LESSON 1 Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.

1. 1Now look slowly around you, and practice applying this idea very specifically to whatever you see:

2This table does not mean anything.

3This chair does not mean anything.

4This hand does not mean anything.

5This foot does not mean anything.

6This pen does not mean anything.

2. 1Then look farther away from your immediate area, and apply the idea to a wider range:

2That door does not mean anything.

3That body does not mean anything.

4That lamp does not mean anything.

5That sign does not mean anything.

6That shadow does not mean anything.

3. 1Notice that these statements are not arranged in any order, and make no allowance for differences in the kinds of things to which they are applied. 2That is the purpose of the exercise. 3The state­ment should merely be applied to anything you see. 4As you practice the idea for the day, use it totally indiscriminately. 5Do not attempt to apply it to everything you see, for these exercises should not become ritualistic. 6Only be sure that nothing you see is specifically excluded. 7One thing is like another as far as the application of the idea is concerned.

4. 1Each of the first three lessons should not be done more than twice a day each, preferably morning and evening. 2Nor should they be attempted for more than a minute or so, unless that entails a sense of hurry. 3A comfortable sense of leisure is essential.