Then try to sink into your mind, letting go every kind of
interference and intrusions by quietly sinking past them. Your mind
cannot be stopped in this unless you choose to stop it. It is merely
taking its natural course. Try to observe your passing thoughts without
involvement, and slip quietly by them.
W 44 L 8.
While no particular form of approach is advocated,
what is needful is a sense of the importance of what you are doing, its
inestimable value to you, and an awareness that you are attempting something
very holy. Salvation is your happiest accomplishment. It is also
the only one that has any meaning, because it is the only one that has any use
to you at all.
W 44 L 9.
If resistance rises in any form, pause long enough to
repeat today's idea, keeping your eyes closed unless you are aware of
fear. In that case, you will probably find it more reassuring to open
your eyes briefly. Try, however, to return to the exercises as soon as
possible.
W 44 L 10.
If you are doing the exercises correctly, you should
experience some sense of relaxation, and even a feeling that you are
approaching, if not actually entering into light. Try to think of
light, formless and without limit, as you pass by the thoughts of this
world. And do not forget that they cannot hold you to the world unless
you give them the power to do so. W(77)
W 44 L 11.
Throughout the day, repeat the idea often, with eyes
open or closed as seems better to you at the time. Do not forget.
Above all, be determined not to forget today. W(78)
February 14
W 45 L 1.
Today's idea holds the key to what your real thoughts
are. They are nothing that you think you think, just as nothing that you
think you see is related to vision in any way. There is no
relationship between what is real and what you think is real. Nothing
that you think are your real thoughts resemble your real thoughts in any
respect. Nothing that you think you see bears any resemblance to what
vision will show you.
W 45 L 2.
You think with the Mind of God. Therefore you
share your thoughts with Him, as He shares His with you. They are the
same thoughts, because they are thought by the same Mind. To share is to
make alike, or to make one. Nor do the thoughts you think with the Mind
of God leave your mind, because thoughts do not leave their source.
Therefore your thoughts are in the Mind of God, as you are. They
are in your mind as well, where He is. As you are part of His Mind, so
are your thoughts part of His Thoughts.
W 45 L 3.
Where, then, are your real thoughts? Today we
will attempt to reach them. We will have to look for them in your mind,
because that is where they are. They must still be there because they
cannot have left. What is thought by the Mind of God is eternal, being
part of creation.
W 45 L 4.
Our three five-minute practice periods for today will
take the same general form that we used in applying yesterday's idea. We
will attempt to leave the unreal and seek for the real. We will deny the
world in favor of truth. We will not let the thoughts of the world hold
us back, and[70] we
will not let the beliefs of the world tell us that what God would have us do is
impossible.
W 45 L 5.
Instead, we will try to recognize that only what God
would have us do is possible. We will also try to understand that
only what God would have us do is what we want to do. And we will also
try to remember that we cannot fail in doing what He would have us do.
There is every reason to feel confident that you will succeed today. It
is the Will of God. W(79)
W 45 L 6.
Begin
the exercises for today by repeating the idea to yourself, closing your eyes as
you do so. Spend a fairly short period in thinking a few relevant
thoughts of your own, keeping the idea in mind as you do so. After you
have added some four or five thoughts of your own, repeat the idea again, and
tell yourself gently:
“My real thoughts are in my mind. I would
like to find them.”
Then try to
go past all the unreal thoughts which cover the truth in your mind, and reach to
the eternal. Under all the senseless thoughts and mad ideas with which
you have cluttered up your mind are the thoughts which you thought with God in
the beginning. They are there in your mind now, completely
unchanged. They will always be in your mind, exactly as they always were.
W 45 L 7.
Everything that you have thought since then will
change, but the foundation on which they rest is wholly changeless. It is
this foundation toward which the exercises for today are directed. Here
is your mind joined with the Mind of God. Here are your thoughts one with
His.
W 45 L 8.
For this kind of practice only one thing is necessary;
approach it as you would an altar dedicated in Heaven itself to God the Father
and God the Son. For such is the place you are trying to reach. You
will probably be unable as yet to realize how high you are trying to go.
Yet even with the little understanding you have already gained, you should be
able to remind yourself that this is no idle game, but an exercise in holiness
and an attempt to reach the
W 45 L 9.
In using the shorter form for applying today's idea,
try to remember how important it is to you to understand the holiness of the
mind that thinks with God. Take a minute or two, as you repeat the idea
throughout the day, to appreciate your mind's holiness. Stand aside,
however briefly, W(80) from all thoughts that are unworthy of Him Whose host
you are. And thank Him for the thoughts He is thinking with you. W(81)
February 15
W 46 L 1.
God does not forgive because He has never
condemned. And there must be condemnation before forgiveness is necessary.
Forgiveness is the great need of this world, but that is because it is a world
of illusions. Those who forgive are thus releasing themselves from
illusions, while those who withhold forgiveness are binding themselves to
them. As you condemn only yourself, so do you forgive only yourself.[71]
W 46 L 2.
[72]Although
God does not forgive, His Love is nevertheless the basis of forgiveness.
Fear condemns and love forgives. Forgiveness thus undoes what fear has
produced, returning the mind to the awareness of God. For this reason,
forgiveness can truly be called salvation. It is the means by which
illusions disappear.
W 46 L 3.
Today's exercises require at least three full
five-minute practice periods, and as many shorter applications[73] as
possible. Begin the[74] practice
periods by repeating today's idea to yourself, as usual. Close your eyes
as you do so, and spend a minute or two in searching your mind for those whom
you have not forgiven. It does not matter “how much” you have not
forgiven.[75]
You have forgiven them entirely or not at all.
W 46 L 4.
If you are doing the exercises well, you should have
no difficulty in finding a number of people you have not forgiven. It is
a safe rule that anyone you do not like is a suitable subject. Mention
each one by name, and say:
“God is the Love in which I forgive you, (name)”
W 46 L 5.
The purpose of the first phase of today's practice[76] is to
put you in the best[77] position
to forgive yourself. After you have applied the idea for today to all
those who have come to mind, tell yourself:
“God is the Love in which I forgive myself.” W(82)
Then devote
the remainder of the practice period to offering[78]
related ideas such as:
“God is the Love with which I love myself.”
“God is the Love in which I am blessed.”
W 46 L 6.
The form of the applications may vary considerably,
but the central idea should not be lost sight of. You might say, for
example:
“I cannot be guilty because I am a Son of God.”
“I have already been forgiven.”
“No fear is possible in a mind beloved of God.”
“There is no need to attack because love has
forgiven me.”
The practice
period should end, however, with a repetition of today's idea as originally
stated.
W 46 L 7.
The shorter applications may consist either of a repetition
of the idea in the original or in a related form[79] or in[80] more
specific applications if[81]
needed. They will be needed at any time during the day when you become
aware of any kind of negative reaction to anyone, present or not. In this
event, tell him silently:
“God is the Love in which I
forgive you.”
W(83)
February 16
W 47 L 1.
If you are trusting your own strength, you have every
reason to be apprehensive, anxious, and fearful. What can you predict or
control? What is there in you that can be counted on? What would
give you the ability to be aware of all the facets of any problem, and to
resolve them in such a way that only good can come of it? What is there
in you that gives you the recognition of the right solution, and the guarantee
that it will be accomplished?
W 47 L 2.
Of yourself you can do none of these things.[82]
To believe that you can is to put your trust where trust is unwarranted, and to
justify fear, anxiety, depression, anger, and sorrow. Who can put his
faith in weakness and feel safe? Yet who can put his faith in strength
and feel weak?
W 47 L 3.
God is your safety in every circumstance. His
Voice speaks for Him in all situations and in every aspect of all situations,
telling you exactly what to do to call upon His strength and His
protection. There are no exceptions because God has no exceptions.
And the Voice Which speaks for Him thinks as He does.
W 47 L 4.
Today we will try to reach past your own weakness to
the Source of real strength. Four five-minute practice periods are
necessary today, and longer and more frequent ones are urged. Close your eyes
and begin as usual by repeating today's idea. Then spend a minute or two
in searching for situations in your life which you have invested with fear,
dismissing each one by telling yourself,
“God is the Strength in which I trust.”
W 47 L 5.
Now try to slip past all concerns related to your own
sense of inadequacy. It is obvious that any situation which causes you
concern is associated with feelings of inadequacy, since[83] otherwise
you would believe that you could deal with the situation successfully. It
is not by trusting yourself W(84) that
you will gain confidence. But the strength of God in you is successful in
all things.
W 47 L 6.
The recognition of your own frailty is a necessary
step in the correction of your errors. But it is[84]
hardly[85] a
sufficient one in giving you the confidence which you need and to which you are
entitled. You must also gain an awareness that your confidence in your
real strength is fully justified in every respect and in all circumstances.
W 47 L 7.
In the latter phase of the practice period, try to
reach down into your mind to a place of real safety. You will recognize
that you have reached it if you feel a[86] deep
peace, however briefly. Let go all the trivial things that churn and
bubble on the surface of your mind, and reach down and below them to the
W 47 L 8.
Repeat the idea for today often. Use it as your
answer to any disturbance. Remember that peace is your right because you
are giving your trust to the strength of God. W(85)
February 17
W 48 L 1.
The idea for today simply states a fact. It is
not a fact to those who believe in illusions, but illusions are not
facts. In truth there is nothing to fear. It is very easy to
recognize this. But it is very difficult to recognize[87] for
those who want illusions to be true.
W 48 L 2.
Today's practice periods will be very short, very
simple, and very frequent. Merely repeat the idea as often as
possible. You can use it with your eyes open at any time and in any
situation. It is strongly recommended, however, that you take a minute or
so whenever possible to close your eyes and repeat the idea slowly to yourself
several times. It is particularly important that you use the idea
immediately, should anything disturb your peace of mind.
W 48 L 3.
The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are
trusting in your own strength. The awareness that there is nothing to
fear shows that somewhere in your mind, not necessarily in a place which you
recognize as yet, you have remembered God and let His strength take the place
of yours.[88]
The instant you are willing to do this there is indeed nothing to fear. W(86)
February 18
W 49 L 1.
It is quite possible to listen to God's Voice all[89] day
without interrupting your regular activities in any way. The part of your
mind in which truth abides is in constant communication with God, whether you
are aware of it or not. It is the other part of your mind that functions
in the world and obeys the world's laws. It is this part which is
constantly distracted, disorganized, and highly uncertain.
W 49 L 2.
The part that is listening to the Voice of God is
calm, always at rest and wholly certain. It is really the only part there
is. The other part is a wild illusion, frantic and distraught, but
without reality of any kind. Try today not to listen to it. Try to
identify with the part of your mind where stillness and peace reign
forever. Try to hear God's Voice call to you lovingly, reminding you that
your Creator has not forgotten His Son.
