Part 1 Undoing the Way We See Things Now
REVIEW VI
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
Lesson 208
- (188) The peace of God is shining in me now.
I will be still and let the earth be still along with me. And in that stillness, we will find the peace of God. It is within my heart, which witnesses to God Himself.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.[1]
Notes and Personal Application: Our devotions today start with Review Six’s theme: I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. We will meditate upon this theme, remembering who and what we really are – we are everlasting, we are forever, the world is not our home, the body does not confine us or define us!
As we review Lesson 188, we experience the peace of God shining in us – now. We do not have to wait until we get to Heaven. We do not have to wait until God’s Kingdom come, God’s Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We have God’s peace and it is shining in us right now, this instant. We do not have to seek the light of God’s peace because it was born into each one of us. Jesus tells us in Lesson 188, we can never lose our light – it will lead us back to where we belong.
The peace of God shines out from us and touches everyone and everything around the world. It stops to caress every living thing, Jesus tells us in paragraph three of our lesson. It leaves a blessing that remains forever. It renews our hearts and lights up the way. When we recognize the peace of God within us, we cannot keep it to ourselves. We must bless others – quietly and without making a show of ourselves, we no longer curse, we no longer speak ill or hold grudges, we bless all we see because there is nothing else we can do when we realize what the peace of God is, what it means, and how precious and priceless and irreplaceable it is.
This morning while I was watering the drooping, thirsty sunflowers I paused for several moments just to reflect upon the peace of God. Buzzing bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbird moths sipping the nectar from the flowers and it blessed me beyond measure to see them enjoying the patch of beautiful yellow-orange and brown faces. It was hot, quiet morning and when I was finished watering the gardens and harvesting some tomatoes and zucchinis, I stretched out on the hammock and closed my eyes.
The words from Lesson 188 came back to me, The peace of God is shining in me now. Let all things shine upon me in that peace and let me bless them with the light in me. I thought about how relaxing it was to water the garden, to take each plant and give it a long, cool drink from the well. To watch them perk up before my eyes, to thank me with their beauty and bounty. Each plant brings forth its fruit its own unique way – the purple and white flower on the eggplants, the pale green outer leaves around the firm core on the cabbages, the pretty white flowers on the red pepper plants. I was transfixed for several moments, aware of the peace of God, the peace of God in me and coming from me. It was as if all my thoughts lined up with love and peace and joy. It was as if for that bit of timelessness there was nothing in or on my mind but gentle kindness and a deep gratitude.
I was not afraid of the bear that lives in the woods. I was not afraid of the draught. I was not afraid that someone would see me laying on my hammock and call me lazy and useless. My thoughts were not on any kind of trouble, worry, or care. When I opened my eyes, all I could see was the pattern of the leaves and the limbs against the puffy white clouds and the light blue sky. This is peace. And it shines in all of us when we grow still and let the world grow still around us.
Go with peace today. Be quiet with it. Be still and shine it on your world.
[1] A Course in Miracles. Workbook for Students. Lesson 208. Foundation for Inner Peace, Second Edition, (1992).
Audio credit: http://www.eckiefriar.com
the friar patch 