A course in miracles day 27

Lesson 27
Above all else I want to see.
1 Today's idea expresses something stronger than mere determination. It gives vision priority among your desires. You may feel hesitant about using the idea on the ground that you are not sure you really mean it. This does not matter. The purpose of today's exercises is to bring the time when the idea will be wholly true a little nearer.

2 There may be a great temptation to believe that some sort of sacrifice is being asked of you when you say you want to see above all else. If you become uneasy about the lack of reservation involved, add:

3 Vision has no cost to anyone.

4 If fear of loss still persists, add further:

5 It can only bless.

6 The idea for today needs many repetitions for maximum benefit. It should be used at least every half hour, and more often if possible. You might try for every 15 or 20 minutes. It is recommended that you set a definite time interval for using the idea when you wake or shortly afterwards and attempt to adhere to it throughout the day. It will not be difficult to do this, even if you are engaged in conversation or otherwise occupied at the time. You can still repeat one short sentence to yourself without disturbing anything that is going on.

7 The real question is how often will you remember? How much do you want today's idea to be true? Answer one of these questions, and you have answered the other. You will probably miss several applications and perhaps quite a number. Do not be disturbed by this, but do try to keep on your schedule from then on. If only once during the day you feel that you were perfectly sincere while you were repeating today's idea, you can be sure that you have saved yourself many years of effort.

Magic path current challenge: observing fingers

Watch your fingers while eating, walking, talking, or having a rest. What do they do while you are deep in the flow of your thoughts? ...The purpose of stalking is twofold: first, to move the assemblage point as steadily and safely as possible, and nothing can do the job as well as stalking: second, to imprint its principles at such a deep level that the human inventory is bypassed, as is the natural reaction of refusing and judging something that may be offensive to reason.” C.Castaneda "The Fire From Within" Type: stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

Full body apparition caught on camera

This is the only full body apparition that I have ever captured, was a crazy night. Did not see until next day while reviewing tape from full spectrum camera I was no way... #fullbodyapparition #ghosthunting #paranormal #paranormalinvestigation https://t.co/4PyzSJVmb1

Magic path current challenge: visual illusion with shadows

We have the ability to see pure energy - light, without attaching almost no value to it. There are a lot of illusions associated with light, many of which are able to amaze if we turn off the usual flow of interpretations. Today every time looking at an object in the shadow, imagine that this is its color, not the shadow. He pointed to a long boulder standing directly in front of us. "Look at the shadow of that boulder, "He said. "The shadow is the boulder, and yet it isn't. To observe the boulder in order to know what the boulder is, is doing, but to observe its shadow is not-doing. "Shadows are like doors, the doors of not-doing. A man of knowledge, for example, can tell the innermost feelings of men by watching their shadows." "Is there movement in them?" I asked. "You may say that there is movement in them, or you may say that the lines of the world are shown in them, or you may say that feelings come from them." "But how could feelings come out of shadows, don Juan?" "To believe that shadows are just shadows is doing" he explained. "That belief is somehow stupid. Think about it this way: There is so much more to everything in the world that obviously there must be more to shadows too. After all, what makes them shadows is merely our doing." C.Castaneda "Journey to Ixtlan" Type: stopping the internal dialogue, not doing Difficulty: low

Moira Furnace paranormal invesigation

Check out our latest blog about last weekends Paranormal Investigation of the very creepy and active Moira Furnace
https://t.co/p8ri4Vb4vf

A course in miracles day 26

Lesson 26
My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.
1 It is surely obvious that if you can be attacked, you are not invulnerable. You see attack as a real threat. That is because you believe that you can really attack. And what would have effects through you must also have effects on you. It is this law that will ultimately save you. But you are misusing it now. You must therefore learn how it can be used for your own best interests rather than against them.

2 Because your attack thoughts will be projected, you will fear attack. And if you fear attack, you must believe that you are not invulnerable. Attack thoughts therefore make you vulnerable in your own mind, which is where the attack thoughts are. Attack thoughts and invulnerability cannot be accepted together. They contradict each other.

3 The idea for today introduces the thought that you always attack yourself. If attack thoughts must entail the belief that you are vulnerable, their effect is to weaken you in your own eyes. Thus they have attacked your perception of yourself. And because you believe in them, you can no longer believe in yourself. A false image of yourself has come to take the place of what you are.

4 Practice with today's idea will help you to understand that vulnerability or invulnerability is the result of your own thoughts. Nothing except your thoughts can attack you. Nothing except your thoughts can make you think you are vulnerable. And nothing except your thoughts can prove to you this is not so.

5 Six practice periods are required in applying today's idea. A full two minutes should be attempted for each of them, although the time may be reduced to a minute if the discomfort is too great. Do not reduce it further.

6 The practice period should begin with repeating the idea for today, then closing your eyes and reviewing the unresolved situations whose outcomes are causing you concern. The concern may take the form of depression, worry, anger, a sense of imposition, fear, foreboding, or preoccupation. Any problem as yet unsettled which tends to recur in your thoughts during the day is a suitable subject. You will not be able to use very many for any one practice period, because a longer time than usual should be spent with each one. Today's idea should be applied as follows:

7 First, name the situation:

8 I am concerned about ______.

9 Then go over every possible outcome which has occurred to you in that connection and which has caused you concern, referring to each one quite specifically, saying:

10 I am afraid ______ will happen.

11 If you are doing the exercises properly, you should have some five or six distressing possibilities available for each situation you use and quite possibly more. It is much more helpful to cover a few situations thoroughly than to touch on a larger number.

12 As the list of anticipated outcomes for each situation continues, you will probably find some of them, especially those which occur to you toward the end, less acceptable to you. Try, however, to treat them all alike to whatever extent you can.

13 After you have named each outcome of which you are afraid, tell yourself:

14 That thought is an attack upon myself.

15 Conclude each practice period by repeating today's idea once more.

A course in miracles day 25

Lesson 25
I do not know what anything is for.
1 Purpose is meaning. Today's idea explains why nothing you see means anything. You do not know what it is for. Therefore it is meaningless to you. Everything is for your own best interests. That is what it is for; that is its purpose; that is what it means. It is in recognizing this that your goals become unified. It is in recognizing this that what you see is given meaning.

2 You perceive the world and everything in it as meaningful in terms of ego goals. These goals have nothing to do with your own best interests because the ego is not you. This false identification makes you incapable of understanding what anything is for. As a result, you are bound to misuse it. When you believe this, you will try to withdraw the goals you have assigned to the world instead of attempting to reinforce them.