W 49 L 3.
We will need at least four five-minute practice
periods today, and more if possible. We will try actually to hear the[90] Voice
reminding you of God[91] and
of your Self. We will approach this happiest and holiest of thoughts with
confidence, knowing that in doing so we are joining our will with the Will of
God. He wants you to hear His Voice. He gave It to you to be heard.
W 49 L 4.
Listen in deep silence. Be very still and open
your mind.[92]
Go past all the raucous shrieks and sick imaginings that cover your real
thoughts and obscure your eternal link with God. Sink deep into the peace
that waits for you beyond the frantic, riotous thoughts and sounds and sights[93] of
this insane world. You do not live there.[94]
We are trying to reach your real home. We are trying to reach the place
where you are truly welcome. We are trying to reach God. W(87)
W 49 L 5.
Do not forget to repeat today's idea very
frequently. Do so with your eyes open when necessary, but closed when
possible. And be sure that you[95] sit
quietly and repeat the idea for today slowly[96]
whenever you can, closing your eyes on the world, and realizing that you are
inviting God's Voice to speak to you. W(88)
February 19
W 50 L 1.
Here is the answer to every problem that confronts[97] you
today and tomorrow and throughout time. In this world, you believe you
are sustained by everything but God. Your faith is placed in the most
trivial and insane symbols; pills, money, “protective” clothing, “influence,”
“prestige,” being liked, knowing the “right” people, and an endless list of
forms of nothingness which you endow with magical powers.
W 50 L 2.
All these things are your replacements for the Love of
God. All these things are cherished to ensure a body
identification. They are songs of praise to the ego. Do not put
your faith in the worthless. It will not sustain you.
W 50 L 3.
Only the Love of God will protect you in all
circumstances. It will lift you out of every trial, and raise you high
above all the perceived dangers of this world into a climate of perfect peace
and safety. It will transport you into a state of mind which nothing can
threaten, nothing can disturb, and[98]
nothing can intrude upon the eternal calm of the Son of God.
W 50 L 4.
Put not your faith in illusions. They will fail
you. Put all your faith in the Love of God within you, eternal,
changeless and forever unfailing. This is the answer to whatever
confronts you today. Through the Love of God in you, you can resolve all
seeming difficulties without effort and in sure confidence. Tell yourself
this often today. It is a declaration of release from the belief in
idols. It is your acknowledgment of the truth about yourself.
W 50 L 5.
Twice today, morning and evening, let the idea for
today sink deep into your consciousness. Repeat it, think about it, let
related thoughts come to help you recognize its truth, and allow peace to flow
over you like a blanket of protection and surety. Let no idle and foolish
thoughts enter to W(89)
disturb the holy mind of the Son of God. Such is the
February 20
W 50 R1 1.
Beginning with today, we will have a series of review
periods. Each of them will cover five of the ideas already presented, starting
with the first and ending with the fiftieth. There will be[100] a
short comment[101] after
each of the ideas, which you should consider in your review. In the
practice period, the exercises should be done as follows:
W 50 R1 2.
Begin, the day by reading the five ideas, with the
comments included. Thereafter, it is not necessary to follow any
particular order in considering them, though each one should be practiced at
least once. Devote two minutes or more to each practice period, thinking
about the idea and the related comments.[102]
Do this as often as possible during the day. If any one of the five ideas
appeals to you more than the others, concentrate on that one. At the end
of the day, however, be sure to review all of them once more.
W 50 R1 3.
It is not necessary to cover the comments literally or
thoroughly in the practice periods. Try, rather, merely to emphasize the
central point, and think about it as part of your review of the idea to which
it relates. The review[103] exercises
should be done with the eyes closed, and when you are alone in a quiet place,
if possible.
W 50 R1 4.
This is emphasized particularly for reviews at your
stage of learning. It will be necessary, however, that you learn to
require no special settings in which to apply what you have learned. You
will need it most in situations which appear to be upsetting, rather than in
those which already seem to be calm and quiet. The purpose of your
learning is to enable you to bring the quiet with you, and to heal distress and
turmoil. This is not done by avoiding them and seeking a haven of
isolation for yourself.
W 50 R1 5.
You will yet learn that peace is part of you, and
requires only that you be there to embrace any situation in which you
are. And finally you will learn that there is no limit to where you are,
so that your peace is everywhere, as you are. W(91)
W 50 R1 6.
You will note that for review purposes[104] the ideas
are not always given in quite their original form of statement.[105]
Use them as they are given here. It is not necessary to return to the
original statements, nor to apply the ideas as was suggested then. We are
now emphasizing the relationships among the first fifty of the ideas we have
covered, and the cohesiveness of the thought system to which they are leading
you.
W(92)
February 20
W 51 L 1.
1) “Nothing I see means
anything.”
The reason
this is so is that I see nothing, and nothing has no meaning. It is necessary
that I recognize this that I may learn to see. What I think I see now is
taking the place of vision. I must let it go by realizing that it has no
meaning, so that vision may take its place.
W 51 L 2.
2) “I have given
what I see all the meaning it has for me.”
I have
judged everything I look upon. And it is this and only this that I
see. This is not vision. It is merely an illusion of reality,
because my judgments have been made quite apart from reality. I am
willing to recognize the lack of validity in my judgments because I want to
see. My judgments have hurt me, and I do not want to see according to
them.
W 51 L 3.
3) “I do not understand
anything I see.”
How could I
understand what I see when I have judged it amiss? What I see is the
projection of my own errors of thought. I do not understand what I see
because it is not understandable. There is no sense in trying to
understand it. But there is every reason to let it go, to make room for
what can be seen and understood and loved. I can exchange what I see now
for this merely by being willing to do so. Is not this a better choice
than the one I made before?
W 51 L 4.
4) “These
thoughts do not mean anything.”
The
thoughts of which I am aware do not mean anything because I am trying to think
without God. What I call “my” thoughts are not my real thoughts. My
real thoughts are the thoughts I think with God. I am not aware of them
because I have made “my” thoughts to take their place. I am willing to recognize
that “my” thoughts do not mean anything, and to let them go. I choose to
have them replaced by what they were intended to replace. “My” thoughts
are meaningless, but all creation lies in the Thoughts I think with God. W(93)
W 51 L 5.
5) “I am never
upset for the reason I think.”
I am
never upset for the reason I think because I am constantly trying to justify
“my” thoughts. I am constantly trying to make them true. I make all
things my “enemies,” so that my anger is justified, and my attacks are
warranted. I have not realized how much I have misused everything I see
by assigning this role to it. I have done this to defend a thought system
which has hurt me, and which I no longer want. I am willing to let it go. W(94)
February 21
W 52 L 1.
6) “I am upset because I
see what is not there.”
Reality is
never frightening. It is impossible that it could upset me. Reality
brings only perfect peace. When I am upset, it is always because I have
replaced reality with illusions which I made up. The illusions are
upsetting because I have given them reality, and thus regard reality as an
illusion. Nothing in God's creation is affected in any way by this
confusion of mine. I am always upset by nothing.
W 52 L 2.
7) “I see only the
past.”
As I look
about, I condemn the world I look upon. I call this seeing. I hold
the past against everyone and everything, making them my “enemies.” When
I have forgiven myself and remembered who I am, I will bless everyone and
everything I see. There will be no past, and therefore no
“enemies.” And I will look with God[106]
on all that I failed to see before.
W 52 L 3.
8) “My mind is
preoccupied with past thoughts.”
I see only
my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past. What, then,
can I see as it is? Let me remember that I look on the past to prevent
the present from dawning on my mind. Let me understand that I am trying
to use time against God. Let me learn to give the past away,
realizing that in so doing I am giving up nothing.
W 52 L 4.
9) “I see nothing as it
is now.”
If I
see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing. I can
see only what is now. The choice is not whether to see the past or the
present: it is merely whether to see or not. What I have chosen to see
has cost me vision. Now I would choose again, that I may see. W(95)
W 52 L 5. 10) “My thoughts do not mean anything.”
I have
no private thoughts. Yet it is only private thoughts of which I am
aware. What can these thoughts mean? They do not exist, and
so they mean nothing. Yet my mind is part of creation and part of its
Creator. Would I not rather join the thinking of the universe than to
obscure all that is really mine[107] with
my pitiful and meaningless “private” thoughts? W(96)
February 22
W 53 L 1.
11) “My meaningless
thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.”
Since the thoughts
of which I am aware do not mean anything, the world which pictures them can
have no meaning. What is producing this world is insane, and so is what
it produces. Reality is not insane, and I have real thoughts as well as
insane ones. I can therefore see a real world, if I look to my real
thoughts as my guide for seeing.
W 53 L 2.
12) “I am upset
because I see a meaningless world.”
Insane
thoughts are upsetting, and They produce a world in which there is no order
anywhere. Only chaos rules a world which represents chaotic thinking, and
chaos has no laws. I cannot live in peace in such a world. I am
grateful that this world is not real, and that I need not see it at all unless
I choose to value it. And I do not choose to value what is totally insane
and has no meaning.
W 53 L 3.
13) “A
meaningless world engenders fear.”
The
totally insane engenders fear because it is completely undependable, and offers
no grounds for trust. Nothing in madness is dependable. It holds
out no safety and no hope. But such a world is not real. I have
given it the illusion of reality, and have suffered from my belief in it.
Now I choose to withdraw this belief, and place my trust in reality. In
choosing this, I will escape all the effects of the world of fear because I am
acknowledging that it does not exist. W(97)
W 53 L 4.
14) “God did not create
a meaningless world.”
How can a
meaningless world exist if God did not create it? He is the Source of all
meaning, and everything that is real is in His Mind. It is in my mind
too, because He created it with me. Why should I continue to suffer from
the effects of my own insane thoughts, when the perfection of creation is my
home? Let me remember the power of my decision, and recognize where I
really abide.
W 53 L 5.
15) “My thoughts are
images which I have made.”
Whatever
I see reflects my thoughts. It is my thoughts which tell me where I am
and what I am. The fact that I see a world in which there is suffering
and loss and death shows me that I am seeing only the representation of my
insane thoughts, and am not allowing my real thoughts to cast their beneficent
light on what I see. Yet God's way is sure. The images I have made
can not prevail against Him because it is not my will that they do so. My
will is His, and I will place no other gods before Him.[108] W(98)
February 23
W 54 L 1.
16) “I have no neutral
thoughts.”
Neutral
thoughts are impossible because all thoughts have power. They will either
make a false world or lead me to the real one. But thoughts cannot be without
effects. As the world I see arises from my thinking errors, so will the
real world rise before my eyes as I let my errors be corrected. My
thoughts cannot be neither true nor false. They must be one or the
other. What I see shows me which they are.
