Lesson 18 – I am not alone in this experience

Lesson 18 of A Course In Miracles is called, “I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing”.

What does this mean?

This idea is not about what you see but how you’re seeing it. In other words, it’s how you’re perceiving what you see!

In addition to this, the lesson implies that all of the thoughts we think are actually being shared in the non-pysical realm. So you might think that Susan isn’t aware of your thoughts that you think she’s being a cow, but on some level, she’ll feel those thoughts! It will only be subtle, but we are all connected, whether we like it or not, so she will have a subconscious awareness of what’s going on!

What’s Pam got to say about this?

Pam says that because the majority of our interactions with others occur in the non-physical realm, she might as well be using an intercom to share what she thinks are her private thoughts! The messages are being received by others, and aren’t actually private at all!

She says we’re constantly exchanging energy, not only with those in our inner circle, but with every other being on the planet!

Today’s exercise

Today’s ACIM exercise is to look about you, selecting subjects for the application of the idea for today as randomly as possible. Keep your eyes on each one long enough to say:

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see ___.

Conclude each practise period by repeating the more general statement:

I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

Up to a minute is all that’s needed for today’s exercise!

Applying this idea to real life

I remember a story told by Esther Hicks during one of her channeling sessions, which I may have told here before. I think it’s relevant to this lesson so I’ll share it again.

Esther was experiencing some issues with a particular hotel where they had hosted many events. For some reason, every time they booked this venue, they ended up being double-booked or the hotel would forget something important. It was always sorted in the end, but it was quite frustrating for Esther and Jerry and required a bit of running around and unwanted extra stress!

One night, Esther was talking to Abraham (who she channels) and asked, “Why does this hotel keep messing up our booking?”

Abraham replied, “Because you expect them to. Your energy is so strong in this belief that they are going to mess up your booking, they have no choice but to oblige.”

What Abraham was actually saying was that because of how Esther was seeing this situation (her thoughts about it were that they would mess things up again), it was creating a reality to reflect those thoughts. The people at the hotel were subconsciously receiving her message loud and clear, and without even realising it, they were living up to her expectations!

Something to ponder

I have a family member who often seems to have things go wrong for her. Restaurant orders get mixed up, click and collect grocery orders randomly get cancelled, or online purchases turn up damaged. It happens all the time!

She asked me one day, “Why does this keep happening to me?”. I replied “Because you expect it to!”.

Do you have anything in your life that seems to go wrong on a regular basis? If so, maybe it’s time to reflect on the thoughts and beliefs you have running through your head and see if you can shift them to something more aligned with what you want, rather than with what you don’t want!