Lesson 17 – I See No Neutral Things

Day - 17 ACIM Alex Puglia.pdf

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1. The Lesson (from the Workbook)

I see no neutral things.

This idea is another step in the direction of identifying cause and effect as it really operates in the world. You see no neutral things because you have no neutral thoughts. It is always the thought that comes first, despite the temptation to believe that it is the other way around. This is not the way the world thinks, but you must learn that it is the way you think. If it were not so, perception would have no cause, and would itself be the cause of reality. In view of its highly variable nature, this is hardly likely.

In applying today’s idea, say to yourself, with eyes open:

“I see no neutral things because I have no neutral thoughts.”

Then look about you, resting your glance on each thing you note long enough to say:

“I do not see a neutral ______ because my thoughts about ______ are not neutral.”

For example:

“I do not see a neutral wall, because my thoughts about walls are not neutral.”“I do not see a neutral body, because my thoughts about bodies are not neutral.”

Make no distinction between what you believe to be animate or inanimate; pleasant or unpleasant. Regardless of what you may believe, you do not see anything that is really alive or really joyous. That is because you are unaware as yet of any thought that is really true, and therefore really happy.

Three or four specific practice periods are recommended, and no less than three are required for maximum benefit—even if you experience resistance.

2. Explanation

The lesson says:“I see no neutral things because I have no neutral thoughts.”

This is not a metaphor. It’s a direct statement of how your inner world constructs your outer reality. 

Tara Brach’s RAIN practice offers a gentle path through this revelation.We begin by Recognizing what we’re seeing—say, a cluttered kitchen, a tired face in the mirror.Then we Allow the reaction—maybe frustration, shame, or sadness—to be there.Next, we Investigate with presence: What am I believing right now?Finally, we Nurture the wounded part that gave that meaning to what we saw.

Byron Katie’s method—The Work—asks:“Who would you be without that thought?”You realize it’s not your spouse, the weather, or your bank account that’s hurting you.It’s your belief about them. 

And when you question that belief, the illusion dissolves.

From a scientific view, quantum physics reveals that the observer collapses the wave of potential into form.In other words: your perception creates the reality you experience.

The holobiont model adds another layer—showing that we are not isolated individuals, but living ecosystems.Everything in us, and around us, is in constant co-creation. Nothing exists in isolation. Nothing is neutral because everything is in relationship.

A Course in Miracles echoes this:

“Projection makes perception. The world you see is what you gave it, nothing more than that.” (T-21.IN.1:1)

What you see is not a fact. It’s a mirror.The world bends to your beliefs.

3. Integration with Christianity

Traditional Christianity often focuses on moral behavior as the root of suffering and salvation.But this lesson re-frames that: it’s not your behavior—it’s your perception that shapes reality.

Jesus said, “According to your faith, let it be done to you.” That wasn’t just about healing—it was a teaching on how belief becomes form.

Early Christian mystics like Origen taught that the soul already knows the truth—but we lose awareness through misperception.That’s why Paul says, “Now we see through a glass, darkly.”

This lesson teaches you how to clean the glass—not by changing the world, but by healing the lens through which you see it.

4. Bible Verses and New Meaning

Mark 8:24“He looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around.’”

• Traditional view: The man had only partial healing; Jesus had not yet completed the miracle.

• Deeper view: This represents the first stage of awakening. We begin to realize our vision is distorted. We don’t see people or reality as they are—we see projections of our fears, assumptions, and memories. Spiritual healing is not just about physical sight—it’s about learning to see with the eyes of the soul.

Isaiah 55:2“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?”

• Traditional view: A call to return to God and avoid chasing false idols or material satisfaction.

• Deeper view: This speaks to the way we “spend” our attention and energy—feeding our minds with fear, judgment, and distraction. When we believe thoughts that are not aligned with love, we exhaust ourselves chasing illusions. True nourishment is not what the ego craves—it’s what the soul remembers.

2 Kings 6:17“Then Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

• Traditional view: A miraculous unveiling of God’s protection.

• Deeper (mystical) view: The divine was always present—the servant just couldn’t perceive it. This mirrors the Course's teaching: perception hides reality when distorted by fear. When the inner eye is opened, we see not a fearful world, but a reality filled with light, protection, and truth that was there all along.

5. Message to Friends

Today, I was talking to a friend who’s going through depression.He told me how hard it is to even get out of bed—to go to the gym, or visit a friend—two things he’s loved his whole life.He asked, “What am I even living for?”And then the deeper question: “When did I lose myself?”

It broke something open in me. Because I know that feeling.

When we’re connected to the soul, everything radiates—even our eyes become contagious with joy.But when we’ve stayed away too long, something begins to shift.The world loses color.Even light looks dim.And we stop seeing clearly—not just the world, but ourselves.

The Course says we see no neutral things, because we have no neutral thoughts.And it’s true.When we keep feeding the mind with the same inner story—the one shaped by fear, failure, shame, or silence—eventually that becomes the only lens we see through.And then we don’t just feel pain in the soul.We become pain in form.

The body responds.The world responds.Everything begins to match the frequency of what we’ve been believing.

The Bible says, “Faith comes from hearing the Word.”But what happens when we stop hearing the Word?When we stop hearing Love, and instead feed on the lies of the ego?

That’s how we lose faith.Not in God—but in ourselves.In life.In everything.

Buddha said: We suffer not because of what is, but because we fight with what is.And Byron Katie would say: It’s never the thing that hurts—it’s the story you tell about the thing.

So when someone triggers us, and we say, “He’s hurting me,”—we’re pointing outward when the real pain is inward.It’s not about what he did.It’s about what that made us feel.And if we’re honest, that pain is older than the moment.

I love the passage where Jesus heals the blind man.Because blindness in the Bible is never just about the eyes.It’s about the soul.

When we stop seeing Light,everything becomes fear.Our marriage.Our children.Our friends.Even our own reflection.

So today’s lesson is more than an idea.It’s an alarm clock. 

You are seeing the world you made.Not the world as it is.But the world shaped by the thoughts you chose to believe—yesterday, last year, or decades ago.

Peter Crone says that by the time we’re talking about limiting beliefs, it’s already too late.Because those beliefs are just symptoms—of the inner world we built without knowing we were building.

And if we want real healing,we need more than positive thoughts.We need return.

Return to the Source.To the moment before the first fearful thought.To the deep, quiet knowing that we were never separated.

No thought is neutral.

Because no soul is neutral.

You are a creator.

You always have been.