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Lesson 21 - I am determined to see things differently.

1. The idea for today is obviously a continuation and extension of the preceding one. ²This time, however, specific mind-searching periods are necessary, in addition to applying the idea to particular situations as they may arise. ³Five practice periods are urged, allowing a full minute for each.

2. In the practice periods, begin by repeating the idea to yourself. ²Then close your eyes and search your mind carefully for situations past, present or anticipated that arouse anger in you. ³The anger may take the form of any reaction ranging from mild irritation to rage. ⁴The degree of the emotion you experience does not matter. ⁵You will become increasingly aware that a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing but a veil drawn over intense fury.

3. Try, therefore, not to let the “little” thoughts of anger escape you in the practice periods. ²Remember that you do not really recognize what arouses anger in you, and nothing that you believe in this connection means anything. ³You will probably be tempted to dwell more on some situations or persons than on others, on the fallacious grounds that they are more “obvious.” ⁴This is not so. ⁵It is merely an example of the belief that some forms of attack are more justified than others.

4. As you search your mind for all the forms in which attack thoughts present themselves, hold each one in mind while you tell yourself:

²I am determined to see ____________ [name of person] differently.

³I am determined to see ________________ [specify the situation] differently.

5. Try to be as specific as possible. ²You may, for example, focus your anger on a particular attribute of a particular person, believing that the anger is limited to this aspect. ³If your perception is suffering from this form of distortion, say:

⁴Ek is vasbeslote om ___________ (spesifiseer die eienskap) in __________(naam van persoon) anders te sien.

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This lesson comes from (A Course in Miracles). Hemelbewus presents it in Afrikaans as part of a path of inner healing and forgiveness. The translation was done with great care and dedication over several years by Henri Theron, and brings the deep spiritual teachings of the Course to Afrikaans-speaking readers.

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Lesson 21: I am determined to see things differently. (ACIM, W-21)

Lesson 20 - I am determined to see.

1. We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. ²There 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. ³This approach has been intentional, and very carefully planned. ⁴We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your thinking. ⁵The salvation of the world depends on it. ⁶Yet you will not see if you regard yourself as being coerced, and if you give in to resentment and opposition.

2. This is our first attempt to introduce structure. ²Do not misconstrue it as an effort to exert force or pressure. ³You want salvation. ⁴You want to be happy. ⁵You want peace. ⁶You do not have them now, because your mind is totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, love and fear. ⁷You are now learning how to tell them apart. ⁸And great indeed will be your reward.

3. Your decision to see is all that vision requires. ²What you want is yours. ³Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for an indication that our goal is of little worth. ⁴Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? ⁵And can the world be saved if you are not? ⁶God has one Son, and he is the resurrection and the life. ⁷His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on earth. ⁸In your determination to see is vision given you.

4. The exercises for today consist in reminding yourself throughout the day that you want to see. ²Today’s idea also tacitly implies the recognition that you do not see now. ³Therefore, 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.

5. Repeat today’s idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today, attempting to do so every half hour. ²Do not be distressed if you forget to do so, but make a real effort to remember. ³The extra repetitions should be applied to any situation, person or event that upsets you. ⁴You can see them differently, and you will. ⁵What you desire you will see. ⁶Such is the real law of cause and effect as it operates in the world.

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Lesson 20: I am determined to see. (ACIM, W-20)

Lesson 19 - I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.

1. The idea for today is obviously the reason why your seeing does not affect you alone. ²You will notice that at times the ideas related to thinking precede those related to perceiving, while at other times the order is reversed. ³The reason is that the order does not matter. ⁴Thinking and its results are really simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate.

2. Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined. ²This 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.” ³Yet it is a fact that there are no private thoughts. ⁴Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet understand that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. ⁵And salvation must be possible because it is the Will of God.

3. The minute or so of mind searching which today’s exercises require is to be undertaken with eyes closed. ²The idea for today is to be repeated first, and then the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that time. ³As 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:

⁴I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about _____________.

4. The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as possible in selecting subjects for the practice periods 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. ²Do not forget, however, that random selection of subjects for all practice periods remains essential throughout. ³Lack of order in this connection will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order in miracles meaningful to you.

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. ²Do not attempt more than four.

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Lesson 19: I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts. (ACIM, W-19)

Lesson 18 - I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

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. ²It also emphasizes the idea that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later on.

2. Today’s idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it. ²Therefore, the exercises for today emphasize this aspect of your perception. ³The three or four practice periods which are recommended should be done as follows:

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

²I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see _____.

³Conclude each practice period by repeating the more general statement:

⁴I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

⁵A minute or so, or even less, will be sufficient for each practice period.

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Lesson 18: I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing. (ACIM, W-18)

Lesson 17 - I see no neutral things.

