This Lesson is a favorite meditation Lesson of mine and brings such peace as I breathe into the experience of just resting in God. Certainly in this world we do experience "turmoil born of clashing dreams." (W.109.1.2) When we can step back from the challenges, problems and conflicts of our lives and release our attachment to how things should be for us in this dream in order for us to feel at peace, then we can sink into the place of complete rest with no dismay about anything in this illusory world. This place of rest in us is a sanctuary, Jesus tells us, where we invite our brothers to rest with us and join with us as we release the turmoil of our clashing dreams, so that we can open to the healing that is always poised in readiness, when we are willing to accept it. When we do, the peace in our minds extends to all minds. We take this temporary withdrawal from the world in our meditation time, so that when we reenter the world, we bring the peace that is in our minds to every person and every situation that we encounter. It is a way of living in the world, while not getting caught up in the conflicts of this world.
 

The rest that we take as we withdraw from the world is an alert kind of meditation. It is not a withdrawal into drowsiness. What we do is to bring our distracting thoughts and any interference to the quiet of our minds, so that we can truly rest in God. Our focus in meditating on the Lessons is on awakening rather than withdrawing. The purpose is not to escape from the world, but to bring this peaceful focus into our everyday lives because it is the everyday events of our lives that trigger reactions that can tempt us to respond with anger. Now we have an opportunity to take any distress into this quiet place of rest, so that our distressing thoughts can be brought for healing.

There are so many things in our lives that seem to need our attention. In the midst of all of this seeming fear, guilt and pain, where we "seem to look on danger and on sorrow," (W.109.1.3) the Holy Spirit gently brings our attention to the reality that there is a place in our minds where peace, happiness and safety abide. It is here that we learn to see past appearances because we have an opportunity to choose again, and in this choice we are born again. To be born again is to die to the ego. With the choice for the ego came the choice for death. Now we can choose life, which has no end, but speaks to our eternal nature. It requires that we see the illusion for what it is. When we look beyond appearances, we look beyond what the body's eyes show us to be true. We recognize that we are deceived in what we see. It is all illusory. Our reality, and that of every brother, is one of perfect stillness and peace, which is the only reality. Behind all form in this world is the content of love.
 

Isn't this selfish, to take this kind of time for ourselves, when there seems to be so much to be attended to? Isn't it self-indulgent to take this kind of rest? It does seem so, and I know for me sometimes taking time to do the meditations for the day seems to be taking me away from what I think I have to be busy doing. The ego is the voice in our minds that makes these kinds of demands of us and says we should feel guilty, if we are taking time for stillness. Yet here Jesus is telling us that we are doing immense good for the world and for all those who suffer and experience lack of hope. This rest that he is talking to us about is the "rest of truth." (W.109.4.3) Here there are no "cares and no concerns, no burdens, no anxiety and no pain, no fear of future and no past regrets." (W.109.5.1) We increasingly recognize, through our practice, that nothing in the world can affect the love and the peace within.
 

Taking time for rest may be unproductive from the perspective of the world, but it has powerful implications here. To think that this thought alone can carry us through "storms and strife, past misery and pain, past loss and death, and onward to the certainty of God" (W.109.3.2) is so very powerful. Yet even more, the peace that comes from our rest in God has the power to solve every problem and address every concern, anxiety, pain, fear and regret. "There is no suffering it cannot heal. There is no problem that it cannot solve. And no appearance but will turn to truth before the eyes of you who rest in God." (W.109.3.3-5)
 

When there are difficulties and problems in my life, I always feel like I have to get into action and do something. Yet Jesus proposes that we stop the doing and rest in God, so that the peace that is always in the mind can be brought to the issues of the day. This is where the miracle is given birth. When I stop the activity and go into this quiet place of rest, the answer comes. Yes, this serves me, but it also serves those who came and are yet to come because there is no linear time. The love that we bring forth from the holy instant is timeless. We become a conduit of this love. Clearly it is not about denial of the problems we face, or that we see in the world, but when we look at them with the Holy Spirit---with the light of His truth---we are seeing everything differently. Again it does not mean that we don't see the world's problems, and we don't deny their effect on us, but we bring our misperceptions to truth, so that we can truly look beyond what things appear to be. Now our minds can rest on a foundation of God's Love rather than the ego's interpretations of everything.

