ACIM Workbook Lesson 222 – for Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Affirmation: “God is with me. I live and move in Him.”
“[God] is my home, wherein I live and move; the Spirit Which directs my actions, offers me Its Thoughts, and guarantees my safety from all pain.
“Father, we have no words except Your Name upon our lips and in our minds, as we come quietly into Your Presence now, and ask to rest with You in peace a while. (WB402)”
Reflections:
This is a respite from the toil and trouble of this world. The Name of the Father is ineffable, and indeed in the Bible is often not spoken, but only indicated (“Yahweh” is an approximation, not the exact Name of God). When we come into the presence of God, we will often have that quiet reaching for God that is described by the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, a medieval manuscript that is well-recognized in mystical circles. Our longing for God becomes a dart toward Him, and He does respond, except when we are in the Dark Night of the Soul (also a stage in the journey to God through mysticism). The Dark Night of the Soul, coined by St. John of the Cross, is a period in which we try to remain faithful to our knowledge that God loves us, but we feel nothing. Our consolations have departed from us. Mystical writers speculate that God is honing our faith, wanting us to seek Him for Himself alone, and not His consolations.
We rest in God’s peace when we allow the noises of this world to depart. We are so busy! But if we are to have peace, we must find a way to quiet the world. It does not take vast swatches of time. Only a few minutes (Jesus says in the Manual “a minute”) can lead us to rejoin completely with God. We may, on the other hand, waste an hour with eyes closed and accomplish nothing, an idea that is given in the Manual.
If we come quietly, we will be satisfied. The point is to drop everything else from our minds, and to actually come quietly. In this stressful world, this often seems an impossibility. But we must try. And when we truly try, we often succeed in finding quiet–and in finding God in our innermost hearts as a felt Presence.
Prayer:
Dear Father/Mother,
I would be still and quiet today. The world has been too much with me. The difficulties of this world weigh heavily upon my mind; please give me respite from my worries. May I know that all of my brothers and sisters are people who often struggle also. When we reach out to help one another, we are on the way to doing God’s will.
May I soothe myself today even as I reach out to others. May I know that no amount of busyness in this troubled world will be solved unless I become still and quiet on the inside, unless I reach inward to You. Help me to remember, throughout the day, that the greatest blessings are those that are found within, in my mind, heart, and spirit, where You reside.
Amen.
