Ask: Beauty and Ugliness: How did this amazing design come about?

...Having accepted (maybe as blind faith) that this material world in which we ‘dream’ ourselves is an illusion, I find myself looking with wonder at the natural world around me, here in the peaceful country close to the sea. Everything seems miraculous...I could go on marveling for pages and only touch the edges of the wonder. But then I tell myself this is all illusion. That God ‘doesn’t know about it’. So how did all this amazing design come about?...I had to visit the nearest city. As the bus took me further and further into the busy streets, the grubby buildings, the crowds blind to each other as they rushed in and out of shops‑the illusion idea wasn’t hard to grasp…‑MDT

The universe of form is projected by what A Course in Miracles calls the son of God. This is the part of Mind that contains the idea of not-God (illusion/ego). It is split between God and the idea not-God. Your seemingly-individual mind is made in the image of this split mind. When you see beauty and ugliness in this projection you see the duality of your split mind. Keep in mind that other seemingly-individual minds will see the projection of form differently. For example, a city lover may see the city as beautiful and the countryside as tedious.
You are experiencing the personal thought system’s (ego’s) equating of what it values with “reality”. What it judges as “good” or “beautiful” or “right” it says is real. What it judges as “bad” or “ugly” or “wrong” it says is unreal. This is its attempt to spiritualize not-God.
Reality (God) is formless being extending without limit. It is an experience of wholeness and boundless love, peace, and joy. When you hold onto any of the universe of form as real you hold onto an obstacle to being fully aware of God. This makes it an obstacle to complete peace for you.
The Course does not ask you for “blind faith”. You do not have to pretend to accept what you clearly do not experience as true. That is lying to yourself, which is not conducive to inner peace. The Course teaches you to invite the Holy Spirit into your awareness so that you can learn What is True and what is not true. When you are aware of God as Truth you are not attached to what the personal thought system judges as beautiful and you are not disturbed by what it judges as ugly. You recognize that only God is eternal and all form passes. This is beautiful indeed!

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