At first glance, this concept sounds bleak and depressing.  But if we change our understanding of what this world can really ever do for us, we are able to avoid many disappointments.  

It is not possible for this world to be a stable source of comfort or clarity.  Nothing in this world can ever last.  Even mountains fade away.  Understanding that the world around you of stuff and people does not hold the key to enduring wellness will save you years of misery and effort.  Do not pour water into sand in the hopes that it will gather.  Do not look for stability in things or people.  Stability is found in relationship with our own inner experience.

A Course In Miracles Lesson 128 reminds us that we have an eternal light within.  Perhaps it is the size of a grain of sand, but it is there and can never be destroyed.  It can grow larger and stronger when we place our attention on it.  It is this light within where we can safely seek eternal comfort.  

A light within may feel like an abstract concept.  But this is only because we are so completely identified with the physical world.  This is similar to being certain a dream is real, only to wake up and realize it was nothing at all.  To cultivate a belief in an abstract concept, we must use our imagination.  This means we must validate our imaginations as real, even though they are not physical things.  Our imagination is an essential component in learning how to follow the path out of pain and into clarity.  Our imagination is really all we ever have.  Our imagination creates worlds, including this one.

We are asked in this course to place more importance on a world of energy potential than on physical facts.  Facts change.  As Einstein discovered, facts and truth are relative and many things can not be proven in certain environments.  But this does not indicate they are not real or valid.  Facts are relative to circumstances.  Circumstances in this world change.  We live in a state of change.  To be able to change with the movement of the times, we are advised to place our attention on the movement, not on what is being moved.

Everything you value in this world only serves to keep you in this world, convinced of its realness.  But you do not really want to stay here.  You have a deep desire beyond the temporary desires prompted by this world.  Our true desire is located when we sit quietly and listen for the voice within that speaks the truth to us.

The human brain is astounding in what it is able to build and figure out.  We are intensely clever creatures.  But the only activity worth the power of our minds is the activity of learning how to hold all physical things, conditions, and people lightly.  This is not the world to build lasting connections.  This is a world to learn from and move on.  This does not mean that we will never engage in anything of lasting value.  Our love connections with others are always forever.  Even if the actual relationship ended, nothing can undo a connection forged by the power of love.  Love has no opposite and no end, even if you are not able to connect to it at this time.  Being in time does not negate the truth of timelessness.

Let this world of grandeur and promises no longer deceive you.  That person you meet can be a companion or friend, but they can not fulfill your every need.  That job can move you forward in your circumstances, but of itself, no job can ever satisfy you without a connection to the spiritual value of the activity.

It is not our goal in life to become nonphysical.  That will happen naturally in its own time.  A Course In Miracles Lesson 128 is asking that we remember the non-physical dimension whenever this illusion of life gets to be too painful.

The only way to navigate a nightmare is to wake up and leave the whole fabrication behind.  It becomes nothing as we move on with our day.  The dream did not matter and can not last.  Do not seek meaning where there is none.  Turn to where true meaning dwells by cultivating a relationship with your inner dialogue.  Grow quiet.  Listen.  A message will come to you so gently it will seem as if it had always been there.  Which it has.

Let go of the belief that things of this world are what you want.  Enjoy the world as the pathway you take towards truth and peace.  What leads to greater calm?  Follow that. Allow yourself to release the intensity of value you have placed on the people and things around you.  Do not be afraid to allow what you have made important to become unimportant.  This includes your wife, husband, children… all the things we hold high and try to preserve.  Look beyond the object to the essence of what you really love.

Throughout the day, pause and allow this world to be free of purpose for a few seconds or even a whole minute.  Gain a fraction of distance from the substance of time and rejoin the timeless.  See that what you are doing is optional.  Ask yourself why you are doing it and then decide if you find that reason to be moving towards peace or pain.  Place no hope on that activity to bring you lasting meaning.  Enjoy the activity as it passes into the next and the next.

It is insane to trust an unstable thing for stability.  It is insane to stand on a stool that has a broken leg.  Today we adjust our understanding of what this world really is and what it can actually do for us.  This lesson helps us learn how to not give 100% of our attention to any one thing.  When we become consumed by something we are left disoriented when it inevitably comes to an end.

A Course In Miracles Lesson 128 asks us to take ten minutes three times today to sit and ponder today’s lesson.  This world holds nothing that we really want. Sit morning, noon, and evening for ten minutes.  Also, take brief moments every hour to protect your vulnerable mind from slipping into a perspective that hurts.  Remember as often as you can: This world is not what I want.