Welcome to active meditation.
A Course in Miracles,
Lesson 105 God's Peace and Joy are Mine God's Peace and Joy are Yours Today we will accept them knowing they belong to us.
And we will try to understand peace and joy increase as we receive them.
Peace and joy are not like the gifts the world can give,
In which the giver loses as they give the gift.
The taker is richer by the giver's loss.
Such are not gifts,
But bargains made with guilt.
The truly given gift entails no loss.
It is impossible that one can gain because another loses.
This implies a limit and an insufficiency.
No gift is given thus.
Such quote gifts unquote are but a bid for a more valuable return,
A loan with interest to be paid in full,
A temporary lending meant to be a pledge of debt to be repaid with more than was received by the one who took the gift.
This strange distortion of what giving means pervades all levels of the world you see.
It strips all meaning from the gifts you give and leaves you nothing in the gifts you take.
A major learning goal,
This course has set,
Is to reverse your view of giving so you can receive.
Giving has become a source of fear.
And so you would avoid the only means by which you can receive.
Accept God's peace and joy,
And you will learn a different way of looking at a gift.
God's gifts will never lessen when they are given away.
They but increase thereby.
As heaven's peace and joy intensify when you accept them as God's gifts to you,
So does the joy of your Creator grow when you accept God's joy and peace as yours.
True giving is creation.
It extends the limitless to the unlimited.
It extends eternity to timelessness.
It extends love unto itself.
True giving adds to all that is complete already,
Not in simple terms of adding more,
For that implies that it was less before.
True giving adds by letting what cannot contain itself fulfill its aim of giving everything it has away,
Securing it forever for itself.
Today,
Accept God's peace and joy as yours.
Let God be complete,
As God defines completion.
You will understand that what completes God must complete God's child as well.
God cannot give through loss.
No more can you.
Receive God's gifts of joy and peace today,
And God will thank you for your gift to God.
Today,
Our practice periods will start a little differently.
Begin today by thinking of those brothers and sisters who have been denied by you the peace and joy that are their right,
Under the equal laws of God.
Here,
You denied peace and joy to yourself.
Here,
You must return to claim joy and peace as your own.
Think of your enemies a little while,
And tell each one as they occur to you,
Peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.
Thus,
You prepare yourself to recognize God's gifts to you,
And let your mind be free of all that would prevent success today.
Let's practice.
Think of a person with whom you experience disharmony or conflict.
Now,
As you picture them in your mind,
Say to them,
Peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.
Peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.
Now,
Are you ready to accept the gift of peace and joy that God has given you?
Now,
Are you ready to experience the joy and peace you have denied yourself?
Now,
You can say,
God's peace and joy are mine,
For you have given what you would receive.
Let's practice again.
Think of some people with whom you are,
Or have had,
Conflict,
Tension,
Discord,
Or disagreements.
As you picture each person,
Say to them,
Peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.
Do this now.
Peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.
Now,
Are you ready to accept the gift of peace and joy that God has given you?
Now,
Are you ready to accept the gift of peace and joy that God has given you?
You must succeed today,
If you prepare your mind as we suggest.
Or you have let all bars to peace and joy be lifted up,
And what is yours can come to you at last.
So tell yourself,
God's peace and joy are mine.
And close your eyes a while today.
Let God's voice assure you that the words you speak are true.
Spend your five minutes thus,
With God,
Each time you can,
Today.
But do not think that less is worthless,
When you cannot give God more.
At least,
Remember hourly to say the words,
God's peace and joy are mine,
Which call to God to give you what God wills to give and wills you to receive.
Determine not to interfere today with what God wills.
And if someone seems to tempt you to deny God's gift to them,
See it as but another chance to let yourself receive the gifts of God as yours.
Then,
Bless this person,
Thankfully,
And say,
Peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.
God's peace and joy are mine.
God's peace and joy are mine.
Peace and joy I offer you,
That I may have God's peace and joy as mine.
God's peace and joy are mine.
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
