A Course In Miracles Lesson 51

A Course In Miracles  Lesson 51

Nothing I see means anything.

The objects I see are not showing me true reality.  Things that go away are temporary, not eternal.  Focusing on the temporary causes me to forget about the eternal.  The temporary has no meaning since it is destined to vanish away.  What remains endures and is ever-lasting.  That which endures is the epitome and source of meaning and significance.  Meaning and purpose is found in connecting to the ever-present nonphysical dimension of peace. 

I have given what I see all the meaning it has for me.

Preferences include and exclude at will and in a random, irrational way.  Preferences are based on expectations and what we believe is possible for us according to our past experiences.  Our will is our inherent interest in something.  Our interests at this point in time have been exploring an impossible concept of separation from the eternal, all-inclusive Source Field of all that is.  It is not possible to separate from this Unified Field, but we can pretend that it is possible, and convince ourselves quite elaborately that separation has occurred.  To engage in this thought experiment, we have blocked the flow of information that comes from the Unified Field so that we can experience “information” of our own making based on the misguided belief in separation.  We have made up meanings of things that align with and define our own interests “separate” from the interests of Reality.  We find some things relevant to us and other things irrelevant to us depending on our interests.  We have assigned meaning which obscures the inherent natural meaning of what is.

I do not understand anything I see.

Because we engage in the logic of exclusion (of sorting what we like and do not like), we do not have all the information needed to truly know anything for what it is.  We are in a state of limited perception.  We do not perceive what we perceive with total accuracy.  There is, however, a dimension, (a Field) that never excludes and which does see clearly.  Gaining awareness of this Unified Field and learning to remember it often is what this course is teaching us how to do.

These thoughts do not mean anything.

What a relief.  Or do you find this a disconcerting idea?  Since most of my thoughts cause me a great deal of pain, it is a relief to consider that I do not have to take them so seriously.  These thoughts are passing clouds.  Can you remember what you thought about at the age of 12?  Can you remember what you thought about last month?  Thoughts do not last and therefore have no lasting meaning and are not real.  Even thoughts that feel good eventually lead to sorrow because all thoughts as we know them are based in the past and are over.  Even our happy memories do not mean anything.  The memory is not where meaning lies.  What does mean something is your joy of the happy memory, and your joy at the time the memory was created.  It is not your thoughts that cause joy.  What causes joy is always and forever You beyond time and space as part of the Loving Field.

I am never upset for the reason I think.

Have you ever noticed how everything and everyone eventually becomes an irritation to us?  It is only a matter of time before we get frustrated with even our most beloved relationships.  We are always seeking relief from our conditions in one way or another.  And because it extends to everything and everyone eventually, we must conclude that frustrations can not be caused by the external world.  We assign frustrations as being caused by this person in this situation.  But when we go to a different situation, we find a different person who is causing another frustration.  It is not the outside world causing my pain.  It is the way in which I am thinking that is hurting me.