CIM—LESSONS 19-25—JANUARY 25, 2011
Miracles Principle # 4: “All miracles mean life, and God is the giver of life. His Voice will direct you very specifically. You will be told all you need to know.” This is another way of saying miracles come from love. If you do not yet experience being told all you need to know, first be sure you have sufficiently quieted your mind to hear. Then be sure you’re not setting up the problem as you see it then asking that it be solved according to your limited understanding.
Lesson 19—“I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.” This lesson reinforces the Truth that all minds are joined. Thinking and its results are simultaneous because cause and effect are never separate. Thinking is cause; seeing is effect. Because thought and perception are simultaneous, it’s difficult for us to recognize thought as cause. The idea that our minds are joined is, at first, quite threatening because there are thoughts we have we’d prefer to think others are not privy to. But there are no “private” thoughts. All thoughts affect the entire Sonship.
Lesson 20—“I am determined to see.” This lesson marks a major shift in the Workbook. The practice has seemed easy up to this point, but it cannot stay that easy and reach its goal of transformation. Beginning now, you will be given more structure in which to practice. How you respond to this structure is crucial. Our undisciplined minds have a built-in resistance to structure. We don’t like to be told what to do. If you see the added structure as an imposition, you will rebel against it, either actively or passively. So try to see it as a vehicle to acquire the unparalleled gifts CIM offers you.
Lesson 21—“I am determined to see things differently.” This lesson is to help us avoid two fallacies: 1) that the degree of our anger matters; and 2) that our anger is confined to a particular personality trait of a person or a particular aspect of a situation. Mild irritation should be treated the same as rage. The Truth is all anger is maximal and “anger is never justified” (T-30.VI:I). CIM sees anger in a metaphysical sense. Within us we carry a blinding rage because we believe we have attacked Reality and succeeded. We think we have separated ourselves from God and destroyed the unity of Heaven. Enraged at ourselves and unable to endure the guilt, we project that guilt onto others.
Lesson 22—“What I see is a form of vengeance.” This lesson aims to help us want to see a different world. The statements, we’re asked to repeat can be rephrased in the following manner:
1) I see a world that has no permanence.
2) It has no permanence because permanence is an attribute of reality, and the world I see is not real.
3) This world is manifested by my fear and attack thoughts. They cause me to imagine a vengeful world.
The logic of this lesson rests on the idea in paragraph one that we see the world through angry eyes. The anger and attack we see in the world is a reflection of our own inner rage.
Lesson 23— “I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.” You are not trapped in the world you see because its cause can be changed. We cannot fix the world we see by trying to control it or manipulate it or make it better. We change the world we see only by giving up attack thoughts.
The lesson provides a brief summary of the process, the three steps to forgiveness:
First, identify the cause. We must become aware that we are responsible for what we see. Second, having recognized the mind as cause, we must choose to change our mind about the world. We must open to the truth that God did not create a hate-full world. These two steps are our responsibility. Step three takes care of itself, for if we take the first two steps, our false images are automatically replaced. God’s Truth is already in our mind but is masked, distorted by our error thoughts.
Lesson 24— “I do not perceive my own best interests.” The exercises for today are designed to bring four things about human perception to our attention:
1) We make many demands on a situation that have nothing to do with it.
2) Many of our goals are contradictory.
3) We have no unified outcome in mind and are therefore invested in “short-sighted” outcomes.
4) We’re disappointed in outcomes that don’t meet our shortsighted goals and expectations. We feel God has either abandoned us or is punishing us.
In order to recognize our best interests, we would need to be omniscient. Spirit is omniscient! For that reason, our best “prayer” is, “Thy will be done.”
Lesson 25—“I do not know what anything is for.” The purposes we assign things are based on ego goals and are, therefore, meaningless in the long run.
Our belief in separate beings/bodies has become an unquestioned core belief that makes all our thinking flawed. A baby goes through a process of learning its hand or foot is part of itself. We are still infants in that we don’t recognize the parts of ourselves when we see them; we think they are something or someone else. Because we think they are something else, we are unable to make judgments that make any sense. This is where true learning begins—admitting that, as long as we believe we are separate bodies, we are incapable of meaningful understanding.
If we don’t know what anything is for, the obvious question is: “What is it for?” The lesson answers this question: “Everything is for your own best interests.” Herein lies a huge call for faith. If resistance is felt, we may benefit from remembering our own track records for obtaining lasting peace and joy.
This lesson steps up, once again, the frequency and duration of our practices. Remember that each time you practice, even if you do not understand the lesson, you shorten the perceived time to your goal by hugely magnified strides.
RESISTANCE TO CIM PRACTICE
Spiritual seekers have always struggled with resistance to the principles they espouse. St. Paul expressed this frustration when he said: "For the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil which I would not, I do." (Romans, 7:19)
"Despite being committed to what CIM says--devoting months, students still find themselves doing the exact opposite of what Jesus says. They judge, indulge in specialness--whether special hate or special love--and do all the things people not associated with the Course do." Kenneth Wapnick
The Cause: On the primal level is the Prodigal’s desperate fear of the wrath of the Father he believes he abandoned. While few of us grasp the idea of The Original Error, choosing to experience separation from God, we all identify with our separate self. If we are honest, we recognize there is a part of us that luxuriates in our problems--past hurts, abuse, abandonment, etc. As painful as these experiences are, they define us. That is the self we now cherish and attempt to hold onto no matter what the cost.
The Effect: CIM’s promise to speed along that homecoming, that melding back into the Oneness, causes us to drag our feet or, in many cases, to dig in our heels in terror.
The Remedy: Release the guilt spurred by resistance. “For you must learn that all guilt is insane, and has no reason.” (T-13.X.6:3) It is the ego’s invisible shackle, to keep us bound in a vicious cycle of blame and guilt. Looking at the ego’s game without judging it is the key to neutralizing it. Just notice your error then jump back on the wagon.
The Motivation: (W-pI.107.2:1-5) “Try to remember when there was a time—perhaps a minute, maybe even less—when nothing came to interrupt your peace; when you were certain you were loved and safe. Then try to picture what it would be like to have that moment be extended to the end of time and to eternity. Then let the sense of quiet you felt be multiplied a hundred times, and then be multiplied another hundred more. And now you have a hint, no more than just the faintest intimation of the state your mind will rest in when the truth has come.”
Assignment: Miracles Principle #5. Workbook Lessons 26-32. Text—Chapter 26, Section II—“Many Forms/One Correction.”
Practical Application: This week, practice letting everyone off the hook. Smile and wave at the person who cuts you off in traffic. When conflict arises, release the other person from blame. “I’m sure I must have misunderstood.”
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