The idea for today is obviously the reason why your seeing does not affect you alone. You will notice that at times the ideas related to thinking precede those related to perceiving, while at other times the order is reversed. The reason is that the order does not actually matter. Thinking and its results are really simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate.
Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined.
This is rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to carry with it an enormous sense of responsibility, and may even be regarded as an invasion of privacy. Yet it is a fact that there are no private thoughts. Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet understand that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. And salvation must be possible because it is the Will of God.
The minute or so of mind searching which today's exercises require are to be undertaken with eyes closed. The idea is to be repeated first, and then the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that time. As you consider each one, name it in terms of the central person or theme it contains, and holding it in your mind as you do so, say:
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ___.
The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as possible in selecting subjects for the practice period should be quite familiar to you by now, and will no longer be repeated each day, although it will occasionally be included as a reminder. Do not forget, however, that random selection of subjects for all practice periods remains essential throughout. Lack of order in this connection will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order in miracles meaningful to you.
Apart from the as needed application of today's idea, at least three practice periods are required, shortening the length of time involved, if necessary. Do not attempt more than four.
✨ Summary & practice
No thought is lost in the universe.
Lesson 19 is a powerful confirmation of the previous one: you are not alone in experiencing the effects of your thoughts. The Course insists: minds are joined. This idea is rarely welcomed at first, as it seems to carry a huge sense of responsibility and may be seen as an 'invasion of privacy.' But the Course is clear: there are no private thoughts. Despite your initial resistance, you will eventually understand that this idea must be true if salvation is possible. And salvation must be possible because it is God’s Will.
The exercise is done with eyes closed. First repeat the idea, then carefully examine your mind to discover the thoughts it contains at that moment. Consider each one by naming the person or central theme, and hold that thought in mind while saying: 'I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ___.' The Course reminds you that the requirement to make as little discrimination as possible should now be familiar. Subjects should be chosen at random, because it is the absence of order that allows recognition of the absence of order in salvation.
This lesson confirms lesson 18. One spoke of seeing, the other of thoughts. The Course shows that thought and perception are linked: sometimes thought precedes perception, sometimes the reverse, but the order does not matter, because cause and effect are never separated. Lessons 20–21 will then concretize this awareness into an active determination to see and to see differently. The non-separation of minds is the foundation that makes change possible and universal.
Practice:
About one minute, eyes closed. Repeat the idea, then examine your mind. For each thought you find, name it by its subject and say: 'I am not alone in experiencing the effects of this thought about ___.' Try to keep your choices random, without favoring certain thoughts. Three or four periods during the day.
Rejoice: if your thoughts are not private, then the light you kindle within also illuminates others.
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