Lesson 346
Today the peace of God envelops me,
And I forget all things except His Love.
Father, I wake today with miracles correcting my perception of all things. And so begins the day I share with You as I will share eternity, for time has stepped aside today. I do not seek the things of time, and so I will not look upon them. What I seek today transcends all laws of time and things perceived in time. I would forget all things except Your Love. I would abide in You, and know no laws except Your law of love. And I would find the peace which You created for Your Son, forgetting all the foolish toys I made as I bedded Your glory and my own” (ACIM Lesson 346 1:1-7).
Sometimes it is tough to remember that peace surrounds us always. Often, peace can seem like the last choice possible or as if it is not even a choice at all. It can seem like we are enveloped by anything but Her Love. Those are the times we are called to abide in the deepest simplicity of love. Yet that too can feel like it isn’t real in certain moments. However, nothing could be more True, as the miracle of peace and love are gifted to us always. Thus, how do we get there? How do we get to that place where we remember only Her Love? Those are questions that hold our heart’s truest desire, to return back to the Love of God.
There is the adage, “The proof is in the pudding,” it is to say that the proof is in the living breathing human experience. Sometimes the innocent heart doesn’t like the sound of having to go too deep into the insane, unreliable human tendencies, as it can be a dark place. Yet, I dare say that on a spiritual journey, “The peace is in the pudding,” it is in the patience we have for our human heart who dares to journey Home. It is in the experience of Love, not the love of man, but love of one’s Self.
“And when the evening comes today, we will remember nothing but the peace of God. For we will learn today what peace is ours, when we forget all things except God’s Love” (ACIM Lesson 346 2:1-2).
I wish I could give each one of you the exact words to say to bring you right back to peace. Yes, I could give you words but those words at some point would be sure to fail. The magic of any words, mantras, rituals, or spiritual voodoo, albeit serving a helpful purpose time to time, is sure to come to an unsuccessful halt, as The Way is more simple and pure than that. Still often we don’t want to go that Way, as we can find the “too simple” to be “too difficult.” It is easy to say, “Follow Love’s Presence,” but the heart can be confused when it only feels the lack of love rather than the abundance of.
Our vulnerable hearts hurt the most when we feel the lack of love from others, even those closest to us. As empathic beings of Light, we are all sensitive to feeling the closed heart of another. We are highly in tune to the flow of energy we give the world and can quickly feel when that energy is not reciprocated. It can feel like we are doing something wrong and as if we are knocking on a closed-door. It can seem most hurtful because we are innocently just trying to love and isn’t love supposed to create more love? Yes, it is. But seeking for the love in the outer world, especially in an outer world that my not be ready for such love, is not where we will find the law of love God has created for us. The love and peace we are searching for can only be found in the place with the least distractions, in the silence of one’s own heart. Thus what is the remedy? What is the Way? It is stillness. It is feeling unpeaceful until we do feel peaceful. It is loving ourselves even when it hurts and for as long as it hurts, crying until we can cry no more. It is the unrelenting commitment to the simplicity of God’s Will and the devotion to our innocent hearts.
If you want to transcend time and abide in the One True Law, you must do it in all moments: the moments that hurt, the moments that feel good, and the ones in between. I encourage you when you the least like love or peace, to muster up the courage to be still and love your sweet innocent heart. Come back to the place where love never changes and where it always knows your name, Innocence. The most peaceful place we can find is often right behind our suffering, if we patiently love our suffering until it releases its prisoner of peace. Finally, how do we return to Love? With Love. And if that doesn’t work, with more Love. And more Love. And more Love. Namaste.
