Lesson 8 - "My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts."

Day - 8 ACIM Alex Puglia.pdf

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1. The Lesson (from the Workbook)

This idea is, of course, the reason why you see only the past. No one really sees anything. He sees only his thoughts projected outward. The mind’s preoccupation with the past is the cause of the total misconception about time from which your seeing suffers.

Your mind cannot grasp the present, which is the only time there is. It therefore cannot understand time, and cannot, in fact, understand anything. The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about illusions. Very few have realized what is actually entailed in picturing the past, or in anticipating the future. The mind is actually blank when it does this, because it is not really thinking about anything.

The purpose of the exercises for today is to begin to train your mind to recognize when it is not really thinking at all. While thoughtless ideas preoccupy your mind, the truth is blocked. Recognizing that your mind has been merely blank, rather than believing that it is filled with real ideas, is the first step to opening the way to vision.

The exercises for today should be done with eyes closed. This is because you actually cannot see anything, and it is easier to recognize that no matter how vividly you may picture a thought, you are not seeing anything. Try to let go of all the thoughts that are present now, and hold your mind in a state of readiness to recognize that it is merely repeating the past.

Observe your thoughts, and name them as they cross your mind. For example:

• “I seem to be thinking about [name of person], [name of object], [name of emotion].”

  Then conclude:

• “But my mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.”

Repeat this throughout the day, especially when you feel distracted, stuck, or emotionally reactive.

2. Explanation

This lesson begins the dismantling of the ego’s grip on our perception.

Chapter 3 reminds us that “projection makes perception.” What we believe we are seeing is not the present, but the past re-imagined—our guilt, fear, and identity scripts endlessly replayed. This mental habit is not passive; it’s a form of control. The ego clings to the past because it fears what might arise if we returned to the truth of now.

Chapter 4, Section I, brings clarity: “You cannot be faithful to two masters who ask conflicting things of you.” The ego wants to preserve its story. The Holy Spirit wants to restore your mind. But the ego speaks in the past, and the Holy Spirit speaks in the present. One leads to fear. The other, to peace.

This lesson gently unveils a powerful truth: your mind may be full, but not with anything real. In fact, it may be too full to see anything at all. Your job is not to force the mind into peace—but to notice its noise, and let the Holy Spirit lead you back to silence.

3. Integration with Christianity

In the teachings of Jesus, presence is everything.

“Do not worry about tomorrow.”“Let the dead bury their dead.”“Behold, I make all things new.”

These are not abstract commands. They are spiritual invitations to let go of what no longer lives.

The Apostle Paul echoes this when he says, “You were taught… to be made new in the attitude of your minds.”(Ephesians 4:22–23)

Christianity, at its essence, is not a religion of memory—it is a path of renewal. The message of the cross is not just forgiveness, but resurrection: new life now, not someday.

When your mind is no longer rehearsing your failures, your wounds, your stories—you become available to grace. You become present. And that’s where God meets you.

4. Bible Verses and New Meaning

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

  • Deeper meaning: True spiritual discipline is not suppression but observation. Only when you recognize a thought can you surrender it to God. Captivity here means awareness—not force, but clarity.

    
    

• Romans 8:6 – “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”

  • Deeper meaning: The mind preoccupied with past (ego/flesh) thoughts brings only illusion. When surrendered to the Holy Spirit, the mind returns to the present—and peace naturally flows in.

    
    

• Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything… and the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

  • Deeper meaning: Anxiety is a symptom of being trapped in time. Preoccupation with what was or might be disconnects us from God's presence. When the mind is still, peace becomes its protector—not earned, but received.

5. Message to Friends

This exercise of watching my thoughts—naming them one by one—is exactly the same practice we do when learning how to meditate. In fact, for me, that is what meditation is. Sitting still and becoming aware of the mind’s movements. But today, what hit me wasn’t just the presence of thoughts—it was how familiar they all were. Recycled. Patterned. Some dressed as memories. Some pretending to be about the future. But all of them stitched from the same thread.

Lately, with so many changes happening in my life, my biggest practice has been this: don’t act in fear. Don’t respond if I feel panicked. Don’t send the message. Don’t make the decision. Just stop. Breathe. Pray instead.

The pause—that sacred silence between thought and reaction—is something both Kabbalah and Buddhism talk about. A moment that brings the mind back to presence. But for me, it’s become more than that. That pause has become a doorway. A door to the Holy Spirit. A chance to hear Love before I listen to fear. And the more I wait, the more I listen, the more I can feel something shift inside.

But here’s the truth: I’m still in the middle of it.

My income isn’t stable. My work doesn’t feel clear. My marriage still faces moments of disconnection. The rain hasn’t passed yet. I haven’t reached the shore.

And yet… something new is happening.

Last year, after my depression, I had what most would call security. I had a stable paycheck. But my thoughts were full of fear: “What if they stop paying me?” “What if I’m not doing enough?” “What is she thinking of me like this?”

And when I trace those thoughts down to their roots, they’re not about last year. They’re older than that. I’ve felt them in every job. Maybe even doing homework as a kid. The same emotional weather. The same internal sky.

That’s the loop. That’s the trap the Course is showing me.

Reliving the same feelings.Believing the same thoughts.Calling it reality.

And it builds this invisible wall between me and the life I know I came here to live—a life of joy, abundance, service, and peace.

I won’t pretend I’ve reached the other side.I’m not on the far shore of the river yet.

But I’m in the water. I’m swimming. I’m learning not to fight the current.

And more than anything—I know I’m not swimming alone anymore.

There are moments, even here in the middle of it all, when I let go… just a little.And when I do, it feels like if I just float, God will carry me.Not because I’ve solved anything.Not because I got it all right.

But because I stopped pretending I had to do it all alone.

And that… that might be the beginning of real freedom.

Let’s see where this goes.