The Peace of Christ (Is Not Contingent)

The peace of Christ is not contingent. Thus, our expression of it cannot be contingent either. To the extent I am offering love conditionally, I remain separate from Christ. And since there are no degrees in separation, to be estranged even a little is to be estranged wholly.

The paradox inherent in my practice of A Course in Miracles – which of course reflects my understanding of it – is that I must be simultaneously vigilant and passive. The decision to accept Christ is not made at the level of the brain but at the level of the mind. At that level, Christ is already is accepted. I need to see this, and this all I need to see. Vigilance reminds me of this. Passivity is the acknowledgement that I need do nothing more.

How, then, do I come to see my acceptance of Christ? It is revealed to me through the lens of attention. It is intimated at the level of form – in moonlight, in bluets, in the brook before dawn. Slowly, through my love of these forms, the Love that infuses them dawns on me. The light is revealed in an interior way. I no longer perceive the bluet only, but the very Godness of it.

In that moment, it is no longer about the bluet, nor the one who observes it, but simply the awareness of Love which inheres in all life because all life is God’s Creation. Reduced to words, this resembles an idea, but it happens beyond language. Writing it is a way of remembering, and perhaps a means of leaving notes for those who are seeking it, too.

There is nothing to do but patiently give attention to what appears, to what arises before us. This applies all forms: ideas, flowers, animals, friends, food. Our attention has power in it, and will relate us to awareness, which is effortless and boundless. In awareness, one simply perceives Christ as reality, perceives Christ as Love, perceives the peace that is the natural condition of life. There is no work in it, because there is no fragmentation in it. That is why it is peace and love. That is why it is reality.

Notice when you are attentive and when attention drifts. Notice when you are expressing love in ways that are conditional. These are deviations from love, but there is no virtue in berating ourselves about it. To notice what deviates is to heal it by bringing it back, through attention, to Christ. Find what never changes and identify with it: and learn how lovely you are in eternity.