Susan Dugan and Bruce Rawles read and shared ideas and inspirations about Workbook Lesson 12 “I am upset because I see a meaningless world.” (ACIM, W-12) in this YouTube video from part I of the Workbook of A Course In Miracles. We concurred on how profound, yet simple the early workbook lessons are, particularly with repeated practice over many years – the depth reached by persistent practice closes the gap between our real Identity and our everyday experience as we realize how these straightforward suggestions for looking – without condemnation or undue emphasis on specifics (ascribing unequal value) – at our dreaming mind help us undo our investment in insanity! My choice for ego (seen more and more calmly, objectively, and dispassionately as being a silly forgivable choice) is the “set-up” that is the real cause for my apparent “up-set.”
Enthralled by egoic fantasies of finding fulfillment in a flagrantly fraudulent fabrication, we ultimately will give up the pointless search for meaning in nothingness – the faulty foundation of our material world, which even modern physics tells us is comprised mostly of empty space! One of my favorite bumper stickers reads: “Never trust an atom – they make up everything!”
I’m projecting an insane thought system onto a meaningless world because I’ve chosen a meaningless thought system. Still, fortunately, we have a meaningful thought system that resides in our true, eternally loving, safe, shared, innocent, and meaningful Identity.
“All your time is spent in dreaming. Your sleeping and your waking dreams have different forms, and that is all.” (ACIM, T-18.II.5:12-13)
Instead of being “triggered” or activated by every specific irritation, annoyance, or upset by what appear to be externals, I could “rewire” every specific irritation, annoyance, or upset by asking our Inner Kindness Teacher for help to look at the upset without condemnation, attack, or the apparent need to escape from any and all problems that appear to be in the world – including my own body. The solution to this rewiring or reprogramming exercise resides solely in looking at my (ego) mind’s interpretation of my projected dreams of duality which are intrinsically upsetting and directing those neutral sensory data to Holy Spirit instead of ego – to be dealt with appropriately on the level of form, but smiled at on the level of mind instead of used as incendiary fuel for further ego tantrums.
To paraphrase George Orwell’s (Animal Farm) quote “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” … ACIM’s version might be adapted for our digital age: “All pixels are equal, but some pixels are more equal than others.”
The early workbook lessons come at this correction for our distorted perception from multiple angles so that the problem in our minds is illuminated from multiple angles to dispel the shadows our insane minds would keep in darkness. Here are a couple of related workbook lessons:
- Lesson 5: I am never upset for the reason I think. (ACIM, W-5)
- Lesson 2: I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me. (ACIM, W-2)
Here are the first 3 paragraphs from Workbook Lesson 12 “I am upset because I see a meaningless world.” (ACIM, W-12):
“1. The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. ²You think that what upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or an insane world. ³All these attributes are given it by you. ⁴The world is meaningless in itself.
2. These exercises are done with eyes open. ²Look around you, this time quite slowly. ³Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval. ⁴Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter, but try, instead, to keep a measured, even tempo throughout. ⁵What you see does not matter. ⁶You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time. ⁷This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value.
3. As you look about you, say to yourself:
²I 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. ³If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. ⁴For example, you might think of “a good world,” or “a satisfying world.” ⁵If such terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. ⁶You may not yet understand why these “nice” adjectives belong in these exercises but remember that a “good world” implies a “bad” one, and a “satisfying world” implies an “unsatisfying” one. ⁷All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today’s exercises. ⁸Their seeming quality does not matter.”
Related Course quotes that we referenced in this conversation:
“You live by symbols. ²You have made up names for everything you see. ³Each one becomes a separate entity, identified by its own name. ⁴By this you carve it out of unity. ⁵By this you designate its special attributes, and set it off from other things by emphasizing space surrounding it. ⁶This space you lay between all things to which you give a different name; all happenings in terms of place and time; all bodies which are greeted by a name.” (ACIM, W-184.1:1-6)
There are two places where ACIM prepares us for ego backlash attempting to defend the silly seemingly separate self that has seldom served us. If we can smile at its retaliatory attempts to be offended by being personally insulted, it must be because we’ve chosen – at least momentarily – to identify with our True Transpersonal Self rather than the petty personal self that needs continuous defense and reinforcement to seem to exist.
“Release yourself to Him Whose function is release. ⁷Do not assume His function for Him. ⁸Give Him but what He asks, that you may learn how little is your part, and how great is His.
It is this that makes the holy instant so easy and so natural. ²You make it difficult, because you insist there must be more that you need do. ³You find it difficult to accept the idea that you need give so little, to receive so much. ⁴And it is very hard for you to realize it is not personally insulting that your contribution and the Holy Spirit’s are so extremely disproportionate. ⁵You are still convinced that your understanding is a powerful contribution to the truth, and makes it what it is. ⁶Yet we have emphasized that you need understand nothing. ⁷Salvation is easy just because it asks nothing you cannot give right now.”
The giving up of judgment, the obvious prerequisite for hearing God’s Voice, is usually a fairly slow process, not because it is difficult, but because it is apt to be perceived as personally insulting. ⁵The world’s training is directed toward achieving a goal in direct opposition to that of our curriculum. ⁶The world trains for reliance on one’s judgment as the criterion for maturity and strength. ⁷Our curriculum trains for the relinquishment of judgment as the necessary condition of salvation.” (ACIM, M-9.2:4-7)
I just need to metaphorically stop scribbling furiously on this intrinsically neutral world with my (ego) misinterpretations to remove the blocks to the awareness of Love’s Presence in my mind:
“What is meaningless is neither good nor bad. ²Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you? ³If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy. ⁴But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be.” (ACIM, W-12.5:1-4)
(This video was recorded on January 15, 2024.)
If you have questions or comments about this video, previous videos in this ACIM-related video series, or other Course-related topics, please email them to us via the ACIMblog.com contact form. Susan and Bruce will review and try to respond to questions and suggestions for future conversations. We look forward to extending the conversation with you!
If you are interested in Susan’s excellent weekly Tuesday evening classes based on the teachings of Kenneth Wapnick, you can contact her here.
Here are some prior ACIM-related conversations with Susan Dugan and Bruce Rawles.
We like to remind those who have enjoyed these conversations to check out the latest releases from FACIM as well as support the work of Susan and Bruce (via Donate links at the bottom of the sidebars on their respective websites) if you feel inspired to do so. THANKS!