W 54 L 2.
17) “I see no neutral
things.”
What I see
witnesses to what I think. If I did not think I would not exist, because
life is thought. Let me look on the world[109]
as the representation of my own state of mind. I know that my state of
mind can change. And so I also know that the world I see can change as
well.
W 54 L 3.
18) “I am not alone in
experiencing the effects of my seeing.”
If I have no
private thoughts, I cannot see a private world. Even the mad idea of
separation had to be shared before it could form the basis of the world I
see. Yet that sharing was a sharing of nothing. I can also call
upon my real thoughts, which share everything with everybody. As my
thoughts of separation call to the separation thoughts of others, so my real
thoughts awaken[110] the real thoughts in
them. And the world my real thoughts show me will dawn on their sight as
well as mine.
W 54 L 4.
19) “I am not alone in
experiencing the effects of my thoughts.”
I am
alone in nothing. Everything I think or say or do touches all the
universe. A Son of God cannot think or speak or act in vain. He cannot
be alone in anything. It is therefore in my power to change every mind
along with mine, for mine is the power of God. W(99)
W 54 L 5.
20) “I am determined to
see.”
Recognizing
the shared nature of my thoughts, I am determined to see. I would look
upon the witnesses that show me the thinking of the world has been
changed. I would behold the proof that what has been done through me has
enabled love to replace fear, laughter to replace weeping, and abundance to
replace loss. I would look upon the real world, and let it teach me that
my will and the Will of God are one. W(100)
February 24
W 55 L 1.
21) “I am
determined to see things differently.”
What I see
now are but signs of disease, disaster and death. This cannot be what God
created for His beloved Son. The very fact that I see such things is
proof that I do not understand God. Therefore I also do not understand
His Son. What I see tells me that I do not know who I am. I am
determined to see the witnesses to the truth in me, rather than those which
show me an illusion of myself.
W 55 L 2.
22) “What I see is a
form of vengeance.”
The world I
see is hardly the representation of loving thoughts. It is a picture of
attack on everything and by everything. It is anything but a reflection
of the Love of God and the love of His Son. It is my own attack thoughts
which give rise to this picture. My loving thoughts will save me from
this perception of the world, and give me the peace God intended me to have.
W 55 L 3.
23)
“I can escape from the world by giving up attack thoughts.”
Herein lies
my salvation, and nowhere else. Without attack thoughts I could not see a
world of attack. As forgiveness allows love to return to my awareness I
will see a world of peace and safety and Joy. And It is this that I
choose to see, in place of what I look on now.
W 55 L 4.
24) “I do not
perceive my own best interests.”
How
could I recognize my own best interests when I do not know who I am? What
I think are my best interests would merely bind me closer to the world of
illusions. I am willing to follow the Guide God has given me to
find out what my own best interests are, recognizing that I cannot perceive
them by myself.
W(101)
W 55 L 5.
25) “I do not know what
anything is for.”
To me,
the purpose of everything is to prove that my illusions about myself are
real. It is for that purpose that I attempt to use everyone and
everything. It is this that I believe the world is for. Therefore I
do not recognize its real purpose. The purpose I have given the world has
led[111] to a
frightening picture of it. Let me open my mind to its[112] real
purpose by withdrawing the one I have given it, and learning the truth about
it.
W(102)
February 25
W 56 L 1.
26) “My attack thoughts
are attacking my invulnerability.”
How can I
know who I am when I see myself as under constant attack? Pain, illness,
loss, age and death seem to threaten me. All my hopes and wishes and
plans appear to be at the mercy of a world I cannot control. Yet perfect
security and complete fulfillment are my inheritance. I have tried to
give my inheritance away in exchange for the world I see. But God has
kept my inheritance safe for me. My own real thoughts will teach me what
it is.
W 56 L 2.
27) “Above all
else I want to see.”
Recognizing
that what I see reflects what I think I am, I realize that vision is my
greatest need. The world I see attests to the fearful nature of the
self-image I have made. If I would remember who I am, it is
essential that I let this image of myself go. As it is replaced by truth,
vision will surely be given me. And with this vision I will look upon the
world and upon myself with charity and love.
W 56 L 3.
28) “Above all else I want
to see differently.”
The world I
see holds my fearful self-image in place, and guarantees its continuance.
While I see the world as I see it now, truth cannot enter my awareness. I
would let the door behind this world be opened for me, that I may look past it
to the world that[113]
reflects the Love of God.
W 56 L 4.
29) “God is in
everything I see.”
Behind
every image I have made, the truth remains unchanged. Behind every veil I
have drawn across the face of love, its light remains undimmed. Beyond
all my insane wishes is my will united with the Will of my Father. God is
still everywhere and in everything forever. And we who are part of Him
will yet look past all appearances, and recognize the truth beyond them all. W(103)
W 56 L 5.
30) “God is in
everything I see because God is in my mind.”
In my
own mind, behind all my insane thoughts of separation and attack, is the
knowledge that all is one forever. I have not lost the knowledge of who I
am because I have forgotten it. It has been kept for me in the Mind of
God, Who has not left His Thoughts. And I, who am among them, am one with
them and[114] with
Him.
W(104)
February 26
W 57 L 1.
31) “I am not the
victim of the world I see.”
How can I be
the victim of a world which can be completely undone if I so choose? My
chains are loosened. I can drop them off merely by desiring to do
so. The prison door is open. I can leave it[115]
simply by walking out. Nothing holds me in this world. Only my wish
to stay keeps me a prisoner. I would give up[116]
insane wishes, and walk into the sunlight at last.
W 57 L 2.
32) “I have invented
the world I see.”
I made up
the prison in which I see myself. All I need do is recognize this, and I
am free. I have deluded myself into believing it is possible to imprison
the Son of God. I was bitterly mistaken in this belief, which I no longer
want. The Son of God must be forever free. He is as God created
him, and not what I would make of him. He is where God would have him be,
and not where I thought to hold him prisoner.
W 57 L 3.
33) “There is
another way of looking at the world.”
Since the
purpose of the world is not the one I ascribed to it, there must be another way
of looking at it. I see everything upside-down, and my thoughts are the
opposite of truth. I see the world as a prison for God's Son. It
must be, then, that the world is really a place where he can be[117]
set free. I would look upon the world as it is, and see it as a place
where the Son of God finds his freedom.
W 57 L 4.
34) “I could see peace
instead of this.”
When I
see the world as a place of freedom, I will realize that it reflects the laws
of God instead of the rules which I made up for it to obey. I will
understand that peace, not war, abides in it. And I will perceive that
peace also abides in the hearts of all who share this place with me. W(105)
W 57 L 5.
35) “My mind is part of
God's. I am very holy.”
As I
share the peace of the world with my brothers, I begin to understand that this
peace comes from deep within myself. The world I look upon has taken on
the light of my forgiveness, and shines forgiveness back at me. In this
light,[118] I
begin to see what my illusions about myself had kept hidden. I begin to understand
the holiness of all living things including myself, and their oneness with me. W(106)
February 27
W 58 L 1.
36) “My holiness
envelops everything I see.”
From my
holiness does the perception of the real world come. Having forgiven, I
no longer see myself as guilty. I can accept the innocence that is the
truth about me. Seen through understanding eyes the holiness of the
world is all I see, for I can picture only the thoughts I hold about myself.
W 58 L 2.
37) “My holiness
blesses the world.”
The
perception of my holiness does not bless me alone. Everyone and
everything I see in it's light shares in the joy it brings to me. There
is nothing that is apart from this joy, because there is nothing that does not
share my holiness. As I recognize my holiness, so does the holiness of
the world shine forth for everyone to see.
W 58 L 3.
38) “There is nothing my
holiness cannot do.”
My holiness
is unlimited in its power to heal, because it is unlimited in its power to
save. What is there to be saved from except illusions? And what are
all illusions except false ideas about myself? My holiness undoes them
all by asserting the truth about me. In the presence of my holiness,
which I share with God Himself, all idols vanish.
W 58 L 4.
39) “My holiness is my
salvation.”
Since
my holiness saves me from all guilt, recognizing my holiness is recognizing my
salvation. It is also recognizing the salvation of the world. Once
I have accepted my holiness, nothing can make me afraid. And because I am
unafraid, everyone must share in my understanding,[119] which
is the gift of God to me and to the world. W(107)
W 58 L 5.
40) “I am blessed as a
Son of God.”
Herein
lies my claim to all good and only good. I am blessed as a Son of
God. All good things are mine because God intended them for me. I
cannot suffer any loss or deprivation or pain because of who I am. My
Father supports me, protects me, and directs me in all things. His care
for me is infinite, and is with me forever. I am eternally blessed as His
Son.
W(108)
February 28
W 59 L 1.
41) “God goes with me
wherever I go.”
How can I be
alone when God always goes with me? How can I be doubtful and unsure of
myself when perfect certainty abides in Him? How can I be disturbed by
anything when He rests in absolute[120]
peace? How can I suffer when love and joy surround me through Him?
Let me not cherish illusions about myself. I am perfect because God goes
with me wherever I go.
W 59 L 2.
42) “God is my
strength. Vision is His gift.”
Let me not
look to my own eyes to see today. Let me be willing to exchange my
pitiful illusion of seeing for the vision that is given by God. Christ's
vision is His gift, and He has given it to me. Let me call upon this gift
today, so that this day may help me to understand eternity.
W 59 L 3.
43) “God is my Source.
I cannot see apart from Him.”
I can see
what God wants me to see. I cannot see anything else. Beyond His
Will lie only illusions. It is these I choose when I think I can see
apart from Him. It is these I choose when I try to see through the body's
eyes. Yet the vision of Christ has been given me to replace them.
It is through this vision that I choose to see.
W 59 L 4.
44) “God is the Light in
which I see.”
I
cannot see in darkness. God is the only Light. Therefore, if I am to
see, it must be through Him. I have tried to define what seeing is, and I
have been wrong. Now it is given me to understand that God is the Light
in which I see. Let me welcome vision and the happy world it will show
me.
W(109)
W 59 L 5.
45) “God is the Mind
with which I think.”
I have
no thoughts which I do not share with God. I have no thoughts apart from
Him because I have no mind apart from His. As part of His Mind, my
thoughts are His and His Thoughts are mine. W(110)
March 1
W 60 L 1.
46) “God is the Love in
which I forgive.”
God does not
forgive because He has never condemned. The blameless cannot blame, and
those who have accepted their innocence see nothing to forgive. Yet
forgiveness is the means by which I will recognize my innocence. It is
the reflection of God's Love on earth. It will bring me near enough to
Heaven that the Love of God can reach down to me and raise me to my home.
W 60 L 2.
47) “God is the
Strength in which I trust.”
