Lesson 11: My Meaningless Thoughts Are Showing Me a Meaningless World

When I first started reading The Disappearance of the Universe by Gary Renard, I had an experience that shifted my perspective on the nature of suffering and trauma. I had a dream about a childhood event I once saw as a defining trauma. In this dream, I gained a deep understanding that we are not victims of the world, and no one does anything to us. The trauma I had held onto for years began to dissolve as I realised it was part of the illusion—a creation of my thoughts. This lesson—Lesson 11 from A Course in Miracles—reminds me of that realisation.

The Illusion of the World We See

Lesson 11—"My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world"—challenges the idea that the world is what we think it is. It draws a direct link between our thoughts and the world we perceive. What we experience as reality, including events that seem painful or traumatic, is shaped by the thoughts we project outward. The world itself, according to A Course in Miracles, is a reflection of those thoughts—meaningless because our thoughts, when driven by the ego, are rooted in illusion.

This concept takes me back to my dream. In it, I realised that the trauma I held onto wasn’t real in the way I thought. It was as though I saw the difference between the "reality" I was perceiving through the body and the deeper reality that exists beyond the body and personality I currently inhabit. I like to call this deeper truth the "eternal always"—the part of us that is not bound by time, form, or circumstance. When I saw that what I thought was real was just part of the illusion, I began to let go of it. The sense of freedom that came with this was profound.

Seeing Beyond the Illusion

This lesson is significant because it introduces the idea that our thoughts determine the world we see. Usually, we believe the world determines what we think and feel. For example, we might say, “I’m upset because something bad happened to me,” or “I’m angry because someone hurt me.” But A Course in Miracles reverses this thinking. It teaches us that the world is merely a projection of our thoughts, and what we perceive as harm or suffering is not real in the ultimate sense.

In my dream, I realised that no one had truly harmed me because the event I thought was so traumatic was just a part of the illusion. This realisation helped me not only release the pain but also let go of the blame I held toward the person involved. I saw that the entire situation was an illusion created by my thoughts.

This mirrors the teaching of Lesson 11, which tells us that our meaningless thoughts show us a meaningless world. It’s not easy to grasp this concept right away, but the lesson encourages us to practice observing our thoughts and recognising that the world they create is not real. As we do this, we can start to undo the attachments and judgments that keep us trapped in the illusion.

The Key to Forgiveness

At the heart of this lesson is the idea that forgiveness comes from understanding that the world we see is not real. You can’t truly forgive someone if you believe they’ve actually wronged you. Forgiveness, as A Course in Miracles explains, involves recognising that the harm we think has been done is part of the illusion, just like the trauma in my dream.

Through practicing this lesson, I’ve begun to see how my thoughts shape the world I experience. When I quiet my mind and look at my thoughts, I can see them for what they are. If they are thoughts about the past, they are just illusions. If they are future fears, they’re not real yet. Recognising this has made it easier to release these thoughts and, as a result, experience greater peace.

Final Thoughts

Lesson 11 reminds us that the world we see is shaped by our thoughts, and because our thoughts are meaningless, the world we perceive is meaningless too. For me, this lesson has been a helpful reminder that the events and traumas I once held onto as real are part of the illusion. As I learn to see through this illusion, I feel closer to the "eternal always," where peace and forgiveness naturally reside.

Bibliography

A Course in Miracles.
Foundation for Inner Peace.
A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume, 3rd Edition. Foundation for Inner Peace, 2007.
URL: https://acim.org.

Renard, Gary R.
The Disappearance of the Universe.
Hay House Inc., 2004.