Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Lesson 351: “My sinless brother is my guide to peace. My sinful brother is my guide to pain. And which I choose to see I will behold.”
The Course teaches us that the way to inner peace is to take away the conflict within. When I deem anyone as an enemy because of their perceived flaws this automatically creates a feeling of being conflicted. The Course teaches us that we have to be able to accept and forgive all we see. This level of commitment to forgiveness results in our perfect state of equanimity.
When we forgive we see that whatever other people are doing may be seen as grievous but the truth is in the laws of God, this is all perfect as it is. Our job is to let it be a lovable situation and know that there is nothing that could happen that is beyond our forgiveness. The power of the energy that forgiveness creates is so far beyond the intensity of joy that we previously knew. We have to come to the conclusion that everyone is lovable.
And in knowing this, take great peace in the knowing we can join with our brothers and sisters exactly as they are. And when we let go of our attachment to the pain of attack stemming from our relationship with others, then we will at last come to the terms that we don’t have to battle with anyone because the love between us is harmonious and healthy.
We may have moments of needing to set boundaries with those with whom we associate. But while we make healthier our connection from the identification and articulation of our needs then we will be very deeply happy within our relationships with all others. When the relationship is an appropriate dose of a little negotiation emotionally and practically then we will be at peace within it because we speak our truth. We also care for what is important to us, and while we meet that connection this way we also bring the truest love we know.
In this lifetime, I am especially sensitive to my own emotional state. I was never able to just pretend like it didn’t matter or minimize the impact of my emotional state on my day to day life. I grew up living in a lot of emotional pain. I am aware that our emotional lives are often the assured determiner of what kind of day we have. We need to not play games with our minds, but pay close attention to the way pain gets us at our very core. Let’s not stress about this. Let’s see it as it is and gain God’s emotional tools to find a way out of insanity.