It is not my
own strength through which I forgive. It is through the strength of God
in me, which I am remembering as I forgive. As I begin to see, I recognize
His reflection on earth. I forgive all things because I feel the stirring
of His strength in me. And I begin to remember the Love I chose to
forget, but Which has not forgotten me.
W 60 L 3.
48) “There is nothing
to fear.”
How safe the
world will look to me when I can see it! It will not look anything like
what I imagine I see now. Everyone and everything I see will lean toward
me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend.
What could there be to fear in a world which I have forgiven, and which has
forgiven me?
W 60 L 4.
49) “God's Voice speaks
to me all through the day.”
There
is not a moment in which God's Voice ceases to call on my forgiveness to save
me. There is not a moment in which His Voice fails to direct my thoughts,
guide my actions, and lead my feet. I am walking steadily on toward
truth. There is nowhere else I can go, because God's Voice is the only
voice and the only guide that has been given to His Son. W(111)
W 60 L 5.
50) “I am sustained by
the Love of God.”
As I
listen to God's Voice, I am sustained by[121] His
Love. As I open my eyes, His Love lights up the world for me to
see. As I forgive, His Love reminds me that His Son is sinless. And
as I look upon the world with the vision He has given me, I remember that I am
His Son.
W(112)
March 2
W 61 L 1.
Who is the light of the world except God's Son?[122]
This, then, is merely a statement of the truth about yourself. It is the
opposite of a statement of pride, of arrogance, or of self-deception. It
does not describe the self-concept you have made. It does not refer to
any of the characteristics with which you have endowed your idols. It
refers to you as you were created by God. It simply states the truth.
W 61 L 2.
To the ego, today's idea is the epitome of
self-glorification. But the ego does not understand humility, mistaking
it for self-debasement. Humility consists of accepting your role in
salvation, and in taking no other. It is not humility to insist that you
cannot be the light of the world, if that is the function God assigned to
you. It is only arrogance that would assert this function cannot be for
you, and arrogance is always of the ego.
W 61 L 3.
True humility requires that you accept today's idea
because it is God's Voice which tells you it is true. This is a beginning
step in accepting your real function on earth. It is a giant stride
toward taking your rightful place in salvation. It is a positive
assertion of your right to be saved, and an acknowledgment of the power that is
given you to save others.
W 61 L 4.
You will want to think about this idea as often as
possible today. It is the perfect answer to all illusions, and therefore
to all temptation. It brings all the images you have made about yourself
to the truth, and helps you depart in peace,[123]
unburdened and certain of your purpose.
W 61 L 5.
As many practice periods as possible should be
undertaken today, although each one need not exceed a minute or two. They
should begin with telling yourself: W(113)
“I am the light of the world.
That is my only function.
That is why I am here.”
Then think
about these statements for a short while, preferably with your eyes closed if
the situation permits. Let a few related thoughts come to you, and repeat
the idea to yourself if your mind wanders away from the central thought.
W 61 L 6.
Be sure both to begin and end the day[124] with
a practice period. Thus you will awaken with an acknowledgment of the
truth about yourself, reinforce it throughout the day, and turn to sleep as you
re-affirm your function and your only purpose here. These two
practice periods may be longer than the rest,[125] if
you find them helpful and want to extend them.
W 61 L 7. Today's idea goes far beyond the ego's petty views of what you are and what your purpose is. As a bringer of salvation, this is obviously necessary. This is the first of a number of giant steps we will take in the next few weeks. Try today to begin to build a firm foundation for these advances.[126] You are the light of the world. God has built His plan for the salvation of His Son on you. W(114)
March 3
W 62 L 1.
It is your forgiveness that will bring the world of
darkness to the light. It is your forgiveness that lets you recognize the
light in which you see. Forgiveness is the demonstration that you are the
light of the world. Through your forgiveness does the truth about
yourself return to your memory. Therefore in your forgiveness lies your
salvation.
W 62 L 2.
Illusions about yourself and the world are one.
That is why all forgiveness is a gift to yourself. Your goal is to find
out who you are, having denied your identity by attacking creation and its
Creator. Now you are learning how to remember the truth. For this,
attack must be replaced by forgiveness, so that thoughts of life may replace
thoughts of death.
W 62 L 3.
Remember that in every attack you call upon your own
weakness, while every[127] time
you forgive you call upon the strength of Christ in you. Do you not then
begin to understand what forgiveness will do for you? It will remove all
sense of weakness, strain and fatigue from your mind. It will take away
all fear and guilt and pain. It will restore the invulnerability and
power God gave His Son to your awareness.
W 62 L 4.
Let us be glad to begin and end this day by practicing
today's idea, and to use it as frequently as possible throughout the day.
It will help to make the day as happy for you as God wants you to be. And
it will help those around you, as well as those who seem to be far away in
space and time, to share this happiness with you.
W 62 L 5.
As often as you can, closing your eyes if possible,
say to yourself:
“Forgiveness is my function as the light of the
world.
I would fulfill my function that I may be happy.”
Then
devote a minute or two to considering your function, and the happiness and
release[128] it
will bring you.
W(115)
W 62 L 6.
Let related thoughts come freely, for your heart will
recognize these words, and in your mind is the awareness that they are
true. Should your attention wander, repeat the idea and add:
“I would remember this because
I want to be happy.” W(116)
March 4
W 63 L 1.
How holy are you who have the power to bring peace to
every mind! How blessed are you who can learn to recognize the means for
letting this be done through you! What purpose could you have that would
bring you greater happiness?
W 63 L 2.
You are indeed the light of the world with such a
function. The Son of God looks to you for his redemption. It is
yours to give him, for it belongs to you. Accept no trivial purpose or
meaningless desire in its place, or you will forget your function and leave the
Son of God in hell. This is no idle request that is being asked of
you. You are asked to accept salvation that it may be yours to give.
W 63 L 3.
Recognizing the importance of this function, we will
be happy to remember it very often today. We will begin the day by
acknowledging it, and close the day with the thought of it in our
awareness. And throughout the day, we will repeat this as often as we
can:
“The light of the world brings peace to every mind
through my forgiveness.
I am the means God has appointed for the salvation
of the world.”
W 63 L 4.
[129]You
will probably find it easier to let the related thoughts come to you in the
minute or two which you should devote to considering this if you can close your
eyes. Do not, however, wait for such an opportunity. No chance
should be lost for reinforcing today's idea. Remember that God's Son
looks to you for his salvation. And who but your Self must be His Son? W(117)
March 5
W 64 L 1.
Today's idea is merely another way of saying, “Let me
not wander into temptation.” [130] The
purpose of the world you see is to obscure your function of forgiveness, and
provide you with a justification for forgetting it. It is the temptation
to abandon God and His Son, taking on a physical appearance. It is this
which the body's eyes look upon.
W 64 L 2.
Nothing the body's eyes seem to see can be anything
but a form of temptation, since this was the purpose of the body itself.
Yet we have learned that the Holy Spirit has another use for all the illusions
you have made, and therefore He sees another purpose in them. To the Holy
Spirit, the world is a place where you learn to forgive yourself what you think
of as your sins. In this perception, the physical appearance of temptation
becomes the spiritual recognition of salvation.
W 64 L 3.
To review our last few lessons, your function here is
to be the light of the world, a function given you by God. It is only the
arrogance of the ego which leads you to question this, and only the fear of the
ego which induces you to regard yourself as unworthy of the task assigned to
you by God Himself. The world's salvation awaits your forgiveness because
through it does the Son of God escape from all illusions and thus from all temptation.
The Son of God is you.
W 64 L 4.
Only by fulfilling the function given you by God will
you be happy. That is because your function is to be happy by using the
means by[131] which
happiness becomes inevitable. There is no other way. Therefore
every time you choose whether or not to fulfill your function, you are really
choosing whether to be happy or not.
W 64 L 5.
Let us remember this today. Let us remind
ourselves of it in the morning and again at night, and all through the day as
well. W(118) Prepare
yourself in advance for all the decisions you will make today by remembering
that they are all really very simple. Each one will lead to happiness or
unhappiness. Can such a simple decision really be difficult to
make?
W 64 L 6.
Let not the form of the decision deceive you.
Complexity of form does not imply complexity of content. It is impossible
that any decision on earth can have a content different from just this one
simple choice. That is the only choice the Holy Spirit sees.
Therefore it is the only choice there is.
W 64 L 7.
Today, then, let us practice these thoughts:
“Let me not forget my function.
Let me not try to substitute mine for God's.
Let me forgive and be happy.”
At least
once devote ten or fifteen minutes to reflecting on this with closed
eyes. Related thoughts will come to help you, if you remember the
crucial importance of your function to you and to the world.
W 64 L 8.
In the frequent applications of today's idea to be
made throughout the day, devote several minutes to reviewing the[132] thoughts,
and then to thinking about them and about nothing else. This will be
difficult at first particularly, since you are not proficient in the mind
discipline which it requires. You may need to repeat “Let me not forget
my function” quite often, to help you concentrate.
W 64 L 9.
Two forms of the shorter practice periods are
required. At times, do the exercises with your eyes closed, trying to
concentrate on the thoughts you are applying. At other times keep your
eyes open after reviewing the thoughts and look slowly and unselectively about
you, telling yourself:
“This is the world it is my function to save.” W(119)
March 6
W 65 L 1.
The idea for today reaffirms your commitment to
salvation. It also reminds you that you have no other function[133] than
this. Both of these thoughts are obviously necessary for a total
commitment. Salvation cannot be the only purpose you hold while you still
cherish others. The full acceptance of salvation as your only function
necessarily entails two phases; the recognition of salvation as your function,
and the relinquishment of all the other goals you have invented for yourself.
W 65 L 2.
This is the only way in which you can take your
rightful place among the Saviors of the world. This is the only way in
which you can say and mean, “My only function is the one God gave me.”
This is the only way in which you can find peace of mind.
W 65 L 3.
Today, and for a number of days to follow, set aside
ten to fifteen minutes for a more sustained practice period in which you try to
understand and accept what today's idea[134] really
means. It[135]
offers you escape from all your perceived difficulties. It places the key
to the door to peace, which you have closed upon yourself, in your own
hands. It gives you the answer to all the searching you have done since
time began.
W 65 L 4.
Try, if possible, to undertake the daily extended
practice periods at approximately the same time each day. Try, also, to
determine this time today in advance, and then adhere to it as closely as
possible. The purpose of this is to arrange your day so that you have set
apart the time for God, as well as for all the trivial purposes and goals you
will pursue. This is part of the long range disciplinary training which
your mind needs so that the Holy Spirit can use it consistently for the purpose
He shares with you. W(120)
W 65 L 5.
