To gain the most from A Course in Miracles Text Made Simple, we recommend that
you read the corresponding chapter and section in the Text of the Second or
Third Edition of A Course in Miracles published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.
Read ACIM Chapter 11, Section III (pages 198-200)
This morning before I got up, I asked the Holy Spirit about how I could best be of service for the day ahead. The Holy Spirit said, “Let this be a quiet day.” I thought of all the things that needed to be done today and I wondered how quiet it would be with all the activity I anticipated. In response, the Holy Spirit referred to the lake we look out on from our bedroom window. He said, “The surface of the lake is constantly changing. It is never the same. The winds ruffle its surface and it is not always peaceful. But you can go down to the still waters where the quietness is constant. What happens on the surface does not affect the quiet still waters below.”
The Holy Spirit told me to go to the still waters of peace in my mind. It reminded me that the Holy Spirit’s quietness and peace are always available to me if I am willing to go to the quiet place in my mind where peace resides. He reminded me that the quiet waters of peace do not come and go, but are constant. I can go there any time I choose because it is always present right in my mind. Wherever I may go and whatever I may do, God’s quietness and peace go with me because they are still in my mind. The Holy Spirit reminded me that I will still do what needs to be done in this world, but that I can do it from a place of quiet, a place of inner peace.
When I read this section of the Text this morning, right in the first paragraph I found, “God is very quiet, for there is no conflict in Him.” (1:6) From this place of quiet I find comfort. I find rest. From this inner place of quiet I cannot suffer.
As I looked out on the lake this morning, a fish came to the surface and I observed ripples going out gently from that point in every direction. The Holy Spirit told me, “As you come from that quiet place of peace in your mind, it, too, sends out quiet ripples of peace in every direction. This can be your day, no matter what activities you may engage in on the surface.
When I do not remember that constant place of peace that always resides in my mind I can feel like I have lost my bearings. I can feel vulnerable to circumstances that seem to be in a world outside me. I am reminded, “God’s Son is indeed in need of comfort, for he knows not what he does, believing his will is not his own. The Kingdom is his, and yet he wanders homeless.” (2:1-2) Feeling homeless is feeling insecure, unprotected and without roots. This can only come by denying my roots in God. When I am willing to go to that quiet place of peace in my mind, I am returning Home. I am returning to the peace and happiness my Source Wills for me.
In this section Jesus is encouraging us all to go to that quiet place in our minds, where we are at Home in our true state of peace and Love. He reminds us of the benefits that can come to us as we are willing to choose peace. “The bleak little world will vanish into nothingness, and your heart will be so filled with joy that it will leap into Heaven, and into the Presence of God.” (3:5)
When we choose to be in the quiet place of peace in our minds, we are able to see the world differently. Our minds are open to the Light within us and we are able to see with that Light. Fear and grief are shined away as the Light shows us the truth in our brothers. We recognize our oneness with our brothers and the great Light that always surrounds us and shines out from us.
Being willing to go to the still waters of peace in my mind is the same as turning toward the Light. When I turn toward the Light, I am turning away from darkness; I am turning away from separation toward the peace of oneness. Jesus us tells us, “Only God’s Comforter can comfort you. In the quiet of His temple, He waits to give you the peace that is yours.” (7:1-2)
To know that we are in the safety and peace of God’s Mind, we have to let go of the belief in separation. We have to recognize that our brothers are one with us. We must accept that they are Love and nothing else, just as we are. This awareness comes through forgiveness. As we practice taking all our thoughts of separation, fear and guilt to the Holy Spirit for healing, we learn of our Wholeness. We accept the whole Sonship as one with us and know that together we are worthy to dwell in the temple with God. “Time cannot separate you from God if you use it on behalf of the eternal.” (8:5)
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