The idea for today is another step in learning that the thoughts which give rise to what you see are never neutral or unimportant. It also emphasizes the idea that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later.
Today's idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it. Therefore, the exercises for today will emphasize this aspect of your perception. The three or four practice periods which are recommended should be done as follows:
Selecting subjects for the application of the idea randomly, look at each one long enough to say:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see _.
Conclude the practice period by repeating the more general statement:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
A minute or so or even less will be sufficient.
✨ Summary & practice
Your vision touches the entire universe.
Lesson 18 introduces a magnificent and fundamental concept: you are not alone in experiencing the effects of your seeing. The Course begins to reveal the idea that minds are joined, a concept it will return to with increasing emphasis. Your thoughts and your perception do not exist in an isolated vacuum. Everything you see and the way you see it affects far more than just yourself. This is an immense responsibility, but it is also an immense promise: because minds are joined, your shift in perception can benefit everyone. Your healing is not personal, it is universal.
The exercise emphasizes how you see rather than what you see. Look around you, choosing subjects at random, and keep your gaze on each long enough to say: 'I am not alone in experiencing the effects of the way I see ___.' Then conclude each period with the more general form: 'I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.' What matters is the way, not the object. The quality of your gaze is what radiates and touches other minds.
This lesson is the first to explicitly introduce the joining of minds. Until now, lessons 1–17 focused on your individual perception. Lesson 18 suddenly widens the perspective: you are not an isolated island. Lesson 19 will reinforce this idea by applying it specifically to your thoughts. Then lessons 20–21 will invite you to affirm your determination to see and to see differently, knowing that you are not doing it for yourself alone. The entire Course will rest on this idea of non-separation.
Practice:
Three or four exercise periods, about one minute or less. Look around you, choosing subjects at random. For each, keep your gaze steady and say: 'I am not alone in experiencing the effects of the way I see ___.' End each period with: 'I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.'
Never forget: when you heal your gaze, you heal the gaze of the entire world.
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