3 Another way of describing the goals you now perceive as valuable is to say that they are all concerned with "personal" interests. Since you have no personal interests, your goals are really concerned with nothing. In cherishing them, therefore, you have no goals at all. And thus you do not know what anything is for.

4 Before you can make any sense out of the exercises for today, one more thought is necessary. At the most superficial levels, you do recognize purpose. Yet purpose cannot be understood at these levels. For example, you do understand that a telephone is for the purpose of talking to someone who is not physically in your immediate vicinity. What you do not understand is what you want to reach him for. And it is this that makes your contact with him meaningful or not.

5 It is crucial to your learning to be willing to give up the goals you have established for everything. The recognition that they are meaningless, rather than "good" or "bad," is the only way to accomplish this. The idea for today is a step in this direction.

6 Six practice periods, each of two minutes duration, are required. Each practice period should begin with a slow repetition of the idea for today followed by looking about you and letting your glance rest on whatever happens to catch your eye, near or far, "important" or "unimportant," "human" or "unhuman." With your eyes resting on each subject you so select, say, for example:

7 I do not know what this chair is for.
I do not know what this pencil is for.
I do not know what this hand is for.

8 Say this quite slowly, without shifting your eyes until you have completed the statement. Then move on to the next subject, and apply today's idea as before.

Magic path current challenge: minding phone addiction

During the day observe how much time you spend on the phone. Various applications that measure productivity, such as UBhind or QualityTime, can help. At the end of the day check to see if the results match the ones you expected. He pointed at the mountain range east of the small valley where the town is located. "There is enough glitter in those mountains to jolt your assemblage point,” he said to me. "Just before the sun goes down behind the western peaks, you will have a few moments to catch all the glitter you need. The magic key that opens the earth’s doors is made of internal silence plus anything that shines.” "What exactly should I do, don Juan?” I asked. Both of them examined me. I thought I saw in their eyes a mixture of curiosity and revulsion. "Just cut off the internal dialogue,” don Juan said to me. C.Castaneda "The Fire From Within" Type: stopping the internal dialogue, saving energy Difficulty: low

Magic path current challenge: to be liked by other people

Notice when you want people to like you and try to avoid being nice just to seem to be better than you are. Do not be afraid to seem ridiculous and pathetic, be able to laugh at yourself in any situation. ...And you know what that hinges on, really? Being liked, wanting to be liked? The sorcerers have a theory about the idea of the energy you were given at your conception. If your parents liked each other, and I mean sexually, if they had a very grand time, a great, great sexual experience, both of them, mother and father, when that child is conceived that child will have this great burst of energy. And he may not care whether people really like him or not because he has this intrinsic sense of energetic well-being. But, if one of the parents are bored-the sorcerer don Juan always called them 'bored conceptions'-or if they were made out of a very boring experience, with not much flash. Or maybe the partners didn't even like each other, they just went through the motions of having sex because they were married and it was the thing to do Friday night, then that child will come out into the world with really a disadvantage. And he will always feel that something is missing, and he wants to be liked. He wants his peers to like him, he wants his mama to like him, and she may not even like him at all. But that is not just theory, but it's something that sorcerers have arrived at through their seeing. They actually see how energetic a luminous being is. They can see how the energy moves. In some people it's very sluggish, stagnant, and of course that expresses itself in a very meek or low level zest for life. they sort of just barely get through the day. That kind of feeling. But others have a lot of energy. They meet everything as a challenge. Everything to them is an adventure. They dominate people naturally. They have this charisma, sort of a mesmeric effect on others, and on things around them. And they may not have this need, they're not as needy as other people they want to be liked and are needy. Interview: Taisha Abelar, Alexander Blair-Ewart (1994) Type: losing self-importance Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 24

Lesson 24
I do not perceive my own best interests.
1 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.

2 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.

3 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.

4 The 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.

5 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:

6 In the situation involving _____, I would
like _____ to happen, and _____ to happen,

7 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.

8 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.

9 After covering the list of as many hoped-for goals as possible for each unresolved situation that crosses your mind, say to yourself:

10 I do not perceive my own best interests in this situation,

11 and go on to the next.

Shane Dawson's First Ghost Encounter

Shane Dawson's First Ghost Encounter

Magic path current challenge: irritation and anger

Notice when someone or something annoys, hinders or irritates you. Why do you respond to it? I raged at him that most of his people were tricksters. He laughed until tears were rolling down his cheeks. He said that I was the ideal dupe. My self-importance made me a most enjoyable subject. He was laughing so hard at my annoyance that he had to lean against a wall. C.Castaneda "The Eagle's Gift" Type: losing self-importance Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 23

Lesson 23
I can escape from the world I see
by giving up attack thoughts.
1 The idea for today contains the only way out of fear that will ever succeed. Nothing else will work; everything else is meaningless. But this way cannot fail. Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work if your perception of the world is to be changed.

2 If the cause of the world you see is attack thoughts, you must learn that it is these thoughts which you do not want. There is no point in lamenting the world. There is no point in trying to change the world. It is incapable of change because it is merely an effect. But there is indeed a point in changing your thoughts about the world. Here you are changing the cause. The effects will change automatically.

3 The world you see is a vengeful world, and everything in it is a symbol of vengeance. Each of your perceptions of "external reality" is a pictorial representation of your own attack thoughts. One can well ask if this can be called seeing. Is not fantasy a better word for such a process and hallucination a more appropriate term for the result?

4 You see the world which you have made, but you do not see yourself as the image-maker. You cannot be saved from the world, but you can escape from its cause. This is what salvation means, for where is the world you see when its cause is gone? Vision already holds a replacement for everything you think you see now. Loveliness can light your images and so transform them that you will love them even though they were made of hate. For you will not be making them alone.

5 The idea for today introduces the thought that you are not trapped in the world you see, because its cause can be changed. This change requires, first, that the cause be identified and then let go, so that it can be replaced. The first two steps in this process require your cooperation. The final one does not. Your images have already been replaced. By taking the first two steps, you will see that this is so.

