I could see peace instead of this.I
1. Today’s idea begins to describe the conditions that prevail in the other way of seeing.
²Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter.
³It must begin with your own thoughts and then extend outward.
⁴A peaceful perception of the world arises from a peaceful mind.II
2. Three longer practice periods are required for today’s exercises.
²One is recommended in the morning, another in the evening, and a third at whatever time seems most suitable between the two.
³All applications should be made with your eyes closed.
⁴Today’s idea applies to your inner world.
3. Each longer session requires about five minutes of mind searching.
²Search your mind for thoughts of fear, situations that cause anxiety, people you find “offensive,” or anything else about which you are harboring unloving thoughts.
³As you see each one arise in your mind, observe it without emphasizing any particular one while you repeat today’s idea slowly, allowing each to be replaced by the next.
⁴If you begin to have difficulty thinking of specific subjects, simply continue repeating the idea silently, without hurrying and without applying it to anything in particular.
⁵Be sure, however, not to exclude anything intentionally.
4. Shorter applications should be frequent and made whenever you feel your peace of mind is threatened in any way.
²The aim is to protect yourself from temptation throughout the day.
³If a specific form of temptation arises in your awareness, use the exercise in this way:
⁴I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.
⁵If the attacks on your peace of mind take the form of more general adverse emotions—such as depression, anxiety, or vague uneasiness—use the idea in its original form.III
5. If you find that more than one application of today’s idea is needed to help you shift your mind in any specific context, try to take a few minutes and devote them to repeating the idea until you feel some sense of relief.
²It may be helpful to say to yourself:
³I can replace my feelings of depression, anxiety, or worry— or my thoughts about this situation or person—with peace.
I Of course you can see peace instead of what you are now seeing! You can see whatever you wish because you can interpret your perception any way you like. But once again—do you really want to see differently? Do you truly want peace? Be completely honest with yourself in answering this question.
Before you do, ask yourself another fundamental question: why are you interpreting your perception in a painful way? Or, more simply: what are you interpreting the situation for? With what purpose?
If you are able to dive into the darkest depths of your mind, you will discover—surprisingly and uncomfortably—that the reason behind your painful interpretations is the “pleasure” you find in them. This idea may scandalize you and you may reject it immediately. Be careful. Look closely. There is nothing you do in your life that is not aimed at seeking pleasure or improving your perceived condition. What happens is that you do not know how to distinguish between pleasure and pain. You are completely confused and, obviously, you do not know what is good for you.
You live your life in a disordered way, guided by your own criteria, and the result is disaster. Yet you find it extremely difficult to renounce those criteria. Your ego has misled you.
You could see peace instead of this, and that truly is to your absolute benefit, because peace belongs to God, just as you do. You are free to go with God’s Laws or against them—you can choose. However, be very honest when you ask yourself what you are actually seeking.
Choose well and choose soon—or not. But remember you have all the power to do with your life whatever you truly want.
II Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter; it depends entirely on you and on the story you choose to tell yourself. Your mental and emotional states are exclusively of your own making.
Repeat the visualization exercise proposed yesterday, but go a little further: sit down, close your eyes, and begin to fantasize, imagining that you are the heroic protagonist of a story in which you bring peace to a conflict situation. Involve yourself in that fantasy in any way that occurs to you and let the story unfold on its own in favorable and benevolent terms. Solve problems in that imaginary world with confidence, and if you do it well, you will end up moved, full of good feelings, and with a certain sense of power. Then, trying to maintain that mental and emotional state, get up and interact with someone close to you in those same terms, bringing them the peace you have developed in your fantasy.
The story you fantasized is an illusion—just as the world you behold when you open your eyes or your brother’s body is. Yet the peace and love you have experienced and are able to transmit to others are absolutely real. Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter and depends on your willingness to have it.
The purpose of this exercise is none other than to make you aware that your peace of mind depends on how you interpret what you perceive. In reality, you do not need to tell yourself fantastic stories to find peace, for it is already within you. But you do need to be willing to listen in your mind to a more benevolent narrative from the Holy Spirit instead of the interpretation your ego suggests. As the teaching says: “I could see peace instead of this.”
III Notice that a vague sense of worry, anxiety, or depression are different degrees of intensity of the same thing: egoic attacks. Panic and deep depressions represent egoic attacks at their maximum, but be certain that every discomfort you feel comes from the ego’s work in your mind.
Depression is a black hole in consciousness that devours the light of your being and plunges you into darkness. Its strong pull arises from an excessive sense of personal importance that reverses the natural, expansive direction of love toward a black inwardness where there is nothing. The experience of that nothingness is profoundly terrifying.
Remember that ego means “I” in Latin, while its opposite is alter, “the other.” Therefore, the opposite of egoism is altruism. Salvation will always be found in your brother; do not look for it in yourself.
Depression is healed by altruism. If you are depressed, stop thinking about yourself. Stop focusing on your unhappiness, your fear, your anguish, or your depression. Do not worry about seeking peace or the salvation of your immortal soul. Forget all that.
What is real in you is in no danger. Your immortal soul is perfectly safe in the Heart of God. Stop feeling important. Forget yourself and try to do something for your brothers. You will soon see how you come out of the darkness.
Invoking peace will certainly help you out of your anxieties and depressions, but bringing peace to others will establish that peace in your mind permanently. Do not doubt it.