“We are all greater artists than we realize.”

-Friedrich Nietzsche

It is sometimes challenging to decipher any philosopher… particularly Nietzsche…

But my suspicion is that he is speaking about our own creation of our perceived world.

We just think that’s the way the world is… without realizing the creativity required to perceive it in any particular way…

Whether we like it or we loathe it…

Our day to day experience is a profound work of art!

A Course in Miracles guides us through many exercises to help us recognize our perceptual art… and vastly improve it!

If you’re just starting out, check out the first post in this series: A Course in Miracles… Day 1

Most of us are too lost acting as if a poor self portrait is an accurate representation of all that is… to take a step back and really notice what’s going on.

Are you prepared to let go of your art and reach for something deeper…

Our creativity is present in the beauty and the terror in our lives.

Are you comfortable enough to admit your own creativity at work?

A Course in Miracles:  Day 32

The game for Day 32 is:

I have invented the world I see.

This runs a little deeper than most information about the Law of Attraction.

Rather than trying hard to think about something else… we are first acknowledging what we have already created.

Although it is possible to create something new without acceptance (of self and perceived world)… the creation is usually distorted.

For today’s game, you will want to practice throughout the day as much as possible…

1. When any distressing situation arises…  take a deep breath…
2. then say to yourself:  “I have invented this situation as I see it.”

Also, on two different occasions during the day, take 3 to 5 minutes to practice:

1. Look around you slowly while repeating the idea:  “I have invented the world I see.”
2. Recognize how it applies to all that is around you
3. Then close your eyes, and apply the idea to all thoughts and feelings that arise as well

Finally, you can also practice the idea as frequently throughout the day as possible… as an informal exercise:

1. Look around you
2. Repeat the idea slowly:  “I have invented the world I see.”
3. Look inside you
4. Repeat the idea slowly:  “I have invented the world I see.”
5. See if you can notice the inner and the outer at the same time…
6. Repeat the idea slowly:  “I have invented the world I see.”

A thought from ACIM:

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.

This also supersedes the ‘blaming’ tendency we spoke about in Day 31… if the internal and external world are the same… we come closer and closer to all is one… the ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ is the ultimate reality, and we create the ‘relative’ reality we see around and inside ourselves.

I’ll dig in the past for another quote that used to mean a whole lot more to me:

“I put my brush to the canvas… and paint a world… paint my world of hurt!”

-Overkill (from the song ‘World of Hurt’)

This was one of my favorite songs during my teenage angst years (which actually lasted well into my 20’s).

These days, it is fun for a bit of nastalgia, but it isn’t me… I no longer identify with it.

The implication, though, still strikes me as rather profound… even though it was lost on me when I was younger…

If it is you with the brush, then you can paint a world of hurt… or a world of bliss… or a world of learning… or any other world you like.

It is always your choice…

Your brush.

Your canvas.

Your world.

I think it is time we take the wisdom of Nietzsche a bit further…

Since we are all such great artists already… how can we start to paint more pleasing images?

keep smiling,

Ben

Tagged as: A Course in Miracles