6 Besides using it throughout the day as the need arises, five practice periods are required in applying today's idea. As you look about you, repeat the idea slowly to yourself and then close your eyes and devote about a minute to searching your mind for as many attack thoughts as occur to you. As each one crosses your mind say:

7 I can escape from the world by giving up
attack thoughts about _____.

8 Hold each attack thought in mind as you say this, and then dismiss that thought and go on to the next.

9 In the practice periods, be sure to include both your thoughts of attacking and of being attacked. Their effects are exactly the same because they are exactly the same. You do not yet recognize this, and you are asked at this time only to treat them as the same in today's practice periods. We are still at the stage of identifying the cause of the world you see. When you finally realize that thoughts of attack and of being attacked are not different, you will be ready to let the cause go.

Ghost Stories with Steve-O

Ghost Stories with Steve-O

A course in miracles day 22

Lesson 22
What I see is a form of vengeance.
1 Today's idea accurately describes the way anyone who holds attack thoughts in his mind must see the world. Having projected his anger onto the world, he sees vengeance about to strike at him. His own attack is thus perceived as self defense. This becomes an increasingly vicious circle until he is willing to change how he sees. Otherwise, thoughts of attack and counter-attack will preoccupy him and people his entire world. What peace of mind is possible to him then?

2 It is from this savage fantasy that you want to escape. Is it not joyous news to hear that it is not real? Is it not a happy discovery to find that you can escape? You made what you would destroy—everything that you hate and would attack and kill. All that you fear does not exist.

3 Look at the world about you at least five times today, for at least a minute each time. As your eyes move slowly from one object to another, from one body to another, say to yourself:

4 I see only the perishable.
I see nothing that will last.
What I see is not real.
What I see is a form of vengeance.

5 At the end of each practice period, ask yourself:

6 Is this the world I really want to see?

7 The answer is surely obvious.

Magic path current challenge: conserve energy

Today move as relaxed as possible. Strain your muscles and make efforts only when you need. Choose the least energy-consuming movements. Pay attention to the energy level by the evening. ...He added that we all have a determined quantity of basic energy. That quantity is all the energy we have, and we use all of it for perceiving and dealing with our engulfing world. He repeated various times, to emphasize it, that there is no more energy for us anywhere and, since our available energy is already engaged, there is not a single bit left in us for any extraordinary perception, such as dreaming. "Where does that leave us?" I asked. "It leaves us to scrounge energy for ourselves, wherever we can find it," he replied. Don Juan explained that sorcerers have a scrounging method. They intelligently redeploy their energy by cutting down anything they consider superfluous in their lives. They call this method the sorcerers' way. C.Castaneda "The Art of Dreaming" Type: saving energy, stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 21

Lesson 21
I am determined to see things differently.
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.

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.

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.

Dan Aykroyd Reveals the Paranormal Inspiration Behind Ghostbusters | Joe Rogan

Dan Aykroyd Reveals the Paranormal Inspiration Behind Ghostbusters | Joe Rogan

Magic path current challenge: understand the alive objects around

Imagine a sphere around you. Scan the space inside of it, notice alive objects and try to feel them and focus on the awareness of their existence. Gradually increase the size of the sphere. ...The new seers, on the other hand, imbued with practicality, were able to see a flux of emanations and to see how man and other living beings utilize them to construct their perceivable world. "How are those emanations utilized by man, don Juan?” "It’s so simple it sounds idiotic. For a seer, men are luminous beings. Our luminosity is made up of that portion of the Eagle’s emanations which is encased in our egglike cocoon. That particular portion, that handful of emanations that is encased, is what makes us men. To perceive is to match the emanations contained inside our cocoon with those that are outside. "Seers can see, for instance, the emanations inside any living creature and can tell which of the outside emanations would match them.” "Are the emanations like beams of light?” I asked. "No. Not at all. That would be too simple. They are something indescribable. And yet, my personal comment would be to say that they are like filaments of light." C.Castaneda "The Fire From Within" Type: stopping the internal dialogue, saving energy Difficulty: low

Dan Aykroyd Slept with a Ghost!

Dan Aykroyd's Ghostly Encounter | Joe Rogan

A course in miracles day 20

Lesson 20
I am determined to see.
1 We have been quite casual about our practice periods thus far. There has been virtually no attempt to direct the time for undertaking them, minimal effort has been required, and not even active cooperation and interest have been asked. This casual approach has been intentional and very carefully planned. We have not lost sight of the crucial importance of the reversal of your thinking. The salvation of the world depends on it. Yet you will not see if you regard yourself as being coerced and if you give in to resentment and opposition.

2 This is our first attempt to introduce structure. Do not misconstrue it as an effort to exert force or pressure. You want salvation. You want to be happy. You want peace. You do not have them now because your mind is totally undisciplined, and you cannot distinguish between joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, love and fear. You are now learning how to tell them apart. And great indeed will be your reward.

3 Your decision to see is all that vision requires. What you want is yours. Do not mistake the little effort that is asked of you for a sign that our goal is of little worth. Can the salvation of the world be a trivial purpose? And can the world be saved if you are not? God has one Son, and he is the resurrection and the life. His will is done because all power is given him in Heaven and on earth. In your determination to see is vision given you.

4 The exercises for today consist in reminding yourselves throughout the day that you want to see. Today's idea also tacitly implies the recognition that you do not see now. Therefore, as you repeat the idea, you are stating that you are determined to change your present state for a better one, and one you really want.

5 Repeat today's idea slowly and positively at least twice an hour today, attempting to do so every half hour. Do not be distressed if you forget to do so, but make a real effort to remember. The extra repetitions should be applied to any situation, person, or event which upsets you. You can see them differently, and you will. What you desire, you will see. Such is the real law of cause and effect as it operates in the world.

Magic path current challenge: control of sexual desires

During the day watch your thoughts about sexual desires. Observe triggers that increase or decrease your desires. Do not let them control your actions. "If warriors want to have enough energy to see, they must become misers with their sexual energy. That was the lesson the nagual Julian gave us. He pushed us into the unknown, and we all nearly died. Since everyone of us wanted to see, we, of course, abstained from wasting our glow of awareness.” C.Castaneda "The Fire From Within" Type: losing self-importance, saving energy Difficulty: low

Magic path current challenge: compliments

Check if you know how to notice good features in others. Be sincere and do not restrain yourself: find something good in every person and pay a compliment to him or her. "The real challenge for those sorcerer seers," don Juan went on, "was finding a system of behavior that was neither petty nor capricious, but that combined the morality and the sense of beauty which differentiates sorcerer seers from plain witches." "...Anyone who succeeds in moving his assemblage point to a new position is a sorcerer," don Juan continued. "And from that new position, he can do all kinds of good and bad things to his fellow men. Being a sorcerer, therefore, can be like being a cobbler or a baker. The quest of sorcerer seers is to go beyond that stand. And to do that, they need morality and beauty." C.Castaneda "The Power of Silence" Type: losing self-importance Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 19

Lesson 19
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.
1 The idea for today is obviously the reason why your seeing does not affect you alone. You will notice that at times the ideas related to thinking precede those related to perceiving, while at other times the order is reversed. The reason is that the order does not actually matter. Thinking and its results are really simultaneous, for cause and effect are never separate.

