Workbook · Part I
Lesson 34
I could see peace instead of this.
What this lesson is saying
“I could see peace instead of this.” Not later. This — this irritation, this news, this face, this spike in the body.
You are loving and gentle unless provoked — and that caveat is the work. Peace is available instead of the provocation, not after you have won it. That is either nonsense or the whole Course. Practice treats it as the whole Course.
This is not saying
This is not pretending you already feel peaceful. Say the idea to the spike. Wait until the body drops half an inch. Then choose the next sentence from there.
Why this can change a day
If peace waits on them, they own you. If peace is a way of looking at this, then work, home, a text, and a self-judgment are all eligible. That is a different day without a different cast.
In your day
Same idea, three ordinary places — a relationship or encounter, the case against yourself, and a situation at work or at home. You do not need a special mood.
With someone
Anger or fear is on — this person, now — and you are about to rehearse the argument.
What to do
Say: I could see peace instead of this. Wait. Then speak, or leave, from there. The caveat “unless provoked” is the lesson.
At work or at home
The news, the mess, the delay, the number.
What to do
Instead of this. Not after it is solved. Say it. Then do the useful thing without the war.
Toward yourself
The inner spike — shame, panic, the case against you.
What to do
Peace instead of this too. You are allowed to rest without having fixed yourself first.
Two voices in the same mind
Hear which one is running. Then today’s idea, on a real person — or on you.
Unloving thought
Peace after I win, after they change, after I am understood. I am loving and gentle unless provoked — and that caveat is my right.
Jesus’s way
I could see peace instead of this. Not later. This. You are loving and gentle unless provoked — and that caveat is the work.
Spalding · 2019 · episode #232
Jesus’s commentary for Lesson 34
Tina reads the official workbook lesson first. Then she channels. The video is the source. The notes below are study notes of that sitting — not a transcript, and not A Year of Forgiveness.
After the reading
In the video · Jesus speaking
This is the channeled portion — after Tina has read the lesson. Study notes of that sitting. Not a transcript.
- You are loving and gentle unless provoked — and that caveat is the work.
- The body is the ego’s favorite proof of aloneness; it is actually a communication device.
- ‘I could see peace instead of this’ is how you refuse to wound yourself with judgment.
How to sit today
Part I · Undoing
The idea is above. This is the one sitting this number asks — how often, how long, and the words. Not a second lesson.
- How often
- Three longer practice periods: morning, evening, and one in between when you are most ready
- How long
- About five minutes of mind searching each
- When shaken
- Whenever you are not at peace, apply: “I could see peace instead of this.”
- Eyes
- Closed
How
- Eyes closed — this is inner work. Search for fear thoughts, anxiety, “offending” people or events, unloving thoughts. Note them casually.
- For each, consider that you could see peace instead of this. Do not force a mood. Offer the alternative.
Longer sitting
Three sittings — morning, evening, and one in between when you are most ready. About five minutes of searching
- Today’s idea is: “I could see peace instead of this.”
- Eyes closed. This is inner work. Search for fear thoughts, anxiety, “offending” people or events, unloving thoughts. Note them casually.
- For each, offer the alternative. Do not force a mood.
- Say, slowly: “I could see peace in this situation instead of what I now see in it.”
When shaken
Whenever you are not at peace
- Say, slowly: “I could see peace instead of this.”
These scripts follow the workbook’s own method for this number — duration, frequency, and the sentences it asks you to use. They are a study paraphrase, not a replacement. Read the official lesson at acim.org and follow any wording it gives that is more specific than this card.
Words you may not know
Full glossaryCourse words do not mean what church, psychology, or ordinary English usually mean. These notes are for this lesson — tap a word.
Other voices — Tina, Ra, Carla
Short notes from the four streams. The teaching above is the lesson. These are doors if you want them.
Spalding
You are loving and gentle unless provoked — and that caveat is the work. The body is the ego’s favorite proof of aloneness; it is actually a communication device, usable either way. ‘I could see peace instead of this’ is how you refuse to wound yourself with judgment.
Watch this lesson’s commentaryRa
Service-to-others is not a cosmic ballot. It is this: can you see the other-self as the Creator while the catalyst is still hot?
Open streamRueckert
Carla kept peace by tuning before she opened her mouth. The lesson is that tuning.
Open stream