LESSON 6: I'm upset because I see something that's not there.
ACIM Workbook Lesson 6
Have you ever felt that uncomfortable twinge in your chest—that dull discomfort, that rage neither too strong nor too weak—and sworn you know exactly who, what, or why it causes it?
And yet, when you think about it again, something doesn't fit. Perhaps, like someone who searches under the covers and finds nothing, you ask yourself: "Where is the root of my disgust really? Why is it that sometimes everything disturbs me the same, even if I deny it?"
In the previous lesson, we barely poked our heads out: "I am never disgusted by the reason I believe," Jesus recalled in that whisper that never knows about hierarchies. With this, the skein began to pull on itself. But this time—in addressing the ACIM Lesson 6 "I'm never disgusted for the reason I believe." "The passage is much wilder: what disturbs me doesn't even exist... It has been an invention, a projected shadow, a mirage.
Afraid of running out of excuses? Terror of also being left without "culprits"? Welcome, welcome to the heart of the practice. Because if you manage to keep your gaze and allow yourself to doubt, the promise of peace begins to cease to be a dream and become substance.
Do you dare to question all your reasons for displeasure? Do you allow yourself to stop being the heroine, the hero, of a thousand battles against invisible giants? Before fleeing in the face of vertigo, choose: question, ask. Only the questioner manages to open a new crack in the light.
An honest mind is naked asking—if you leave your heart on the answers, the miracle is already halfway there.
Why it matters to dismantle the theatre of disgust
Can you live the same way when you accept that what you see is nothing more than an echo of your mind? Who would you be, if you finally recognized that your discomfort does not come from without, but from within, and that no offense, no matter how hurtful it may seem, has a life of its own if you do not feed it?
That is what today's lesson exposes, without embellishment or anesthesia: "I am disgusted because I see something that is not there." And no, it is not a matter of denying the obvious or forcing Buddhist smiles. It's an invitation to stop telling stories, of "it's that they've made me", of "it's that this does affect me because it's true". The underlying question is another: do you want reason or peace? Do you prefer the trials of pain or the risk of running out of excuses for life?
The text says it bluntly: What you think you see is only a projection of a thought in your mind, and this thought, of separation from God, is not there either." What usually boils our blood, what we make a "problem", does not even have an independent existence. It's smoke. Fantasy. A film that the mind has decided to believe.
But how can we prove that something so radical can be true? Is it not self-deception, denial, dangerous falsehood? So, before turning the page or looking for distraction, ask yourself: what would change if, if only for a breath, you recognized that the source of your displeasure was never outside?
Honesty in the face of this question would transform much more than any fleeting self-help.
Ten questions to undo the tangle
Don't be afraid of doubt. Make room for it. Below, share with me (and you) the questions that no woman or man studying this lesson should leave unanswered. Not to find arguments, but to let yourself be pierced by the wound and the possibility of healing.
1. What does "I'm upset because I see something that isn't there" really mean?
Answer
It is not poetry. It is not even a metaphor. It's a radical diagnosis: what bothers you—be it a look, a missed call, a bill, or the memory of a November afternoon—isn't out there, doesn't exist except in your mind.
"What is disgusting me is inside me, not outside. There's nothing outside of me. What I think I see is only a projection of a thought in my mind, and this thought, of separation from God, is not there either."
Why this question is key
Because if you don't dare to look at the fact that the world is projection, you will continue to blame life, others, objects, luck. And so, you secure your own condemnation.
How it should affect your practice
- Ask yourself the question every time you notice any discomfort, no matter how insignificant.
- Ask yourself: Am I willing, willing to assume that this only has force because I want to see it?
- Do not seek to analyze, only observe the naked fact.
2. Why is there "nothing" outside of me?
Answer
The course says without half measures: the world is a mental fabrication. There is no external world independent of your inner state. All you think you see are the thoughts—conscious and unconscious—of your mind projected out.
Why this question is key
Without this shift in perception, you will be trapped, trapped in the idea that the solution to your dislikes is to change the outside and not the mind that projects.
How it should affect your practice
- When fear, guilt, or anger arises, stop, "This is mine, not the other's."
- Allow yourself the audacity to question what you see, at least for a moment.
- Notice your tendency to look for "external" reasons.
3. How do I identify the thoughts of disgust in my own mind (without blaming outside)?
Answer
It begins with any emotion of disturbance, no matter how slight. Don't rationalize it. Do the mental search: what thought precurs it? What story do you tell to justify the discomfort? Who do you blame?
There are no small upsets, the lesson goes: "They all disturb my peace of mind equally."
Why this question is key
If you are not able to discover the mental origin of your displeasure, you will continue to feed the illusion that evils come from others.
How it should affect your practice
- Pause to examine any emotional "twinges."
- Write it down if it helps: "I'm upset, upset that I see something that's not there."
- Observe without guilt. This is the first glimmer of light.
4. Why is it essential to consider all dislikes as equal?
Answer
The ego classifies: "This does affect me, this does not." "This pain is legitimate, this one is not." But "There are no small upsets. They all disturb my peace of mind equally. … For the purposes of these exercises, therefore, I will consider them all as if they were equal."
Why this question is key
Hierarchies keep self-deception alive. If you leave "special" upsets, you perpetuate the internal split. Peace can only be total if its scope is radical — if there are no exceptions.
How it should affect your practice
- It includes both traffic jams and old mourning; illness and silly discomfort.
- If you refuse to treat an upset like any other, observe resistance without anger.
- Dare to put the same effort into letting go of the "big" and the "small".
