Lesson 221
Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still.
Father, I come to You today to seek the peace that You alone can give. I come in silence. In the quiet of my heart, the deep recesses of my mind, I wait and listen for Your Voice. My Father, speak to me today. I come to hear Your Voice in silence and in certainty and love, sure You will hear my call and answer me.
Now do we wait in quiet. God is here, because we wait together. I am sure that He will speak to you, and you will hear. Accept my confidence, for it is yours. Our minds are joined. We wait with one intent; to hear our Father’s answer to our call, to let our thoughts be still and find His peace, to hear Him speak to us of what we are, and to reveal Himself unto His Son.
Initial Insight: I can’t think of a more perfect prayer than the first paragraph of this lesson. It speaks of the deep love I have for my Father, and the love He has for me. It speaks of the silence that allows me to experience His Love and His Thoughts. Most importantly, it speaks of the certainty that we are in communion.
When I have laid aside the toys of this world and have left all distractions behind, I will be clear and will hear only my beloved Father. In the meantime, I will begin my day with the practice of putting it all away for just a few brief moments at a time, allowing myself to experience the joy of doing so. In this way, I am encouraged and motivated to spend the rest of the day in forgiveness of all ego things that stand between salvation and me.
Daily Application: I had to sit and cry a while after reading this. In fact, I had to stop and cry every few sentences. I feel so much gratitude and love that I don’t know what to write. I want to ask everyone to join me in this prayer, this holy intention, just because I love everyone so much and I want them to feel what I feel.
I listened to David Hoffmeister read this as an introduction to my meditation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MkyLBc90GA&t=21m48s
Insights from Jesus: Me: Jesus, I thank you for your certainty and for your willingness to wait with me as I learn to commune with my Creator, my Father. I take great comfort from knowing I am not alone and that, as you promised, you are with me always.
Jesus: My friend, I love you. You are on your path and together we walk to God. It is true that I am with you always, and you can know this with certainty. I know you, and I know you still find the practice of silence to be a chore, but I also know that your commitment to awakening is sincere. As has happened in other areas of your life, you will find that as you practice, the difficulty will fall away and it will be as if it had always been easy. As you sit with God, think of me sitting with you. Doing anything with a friend is easier and more joyful than doing it alone.
Gratitude: I will do that, Jesus. It makes me happy to just think of it.
Regina’s Tips
Today we begin Part II of A Course in Miracles Workbook for Students. In the Introduction to Part II, we are told, “Words will mean little now. … For now we seek direct experience of truth alone. The lessons that remain are merely introductions to the times in which we leave the world of pain, and go to enter peace. … For we wait in quiet expectation for our God and Father. He has promised He will take the final step Himself. And we are sure His promises are kept.”
In other words, the workbook lessons prepare us for meditation. They prepare our minds and hearts for sitting in awareness-watching-awareness.
I have always found it helpful to spend time in contemplation (which often includes writing) before going to meditation. Lately, “tip” writing has been that time for me. Previously, it may have been contemplating something from Awakening Together’s Minister Preparation Program (MPP), the Seven Steps to Awakening, or something else. A period of contemplation followed by meditation is the recommendation for all of us now.
The Introduction also says, “We will not consider time a matter of duration now. We will use as much as we will need for the result that we desire.”
Each one must find the time he/she needs for adequate contemplation and meditation.
What is “adequate?” Whatever time it takes to realize genuine wisdom and/or shifts each day.
I contemplate until contemplation feels complete, which means I have received my “daily bread.” And then I meditate for as long as the day will allow, meaning I meditate until I need to move into my workday. For me, the total time spent in contemplation and meditation is typically 3 – 4 hours per day. To do this, I get up at 5am each day. When I was a new student, I typically spent 60-90 minutes per day in focused spiritual time. As you can see, my focused time has increased over time.
Now our format for the workbook lessons is this:
1 – Each day read and contemplate the “special theme” that we are currently working with. The first one is, “What is Forgiveness?”
2 – Contemplate the day’s workbook lesson.
3 – Spend time in meditation.
4 – Recall the day’s workbook lesson hourly.
5 – Spend at least a brief time with the workbook lesson and/or meditation before going to bed at night.
Instead of writing a tip for our first special theme, “What is Forgiveness,” I invite you to listen to an audio on that theme. If you cannot listen this morning, listen later in the day, in the evening before going to bed or within the next day or two.
Please take time this morning to read, “What is Forgiveness,” to contemplate Lesson 221, and to spend time in meditation. If you have 30-minutes for meditation and would like a gentle audio to guide you, I recommend this meditation by Michael Langford and Karen Worth: