Daily Lesson

  

   L e s s o n  34

I could see peace instead of this.  

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< GUIDANCE from ELDER BROTHER >

¹ The idea for today begins to describe the conditions that prevail in the other way of seeing. Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts and then extend outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.

² Three longer practice periods are required for today's exercises. One in the morning and one in the evening are advised, with an additional one to be undertaken at any time in between which seems most conducive to readiness. All applications should be done with your eyes closed. It is your inner world to which the applications of today's idea should be made.

³ Some five minutes of mind searching are required for each of the longer practice periods. Search your mind for fear thoughts, anxiety provoking situations, "offending" personalities or events, or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts. Note them all casually, repeating the idea for today slowly as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go, to be replaced by the next.

⁴ If you begin to experience difficulty in thinking of specific subjects, continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an unhurried manner, without applying it to anything in particular. Be sure, however, not to make any specific exclusions.

⁵ The shorter applications are to be frequent and made whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way. The purpose is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. If a specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, the exercise should take this form:

⁶ I could see peace in this situation instead of
what I now see in it.

⁷ If the inroads on your peace of mind take the form of more generalized adverse emotions, such as depression, anxiety, or worry, use the idea in its original form. If you find you need more than one application of today's idea to help you change your mind in any specific context, try to take several minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief. It will help you if you tell yourself specifically:

⁸ I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety
or worry [or my thoughts about this situation,
personality, or event] with peace.

Workbook - Part 1
 Introduction 

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¹ A theoretical foundation such as the text is necessary as a background to make these exercises meaningful. Yet it is the exercises which will make the goal possible. An untrained mind can accomplish nothing. It is the purpose of these exercises to train the mind to think along the lines which the course sets forth.

² The exercises are very simple. They do not require more than a few minutes, and it does not matter where or when you do them. They need no preparation. They are numbered, running from 1 to 365. The training period is one year. Do not undertake more than one exercise a day.

³ The purpose of these exercises is to train the mind to a different perception of everything in the world. The workbook is divided into two sections, the first dealing with the undoing of what you see now and the second with the restoration of sight. It is recommended that each exercise be repeated several times a day, preferably in a different place each time and, if possible, in every situation in which you spend any long period of time. The purpose is to train the mind to generalize the lessons, so that you will understand that each of them is as applicable to one situation as it is to another.

⁴ Unless specified to the contrary, the exercise should be practiced with the eyes open, since the aim is to learn how to see. The only rule that should be followed throughout is to practice the exercises with great specificity. Each one applies to every situation in which you find yourself and to everything you see in it. Each day's exercises are planned around one central idea, the exercises themselves consisting of applying that idea to as many specifics as possible. Be sure that you do not decide that there are some things you see to which the idea for the day is inapplicable. The aim of the exercises will always be to increase the application of the idea to everything. This will not require effort. Only be sure that you make no exceptions in applying the idea.

⁵ Some of the ideas you will find hard to believe, and others will seem quite startling. It does not matter. You are merely asked to apply them to what you see. You are not asked to judge them, nor even to believe them. You are asked only to use them. It is their use which will give them meaning to you, and show you they are true. Remember only this-you need not believe them, you need not accept them, and you need not welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter nor decrease their efficacy. But allow yourself to make no exceptions in applying the ideas the exercises contain. Whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than this is required.

ACIM Edmonton - Sarah's Reflections 

Lesson  34 
I could see peace instead of this.       

Sarah's Commentary:        

I love how very gentle our teacher, Jesus is with us in this journey, never demanding of us. His total lack of coercion, throughout, is evident. He guides us to want to make these changes in our thinking by helping us to see how miserable the thought system of the ego, that we have adopted, has made us.  Jesus wants peace and happiness for us and is showing us that this is possible when we do this work. His gentle reminders to us, that we could see peace when we choose with him, demonstrates his ongoing patience and love for our well being.  He is aware of how much guilt is in our minds and is not wanting to induce anymore guilt. Thus everything is up to us when we choose to follow his invitation to see a situation through his eyes.

The lesson is very effective when applied with sincerity and dedication. It is another one of my favorite lessons. It moves us in the direction of recognizing that it does not matter what the situation is, there is another way of looking at it. Jesus is showing us that we can choose peace no matter what is happening around us. The reason for this is that the peace we are looking for is already in our minds. When we look at any situation or circumstance with the ego as our guide, then we see outside events as a justification for throwing our peace away. Nothing has power over us unless we choose to give it power. No one can take our peace away. When we don't have peace it is because we have given it away.

