I can save myself the agony of bitter disappointments, bleak despair, icy hopelessness and doubt. I will not seek for Peace from a world of madness. Unless I want more misery and pain, I will stop my restless searching in a world of insanity.
This is the final point to which I must come: to lay aside all hope of finding Happiness where there is none.....looking for salvation in what can only hurt me....making Peace of chaos, Joy of pain, and Heaven out of hell. I will stop trying to win through losing, in a world that was created to show me "loss." I will not look to death to give me an appreciation for Life. When I look to anything of the world of dreams to satisfy me in any way......I ask for defeat. The world of dreams was imagined by me when I had the thought: 'what would it be like without God?' I created it to show me a world without the aspects and attributes of God.....the "opposite" of Heaven. It is in this fantasy-world that I now find myself.
My Reality is a Place of Love, Happiness and Eternal Life in a Peace that has no end. When I ask for Reality, I can only win. To ask for Reality is to ask for what is already mine, so I must succeed. To ask that what is false (a world of dreams) be True, can only fail. I must forgive myself for dreams of madness; for trying to imagine what could never be. What could be more foolish than to search over and over for hell, when all I need do is look with open eyes to find Heaven through a door that opens easily to welcome me?
God calls me Home. I have not found lasting and complete Happiness is a world of madness where "life" always ends in death, "peace" is follow closely by restlessness and "joy" often turns to sorrow. Though I try to make this world meaningful, it can never be. This world is not where I belong. I am a stranger here.
The means have been given me to see the world of dreams differently, until I need it no longer and it disappears. I will be bound to the world of madness until I see it through the eyes of forgiveness. I think my thoughts have no effects, but it is my very thoughts that keep me in prison. Changing my thoughts is the only thing that will Awaken me to my Reality in Heaven with God. Thoughts are the only things that matter. Thought is the only thing that is Real when I think with the Thoughts of God.
I will change my mind about the purpose of the world and give it a blessed purpose with one goal: forgive everyone and everything, and realize it is all a dream. Today, I bring my thoughts in line with the Thoughts of God with the reflections of Truth offered in ACIM.
What does forgiveness do? In Truth it has no function and does nothing. Forgiveness is unknown in Heaven. It is only hell where forgiveness is needed and where it must serve a mighty function. It helps God's Own Beloved Son escape from insane dreams; dreams that the Son believes are Real.
Peace is the bridge I cross to leave this world behind. Peace begins in the world of dreams when I perceive the world with the function of forgiveness. This fresh perspective will lead directly to the Gate of Heaven and the Way Beyond. Peace is the answer to conflicting goals, senseless journeys, frantic pursuits, and meaningless endeavors.
Now my way will be easy; gently sloping toward the bridge where Freedom lies within the Peace of God. I will not lose my way. The Path to Heaven is easy and straight. Only if I attempt to wander can there be delay and needless wasted time. God alone is Sure. He, Himself, will guide my footsteps. The Father calls; the Son will hear. That is all there is to what appears to be a world "apart from" God.
Now I rest in Silence. I will search no further. I came to a place where the road was carpeted with leaves of false desires, fallen from the trees of hopelesness. Yet my path is made clear now and I can see a different road to choose. Peace is recognized at last. I can feel its soft embrace surround my heart and mind with Comfort and Love.
Peace, Love, and Joy cannot be found in a world of dreams. I have found a simple, happy way to leave the world of madness by replacing my shifting goals and solitary dreams with a single purpose and the Companionship of Heaven. Peace is Union if it is of God. I need seek no further to calm my restless soul. I am close to Home and draw nearer each time I think on the words that reflect Truth. There is no peace except the Peace of God. And I am glad and thankful that it is so.
"There is no Peace except the Peace of God."
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