Welcome to active meditation.
A Course in Miracles,
Lesson 12.
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
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 will be opening them up again for this exercise.
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 and remove all expression from your face.
This is a Course in Miracles.
It is a required course.
Only the time you take it is voluntary.
Some of the ideas the exercises present you will find hard to believe and others may seem to be quite startling.
This does not matter.
You are merely asked to apply the ideas as you are directed.
You are not asked to judge them at all.
You are asked only to use them.
It is their use that will give them meaning to you and will show you that they are true.
The purpose of the workbook is to train your mind in a systematic way to a different perception of everyone and everything in the world.
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion.
You think that what upsets you is a frightening world or a sad world or a violent world or an insane world.
All these attributes are given it by you.
The world is meaningless in itself.
These exercises are done with eyes open.
Look around you,
This time quite slowly.
Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval.
Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter,
But try instead to keep a measured even tempo throughout.
What you see does not matter.
You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time.
This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value.
As you look about you,
Say to yourself,
I 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.
Let's practice.
Open your eyes.
Look around you,
This time quite slowly.
And as you look about,
Say to yourself,
Say in your mind,
I think I see name the type of world,
And so on.
I'll be quiet.
Close your eyes.
Say in your mind,
But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to you,
Include them.
For example,
You might think of a good world or a satisfying world.
If such terms occur to you,
Use them along with the rest.
You may not yet understand why these nice objectives belong in these exercises,
But remember that a good world implies a bad one,
And a satisfying world implies an unsatisfying one.
All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today's exercises.
Their seeming quality does not matter.
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.
For the purpose of these exercises,
There is no difference between them.
At the end of the practice,
Add,
But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
What is meaningless is neither good nor bad.
Why then should a meaningless world upset you?
Let's practice once more.
Open your eyes.
As you look about you,
Say to yourself,
I think I see,
And name the type of world you see.
Fearful,
Dangerous,
Hostile,
Sad,
Wicked,
Insane,
Good,
Satisfying.
I'll be quiet.
Close your eyes.
Say to yourself,
But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you,
It would make you indescribably happy.
But because it is meaningless,
You are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be.
It is this you see in it.
It is this that is meaningless in truth.
Beneath your words is written the Word of God.
The truth upsets you now,
But when your words have been erased,
You will see his.
That is the ultimate purpose of these exercises.
Three or four times is enough for practicing the idea for today,
Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute.
You may find even this too long.
Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of strength.
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
Let's return to our regular waking state of thoughts,
Feelings,
And actions,
To time and space.
Take a few deep breaths to help establish the waking state,
And return fully alert,
Comfortable in all instruments of awareness,
With a heightened awareness of our environment and the knowledge.
I am aware.
I am.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
