Lesson 1: Nothing I see in this room (on this street, from this window, in this place) means anything.

The purpose of this lesson is to teach you that everything you see is equally meaningless. Though the form may be different for each thing, no real differences exist between any of the things you see.

Lesson 2: I have given everything I see in this room (on this street, from this window, in this place) all the meaning that it has for me.

Indiscriminateness is emphasized in this lesson, and it is even suggested that you turn around so you do not miss anything in front of you, beside you, or behind you. You are asked not to concentrate on anything in particular, with the sole criterion for applying the idea being simply that your eyes have lighted on it.

Lesson 3: I do not understand anything I see in this room (on this street, from this window, in this place).

As you apply this idea, again make no distinctions of any kind. Do not question the suitability of anything, or judgment will have entered.

You who would judge reality cannot see It, for whenever judgment enters, reality has slipped away.

(ACIM: T-13.VII.5:5)

If some things you see have an emotionally charged meaning for you, simply lay such feelings aside, and use these things as you would anything else.

Lesson 4: These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I see in this room (on this street, from this window, in this place).

This lesson begins with noting the thoughts that are crossing your mind. "Good" thoughts are but shadows of what lies beyond them, and shadows make seeing difficult. "Bad " thoughts are outright blocks to sight, and make seeing impossible. You do not want either. 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." That is why they do not mean anything.

An illustrative story is as follows:

A man who owned a ranch had a son. One day the son brought home some wild horses. The man said "This is good." His neighbor asked "Who knows what is good or bad?" The next day the son broke his leg riding one of the horses. The man said "This is bad." His neighbor asked "Who knows what is good or bad?" The third day some men came to the ranch conscripting soldiers for the army and did not take the son with the broken leg. The man now said "This is good." Again the neighbor asked "Who knows what is good or bad?" The moral of the story is that one does not know what is good or bad. When seen correctly, all things share the light of God.

The aim of this lesson is to train you in the first steps toward the goal of separating the meaningless from the meaningful. You will learn to see the meaningless as outside of you, and the meaningful within. It is also the beginning of recognizing what is the same and what is different.

This is the first lesson where you may do the exercises three or four times a day, rather than just morning and evening.

Lesson 5: I am never upset for the reason I think.

This idea is very useful to apply to any person, situation or event you think is causing you pain or upset. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using both the cause of the upset, and also the form in which you see the upset. Remember that:

"There are no small upsets. They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind." (ACIM: W.5.4:3)

"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." (ACIM: W.5.6:3-4)

The purpose of this exercise is to clear away the thick film of past associations which you project onto everything, so that you can see things afresh and realize that you do not really understand them at all. Understanding through past experience will negate a present understanding or present experience.

Lesson 6: I am upset because I see something that is not there.

Only what God created is real, and nothing that He created is upsetting. So when you feel upset, you can be consoled by the idea that God did not create it, it is not real, therefore it is not even there!  The fact that you have chosen to see something upsetting is indicative of the guide you have chosen for seeing: the ego. Simply choose again and see only what the Holy Spirit shows you. Ask Him and He will help you. If your mind persists in focusing on the upset, pick up your course book and begin reading. You will soon be so absorbed in the words of Jesus that all other thoughts will leave your conscious mind.

Lesson 7: I see only the past.

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 is the reason behind all the preceding lessons. When you choose to let the past go, then the glorious present will be seen and you can begin to move forward in life. Looking backward can only be productive if you are looking at the love that was given and shared. It is always a joy to remember the Love of God.

Prayer:

• Thank you, Father, for the Holy Spirit and Jesus entering our minds and hearts to uproot ancient untruths and all the misperceptions in our past learning -- to clear the way for truth today, now, this moment. Amen ❤