We look to the outer world to bring us peace. But Jesus says that our peace has nothing to do with outside events. Nothing outside of us can bring us peace. When we do experience loss of peace as a result of external circumstances then we need to turn to our inner Guide, the Holy Spirit, Who reminds us that peace is always within us. The thoughts which we are holding, that interfere with that peace, need to be brought to the light of truth where they are shined away by God's grace.  Now we experience a miracle. The miracle brings to light the peace that is in us. But it only comes when we no longer block it with our own disruptive thoughts. 

 Have you noticed that when anyone opposes, tries to overpower or argue with a false idea, it just strengthens the opposition? That is just another form of attack.  In the same way when we make someone wrong we teach guilt. Thus these lessons are not about overpowering our minds.  We are simply being guided and supported to open our minds. Remember the comments yesterday, about our rigid way of seeing things now. Convincing anyone about anything, even using this course teaching to convince others is thus a form of violence. It is attacking another's perspective. That is why the Course is big on NOT proselytizing but demonstrating peace. Our only responsibility is to accept Atonement (the healing of our minds) for ourselves. And, because minds are joined, the blessing that we open to in our own minds, is received by all minds.  

 This is a very powerful lesson but for the power of this teaching to be known we must do our part. What is our part? It is to bring awareness to our thoughts. We bring to mind "anxiety-provoking situations, 'offending personalities' or events or anything else about which we are harbouring unloving thoughts" (3.2)  If we deny our attacking, unloving thoughts then the lesson will have no value. We need to get in touch with these thoughts rather than denying that they are there. We do tend to cover up our thoughts when our fear level is high which makes us highly defensive. We have established these defenses in the belief that they will keep us safe from the painful events of our lives. But looking behind our defenses at our unloving thoughts is essential. But equally essential is to look at them all casually "repeating the idea for the day slowly as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go, to be replaced by the next." (3.3) This is important because to look casually is to look without judgment, meaning that we are looking with the Holy Spirit. And when we look with the Holy Spirit we are not investing or attaching to the thoughts. That means that we are willing to let each one, that comes to awareness,  go.

We are doing these practices with our eyes closed, looking within at our thoughts because, "it is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises" (1.4) In other words, whatever we see in the world is a reflection of our thoughts. Attack thoughts are blocks to peace. Again, the cause of what I see is not in the world but in our minds. The world is the effect of our thoughts. 

 If we really believed that, then we would stop trying to control and manage every situation that comes up. We think that by manipulating situations in the world, that we could feel peaceful. Instead Jesus is saying that if we take our fears and bring our awareness to them, and ask for peace, then we will bring peace to every situation we encounter. In other words, seek peace first and then act. Acting from a state of panic is not conducive to productive action.

 Our job is not to remove the blocks to peace that we experience in our minds. Our job is just to bring our awareness to our thoughts and to "let each one go, to be replaced by the next" (3.3)  We experience fear whenever we are not experiencing peace, love, joy and hopefulness. A lot of our fears are based on six primal areas which are about : 1) being rejected 2) being vulnerable 3) not being in control 4) being controlled 5) being a failure and 6) being a success. Think about a fear you have and see if it doesn't fit one of these categories.

 Underneath each of these fears we hold beliefs. For example, I am afraid of being a failure because I have a belief that I should be perfect. I believe that I am right about the importance of being perfect, and maintaining  high standards. But these thoughts I hold keep me from my peace. But Jesus asks us, would you rather be right (about your perceptions and beliefs) or happy? When we insist that we are right, we are telling Jesus that he is wrong about what he is teaching. We stubbornly hold onto our ideas that the cost of our own happiness. That is what he is trying to help us see.

 If you experience difficulty in having thoughts come to mind and reach a blank spot in your mind "continue to repeat the idea (I could see peace instead of this) in an unhurried manner, without applying it to anything in particular". I notice that this thought really works for me whenever I wake up in the night and feel a strange sense of anxiety that is not necessarily tied to anything specific. It may just be vague generalized feelings that come up in the form of sadness, anxiety, worry or fear of some kind.  Or my mind may go into overdrive with plans and expectations. Either way, peace is jeopardized. When these kinds of disturbing thoughts show up and I apply this lesson, I feel some sense of relief. These words, (I can replace my feelings of depression etc. with peace) repeated often can bring a sense of calm. Identifying the thoughts/feelings of distress is important because as Jesus says in Chapter 13.III.1 "You may wonder why it is so crucial that you look upon your hatred and realize its full extent. You may also think that it would be easy enough for the Holy Spirit to show it to you and dispel it without the need for you to raise it to awareness yourself." But the Holy Spirit can't do that part for us. We must bring our fears to truth because Jesus says that it is us that made that fear in the first place. So we need to be disciplined and vigilant in Watching our minds and catching these thoughts so that they don't play out throughout the day without notice and then we wonder why we are not at peace.

