The second lesson in A Course in Miracles seems so obvious yet proves deceptively profound: "I have given everything I see all the meaning that it has for me."
Well, of course I do. Observation, assessment, response—in the blink of an eye. But let's look deeper, starting with "all the meaning that it has." All the meaning. In other words, whatever is happening in any particular situation has no inherent meaning. None. We are the ones who take this "without-meaning" encounter and give it all the meaning it has.
We transform what is essentially a blank slate and turn it into something. And not just for some things. For everything. I have given everything I see all the meaning that it has.
Consider the implications! There are no objectively inherent problems. We make them. Which is the essence of Lesson 281: I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.
It is our thoughts that give meaning; it is our thoughts that disturb peace. That's why the course counsels, "It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work" if happiness be the desired outcome.
Once we recognize this—truly recognize that our thoughts alone determine our experience—we begin to understand the course's most liberating truth: projection makes perception. As the course elaborates, "The secret of salvation is but this: that you are doing this unto yourself."
This insight changes everything. The world remains the same blank canvas, but we can choose to paint it with the colors of peace rather than fear.
Join me in Thursday's class where we'll explore how shifting the source of thought can transform all experience. I look forward to seeing you then.