God did not create a meaningless world.
1. Today’s idea is, of course, the reason why a meaningless world is impossible.I
²What God did not create does not exist.
³And everything that does exist, exists exactly as He created it.
⁴The world you see has nothing to do with Reality.
⁵It is the product of your own making, and it does not exist.II
2. Today’s exercises should be practiced with eyes closed throughout.
²The period of mental searching should be brief—no more than one minute.
³Do not do more than three practice sessions with today’s idea unless you feel completely at ease.
⁴If you do, it is because you truly understand what the exercises are for.
3. Today’s idea is another step in the process of learning to let go of the thoughts you have written onto the world, and to see instead the Word of God.III
²The early steps in this exchange—which can truly be called salvation—may be quite difficult, and even rather painful.
³Some of them will lead you directly into fear.
⁴But you will not be left there.
⁵You will transcend that fear and go far beyond it, for we are heading toward perfect safety and perfect Peace.
4. With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that come to your mind.
²Name each one as you see it, and then deny its reality.
³God did not create that, and so it is not real.
⁴Say, for example:
⁵God did not create that war in ___, and so it is not real.IV
⁶God did not create the airplane crash in ___, and so it is not real.
⁷God did not create that disaster [specify which] in __, and so it is not real.
⁸God did not create that illness [specify which and name the person], and so it is not real.
5. Suitable subjects for applying today’s idea also include anything you fear might happen to you or to anyone you care about.
²In each case, name the “disaster” very specifically.
³Do not use general terms.
⁴For example, do not say, God did not create illness, but rather, God did not create cancer, or heart attacks, or whatever specifically frightens you.
6. What you are looking at is your personal catalog of horrors.
²These things are part of the world you see.
³Some of them are shared illusions, and others belong to your private hell.
⁴That does not matter.
⁵What God did not create can only exist in your own mind, apart from His.
⁶Therefore, it has no meaning.
⁷In recognition of this fact, conclude each practice period by repeating today’s idea:
⁸God did not create a meaningless world.
7. Today’s idea may, of course, be applied to anything that upsets you during the day, apart from the practice periods.
²Be very specific in applying it.
³Say:
⁴God did not create a meaningless world.
⁵He did not create [specify the upsetting situation], and so it is not real.
I W-13.1:2 “In fact, a meaningless world is impossible.”
II Every human culture has a narrative that explains the origin of the perceived universe, known as a “cosmogony.” It may take a scientific, mythological, or religious form, but in every case it rests on the premise that what you perceive is real. In this sense, all human cosmogonies share an essential similarity—except for those of a non-dual nature, like the one this Course proposes. Here you are taught that the world is an illusion and that everything you perceive is unreal. In fact, this Course holds that perceiving is comparable to dreaming: only the mind is real, and everything you think you perceive is nothing but thoughts you conceived that have never left their source—your own mind.
The Text begins by stating: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.” Although the nonexistence of what is unreal may seem obvious, what is not so clear is that everything you perceive belongs to that category of unreality. The introduction culminates with these words: “Herein lies the Peace of God.”
The Peace of God is precisely the salvation you seek in this world that so upsets you. Yet if the world is not real, why would you grieve? If you were to attain awareness of its unreality, would you not then enjoy the Peace of God?
You suffer, fear, blame, and self-blame because you believe the world you live in is true. But would God create such a world? If God did not create it, then the world does not exist; and if the world exists, then God is not real. Ultimately, there are no alternatives other than these.
Today’s Lesson invites you to choose between these two possibilities and, once you do, to rest and ignore any interpretation the ego’s voice may try to offer you about what you perceive. This Course is extremely simple, and that is its essence. This is the cornerstone on which its entire ontological system—its explanation of what is real—is built.
To adopt this approach, a profound shift in your mind will be necessary. You are only at the very beginning of that process. It is natural that, at this point, the idea that everything you think you love—as well as everything you fear and hate—is not real will be equally unsettling. From the moment you opened your eyes to the world, your mind has been conditioned to accept a certain description of reality. Everything you have been taught and everything you have repeated to yourself since then is false, and that is precisely why you think as you think and believe what you believe.
It has been explained to you—and you are aware of it—that this is a Course designed to train your mind in a new way of interpreting reality. You are only beginning this path. You are not expected to embrace the new proposals enthusiastically from the start, nor do you need to. You do not have to believe blindly in anything taught here, since belief by itself will not lead you to true knowledge.
Simply keep your mind open to a new possibility and begin to experience the effects for yourself. Over time, you will gain a deeper understanding of the truth, without anyone having to convince you of it.
III W-12.6:7–8 “Beneath your words is written God’s Word. The truth now is bewildering, but when your words have been erased, you will see His.”
IV Helen originally wrote “the war in Vietnam”—this was in 1969—but later changed the phrase so it would read this other way. The reference to Vietnam, however, shows you the kind of specificity asked of you in this exercise.