Carve out a Place of Peace

At this moment, I’m heading for Assisi on a fast train in Italy. Tomorrow I will meditate in the quiet place, Eremo delle Carceri, a monastery 2 ½ miles east of the town. This tranquil place has not changed since the time of Saint Francis. When I get to this peaceful, holy place, I will go within to my own sacred place in consciousness. 

This spiritual place of refuge within is universal and changeless – available to all – but needs to be discovered and nurtured. Here is the place to hide away in times of trouble – a place where you can be still and strong while the wildness of stress-producing incidents or circumstances nag or rage. 

Stress hits. Best to have a solid place carved out and ready in consciousness – a place in which to resort and take refuge. Make it a place of stillness. Make it quiet. Fill it consciously with the Christ-presence, with soft and gentle Light. Prepare this sacred place ahead for challenging times always come.

Stress strikes fast, and when it’s an intense situation with no way to physically escape, you need a place within to be safe. Psalm 91:1 calls it the “secret place of the Most High.” This is especially wonderful for one who tends to be sensitive, shy, or introverted, and is the best place to go universally. This “secret place” or “kingdom of heaven” that Jesus said is “within you,” provides secureness amidst stress-producing inharmonious events or situations. Go there mentally and take a deep calming breath of Spirit, Soul.

Remember, only what your heavenly Father thinks of you is important, not what other people might perceive, and He looks on the heart. If you wish that someone would totally understand you, it is done. The Father, divine Mind, the all-knowing, knows you entirely and understands. 

So what does the Father see when He looks at you? His own “image and likeness,” minus the flaws, sins, and errors – and this truth of your being consciously realized to any extent has power to purify, transform, uplift, and forgive. It enables you to express the true qualities of good that have their source in God, and to awaken to your actual eternal and spiritual selfhood in His image.

Carve out that quiet still tranquil place in your consciousness through prayer and feeling after divine Love. Carve it out hard because when you need it in extreme temptation or stress, it will be there prepared and strong.