Begin with the things that are near you, and apply the idea to whatever your glance rests on. Then increase the range outward. Turn your head so that you include whatever is to either side. If possible, turn around and apply the idea to what was behind you. Remain as indiscriminate as possible in selecting subjects for its application, do not concentrate on anything in particular, and do not attempt to include everything in an area or you will introduce strain. Merely glance easily and fairly quickly around you, trying to avoid selection by size, brightness, color, material, or relative importance to you.
Take the subjects simply as you see them. Try to apply the exercise with equal ease to a body or a button, a fly or a floor, an arm or an apple. The sole criterion for applying the idea to anything is merely that your eyes have lighted on it. Make no attempt to include anything particular, but be sure that nothing is specifically excluded.
✨ Summary & practice
Lesson 2 is a revelation. After Lesson 1, where you accepted that nothing means anything by itself, you now arrive at an even greater truth: you are the one who gives all meaning to what you see.
Everything around you, this chair, this window, this body, has no meaning in itself. It is you, with your history, your fears and joys, who has placed all the meaning these things have for you. An object isn't 'important' by nature; it's your judgment that makes it important. You project onto the entire world the meaning you carry within you. When you look at something and feel something, boredom, beauty, anger, desire, it's not the thing that makes you feel that way. It's you who has chosen that feeling.
This idea may seem unsettling, and yet it is profoundly liberating. If all meaning comes from you, then you can also choose a different meaning. You are not imprisoned by what the world 'is,' because the world is nothing other than what you decide it is. Here is your first true lesson in responsibility and inner power. The Holy Spirit gently invites you to look at what you hold onto and ask yourself: does this truly make me happy?
How to practice today: Several times during the day, rest your gaze on something, an object, a person, a sound, and gently repeat: 'I have given this everything the meaning it has for me.' Then allow yourself a second to feel the weight you carry. Do you really want to keep giving this meaning? If not, breathe, and choose peace instead. Don't try to force it, don't try to change everything at once. Just asking the question is already the perfect practice.
I invite you to read this article, which will also help you better understand what seems to be happening, why, and how to shift your perspective on it:
https://www.ichoosepeace.love/father-did-not-make-the-desert
You are walking the path, step by step, and every step is perfect. Keep going, you are exactly where you need to be. 🙏
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