For this[136] practice
period, begin by reviewing the idea for today. Then close your eyes,
repeat the idea to yourself once again, and watch your mind carefully to catch
whatever thoughts cross it. At first, make no attempt to concentrate only
on thoughts related to the idea for today.[137]
Rather, try to uncover each one[138] that
arises to[139] interfere
with it. Note each one[140] as it[141] comes
to you with as little involvement or concern as possible, dismissing them[142] by
telling yourself:
“This thought reflects a goal which is preventing
me from
accepting my only function.”
W 65 L 6.
After a while, interfering thoughts will become harder
to find. Try, however, to continue a minute or so longer, attempting to
catch a few of the idle thoughts which escaped your attention before, but do
not strain or make undue effort in doing this. Then tell yourself:
“On this clean slate, let my true function be
written for me.”
You need not
use these exact words, but try to get a sense of being willing to have your
illusions of purpose be replaced by truth.
W 65 L 7.
Finally, repeat the idea for today once more and
devote the rest of the practice period to trying to focus on its importance to
you; the relief its acceptance will bring you by resolving your conflicts once
and for all, and the extent to which you really want salvation in spite of your
own foolish ideas to the contrary.
W 65 L 8.
In the shorter practice periods, which should be
undertaken at least once an hour, use this form in applying today's idea:
“My only function is the one God gave me.
I want no other and I have no other.”
Sometimes
close your eyes as you practice, and sometimes keep them open and look about
you. It is what you see now that will be totally changed when you accept
today's idea completely. W(121)
March 7
W 66 L 1.
You have surely noticed an emphasis throughout our
recent lessons on the connection between fulfilling your function and achieving
happiness. This is because you do not really see the connection.
Yet there is more than just a connection between them; they are the same.
Their forms are different, but their content is completely one.
W 66 L 2.
The ego does constant battle with the Holy Spirit on
the fundamental question of what your function is. So does it do constant
battle with the Holy Spirit about what your happiness is. It is not a
two-way battle. The ego attacks and the Holy Spirit does not
respond. He knows what your function is. He knows that it is your
happiness.
W 66 L 3.
Today we will try to go past this wholly meaningless
battle, and arrive at the truth about your function. We will not engage
in ceaseless arguments about what it is. We will not become hopelessly
involved in defining happiness and determining the means for achieving
it. We will not indulge the ego by listening to its attacks on
truth. We will merely be glad that we can find out what truth is.
W 66 L 4.
Our longer practice period today has as its purpose
your acceptance of the fact that not only is there a very real connection
between the function God gave you and your happiness, but that they are
actually identical. God gives you only happiness. Therefore
the function He gave you must be happiness, even if it appears to be
different. Today's exercises are an attempt to go beyond these
differences in appearance, and recognize a common content where it exists in
truth.
W 66 L 5.
Begin the 10 to 15 minute practice period by reviewing
these thoughts:
“God gives me only happiness.
He has given my function to me.
Therefore my function must be happiness.” W(122)
Try to see
the logic in this sequence, even if you do not[143]
accept the conclusion. It is only if the first two thoughts are wrong
that the conclusion could be false. Let us, then, think about the
premises for a while, as we are practicing.
W 66 L 6.
The first premise is that God gives you only happiness.
This could be false, of course, but in order to be false it is necessary to
define God as something He is not. Love cannot give evil, and what is not
happiness is evil. God cannot give what He does not have, and He cannot
have what He is not. Unless God gives you only happiness, He must be
evil. And it is this definition of Him which you are believing if you do
not accept the first premise.
W 66 L 7.
The second premise is that God has given you your
function. We have seen that there are only two parts of your mind.
One is ruled by the ego, and is made up of illusions. The other is the
home of the Holy Spirit, where truth abides. There are no other guides
but these to choose between, and no other outcomes possible as a result of your
choice but the fear which the ego always engenders and the love which the Holy
Spirit always offers to replace it.
W 66 L 8.
Thus it must be that your function is established by
God through His Voice or is made by the ego which you made to replace Him.
Which is true? Unless God gave your function to you, it must be the gift
of the ego. Does the ego really have gifts to give, being itself an
illusion and offering only the illusion of gifts?
W 66 L 9.
Think about this during the longer practice period
today. Think also about the many forms which the illusion of your
function has taken in your mind, and the many ways in which you try[144] to
find salvation under the ego's guidance. Did you find it? Were you
happy? Did they bring you peace? W(123) We
need great honesty today. Remember the outcomes fairly, and consider also
whether it was ever reasonable to expect happiness from anything the ego has
ever proposed. Yet the ego is the only alternative to the Holy Spirit's
Voice.
W 66 L 10.
You will listen to madness or hear the truth.
Try to make this choice as you think about the premises on which our conclusion
rests. We can share in this conclusion, but in no other. For
God Himself shares it with us.
W 66 L 11.
Today's idea is another giant stride in the perception
of the same as the same, and the different as different. On one side
stand all illusions. All truth stands on the other. Let us
try today to realize that only the truth is true.
W 66 L 12.
In the shorter practice periods, which would be most
helpful today if undertaken twice an hour, this form of the application is
suggested:
“My happiness and function are one,
because God has given me both.”
It
will not take more than a minute, and probably less, to repeat these words
slowly, and think about them a little[145] as
you say them.
W(124)
March 8
W 67 L 1.
Today's idea is a complete and accurate statement of
what you are. This is why you are the light of the world. This is
why God appointed you as the world's savior. This is why the Son of God
looks to you for his salvation. He is saved by what you are. We
will make every effort today to reach this truth about you, and to realize
fully, if only for a moment, that it is the truth.
W 67 L 2.
In the longer practice period, we will think about
your reality and its wholly unchanged and unchangeable nature. We will
begin by repeating this truth about you, and then spend a few minutes adding
some relevant thoughts, such as:
“Holiness created me holy[146]“
“Kindness created me kind.”
“Helpfulness created me helpful.”
“Perfection created me perfect.”
Any
attribute which is in accord with God as He defines Himself is appropriate for
use. We are trying today to undo your definition of God and replace
it with His Own. We are also trying to emphasize that you are part of His
definition of Himself.
W 67 L 3.
After you have gone over several such related
thoughts, try to let all thoughts drop away for a brief preparatory interval,
and then try to reach past all your images and preconceptions about yourself to
the truth in you. If Love created you like Itself this Self must be in
you. And somewhere in your mind It is there for you to find.
W 67 L 4.
You may find it necessary to repeat the idea for today
from time to time, to replace distracting thoughts. You may also find
that this is not sufficient, and that you need to continue adding other
thoughts related to the truth about yourself. Yet perhaps you will
succeed in going past that, and through the interval of thoughtlessness[147] to
the awareness of a blazing W(125) light
in which you recognize yourself as Love created you. Be confident that
you will do much today to bring that awareness nearer, whether you feel you
have succeeded or not.
W 67 L 5.
It will be particularly helpful today to practice the
idea for today[148] as
often as you can. You need to hear the truth about yourself as frequently
as possible, because your mind is so preoccupied with false self-images.
Four or five times an hour, and perhaps even more, it would be most beneficial
to remind yourself that Love created you like Itself. Hear the truth
about yourself in this.
W 67 L 6.
Try to realize in the shorter practice periods, that
this is not your tiny solitary voice that tells you this. This is the
Voice for God, reminding you of your Father and of your Self. This is the
Voice of truth, replacing everything that the ego tells you about yourself with
the simple truth about the Son of God. You were created by Love like
Itself.
W(126)
March 9
W 68 L 1.
You who were created by Love like Itself can hold no
grievances and know your Self. To hold a grievance is to forget who you
are. To hold a grievance is to see yourself as a body. It is the
decision[149] to
let the ego rule your mind, and to condemn the body to death. Perhaps you
do not yet fully realize just what holding grievances does to your awareness.[150]
It seems to split you off from your Source, and make you unlike Him. It
makes you believe that He is like what you think you have become, for no one
can conceive of his Creator as unlike himself.
W 68 L 2.
Shut off from your Self, Who[151] remains
aware of His[152] likeness
to His[153] Creator,
your Self seems to sleep, while the part of your mind that weaves illusions in
its sleep appears to be awake. Can all this arise from holding
grievances? Oh yes! For he who holds grievances denies he was
created by Love, and his Creator has become fearful to him in his dreams[154] of
hate. Who can dream of hatred and not fear God?
W 68 L 3.
It is as sure that those who hold grievances will redefine
God in their own image as it is certain that God created them like Himself and
defined them as part of Him.[155]
It is as sure that those who hold grievances will suffer guilt as it is certain
that those who forgive will find peace. It is as sure that those who hold
grievances will forget who they are as it is certain that those who forgive
will remember.
W 68 L 4.
Would you not be willing to relinquish your grievances
if you believed all this were so? Perhaps you do not think that you can
let all your grievances go. That, however, is simply a question of
motivation. Today we will try to find out how you would feel without
them. If you succeed even by ever so little, there will never be a
problem in motivation ever again. W(127)
W 68 L 5.
Begin today's extended practice period by searching
your mind for those against whom you hold what you regard as major
grievances. Some of these will be quite easy to find. Then think of
the seemingly minor grievances you hold against those you like, and even think
you love. It will quickly become apparent that there is no one against
whom you do not cherish grievances of some sort. This has left you alone
in all the universe in your perception of yourself.
W 68 L 6.
Determine now to see all these people as
friends. Say to them all, collectively, thinking of each one in turn as
you do so:
“I would see you as my friend,
that I may remember you are part of me,
and come to know myself.”
Spend the
remainder of the practice period trying to think of yourself as completely at
peace with everyone and everything, safe in a world which protects you and
loves you, and which you love in return.
W 68 L 7.
Try to feel safety surrounding you, hovering over you,
and holding you up. Try to believe, however briefly, that nothing can
harm you in any way. At the end of the practice period tell yourself:
“Love holds no grievances.
when I let all my grievances go,
I will know I am perfectly safe.”
W 68 L 8.
The short practice periods should include a quick
application of today's ideas in this form, whenever any thought of grievance
arises against anyone, physically present or not:
“Love holds no grievances.
Let me not betray my Self.”
In addition,
repeat the idea several times an hour in this form:
“Love holds no grievances.
I would wake to my Self
by laying all my grievances aside
and wakening in Him.” W(128)
March 10
W 69 L 1.
No one can look upon what your grievances
conceal. Because your grievances are hiding the light of the world in you,
everyone stands in darkness, and you beside him. But as the veil of
your grievances is lifted, you are released with him. Share your
salvation now with him who stood beside you when you were in hell. He is
your brother in the light of the world which saves you both.
W 69 L 2.
Today let us make another real attempt to reach the
light in you. Before we undertake this in our more extended practice
period, let us devote several minutes in thinking about what we are[156]
trying to do. We are literally attempting to get in touch with the
salvation of the world. We are trying to see past the veil of darkness
that keeps it concealed. We are trying to let the veil be lifted, and[157] see
the tears of God's Son disappear in the sunlight.
