Lesson 16 — I have no neutral thoughts

Day - 16 ACIM Alex Puglia.pages

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The Lesson

The idea for today is a beginning step in dispelling the belief that your thoughts have no effect. Everything you see is the result of your thoughts. There is no exception to this fact. Thoughts are not big or little; powerful or weak. They are merely true or false. Those that are true create their own likeness. Those that are false make theirs.

There is no more self-contradictory concept than that of "idle thoughts." What gives rise to the perception of a whole world can hardly be called idle. Every thought you have contributes to truth or to illusion; either it extends the truth or it multiplies illusions. You can indeed multiply nothing, but you will not extend it by doing so.

Besides your recognizing that thoughts are never idle, salvation requires that you also recognize that every thought you have brings either peace or war; either love or fear. A neutral result is impossible because a neutral thought is impossible. There is such a temptation to dismiss fear thoughts as unimportant, trivial and not worth bothering about that it is essential you recognize them all as equally destructive, but equally unreal. We will practice this idea in many forms before you really understand it.

In applying the idea for today, search your mind for a minute or so with eyes closed, and actively seek not to overlook any "little" thought that may tend to elude the search. This is quite difficult until you get used to it. You will find that it is still hard for you not to make artificial distinctions. Every thought that occurs to you, regardless of the qualities that you assign to it, is a suitable subject for applying today's idea.

In the practice periods, first repeat the idea to yourself, and then as each one crosses your mind hold it in awareness while you tell yourself:

• This thought about ______ is not a neutral thought.

• That thought about ______ is not a neutral thought.

As usual, use today's idea whenever you are aware of a particular thought that arouses uneasiness. The following form is suggested for this purpose:

• This thought about ______ is not a neutral thought, because I have no neutral thoughts.

Four or five practice periods are recommended, if you find them relatively effortless. If strain is experienced, three will be enough. The length of the exercise period should also be reduced if there is discomfort.

2. Explanation

The teaching of Lesson 16 shatters the illusion that our thoughts are harmless or passive. According to the Text:

“You think you have many different problems, but you really have only one: your belief in separation” (T-26.VII.1).

This lesson continues to dismantle that single problem. Every thought is either reinforcing the illusion of separation or extending the truth of our oneness. From a quantum perspective, this aligns with the principle that observation collapses the wave function—our thoughts determine the reality we perceive.

As Joe Dispenza teaches, “Where you place your attention is where you place your energy.” But his research has also shown something even deeper: when the electrical activity of the heart and the brain are in coherence—when we think and feel the same elevated emotion—they generate a measurable electromagnetic field around us. This field doesn’t just affect our biology, it influences reality. It’s no coincidence that the Bible says, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he”(Proverbs 23:7). It isn’t just poetry—it’s physiology.

Lisa Miller’s research on spiritual awareness and the brain supports this. Her studies show that a spiritually active brain can shift emotional patterns and reduce depression by literally creating new neural pathways—reinforcing that our thoughts are creative and causative.

And Bruce Lipton, a pioneer in epigenetics, teaches that our beliefs—repeated thoughts charged with emotion—literally control the switches of our biology. Genes are not fixed destinies. The perception of our environment, shaped by our thoughts, tells our cells how to behave. In his words, “Your perception rewrites the chemistry of your body.” This means thoughts are not just invisible impulses—they are biochemical messengers, shaping health, behavior, and the world we experience.

3. Integration with Christianity

In traditional Christian doctrine, sin is often seen as an external act—wrong behavior. But this lesson invites us to look deeper: every thought is already sowing seeds. There is no gap between thought and creation. This aligns with Christ’s radical message that “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).

The deeper meaning? Jesus was not increasing guilt—he was unveiling the power of thought. Not to condemn, but to liberate. You are not a victim of the world because your thoughts make the world.

4. Bible Verses and New Meaning

Proverbs 23:7

“As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”Traditional View: A moral warning about guarding one’s inner motives.Deeper View: Thought and emotion together shape our reality. The “heart” is not just a feeling center—it is the seat of creation. When we think with our heart, we generate a coherent field that informs the world around us. It’s quantum biology, not metaphor.

Romans 12:2

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”Traditional View: A command to think differently.Deeper View: This is a technology of the spirit. Changing your thoughts rewires your nervous system, shifts your vibration, and transforms the very lens through which you perceive the world.

2 Corinthians 10:5

“Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.”Traditional View: Avoid sinful or impure thoughts.Deeper View: You are not helpless in your mind. You are the observer. You can choose which thoughts to believe and which ones to let go. Choosing love over fear is a moment-by-moment practice of devotion and creative power.

5. Message to Friends

I was very blessed on my first journey with the Holy Spirit to be part of a powerful Pentecostal movement in Brazil. I started my own study Bible group, and that little gathering became a church. We witnessed wonders—true miracles. People who had been lost in depression found joy again. People whose bodies were suffering were suddenly well. We saw the transformation of minds, hearts, and lives.

And yet, even in that sacred fire, a quiet question began to stir in me. I understood why miracles happened in our church: because we followed the Word, because we called on the true God. That made sense to me. But then I would read stories—about healings in Buddhist monasteries, miracles in Hindu temples, people recovering at the feet of saints, even miracles reported by people praying to statues. Were they all dreaming? Lying? Mistaken?

Or… was there something deeper happening?

It took me years to let go of the world I had built in Pentecostal Christianity—not because it failed me, but because something was calling me to expand. To leave so I could return with eyes that could see more than one path to the light. Today I know: I was called to walk beyond the borders of one language, one dogma, one framework—not to abandon truth, but to find the deeper unity behind all truths. 

And the most beautiful discovery? Science is catching up. Physics and epigenetics are starting to ask questions that cannot be answered without the metaphysical. Dr. Bruce Lipton taught me that our beliefs shape our biology. 

Joe Dispenza showed me that when the heart and mind align, they generate a field that touches the world. The Course told me: my thoughts are never neutral.

And I’ve lived it. I created my own illness—years of pain and exhaustion—through belief, fear, and unworthiness. And I healed through belief, too. Through talking to my body. Through reclaiming my trust in myself. Through stopping the inner story that I was a failure waiting to be found out. And when I let go of that story, healing came. Emotionally. Physically.

This lesson today? It’s not poetry. It’s law. We are creators. We will create—whether we choose love or choose fear. And when we create through fear, it will build a world that scares us, because ego feeds on fear. But God—God is not rushed. The Spirit has all the time we need. He will stay with us, work with us, love us, whisper to us, through every fear we create, until we are ready to remember.

Until we’re all awake.

Until we are saved.