In no situation which arises do you realize the outcome that would make you happy. Therefore you have no guide to appropriate action, and no way of judging the results. What you do is determined by your perception of the situation, and that perception is wrong. It is inevitable, then, that you will not serve your own best interests. Yet they are your only goal in any situation which is correctly perceived. Otherwise, you will not recognize what they are.
If you realized that you do not perceive your own best interests, you could be taught what they are. But in the presence of your conviction that you do know what they are, you cannot learn. The idea for today is a step toward opening your mind so that learning can begin.
The exercises for today require much more honesty than you are accustomed to using. A few subjects, honestly and carefully considered in each of the five practice periods which should be undertaken today, will be more helpful than a more cursory examination of a large number. Two minutes are suggested for each of the mind searching periods which the exercises involve.
Practice periods begin with repeating today's idea, followed by searching the mind, with closed eyes, for unresolved situations about which you are currently concerned. The emphasis should be on uncovering the outcome you want. You will quickly realize that you have a number of goals in mind as part of the desired outcome; and also that these goals are on different levels, and often conflict.
Name each situation that occurs to you, and enumerate carefully as many goals as possible that you would like to be met in its resolution. The form of each application should be roughly as follows:
In the situation involving _, I would like _ to happen, and _ to happen, and so on. Try to cover as many different kinds of outcome as may honestly occur to you, even if some of them do not appear to you to be directly related to the situation, or even to be inherent in it at all.
If these exercises are done properly, you will quickly recognize that you are making a large number of demands of the situation which have nothing to do with it. You will also recognize that many of your goals are contradictory, that you have no unified outcome in mind, and that you must experience disappointment in connection with some of your goals however the situation turns out.
After covering the list of as many hoped-for goals as possible for each unresolved situation that crosses your mind, say to yourself:
I do not perceive my own best interests in this situation, and go on to the next.
✨ Summary & practice
The admission that frees learning.
Lesson 24 is a call to the deepest humility: you do not perceive your own best interest. The Course is clear: there is not a single situation that arises in which you recognize the outcome that would truly make you happy. Therefore, you have no guide for appropriate action, nor any way to judge the result. What you do is determined by your perception of the situation, and this perception is false. It is inevitable that you do not serve your own best interest. But if you realized you do not perceive what your best interest truly is, it would become possible to teach you. This is precisely the purpose of this lesson: to open your mind so that learning can begin.
The exercise requires much greater honesty than usual. Five two-minute periods are suggested. Begin by repeating the idea, then with eyes closed, examine your mind for unresolved situations that trouble you. For each situation, carefully list all the goals you hope to achieve through its resolution. You will quickly discover you hold a number of goals in mind, at different levels and often conflicting. The Course asks you to be honest and attentive, not superficial or rushed.
This lesson follows the release of thoughts of attack (Lesson 23). After letting go of attacks, you must now recognize that even your “positive” desires are based on a false perception of your best interest. Lessons 25 (“I do not know what anything is for”) and 26 (“My thoughts of attack attack my invulnerability”) will continue to dismantle false beliefs about yourself and the world. This is deep inner cleaning, preparing the way for the more luminous lessons on God (Lessons 27–30).
Practice:
Five two-minute practice periods. Repeat the idea, then close your eyes and look for unresolved situations. For each, list all the outcomes you desire. Be honest, you will likely see conflicting goals. Do not try to resolve them; simply recognize them. End by repeating the idea.
Accepting that you do not know is making space for wisdom to enter.
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