During this lesson’s practice sessions, we are asked to allow related thoughts to come to us. The lesson says, “Any thought related more or less directly to today’s idea is suitable. The thoughts need not bear any obvious relationship to the idea, but they should not be in opposition to it.”
We have seen this practice of ‘allowing related thoughts’ a few times now. This is a very helpful practice.
We all have the ability to listen to thoughts that reflect truth and point toward truth. When we allow thoughts into our mind that are related to the workbook lesson, we are tuning into that ability. The more we tune into that ability, the easier it is to access those thoughts.
Imagine it this way: You know from NTI Ephesians that we receive thoughts rather than think thoughts. Imagine thoughts flying through the air with darker (more untrue) thoughts being at a lower, heavier vibrational level and with lighter thoughts (pointing towards truth) being at a higher vibrational level. Both types of thoughts are flying by, but your receiver (the mind) is tuned at a level that picks up on the heavy, more dense thoughts. Because it is so used to the density of these thoughts, it doesn’t even notice the lighter ones.
During these practices, you are learning to retrain or retune your receiver so it notices and becomes accustomed to the lighter vibration. Your mind is becoming sharper and more sensitive (more discerning), so that it notices the difference between the lower vibration and higher vibration thoughts, and then it tunes itself to pick up the higher vibration and pull those thoughts into the mind so you can give attention to them.
In the Course, listening to the higher vibrational thoughts is commonly called listening to the Holy Spirit or the right mind. This is the training we go through as we allow related thoughts into our mind during these practices.
It is possible that your ego will tell you that you are only making up the related thoughts that come to you as you practice the workbook lessons, but if you remember that you don’t make up thoughts, you receive them, then you will know the thought about making up related thoughts is just a lower vibrational thought trying to pull you back into the lower vibration thought stream.
The workbook gives great instructions for staying with the higher vibration. It says, “If you find your mind wandering; if you begin to be aware of thoughts which are clearly out of accord with today’s idea, or if you seem to be unable to think of anything, open your eyes, repeat the first phase of the exercise period, and then attempt the second phase again. Do not allow any protracted period to occur in which you become preoccupied with irrelevant thoughts. Return to the first phase of the exercises as often as necessary to prevent this.”