# A New Vision Of Money - 12: The first step toward recognizing what does have value We have studied extensively why it is necessary to undo our current vision of money and our needs. You may have wondered why we spend so much time on undoing instead of diving straight into presenting the new vision of money this course promises. The reason is that we need to take a solid first step toward developing trust in this new vision. How can you trust something else when all your trust is invested in its opposite? Think, for example, of car seatbelts. Many years passed after their invention before they became a mandatory feature in every vehicle, even though their benefits were well known. Worse still, an even longer time passed in which people preferred to trust their own experience and not use them. Trust was placed in one’s own ability to avoid accidents rather than in the obvious alternative of using the seatbelt. As was common during my childhood in Venezuela—at least as I remember it—no one in my family wore a seatbelt. I recall someone at home justifying not wearing it by saying that in an accident they could hold tightly to the steering wheel and avoid being thrown forward on impact. Our habit changed at home after an accident involving my mother and two of my siblings that sent them straight to the hospital. From then on, it became common sense for all of us to wear the seatbelt. The process our mind went through was to completely withdraw the trust we had placed in our good luck and our ability to avoid accidents, and to place it instead in what would keep us safe if one happened again. Unfortunately, we learned that lesson through tragedy. As you can see, in order to trust something different, it is necessary to stop giving value to the old. This is why we have spent so much time working on undoing the current vision. To be able to trust the new vision, we must stop giving value to the things of this world. It is so crucial that we learn that the things of this world have no value that the first stage in the development of trust, as explained by the Manual for Teachers of the Course, consists of a period in which “it seems as if things are being taken away from us”: > First, they must go through what might be called a “period of undoing.” This > need not be painful, but it usually is so experienced. It seems as if things > are being taken away, and it is rarely understood initially that their lack of > value is merely being recognized. How can lack of value be perceived unless > the perceiver is in a position where he must see things in a different light? > He is not yet at a point at which he can make the shift entirely internally. > And so the plan will sometimes call for changes in what seem to be external > circumstances. These changes are always helpful. When the teacher of God has > learned that much, he goes on to the second stage. ([CE M-4.I.3](https://acimce.app/:M-4.I.3))  The example that comes to mind is the airplane that crashed in the Andes in the 1970s. We can hardly imagine a more tragic situation, filled with loss. And yet, the survivors describe it as a story of transformation. Once the tragedy is re-interpreted, what remains is a story of solidarity, miracles, love for one another, and trust in God. Their experience has served as an inspiration for thousands of people. Just like that example, social media is full of similar stories from people who came to see that their tragedies turned out to be a blessing. What the Course tells us is that this is a crucial step. I don’t think things are truly being taken away from us; rather, when we stop giving them value, we simply stop seeing them. Because we still don’t fully understand that we are responsible for the world we see, it looks as though things “happen” to us and that loss comes from outside. Yet these apparent losses are deeply beneficial, and when we finally learn to see them that way, we will be ready for the next step. We do not need to fully believe that every change is beneficial— even the ones that look like loss. It is a gradual process. In Lesson 284, Jesus tells us that we will accept this fact little by little, as we consider the idea more seriously: > Loss is not loss when properly perceived. Pain is impossible. There is no > grief with any cause at all. And suffering of any kind is nothing but a dream. > Such is the truth—at first to be but said; and then repeated many times; and > next to be accepted as but partly true, with many reservations; then to be > considered seriously more and more; and finally accepted as the truth. ([CE W-284.1:1-5](https://acimce.app/:W-284.1:1-5)) This lesson gives you a practice plan to make the idea of loss impossible in your mind. The key is to keep the thought “I can choose to change the thoughts that cause me pain” in your awareness. This is the plan: 1. At first, we only say this idea superficially. 2. “After being repeated many times.” In this second phase we repeat the idea again and again. It may seem completely useless to do this, but it has a purpose we will soon see. 3. “It is accepted as partly true, but with many reservations.” Here is the reason we repeat the idea so many times. If we answer each event of pain or loss with this idea, we will begin to notice that, at least in some cases, it is true. 4. “Later it is considered more and more seriously.” Because the idea is kept in mind, it can be considered with more seriousness in each situation that arises. By considering it seriously, the witnesses to its truth come to our aid and show us its validity. 5. “And finally it is accepted as the truth.” This is the final goal. Through practice, the idea can be generalized to every situation because it is the truth. ## Practice ### In the morning We will devote 15 minutes this morning to focusing the mind on God as your strength. 1. Close your eyes and resolve to spend these minutes with God without letting thoughts interrupt you. 2. Slowly repeat the phrase: “Father, the strength in which I think.” 3. Watch your mind, and if any thought distracts you, confront it by saying: “No, this is not the thought I want. I want to be with my Father.” 4. Slowly repeat the phrase: “Father, the strength in which I forgive,” and notice how your mind calms as you center it on a single word. 5. If distracting thoughts come, now confront them with: “Father, the strength in which I see.” 6. Now repeat, slowly and letting the meaning come alive in your mind: “Father, the strength in which I trust.” 7. Spend the rest of the time in silence, keeping your mind centered on God as the only thing you want. ### During the day Whenever you find yourself in a situation that produces any discomfort, pain, or sense of loss, slowly repeat to yourself: > "I can choose to change the thoughts that cause me pain." Try to consider seriously that this idea may be true in the specific situation you are in. Very soon, you will surely see the witnesses that will show you that this idea is the truth. Every 20 minutes, using your phone’s timer, remind yourself of this phrase: > "Loss is impossible when it is seen correctly."