There is a quote in the book Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels, that says that "the mystery of wood is not that it burns, but that it floats". The author explains that this means that we should focus not on that which destroys something, but on that which saves it. Also in people, we should focus not on their mistakes, as we perceive them, but on their potential for love.
A Course in Miracles teaches that you teach what you think and what you live. If you respond to someone's mistakes by attacking them, you teach only attack. If you respond to their potential for love, you teach them love. You evoke in yourself and others what you choose to see in them. Where you have projected guilt, therefore, you should choose instead to project love. This is the only way to heal the mind and undo the belief in guilt that resides there.
This is why so many of the mystics down the ages have taught forgiveness and harmlessness in one form or another. It is why Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek, and why Buddha taught us not to react blindly to suffering but rather to let it go. ACIM, likewise, teaches that the Holy Spirit corrects errors simply by overlooking them.
To have peace of mind therefore, you must be willing to allow peace of mind to others, and not attack them in any way. If you attack them, your own peace of mind will suffer.
People often respond to this idea with fear. After all, if you forgive and do not attack, how will all the world’s problems be solved? We are constantly waging a "war against" something. There is the war against terror, against poverty, against AIDS . . .
I am here to say that it is not the action in the world that determines your peace of mind, but the reaction in your mind. It is perfectly possible to forgive something and still take practical steps towards its solution. We do not need to have a "war on terror", but we could still have a "movement towards peace".
The difference is in how you think about it, and therefore how you feel. This has practical benefits, besides peace of mind. If you are calm and peaceful you are more rational. You make better decisions. You see the problem more clearly and you do not blindly attack where attack would not even be useful. You will become more effective once you have forgiven the situation as you see it.
So you do not need to fear that forgiveness will lead to inaction. It won't. It will lead to more healthy action.
But beyond all that, it will lead to true inner peace, which is the ultimate goal of spirituality. So next time you are tempted to judge or attack, remember that the mystery of wood is not that it burns, but that if floats.
Teach people that they are love and not anger, and they might just surprise you by learning it.
In Peace,
Igacim
(The School for Inner Peace)
A Course in Miracles teaches that you teach what you think and what you live. If you respond to someone's mistakes by attacking them, you teach only attack. If you respond to their potential for love, you teach them love. You evoke in yourself and others what you choose to see in them. Where you have projected guilt, therefore, you should choose instead to project love. This is the only way to heal the mind and undo the belief in guilt that resides there.
This is why so many of the mystics down the ages have taught forgiveness and harmlessness in one form or another. It is why Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek, and why Buddha taught us not to react blindly to suffering but rather to let it go. ACIM, likewise, teaches that the Holy Spirit corrects errors simply by overlooking them.
To have peace of mind therefore, you must be willing to allow peace of mind to others, and not attack them in any way. If you attack them, your own peace of mind will suffer.
People often respond to this idea with fear. After all, if you forgive and do not attack, how will all the world’s problems be solved? We are constantly waging a "war against" something. There is the war against terror, against poverty, against AIDS . . .
I am here to say that it is not the action in the world that determines your peace of mind, but the reaction in your mind. It is perfectly possible to forgive something and still take practical steps towards its solution. We do not need to have a "war on terror", but we could still have a "movement towards peace".
The difference is in how you think about it, and therefore how you feel. This has practical benefits, besides peace of mind. If you are calm and peaceful you are more rational. You make better decisions. You see the problem more clearly and you do not blindly attack where attack would not even be useful. You will become more effective once you have forgiven the situation as you see it.
So you do not need to fear that forgiveness will lead to inaction. It won't. It will lead to more healthy action.
But beyond all that, it will lead to true inner peace, which is the ultimate goal of spirituality. So next time you are tempted to judge or attack, remember that the mystery of wood is not that it burns, but that if floats.
Teach people that they are love and not anger, and they might just surprise you by learning it.
In Peace,
Igacim
(The School for Inner Peace)
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