Today’s lesson states a basic law of the cosmos and then moves us deeper into the study of what causes the experiences we have in this world.  

A Course In Miracles Lesson 130 wants us to understand that this world we are in is temporary.  Everything in it breaks down and eventually vanishes into nothing!  But there is no such thing as nothing.  This means that what this world presents as true is in error.  And that there is a world beyond this one that is not temporary but rather eternal.  Today’s lesson explains why we can not see or sense this mysterious eternal reality while experiencing this one.  It is impossible to see two worlds in the same way we can not experience winter time and summertime at once.  

In this world we have five senses in which to perceive visuals, sounds, textures, fragrances, and flavors.  Our body is constructed for the specific purpose of experiencing these five sensations all the time. A Course In Miracles is guiding our awareness towards the concept that there is something beyond these five senses that is felt in a different way.  Such a concept feels unbelievable to us directly because we are not built to perceive such a concept.  The focused way our body governs our experiences causes us to feel that non-physical concepts are foolish fiction to believe in.  Our body tells us that the physical world is what is real according to its own self-made system.  To a physical system, the physical world is what is real.

Today’s lesson explains why it is not possible to register the other reality A Course In Miracles is telling us is there, beyond this one.  We can not experience a state of contradiction.  We can not feel hot and cold at the same time. Even if such sensations were to come in rapid fire, one after another, they would never occur simultaneously.  We can not feel love and hate at the same time.  If you think you have, you are mistaken about what love really is.  We can not be awake and asleep at the same time. 

Lesson 130 explains that we choose to land on one side of reality- the real side, or the perpetual illusion of temporary existence.  Once we choose to experience a temporary dimension, the realness of the eternal nature of reality vanishes.  All evidence or proof of the existence of such a dimension becomes incredible. And we are put in the ironic position to have to “believe” in that which is actually real.   That is how powerful our choices are.  Our choices are complete and all-in commitments.  We can not believe two opposing perspectives.  That is the fundamental message of today’s lesson.  Once we grasp this fundamental principle, ACIM goes on to explain that once we choose between the two types of realities (eternal or temporary) the evidence of our choice is apparent by what we see in the world around us.  If we see suffering and violence, we have clearly chosen the temporary, impermanent dimension.  If we want to change this, we will need to become passionate about learning about our own interests.  

It is our interests that determine the world we create.  And if we are not in touch with what our interests really are, we need only look around at the condition of our life and our relationships.  They are a reflection of what we believe is possible and what we expect. The condition of your house or your car or your workspace is a reflection of the condition of your mind.  What happens to you is an indication of what you believe, fear, expect, and want.  The outside world reflects the nature and the quality of your thoughts. The contents of your thoughts is created by one thing only: your beliefs.  What you believe is shaped by what you are interested in.  And what holds your interest is what you choose to focus on.

It may feel as though you have no control over what you are interested in.  But that feeling of powerlessness is exactly what this course is trying to change.  Feeling powerless originates from ego logic which seeks to whisper beliefs to you that strength is dangerous and confidence takes an indefinite amount of time to build. These beliefs simply are not true.  Remaining weak or insecure is actually a covert form of egotism.  Excessive humility and a stance that you have no authority in any area of life is ego logic winning the day. 

Ego logic is all pervasive.  Think of it like a layer of plastic wrap over your thought process, invisible and distorting your natural state of awareness. Because of ego logic, we are currently unaware of just how interested we are in violence, terror, guilt and shame.  The proof of our interest in these bizarre painful conditions can be seen in the fact that we experience them.  Our entertainment is based on them.  Our news reports only of pain and exception, never the billions of instances daily where all went well.  

But ego logic is mistaken.  It wants us to believe we are powerless in an over powering world.  Ego casts big, intimidating shadows.  But in truth, we do not live powerless in an overpowering world.  If we did, we would be gone by now.  We would have been smushed out of existence long ago by the colossal dark force the illusion wants us to believe is real.  If it were real, we would not be here to discuss it. It would have already done what it set out to do. But alas, here we are.  

It can be difficult to believe that we would want something we do not want.  The reason we keep experiencing fear and violence is because we have been convinced that we want it, that it has value, and that pain and suffering will lead us to good things we want.  But it never will.  Guilt does not cleanse.  Shame does not liberate.  Cutting ourselves or others does not mend connections.  And it is impossible to experience a world of peace if we hold these beliefs about violence being useful to us.  Violence is not useful to us.  And in fact, violence does not exist.

The idea that violence is not real is impossible to grasp while functioning from the logic that holds violence as valuable.  This is why A Course In Miracles sets out to gently shift our logic from ego illusion into the grace of truth.  Today’s lesson reminds us.  There is another world beyond this one.  We can’t see it yet because it is not possible to see both this one and that one.  