2 Today we are again emphasizing the fact that minds are joined. This is rarely a wholly welcome idea at first, since it seems to carry with it an enormous sense of responsibility and may even be regarded as an "invasion of privacy." Yet it is a fact that there are no private thoughts. Despite your initial resistance to this idea, you will yet understand that it must be true if salvation is possible at all. And salvation must be possible because it is the Will of God.

3 The minute or so of mind searching which today's exercises require are to be undertaken with eyes closed. The idea is to be repeated first, and then the mind should be carefully searched for the thoughts it contains at that time. As you consider each one, name it in terms of the central person or theme it contains and, holding it in your mind as you do so, say:

4 I am not alone in experiencing the effects of
this thought about ___.

5 The requirement of as much indiscriminateness as possible in selecting subjects for the practice period should be quite familiar to you by now and will no longer be repeated each day, although it will occasionally be included as a reminder. Do not forget, however, that random selection of subjects for all practice periods remains essential throughout. Lack of order in this connection will ultimately make the recognition of lack of order in miracles meaningful to you.

6 Apart from the "as needed" application of today's idea, at least three practice periods are required, shortening the length of time involved if necessary. Do not attempt more than four.

Magic path current challenge: new routes exploration

Today try to follow the other routes going out. Perhaps they might be longer but it's a good opportunity to go where you've never been before, even if it's near your house. Explore the new things, interrupt your daily flow of thoughts and actions. "To be a hunter is not just to trap game, " he went on. "A hunter that is worth his salt does not catch game because he sets his traps, or because he knows the routines of his prey, but because he himself has no routines. This is his advantage. He is not at all like the animals he is after, fixed by heavy routines and predictable quirks; he is free, fluid, unpredictable." What don Juan was saying sounded to me like an arbitrary and irrational idealization. I could not conceive of a life without routines. I wanted to be very honest with him and not just agree or disagree with him. I felt that what he had in mind was not possible to accomplish by me or by anyone. "I don't care how you feel, " he said. "In order to be a hunter you must disrupt the routines of your life. You have done well in hunting. You have learned quickly and now you can see that you are like your prey, easy to predict." C.Castaneda "Journey to Ixtlan" Type: stopping the internal dialogue, not doing Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 18

Lesson 18
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
1 The idea for today is another step in learning that the thoughts which give rise to what you see are never neutral or unimportant. It also emphasizes the idea that minds are joined, which will be given increasing stress later.

2 Today's idea does not refer to what you see as much as to how you see it. Therefore, the exercises for today will emphasize this aspect of your perception. The three or four practice periods which are recommended should be done as follows:

3 Selecting subjects for the application of the idea randomly, look at each one long enough to say:

4 I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see ___.

5 Conclude the practice period by repeating the more general statement:

6 I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.

7 A minute or so or even less will be sufficient.

Ghost Hunters: Mysterious Castle Fires Linked to Paranormal Activity (Season 1)| A&E

Ghost Hunters: Mysterious Castle Fires Linked to Paranormal Activity (Season 1)| A&E

Magic path current challenge: how often you think of yourself?

There is an opinion that 90% of time people think about themselves. Try to calculate how often you think of yourself. "Don Juan says that all of the energy with which we can count on is already distributed. Hence, we may not be able to break the hegemony of perception, and when we meet a brujo we believe we have met a man who is inconsistent, because he does not use the energy available as we do". "Then in order to be able to control the energy, because all of it is distributed, we have to release it, and there is only one way to do this: get rid of unnecessary things. And that is the importance of the personal "I". The approach is the following: "if you could release that energy, it would be sufficient for the ability to perceive that reality, that separate reality, and, first of all, it would have enough energy to perceive the gift of total consciousness"..."If you stopped feeling that self-importance," he comments to clarify the idea, " you would be invulnerable. What could somebody do to you? Something that hurts us is that we are betrayed or our egotism is being attacked ." Interview: Carlos Cataneda, Javier Molina (1984) Type: losing self-importance Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 17

Lesson 17
I see no neutral things.
1 This idea is another step in the direction of identifying cause and effect as it really operates. You see no neutral things because you have no neutral thoughts. It is always the thought that comes first, despite the temptation to believe that it is really the other way around. This is not the way the world thinks, but you must learn that it is the way you think. If it were not so, perception would have no cause and would itself be the cause of reality. In view of its highly variable nature, this is hardly likely.

2 In applying today's idea, say to yourself, with eyes open:

3 I see no neutral things because I have no neutral thoughts.

4 Then look about you, resting your glance on each thing that catches your eye long enough to say:

5 I do not see a neutral _____, because my thoughts
about _____ are not neutral.

6 For example, you might say:

7 I do not see a neutral wall, because my thoughts
about walls are not neutral.
I do not see a neutral body, because my thoughts
about bodies are not neutral.

8 As usual, it is essential to make no distinction between what you believe to be animate or inanimate, pleasant or unpleasant. Regardless of what you may believe, you do not see anything which is really alive and really joyous. That is because you are unaware as yet of any thoughts which are really true and therefore really happy.

9 Three or four specific practice periods are recommended and no less than three are required for maximum benefit even if you experience resistance. However, if you do, the length of the practice period may be reduced to less than the minute or so which is otherwise recommended.

