ACIM Daily Lesson 291 This is a day of stillness and of peace. 1. Christ’s vision looks through me today.
This is a day of stillness and of peace.
Lesson 291
This is a day of stillness and of peace.
1. Christ’s vision looks through me today. ²His sight shows me all things forgiven and at peace, and offers this same vision to the world. ³And I accept this vision in its name, both for myself and for the world as well. ⁴What loveliness we look upon today! ⁵What holiness we see surrounding us! ⁶And it is given us to recognize it is a holiness in which we share; it is the Holiness of God Himself.
2. This day my mind is quiet, to receive the Thoughts You offer me. ²And I accept what comes from You, instead of from myself. ³I do not know the way to You. ⁴But You are wholly certain. ⁵Father, guide Your Son along the quiet path that leads to You. ⁶Let my forgiveness be complete, and let the memory of You return to me.
It’s very early in the morning.
I love being up early before the day gets busy, and I have time to fully contemplate the lesson for the day. I especially find the lessons in the second half of the workbook to be delicious. This is a day of stillness and of peace. Thank you, God, for this day. Once, Regina was quoting the Bible and added just two words to a passage that gave it special meaning. She said, “This is the day that the Lord has made… for me.” This day He has made it one of stillness and peace, and I will honor it by doing my best to allow Christ’s vision to look through me today.
Every day I have the choice of seeing the world forgiven or seeing it as the effect of false beliefs. The world seen from the perspective of the split mind is frightening and sometimes horrific. The world, as seen with Christ’s vision, is peaceful, lovely, and holy. We see what is within our own minds, always. The forgiven world is a reflection of a mind that has forgiven it, that is all. The world can appear different at different times and in different lights because it is not real and thus can shift and change. Even the real world is not real, but the world forgiven reflects that which is real.
The World Is What We Make of It
When I was about 15 or 16, I fell off my bike and knocked out a front tooth, and have had a partial ever since. It is just a piece of plastic with a couple of teeth on it, and over the years, I have had to replace it a couple of times when it broke. The other day it broke again. In the past, when I had to go without it for the two weeks or so that it took to get a new one made, I would be very upset. This time when it happened, I had a moment of being upset, and then I was back at peace. I instantly forgave the idea that this was an upsetting event. It happened without conscious thought because I have made a habit of thinking like this. The world is what we make of it with our beliefs.
More recently, I had an opportunity to choose how I would see my life.
I live very close to several chemical plants. This past weekend, one of them had an explosion and fire. There was thick black smoke rising high into the air. I didn’t hear sirens indicating we should shelter in place but still, I wondered if I should evacuate. Instead, I went for my morning walk at the Rec Center, and while there, a shelter-in-place was announced.
I didn’t want to shelter in place at my house, so I just left town for a while. I did some shopping in a nearby town and did other errands. I had planned to use some rare free time to catch up on paperwork, but that wasn’t going to happen. Eventually, I returned home since there were no additional warnings, and I didn’t feel inner guidance to do otherwise.
In the past, if this had happened, I would be telling you a different story.
I would talk about my fear and worry. Thoughts about what would happen if the fire spread would have me a nervous wreck. People could die. If the fire spread and ignited elsewhere, explosions could be strong enough that maybe my house would be destroyed. I would tell you how upsetting this thought was.
I would be distressed that I could be catching up on my work if this had not happened and who knew when I would have another chunk of free time like I did today. But I am not talking about that because it was a peaceful experience for me. I knew that those things could happen, but I wasn’t upset at the thought. I just did what was available for me to do until I decided to go home. This is the difference between the experience of a forgiven world and the world as I used to experience it.
These sentences really caught my attention.
“Christ’s vision looks through me today. 2 His sight shows me all things forgiven and at peace, and offers this same vision to the world.”
They remind me that I am not the originator of Christ’s vision. I don’t make this happen. I don’t learn something that makes this possible. My part is to desire Christ’s vision more than I desire my personal vision based on my perceptions.
I love the second paragraph. It makes my heart sing to think of it. My holiness is complete when I forgive the idea of a world outside God, and I forgive the idea that I could be separate from my Father or from my brothers. At that point, the memory of God will return to me. Getting closer every day.
Regina’s Tips
You’ve already been asked to describe the world as you see it today. When you do that, please describe the people in the world as you see them. Describe yourself as you see yourself. Describe your financial situation as you see it, your pets as you see them, etcetera. Really look around today, and describe what you see as you see it.
Each time you write down a description, follow it up by remembering today’s workbook lesson, “This is a day of stillness and peace.” Let today’s lesson remind you that a still mind sees the world through peace. Accept in your heart that if you see anything that is upsetting, stressful, fearful, or agitating to you, it is because of something you believe in the mind. If you are upset at that moment, take a deep breath and repeat these lines from the prayer in today’s lesson:
Father, guide [me] along the quiet path that leads to You. Let my forgiveness be complete, and let the memory of You return to me.
My Thoughts
I used to value the adrenaline rush of righteous anger and feeling like I was right and you were wrong. And the adrenaline high of being better than the other person at what I do. And the drama of being sad and imposed upon; the many ways the world victimized me. I seemed at times to place great value on being in control and on defending myself from attacks.
Slowly I learned to see that these things did not hold value for me. One at a time, as I noticed them, I asked the Holy Spirit to reinterpret them and help me to see them differently. He told me to enjoy the sunset, then let it go. If I never see another, it does not matter. It has no value in itself; it is only an idea. He told me that all things I enjoy in the world are fleeting and will leave me wanting if I hold tightly to them if I imbue them with the power to gladden or to sadden.
Things do not make me happy or sad; I make me happy or sad.
I am not a victim of anything, not even my own thoughts, because their effects do not rule me. I am free to experience whatever seems to be happening in any way I choose. I suffer from the world because I place value on the world. The only thing of value is my relationship with God.
I continue to offer the Holy Spirit my thoughts, and He continues to teach me the same lesson. I understand. Everything is the same. Everything is an idea. The idea is either true or untrue. The Holy Spirit will discern this for me. I can accept the true ideas, and I can reject the false ones by relinquishing the value I placed on them. As I do this, I begin to see the world differently.
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 291 click here.
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