ACIM

When I first encountered this lesson, it created a HUGE shift in my understanding.  When it said, “look at a cup”, I picked up my coffee cup and literally looked at it.

Do you see a cup, or are you merely reviewing your past experiences of picking up a cup, being thirsty, drinking from a cup, feeling the rim of a cup against your lips, having breakfast, falling to the floor and breaking, and so on?

If you had never seen a cup before, would you know what it is for?  If so, how?  Based on past experiences of similar items, right?  You don’t see the cup as it is, you see it according to your experiences of it, which are always in the past.   If you only know what the cup “is” based on your past experiences, do you actually see it?

No.  We see only the past because we project our past experiences onto the present.  ACIM says that this idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones.

It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.
It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.
It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.
It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.
It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.
It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there.

Everything we believe is rooted in time.   We believe we see a cup because our belief is rooted in time.

• I see only the past in this plant.
• I see only the past in this cat.
• I see only the past in this pillow.
• I see only the past in that television set.
• I see only the past in that rocking chair.
• I see only the past in that chest.
• I see only the past in that fireplace.
• I see only the past in that bathroom.
• I see only the past in that bottle.

The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea.

• I am nervous about my daughter taking her exams because I see something that is not there.
• I am anxious about maintaining too many blogs because I see something that is not there.
• I am angry with the school district because I see something that is not there.
• I am frustrated with my dryer that hasn’t worked right for 7 years because I see something that is not there.
• I am concerned about my daughter going back to school because I see something that is not there.
• I am worried about my health because I see something that is not there.
• I am embarrassed about my messy house because I see something that is not there.
• I am afraid of what is going to happen in the future because I see something that is not there.

That last one finally made the whole exercise make sense.  There are no small upsets.  They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

There are no small upsets.
They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

The last time I did these lessons, we had a neighbor who liked to listen to the football game from his truck radio very loudly on Saturday mornings while he was working in the garage. It could be heard clearly through our bedroom window and muffled through our den which ruined my wonderful Saturday morning reading sessions.  The reason it upset me was because I encountered an internal battle. If I were a “nice, sweet” person, it wouldn’t have bothered me. But it did.

I don’t like being thought of as a controlling bitch.  I want to be sweet and nice.  So I never once said anything about how loud this man’s radio was, completely resenting the poor guy the entire time he lived next door to us.  The problem, of course, wasn’t my neighbor or his radio blaring from the driveway. The problem was that I was wrapped up in my image, and that image was based upon expectations set in my past.

When I was a girl, I used to pray to God to make me “sweet”.  I’d make New Year’s resolutions about it and remind myself every morning, “today I am going to be sweet” (which meant meek and mild).  Of course, I never figured out how to make it happen. But the fact that I’m not sweet still upsets me.

• I am not upset for not being sweet for the reasons I think.
• I am not angry with my son for the reason I think.
• I am not concerned about my daughter going back to school for the reason I think.
• I am not worried about the curve in her spine for the reason I think.
• I not upset about not having a career for the reason I think.
• I am not nervous about my son moving out for the reason I think.
• I am not upset about not being able to walk without pain for the reason I think.
• I am not frustrated with my lack of energy for the reason I think.
• I am not overwhelmed by the amount of housework that needs to be done for the reason I think.

This thought about ___ does not mean anything.
It is like the things I see in this room [on this street, and so on].

* This thought about my throat constantly hurting does not mean anything.
* This thought about my son driving safely does not mean anything.
* This thought about the cats being hungry does not mean anything.
* this thought about what to cook for dinner does not mean anything.
* This thought about actually liking cauliflower soup does not mean anything.
* This thought about why my husband gaseped does not mean anything.
* This thought about my foot not hurting at the moment does not mean anything.
* This thought about how squeaky our floors are does not mean anything.
* This thought about wishing I could get rid of our crappy carpet does not mean anything.
* This thought that the plants might need watering does not mean anything.
* This thought that I wish it would rain does not mean anything.
* This thought about how much rain we have had does not mean anything.
* This thought about what it would be like to have a drought does not mean anything.

It thoughts go on and on and on and on.

To be repeated no more than three or four times during the day.

The point of the exercises is to help you clear your mind of all past associations, to see things exactly as they appear to you now, and to realize how little you really understand about them. It is therefore essential that you keep a perfectly open mind, unhampered by judgment, in selecting the things to which the idea for the day is to be applied. For this purpose one thing is like another; equally suitable and therefore equally useful.

* I do not understand that plant.
* I do not understand that Van Gogh print.
* I do not understand that cat.
* I do not understand those tiles.
* I do not understand that fan.
* I do not understand that blackboard.
* I do not understand that oven.
* I do not understand those curtains.

I do not understand anything I see in this room.

I do not understand anything I see through that window.

I do not understand anything I see.

The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely that your eyes have lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything particular, but be sure that nothing is specifically excluded.

* I have given that boy all the meaning it has for me.
* I have given that blanket all the meaning it has for me.
* I have given that rocking chair all the meaning it has for me.
* I have given that television set all the meaning it has for me.
* I have given that book all the meaning it has for me.
* I have given that piano all the meaning it has for me.
* I have given that box of Fruity Cheerios all the meaning it has for me.
* I have given that bird across the street all the meaning it has for me.

This lesson so freaked me out the first time I encountered it. When I first started ACIM, I was a fairly conservative Christian and was convinced ACIM was a cult. How better to brain wash people than to tell them that nothing they see means anything? Just empty their brains and then you can dump whatever meaning you want into them.

But then again, if nothing I see means anything, then whatever meaning a cult would want me to take on would be meaningless, too.

What I see is meaningless. I give it all the meaning it has. If I accept the meaning a cult imposes upon me, then that’s the meaning I give it. But in and of itself, it has no meaning. I have created the meaning.

* That man does not mean anything.
* That table does not mean anything.
* That rug does not mean anything.
* That computer does not mean anything.
* That lamp does not mean anything.
* That cat does not mean anything.
* That door does not mean anything.
* That car does not mean anything.
* That tree does not mean anything.