1. This idea is another step in the direction of identifying cause and effect as it really operates in the world. ²You see no neutral things because you have no neutral thoughts. ³It is always the thought that comes first, despite the temptation to believe that it is the other way around. ⁴This is not the way the world thinks, but you must learn that it is the way you think. ⁵If it were not so, perception would have no cause, and would itself be the cause of reality. ⁶In view of its highly variable nature, this is hardly likely.

2. In applying today’s idea, say to yourself, with eyes open:

²I see no neutral things because I have no neutral thoughts.

³Then look about you, resting your glance on each thing you note long enough to say:

⁴Ek sien nie ’n neutrale __________ nie, want my gedagtes oor __________ is nie neutraal nie.

⁵For example, you might say:

⁶I do not see a neutral wall, because my thoughts about walls are not neutral.

⁷Ek sien nie ’n neutrale liggaam nie, want my gedagtes oor liggame is nie neutraal nie.

3. As usual, it is essential to make no distinctions between what you believe to be animate or inanimate; pleasant or unpleasant. ²Regardless of what you may believe, you do not see anything that is really alive or really joyous. ³That is because you are unaware as yet of any thought that is really true, and therefore really happy.

4. Three or four specific practice periods are recommended, and no less than three are required for maximum benefit, even if you experience resistance. ²However, if you do, the length of the practice period may be reduced to less than the minute or so that is otherwise recommended.

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Lesson 17: I see no neutral things. (ACIM, W-17)

Lesson 16 - I have no neutral thoughts.

1. The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that your thoughts have no effect. ²Everything you see is the result of your thoughts. ³There is no exception to this fact. ⁴Thoughts are not big or little; powerful or weak. ⁵They are merely true or false. ⁶Those that are true create their own likeness. ⁷Those that are false make theirs.

2. There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of “idle thoughts.” ²What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called idle. ³Every thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion; either it extends the truth or it multiplies illusions. ⁴You can indeed multiply nothing, but you will not extend it by doing so.

3. Besides your recognizing that thoughts are never idle, salvation requires that you also recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war; either love or fear. ²A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is impossible. ³There 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. ⁴We will practice this idea in many forms before you really understand it.

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 that may tend to elude the search. ²This is quite difficult until you get used to it. ³You will find that it is still hard for you not to make artificial distinctions. ⁴Every thought that occurs to you, regardless of the qualities that you assign to it, is a suitable subject for applying today’s idea.

5. In the practice periods, first repeat the idea to yourself, and then as each one crosses your mind hold it in awareness while you tell yourself:

²This thought about _________ is not a neutral thought.

³That thought about _________ is not a neutral thought.

⁴As usual, use today’s idea whenever you are aware of a particular thought that arouses uneasiness. ⁵The following form is suggested for this purpose:

⁶Hierdie gedagte oor __________ is nie ’n neutrale gedagte nie, want ek het nie neutrale gedagtes nie.

6. Four or five practice periods are recommended, if you find them relatively effortless. ²If strain is experienced, three will be enough. ³The length of the exercise period should also be reduced if there is discomfort.

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Lesson 16: I have no neutral thoughts. (ACIM, W-16)

Lesson 15 - My thoughts are images that I have made.

1. It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing. ²You think you think them, and so you think you see them. ³This is how your “seeing” was made. ⁴This is the function you have given your body’s eyes. ⁵It is not seeing. ⁶It is image making. ⁷It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.

2. This introductory idea to the process of image making that you call seeing will not have much meaning for you. ²You will begin to understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see now. ³That is the beginning of real vision. ⁴You can be certain that real vision will come quickly when this has occurred.

3. As we go along, you may have many “light episodes.” ²They may take many different forms, some of them quite unexpected. ³Do not be afraid of them. ⁴They are signs that you are opening your eyes at last. ⁵They will not persist, because they merely symbolize true perception, and they are not related to knowledge. ⁶These exercises will not reveal knowledge to you. ⁷But they will prepare the way to it.

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:

²This _________ is an image that I have made.

³That _________ is an image that I have made.

⁴It is not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the application of today’s idea. ⁵It is necessary, however, to continue to look at each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. ⁶The idea should be repeated quite slowly each time.

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. ²Less than a minute will do for the practice periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. ³Do not have more than three application periods for today’s idea unless you feel completely comfortable with it, and do not exceed four. ⁴However, the idea can be applied as needed throughout the day.

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Lesson 15: My thoughts are images that I have made. (ACIM, W-15)

Lesson 14 - God did not create a meaningless world.

1. The idea for today is, of course, the reason why a meaningless world is impossible. ²What God did not create does not exist. ³And everything that does exist exists as He created it. ⁴The world you see has nothing to do with reality. ⁵It is of your own making, and it does not exist.