5. What does it mean to mentally search for the source of displeasure?
Answer
It is not just about analyzing emotions but about "a minute or so of mental searching, followed by the application of the idea to each thought of disgust discovered in that search."
Why this question is key
This search is the laboratory of the mind. Without it, the lesson becomes mere theory.
How it should affect your practice
- Dedicate brief, but absolute, spaces of honesty with yourself.
- Make mental or written lists of what drives you crazy.
- Don't let even the most camouflaged claims go by.
6. What if I resist applying this lesson to a particular displeasure?
Answer
Jesus insists on two reminders. "There are no small dislikes" and "I can't keep this form of dislike and at the same time let go of the others." Resistance is not a bad sign: it only shows attachment to a justification, fear of losing the sense of identity.
Why this question is key
Because the ego will convince you that certain upsets should be kept to yourself, they are "proofs" of your right to be angry. It is the most common trap.
How it should affect your practice
- Don't force, but don't justify either: recognize resistance.
- Ask yourself: What am I afraid of losing if I let go of this displeasure?
- Surrender resistance to the Holy Spirit, without trying to rationalize it.
7. Why ask for the idea to be used throughout the day, not just in short sessions?
Answer
"It is convenient to apply today's idea to anything that seems to displease you, and it can be usefully used during the course of the day for that purpose." It's not enough to practice at chosen times. Real life is the workshop.
Why this question is key
Because all true transformation happens in everyday life, where clicks and spontaneous discomforts arise.
How it should affect your practice
- Make every irritation, fear, or judgment an occasion to apply the idea.
- Attentive presence—rather than a number of repetitions—is what undoes the old habit.
- Allow yourself to be lazy; Sometimes, just remembering the invitation is enough.
8. What does it mean that an illusion creates only illusions?
Answer
Perceptions are projections of thoughts that are themselves illusions. What can engender an illusion but more illusions? If you react to an upset as if it were real, you only reinforce the lie, and in doing so, each reaction feeds the next chain of fictitious pain.
Why this question is key
Until you see that each reaction reinforces the mud, you are trapped, trapped in a self-created reality, with no way out.
How it should affect your practice
- Break the circle of projection: stop, breathe, see if your reaction is built on a previous illusion.
- Do not seek to resolve the illusion, but to let go of its weight.
9. How does this lesson help my true spiritual transformation?
Answer
If, little by little, you see how each displeasure is only an echo of an illusion, you free yourself from guilt, attack, judgment; and you make room for peace that does not depend on external causes.
Why this question is key
If you don't understand the purpose, you will become frustrated with the practice seeking only temporary relief.
How it should affect your practice
- Don't be obsessed with the result, but with the process: today it is enough to see a little more clearly the internal origin of the displeasure.
- Appreciate every moment of honesty, no matter how brevity.
- Remember: this path is one of daily forgiveness, not perfection.
10. What to do if all this clashes head-on with what I feel every day?
Answer
Resistance is inevitable. The Course knows this and does not expect you to answer with submission but with openness. If you see that there is conflict, use it to deepen the mental search and surrender it to the Holy Spirit.
Why this question is key
The conflict between intellectual understanding and emotional experience is the real field of transformation. If you deny your resistance, you only bury it.
How it should affect your practice
- He uses every clash as a reason for inquiry, not self-blame.
- Recognize yourself as fallible, on the way, worthy and worthy of tenderness even when you do not manage to practice well.
- Become an ally, an ally of your difficulty, not an enemy or enemy of your supposed clumsiness.
The Intimate Alchemy of Honesty
If you have come this far, if any of these questions have penetrated or bordered on vertigo, then you are, truly, on the threshold of a transformation that is not spectacular but real and possible.
There is no need to keep looking far away. The invitation is served: not to deny what you feel, but to look at its roots, to stop feeding mental films with old scripts of attack and defense.
Who would you be—how would you be—if you could look at every face, every object, even your own tiredness and fragility, and say, "I'm disgusted, disgusted because I see something that isn't there"?
Who would be left if you decided to look at everything without adding guilt, defense, anger or justification? It is not about winning anything, or defeating anyone, or getting spiritual medals. It's as simple and as revolutionary as allowing you to be at peace where you always thought it was impossible.
Try today—and tomorrow, and the day after. Be lenient with yourself. Break the trap of perfection, celebrate every millimeter of clarity, every moment where you decide not to feed discomfort, even if it is out of tiredness, boredom, or curiosity. The rest will happen, from the inside out, like when you stop sweeping the sand in the middle of the desert and simply sit down to feel the air.
Let the next lesson guide the next step. For today, let go of the whip and decide to believe, even if only for a minute, that no offense has the power to disturb you if you don't choose it. Peace comes without noise, without glory. But when it appears, no one would trade it for anything in the world.
Keep going. This question—the most uncomfortable and the most liberating—awaits you every time you dare to look inside.
Self-inquiry test
INSTRUCTIONS
This test is designed as a self-inquiry tool to accompany the practice of the lessons. It's not about passing or failing, or demonstrating knowledge, but about looking at yourself honestly and recognizing where you are in your process.
The test contains 20 questions, each with three possible answers: A, B, or C. Choose the option that most closely matches what you really feel or think, not the one you think you "should" answer. There are no right or wrong answers here; The important thing is to be honest with yourself.
At the end, you will be able to assess where you are and what aspects you can continue working on to advance in your spiritual path. Take it as an opportunity to reflect and deepen your practice, not as an exam.
QUESTIONS (Mark A, B or C on each)