Peace is our natural state. It is not something to seek. It is something to uncover and discover in ourselves. Frenzy, on the other hand, is unnatural. In Chapter 29, "The Changeless Dwelling Place," we are reminded of this place in us where we find our rest. "There is a place in you where this whole world has been forgotten; where no memory of sin and of illusion lingers still. There is a place in you which time has left, and echoes of eternity are heard. There is a resting place so still no sound except a hymn to Heaven rises up to gladden God the Father and the Son. Where Both abide are They remembered, Both. And where They are is Heaven and is peace." (T.29.V.1.1-4)(ACIM OE T.29.VI.31)
 

No matter what stories we have made up in this dream, or how we experience ourselves, we can't change what God created. We are still a thought of Love in the Mind of Love. In the unhealed places in my mind, I feel the wounds that show up for healing. While they don't feel good, when I see them as welcome opportunities to release the grievances and remember the truth, they assist me in the healing of my misperceptions of myself and everyone else. There is nothing to do or fix. All we need to do is bring our awareness to the blocks to love and welcome in the truth that is in our minds.

It reminds me of the section in Chapter 18, where Jesus talks of our busy doings, while our minds are at peace. It is a way of living in this world where we attend to what is in front of us to do, but all the time we carry the peace, love and joy that we are into every circumstance. That is the goal of this Course. Jesus reminds us, "Yet there will always be this place of rest to which you can return. And you will be more aware of this quiet center of the storm than all its raging activity. This quiet center, in which you do nothing, will remain with you, giving you rest in the midst of every busy doing on which you are sent. For from this center will you be directed how to use the body sinlessly". (T.18.VII.8.1-4)(ACIM OE T.18.VIII.70)
 

Now we call to all of our brothers to rest with us. "You rest within the peace of God today and call upon your brothers from your rest to draw them to their rest along with you." (W.109.8.1) Our sacred mission, and our reason for being here, is to bring peace to everyone. We were born for this purpose. Our peace can then extend from us to all the world, because there is just one mind. What we give, we receive. The peace we offer is the peace that we receive, as we offer it. By the same token, when we attack, we are hurting ourselves. As we rest, we draw in our brothers because this rest embraces all brothers as one Son of God. This experience is sacred. Jesus tells us that we enter a "holy sanctuary" (W.109.8.2) and "open the temple doors." (W.109.8.3) It is how we might approach this holy time of resting in God.
 

It is our desire at the center of our minds that will bring us home. It is this desire for our true home where we are resting in God. We are reminded of this place in us where we yearn to know the Self that we are. "It is this Child in you your Father knows as His Own Son. It is this Child Who knows His Father. He desires to go home so deeply, so unceasingly, His voice cries unto you to let Him rest a while. He does not ask for more than just a few instants of respite; just an interval in which He can return to breathe again the holy air that fills His father's house. You are His home as well. He will return. But give Him just a little time to be Himself, within the peace that is His home, resting in silence and in peace and love." (W.182.5)
 

I feel this so poignantly today. The Child is crying out for rest. It is a deep rest of the mind that we are crying out for,  where there are no cares, no concerns, no anxiety, no pain, no fear of the future and in fact no time. In this state of timelessness is where we can know the truth, feel totally safe, yet not alone. We can know this state, when we know we are everything and have everything. And everything swirling outside of this sanctuary, no matter the appearances, is not real.

"This thought will bring to you the rest and quiet, peace and stillness, and the safety and the happiness you seek." (W.109.2.2) It also "has power to wake the sleeping truth in everyone and everything there is." (W.109.2.4) This thought seems to put us back on track, reminding us of God's peace and power in our lives and how that awareness within us helps all minds. They will accept this peace as they are ready. "Each hour that you take your rest today, a tired mind is suddenly made glad, a bird with broken wings beings to sing, a stream long dry begins to flow again. The world is born again each time you rest, and remember that you came to bring the peace of God into the world, that it might take its rest along with you." (W.109.6.1-2) These are beautiful symbols of the power that there is in the quiet center of our minds.
 