W 69 L 3.
Let us begin our longer practice period today with the
full realization of all this,[158] and[159] real
determination to reach what is dearer to us than all else.
Salvation is our only need. There is no other purpose here, and no
other function to fulfill. Learning salvation is our only goal. Let
us end the ancient search today, by finding the light in us and holding it up
for everyone who searches with us to look upon and rejoice.
W 69 L 4.
Very quietly now, with your eyes closed, try to let[160] all
the content which generally occupies your consciousness go. Think of your
mind as a vast round area,[161] surrounded
by a layer of heavy dark clouds. You can see only the clouds because you
seem to be standing outside the whole area,[162] and
quite apart from it. From where you stand, you can see no reason to
believe there is a brilliant light hidden by the clouds. The clouds seem
to be the only reality. They seem to be all there is to see.
Therefore you do not attempt to go through them and past them, which is the
only way in which you would be really convinced W(129) of
their lack of substance. We will make this attempt today.
W 69 L 5.
After you have thought about the importance of what
you are trying to do for yourself and the world, try to settle[163] in
perfect stillness, remembering only how much you want to reach the light in you
today, - now. Determine to go past the clouds. Reach out and
touch them in your mind. Brush them aside with your hand; feel them
resting on your cheeks and forehead and eyelids as you go through them.
Go on; clouds cannot stop you.
W 69 L 6.
If you are doing the exercises properly, you will
begin to feel a sense of being lifted up and carried ahead. Your little
effort and small determination call on the power of the universe to help you,
and God Himself will raise you from darkness into light. You are in
accord with His Will. You cannot fail because your will is His.
W 69 L 7.
Have confidence in your Father today, and[164] be
certain that He has heard you and has answered you. You may not recognize
His answer yet, but you can indeed be sure that it is given you, and you will
yet receive it. Try, as you attempt to go through the clouds to the
light, to hold this confidence in your mind. Try to remember that you are
at last joining your will to God's. Try to keep the thought clearly in
mind that what you undertake with God must succeed. Then let the power of
God work in you and through you, that His Will and yours may be done.[165]
W 69 L 8.
In the shorter practice periods, which you will want
to do as often as possible in view of the importance of today's idea to you and
your happiness, remind yourself that your grievances are hiding the light of
the world from your awareness. Remind yourself also that you are not
searching for it alone, and that you do know where to look for it.
Say, then:
“My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
I cannot see what I have hidden.
Yet I want to let it be revealed to me
for my salvation and the salvation of the world.” W(130)
Also, be
sure to tell yourself:
“If I hold this grievance, the light of the world
will be hidden from me,”
if
you are tempted to hold anything against anyone today. W(131)
March 11
W 70 L 1.
All temptation is nothing more than some form of the
basic temptation not to believe the idea for today. Salvation seems to
come from anywhere except from you. So, too, does the source of
guilt. You see neither guilt nor salvation as in your own mind, and nowhere
else. When you realize that all guilt is solely an invention of your
mind, you must also realize that guilt and salvation must be in the same
place. [166]Understanding
this you are saved.
W 70 L 2.
The seeming “cost” of accepting today's idea is this:
It means that nothing outside yourself can save you; nothing outside yourself
can give you peace. But it also means that nothing outside yourself can
hurt you, or disturb your peace, or upset you in any way. Today's idea
places you in charge of the universe, where you belong because of who you are.
W 70 L 3.
This is not a role which can be partially accepted,
and[167] you
must surely begin to see that accepting it is salvation. It may not,
however, be clear to you why the recognition that guilt is in your own mind
entails the realization that salvation is there as well. God would not
have put the remedy for sickness where it cannot help. That is the way
your mind has worked, but hardly His. He wants you to be healed, and so
He has kept the Source of healing where the need for healing lies.
W 70 L 4.
You have tried to do just the opposite, making every
attempt, however distorted and fantastic it might be, to separate healing from
the sickness for which it was intended, and thus keep the sickness.
Your purpose was to ensure that healing did not occur; God's purpose was
to ensure that it did. Today we will practice realizing that God's Will
and ours are really the same in this. W(132) God
wants us to be healed, and we do not really want to be sick because it makes us
unhappy. Therefore, in accepting the idea for today, we are in agreement
with God. He does not want us to be sick. Neither do we.
He wants us to be healed. So do we.
W 70 L 5.
We are ready for two longer practice periods today,
each of which should last some ten to fifteen minutes. We will, however,
still let you decide when to undertake them. We will follow this practice
for a number of lessons, and it would again be well to decide in advance when
would be a good time to lay aside for each of them, and adhere to your own
decision[168] as
closely as possible.
W 70 L 6.
Begin these practice periods by repeating the idea for
today, adding a statement signifying your recognition that salvation comes from
nothing outside of you. You might put it this way:
“My salvation comes from me.
It cannot come from anywhere else.”
Then devote
a few minutes with your eyes closed, to reviewing some of the external places
where you have looked for salvation in the past, - in other people, in
possessions, in various situations and events, and in self-concepts which you
sought to make real. Recognize that it was[169]
not there. [170]Tell
yourself:
“My salvation cannot come from any of these things.
My salvation comes from me, and only from me.”
W 70 L 7.
Now we will try again to reach the light in you, which
is where your salvation is. You cannot find it in the clouds that
surround the light, and it is in them you have been looking for it. It is
not there. It is past the clouds, and in the light beyond. Remember
that you will have to go through the clouds before you can reach the
light. But remember also that you have never found anything in the cloud
patterns you imagined that endured, or that you wanted. W(133)
W 70 L 8.
Since all illusions of salvation have failed you,
surely you do not want to remain in the clouds looking vainly for idols there,
when you could so easily walk on into the light of real salvation. Try to
pass the clouds by whatever means appeals to you. If it helps you, think
of me holding your hand and leading you. And I assure you that this will
be no idle fantasy.
W 70 L 9.
For the short and frequent practice periods today,
remind yourself that your salvation comes from you, and nothing but your own
thoughts can hamper your progress. You are free from all external
interference. You are in charge of your salvation. You are in
charge of the salvation of the world. Say, then:
“My salvation comes from me.
Nothing outside of me can hold me back.
Within me is the world's salvation and my
own.” W(134)
March 12
W 71 L 1.
You may not realize that the ego has set up a plan for
salvation in opposition to God's. It is this plan in which you
believe. Since it is the opposite of God's, you also believe that to
accept God's plan in place of the ego's is to be damned. This sounds
preposterous, of course. Yet after we have considered just what the ego's
plan is, perhaps you will realize that, however preposterous it may be, you do
believe in[171] it.
W 71 L 2.
The ego's plan for salvation centers around holding
grievances. It maintains that if someone else spoke or acted
differently, if some external circumstance or event were changed, you would be
saved. Thus the source of salvation is constantly perceived as outside
yourself. Each grievance you hold is a declaration, and an
assertion in which you believe, that[172] says,
“If this were different, I would be saved.” The change of mind that is
necessary for salvation is thus demanded of everyone and everything except
yourself.
W 71 L 3.
The role assigned to your own mind in this plan, then,
is simply to determine what other than itself must change if you are to be
saved. According to this insane plan, any perceived source of salvation
is acceptable, provided that it will not work. This ensures that the
fruitless search will continue, for the illusion that,[173]
although this hope has[174]
failed, there is still grounds for hope in other places and in other things,
persists. Another person will yet serve better; another situation will
yet offer success.
W 71 L 4.
Such is the ego's plan for your salvation.
Surely you can see how it is in strict accord with the ego's basic doctrine,
“Seek but do not find?”[175] For
what could more surely guarantee that you will not find salvation than to
channelize all your efforts in searching for it where it is not? W(135)
W 71 L 5.
God's plan for salvation works simply because, by
following His direction, you seek for salvation where it is. But if you
are to succeed, as God promises you will, you must be willing to seek there
only. Otherwise your purpose is divided, and you will attempt to follow
two plans for salvation which are diametrically opposed in all ways.
The result can only bring confusion, misery, and a deep sense of failure
and despair.
W 71 L 6.
How can you escape all this? Very simply.
The idea for today is the answer. Only God's plan for salvation will
work. There can be no real conflict about this, because there is no
possible alternative to God's plan[176] that
will save you. His is the only plan that is certain in its outcome.
His is the only plan that must succeed. Let us practice recognizing this
certainty today. And let us rejoice that there is an answer to what seems
to be a conflict with no resolution possible. All things are possible to
God.[177]
Salvation must be yours because of His plan, which cannot fail.
W 71 L 7.
Begin the two longer practice periods for today by
thinking about today's idea, and realizing that it contains two parts, each
making equal contribution to the whole. God's plan for your
salvation will work, and other plans will not. Do not allow yourself to
become depressed or angry at the second part; it is inherent in the
first. And in the first is your full release from all your own insane
attempts and mad proposals to free yourself. They have led to depression
and anger, but[178] God's
plan will succeed. It will lead to release and joy.
W 71 L 8.
Remembering this, let us devote the remainder of the
extended practice period to asking God to reveal His plan to us. Ask Him
very specifically:
“What would you have me do?”
Where would You have me go?
What would You have me say, and to whom?”
Give
Him full charge of the rest of the practice period, and let Him tell you what
needs to be done by you in His plan for your salvation. He will
answer you in proportion to your willingness to hear His Voice. Refuse
not to hear. The very W(136) fact
that you are doing the exercises proves that you have some willingness to
listen. This is enough to establish your claim to God's answer.
W 71 L 9.
In the shorter practice periods tell yourself often
that God's plan for salvation, and only His, will work. Be alert to all
temptation to hold grievances today, and respond to them with this form of
today's idea:
“Holding grievances is the opposite of God's plan
for salvation.
And only His plan will work.”
Try to
remember the[179] idea
for today some six or seven times an hour. There could be no better way
to spend a half minute or less than to remember the Source of your salvation,
and to see It where It is. W(137)
March 13
W 72 L 1.
While we have recognized that the ego's plan for
salvation is the opposite of God's, we have not yet emphasized that it is an
active attack on His plan, and a deliberate attempt to destroy it. In the
attack, God is assigned the attributes which are actually associated with the
ego, while the ego appears to take on the attributes of God.
W 72 L 2.
The ego's fundamental wish is to replace God. In
fact, the ego is the physical embodiment of this[180]
wish. For it is this[181] wish
which seems to surround the mind with a body, keeping it separate and alone,
and unable to reach other minds except through the body which was made to
imprison it. The limit on communication cannot be the best means to
expand communication. Yet the ego would have you believe that it is.
W 72 L 3.
