LESSON 33
There is another way of looking at the world.
Today's idea is an attempt to recognize that you can shift your perception of the world in both its outer and inner aspects. A full five minutes should be devoted to the morning and evening applications. In these practice periods, the idea should be repeated as often as you find comfortable, though unhurried applications are essential. Alternate between surveying your outer and inner perceptions, but without an abrupt sense of shifting.
Merely glance casually around the world you perceive as outside yourself, then close your eyes and survey your inner thoughts with equal casualness. Try to remain equally uninvolved in both, and to maintain this detachment as you repeat the idea throughout the day.
The shorter exercise periods should be as frequent as possible. Specific applications of today's idea should also be made immediately, when any situation arises which tempts you to become disturbed. For these applications, say:
There is another way of looking at this.
Remember to apply today's idea the instant you are aware of distress. It may be necessary to take a minute or so to sit quietly and repeat the idea to yourself several times. Closing your eyes will probably help in this form of application.
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Lesson 33
“There is another way of looking at the world.”
More and more I am seeing the connections between these lessons. Most of the time when I look at the world, I am not aware of God being there. But an earlier lesson says that God is in everything I see. I must be missing something. There is another way of seeing the world. When I affirm this, I am cracking the door open to receive the vision of the Holy Spirit, which will show me Love in everything I see. So today's lesson is another step in opening my mind to be taught by my Inner Teacher, the Holy Spirit.
The fact that I am not aware of God in everything I see is proof that I need this reminder constantly. I go through most of my day assuming that I know the meaning of what I am seeing. I assume that what I see is true and rarely stop to question what I see or how I am interpreting what I see. Using this lesson frequently through the day is another step that is essential to learn if I want the peace of God.
The peace of God cannot be found by excluding Him from everything I see. Along with remembering that there is another way to see the world, it is helpful to also remember that God is in everything I see. If I’m not seeing Love, I need help. I am grateful for the Course and all the help it offers. The more I work with it, the more I appreciate its compassionate genius in offering me the means to see anew.
Today’s lesson, “There is another way of looking at the world,” helps me step back from my past way of seeing things. It helps me remember that I do not know what anything is for. It’s a helpful wake up call reminding me to step back and ask the Holy Spirit for a new kind of vision. I need this practice because I forget often.
I need to remember that there is another way of looking at this a hundred times a day. This practice will help jar me out of simply repeating the past. I want a new way of looking at the world. But first I must remember that there is another way of looking at the world. I want to be happy. I want to wake up. I want to remember the one Self that is eternal. Today’s lesson is an important step in this process.
As I work with this lesson I have a nice feeling of being gently led along a path where I can easily see that what seems so real in the world is not what it seems since it can literally change from moment to moment. We can also see that the pictures we see in our mind are not different from those we think we see with our eyes. They're not different and they're equally unreal. We can learn this by simply observing the shifting nature of these perceptions.
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