It is important today in our quiet to bring our pain, anxiety, depression, sadness, frantic fantasies and fearful thoughts to the invitation to rest. If we truly desire a quiet mind we must release the thoughts that bring suffering. Without forgiveness, the beauty of the words of this Lesson won't truly serve you. We really are meant to use these thoughts to remind us that peace is available to us in every moment. We suffer because we hold onto thoughts that are not true, that we give meaning to. Use this time today to bring them to His loving presence and know that you are safe. It is a sacred experience you are engaging in. It is about letting grievances go and entering into the temple of your mind where peace abides.

For the longer practice period of five minutes on the hour, say "I rest in God." Repeat these words slowly to yourself right now. Don't you feel more at peace? The words "I rest in God" put us in a state of willingness and receptivity. Now sink into the kind of rest where there are no cares and no concerns and the turmoil of the world can't touch you. In this state, call to "your distant brothers and your closest friends," (W.109.8.3) and welcome them into your holy temple where you rest in God.

Love and blessings, Sarah

⁵⁹ Nothing beyond yourself can make you fearful or loving because nothing is beyond you. Time and eternity are both in your mind and will conflict until you perceive time solely as a means to regain eternity. You cannot do this as long as you believe that anything which happens to you is caused by factors outside yourself. You must learn that time is solely at your disposal, and that nothing in the world can take this responsibility from you. You can violate God's laws in your imagination, but you cannot escape from them. They were established for your protection and are as inviolate as your safety.

 

⁶⁰ God created nothing beside you, and nothing beside you exists, for you are part of Him. What except Him can exist? Nothing beyond Him can happen because nothing except Him is real. Your creations add to Him as you do, but nothing is added that is different because everything has always been. What can upset you except the ephemeral, and how can the ephemeral be real if you are God's only creation, and He created you eternal? Your holy will establishes everything that happens to you. Every response you make to everything you perceive is up to you because your will determines your perception of it.

 

⁶¹ God does not change His Mind about you, for He is not uncertain of Himself. And what He knows can be known because He does not know only for Himself. He created you for Himself, but He gave you the power to create for your self so you could be like Him. That is why your will is holy. Can anything exceed the love of God? Can anything, then, exceed your will? Nothing can reach you from beyond it because, being in God, you encompass everything. Believe this, and you will realize how much is up to you. When anything threatens your peace of mind, ask yourself,

 

⁶² Has God changed His Mind about me?

 

⁶³ Then accept His decision, for it is indeed changeless, and refuse to change your mind about yourself. God will never decide against you, or He would be deciding against Himself.

 

⁶⁴ The reason you do not know your creations is simply that you would decide against them as long as your minds are split, and to attack what you have created is impossible. But remember that it is as impossible for God. The law of creation is that you love your creations as yourself because they are part of you. Everything that was created is therefore perfectly safe because the laws of God protect it by His Love. Any part of your mind that does not know this has banished itself from knowledge because it has not met its conditions.

 

⁶⁵ Who could have done this but you? Recognize this gladly, for in this recognition lies the realization that your banishment is not of God and therefore does not exist. You are at home in God, dreaming of exile but perfectly capable of awakening to reality. Is it your will to do so? You know from your own experience that what you see in dreams you think is real as long as you are asleep. Yet the instant you waken, you know that everything that seemed to happen did not happen at all. You do not think this mysterious, even though all the laws of what you awakened to were violated while you slept. Is it not possible that you merely shifted from one dream to another, without really wakening?

 

⁶⁶ Would you bother to reconcile what happened in conflicting dreams, or would you dismiss both together if you discovered that reality is in accord with neither? You do not remember being awake. When you hear the Holy Spirit, you merely feel better because loving seems possible to you, but you do not remember yet that it once was so. And it is in this remembering that you will know it can be so again. What is possible has not yet been accomplished. Yet what has once been is so now if it is eternal. When you remember, you will know what you remember is eternal and therefore is now.

 

⁶⁷ You will remember everything the instant you desire it wholly, for if to desire wholly is to create, you will have willed away the separation, returning your mind simultaneously to your Creator and your creations. Knowing them, you will have no wish to sleep but only the will to waken and be glad. Dreams will be impossible because you will want only truth, and being at last your will, it will be yours.