Today we are adding another dimension to the idea of the previous lesson. You can see only in the Divine’s Light, and that Light is not of your making. You can think that you make darkness and then think that you perceive things in it, but Light reflects Life and is therefore an Aspect of Creation. Creation and darkness cannot coexist, one being real and the other unreal. But Light and Life must go together, being simply different Aspects of Creation.
In order to see, you must recognize that Light is within you, not outside you. You cannot see separate from or outside yourself. Nor is what is needed for seeing outside you. An essential part of what is needed for seeing is the Light that makes seeing possible. This Light is with you always, making vision possible in every situation no matter what the outer circumstances appear to be.
Today we are going to attempt to reach that Light. For this purpose we will use a form of practice that has been suggested once before, and which we will utilize increasingly. It is a particularly difficult form of practice for the undisciplined mind, and represents a major goal of the training and integration of the mind. It embodies precisely what the untrained mind lacks yet must be accomplished if you are to see.
Have at least three practice periods today, each lasting three to five minutes. A longer time is highly recommended, but only if you experience the time with little or no sense of strain. The form of exercise we will use today is the most natural and easy one in the world for the trained mind, and one in which the time will naturally be experienced with no sense of strain, just as it may seem to be the most unnatural and difficult form of practice for the untrained mind.
Your mind is no longer entirely untrained. You are quite ready to learn the form of exercise we will use today, but you may find that you will encounter strong resistance. The reason is very simple. While you practice in this way you leave behind everything that you now believe and all the thoughts that you have made up. Properly speaking, this is the release from hell. Perceived through the ego’s eyes, it is loss of identity and a descent into hell.
If you can stand aside from the ego even a little, you will have no difficulty in recognizing that its opposition and fears are meaningless. You might find it helpful to remind yourself from time to time that to reach the Light is to release yourself from darkness, whatever you may believe to the contrary. The Divine is the Light in which you see. You are attempting to reach your Creator.
Begin the practice period by repeating today’s idea with your eyes open, then close them slowly, repeating the idea several times more. Then try to sink into your mind, letting go every kind of interference and intrusion by quietly moving past them. Your mind cannot be stopped in this unless you choose to stop it. It is merely taking its natural course. Try to observe your passing thoughts without involvement, and pass quietly by them.
While no particular form of approach is advocated, what is needful is a sense of the importance of what you are doing, its inestimable value to you, and an awareness that you are attempting something very holy. Awakening will be your happiest accomplishment. It is also the only one that has any meaning here, because it is the only one that has any use to you at all.
If resistance rises in any form, pause long enough to repeat today’s idea, keeping your eyes closed unless you are aware of fear. In that case, you will probably find it more reassuring to open your eyes briefly. Try, however, to return to the exercise with eyes closed as soon as possible.
If you are doing the exercise correctly, you should experience some sense of relaxation, and even a feeling that you are approaching if not actually entering into Light. Try to think of Light, formless and without limit, as you pass by the thoughts of this world. And do not forget that they cannot hold you to the world unless you give them the power to do so.
Throughout the day, repeat today’s idea often, with eyes open or closed as seems best to you at the time. Just don’t forget. Above all, be determined to remember today.