Sequethia Has A Vision (ACIM Lesson 7)

During her morning tea, Sequethia randomly chose a cup she was given in the Summer of ’86 during a memorable vacation with her girlfriends on Cape Cod.  During this trip, there were hurt feelings, competition, disputes over money, as well as the wild and crazy times that would put the cast of Jersey Shore (the beachside reality show) to shame. In an instant Sequethia was transported back to the summer of ’86, and there was a miracle waiting to happen. 

It was amazing!  For several minutes, she relived all the drama, intrigue, “he said – she said”, dancing, drinking and debauchery of that trip.  She remembered the fight she had with Crystal over that guy Chester (the Molester) who liked to take advantage of young things back then.  She remembered arguing with that cheap-assed Linda Pittman over the hotel bill (Miss Linda apparently forgot that settling the bill also included paying your fair share of taxes, tips and surcharges – not just the nightly rate).  She remembered dancing at the Boatslip to Bananarama’s “I’m Your Venus” and singing “I’m your penis” instead because she didn’t really know the lyrics.    It was as if her coffee cup was a time machine and she had been magically transported back to that time and place.  She felt all the feelings, re-lived many of the scenes, and even remembered the clothes she was wearing during that time.  When she snapped back to reality, she thought “all that just because I picked up a coffee cup?”

Now that Sequethia had gained more awareness, it was fascinating to her that her mind had relived this whole vacation in a matter of seconds when she picked up the coffee cup.  However, we do this all the time.  When we see or think of an object, we don’t see the object for what it is (a coffee cup). We don’t see the object or person for its current purpose and intention (to deliver a jolt of caffeine in the morning).  We project the past onto everything and everyone we see, and this blinds us to the purpose that this thing has in the present. 

The miracle that is waiting to happen is the miracle that happens when we learn to stop projecting the past onto everything.  Instead of seeing all our past lovers in the potential lover that we meet (and retreating in fear) we will see the promise of a new start. Instead of seeing the same challenges and blockages that we’ve experienced in the past, we can start a new experience with the trust and confidence that comes when we are not hobbled by the fear that the past will repeat itself.  Then we can have the joy, ease and success that we really want from every endeavor. 

To create this Miracle, we must first realize that everything we see is just like that coffee cup, and that we see only the past. Once we realize this, we must then make a concerted effort to consciously reject those past projections that have become a habit. Only then can we approach every person, experience and endeavor with a “clean slate” that is not hobbled by a fear that the past would repeat itself.  This is how we create success even when the past has “failed”. This is how we create joy despite the pain of the past.

A Course In Miracles Lesson 7 is “I SEE ONLY THE PAST” and helps us to understand why we are so often frozen in a pattern of fear, when joy awaits us on the other side of the fear. We need a miracle move us from pain to pleasure, and the miracle can happen when you look around you and say:

I see only the past in this pencil.

I see only the past in this shoe.

I see only the past in this hand.

I see only the past in this cup.

This exercise helps you to become consciously aware of how habitually you project the past onto everything you see.  When you become aware of this habit, you can break the habit and see only the potential for joy, peace and abundance in all things and this is how you can create your miracle today.

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