Hello Paul and welcome to the Community.
The lesson are very simplified versions and are designed that way to make them beginner froendly, and Justin is making it clear that beginners are not expected to learn the entire song at all.
You’re learning a riff.
'Cause it’s fun.
And it will help you pick single strings too.
Alexis is exactly right.
You are in Grade 1 and this riff is a fun and easy way to practice one small skill without getting hung up on other skills simultaneously.
The riff is for fun and to develop single note, single string picking.
If you can count it exactly right with no effort then all good.
If you cannot then do not, at this stage of learning, spend days and weeks worrying about the count. Just listen to the riff and play it how it sounds. That is ‘feel’. You’re not meant to be playing it along to a metronome or drum track or the actual song itself. Just the riff as a stand along. A musical exercise but using a real-life piece of music.
Alexis to me is bang on the money. Think of it this way can you tell the difference between a human and a midi sequencer performing the same piece? Yes, of course you can. The difference is feeling. Put on the track, listen to the track, feel the beat, play along with the track.
As Richard says this is a simplified lesson to teach you some key skills in a beginner friendly and fun manner. I would highly recommend that you do not skip them and make the most of these lessons designed to help lay some key foundations.
This is a joke right? We’ve gone from “don’t worry about counting because you’re a beginner and not good enough to know how to count” to “when you count in time rather than feel it you’re too perfect and it’s not musical enough”? When did this leap happen?? Lol.
First post in the new JG version, so not sure I’m doing this correct.
Still - Re “Sunshine Of Your Love” lesson. Didn’t have too much problem with the rythm. Listened to this song a zillion times when Cream was hot. And I skipped counting altogether, knowing the tune quite well.
But - qurious about the “correct” picking pattern. Is it all down strokes, strictly alternate picking or whatever feels good (which is the way I ended up IIRC)?
At this stage, all down picks or whatever feels good.
Roland - a few months on … did you take the leap? How was it?
Thanks!
This was fun! 
Jumped from Ukulele to Guitar a few weeks ago. My biggest trouble is the spreading of the fingers, so unstretched…
Hope it is getting better 
Am I crazy in noticing that the the last 2 notes played are incorrect? When I listen to the song on spotify the last 2 notes are played in a lower sound, while Justin is making it higher. Is this a difference between the spotify version and the original? I didn’t know this song prior to the lesson so I’m finding it hard to learn because of this difference. Especially since I prefer the lower version too.
@Joshmosh , you’re half crazy 
Clapton plays (at least) two versions of the riff, one goes down in the last phrase, and the other goes up. If you listen right at the beginning of the song (for example here: https://youtu.be/f3y8jf01UY8?si=OlMYcLFQbaK-gQ82), he plays the riff that goes down twice, then he plays the version that goes up twice, then the vocals come in.
In Justin’s more advanced lesson on the full song (https://www.justinguitar.com/songs/eric-clapton-cream-sunshine-of-your-love-chords-tabs-guitar-lesson-sb-306) he goes through the different variations. Though, the whole thing is played higher on the neck, involves double stops and vibrato. In other words, more advanced. But, it will show you the difference in the two variations.
Makes way more sense now thanks for making it simple for me. Guess I’ll try my best to stick with the higher version for the sake of the exercise 