Ask: Is it true that there is a peace sweeter than I can imagine?

“Is it true, as the Course promises, that there is a peace sweeter than the peace I image will be mine when I become financially debt free? Because I can't seem to let that go. I fantasize about being debt free and the peace that washes over me is palpable. But it doesn't last. And the peace of God seems just as elusive. I've been studying the Course for about a year and I love the teachings but can't get past this.” – T

            Oh, yes, there is a Peace so broad and so deep that there is no correlation to It in your experience of the self and its world. What you imagine you will feel when you are debt free is only the teensiest, weensiest taste of It. No, it’s not even that. What you imagine is a peace that comes from the fulfilling of a lack. That’s really just temporary satisfaction. The Peace of God (True Being) is far beyond that. It is a Wholeness so complete that lack does not exist There even as an idea.
            If A Course in Miracles is your first foray into opening to Truth then a year in is just the barest beginning. If you started with some other teaching, or just have had an awareness of Truth in some other way, then you may be further along, but still at the beginning. It will get harder before it gets easier because you have to grow your awareness of Truth, grow your trust in Truth, and work out your obstacles to Truth. And of course all of these have yet to happen when you have just begun!

            Peace will come rarely for a long while. Then it will come more often. And then finally it will come to stay in your awareness. It’s a process and if you can accept that, and if you can accept that you will be uncomfortable for a while, it will be not-quite-so-hard. There’s no sugar-coating this. Looking into a mind that you fear, calling on a Truth that you fear, taking responsibility for a mind that you are used to passively letting the ego run for you, questioning and releasing deep-seated and sometimes cherished beliefs, learning to approach the world from a perspective that is sometimes180 degrees from the way that you look at it now – that’s no small feat! It takes time and patience. But you will find peace in the process and in the end peace will be all that you have.

>>>>>
Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace, and Releasing Guilt for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.

If you have a question the answer to which you think will help others send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog.

Comments

will said…
I'll share a story with you. My whole working life I lived paycheck to paycheck. In my 30's due to circumstances I had to file bankruptcy which was a real low point in my life. Not only could I not figure out how to make more money but I lost all chance of having credit. I'm 63 now and for the rest of my life I lived pretty much debt free. The bankruptcy had big effect on me. About two years ago I inherited some money. It's not a million dollars or anything but to me it is because I've never had any money. I am very grateful for the turn of events and I try to respect the money I was given. But it didn't make the slightest difference to the brain, the ego. In fact after I got the money the ego attack escalated. Ever since I have become aware of the ego, since starting the Course, when something good happens look out. The last thing in the world I am is ungrateful or complaining. I am extremely fortunate but here on the blog where we are talking about the ego and its tricks, it's just another day.
10:32 AM
Aleta said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
10:51 AM
Aleta said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
11:19 AM
will said…
I think I should say that my inner peace and communication with the Holy Spirit is pretty good (for me) and I can look at the ego and see it as a separate entity, but this doesn't stop it from doing what it has always done. I think the change for me since doing the Course may not be so much peace of mind but that my fear has dropped away from what it once was. The awareness of the change in the level of fear isn't so much in my head as in my gut if that makes sense.
11:21 AM
will said…
Aleta I got your comment on my email and it was a good one.
11:21 AM
Aleta said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
11:22 AM
Normand Bourque said…
Dear Liz, this is a wonderful, awesome comment. In a nutshell, you expose all what one is going through on his/her quest to the Oneness of Truth. No sugar-coating, sporadic peace... You go higher and higher to go deeper and deeper. What seems a "fall into hell" is just a test that we administer to oulself to push our growth further.

In a more global perspective, I would like to thank you, Liz, for your inestimable contribution to make A COURSE IN MIRACLES known to a larger public by putting it in plain language. Being myself a non-native speaker of English (I am French Canadian), even if I could understand over 95% of the TEXT, there is a 5% (which represents a good 35 pages or so) where I needed this translation in plain language.

And I can easily imagine that for you, translating ACIM in plain language must have been a very gratifying challenge. You did a great, great, great job.

Thank you so much.

Normand Bourque
www.wordsbeyond.us
6:55 PM
ACIM Mentor said…
Bienvenu, Normand.
10:10 AM
Anonymous said…
Exactly. This includes relationships with some people as well as situations with them get miraculously changed where the only debt/amend you owe is to yourself, i.e. getting happy beyond your wildest dreams where nothing but self actualization and Pure Love exists.
4:45 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Committed to the Spiritual Process

If you’ve been reading my blog/newsletter for the past few weeks then you know significant things have occurred in the life of this mind. Four years ago the ego (personal thought system) fell away. I didn’t realize it fully and I spent three and a half years personally in a rather barren place in this mind, though there was peace in the rest of my mind. I did feel done with the world, but I didn’t know what that meant. I just stayed with the feeling, wondering what would come next. The next thing arrived in this mind last summer with a subtle shift from emptiness to a delicious Spaciousness. This was followed by beautiful Golden Light, Love, and Joy filling the Space. Bewilderingly, an effect of this was a romance novel! From there, the Light and the shifts continued. During this time a client in Australia whom I have called Zelda in these articles, but whose real name is Hannah, became a friend as well. We grew closer over several months and began to experience a lot of sync...
Read more

Ask: What is meant by "extend Love"?

I wonder exactly what is meant by "extend love" or how one extends love. Is it a loving intention toward the person, or a wish for them, or what? Can you give an example? – JO “Extending love” means replacing unloving thoughts in your mind with the awareness of Love in your mind. For example, your peace of mind is disturbed while watching something on television. Your peace is gone because you believe that what you see is reality. You extend Love in this situation by turning inward to Truth (God), feeling Love’s Presence within you, and remembering that It, not the images appearing, is What is Real. It may take you a while to accept that only your own thoughts cause you pain. So at first you may feel that you need to extend Love “out there” to the images that seem to be causing you pain. Or you may extend Love to another who is sharing their painful story with you. You can do this by imagining the situation or the person in a Loving Light. Or you may use some other image to ...
Read more

Evolving Practice with ACIM

           The Course was dictated to two who had a sense of Spirit working in their lives. After all, they were taking down the Course itself! The Universal Christ Mind sought to develop and grow their awareness of Spirit through the lessons in the Workbook as well as simply in discussion with them, privately and through the Course . And for those who find the Course and already have an awareness of Spirit, even if only dimly, the Course functions in the same way. Through the practice suggested, they develop their trust in Spirit. But for many who come to the Course , the discernment of Spirit within has not yet occurred. For them, practice is the means of opening to the awareness and experience of Spirit. Those who do not understand this often feel frustrated and even angry with the Course for suggesting that they should be having experiences that they do not yet have. They feel that they fall short when they read the instructions and descriptions ...
Read more