Lesson 34: I could see peace instead of this

This is one of the most commonly practiced lessons in the workbook. The reason is that it can be used in every single situation in which we’re upset.On the surface, it’s hard to imagine how we could see peace in the midst of a challenging experience - especially if we are clearly being victimized.How could I see peace when this awful thing is happening to me?But what this lesson is teaching us - and these lines are right at the beginning of the lesson - is that “peace of mind is an internal matter. It must begin with your thoughts and then extend outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.”Consider the metaphor of a movie theater. When we’re watching a movie that is particularly well-written, acted, directed, and produced - we get sucked in to the characters and the script. So much so that our emotions resonate with the drama. We totally forget that the real us is sitting in the movie theater.In the same way, we’ve gotten totally sucked in to the drama of what we call life. So much so that we’ve forgotten it is not real. That it’s just a dream.And that’s what the Course means by “I could see peace instead of this.” It’s the recognition that the real me is sitting in the movie theater - so to speak - watching an incredibly engaging movie.As we practice returning to our mind (or, sticking with our metaphor, returning our awareness to the movie theater) - then we can use this helpful lesson any time we’re feeling depressed, anxious, or upset by remembering, “I could see peace instead of this.”https://livebeyondtheillusion.com/acim-lesson-34/Support the show