Today’s reading says:

The world is an image in the mind, or better said, a picture-thought within the thought of spirit.

Let’s review the Four Principles of God and see how it compares to this excerpt from today’s reading:

First Principle of God– Pure, unmanifest, life-awareness; abstract, unlimited potentiality.

Second Principle of God– Consciousness, also known as I Am or Spirit. It can be called “the thought of spirit” since it is a thought born out of the unlimited potentiality of the First Principle.

Third Principle of God– The ongoing activity of creation, which occurs naturally through the declarative  interaction of consciousness with that which is witnessed.

Fourth Principle of God– Manifestation, which is the realm of appearance (experience and images). In other words, “a picture-thought within the thought of spirit.”

Today’s reading points out that although the Fourth Principle isn’t real, it is experienced. It doesn’t take much self-honesty at all to notice that you experience the world. If you don’t believe me, pinch yourself. You will experience the pinch.

One reason the world seems real is because we confuse experience with reality. We think that if we experience it, that means it is real. However, you have experienced many nighttime dreams. Were they real?

No, your nighttime dreams were not real.

Therefore, it is easy to see that experience is not the criterion for determining reality.

As we saw on Day 134, the criterion for determining reality is unchanging existence. The world does not meet that criterion, nor does experience, because experience is always changing. (For example, you no longer feel your pinch, do you? That experience has already disappeared.)

Since experience does not meet the criterion for reality, experience is not real. Clearly, the unreal is not a criterion for reality. Therefore, we cannot determine reality by experience.

But, with all of that said, we still experience experience, which is why you felt your pinch.

Because we confuse experience with reality, when experience isn’t reality, we need another way to perceive or interpret our experience. Today’s reading provides that new interpretation.

Let’s review what we have learned through NTI Romans for a second time:

• • Consciousness made a wish to experience itself as different. You are consciousness. This wish is in you and can only be healed in you.

• • The creative principle was made through this wish. It creates temporary manifestation through divine declaration, also known as judgment or decision. Each time we judge something, we subconsciously declare it to be real.

• • The way to realize everything as consciousness again is to stop declaring manifestation to be real. This is accomplished by realizing you know nothing and by surrendering unconditionally to intuition.

• • The creative principal and manifestation are not mistakes. Awakened consciousness loves and enjoys manifestation.

• • One obstacle to realizing consciousness as what you are and what everything is, is thinking you are something different. To realize you are consciousness, practice awareness-watching-awareness.

• • Enlightenment, or awake consciousness, exists in you now. You are not aware of it because of the attention you place on manifestation.

• • Both external symbols and internal spiritual wisdom are provided by your awake consciousness to help turn attention back toward it.

• • Another obstacle to realizing consciousness as what you are and what everything is, is thinking the world is real. When you think the world is real, you keep attention with the world.

• • The purpose of the world during the awakening phase is to reverse the declaration that made it seem real. Instead of declaring manifestation real, you declare it unreal as it happens. You also declare consciousness as its only reality.

NTI Romans 9 shared tips about how to declare the world unreal. It may be helpful to review the notes you took that day.

Today’s reading shares tips about how to declare consciousness as the only reality. I recommend taking notes as you read today’s reading. Taking notes will help you remember what you read so you can practice it. Your notes will also be available for easy future reference.

NTI Romans 2 is the story of a wish, “What if nothing is as it was?” It tells the story of how the wish was focused on to the point that truth was forgotten. It says:

Struck with [the idea that your wish came true], you became engrossed by it. And you tossed [the truth] aside. Faced with reality and the option of fantasy, you chose to step into fantasy.

Does that mean we rejected truth?

Today’s reading says we did not reject truth. When we “tossed [the truth] aside,” we merely repressed it, and what we repress we keep. That means the truth is always with us, whether it is acknowledged or not.

When our eyes are open to truth, the idea that we could reject truth is laughable. It is seen clearly that rejecting truth is impossible. It is the one thing that can never be done. However, before our eyes have opened, we can be-lie-ve we have rejected truth. We can even be-lie-ve that we continue to do so. This untrue idea can be the source of guilt and self-condemnation. Therefore, it is important to see that it isn’t true.

Today’s reading teaches that you have never rejected truth. It has always been with you. After reading today’s reading, consider spending some time in awareness-watching-awareness. Find out for yourself if you’ve rejected truth, or if you ever could.

Today’s reading reemphasizes what we learned on Day 135. There are two scripts to choose from, one provided by ego and one provided by awake consciousness. It also points out that as we awaken, we tend to waiver between these two scripts. In one moment, we follow the script provided through intuition. In the next moment, we revert to believing thought again. However, the reading points out that this is progress. After all, wasn’t there a time when we listened almost exclusively to ego’s script?

We have made progress, and we will continue to make progress, especially as we trust intuition over thought more and more (and trust intuition over the world, which is also thought).

As we learned on Day 121, one of the things we can expect when we start following intuitive guidance instead of thought is resistance. Today’s reading reminds us how to be with resistance in order to heal it. It says:

When you find resistance in your heart and your mind, put not your trust there. When you find resistance, remember what you truly want. Rest, so that resistance will pass over you.

In other words, when you experience resistance, remember your spiritual aspiration and practice rest-accept-trust until you feel reconnected to your willingness.

Let’s review what we have learned through NTI Romans so far:

• • Consciousness made a wish to experience itself as different. You are consciousness. This wish is in you and can only be healed in you.

• • The creative principle was made through this wish as a tool to create the experience of something different from consciousness. The creative principal creates temporary manifestation through divine declaration, also known as judgment or decision. Each time we judge something, we subconsciously declare it to be real.

• • The way to realize everything as consciousness again is to stop declaring manifestation to be real. This is accomplished by realizing you know nothing and by surrendering unconditionally to intuition.

• • The creative principal and manifestation are not mistakes. Awakened consciousness loves and enjoys manifestation.

• • One obstacle to realizing consciousness as what you are and what everything is, is thinking you are something different. To realize you are consciousness, practice awareness-watching-awareness.

• • Enlightenment, or awake consciousness, exists in you now. You are not aware of it, because of the attention you place on manifestation.

• • Both external symbols and internal spiritual wisdom are provided by your awake consciousness to help turn attention back toward it.

• • Another obstacle to realizing consciousness as what you are and what everything is, is thinking the world is real. When you think the world is real, you keep attention with the world.

• • The purpose of the world during the awakening phase is to reverse the declaration that made it seem real. Instead of declaring manifestation real, you declare it unreal as it happens. You also declare consciousness as its only reality.

Today’s reading teaches how to declare manifestation unreal. It asks us to remember that everything we see and experience is thought. Said another way, it is a product of thought, which was previously declared real, and is now made temporarily manifest.

Again, everything we see and experience is thought. We learned this last year when we studied the Code. As that message said:

The code is ideas, just as all things within illusion are ideas. The code can be seen as specific manifestations in form, can be felt as feelings or can be heard as thoughts. The best way to look at the code is as the potential driver of experience. I say it is the potential driver of experience, because code will only drive your experience if you fully believe the code. Even if you let go of your belief in the code partially, it no longer has full influence over you. The code can only drive your experience to the degree that you believe the code.

Today’s reading shares tips about how not to believe the world is real. I recommend taking notes as you read today’s reading. Taking notes will help you remember what you read so you can practice it. Your notes will also be available for easy future reference.

If you would like to review the message of the Code, click here.