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:
²I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world,
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.
https://acim.org/acim/lesson-12/i-am-upset-because-i-see-a-meaningless-world/en/s/414?wid=toc
ACIM / A Course in Miracles
npub1qgv…vt5h
2024-01-12 16:29:20
Author Public Key
npub1qgvft8wrrcvjcytc4ca2z2h9p6ptm5wj3tmfwuwu36wgpvn73ffqwfvt5hPublished at
2024-01-12 16:29:20Event JSON
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"content": "Lesson 12\n\nI am upset because I see a meaningless world.\n\n1. 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.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. As you look about you, say to yourself:\n\n²I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world,\n\nand 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.\n\n4. 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:\n\n⁴But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.\n\n5. 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.\n\n6. 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. \n\nhttps://acim.org/acim/lesson-12/i-am-upset-because-i-see-a-meaningless-world/en/s/414?wid=toc",
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