For morning and evening review: W-105 and W-106
1. W-105 “God’s Peace and Joy are mine.” I
²Today I will accept God’s Peace and Joy in place of all the substitutes I have made for happiness and peace.
2. W-106 “Let me be still and listen to the truth.”
²Let my own weak voice be quiet now, and let me hear the mighty Voice of Truth Itself assuring me that I am God’s perfect Son.
3. On the hour:
²“God’s Peace and Joy are mine.”
4. On the half hour:
²“Let me be still and listen to the truth.” II
I The peace and joy of God are mine.
No.
The peace and joy of God are not something that belongs to me. Rather, they are what I am.
I am the peace and joy of God. I am made of that. That is my substance—the only reality in me. It is not something I possess, but what I essentially am.
When you read this Course, try to remove the possessives and shift the statements to the level of being. You will see how that represents a step up in understanding. The Course, in many passages, uses language adapted to those who are just beginning. Jesus speaks to us as to little children—with tenderness, but also with simplicity.
However, when one has walked some distance, one can allow oneself to look from a higher level. Instead of “The peace and joy of God are mine,” we can clearly affirm: I am the peace and joy of God.
Just as before we said I am spirit, now we can say: I am peace and joy. That is the substance of my being.
II This is one of the most beautiful and profound exercises. The invitation is simple, yet powerful: to allow the weak voice of the ego to be silenced so that truth may speak.
Each day, find a moment—no matter when or how—to become still and listen. There is no need to plan it. In the midst of whatever you are doing, if you feel the impulse, simply stop for an instant and say:
“Now I become still and listen.”
It does not matter if you are busy, if there is noise, if you are between tasks. Be spiritually ambitious—grant yourself the best. And the best you can reach in this world is that instant of receptive silence, that moment in which you decide to open yourself to the Word of God.
The experience comes when you quiet the mind—or, rather, when you desire to quiet it. The only thing needed is the sincere wish to enter silence, to be answered.
You don’t even need to achieve it fully. It is enough to truly want it.
And do not expect it to be something long or extraordinary. Sometimes half a second is enough. But that half second contains everything. It is not a matter of quantity, for what is experienced there has a timeless quality. It is, literally, a fragment of eternity.
All the confusion that reigns in this world comes from the strange idea that there is something here to decide, and that such a decision belongs to you. The world imposes upon you the task of constantly deciding about matters and among options of which, in truth, you know absolutely nothing. That confuses you, creates doubts, anxieties, and an extreme sense of insecurity. You feel stressed and overwhelmed by such responsibility, which is very understandable.
In truth, there is nothing to decide. God already made the only possible decision when He created you. God decided that you would be happy. That was, is, and will be His Will forever, and it is unalterable and impossible to contradict.
Be still, listen to the truth, and understand your reality. You are Love created by Love Itself. God’s Peace and Joy are yours. That is unchangeable for all eternity. But you are also free: you can believe whatever you please, though you cannot make your imaginings true.
Everything that departs from God’s Will does not exist, and the awareness of what is nothing—the absence of love—you find fearful and call fear. God does not know that, because it is not true and does not exist, but you are amusing yourself with your absurd beliefs and asking for the impossible. You are deciding that you do not want to be happy—but that, besides being absurd, is not optional.
Why don’t you quiet yourself a little, listen to the truth, and stop contradicting God? Stop deciding, be happy, and give your happiness to others through your love. You need do nothing more to fulfill your function.
Is that asking too much?