I could see peace instead of this.
So quarantine/lockdown has now been in place due to Coronavirus for a couple of weeks. This has afforded me ample time for self-reflection, contemplation, reading spiritual writings/teachings, meditating and praying. I am thankful for this. I have however also struggled with the uncertainty of what is happening to/in the world as a whole but my FEAR has been minimal, which I do attribute to my spirituality.
I have found solace in the teachings of A Course In Miracles, and the healing that I have experienced by practicing what it has laid out. My thought today has been on ACIM's lesson #34, which states "I could see peace instead of this" and then suggests I fill in the blanks: I can see peace instead of fear, I can see peace instead of covid-19, I can see peace instead of "separation" from loved ones, etc. My state of mind is my choice, it is not dependent on circumstances; I am not a victim of the world I see.
In my egoic/separate mind, I can believe that I am a victim of all that is going on, but I can choose to be still, quiet my mind, and remember that in the ultimate truth I am still as God created me; I am SPIRIT and I am not separate from God as the ego would have me believe. The truth of who we are, SPIRIT, is not affected by anything in the physical and as spirit, peace is an attribute in us (i.e. fruits of the spirit) and it (peace) cannot be found outside of us. ACIM states, "peace is a natural heritage of spirit. Everyone is free to refuse to accept his inheritance, but he is not free to establish what his inheritance is." We all have that "still small voice" within us, which can be referred to as intuition or divine guidance, it is God's/Spirit's voice speaking to us. ACIM states, "Why should you listen to the endless insane calls you think are made upon you, when you can know the Voice for God is in you? God commended His Spirit to you, and asks that you commend yours to Him. He wills to keep it in perfect peace because you are of one mind and spirit with Him."As stated so perfectly by French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard deChardin, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." It is here in this knowledge that we can experience the "peace that passes understanding" that is always present in ourselves if we choose to acknowledge it.
I do not express these statements to discredit people's difficult experiences but rather to point to our ability to choose to not be overcome by these experiences, but rise above with the strength within us (our minds and will).
Peace and safety must begin in my mind. It is from there that I can then behave peacefully and safely. May I remember to choose peace and to extend this to others. As ACIM states, "to have peace, teach peace to all" and to quote St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
In my egoic/separate mind, I can believe that I am a victim of all that is going on, but I can choose to be still, quiet my mind, and remember that in the ultimate truth I am still as God created me; I am SPIRIT and I am not separate from God as the ego would have me believe. The truth of who we are, SPIRIT, is not affected by anything in the physical and as spirit, peace is an attribute in us (i.e. fruits of the spirit) and it (peace) cannot be found outside of us. ACIM states, "peace is a natural heritage of spirit. Everyone is free to refuse to accept his inheritance, but he is not free to establish what his inheritance is." We all have that "still small voice" within us, which can be referred to as intuition or divine guidance, it is God's/Spirit's voice speaking to us. ACIM states, "Why should you listen to the endless insane calls you think are made upon you, when you can know the Voice for God is in you? God commended His Spirit to you, and asks that you commend yours to Him. He wills to keep it in perfect peace because you are of one mind and spirit with Him."As stated so perfectly by French philosopher, Pierre Teilhard deChardin, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." It is here in this knowledge that we can experience the "peace that passes understanding" that is always present in ourselves if we choose to acknowledge it.
I do not express these statements to discredit people's difficult experiences but rather to point to our ability to choose to not be overcome by these experiences, but rise above with the strength within us (our minds and will).
Peace and safety must begin in my mind. It is from there that I can then behave peacefully and safely. May I remember to choose peace and to extend this to others. As ACIM states, "to have peace, teach peace to all" and to quote St. Francis:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
A beautiful rendition of this prayer, sung by Sarah McLachlan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VSyuar6oF8
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