What is A Course in Miracles?

A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is a spiritual curriculum of 365 lessons designed to transform perception and restore inner peace.

How to practice the lesson of the day?

Read the lesson in the morning, apply it throughout the day, and use the summary to deepen your understanding.

I see nothing as it is now.

This idea obviously follows from the two preceding ones. But while you may be able to accept it intellectually, it is unlikely that it will mean anything to you as yet. However, understanding is not necessary at this point. In fact, the recognition that you do not understand is a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas. These exercises are concerned with practice, not with understanding. You do not need to practice what you really understand. It would indeed be circular to aim at understanding, and assume that you have it already.

It is difﬁcult for the untrained mind to believe that what seems to be pictured before it is not there. This idea can be quite disturbing, and may meet with active resistance in any number of forms. Yet that does not preclude applying it. No more than that is required for these or any other exercises. Each little step will clear a little of the darkness away, and understanding will ﬁnally come to lighten every corner of the mind which has been cleared of the debris that darkens it.

These exercises, for which three or four practice periods are sufﬁcient, involve looking about you and applying the idea for the day to whatever you see, remembering the need for its indiscriminate application, and the essential rule of excluding nothing. It is emphasized again that while complete inclusion should not be attempted, speciﬁc exclusion must be avoided. Be sure you are honest in making this distinction. You may be tempted to obscure it.

For example:

I do not see this typewriter as it is now.

I do not see this key as it is now.

I do not see this telephone as it is now.

Begin with things that are nearest you, and then extend the range:

I do not see that coat rack as it is now.

I do not see that face as it is now.

I do not see that door as it is now.

✨ Summary & practice

Nothing is as you see it.

Lesson 9 is the logical consequence of the two previous ones. If you see only the past and your mind is preoccupied with past thoughts, then it’s obvious you see nothing as it is now. This idea may be disturbing, and the Course acknowledges this: it’s difficult for an untrained mind to believe that what it seems to perceive isn’t actually there. But the Course reassures you: it’s not necessary to understand. Recognizing that you don’t understand is already a prerequisite for undoing your false ideas.

The central idea, 'I see nothing as it is now,' is applied by looking around and naming each thing. You say: 'I do not see this typewriter as it is now. I do not see this phone as it is now.' You start with the closest things, then expand your field. The Course emphasizes the importance of excluding nothing and being honest with yourself. Each small step will dissipate a little of the darkness clouding your mind.

This lesson bridges the diagnosis made in Lessons 7 and 8 with the practical applications that follow. Lessons 7 and 8 told you that you see only the past because your mind is preoccupied with it. Lesson 9 draws the conclusion: therefore, you see nothing as it is now. It’s a powerful realization that opens the door to Lesson 10 and beyond. Everything unfolds logically, like an irrefutable argument leading you toward ever-greater freedom.

For today, three or four practice periods are enough. Look around and apply the idea to what you see, remembering to exclude nothing. Start with what’s close, then widen your view. To each thing, say: 'I do not see this as it is now.' And let the quietness of this recognition settle within you.