Lesson 35: My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy
The self-image we have as someone who is imposed upon or failing or even charitable or victorious is untrue. This lesson shows us why.
In this lesson, we are asked to search our mind for how we see ourselves. For instance, we might say: I see myself as imposed on. I see myself as depressed. I see myself as failing. Or, I see myself as charitable. I see myself as victorious. And so on.
And then what we’re taught is that those are all unreal.
We only believe we are those things because we’ve surrounded ourselves with an environment that seems to prove it.
In other words, we made it all up.
All our experiences, day-in and day-out, are intentionally architected to lead us to these images of ourselves - either positive or negative - so that we never question their source.
And by staying out of the mind - or mind-less - we continue to reinforce this false identity.
This lesson is helping us understand what real vision will show us. It describes our true identity, which is that our mind is part of God’s and that every one of us is very holy.
Lesson 35: My mind is part of God's. I am very holy.
W-pI.35.1. Today's idea does not describe the way you see yourself now. It does, however, describe what vision will show you. It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this of himself. Yet the reason he thinks he is in this world is because he does not believe it.
W-pI.35.2. You will believe that you are part of where you think you are. That is because you surround yourself with the environment you want. And you want it to protect the image of yourself that you have made. The image is part of this environment. What you see while you believe you are in it is seen through the eyes of the image. This is not vision. Images cannot see.
W-pI.35.3. The idea for today presents a very different view of yourself. By establishing your Source it establishes your Identity, and it describes you as you must really be in truth. We will use a somewhat different kind of application for today's idea because the emphasis for today is on the perceiver, rather than on what he perceives.
W-pI.35.4. For each of the three five-minute practice periods today, begin by repeating today’s idea to yourself, and then close your eyes and search your mind for the various kinds of descriptive terms in which you see yourself. Include all the ego-based attributes which you ascribe to yourself, positive or negative, desirable or undesirable, grandiose or debased. All of them are equally unreal, because you do not look upon yourself through the eyes of holiness.
W-pI.35.5. In the earlier part of the mind-searching period, you will probably emphasize what you consider to be the more negative aspects of your perception of yourself. Toward the latter part of the exercise period, however, more self-inflating descriptive terms may well cross your mind. Try to recognize that the direction of your fantasies about yourself does not matter. Illusions have no direction in reality. They are merely not true.
W-pI.35.6. A suitable unselected list for applying the idea for today might be as follows:
I see myself as imposed on.
I see myself as depressed.
I see myself as failing.
I see myself as endangered.
I see myself as helpless.
I see myself as victorious.
I see myself as losing out.
I see myself as charitable.
I see myself as virtuous.
W-pI.35.7. You should not think of these terms in an abstract way. They will occur to you as various situations, personalities and events in which you figure cross your mind. Pick up any specific situation that occurs to you, identify the descriptive term or terms you feel are applicable to your reactions to that situation, and use them in applying today’s idea. After you have named each one, add:
But my mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.
W-pI.35.8. During the longer exercise periods, there will probably be intervals in which nothing specific occurs to you. Do not strain to think up specific things to fill the interval, but merely relax and repeat today’s idea slowly until something occurs to you. Although nothing that does occur should be omitted from the exercises, nothing should be “dug out” with effort. Neither force nor discrimination should be used.
W-pI.35.9. As often as possible during the day, pick up a specific attribute or attributes you are ascribing to yourself at the time and apply the idea for today to them, adding the idea in the form stated above to each of them. If nothing particular occurs to you, merely repeat the idea to yourself, with closed eyes.