LESSON 200. There is no peace except the peace of God.
- Widen the horizons of our vision
- Take direct approaches to uncover the blocks that keep our vision narrow
- Lift those blocks, however briefly, in order to experience the sense of liberation that comes when the blocks are removed
- Intensify our motivation for freedom
I saw a sign today, it said, “Join us for a 9 week class to financial peace.” This is a perfect lead in to today’s lesson, don’t you think? “There is no peace except the peace of God.” Isn’t this what we do in the world? Instead of recognizing our identity as awareness-life presence and knowing that, that is where our peace is found, we’ve identified with the body-mind where life force, isness, beingness, what we really are, is dumbed down to the promise of financial freedom.
If we say we want the peace of God and we want it more than anything else, what must happen that we might have a direct experience of eternal peace and the rest and joy and happiness that come with it?
While this truth is available this very moment, anything in one’s mind that stands in the way of knowing our true identity must be released. Forgiveness, which is letting go illusions, is a helpful stepping stone because illusions distract us from realizing ourselves as awareness-life-presence. We use several practices, such as self-inquiry, rest-accept-trust, the loving all method, right reasoning and right gratitude to help us grasp true forgiveness.
Another practice that we use to come to know the peace of God and therefore our true identity is Awareness watching awareness. Through awareness meditation our attention is removed from the thoughts of the world. We feel dis-identified from form and there is no awareness of separate persons, situations or events.
The peace of God is described in today’s lesson as “the bridge that everyone will cross to leave this world behind. Now the way is easy, sloping gently toward the bridge where freedom lies within the peace of God.” Where freedom lies is in our eternal oneness where form has no meaning.
Forgiveness gives up the entire belief system including the world and the ways of the world. Seeing our inability to judge anything is the key to accepting awareness-life-presence.and thus bring an end to the error. We pay attention to awareness because we know it to be a reflection of the Reality and a doorway to infinite awareness and the true peace of God.
