June 6th 2014 Lesson 34
I could see peace instead of this.
The idea for today begins to describe the conditions that prevail in the other way of seeing. Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.- Intention: Three longer
practice periods are required for today's exercises, one in the
morning, one at night, and one at any time in between that seem most conducive to readiness. A full five minutes should be devoted to each. All applications should be done with your eyes closed. It is your inner world to which today's exercises are aimed.
- Practice: Search your mind for fear thoughts, anxiety-provoking situations, "offending" personalities or events, or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts. Note them all casually, repeating the idea for today slowly as you watch them arise in your mind, and let each one go, to be replaced by the next.
If you begin to experience difficulty in thinking of specific subjects, continue to repeat the idea to yourself in an unhurried manner, without applying it to anything in particular. Be sure, however, not to make any specific exclusions.
The shorter applications are to be frequent, and made whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way. The purpose is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day. If a specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, the exercise should take this form:I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.
- Application: If you find you need more than one application of today's idea to help you change your mind in any specific context, try to take several minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief. It will hep you if you tell yourself specifically:
I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety or worry [or my thoughts about this situation, personality or event] with peace.
Insights/comments:
- The technique for changing our perceptions is to change what we think about them. The application of today's idea
is how we change the perception we have about a particular situation, real or imagined, by reminding ourselves, through many repetitions, that we can see peace in the situation as it is now, instead of what we are seeing. This subtle change of thinking causes our minds to focus on looking for peace in the situation, instead of conflict or some other negative emotion.
Again, this technique is based on the knowledge that we are the creators of our inner perceptions, which we then project onto the world, thereby making outer perceptions our own inventions as well, and it is because we invented them that we can just as easily change them, simply by thinking about them differently, positively, peacefully.
This is mind training; the act of changing our very thinking so that we change our outer perceptions, thereby giving us full control of our outer experience and a more complete understanding of the concept: “creators of our own reality!” This is exactly like what we do when we look into a mirror and see something that we wish to change. We immediately realize that we need to make an adjustment in our own selves, and when we do, the mirror automatically reflects that change. We can use this mirror metaphor to remind ourselves to “Be the change we wish to see in the world*,” by remembering to: Treat the world as a mirror.
I and my Creator are One. 
*Although this idea is attributed to Gandhi, expressed in the Collected Works of Mohandas Gandhi Vol XII, 1913-1914, Chapter: General Knowledge about Health [-XXXII] Accidents: Snake-bite, page 158, viz: “We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” Its popular concise expression “Be the change you wish to see in the world” actually came from educator Arleen Lorrance’s book chapter The Love Project, which is part of the book: Developing Priorities and a Style: Selected Readings in Education for Teachers and Parents, Editor: Richard Dean Kellough (California State University, Sacramento) Second Edition, 1974 Copyright. On page 85, Lorrance states: “One way to start a preventative program is to be the change you want to see happen. That is the essence and substance of the simple and successful endeavor known as THE LOVE PROJECT.” Lorrance states that the six principles of The Love Project are: 1) Receive all people as beautiful exactly where they are. 2) Perceive problems as opportunities. 3) Be the change you want to see happen instead of trying to change everyone else. 4) Provide others with the opportunity to give. 5) Consciously create your own reality. 6) Have no expectations but, rather, abundant expectancy.
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