Magic path current challenge: Avoiding the word must

When talking or writing something down, avoid the words "must" or "have to". Stalkers had no self, no pattern, nothing to assert, no point to make, no demands, no desires. And all this will be eliminated through the recapitulation. And then there's some other things that really need to be done with that, and that's quieting the internal dialogue. So that when you're now here it this today, you have all your energy with you so that you don't persist in repeating that same patterns of behavior. And the way these patterns are ingrained in us is through that internal dialogue, in which we keep repeating certain things to ourselves, like "Oh, I'm no good" or "They don't like me" or "I have to be like this, prove myself here". Whatever goes through one's mind, which is a constant flow of thoughts or reaffirmations, really, of the self. And so, the sorcerers say that you really need to put a stop to that continual reinforcement of the self, which is that position of the assemblage point. Interview: Taisha Abelar, Alexander Blair-Ewart (1994) Type: stopping the internal dialogue, losing self-importance Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 16

Lesson 16
I have no neutral thoughts.
1 The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that your thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the result of your thoughts. There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big or little, powerful or weak. They are merely true or false. Those which are true create their own likeness. Those which are false make theirs.

2 There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of "idle thoughts." What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called idle. Every thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion; either it extends the truth or it multiplies illusions. You can indeed multiply nothing, but you will not extend it by doing so.

3 In addition to never being idle, salvation requires that you recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war, either love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is impossible. There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant, trivial, and not worth bothering about that it is essential you recognize them all as equally destructive but equally unreal. We will practice this idea in many forms before you really understand it.

4 In applying the idea for today, search your mind for a minute or so, with eyes closed, and actively seek not to overlook any "little" thought which tends to elude the search. This is quite difficult until you get used to it. You will find that it is still hard for you not to make artificial distinctions. Every thought that occurs to you, regardless of the quality which you assign to it, is a suitable subject for applying today's idea.

5 In the practice periods, first repeat the idea, and then as each one crosses your mind, hold it in awareness while you tell yourself:

6 This thought about _____ is not a neutral thought.
That thought about _____ is not a neutral thought.

7 As usual, use today's idea whenever you are aware of a particular thought which arouses uneasiness. The following form is suggested for this purpose:

8 This thought about _____ is not a neutral thought,
because I have no neutral thoughts.

9 Four or five practice periods are recommended if you find them relatively effortless. If strain is experienced, three will be enough. The length of the exercise period should also be reduced if there is discomfort.

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A course in miracles day 15

Lesson 15
My thoughts are images which I have made.
1 It is because the thoughts you think you think appear as images that you do not recognize them as nothing. You think you think them, and so you think you see them. This is how your "seeing" was made. This is the function you have given your body's eyes. It is not seeing. It is image-making. It takes the place of seeing, replacing vision with illusions.

2 This introductory idea to the process of image-making which you call seeing will not have much meaning for you. You will begin to understand it when you have seen little edges of light around the same familiar objects which you see now. That is the beginning of real vision. You can be certain that real vision will come quickly when this has occurred.

3 As we go along, you may have many "light episodes." They may take many different forms, some of them quite unexpected. Do not be afraid of them. They are signs that you are opening your eyes at last. They will not persist, because they merely symbolize true perception, and they are not related to knowledge. These exercises will not reveal knowledge to you. But they will prepare the way to it.

4 In practicing the idea for today, repeat it first to yourself, and then apply it to whatever you see around you, using its name and letting your eyes rest on it as you say:

5 This _____ is an image which I have made.
That _____ is an image which I have made.

6 It is not necessary to include a large number of specific subjects for the application of today's idea. It is necessary, however, to continue to look at each subject while you repeat the idea to yourself. The idea should be repeated quite slowly each time.

7 Although you will obviously not be able to apply the idea to very many things during the minute or so of practice that is recommended, try to make the selection as random as possible. Less than a minute will do for the practice periods, if you begin to feel uneasy. Do not have more than three application periods for today's idea unless you feel completely comfortable with it, and do not exceed four.

Magic path current challenge: shining in the eyes

While communicating with other people, focus on the shining of their eyes. If it's difficult for you to focus, try to see the reflectionn in the pupils. "I am the nagual, I moved your assemblage point with the shine of my eyes," he said matter-of-factly. "The nagual's eyes can do that. It's not difficult. After all, the eyes of all living beings can move someone else's assemblage point, especially if their eyes are focused on intent. Under normal conditions, however, people's eyes are focused on the world, looking for food... looking for shelter..." C.Castaneda "The Power of Silence" Type: stopping the internal dialogue, not doing Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 14

Lesson 14
God did not create a meaningless world.
1 The idea for today is, of course, the reason why a meaningless world is impossible. What God did not create does not exist. And everything that does exist exists as He created it. The world you see has nothing to do with reality. It is of your own making, and it does not exist.

2 The exercises for today are to be practiced with eyes closed throughout. The mind searching period should be short, a minute at most. Do not have more than three practice periods with today's idea unless you find them comfortable. If you do, it will be because you really understand what they are for.

3 The idea for today is another step in learning to let go the thoughts which you have written on the world, and see the Word of God in their place. The early steps in this exchange, which can truly be called salvation, can be quite difficult and even quite painful. Some of them will lead you directly into fear. You will not be left there. You will go far beyond it. Our direction is toward perfect safety and perfect peace.

4 With eyes closed, think of all the horrors in the world that cross your mind. Name each one as it occurs to you, and then deny its reality. God did not create it, and so it is not real. Say, for example:

5 God did not create that war, and so it is not real.
God did not create that airplane crash, and so it is not real.
God did not create that disaster [specify], and so it is not real.

6 Suitable subjects for the application of today's idea also include anything you are afraid might happen to you or to anyone about whom you are concerned. In each case, name the "disaster" quite specifically. Do not use general terms. For example, do not say, "God did not create illness," but, "God did not create cancer," or heart attacks, or whatever may arouse fear in you.

7 This is your personal repertory of horrors at which you are looking. These things are part of the world you see. Some of them are shared illusions, and others are part of your personal hell. It does not matter. What God did not create can only be in your own mind apart from His. Therefore, it has no meaning. In recognition of this fact, conclude the practice periods by repeating today's idea:

8 God did not create a meaningless world.

9 The idea for today can, of course, be applied to anything that disturbs you during the day, aside from the practice periods. Be very specific in applying it. Say:

10 God did not create a meaningless world.
He did not create [specify the situation
which is disturbing you], and so it is not real.

