Lesson 10 — My thoughts do not mean anything

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1. The Lesson

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 do so 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.

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.

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.

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

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

The exercises consist, as before, in searching your mind for all the thoughts that 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:

"My thought about ______ does not mean anything."

Today’s thought 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 less if you experience discomfort. Remember, however, to repeat the idea slowly before applying it specifically, and also to add:

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

2. Explanation

This lesson invites us to question something most of us never even pause to examine: the voice in our head. It feels like us. It feels true. But the deeper meaning here is that most of those thoughts aren’t real at all.

The Textbook says:

“You believe that what your thoughts have made is the truth.” (T-11.VIII.13)

Another passage explains:

“The world you see is an illusion of a world. God did not create it, for what He creates must be eternal as Himself.” (T-13.V.1)

This lesson isn't asking us to stop thinking—it's inviting us to recognize that the mind we’re using isn’t our true one. That the ego has hijacked the airwaves with recordings from the past. The same patterns. The same guilt. The same beliefs.

Bruce Lipton has shown us, through the lens of epigenetics, that 95% of what we do is driven by subconscious programming. These are not our conscious, intentional thoughts. They’re scripts—most of them inherited, absorbed in childhood, passed down over generations. This includes trauma, stories of worth, narratives about success or failure.

Joe Dispenza goes even further, showing that when we interrupt those thought loops with focused intention and meditation, our biology changes. DNA expression shifts. Proteins shift. Energy shifts. Healing becomes possible.

This is also the wisdom of Zen. To observe the thought, not react. To sit in awareness and let the thought float by like a leaf in a stream. As the Buddha said:

“It is your mind that creates this world.”

And Rumi reminds us:

“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you.”

This lesson is that first brave step in claiming your mind back. Not by force—but by simply realizing: this thought does not mean anything.

3. Integration with Christianity

Christianity has long spoken about the power of the mind and the need for transformation through spirit rather than self-will.

Paul speaks of this when he writes:

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)

In the traditional view, this renewal is often interpreted as moral cleansing or religious discipline. But in the deeper version, it becomes a surrender of the false self. The recognition that the mind filled with fear, judgment, and guilt is not the mind God created.

Another verse says:

“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Traditionally, this is seen as resisting sinful thinking. But the deeper view shows that it’s about not giving power to the thoughts of separation, fear, or unworthiness. Instead, we bring our thoughts into alignment with Love itself.

Isaiah 55:8–9 says:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

This isn't condemnation. It's a loving reminder that our ego’s voice is not the Voice of God. When we stop clinging to the ego’s fear-driven chatter, we begin to hear a new voice. A still, quiet one that speaks of peace, safety, and love.

4. Bible Verses and New Meaning

Romans 12:2 — “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Traditional view: A call to live morally and turn away from worldly temptation.

Deeper view: Transformation happens not through effort, but through the release of false thoughts. Renewal is the letting go of ego perception.

2 Corinthians 10:5 — “Take every thought captive…”

Traditional view: Guard against sinful or unholy thoughts.

Deeper view: Let go of any thought that does not come from Love. Bring it to stillness. Recognize its illusion.

Isaiah 55:8–9 — “My thoughts are not your thoughts…”

Traditional view: God is beyond comprehension.

Deeper view: Your thoughts are not who you are. Real thought arises from God, and is available once you stop believing in the ones that hurt you.

5. Message to Friends

When this book was first written in the 60s, science hadn’t yet caught up to what the great spiritual teachers had always known. Meditation, prayer, the power of the mind—they were sacred mysteries. Hidden in dusty books, taught in whispers by Kabbalists or Rosicrucians, or passed hand to hand in ancient texts.

But now? We’re living in a time when the veil is lifting.

Joe Dispenza is showing that brainwave shifts change biology. Bruce Lipton is proving that beliefs shape our cells. Lisa Miller is connecting spirituality and neuroscience. It’s finally becoming normal to believe that our thoughts do shape our world.

And still, in my darkest hour, I couldn’t believe any of it.

My thoughts were unbearable. I couldn't imagine ever doing anything meaningful again. I couldn't even believe I had ever done anything meaningful. My ego told me that the only defense I had was to blame the world—to blame everyone. To collapse into guilt. I couldn’t read. Couldn’t write. Couldn’t play music. Even beauty made me feel worse.

Until my mother sent me a prayer. A ten-minute Ho’oponopono meditation repeating just four words:

Thank you. I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.

That was the only thing I could hear. The only thought I could hold that didn’t hurt. That simple loop became my new voice. And eventually, it cracked something open.

Today, reading this lesson, I realize something so simple it feels like a miracle: I don’t have to believe my thoughts. I can let them go. I can say, “This thought does not mean anything.” And in that space—light enters.

And when light enters, darkness cannot stay.