I am not a victim of the world I see.
ACIM-W-31
The next ten lessons, involving longer sustained practises two-three times a day followed by frequent shorter ones throughout the day, will take us into a different and healthier way of seeing the world.
Not Victims of the world
We begin by realizing we are not victims of the world we see either externally or internally ( in our minds). We are asked to look around at everything we see in our immediate environment, then to survey our inner world of thinking without prioritizing or beings selective, without any form of attachment...simply allowing all thoughts to emerge as they do, while we repeat I am not the victim of the world I see. We are not victims of anything we encounter no matter how threatening it may appear and we are not victims to any thought no matter how real it seems to be. We are reminded the inner world is the cause of the outer world and by releasing claims of victim hood, we are declaring our independence in the name of freedom for ourselves and ultimately for the world at large. (Lesson 31)
Inventors of it
In Lesson 32 we learn that we are not the victim of the world we see, because we are actually the inventors of it, giving us the power to see it or not see it as we wish. While you want it you will see it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there for you to see. Both the inner world of thought and the outer word of form are simply in our imagination. I invented the world /situation I see.
Another Way
According to the next lesson we can shift the perception we have of the world. We practice realizing this by surveying both our outer environment and our inner world of thinking as we repeat There is another way of looking at the world/this. (Lesson 33)
Choosing Peace Instead
What is the other way of seeing? The perception we have can actually be a peaceful one which originates from a peaceful mind. Focus in this practice for Lesson 34 is on the inner world as we search for anxiety producing thoughts or thoughts of unwanted things or people in our experiences. We repeat I could see peace instead of this. And more specifically we can remind ourselves, I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety or worry [or thoughts about this situation, personality or event] with peace.
Holy? Me?
It is unlikely that many of us, so attached to the world of form, will see or believe that we are holy; that our mind is a part of God's. Yet we are asked to repeat this in Lesson 35 so we learn to develop a very different view of the self then the one we falsely identify with and try so hard to protect. We are reminded of our Source and our true identity whether we are ready to believe it or not beneath the ego. How do you see yourself? Search your mind for certain situations in your life and the ways you would describe yourself in those situations. Repeat I see myself as... Maybe you will say "depressed, kind, helpless" or whatever. Then when you provide each statement with a self describing adjective add the reminder, But my mind is part of God's. I am very holy. To say to ourselves that we are holy when we are using descriptors like "angry or failing" seems almost blasphemous to the pre-evolved mind but it is what we are asked to do in this lesson.
This holiness, that we may still feel very uncomfortable ascribing to our self,is also in everything we see. If our mind is holy, we are holy and if we are holy our sight is holy too. If our sight is holy everything we look upon is holy. Your holiness envelops the rug you look upon. your holiness envelops the fingers you look upon etc We need to look about everything in our environment and without prejudice or preference, without hierarchy of importance say My holiness envelops that...( Lesson 36)
Lesson 37 tells us that our purpose here is to see the world through our own holiness. This perception blesses us and the world together. This realization restores us to the wholeness we are and demands no payment from that which we perceive. If we are whole the thing or one we look upon is whole. Those who see themselves as whole make no demands. The practice involves looking around our environment and non selectively settling our gaze on whatever we see repeating My holiness blesses this chair...( or whatever) . We then practice by closing our eyes and thinking of some person randomly and repeating My holiness blesses you.[their name]
What Does Holiness Do?
What does this holiness do? It does everything. Your holiness reverses the laws of the world. It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and limits of any kind....Through your holiness the power of God is made available. and there is nothing God cannot do. If we are holy so is everything God created. Everything God created is holy because we are. So no matter what the perceived "problem" we are facing, the difficulty, the suffering...there is nothing that this holiness cannot do. I automatically think of my present health seeking experience and I apply the practice statement. In this situation involving ____________[ this bodily change and lack of diagnosis] in which I see myself, there is nothing that my holiness cannot do...because the power of God lies in it. (Lesson 38).
Salvation
Do you believe that guilt is hell? Do you believe that you are holy? That your holiness is the salvation of the world, and your own? Those are tough questions to ponder aren't they, because they break down belief systems we have adhered to forever? Your holiness is the answer to every question that was ever asked, is being asked now, or will ever be asked in the future.Your holiness means the end of guilt, and therefore the end of hell.
When we have unloving thoughts or vengeful thoughts or angry thoughts that appear in many forms uneasiness, anger, fear, worry, attack, insecurity etc is created . They disrupt our peace and it is from them we need to be saved. Salvation is merely seeing differently! So in our practice we need to randomly, without conscious selection, ponder people, and situations that bring about unloving thoughts and apply to each thought this statement. My unloving thoughts about ______________[ the delay in my diagnosis] are keeping me in hell. My holiness is my salvation. ...If guilt is hell, what is its opposite?
So what is its opposite? Salvation which brings us to freedom away from the mental torture of our minds and the hellish way we look upon the w world. What brings salvation? Recognizing who we really are...creations of God, therefore holy. What is holiness? Holiness is wholeness, love, peace, joy, unlimitedness, freedom. It is our natural state of being which is predominantly peaceful. Shall I say more? (Lesson 39)
We already are Peaceful
Lesson 40 attempts to add the happy things we are entitled to as holy beings. If we could just remind ourselves once every ten minutes that we are blessed children of God and that naturally underneath our crazy monkey minds we are happy, peaceful, loving and contented or calm, quiet, assured and confident we would be saved from the unnecessary suffering we create in our lives and in the world.
Wow! A lot of learning, a lot of learning.
ACIM Workbook Lessons 31-40.
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