Lesson 34. I could see peace instead of this.
In today’s lesson we learn, “It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.” Our perception of the world arises from within and that is why Jesus instructs us to close our eyes to do today’s lesson. “It is your inner world [your perceptual world] to which the application of today’s idea should be made.” Why? Because less than peaceful situations like “fear thoughts, anxiety-provoking situations, ‘offending’ personalities or events, or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts” are located there in your perceptions. Trying to pin the blame on the world has been likened to yelling at the movie screen when you want the movie chacters to act differently than they are in the movie.
NTI Colossians 2 says “do not look at the world letting it tell you what to think. To make this mistake is to participate in illusions, which are not the motive you seek to have served.”
In today’s lesson and yesterday’s lesson, as well as the day previous to that, Jesus tells us, should any distressful situation come up, then say to yourself “In this situation” I can apply the lesson (goal) of the day to it. ACIM Chapter 17, Setting The Goal states:
The clarification of the goal belongs at the beginning, for it is this which will determine the outcome. In the ego’s procedure this is reversed. The situation becomes the determiner of the outcome, which can be anything.
In fact, “without a clear-cut , postive goal, set at the outset, the situation just seems to happen, and makes no sense until it has already happened. Then you look back at it, and try to piece together what it must have meant. And you will be wrong. The value of deciding in advance what you want to happen is simply that you will perceive the situation as a means to make it happen. You will therefore make every effort to overlook what interferes with the accomplishment of your objective, and concentrate on everything that helps you meet it.”
“I could see peace instead of this.” This is the objective or motive or goal that we want to concentrate on. “I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.” This is where we make every effort to overlook what seems to interfere with it’s accomplishment. That is why in today’s lesson Jesus tells us whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way, look at the situation and apply the goal to it. I could see peace in this situation instead of this. He counsels us to begin with the goal of seeing peace because the goal will determine the outcome, and situations that come up should not deter us from our goal.
NTI Colossians 4 says “Watch your mind, and watch what it is that you do.” Watch the situations that arise and “with this knowledge you may gladly choose again. But you will not choose again if you keep out of awareness that which you are doing” in the situations in which you find yourself. “So watch your mind vigorously and know what it is that you do. You may learn from watching [distressing situations] and you may choose to choose again.” I could choose peace instead of this.
NTI Colossians 4 continues, “It is your habit to accept whatever the mind receives [in whatever situation you find yourself in]. Now you are being asked to learn discernment. Notice what [thoughts about the situation are] recieved, but realize you need not keep it just because you received it. Receiving it does not mean you must keep it.” If you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way say to yourself, “I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.”