Magic path current challenge: feeling of your body

Our body requires attention and care. If we do not listen to it, we become vulnerable to diseases and rapid aging. During the day listen to your body signals such as fatigue, hunger, thirst, and react to it properly. Don Juan stressed in every way possible, while imparting his instruction, the fact that the enormous emphasis the shamans of his lineage had put on physical prowess and mental well-being had lasted to the present day. I was able to corroborate the truth of his statements by observing him and his fifteen sorcerer-companions. Their superb physical and mental balance was the most obvious feature about them. "...You need a pliable body, if you want physical prowess and levelhead¬edness," he went on. "These are the two most important issues in the lives of shamans, because they bring forth sobriety and pragmatism: the only indispensable requisites for entering into other realms of perception. To navigate, in a genuine way, in the unknown necessitates an attitude of daring, but not one of recklessness. In order to establish a balance between audacity and recklessness, a sorcerer has to be extremely sober, cautious, skillful, and in superb physical condition." "But why in superb physical condition, don Juan?" I asked. "Isn't the desire or the will to journey into the unknown enough?" "Not in your pissy life!" he replied rather brusquely. "Just to conceive facing the unknown—much less enter into it—requires guts of steel, and a body that would be Capable of holding those guts. What would be the point of being gutsy if you didn't have mental alertness, physical prowess, and adequate muscles?" C.Castaneda "Magical Passes" Type: stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

Magic path current challenge: silence

From now on, pay attention to silence. Look for it even at the moments of great noise. Notice your feelings in silence. Look for silence between your thoughts. I began the exercise of listening to the "sounds of the world" and kept at it for two months, as don Juan had specified. It was excruciating at first to listen and not look, but even more excruciating was not to talk to myself. By the end of the two months I was capable of shutting off my internal dialogue for short periods of time and I was also capable of paying attention to sounds. C.Castaneda "A Separate Reality" Type: stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 13

Lesson 13
A meaningless world engenders fear.
1 Today's idea is really another form of the preceding one, except that it is more specific as to the emotion aroused. Actually, a meaningless world is impossible. Nothing without meaning exists. However, it does not follow that you will not think you perceive something that has no meaning. On the contrary, you will be particularly likely to think you do perceive it.

2 Recognition of meaninglessness arouses intense anxiety in all the separated ones. It represents a situation in which God and the ego "challenge" each other as to whose meaning is to be written in the empty space which meaninglessness provides. The ego rushes in frantically to establish its own "ideas" there, fearful that the void may otherwise be used to demonstrate its own unreality. And on this alone it is correct.

3 It is essential, therefore, that you learn to recognize the meaningless and accept it without fear. If you are fearful, it is certain that you will endow the world with attributes which it does not possess and crowd it with images that do not exist. To the ego, illusions are safety devices, as they must also be to you who equate yourself with the ego.

4 The exercises for today, which should be done about three or four times for not more than a minute or so at most each time, are to be practiced in a somewhat different way from the preceding ones. With eyes closed, repeat today's idea to yourself. Then open your eyes and look about you slowly, saying:

5 I am looking at a meaningless world.

6 Repeat this statement to yourself as you look about. Then close your eyes and conclude with:

7 A meaningless world engenders fear because
I think I am in competition with God.

8 You may find it difficult to avoid resistance in one form or another to this concluding statement. Whatever form such resistance may take, remind yourself that you are really afraid of such a thought because of the "vengeance" of the "enemy." You are not expected to believe the statement at this point and will probably try to dismiss it as preposterous. Note carefully, however, any signs of overt or covert fear which it may arouse. This is our first attempt at stating an explicit cause and effect relationship of a kind which you are very inexperienced in recognizing. Do not dwell on the concluding statement, and try not even to think of it except during the exercise periods. That will suffice at present.

A course in miracles day 12

Lesson 12
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
1 The importance of this idea lies in the fact that it contains a correction for a major perceptual distortion. You think that what upsets you is a frightening world, or a sad world, or a violent world, or an insane world. All these attributes are given it by you. The world is meaningless in itself.

2 These exercises are done with eyes open. Look around you, this time quite slowly. Try to pace yourself so that the slow shifting of your glance from one thing to another involves a fairly constant time interval. Do not allow the time of the shift to become markedly longer or shorter, but try, instead, to keep a measured, even tempo throughout. What you see does not matter. You teach yourself this as you give whatever your glance rests on equal attention and equal time. This is a beginning step in learning to give them all equal value.

3 As you look about you, say to yourself:

4 I think I see a fearful world, a dangerous world, a hostile
world, a sad world, a wicked world, a crazy world;

5 and so on, using whatever descriptive terms happen to occur to you. If terms which seem positive rather than negative occur to you, include them. For example, you might think of a "good world," or a "satisfying world." If such terms occur to you, use them along with the rest. You may not yet understand why these "nice" adjectives belong in these exercises, but remember that a "good world" implies a "bad" one, and a "satisfying world" implies an "unsatisfying" one. All terms which cross your mind are suitable subjects for today's exercises. Their seeming quality does not matter.

6 Be sure that you do not alter the time intervals between applying today's idea to what you think is pleasant and what you think is unpleasant. For the purposes of these exercises, there is no difference between them. At the end of the practice period, add:

7 But I am upset because I see a meaningless world.

8 What is meaningless is neither good nor bad. Why, then, should a meaningless world upset you? If you could accept the world as meaningless and let the truth be written upon it for you, it would make you indescribably happy. But because it is meaningless, you are impelled to write upon it what you would have it be. It is this you see in it. It is this that is meaningless in truth. Beneath your words is written the Word of God. The truth upsets you now, but when your words have been erased, you will see His. That is the ultimate purpose of these exercises.

9 Three or four times are enough for practicing the idea for today. Nor should the practice periods exceed a minute. You may find even this too long. Terminate the exercises whenever you experience a sense of strain.

Magic path current challenge: pauses between actions

Observe your routine operations during the day. Make pauses between actions, stop and stay for a while here and now before taking another task. Start it being totally focused and concentrated. Don Juan taught that inner silence must be gained by a consistent pressure of discipline. He said that it has to be accrued, or that it has to be stored, bit by bit, second by second. In other words, one has to force oneself to be silent, if it is only for a few seconds. Don Juan claimed that if one is persistent, persistence overcomes habit, and thus, one arrives at a threshold of accrued seconds or minutes, a threshold which varies from person to person. If, for instance, the threshold of inner silence is for any given individual, ten minutes, once this mark is reached, inner silence happens by itself, by its own accord, so to speak. C.Castaneda. "Silent Knowledge" Type: stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 11

Lesson 11
My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
1 This is the first idea we have had which is related to a major phase of the correction process—the reversal of the thinking of the world. It seems as if the world determines what you perceive. Today's idea introduces the concept that your thoughts determine the world you see. Be glad indeed to practice the idea in this initial form, for in this idea is your release made sure. The key to forgiveness lies in it.