Although the attempt to keep the limitations which a
body would impose is obvious here, it is perhaps not so apparent why holding
grievances is an attack on God's plan for salvation. But let us consider
the kinds of things which you are apt to hold grievances for. Are they
not always associated with something a body does? A person says something
we[182] do not
like; he does something that displeases us[183]; he
“betrays” his hostile thoughts in his behavior.
W 72 L 4.
We[184] are
not dealing here with what the person is. On the contrary, we[185] are
exclusively concerned with what he does in a body. We[186] are
doing more than failing to help in freeing him from its[187] limitations.
We[188] are
actively trying to hold him to it by confusing it with him, and judging them as
one. Herein is God attacked, for if His Son is only a body, so must He be
as well. A creator wholly unlike his creation is inconceivable.
W 72 L 5.
If God is a body, what must His plan for salvation
be? What could it be but death? In trying to present Himself as the
Author of life and not of death, He is a liar and a deceiver, full of false
promises, and offering illusions in place of truth. W(138) The
body's apparent reality makes this view of God quite convincing. In fact,
if the body were real, it would be difficult indeed to escape this
conclusion. And every grievance that you hold insists that the body is
real. It overlooks entirely what your brother is. It reinforces
your belief that he is a body, and condemns him for it. And it asserts
that his salvation must be death, projecting this attack onto God, and holding
Him responsible for it.
W 72 L 6.
To this carefully prepared arena, where angry animals
seek for prey and mercy cannot enter, the ego comes to save you. God made
you a body. Very well. Let us accept this and be glad. As a
body, do not let yourself be deprived of what the body offers. Take the
little you can get. God gave you nothing. The body is your only savior.
It is the death of God and your salvation. This is the universal belief
of the world you see.
W 72 L 7.
Some hate the body, and try to hurt and humiliate
it. Others love the body, and try to glorify and exalt it. But
while it stands at the center of your concept of yourself, you are attacking
God's plan for salvation, and holding your grievances against Him and His
creations, that you may not hear the Voice of truth and welcome it as
Friend. Your chosen Savior takes His place instead. It is
your friend; He is your enemy. We will try today to stop these senseless
attacks on salvation. We will try to welcome it instead.
W 72 L 8.
Our[189]
upside-down perception has been ruinous to our[190] peace
of mind. We[191] have
seen ourselves[192] in a
body and the truth outside us,[193] locked
away from our[194]
awareness by the body's limitations. Now we are going to try to see this
differently. The light of truth is in us, where it was placed by
God. It is the body that is outside us, and is not our
concern. To be without a body is to be in our natural state. To
recognize the light of truth in us is to recognize ourselves as we are.
To see our Self as separate from the body is to end the attack on God's plan
for salvation, and to accept it instead. And W(139) wherever
it[195] is
accepted it is accomplished already.
W 72 L 9.
Our goal in the longer practice periods today is to
become aware that God's plan for salvation has already been accomplished in
us. To achieve this goal, we must replace attack with acceptance.
As long as we attack it, we cannot understand what God's plan for us is.
We are therefore attacking what we do not recognize. Now we are going to
try to lay judgment aside, and ask what God's plan for us is:
“What is salvation, Father?
I do not know.
Tell me, that I may understand.”
Then we will wait in quiet for His answer.
W 72 L 10.
We have attacked God's plan for salvation, without
waiting to hear what it is. We have shouted our grievances so loudly that
we have not listened to His Voice. We have used our grievances to close
our eyes and stop our ears. Now we would see and hear and learn.
“What is salvation, Father?” Ask and you will be answered. Seek and you
will find.
W 72 L 11.
We are no longer asking the ego what salvation is and
where to find it. We are asking it of truth. Be certain, then, that
the answer will be true because of Whom you ask. Whenever you feel your
confidence wane and your hope of success flicker and go out, repeat your
question and your request, remembering that you are asking them of the infinite
Creator of infinity, Who created you like Himself:
“What is salvation, Father?
I do not know.
Tell me, that I may understand.”
He will answer. Be determined to hear.
W 72 L 12.
One or perhaps two shorter practice periods an hour
will be enough for today, since they will be somewhat longer than usual.
The exercises are as follows[196]:
“Holding grievances is an attack on God's plan for
salvation.
Let me accept it instead.
What is salvation, Father?”
Then
wait a minute or so in silence, preferably with your eyes closed, and listen
for His answer.
W(140)[197] W(141)
March 14
W 73 L 1.
Today we are considering the will that you share with
God. This is not the same as the ego's idle wishes, out of which darkness
and nothingness arise. The will you share with God has all the power of
creation in it. The ego's idle wishes are unshared, and therefore have no
power at all. Its wishes are not idle in the sense that they can make a
world of illusions in which your belief can be very strong. But they are
idle indeed in terms of creation. They make nothing that is real.
W 73 L 2.
Idle wishes and grievances are partners or co-makers
in picturing the world you see. The wishes of the ego gave rise to it,
and the ego's need for grievances, which are necessary to maintain it, peoples
it with figures which seem to attack you and call for “righteous”
judgment. They[199] become
the “middlemen” the ego employs to traffic in grievances, and[200] stand
between your awareness and your brother's[201]
reality. Beholding them, you do not know your brothers nor[202] your
Self.
W 73 L 3.
Your will is lost to you in this strange bartering, in
which guilt is traded back and forth, and grievances increase with each
exchange. Can such a world have been created by the will the Son of God
shares with his Father? Did God create disaster for His Son?
Creation is the will[203] of
both[204]
together. Would God create a world that kills Himself?
W 73 L 4.
Today we will try once more to reach the world that is
in accordance with your will. The light is in it because it does not
oppose the Will of God. It is not Heaven, but the light of Heaven shines
on it. Darkness has vanished; the ego's idle wishes have been
withdrawn. Yet the light that[205] shines
upon this world reflects your will, and so it must be in you that we will look
for it.
W 73 L 5.
Your picture of the world can only mirror what is
within. The source of neither light nor darkness can be found
without. Grievances darken your mind, and you look out on a darkened
world. Forgiveness lifts the darkness, reasserts your will, and lets you
look upon W(142) a
world of light.
W 73 L 6.
We have repeatedly emphasized that the barrier of
grievances is easily past, and cannot stand between you and your
salvation. The reason is very simple. Do you really want to be in
hell? Do you really want to weep and suffer and die? Forget the
ego's arguments which seek to prove all this is really Heaven. You know
it is not so. You can[206] not
want this for yourself. There is a point beyond which illusions cannot
go. Suffering is not happiness, and it is happiness you really
want. Such is your will in truth. And so salvation is your will as
well. You want to succeed in what we are trying to do today. We
undertake it with your blessing and your glad accord.
W 73 L 7.
We will succeed today if you remember that you will
salvation for yourself. You will to accept God's plan because you share
in it. You have no will that can really oppose it, and you do not
want to do so. Salvation is for you. Above all else you want the
freedom to remember who you really are. Today it is the ego which stands
powerless before your will. Your will is free, and nothing can prevail
against it.
W 73 L 8.
Therefore we undertake the exercises for today in
happy confidence, certain that we will find what it is your will to find, and
remember what it is your will to remember. No idle wishes can detain us,
nor deceive us with an illusion of strength. Today let your will be
done. And end forever the insane belief that it is hell in place of
Heaven that you choose.
W 73 L 9.
We will begin our longer practice periods with the
recognition that God's plan for salvation, and only His, is wholly in accord
with your will. It is not the purpose of an alien power, thrust upon you
unwillingly. It is the one purpose here on which you and your Father are
in perfect accord. W(143) You
will succeed today, the time appointed for the release of the Son of God from
hell and from all idle wishes. His will is now restored to his
awareness. He is willing this very day to look upon the light in him and
be saved.
W 73 L 10.
After reminding yourself of this and determining to
keep your will clearly in mind, tell yourself with gentle firmness and quiet
certainty:
“I will there be light.
Let me behold the light
that reflects God's Will and mine.”
Then let
your will assert itself, joined with the power of God and united with your
Self. Put the rest of the practice period under Their guidance.
Join with Them as They lead the way.
W 73 L 11.
In the shorter practice periods, again make a
declaration of what you really want. Say:
“I will there be light.
Darkness is not my will.”
This
should be repeated several times an hour. It is most important, however,
to apply today's idea in this form immediately you are tempted to hold a
grievance of any kind. This will help you let your grievances go, instead
of cherishing them and hiding them in the darkness. W(144)
March 15
W 74 L 1.
The idea for today can be regarded as the central
thought toward which all our exercises are directed. God's is the only
will. When you have recognized this, you have recognized that your will
is His. The belief that conflict is possible has gone. Peace has
replaced the strange idea that you are torn by conflicting goals. As an
expression of the Will of God, you have no goal but His.
W 74 L 2.
There is great peace in today's idea. And the
exercises for today are directed toward finding it. The idea itself is
wholly true. Therefore it cannot give rise to illusions. Without
illusions conflict is impossible. Let us try to recognize this today, and
experience the peace this recognition brings.
W 74 L 3.
Begin the longer practice periods by repeating these
thoughts several times, slowly and with firm determination to understand what
they mean and to hold them in mind:
“There is no will but God's.
I cannot be in conflict.”
Then spend
several minutes in adding some related thoughts, such as:
“I am at peace.”
“Nothing can disturb me. My will is God's.”
“My will and God's are one.”
“God wills peace for His Son.”
During this
introductory phase, be sure to deal quickly with any conflict thoughts that may
cross your mind. Tell yourself immediately:
“There is no will but God's
These conflict thoughts are meaningless.”
W 74 L 4.
If there is one conflict area which seems particularly
difficult to resolve, single it out for special consideration. Think
about it briefly but very specifically, identify the particular person or
persons and the situation or situations involved, and tell yourself:
“There is no will but God's.
I share it with Him.
My conflicts about _____
cannot be real.” W(145)
W 74 L 5.
After you have cleared your mind in this way, close
your eyes and try to experience the peace to which your reality entitles
you. Sink into it, and feel it closing around you. There may be
some temptation to mistake these attempts for withdrawal, but the difference is
easily detected. If you are succeeding, you will feel a deep sense of joy
and an increased alertness, rather than a feeling of drowsiness and
enervation. Joy characterizes peace. By this experience will you
recognize that you have reached it.
W 74 L 6.
If you feel yourself slipping off into withdrawal,
quickly repeat the idea for today and try again. Do this as often as
necessary. There is definite gain in refusing to allow retreat into
withdrawal, even if you do not experience the peace you seek.
W 74 L 7.
In the shorter periods, which should be undertaken at
regular and predetermined intervals today, say to yourself:
“There is no will but God's.
I seek His peace today.”