2. The exercises for today are to be practiced with eyes closed throughout. ²The mind-searching period should be short, a minute at most. ³Do not have more than three practice periods with today’s idea unless you find them comfortable. ⁴If you do, it will be because you really understand what they are for.

3. The idea for today is another step in learning to let go the thoughts that you have written on the world, and see the Word of God in their place. ²The early steps in this exchange, which can truly be called salvation, can be quite difficult and even quite painful. ³Some of them will lead you directly into fear. ⁴You will not be left there. ⁵You will go far beyond it. ⁶Our direction is toward perfect safety and perfect peace.

4. With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that cross your mind. ²Name each one as it occurs to you, and then deny its reality. ³God did not create it, and so it is not real. ⁴Say, for example:

⁵God did not create that war, and so it is not real.

⁶God did not create that airplane crash, and so it is not real.

⁷God did not create that disaster [specify], and so it is not real.

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. ²In each case, name the “disaster” quite specifically. ³Do not use general terms. ⁴For 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.

6. This is your personal repertory of horrors at which you are looking. ²These things are part of the world you see. ³Some of them are shared illusions, and others are part of your personal hell. ⁴It does not matter. ⁵What God did not create can only be in your own mind apart from His. ⁶Therefore, it has no meaning. ⁷In recognition of this fact, conclude the practice periods by repeating today’s idea:

⁸God did not create a meaningless world.

7. The idea for today can, of course, be applied to anything that disturbs you during the day, aside from the practice periods. ²Be very specific in applying it. ³Say:

⁴God did not create a meaningless world. ⁵He did not create [specify the situation which is disturbing you], and so it is not real.

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Lesson 14: God did not create a meaningless world. (ACIM, W-14)

Lesson 13 - A meaningless world engenders fear.

1. Today’s idea is really another form of the preceding one, except that it is more specific as to the emotion aroused. ²Actually, a meaningless world is impossible. ³Nothing without meaning exists. ⁴However, it does not follow that you will not think you perceive something that has no meaning. ⁵On the contrary, you will be particularly likely to think you do perceive it.

2. Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all the separated ones. ²It represents a situation in which God and the ego “challenge” each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the empty space that meaninglessness provides. ³The ego rushes in frantically to establish its own ideas there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used to demonstrate its own impotence and unreality. ⁴And on this alone it is correct.

3. It is essential, therefore, that you learn to recognize the meaningless, and accept it without fear. ²If you are fearful, it is certain that you will endow the world with attributes that it does not possess, and crowd it with images that do not exist. ³To the ego illusions are safety devices, as they must also be to you who equate yourself with the ego.

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. ²With eyes closed, repeat today’s idea to yourself. ³Then open your eyes, and look about you slowly, saying:

⁴I am looking at a meaningless world.

⁵Repeat this statement to yourself as you look about. ⁶Then close your eyes, and conclude with:

⁷A meaningless world engenders fear because I think I am in competition with God.

5. You may find it difficult to avoid resistance, in one form or another, to this concluding statement. ²Whatever form such resistance may take, remind yourself that you are really afraid of such a thought because of the “vengeance” of the “enemy.” ³You are not expected to believe the statement at this point, and will probably dismiss it as preposterous. ⁴Note carefully, however, any signs of overt or covert fear which it may arouse.

6. This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause and effect relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in recognizing. ²Do not dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even to think of it except during the practice periods. ³That will suffice at present.

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Lesson 13: A meaningless world engenders fear. (ACIM, W-13)

Lesson 12 - I am upset because I see a meaningless world.

1. The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. ²You think that what upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or an insane world. ³All these attributes are given it by you. ⁴The world is meaningless in itself.

2. These exercises are done with eyes open. ²Look around you, this time quite slowly. ³Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval. ⁴Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter, but try, instead, to keep a measured, even tempo throughout. ⁵What you see does not matter. ⁶You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time. ⁷This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value.

3. As you look about you, say to yourself:

²Ek dink ek sien ’n angswekkende wêreld, ’n gevaarlike wêreld, ’n vyandige wêreld, ’n treurige wêreld, ’n bose wêreld, ’n mal wêreld,

and so on, using whatever descriptive terms happen to occur to you. ³If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. ⁴For example, you might think of “a good world,” or “a satisfying world.” ⁵If such terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. ⁶You 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. ⁷All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today’s exercises. ⁸Their seeming quality does not matter.

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. ²For the purposes of these exercises, there is no difference between them. ³At the end of the practice period, add:

⁴But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.

5. What is meaningless is neither good nor bad. ²Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you? ³If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy. ⁴But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be. ⁵It is this you see in it. ⁶It is this that is meaningless in truth. ⁷Beneath your words is written the Word of God. ⁸The truth upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His. ⁹That is the ultimate purpose of these exercises.

6. Three or four times is enough for practicing the idea for today. ²Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute. ³You may find even this too long. ⁴Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of strain.