This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. No-one really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts projected outward. The mind's preoccupation with the past is the cause of the total misconception about time from which your seeing suffers. Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is. It therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand anything.
The only wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about delusions. Very few minds have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything.
The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While thoughtless ideas preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked.
Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to vision.
The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. With as little investment as possible, search your mind for the usual minute or so, merely noting the thoughts you find there. Name each one by the central figure or theme it contains, and pass on to the next. Introduce the practice period by saying:
I seem to be thinking about ___.
Then name each of your thoughts specifically, for example:
I seem to be thinking about [name of person], about [name of object], about [name of emotion], and so on, concluding at the end of the mind searching period with:
But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
This can be done four or five times during the day, unless you find it irritates you. If you find it trying, three or four times is sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion which the idea may induce, in the mind searching itself.
✨ Summary & practice
The empty mind waiting for truth.
After discovering that you see only the past, here is the deep reason for this phenomenon: your mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. This is a very concrete lesson. When you think about what happened yesterday or anticipate what will happen tomorrow, your mind is actually empty, empty of presence, empty of truth. The Course goes even further: no one sees anything at all. Each person sees only their thoughts projected outward. Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time that exists.
The central idea is that the only entirely true thought about the past is that it is not here. Thinking about the past or anticipating the future is thinking about illusions. By doing this, your mind is empty, it is not truly thinking at all. The purpose of today’s exercises is to begin training your mind to recognize when it is not truly thinking. As long as thoughtless ideas occupy your mind, truth is blocked. Recognizing that your mind is simply empty is the first step toward opening the way to vision.
This lesson is the direct sister of Lesson 7. Together, they form a complete diagnosis: the problem (you see only the past) and its cause (your mind is preoccupied with the past). Lessons 9 and 10 will continue to detail the consequences: you see nothing as it is now, and your thoughts mean nothing. This is the entire first phase of the Course unfolding before your eyes. Each lesson is a piece of the puzzle that, once assembled, will show you a completely new picture.
Today’s exercises are done with eyes closed. For one minute, examine your mind and note the thoughts you find. For each, say: 'It seems I am thinking about ___,' then conclude by recognizing these are only past thoughts. You’ll see, the simple recognition of this apparent emptiness is already a giant step toward truth.
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