Then
try to find what you are seeking. A minute or two every half hour, with
eyes closed if possible, would be well spent on this today. W(146)
March 16
W 75 L 1.
The light has come. You are healed and you can
heal. The light has come. You are saved and you can save. You
are at peace and you bring peace with you wherever you go. Darkness and
turmoil and death have disappeared. The light has come. Today we
celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster. There are no
dark dreams now. The light has come.
W 75 L 2.
Today the time of light begins for you and
everyone. It is a new era, in which a new world is born. The old
one has left no trace upon it in its passing. Today we see a different
world because the light has come. Our exercises for today will be happy
ones, in which we offer thanks for the passing of the old and the beginning of
the new. No shadows from the past remain to darken our sight and hide the
world forgiveness offers us.
W 75 L 3.
Today we will accept the new world as what we want to
see. We will be given what we desire. We will to see the light; the
light has come.
W 75 L 4.
Our longer practice periods will be devoted to looking
at the world which our forgiveness shows us. This is what we want to see,
and only this. Our single purpose makes our goal inevitable. Today
the real world rises before us in gladness, to be seen at last. Sight is
given us, now that the light has come. We do not see the ego's shadow on the world
today. We see the light, and in it we see Heaven's reflection lie across
the world.
W 75 L 5.
Begin the[207] practice
period by telling yourself the glad tidings of your release:[208]
“The light has come.
I have forgiven the world.” W(147)
Dwell not
upon the past today. Keep a completely open mind, washed of all past
ideas and clean of every concept you have made. You have forgiven the
world today. You can look upon it now as if you never saw it
before. You do not know yet what it looks like. You merely wait to
have it shown to you. [209]While
you wait, repeat several times slowly and in complete patience;
“The light has come.
I have forgiven the world.”
W 75 L 6.
Realize that your forgiveness entitles you to
vision. Understand that the Holy Spirit never fails to give the gift of
sight to the forgiving. Believe He will not fail you now. You have
forgiven the world. He will be with you as you watch and wait. He
will show[210] what
true vision sees. It is His Will, and you have joined with Him.
W 75 L 7.
Wait patiently for Him. He will be there.
The light has come. You have forgiven the world. Tell Him you know
you cannot fail because you trust in Him.[211]
Tell yourself you wait in certainty to look upon the world He promised
you. From this time forth you will see differently. Today the light
has come. And you will see the world that has been promised you since
time began, and in which is the end of time ensured.
W 75 L 8.
The shorter practice periods, too, will be joyful
reminders of your release. Remind yourself every quarter of an hour or so
that today is a time for special celebration. Give thanks for mercy and
the Love of God. Rejoice in the power of forgiveness to heal your sight
completely. Be confident that on this day there is a new beginning.
Without the darkness of the past upon your eyes, you cannot fail to see
today. And what you see will be so welcome that you will gladly extend today
forever. Say, then:
“The light has come.
I have forgiven the world.” W(148)
Should you
be tempted, say to anyone who seems to pull you back to darkness:
“The light has come.
I have forgiven you.”
W 75 L 9.
We dedicate this day to the serenity in which God would
have you be. Keep it in your awareness of yourself and see it everywhere
today, as we celebrate the beginning of your vision, and the sight of the real
world which has come to replace the unforgiven world you thought was real. W(149)
March 17
W 76 L 1.
We have observed before how many senseless things have
seemed to you to be salvation. Each has imprisoned you with laws as
senseless as itself. You are not bound by them. Yet to understand
that this is so, you must first realize salvation lies not there. While
you would seek for it in things that have no meaning, you bind yourself to laws
that make no sense.
W 76 L 2.
Thus do you seek to prove salvation is where it is
not. Today we will be glad you cannot prove it. For if you could,
you would forever seek[212] where
it is not and never find it. The idea for today tells you once again how
simple is salvation. Look for it where it waits for you, and there it
will be found. Look nowhere else, for it is nowhere else.
W 76 L 3.
Think of the freedom in the recognition that you are
not bound by all the strange and twisted laws which you have set up to save
you. You really think that you would starve unless you have stacks of
green paper strips and piles of metal discs. You really think a small
round pellet or some fluid pushed into your veins through a sharpened needle
will ward off death. You really think you are alone unless another body
is with you.
W 76 L 4.
It is insanity that thinks these things. You
call them laws, and put them under different names in a long catalogue of
rituals that have no use and serve no purpose. You think you must obey
the “laws” of medicine, of economics, and of health. Protect the body and
you will be saved. These are not laws, but madness.
W 76 L 5.
The body is endangered by the mind that hurts itself.
The body suffers[213] that
the mind will fail to see it is the victim of itself. The body's
suffering is a mask the mind holds up to hide what really suffers. It
would not understand it is its own enemy; that it attacks itself and wants to
die. It is from this your W(150) “laws”
would save the body. It is for this you think you are a body.
W 76 L 6.
There are no laws except the laws of God. This
needs repeating, - over and over until you realize that it applies to
everything that you have made in opposition to His Will. Your magic has
no meaning. What it is meant to save does not exist. Only what it
is meant to hide will save you.
W 76 L 7.
The laws of God can never be replaced. We will
devote today to rejoicing that this is so. It is no longer a truth which
we would hide. We realize instead it is a truth which keeps us free
forever.[214]
Magic imprisons, but the laws of God set free. The light has come because
there are no laws but His.
W 76 L 8.
We will begin the longer practice periods today with a
short review of the different kinds of “laws” we have believed we must
obey. These would include, for example, the laws of nutrition, of
immunization, of medication, and of the body's protection in innumerable
ways. Think further; you believe in laws of friendship, of “good”
relationships and reciprocity.
W 76 L 9.
Perhaps you even think that there are laws which set
forth what is God's and what is yours. Many “religions” have been based
on this. They would not save, but damn in Heaven's name. Yet they
are no more strange than other “laws” you hold must be obeyed to make you safe.
W 76 L 10.
There are no laws but God's. Dismiss all foolish
magical beliefs today, and hold your mind in silent readiness to hear the Voice
that speaks the truth to you. You will be listening to One Who says there
is no loss under the laws of God. Payment is neither given nor
received. Exchange cannot be made, there are no substitutes, and nothing
is replaced by something else. God's laws forever give and never take. W(151)
W 76 L 11.
Hear Him Who tells you this, and realize how foolish
are the laws you thought upheld the world you thought you saw. Then
listen further. He will tell you more. About the love your Father
has for you. About the endless joy He offers you. About His
yearning for His only Son, created as His channel for creation; denied to Him
by his belief in hell.
W 76 L 12.
Let us today open God's channels to Him, and let His
Will extend through us to Him. Thus is creation endlessly
increased. His Voice will speak of this to us, as well as of the joys of
Heaven which His laws keep limitless forever. We will now[215] repeat
today's idea until we have listened and understood there are no laws but
God's. Then we will tell ourselves, as a dedication with which the
practice period concludes:
“I am under no laws but God's.”
W 76 L 13.
We will repeat this dedication as often as possible
today; at least four or five times an hour, as well as in response to any
temptation to experience ourselves as subject to other laws throughout the
day. It is our statement of freedom from all danger and all
tyranny. It is our acknowledgment that God is our Father, and that His
Son is saved.
W(152)
March 18
W 77 L 1.
You are entitled to miracles because of what you
are. You will receive miracles because of what God is. And you will
offer miracles because you are one with God. Again, how simple is
salvation! It is merely a statement of your true identity. It is
this that we will celebrate today.
W 77 L 2.
Your claim to miracles does not lie in your illusions
about yourself. It does not depend on any magical powers you have ascribed
to yourself, nor on any of the rituals you have devised. It is inherent
in the truth of what you are. It is implicit in what God your Father
is. It was ensured in your creation, and guaranteed by the laws of God.
W 77 L 3.
Today we will claim the miracles which are your right,
since they belong to you. You have been promised full release from the
world you made. You have been assured that the
W 77 L 4.
Begin the longer practice periods[217] by
telling yourself quite confidently that you are entitled to miracles.
Closing your eyes, remind yourself that you are asking only for what is
rightfully yours. Remind yourself also that miracles are never taken from
one and given to another, and that in asking for your rights you are upholding
the rights of everyone. Miracles do not obey the laws of this
world. They merely follow from the laws of God.
W 77 L 5.
After this brief introductory phase, wait quietly for
the assurance that your request is granted. You have asked for the
salvation of the world and for your own. You have requested that you be
given the means by which this is accomplished. You cannot fail to be
assured in this. You are but asking that the Will of God be done.
W 77 L 6.
In doing this, you do not really ask for
anything. You state a fact that cannot be denied. W(153) The
Holy Spirit cannot but assure you that your request is granted. The fact
that you accepted must be so. There is no room for doubt and uncertainty
today. We are asking a real question at last. The answer is a
simple statement of a simple fact. You will receive the assurance that
you seek.
W 77 L 7.
Our shorter practice periods will be frequent, and
will also be devoted to a reminder of a simple fact. Tell yourself often
today:
“I am entitled to miracles.”
Ask for them
whenever a situation arises in which they are called for. You will
recognize these situations,[218]
you are not relying on yourself to find them,[219]
and you are therefore fully entitled to receive them[220]
whenever you ask. Remember, too, not to be satisfied with less than the
perfect answer. Be quick to tell yourself, should you be tempted:
“I will not trade miracles for grievances.
I want only what belongs to me.
God has established miracles as my
right.” W(154)
March 19
W 78 L 1.
Perhaps it is not yet quite clear to you that each decision
that you make is one between a grievance and a miracle. Each grievance
stands like a dark shield of hate before the miracle it would conceal.
And as you raise it up before your eyes, you will not see the miracle
beyond. Yet all the while it waits for you in light, but you behold your
grievances instead.
W 78 L 2.
Today we go beyond the grievances, to look upon the
miracle instead. We will reverse the way you see by not allowing sight to
stop before it sees. We will not wait before the shield of hate, but lay
it down and gently lift our eyes in silence, to behold the Son of God.
W 78 L 3.
He waits for you behind your grievances, and as you
lay them down he will appear in shining light where each one stood
before. For every grievance is a block to sight, and as it lifts, you see
the Son of God where he has always been. He stands in light, but you were
in the dark. Each grievance made the darkness deeper, and you could not
see. Today we will attempt to see God's Son. We will not let
ourselves be blind to him; we will not look upon our grievances. So is
the seeing of the world reversed, as we look out toward truth, away from fear.
W 78 L 4. We will select one person you have used as target for your grievances, and lay the grievances aside, and look at him. Someone, perhaps, you fear and even hate; someone you think you love who angers you; someone you call a friend, but whom you see as difficult at times, or hard to please; demanding, irritating, or untrue to the ideal he should accept as his according to the role you set for him.</