Welcome to active meditation.
A Course in Miracles,
Lesson 5 I am never upset for the reason I think.
We prepare for this exercise by placing our body in a comfortable position so that we won't have to move it for several minutes.
We close our eyes.
We take three deep breaths to relax our mind and body.
The out breath longer than the in breath.
And to help relax,
We remove all expression from our face.
Do this now.
Place your body in a comfortable position.
Take three deep breaths.
This is a course in miracles.
It is a required course.
Only the time you take it is voluntary.
Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum.
It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time.
The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love,
For that is beyond what can be taught.
It does aim,
However,
At removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence,
Which is your natural inheritance.
The opposite of love is fear,
But what is all encompassing can have no opposite.
This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
I am never upset for the reason I think.
This idea,
Like the preceding one,
Can be used with any person,
Situation,
Or event you think is causing you pain.
Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset,
Using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you.
The upset may seem to be fear,
Worry,
Depression,
Anxiety,
Anger,
Hatred,
Jealousy,
Or any number of forms,
All of which will be perceived as different.
This is not true.
However,
Until you learn that form does not matter,
Each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day.
Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.
When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form,
Use both the name of the form in which you see the upset and the cause which you ascribe to it.
For example,
I am not angry at,
Name the cause,
For the reason I think.
I am not afraid of,
Name the cause,
For the reason I think.
But again,
This should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for sources of upset in which you believe,
And forms of upset which you think result.
Let's practice this now with the feeling of anger.
Identify a person,
Situation,
Or event that causes anger.
I'll wait.
Say to yourself,
Say in your mind,
I am not angry at,
Name the source,
For the reason I think.
In these exercises,
More than in the preceding ones,
You may find it hard to be indiscriminate and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others.
It might help to proceed the exercises with the statement,
There are no small upsets.
They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
Then,
Examine your mind for whatever is distressing you,
Regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.
Let's repeat the exercise.
Say to yourself,
Say in your mind,
There are no small upsets,
They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
Now repeat,
I am not depressed for the reason I think.
Do this now,
And repeat it several times.
You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others.
If this occurs,
Think first of this.
I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go,
For the purposes of these exercises.
Then,
I will regard them all as the same.
Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so,
And try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you,
Regardless of the relative importance you may give them.
Apply the idea for today to each of them,
Using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it,
And the feeling as you experience it.
Further examples are,
I am not worried about the subject for the reason I think.
I am not afraid of,
Name the cause,
For the reason I think.
In review for the next practice,
The process is,
Search your mind for the form of the upset.
I feel angry,
Fearful,
Worried,
Depressed,
Anxious,
Jealous,
Guilty,
Or something else.
Search your mind for the source,
A person,
Or situation,
Or event that is producing the subset.
Do this now,
I will be silent while you practice on your own.
There are no small upsets.
They are all equally disturbing to my peace of mind.
I am never upset for the reason I think.
I cannot keep this form of upset and let the others go.
For the purposes of these exercises,
I will regard them all as the same.
I am never upset for the reason I think.
Let's return to our regular waking state of thoughts,
Feelings,
And actions,
To time and space,
And the knowledge I am aware.
I am.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
