LESSON TWENTY-ONE

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: The Course text is in bold face. The Guidance is in normal type In His Guidance, He has asked Me to capitalize the pronouns You and We as an acknowledgement of the Divinity of All of Us, an acknowledgement of Equality, an expression of His Love and respect for You. When You see the word ‘YOU’ capitalized in the Guidance, know that He is not just speaking to YOU, He is honoring YOU.

I am determined to see things differently. There must be a better here, now sense of the world than I am seeing presently. Since thoughts are images which I have made, I had better quickly change My thinking.

¹ The idea for today is obviously a continuation and extension of the preceding one. This time, however, specific mind searching periods are necessary in addition to applying the idea to particular situations as they arise. Five practice periods are urged, allowing a full minute for each.

² In the practice periods, begin by repeating the idea to yourself. Then close your eyes and search your mind carefully for situations past, present or anticipated, which arouse anger in you. The anger may take the form of any reaction ranging from mild irritation to rage. The degree of the emotion you experience does not matter. You will become increasingly aware that a slight twinge of annoyance is nothing but a veil drawn over intense fury.  Perhaps, until this moment, You had not realized just what rage the ego feels when thwarted, even in the smallest, and the least important of situations.

³ Try, therefore, not to let the “little” thoughts of anger escape you in the practice periods. Remember that you do not really recognize what arouses anger in you, and nothing that you believe in this connection means anything. You will probably be tempted to dwell more on some situations than on others on the fallacious grounds that they are more “obvious.” This is not so. It is merely an example of the belief that some forms of attack are more justified than others.  It is always ‘their’ fault, no matter who ‘They’ might seem to be.

⁴ As you search your mind for all the forms in which attack thoughts present themselves, hold each one in mind and tell yourself.

⁵ I am determined to see _____ [name of person] differently.
I am determined to see _____ [specify the situation] differently.

⁶ Try to be as specific as possible. You may, for example, focus your anger on a particular attribute of a particular person, believing that the anger is limited to this aspect. If your perception of the person is suffering from this form of distortion, say:

⁷ I am determined to see _____ [specify the
attribute] in _____ [name of person] differently.

This entails really being present, even when it is uncomfortable, with each situation.

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