We do not want to live in a terrifying world.  The fact that we do live in one only indicates that fear has blinded us to what is real.  We have fallen asleep and forgotten that there is nothing to ever be afraid of.  We can not protect this little physical body indefinitely.  But when we lose it, nothing bad will happen.  On the contrary.  When we experience loss of any kind, from a toy being taken away to the death of a loved one, we are confronted with the fact that this world is temporary.

There is a world that is not temporary.  There is a world that is eternal and because it is eternal and does not ever go away, it is true reality.  We do not want a violent world.  It is not possible to want pain or fear.  We will never want that.  And we can not ever want something we do not want.  All we can do is become more clear about where we are placing our attention and to notice that we believe pain is useful, when in truth it is not.  We do not need to suffer in order to achieve something good.  We do not need to punish in order to fix someone who has done something wrong.  Punishment does not correct.  It only deepens the problem.

True Reality is not violent or frightening.  Anytime such experiences occur, you can know with certainty that you are not experiencing true reality.  God does not want your pain and never will want it.  If you experience pain, it only means the Way of truth has been forgotten.  Remember it, and restore yourself to what you truly want.  This is how peace is always only one second away.  All is always well, even as you pivot and twist.

At this time, in this world, all we see around us are expressions of fear.  The world of fear is governed by a law that states: You must strive to seek what you desire, but you must never obtain it.  It is up to you to believe it is possible to attain what you desire.  You are free to believe you are condemned to strive and never achieve.  But you are also free to believe that peace and attainment is possible.  That you have not achieved it yet has nothing to do with your decision to believe it is possible.  Such a belief will bring great peace to all the turmoil of life.  It will not end the turmoil but it will stop feeling unbearable.  

Connecting to the power of the Spiritual Dimension makes life bearable while we wait for the larger movements beyond our control to carry us to the world we do want.  It is your birthright to receive what you long for.  You qualify to receive what you want because what you want is, under all the confusion, a good thing.  But it is not the birthright of your physical body to get all your body desires.  It is your birthright as a child of eternal creation to receive the joy of eternal creation.  Your true “form” which is formless is in a constant state of giving and receiving exactly what you want.  

If you are not able to have a sense of this eternal part of you, that is because you can not perceive two different worlds. You can not be in a temporary world and feel eternal.  This course is shifting how we understand our situation.  We are eternal beings, visiting a temporary event for purposes that deeply interest us.  We are not judged or condemned for having an interest in this illusion.  We are free and encouraged to be free to choose our own interests.  For in freedom we find joy.  But having chosen an illusion that is painful, it is difficult to get ourselves out.  We convinced ourselves so completely of the realness of illusion that we now need help.

A Course In Miracles is reminding us that we have not been left in this nightmare mistake forever.  No mistake has been made.  We were invited to explore, and the instant we no longer seek to investigate pain, we will be helped out of that pain.  If the pain does not stop, it does not mean we are abandoned without hope of release.  It means we still, on some level, have an interest in pain.  If that is so, we are asked to bring infinite compassion and curiosity to our interests and decisions.  Do not condemn your choices in an attempt to improve your life.  Recognize your right to find your own way.  Correct what you believe to be wrong and cultivate a character you approve of.  If you do not approve of your behavior, there is nothing more important in this world than to begin at once to repair that relationship.  Your company is all you ever have.  

Choose to believe you are good.  Choose to believe you have every right to learn, to make mistakes, and find ways to correct those mistakes.  You have the right to not suffer forever.  The process of waking up out of the nightmare we fell into involves learning how to pivot our attention towards that other world which, for now, does not feel real, but which we can chose to believe in without physical proof.  

We have forgotten the other world. But our forgetting does not cause that other world to vanish.  It is still there.  And it is well.  This world is a state of violence.  Violence is destruction.  Destruction creates nothing and can not last.  What lasts is always creative and joyful.  If you see a world of violence, you can know that you have not yet lost interest in seeing such a world.  Do not get angry about where your deep interests lay.  Your belief system runs very deep.  Acknowledging an unconscious interest in dysfunction is the beginning of being able to say, “I do not want to want pain.”  It is, in effect, saying, “I may want pain.  But I do not want to want pain.  I want to want peace.” Do not chose to value the unreal or temporary today.  Place your attention on what is enduring.  Let yourself begin to lose interest in intensity.  

We are asked to pause for five minutes six times today and bring this lesson to mind.  Each five minutes we take will build a great conviction in us to turn away from what is untrue and towards what is true.  In our six 5-minute sessions today, we are asked to ask for help.  Our strength alone will not guide us out of the impulses to let ego logic govern our experiences.  We need help out of that perception.  We are asked to turn to a higher power larger than ourselves and allow ourselves to be taught and guided.  When we ask, we then only need to wait with calm confidence that we will be answered.  We can not fail to receive help once we ask because of the very nature of Who we are asking.  

To begin your five minute meditations say to yourself, “I can only see one world at a time.  This painful world is not the one I want to see.  I turn away from all five senses, towards that other world, and I wait in calm confidence I will be found.”