Day 17

Today's Lesson:

I see no neutral things.

As before, this lesson follows the previous format. It makes sense logically, because if I have no neutral thoughts, I would see no neutral things. I think the things I see cause the thoughts I have, but it is really the other way around. We typically think we will believe it when we see it because we need proof - we need the world to show us the way we think. It's really like a Wayne Dyer book I've seen "You'll See It When You Believe It."

This is just another way to show us that we've got it all backwards in the way we've typically been thinking. This is true of things we would call "pleasant" in addition to things we would call "unpleasant."

Miracles I'm noticing:

As I look around me in my hotel room, I notice the TV, the lamp, the mirror (which holds my reflection, with my hair sticking up all over) and I tell myself "I do not see a neutral TV, lamp, mirror or reflection of myself because my thoughts about TVs, lamps, mirrors and myself are not neutral." Especially as I think about my own reflection I realize that I really do not have neutral thoughts about myself. I notice that I do have some judgment about everything. Just noticing that the thought precedes the thing is pretty amazing. This means that logically I really have no reason to be upset or crabby or even joyous - because those thoughts do not need reasons. As I can unlearn and undo those beliefs that have been running on autopilot for all these years, I can begin to see that I actually could see neutral things if I could retrain my mind to have neutral thoughts, which would allow me to get rid of all the conditioning and judgment that seems to automatically show up for me.

I'm also getting that even the judgment I notice around the things I see actually means nothing, so I don't have to beat myself up by attaching meaning to judgment. Just working on seeing things neutrally could allow me a breakthrough in everything - even the way I see myself.

Day 11

Today's Lesson:

My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.

This is, of course, a continuation of all the previous lessons. As I think about the words in today's lesson, I can see how it might be easy to get caught up in the meaning I have given to these words - even the meaning I attach to the word "meaningless." If I accept that nothing in itself has any meaning except the meaning I've attached to it, it becomes easier to see that my judgments and my past experience are always the reason I have a reaction to things I observe. The way this statement is worded shows me that it is MY thoughts that show me the way the world is, not the other way around.

As I think more about the way I've always thought about the world, that the way the world is (insert my judgment here: good, bad, scary, difficult, wonderful), I'm aware that my judgment automatically determines my thoughts. This way of thinking allows me to be a victim and to be justified in my thought process. It really allows me to be right.

But a simple shift from the world creating my reality to my reality creating the world doesn't shift my ability to be right. If I now see that I've had it backwards this whole time, I now am in charge of the way the world occurs to me - and I STILL get to be right about it! I don't have to give up anything and I gain EVERYTHING!

This understanding really is the key to forgiveness, and that starts with forgiving myself for my past judgments and upside down thinking. That simple shift allows me to be free to start clean every single day - every single hour - every single minute.

Miracles I've noticed:

What I'm noticing, in my third year of this Course, is that as I shift from "out there" to "in here," there is really no need to "start over" - because this has become my preferred way of seeing the world. Of course, for many of us, hindsight is still clearer than foresight or present sight (is that even a term?). We can see better what we should have done than what will come naturally for a while. But practice and commitment are key. It's amazing to get reminders - like this - that this way of seeing the world is much preferred to the way I used to see it!

I know it's no accident that today's TUT message says:

Do you know what people who amass wealth, friends, and laughter have in common with those who don't?

Very often, Jodee, both look around at their lives and say, "Yeah, this is who I am. It must have been meant to be."

Must be a trick of the light.

The Universe

Rarely, Jodee, do they notice that their thoughts preceded their condition, because nothing is meant to be.

I'm also noticing, when I take a step away from my present thoughts, that seeing everything through the eyes of personal accountability is allowing situations around me to shift as well. The clients I work with, the telephone conversations I have, the interactions with the clerk at the gas station - really every encounter - is just what it is. As I realize that I just am what I am, too, I see that there are no accidents or coincidences. It's no accident that clerks are always friendly to me or clients are always engaged or phone conversations are always uplifting. If that is ever NOT the case, it's because my thoughts caused them to be that way. Then I can just shift into forgiveness and the whole thing is nothing more than a lesson - or a validation.

Are you noticing anything like that in your daily interactions? I'd love to hear about them!

Day 8

Today's Lesson:

My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

As I think more about this lesson, it becomes more clear to me that the previous lessons make so much sense (if you are just reading today for the first time, you may want to go back and start from Day 1 to get the full effect). If my mind is cluttered with thoughts that have everything to do with past events and past judgments, it's no wonder I have a tough time being objective. If I can remember that my mind, in the best case, is blank, that opens the way for true vision and openness.

It's pretty profound to consider that any thought I have about any person, place, thing, or experience is because I have a preconception about it based on what I already know about it from the past. Just acknowledging that this is true opens up huge space for creation.

Miracles I've noticed:

Since it's only 5:53 a.m. as I write this today, I haven't noticed too many miracles yet. But thinking about today's lesson, I'm really going to notice when past thoughts cloud the present for me. I'm training out of town today and singing with my chorus in Minneapolis tonight, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to notice the miracles. I'll update this post when I write tomorrow morning, so stay tuned!

UPDATE:

The training went amazingly well. We talked there about some of these concepts, even though this is not what the training is about. In one section we spend 20 seconds listening to the voice in our heads to show that humans have 60,000 random thoughts during any given day and if we're listening to that voice, we're not present (in the present) with people we should be communicating with. This added dimension I'm able to provide because I'm consciously being present and working not to be preoccupied with past thoughts gives them a different experience in the training, which was very evident by the feedback they provided on the spot. I'll look forward to being awake to the possibilities of the present during the rest of the training!