 My experience with this practice is that there are many thoughts that are in my mind that create the kind of experience that I am having but I am not always aware of those thoughts without staying very vigilant.  It is my job to watch my mind, without judgment, and bring awareness to my thoughts. It is only through this kind of awareness that they can be healed. And this takes some work and practice. It is easy to go through the day unconscious of what is going on in our thoughts that simply run like software in the background of our minds.

 As was said earlier, the mind is the cause and the world is the effect so if we change our mind we change our perceptions about the world, about how we see people and situations in our lives. We are not the victims of the world we see. Peace is in us and when we look at the blocks that we put in the way of peace, take responsibility for them and willingly release them to the Holy Spirit, they are dispelled.  We all have had experiences of how thoughts affect us.  When we awake for example, and feel very content, then the day seems to unfold easily and happily. If something distressing shows up, our happy mood simply accepts the distress easily and things seem to go well overall. The opposite is also true that when we are very cranky, everything in the day seems to go wrong. So the lesson applies the same principle. When we do the practice and accept peace, we experience peace. Peace is in the minds. There is nowhere else that it can be. It is an inside condition.

 Again, it is really important to emphasize again that the lesson does not say that we should choose peace. It is not about laying on more guilt on us. It is a choice. Nor is it about making the correction ourselves. We can't fix ourselves. We need trust that the Holy Spirit will do His part. He is the Healer within. We just need to be willing to have the blocks to peace removed. As I have said over and over here, peace is already in our minds. It is just obscured by our thoughts. We don't need to acquire peace. We just need to uncover the thoughts that obscure it.

 I often get into the trap of thinking that what I need  to do when difficult situations come up is to change things 'out there' in order to be at peace. Now I am learning that I can respond to any difficult situation or difficult person by bringing my mind to peace first. It is really possible to bring peace to my mind with whatever the situation that is upsetting me. From that perspective, if I need to take action around a perceived problem, I can take it from a center of peace instead of fighting, overpowering, arguing or making myself right in how I perceive the situation.  Going to war in order to win peace can never work. Only by doing the inner work, can we ever bring about peace. I find that I can't always do this in the moment but when I withdraw from these difficult situations and spend time in reflection, I can inevitably, with willingness, allow my mind to be brought back to a place of peace. It requires humility to admit that I am wrong about all of my perceptions about anyone or any situation.

 So, again just to reiterate practice instructions for the lesson today:

 Duration:  3 times, morning, evening, and once in between, for 5 minutes each time. For the middle of the day, choose a time when you can attend to this lesson with a minimum of disturbances.

Close your eyes and search your mind for "upsetting" situations, personalities, and events. Repeat the idea slowly as you casually observe the stream of thoughts go by. If no more thoughts come up, just keep repeating the lesson for the full five minutes.

Response to temptation: Make a point of watching your mind today for upsets. Whenever you notice one, apply the idea to it. There are two forms of upset each requiring a slightly different form of practice:

1. If you are upset about a specific situation, apply the idea specifically: "I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it."
 

2. If your upset is not attached to anything in particular, but consists of a general mood of depression or worry, simply repeat the lesson "I could see peace instead of this"

If needed, take several minutes, repeating the idea until you feel relief. It will help if you add, "I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety or worry [or my thoughts about this situation, personality or event] with peace." Take the time you need until the upset dissipates allowing the truth of this statement to take on more and more meaning in your mind as you repeat it to yourself.

Love and blessings, Sarah

Sarah's Home Page

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A Course in Miracles   
TEXT  

Chapter Three     

Retraining the Mind 

VIII. Judgment and the Authority

Problem            

⁶¹ We have already discussed the Last Judgment in some though insufficient detail. After the Last Judgment there will be no more. This is symbolic only in the sense that everyone is much better off without judgment. When the Bible says, "Judge not that ye be not judged" it merely means that if you judge the reality of others at all, you will be unable to avoid judging your own. The choice to judge rather than to know was the cause of the loss of peace. Judgment is the process on which perception, but not cognition, rests. We have discussed this before in terms of the selectivity of perception, pointing out that evaluation is its obvious prerequisite.