2 The practice periods for today's idea are to be undertaken somewhat differently from the previous ones. Begin with eyes closed, and repeat the idea slowly to yourself. Then open your eyes and look about, near or far, up or down—anywhere. During the minute or so to be spent in using the idea, merely repeat it to yourself, being sure to do so without haste and with no sense of urgency or effort.

3 To do these exercises for maximum benefit, the eyes should move from one thing to another fairly rapidly since they should not linger on anything in particular. The words, however, should be used in an unhurried, even leisurely fashion. The introduction to this idea should be practiced as casually as possible. It contains the foundation for the peace, relaxation, and freedom from worry that we are trying to achieve. On concluding the exercises, close your eyes and repeat the idea once more, slowly, to yourself.

4 Three practice periods today will probably be sufficient. However, if there is little or no uneasiness and an inclination to do more, as many as five may be undertaken. More than this is not recommended.

Magic path current challenge: what happened 5 minutes ago?

During the day stop for a while and call to memory something that happened 5 minutes ago. What did you think about? What did you do? What was your emotional state? What did you feel at that moment? Don Juan said that to recapitulate was to relive every, or nearly every experience that one had, and that in doing so, the assemblage point was displaced, ever to slightly, or a great deal, propelled by the force of memory to adapt the position it had when the event being recapitulated took place. This act of going back and forth from previous positions to the one which is current gives the practitioner the necessary fluidity to withstand unusual odds in their journey into infinity; odds which are not in any way part of a practitioner's habitual cognition. Brochure "Silent Knowledge", Carlos Castaneda (1996) Type: recapitulation, stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 10

Lesson 10
My thoughts do not mean anything.
1 This idea applies to all the thoughts of which you are aware or become aware in the practice periods. The reason the idea is applicable to all of them is that they are not your real thoughts. We have made this distinction before and will again. You have no basis for comparison as yet. When you do, you will have no doubt that what you once believed were your thoughts did not mean anything.

2 This is the second time we have used this kind of idea. The form is only slightly different. This time the idea is introduced with "My thoughts" instead of "These thoughts" and no link is made overtly with the things around you. The emphasis is now on the lack of reality of what you think you think.

3 This aspect of the correction process began with the idea that the thoughts of which you are aware are meaningless, outside rather than within, and then stressed their past rather than their present status. Now we are emphasizing that the presence of these "thoughts" means that you are not thinking. This is merely another way of repeating our earlier statement that your mind is really a blank. To recognize this is to recognize nothingness when you think you see it. As such, it is the prerequisite for vision.

4 Close your eyes for these exercises and introduce them by repeating the idea for today quite slowly to yourself. Then add:

5 This idea will help to release me from all that I now believe.

6 The exercises consist, as before, in searching your mind for all the thoughts which are available to you, without selection or judgment. Try to avoid classification of any kind. In fact, if you find it helpful to do so, you might imagine that you are watching an oddly assorted procession going by, which has little if any personal meaning to you. As each one crosses your mind, say:

7 This thought about _____ does not mean anything.
That thought about _____ does not mean anything.

8 Today's idea can obviously serve for any thought that distresses you at any time. In addition, five practice periods are recommended, each involving no more than a minute or so of mind searching. It is not recommended that this time period be extended, and it should be reduced to half a minute or even less if you experience discomfort. Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly before applying it specifically, and also to add:

9 This idea will help to release me from all
that I now believe.

Magic path current challenge: civilisation acheivements

Pay attention to any manifestations of modern civilization around you: eating delicious fresh food inaccessible to people in the past, wearing soft cozy clothes that could not be sewn before, enjoying the view from the window of a skyscraper, etc. Do you appreciate things that have become ordinary for us? Don Juan Matus stated that human beings as organisms perform a stu¬pendous maneuver of perception which, unfortunately, creates a misconception, a false front; they take the influx of sheer energy in the universe at large and turn it into sensory data, which they interpret according to a strict system of interpretation that sorcerers call the human form. This magical act of interpreting pure energy gives rise to the misconception, the peculiar conviction of human beings that their interpretation system is all that exists. Don Juan elucidated this phenomenon with an example. He said that tree, as tree is known to human beings, is more interpretation than perception. He pointed out that for human beings to establish the presence of tree, all they need is a cursory glance that tells them hardly anything. The rest is a phenomenon which he described as the calling of intent, the intent of tree; that is to say, the interpretation of sensory data pertaining to the specific phenomenon that human beings call tree. He declared that the entire world of human beings, just as in this example, is composed of an endless repertoire of interpretations where human senses play a minimal role. In other words, only the visual sense touches the energy influx which comes from the universe at large, and it does so only in a cursory fashion. C.Castaneda "Magical Passes" Type: not doing, stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 9

Lesson 9
I see nothing as it is now.
1 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.

2 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.

3 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. For example:

4 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.

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

6 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.

7 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.

Magic path current challenge: positive thinking

Make today's day the day of positive thinking. Tell yourself to stop as soon as you start thinking negatively. Try to see pros in everything that surrounds you. Don Juan responded that even in heightened awareness I thrived on repetition, and that periodically I would insist on boring him by describing my attacks of feeling worthless. He said that if I had to go under it should be fighting, not apologizing or feeling sorry for myself, and that it did not matter what our specific fate was as long as we faced it with ultimate abandon. C.Castaneda "The Power of Silence" Type: losing self-importance Difficulty: low

Magic path current challenge: concentrate on breathing

Breathing is constantly with us throughout our life. During the day pay attention to the rhythm and depth of breathing while walking, standing, sitting, climbing the stairs, communicating with other people or just relaxing. "Do the sweeping breath," she said. "Breathe in now." I moved my head from right to left, breathing in the energy that was still hopelessly caught in the exhibition hall. As I brought my head back to the right again, I exhaled all the embarrassment and self-pity that had enveloped me. I moved my head repeatedly, doing one sweeping breath after the other until all my emotional turmoil was released. Т.Аbelar "The Sorcerers' Crossing" Type: stopping the internal dialogue Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 8

Lesson 8
My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
1 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.

2 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 illusions. 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.

3 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.

4 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:

5 I seem to be thinking about _____.

6 Then name each of your thoughts specifically. For example:

7 I seem to be thinking about [name of person],
about [name of object], about [name of emotion];

8 and so on, concluding at the end of the mind-searching period with:

9 But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.

10 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 are sufficient. You might find it helpful, however, to include your irritation, or any emotion which the idea may induce, in the mind searching itself.

