I am the inventor

Lesson 32

I have invented the world I see.

Today we are continuing to develop the theme of cause and effect. You are not the victim of the world you see because you invented it. You can give it up as easily as you made it up. You will see it or not see it, as you wish. While you want it you will see it; when you no longer want it, it will not be there for you to see.

The idea for today, like the preceding ones, applies to your inner and outer worlds, which are actually the same. However, since you see them as different, the practice periods for today will again include two phases, one involving the world you see outside you, and the other the world you see in your mind. In today's exercises, try to introduce the thought that both are in your own imagination.

Again we will begin the practice periods for the morning and evening by repeating the idea for today two or three times while looking around at the world you see as outside yourself. Then close your eyes and look around your inner world. Try to treat them both as equally as possible. Repeat the idea for today unhurriedly as often as you wish, as you watch the images your imagination presents to your awareness.

For the two longer practice periods three to five minutes are recommended, with not less than three required. More than five can be utilized, if you find the exercise restful. To facilitate this, select a time when few distractions are anticipated, and when you yourself feel reasonably ready.

These exercises are also to be continued during the day, as often as possible. The shorter applications consist of repeating the idea slowly, as you survey either your inner or outer world. It does not matter which you choose.

The idea for today should also be applied immediately to any situation that may distress you. Apply the idea by telling yourself:

I have invented this situation as I see it.

My Comments... As I go through these lessons, I am also reading the text of ACIM. This idea that I "invented" all that I see and experience weighs heavy on my mind. Just yesterday I was watching the news on television and saw a report form Irag where car bombs were set-off and scores of civilians were slaughtered by their "neighbors". I remember thinking to myself as I remembered parts of the Course I had read... "I created this"? "Why would I create something so barbaric and distasteful"?

I fully appreciate the concept of separation and why I (my ego) created this illusion, but I have a hard time fathoming such brutality and violence. Where this is easier to accept is the argument that God created the world and all that we see in it. If we attribute the goodness and beauty to God, the creator, must we not also attribute these atrocities if in fact he DID create the world? Therein in the justification that He is not responsible for anything I think I see or experience. If God is perfect love, he could not have created, nor permit such things to happen. If not God, then it must be me.