Welcome to active meditation.
A Course in Miracles,
Lesson 16.
I have no neutral thoughts.
As we prepare for this exercise,
We place our body in a comfortable position and close our eyes.
We relax by noting where the tension is in our body.
And to increase the relaxation,
We remove all expression from our face.
Do all this now.
I will wait.
This is a Course in Miracles.
It is a required Course.
Only the time you take it is voluntary.
Some of the ideas the workbook presents 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 to.
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.
This Course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
This thought is not a neutral thought because I have no neutral thoughts.
The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that your thoughts have no effect.
Everything you see is the result of your thoughts.
There is no exception to this fact.
Thoughts are not big or little,
Powerful or weak.
They are merely true or false.
Those that are true create their own likeness.
Those that are false make theirs.
There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of vital thoughts.
What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called vital.
Every thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion.
Either it extends the truth or it multiplies illusions.
You can indeed multiply nothing,
But you will not extend it by doing so.
In applying the idea for today,
Search your mind for a minute or so with eyes closed,
And actively seek not to overlook any little thought that may tend to elude the search.
This is quite difficult until you get used to it.
You will find that it is still hard for you not to make artificial distinctions.
Every thought that occurs to you,
Regardless of the qualities that you assign to it,
Is a suitable subject for applying today's idea.
Use today's idea whenever you are aware of a particular thought that arouses uneasiness.
The following form is suggested for this purpose.
First,
Say to yourself,
Say to your mind,
This thought about,
Namely thought,
Is not a neutral thought,
Because I have no neutral thoughts.
Then,
As each thought crosses your mind,
Hold it in awareness.
While you tell yourself,
This thought about,
Namely thought,
Is not a neutral thought,
That thought about,
Namely thought,
Is not a neutral thought.
Let's practice.
This thought about,
Namely thought,
Is not a neutral thought.
I'll be silent.
Besides your recognizing the thoughts are never idle,
Salvation requires that you also recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war,
Either love or fear.
A neutral result is impossible,
Because a neutral thought is impossible.
There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant,
Trivial,
And not worth bothering about.
It is essential that you recognize all fear thoughts as equally destructive,
But equally unreal.
We will practice this idea in many forms before you really understand it.
Now again,
As each new thought crosses your mind,
Hold it in awareness,
While you tell yourself,
This thought about,
Namely thought,
Is not a neutral thought,
That thought about,
Namely thought,
Is not a neutral thought.
Now be quiet while you do this.
This thought is not a neutral thought,
Because I have no neutral thoughts.
Four or five practice periods are recommended if you find them relatively effortless.
If strain is experienced,
Three will be enough.
The length of the exercise period should also be reduced if there is discomfort.
Let's return to our regular levels of thought and feeling.
And as we do this,
We know that our personality has made progress in becoming a true reflection of our higher self.
Take a few deep breaths and return to the waking state,
To time and space,
Knowing,
I am aware.
I am.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
