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Lesson 34 2026

I could see peace instead of this.
1. The idea for today begins to describe the conditions that prevail in the other way of seeing. ²Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. ³It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. ⁴It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.
⁴I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety or worry [or my thoughts about this situation, personality or event] with peace. (ACIM, W-34)
2025
Here is what I wrote last year.
This lesson came along at the perfect time! I woke up feeling strangely anxious and didn’t know why at first. Then I remembered. So here is what happened. Yesterday, while shopping for groceries, I picked up some cookies for my son. I noticed some sugar-free cookies, and since I don’t eat sugar, I thought about buying some for myself.
I looked them over carefully. They were sweetened artificially, and I am careful to keep the amount of those sweeteners to a minimum. I decided that I would get a package of them and eat two of them a day when I wanted something sweet. Then, on my way home, I ate half the package of cookies. Well, so much for that plan.
The problem was not that I bought cookies or that I didn’t stop with two. The problem was that I felt guilty. I felt afraid of my own out-of-control behavior. But I decided that this was just the kind of thing to use yesterday’s lesson with. So, I reminded myself that there was another way of looking at this and went on to bed, thinking I was done with the problem.
This morning, I discovered I was not done with it. When I looked at the lesson for the day, I felt immediate relief. Oh yeah, I could have peace instead of this. Just reminding myself of that truth was enough to lift the dark cloud of guilt from my mind. I chose to buy cookies and to eat them. I chose to feel guilty about that. Now, I will make a better choice, a choice for peace.
The cookie drama (or comedy) is just another episode of “The Life of Myron” and is not important in itself. But the choice to be anxious or at peace is important. Each time I make that choice, I move toward God or toward ego. That is why it is important. And each time I decide for God, I am teaching myself that peace is what I want. Having done this for a long time now, I generally find it easy to choose peace. Making the choice for peace repeatedly is why it is easy for me now.
2026
I have found more significant issues to disturb my peace this year than eating too many cookies. But is that really true? I think not. If my peace is disturbed then it is disturbed. One cannot be in a little peace or a lot of peace. If an issue feels more significant that another it is because I told myself a story that made it seem that way. Jesus has told us that there is no hierarchy in illusions. One is not bigger or worse or better than another. It is truth or it is an illusion. If it is an illusion, it is not reality, and I can choose peace instead.
It is that simple even if we make it feel hard by desiring the illusion to remain in place. Sometimes, it is enough to remind myself that I am deliberately choosing to give up my peace over something that is unreal. That fact may snap me out of my delusion. Sometimes, I get caught in the story for a time and listen to the ego enumerate the reasons this is an exception and point out the ‘obvious’ reasons I need to keep being upset. But these days, I don’t value the drama like I used to. Nor do I see the point in worrying or being angry. My moods don’t create change in what is happening. They just cause me distress and keep me feeling separate.
Here is something Jesus tells us in the section of the Course called The Circle of Atonement.
⁵Your only calling here is to devote yourself, with active willingness, to the denial of guilt in all its forms.  T-14.V. 3
This is all I am asked to do – deny guilt in all its forms, and judgment is one of its forms. If I judge people or situations as not preferred, I believe that something is guilty of robbing me of my peace. Maybe I also think I am guilty of thinking I could be a victim. If I think someone is hurting themselves with their behavior and I wish they would stop, I think they are guilty.
These guilt thoughts can be subtle and masked as love or caring. But my only calling here is to devote myself with ACTIVE willingness to the denial of guilt in all its forms. And when I actively choose not to fall for the ego subterfuge, to choose peace in all situations, I am devoting myself to my calling. Just making that decision for the day brings me to peace and remembering throughout the day keeps me in peace.
The bottom line for me is that peace doesn’t just happen, nor do I just somehow lose it. Peace is a choice. It is a decision I make. Today, I remind myself that peace is always available, because it was never taken from me—only postponed by my own decision.
Video: https://youtu.be/GrHKGH4aee8

© 2026, Pathways of Light. https://dev.pathwaysoflight.org
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Posted by Rev. Myron Jones.

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