⁶² Judgment always involves rejection. It is not an ability which emphasizes only the positive aspects of what is judged, whether it be in or out of the self. However, what has been perceived and rejected-or judged and found wanting-remains in the unconscious because it has been perceived. One of the illusions from which man suffers is the belief that what he judged against has no effect. This cannot be true unless he also believes that what he judged against does not exist. He evidently does not believe this, or he would not have judged against it. It does not matter in the end whether you judge right or wrong. Either way, you are placing your belief in the unreal. This cannot be avoided in any type of judgment because it implies the belief that reality is yours to choose from.

⁶³ You have no idea of the tremendous release and deep peace that comes from meeting yourselves and your brothers totally without judgment. When you recognize what you and your brothers are, you will realize that judging them in any way is without meaning. In fact, their meaning is lost to you precisely because you are judging them. All uncertainty comes from a totally fallacious belief that you are under the coercion of judgment. You do not need judgment to organize your life, and you certainly do not need it to organize yourselves. In the presence of knowledge, all judgment is automatically suspended, and this is the process which enables recognition to replace perception.

⁶⁴ Man is very fearful of everything he has perceived but has refused to accept. He believes that, because he has refused to accept it, he has lost control over it. This is why he sees it in nightmares or in pleasant disguises in what seem to be his happier dreams. Nothing that you have refused to accept can be brought into awareness. It does not follow that it is dangerous, but it does follow that you have made it dangerous.

⁶⁵ When you feel tired, it is merely because you have judged yourself as capable of being tired. When you laugh at someone, it is because you have judged him as debased. When you laugh at yourself, you are singularly likely to laugh at others, if only because you cannot tolerate the idea of being more debased than they are. All of this does make you feel tired because it is essentially disheartening. You are not really capable of being tired, but you are very capable of wearying yourselves. The strain of constant judgment is virtually intolerable. It is a curious thing that any ability which is so debilitating should be so deeply cherished.

⁶⁶ Yet, if you wish to be the author of reality, which is totally impossible anyway, you will insist on holding onto judgment. You will also use the term with considerable fear, believing that judgment will someday be used against you. To whatever extent it is used against you, it is due only to your belief in its efficacy as a weapon of defense for your own authority. The issue of authority is really a question of authorship. When an individual has an "authority problem," it is always because he believes he is the author of himself, projects his delusion onto others, and then perceives the situation as one in which people are literally fighting him for his authorship. This is the fundamental error of all those who believe they have usurped the power of God.

⁶⁷ The belief is very frightening to them but hardly troubles God. He is, however, eager to undo it, not to punish His Children, but only because He knows that it makes them unhappy. Souls were given their true Authorship, but men preferred to be anonymous when they chose to separate themselves from their Author. The word "authority" has been one of their most fearful symbols ever since. Authority has been used for great cruelty because, being uncertain of their true Authorship, men believe that their creation was anonymous. This has left them in a position where it sounds meaningful to consider the possibility that they must have created themselves.

⁶⁸ The dispute over authorship has left such uncertainty in the minds of men that some have even doubted whether they really exist at all. Despite the apparent contradiction in this position, it is in one sense more tenable than the view that they created themselves. At least it acknowledges the fact that some true authorship is necessary for existence.

⁶⁹ Only those who give over all desire to reject can know that their own rejection is impossible. You have not usurped the power of God, but you have lost it. Fortunately, when you lose something, it does not mean that the "something" has gone. It merely means that you do not know where it is. Existence does not depend on your ability to identify it nor even to place it. It is perfectly possible to look on reality without judgment and merely know that it is there.

⁷⁰ Peace is a natural heritage of the Soul. Everyone is free to refuse to accept his inheritance, but he is not free to establish what his inheritance is. The problem which everyone must decide is the fundamental question of authorship. All fear comes ultimately and sometimes by way of very devious routes from the denial of Authorship. The offense is never to God, but only to those who deny Him. To deny His Authorship is to deny themselves the reason for their own peace, so that they see themselves only in pieces. This strange perception is the authority problem.

⁷¹ There is no man who does not feel that he is imprisoned in some way. If this is the result of his own free will, he must regard his will as if it were not free, or the obviously circular reasoning involved in his position would be quite apparent. Free will must lead to freedom. Judgment always imprisons because it separates segments of reality according to the highly unstable scales of desire. Wishes are not facts by definition. To wish is to imply that willing is not sufficient. Yet no one believes that what is wished is as real as what is willed. Instead of, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven" say, "Will ye first the Kingdom of Heaven," and you have said, "I know what I am, and I will to accept my own inheritance."