Lesson 7 - I only See the Past

Day - 7 ACIM Alex Puglia.pdf

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1. The Lesson

"I see only the past."

"This idea is particularly difficult to believe at first. Yet it is the rationale for all of the preceding ones. It is the reason why nothing that you see means anything.It is the reason why you have given everything you see all the meaning that it has for you.It is the reason why you do not understand anything you see.It is the reason why your thoughts do not mean anything, and why they are like the things you see.It is the reason why you are never upset for the reason you think.It is the reason why you are upset because you see something that is not there."

This lesson invites you to consider that your perception is not fresh or neutral—everything you think you see is actually a memory. You look at a cup and you’re not really seeing that cup; you’re seeing every cup you’ve ever touched, broken, drunk from, or feared losing. You look at a person and you’re not meeting them now—you’re meeting your story about them. The past is layered over everything.

Practice instructions:Look around you and apply this idea specifically and gently, saying:

• “I see only the past in this pencil.”

• “I see only the past in this shoe.”

• “I see only the past in that face.”

  
  

  Repeat the practice three or four times today, for one minute each. Let your eyes move naturally, and don’t linger.

2. Explanation

Perception is not passive—it’s a projection. What we call “reality” is often just an echo of the past, laid like a filter over the present moment. You are not seeing the thing itself; you are seeing what your mind believes about it, what it remembers, what it fears.

The Course says:

• “Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward.”

• “You see what you expect, and you expect what you invite. Your perception is the result of your invitation.”

From a deeper perspective, this means your suffering isn’t caused by the world—it’s caused by what you bring to it. Every upset, every judgment, every moment of fear is born not from now, but from a memory you haven’t questioned yet.

The good news?If what you see is the past, then you can choose to stop looking through it.You can let the present in.

3. Integration with Christianity

Christian tradition, especially in contemplative practice, often points us back to what Jesus called “abiding.” He didn’t speak of rushing ahead or clinging to what was behind. He said, “Abide in me, and I in you.”

To abide is to rest—to remain connected to the source.

Lesson 7 is a call to abide in the present with Christ. Because as long as you see only the past, you cannot see what is being made new. And Jesus said, “Behold, I make all things new.”

But we don’t behold.We rehearse.We replay.We try to defend against what already happened.And we miss the now.

The renewed mind of Christ sees without distortion. It doesn’t drag yesterday into today. It doesn’t let fear dress up as logic. It trusts the Father in this moment, not just in theology, but in lived presence.

4. Bible Verses and Traditional Interpretation

Verses:

• “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” —Isaiah 43:18-19

• “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” —2 Corinthians 5:17

• “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you.” —Isaiah 59:2

Traditional View:These verses are usually read as calls to repentance. In many churches, the message is: sin causes separation, and forgiveness restores connection. That narrative forms a kind of timeline—pure, then fallen, then redeemed. But in that version, we’re always one wrong move away from needing rescue again.

Deeper View:The Hebrew word translated as “iniquity” in Isaiah 59:2 is avon, meaning distortion, something bent or twisted. The Latin root of the English word “iniquity” is iniquitas—in- (not) + aequitas (equity, fairness, balance). Iniquity, then, isn’t just bad behavior—it’s a distorted way of seeing. A crooked perception of self, of God, of love.

That means separation didn’t start with sin. Sin is the result of forgetting our union.When the mind is out of alignment with love, we fall into fear.When we believe the lie of disconnection, our actions reflect it.

But when we return to the truth—when we remember—we stop needing to be rescued.Because we realize we were never alone.

5. Message to Friends

I was talking to my pastor last week, and he asked me a question I’ve been carrying with me ever since. He said, “Why do you think people hear their whole lives about the sacrifice and about forgiveness, and still have such a hard time believing that they are forgiven?”

Without thinking, I answered, “Because they don’t forgive themselves.”

But that answer didn’t just stay there—it opened something inside me. I kept returning to it, and through this meditation, something deeper came to light:We don’t feel forgiven because we’re still living in the past. Not just our memories—but our identity, our beliefs, even our understanding of God. We were taught, both inside and outside the church, a timeline:We were once pure. Then we sinned. Then we were separated. Then Jesus came and made a way back.

That interpretation keeps us trapped in a belief that we’re waiting for God to come and save us. And every time we do something wrong, it’s like He has to come again.In our day-to-day lives, this creates a cycle of guilt, depression, and anxiety.We lose sight of the one truth that changes everything:We are already connected.

We forget.We forget that we are the branches of the vine.And when we forget the vine, we start trying to grow on our own.That’s when we dry out.That’s when the fear takes over.That’s when we try to fix ourselves instead of resting in what’s already whole.

Jesus didn’t come to establish a cycle of rescue—He came to end the illusion of separation.He didn’t say, “You will be forgiven someday.”He said, “Abide in me, as I abide in you.”That’s not a promise.That’s a fact.A present reality we keep forgetting.

And so, the work is to change your mind.

Byron Katie has an exercise she calls The Work. It’s an invitation to see your life without the filter of limiting beliefs.So I invite you to try it now.

Look at your life as it is today.Choose one problem—just one—that feels like the biggest one.It could be spiritual. It could be financial. It could be something you think you’ll never heal from.

Now, close your eyes.Feel the fear that comes with it. Let it rise.And then ask yourself this:

How would I look at this problem if I had 100% assurance from God that He would solve it tomorrow?

Stay there.Look again at the fear.And watch it leave your body.

That—right there—is the remembering.That is what it feels like to stop seeing only the past.That is the end of separation.

Because faith comes from hearing the Word of God,and God has never spoken anything other than this:

I am here. I am with you. I will never leave. All your problems will be solved.

So as you remember to believe in the reality of God—not the illusion of fear—as you remember to trust what God has said,you change your mind.And your fear is gone.

And that, my friend,is when you’ll feel forgiven.