My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.
1. Today’s idea does not describe how you see yourself now.I
²However, it does describe what Vision will show you.
³It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this about himself.
⁴Not believing it is precisely why he thinks he is in this world.
2. You will believe that you are part of the place where you think you are.
²This is because you surround yourself with the environment you desire, and you want it to protect the image you have made of yourself.II
³That image is also part of that environment.
⁴What you see while you believe you are there, you see through the eyes of that image you made.
⁵That is not seeing.
⁶Images cannot see.III
3. Today’s idea presents you with a very different view of yourself.
²In establishing your Source, it also establishes your Identity, and it describes you as you must really be.
³Today we will apply the idea in a slightly different manner, because we will place more emphasis on the perceiver than on what is perceived.
4. Begin each of the three five-minute sessions by repeating today’s idea silently to yourself. Then close your eyes and search your mind for various terms you use to describe yourself.
²Include all the ego-based attributes you associate with yourself—positive or negative, desirable or undesirable, grand or demeaning.IV
³They are all equally unreal, because you do not see yourself through the eyes of Holiness.
5. In the first phase of your mind-searching, you will likely emphasize what you consider your more negative traits.
²Later in the practice period, however, more flattering terms may occur to you.
³Try to understand that the content of the fantasies you hold about yourself does not matter.
⁴Illusions have no meaning in Reality.
⁵They are simply not true.
6. A suitable list for applying today’s idea might include:
²I see myself as subject to obligations.
³I see myself as depressed.
⁴I see myself as a failure.
⁵I see myself as in danger.
⁶I see myself as helpless.
⁷I see myself as successful.
⁸I see myself as a loser.
⁹I see myself as charitable.
¹⁰I see myself as virtuous.
7. You should not think of these terms abstractly.
²They will come to you as particular situations, people, and events in which you figure come to mind.
³Choose any specific situation that occurs to you, identify the term or terms that seem to apply to your reactions, and use them to apply today’s idea.
⁴After naming each one, add:
⁵But my mind is part of God’s Mind.
⁶I am very holy.
8. During the longer sessions, there may be intervals when nothing specific occurs to you.
²Do not strain to find things to fill the time. Simply relax and repeat today’s idea slowly until something comes to mind.
³While you should not leave anything out that comes to you in the exercises, do not force anything to appear.
⁴Use no effort or judgment.
9. As often as possible during the day, take any specific attribute or attributes you are assigning to yourself at that moment and apply today’s idea to them, adding the phrase in the form given earlier.V
²If nothing in particular occurs to you, simply repeat the idea silently with eyes closed.
I Of course your mind is part of the Mind of God! How could it not be? How do you think you came into existence? You do not know what your mind is because you do not recognize it. You live in a tiny part of it and have relinquished its totality. You have decided to “create” a small kingdom in an infinitesimal corner of the Mind of God, just for yourself. Do you not find this at least a little pathetic?
You see yourself as extremely limited in time, space, and in capacities you nonetheless long for. And you certainly do not consider yourself holy. That is your opinion. But the question is: is it true? You are not even in a position to answer that question because you are confused. You even believe you do not know who or what you are. And this is to be expected, since you are not using your mind correctly. If you were, you would be happy. The proof that you are misusing your mind is that you are not.
The reason for what is happening to you could be explained in many different ways. You might, for instance, tell yourself that you are following the wrong guide, that you have identified with your ego, or you might elaborate countless other explanations. But at bottom, the true reason you see yourself as you do is very simple: you see yourself this way because that is exactly what you want.
Be honest. Is it not true that you want to be you? Look at it closely, and then look again, because this is what is happening here: you are as you see yourself because that is what you truly want. And do you know what? Your will is always done because you are the Son of God.
Look carefully: even when you say you want to change and be different, be better, in reality what you want instead is to be the one who says he wants to change, not what that change would actually produce in you. For in that case, you would disappear in order to become that new thing—and you do not want to disappear. Reflect on this, for it is precisely where all resistance to change lies.
Do not worry. You will change, because the idea you have of yourself is an illusion, and if anything defines illusions it is change. For now, all that is asked of you is to have a small willingness to change your way of thinking and to trust. Do not interfere, and the change will happen naturally.
II Here you are given a clear indication of why you perceive what you believe you have before you: because in this way you protect the idea you have of yourself. That is, you have made out of nothing a world in your own image and likeness.
Might it not be, then, that this god of Genesis is none other than the ego?
Realize that at bottom, your entire human experience is related to your false identity; it comes from what you believe you are. Therefore, change the idea you have of yourself and the world you behold will change accordingly.
That is why you have been called to be the savior of the world, for that is nothing other than your own salvation.
III Of course, images can only imagine. If you think you are an engineer, you will see the world through the eyes of an engineer. If you think you are a poet, you will see a poetic world. Different self-concepts lead to different interpretations of reality.
The issue is that the idea you have of yourself is utterly capricious and arbitrary. Yet it is evident you do not consider it so and base that idea on powerful “reasons.” Do not deceive yourself. The proof that this idea of yourself is false is that it changes constantly over time. How could something that changes without ceasing be true?
IV Notice how here personality is equated with ego.
V Realize that, while when you honestly question your identity you are unable to conclude what or who you are, when that sincere questioning attitude relaxes you begin to assign yourself a multitude of attributes you believe yourself to be. It seems as though, throughout the day, you have a very precise opinion of yourself, for you are constantly judging yourself.
Which, if you stop to think about it, should surprise you, for the same being who humbly claims not to know his true identity has no qualms in qualifying, judging, rewarding, or condemning himself—and not only himself but also everyone and everything he beholds. Even more, these judgments change constantly over time, and the last one always seems to be the most valid and accurate.
Do you not see that your mind is simply running a cheap and miserable program written by your ego? How can you be so naïve as to subscribe to its verdicts? And what makes you think those thoughts are “yours”? Certainly, you are the witness to all that delirium, but you can be sure that “that” is not you.