[acimlessons_list] Lesson 7 - January 7

[Susan Carrier]

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+ COMMENTARIES ON LESSONS FROM THE WORKBOOK OF A COURSE IN MIRACLES
+ by Allen Watson, with Practice Summaries by Robert Perry, 
+ of The Circle of Atonement
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 Lesson 7 - January 7 

"I see only the past."


PRACTICE SUMMARY:

Purpose: to begin to change your ideas about time, which are the foundation
for all that you see and believe. Your mind will resist this change, in
order to maintain the stability of your world, yet it is that world which
keeps you bound. 

Exercise: 3 or 4 times, for 1 minute or so--
Look about you and apply idea specifically and indiscriminately to whatever
catches your eye, saying: "I see only the past in [this shoe, that body,
etc.]." "Do not linger over any one thing in particular, but remember to
omit nothing specifically" (5:1).


COMMENTARY

As the lesson says, this "is the rationale for all of the preceding"
lessons. "It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything." And so
on through the previous six thoughts. Because we see only the past, every
one of those previous ideas is true. It makes this lesson an extremely
important one; one we need to take in and consider very seriously.

Notice how absolute the thought for today is: "I see <only> the past." We
may find this "particularly difficult to believe at first." If anything,
that is an understatement. If you find the concept difficult to accept, be
reassured that the Teacher realizes your difficulty and accepts it in you.

The Course lays an unusually heavy emphasis on this concept, not only here,
but also in the Text. For instance, three sections of Chapter 13, from "The
Function of Time" through "Finding the Present," deal with how we see time
and the fact that, "The ego invests heavily in the past, and in the end
believes that the past is the only aspect of time that is meaningful"
(T-13.IV.4:2). It speaks of the shadow figures from the past, built upon
illusions, that completely block out our sight of present reality. It says
that, "To be born again is to let the past go, and look without condemnation
upon the present" (T-13.VI.3:5).

"Everything you believe is rooted in time, and depends on your not learning
these new ideas about it." Whatever we have learned, we learned from the
past; that cannot be disputed. Therefore, everything we think we know is
based on the past. We look at the present through the filter of our past
learning. The Course urges us not to let our past learning be the light that
guides us in the present (T-14.XI.6:9). Instead we need to turn, in the
moment, and inquire of the Holy Spirit to show us His vision of the present.

The illustration in the lesson about the cup makes the point that our
identification of things depends on the past, and our reactions to things
come from past experiences. "You would have no idea what this cup is, except
for your past learning." And "This is equally true of whatever you look at."
What we are "seeing" is the past, pure and simple. At the moment there may
seem to be no alternative to this; we may wonder what other way of seeing is
possible. But there <is> another way; the Course will bring us to that
eventually. For now, simply let this lesson sink in: "I see only the past."
 
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+ Commentary by Allen Watson
+ Practice Summary: Robert Perry
+ Available in book format from The Circle
+ of Atonement (Vol. 1 reprint due by end of 2004, write us for info)
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