Magic path current challenge: the rod inside

When we walk, the center of gravity usually shifts a little forward. Today move so that the center of gravity always remains in the middle. Feel the energy "rod" passing through your backbone. At the same time, the body should be relaxed, keep your back straight. Since ancient times people have wondered why human life ends at the age of 60, 70, 80...The plant world is a very different matter. Many trees live hundreds of years. They grow without feelings, desires and emotions in winter and summer, in the cold and heat, under the sun and rain. Their roots go deep into the earth and get water and all the necessary substances for life, which go up the trunk to the leaves. Their crown rushes up, washes by rain, ripples at the wind, baths in the sun during the day and receives the light of the stars and the moon during the night. And all this comes into the leaves, branches,trunk and goes down to the roots. Thus, the tree receives nutrients and energy from below, from the Earth, and from above, from Space. And they pass through the trunk to meet each other, accumulate and give the tree the opportunity to grow and live. Thus, the tree combines the Earth and Space. What if a man becomes like a tree? Will it prolong his life? For many years, the forms of such practice were selected and trained, until it was found that regular exercise of this kind really allows you to accumulate energy. Extract from the description of the Zhong Yuan Qigong practice "The big tree" Type: stopping the internal dialogue, saving energy Difficulty: low

Magic path current challenge: using only positive words only

During the day avoid using negative words and always use positive ones. "A warrior never lends himself to harmful displays of envy, hatred, resentment, and so on. He drowns them in his silence and lets them die slowly away." “What does that mean?” "It means that a warrior avoids uttering sentences with connotations contrary to his interest, like, for example, ‘I hate this or that’ or ‘I cannot stand this.’ By avoiding those and similar comments, a warrior is cleansed and cured of debilitating concepts. Observe that the idea here is to reinforce the positive and reduce the negative. Even when saying, ‘Don't do this or that’ one actually suggests that YES, it can be done. Such is human nature. It is therefore important to cultivate the ideas of strength and beauty in the mind, because they are the filter through which we look at the world. Armando Torres "The Secret of a Plumed Serpent" Type: intention, not doing Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 6

Lesson 6
I am upset because I see
something that is not there.
1 The exercises with this idea are very similar to the preceding ones. Again, it is necessary to name both the form of upset (anger, fear, worry, depression, and so on) and the perceived source very specifically for any application of the idea. For example:

2 I am angry at ___ because I see something that is not there.
I am worried about ___ because I see something that is not there.

3Today's idea is useful for application to anything that seems to upset you and can profitably be used throughout the day for that purpose. However, the three or four practice periods which are required should be preceded by a minute or so of mind searching, as before, and the application of the idea to each upsetting thought uncovered in the search.

4 Again, if you resist applying the idea to some upsetting thoughts more than to others, remind yourself of the two cautions stated in the previous lesson:

5There are no small upsets. They are all
equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

6And:

7 I cannot keep this form of upset and let
the others go. For the purposes of these exercises,
then, I will regard them all as the same.

Magic path current challenge: meeting with friends as if for the first time

Imagine that every person you meet, you see for the first time. Throw out any critical judgments and look at the people you know with an unbiased look. Do they really deserve the way you treat them? Maybe it's time to break up with someone, or, on the contrary, to establish closer relationship with others. "Identifying is the chief obstacle to self-remembering. A man who identifies with anything is unable to remember himself. In order to remember oneself it is necessary first of all not to identify. But in order to learn not to identify man must first of all not be identified with himself, must not call himself 'I' always and on all occasions. He must remember that there are two in him, that there is himself, that is 'I' in him, and there is another with whom he must struggle and whom he must conquer if he wishes at any time to attain anything. So long as a man identifies or can be identified, he is the slave of everything that can happen to him. Freedom is first of all freedom from identification. "After general forms of identification attention must be given to a particular form of identifying, namely identifying with people, which takes the form of 'considering' them. "There are several different kinds of 'considering.' "On the most prevalent occasions a man is identified with what others think about him, how they treat him, what attitude they show towards him. He always thinks that people do not value him enough, are not sufficiently polite and courteous. All this torments him, makes him think and suspect and lose an immense amount of energy on guesswork, on suppositions, develops in him a distrustful and hostile attitude towards people. How somebody looked at him, what somebody thought of him, what somebody said of him—all this acquires for him an immense significance. P.Ouspensky "In Search of the Miraculous" Type: losing self-importance Difficulty: low

A course in miracles day 5

Lesson 5
I am never upset for the reason I think.
1 This idea, like the preceding one, can be used with any person, situation, or event you think is causing you pain. Apply it specifically to whatever you believe is the cause of your upset, using the description of the feeling in whatever term seems accurate to you. The upset may seem to be fear, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, hatred, jealousy, or any number of forms, all of which will be perceived as different. This is not true. However, until you learn that form does not matter, each form becomes a proper subject for the exercises for the day. Applying the same idea to each of them separately is the first step in ultimately recognizing they are all the same.

2 When using the idea for today for a specific perceived cause of an upset in any form, use both the name of the form in which you see the upset and the cause which you ascribe to it. For example:

3 I am not angry at ____ for the reason I think.
I am not afraid of ____ for the reason I think.

4 But again, this should not be substituted for practice periods in which you first search your mind for "sources" of upset in which you believe and forms of upset which you think result.

5 In these exercises, more than in the preceding ones, you may find it hard to be indiscriminate and to avoid giving greater weight to some subjects than to others. It might help to precede the exercises with the statement:

6 There are no small upsets. They are all
equally disturbing to my peace of mind.

7 Then examine your mind for whatever is distressing you, regardless of how much or how little you think it is doing so.

8 You may also find yourself less willing to apply today's idea to some perceived sources of upset than to others. If this occurs, think first of this:

9 I cannot keep this form of upset and let
the others go. For the purposes of these
exercises, then, I will regard them all as the same.

10 Then search your mind for no more than a minute or so, and try to identify a number of different forms of upset that are disturbing you, regardless of the relative importance you may give them. Apply the idea for today to each of them, using the name of both the source of the upset as you perceive it and of the feelings as you experience it. Further examples are:

11 I am not worried about ____ for the reason I think.
I am not depressed about ____ for the reason I think.

12 Three or four times during the day are enough.