Understanding how we should meet the world is perhaps one of the most crucial questions on our spiritual journey. The answer, as presented in A Course in Miracles, challenges our conventional understanding of reality and invites us to embrace a radically different perspective. Let’s explore this transformative approach to experiencing and interacting with the world around us.
The World We Think We See
Before we can understand how to meet the world, we must first examine what we think the world is. Most of us believe we’re living in a solid, physical reality that exists independently of our thoughts and perceptions. We see ourselves as separate beings, walking through a world of other separate beings and objects, all distinct and often in conflict with each other.
This perception of separation lies at the root of our suffering. We feel vulnerable, isolated, and afraid because we believe we’re separate from love, from each other, and from our divine source. This perceived separation creates a world of duality, where we constantly juggle between good and bad, love and fear, safety and danger.
The Ancient wisdom traditions have long recognized this predicament. As the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh expresses it: “We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.” This sentiment perfectly aligns with the core teaching of A Course in Miracles about the nature of our perceived reality.
A Different Way of Seeing
The Course offers a radical alternative to our usual perception. It suggests that the world we see is not an objective reality but a projection of our thoughts and beliefs. Like a cosmic movie projector, our minds are constantly creating the world we experience. This doesn’t mean the world isn’t real to our experience, but rather that its nature is mental rather than physical.
This understanding leads to a profound shift in how we should meet the world. Instead of trying to change or fix the world “out there,” we’re invited to change our thoughts about it. The Course teaches that perception is a mirror, not a fact. What we see reflects what we think, and what we think can be changed.
The Practice of Forgiveness
Central to meeting the world differently is the Course’s unique understanding of forgiveness. This isn’t the traditional concept of forgiving someone for doing something wrong. Instead, it’s about recognizing that what we perceive as attacks or wrongs are actually calls for love, expressions of fear, and, ultimately, illusions.
True forgiveness means looking past the apparent behavior or situation to see the unchangeable truth of who everyone really is. It means recognizing that behind every fearful act, every angry word, and every perceived attack lies a being of pure love who has temporarily forgotten their true nature.
Meeting the World with Love
So how do we practically apply these principles in our daily lives? Here are key approaches drawn from the Course’s teachings:
- Question Your Perceptions
When you encounter any situation that disturbs your peace, pause and remember that your interpretation might be wrong. Ask yourself: “Am I seeing this through the eyes of fear or love?” - Choose Peace First
Before responding to any situation, consciously choose peace. This doesn’t mean becoming passive or accepting injustice. Rather, it means responding from a place of calm wisdom rather than reactive fear. - See Past Appearances
Practice looking beyond behaviors and appearances to recognize the call for love that underlies all seemingly negative actions. Remember that everyone you meet is either expressing love or calling for love. - Release Judgment
Recognize that your judgments keep you bound to the illusion of separation. When you catch yourself judging, gently remind yourself that you don’t see the whole picture. - Practice Present Moment Awareness
The world we need to meet exists only in the present moment. The past is memory, and the future is imagination. By staying present, we can respond to what’s actually here rather than our projections about it.
The Divine Purpose
When we meet the world this way, every encounter becomes an opportunity for healing and awakening. The world becomes our classroom, where every situation offers a chance to choose love over fear, understanding over judgment, and unity over separation.
Mystics throughout history have pointed to this truth. As Rumi beautifully expressed: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” This perfectly captures the Course’s invitation to meet the world beyond our usual categories of good and bad, right and wrong.
The Practical Impact
This approach to meeting the world isn’t just philosophical—it has practical, transformative effects:
- Reduced stress and anxiety as we release our need to control outcomes
- Improved relationships as we see past surface behaviors to the love beneath
- Greater inner peace as we stop fighting against what we see
- Increased joy as we release the burden of judgment
- More energy as we stop depleting ourselves with resistance
- Deeper connection with others as we recognize our fundamental unity
The Journey of Transformation
Meeting the world this way is a practice, not a one-time decision. It requires patience, dedication, and gentle persistence. We’ll have moments when we forget and fall back into old patterns of perception. That’s okay. What matters is our willingness to choose again, to return to love, to practice forgiveness one more time.
Remember that we’re not trying to change the world—we’re learning to see it differently. As we change our perception, our experience of the world naturally transforms. The world becomes a mirror reflecting back the love we’re learning to give.
A New Vision
Ultimately, meeting the world through the lens of A Course in Miracles means recognizing that the world isn’t something that happens to us—it’s something that happens through us. Our task isn’t to fight against the world or to try to escape it, but to transform our experience of it through the power of love and forgiveness.
Every moment offers us a choice: we can meet the world through the eyes of fear and separation, or through the eyes of love and unity. The Course invites us to choose love, again and again, until it becomes our natural way of seeing.
As we practice this approach, we begin to experience what the Course promises: a world transformed by love, where peace becomes possible not because circumstances have changed, but because we have changed how we meet them.
In this light, the question “How should we meet the world?” becomes an invitation to the greatest adventure possible: the journey from fear to love, from separation to unity, from conflict to peace. It’s a journey that begins anew each moment, with each breath, with each encounter.
And perhaps most wonderfully, it’s a journey we’re all on together, whether we realize it or not.