I see no neutral things.
1. This idea is another step in understanding how the relationship between cause and effect truly works.
²You do not see neutral things because you do not have neutral thoughts.I
³Thought always precedes vision, despite the temptation to believe that it is the other way around.II
⁴The world does not think this way, but you must learn that this is how you truly think.
⁵Otherwise, perception would be without cause, and itself the cause of reality.III
⁶Given how variable its nature is, this is impossible.IV
2. In applying today’s idea, say to yourself with eyes open:
²I do not see neutral things because I do not have neutral thoughts.
³Then look around you, letting your gaze rest on each thing that catches your attention long enough to say:
⁴I do not see a ____ that is neutral because my thoughts about ____ are not neutral.
⁵For example, you might say:
⁶I do not see a wall that is neutral because my thoughts about walls are not neutral.
⁷I do not see a body that is neutral because my thoughts about bodies are not neutral.
3. As always, it is essential not to make distinctions among the things you look at based on their characteristics—whether they are animate or inanimate, pleasant or unpleasant.
²Regardless of what you may believe, you do not see anything that is truly alive and truly joyful.
³This is because you are not yet aware of any thought that is truly true and therefore truly happy.
4. Three or four practice periods are recommended, with no fewer than three being required to gain the maximum benefit, even if you experience discomfort.
²However, if discomfort does arise, the duration of the practice period may be shortened to less than the recommended one minute.
I This is the same as saying that you do not see things objectively because your thoughts are not objective. You are not an object; you are a subject; therefore, your thoughts are not objective but subjective, and, consequently, you see in a subjective manner.
Now, pay close attention: if you call what you see an “object” because you believed you were thinking “objectively,” what will you call what you think you see now that you know your thoughts are subjective? Do you realize the absolute connection that exists between you and what you believe you see outside yourself? Do you think there is any chance that the world in which you think you live is not something absolutely subjective?
Remember: your thoughts are decidedly subjective. What you believe you see bears the imprint of your very being so deeply etched into it that it is hard to conclude that the world you perceive is not something “yours.”
“Understand that every mode of perception is subjective; that what is seen or heard, touched or smelled, felt or thought, expected or imagined, is in the mind and not in reality, and you will experience peace and freedom from fear.” Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
II Ask yourself: What is there before thought? Certainly, for you the world does not exist before you think of it. Whether the world exists or not independently of what you think is nothing more than another opinion you hold. In this sense, the concepts of “established fact” and “opinion” are indistinguishable.
The objective of this Course is to completely invert the way of thinking, and this is precisely one of the paradigms on which that inversion rests. It is one of this Course’s basic epistemological principles: to perceive is, in fact, to project. The mind first conceives a thought and then “sees” it projected onto an imaginary world outside itself. But, according to this Course’s paradigm, there is no such thing as a “world outside yourself,” but only the belief that this “exists.” There is only mind conceiving complex thoughts composed of multiple overlapping concepts, of which one is not fully aware.
For example, when you see a table, what you perceive is in reality a multiple thought that incorporates countless meanings within itself. To name a few: the physical, aesthetic, and functional characteristics of the idea conceived; the belief that it is “out there” outside you in a realm you call “space”; the perception that it is present now; the idea that “I” am seeing it… All of this gathers into a single concept that, in simplified fashion, you call “the perception of a table.” By altering any of these parameters, the mind interprets differently. Thus, the table in question may be large or small, ugly or beautiful, seen by you now or remembered, etc.
Perception is the effect of mental elaboration, for mind is the only thing that exists. This is why this Course states that the world is an illusion. Later it will be understood that not only is the world an illusion, but so is the idea you have of yourself. This appears in the mind in the same way the idea of a table arises.
Evidently, this notion terrifies the ego and can be—and indeed is—an almost insurmountable barrier for the student of this Course. However, it is crucial to remember that, on the path toward identifying with your true identity as the Son of God, it is necessary to leave behind a series of dearly held falsehoods, what this Course calls “the obstacles to truth.”
In any case, you are only at the very beginning of the Workbook, and for now it is enough to understand that the things you believe you see outside yourself have no meaning other than the meaning you yourself have assigned to them.
III This line emphasizes that everything we observe is tinged by the way we think, highlighting the cause-and-effect relationship proposed by this teaching: thought (cause) gives rise to perception (effect). From this it follows that perception cannot be neutral, since the mind is always taking sides, whether from the ego or from love. In other words, to believe that the world “out there” dictates our thoughts would imply that perception is the cause of reality. The Course, however, inverts this perspective and asserts that there are no neutral thoughts: what we see is laden with meaning because we have imbued it with the meanings that arise from our own beliefs.
In other words, every time we perceive something, we do so from the inner idea we are accepting at that moment. This mode of reasoning contradicts the world’s logic, which maintains: “I see something and therefore I think X.” The Course proposes the opposite: “I think X, and therefore I see something in this way.” Otherwise, perception would lack a cause and would become the cause of reality, depriving the mind of its true creative power and leading the observer to believe that what is external determines his experience.
Thus, the statement “I see no neutral things” confirms that, in every perceptual experience, the mind always operates as the source of what it sees, and what it sees can only be a reflection of what it truly thinks.
IV You call seeing what is actually thinking you see. If perception were the process of grasping something that exists outside you, that process would be the cause of your seeing, and you would always “see” the same thing when beholding something. However, you must be aware that your perception is highly variable: it changes over time and differs among different individuals. Even the world’s thought system acknowledges as true the expression “You see what you want to see,” and this applies to both objects and circumstances.
In reality, you are seated before the screen of your consciousness, beholding your own projections. This is an idea that may be very hard for you to accept, but that nevertheless holds the key to your release. Do not obsess over it; instead, learn to forgive what you perceive. In this way, you will first find peace and, with it, the truth that accompanies it.