The beauty and simplicity of A Course in Miracles (ACIM) really shines through among its major principles: REGULATIONS of Cause and Effect. This is different from the Law of Attraction, a subject which so much has been discussed these last couple of years. ACIM answers not only why things will be the way they are with the mind, but also how exactly to implement these mind corrections needed to change your life. What it ultimately boils down to may be the choice to improve beliefs while residing in this world, or the choice to correct your brain and return home.
Affirmations are not section of A TRAINING COURSE in Miracles as they are not necessary and here’s why: There is a “wrong” ego mind, and a “right” ego mind, both of which are still portion of the same ego side of the split mind. Within the ego mind (error), the incorrect side is all of the negative judgments; and the right side is all of the negative judgments trying to convince you how wonderful it really is to live here in this negative world. Neither may be the truth of your nature nor what your location is trying to return your mind, according to ACIM.
REGULATIONS of Cause and Effect is this: In line with the mind you use as cause, you will notice the corresponding effect. Ideas usually do not leave their source: You.
Let’s use this example:
Someone is feeling the effects to be “poor,” or lack, nowadays and really wants to change their beliefs to now have “rich” (abundance, prosperity, money) arrive. Both “poor” and “rich” are judgments of the ego deploying it as cause that may only produce ego effect. Ego being an unstable thought system, what you choose as “rich” will eventually go and you also find yourself back with “poor.” It’s just a question of “when.”
The ego’s choice system is: (1) one or the other: (2) poor or rich; and, (3) ego or God. It asks you to choose between a couple of things within the ego illusion and not to choose out from the illusion.
This is in contrast to choosing correction of your brain (forgiveness) where both “poor” and “rich” usually do not exist. A selection for correction of the mind allows the Holy Spirit Right Mind to be your cause which affects the you nowadays; however, it does not have the consequences you imagine because the ego cannot relate. It returns some of the mind to peace and ends senseless worry over rich and poor. It also produces effects in your life here but you will need to choose correction to experience them.
Let’s look at how ACIM breaks this all down into a simple group of principles predicated on Cause and Effect. It only includes a few components so when understood and used, they might be “mind” correcting!
The Metaphysics:
Remember, according to ACIM, your brain is split by the ego’s judgment that we could be separate, also referred to as the “tiny mad idea,” or the error that never occurred. This portion of the mind is simply hidden in darkness since it banished itself from Knowledge (Heaven and Oneness) when we forgot to laugh off what could not be true. It didn’t, however, separate.
So in ACIM it isn’t about affirmations or changing beliefs, because the mind never left God and still resides at home with Him. You can find no “belief” judgments in Love, Oneness, Heaven and Knowledge as everything is the same, all one, and nothing to believe or judge between.
Instead, it is about changing your internal Teacher or rather, who you are hearing for interpretation of events nowadays. The only change is in the decision between the split mind (error) of the ego or the Holy Spirit Right Mind (correction) as that internal Teacher.
That’s where the ease of use is evident in ACIM because there’s no convincing the ego wrong and right mind of another thought process. You simply quit what you no longer want. We do it all the time with ego stuff; and now we just do it with the ego beliefs themselves.
Forgiveness:
This says it all: Forgiveness is correction of your brain. In ACIM, you’ll find nothing to forgive because no error has happened, i.e., no separation happened. What you are really doing is simply returning your mind to God, where it never left, and to its natural state of peace. To do that is simply either which side of the split mind to listen to for interpretation of events and turning on the judgments so long as want to the Holy Spirit Right Mind for correction (forgiveness).
The Holy Spirit may be the treatment for the separation put into your brain by God and every answer is there looking forward to you. Atonement, forgiveness, salvation and True Perception are other words that are synonymous. You have to be willing to utilize the Holy Spirit Right Mind for interpretation of events and do the actual work of giving judgments (beliefs) to this side of the mind, via your decision maker, because you no longer want them.
It really is that simple and only confusing as a result of belief that the only real choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to utilize the earlier example, and not understanding concerning this third option being available. The decision for True Perception is to choose neither ego judgment and relinquish both for correction of the mind. This is what is takes to come back the mind to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is aimed at your choice maker in your brain. The whole point is that you’ve got a choice of which side of the mind to hear and use for interpretation. That’s all that ever happened to begin with. It was a selection to listen, believe and choose judgments of the ego that separation happened and the ensuing sin, guilt and fear. Judgments could be dismissed as easily as you dismiss other things you do not want because they’re not real.
Two things stop you from relinquishing judgments: (1) your attachment to them to be true and real; and, (2) not acknowledging the way you feel keeps them hidden which means you don’t realize they are judgments.
You do not “feel” in Heaven, Knowledge and Oneness. It is an event shared by One.
The decision maker is the mechanism between the two sides of the split mind. It is neutral, an observer and is something you need to employ to watch your brain and the judgments being made by the ego. When you realize you have used something from the ego error of the wrong or right mind, you need to be willing to hand them to the solution, or the correction, of the Holy Spirit Right Mind. It takes care of the rest as the Atonement or solution is already there. No affirmations are essential. You are simply quitting that which you no more want. It is, and certainly can, be that simple.
Form and Content:
The last component to know from A Course in Miracles is form and content. Form is this world and everything in it. In ACIM, form does not matter and is the main “beliefs” to be turned over. However, you use everything in form, combined with the judgments in your mind, as the curriculum of what to start for correction (forgiveness).
course in miracles What does matter is content and in ACIM, content is the mind. The mind you are using for interpretation (perception) of people, places, and things, etc., counts for everything. You can only have one master: (1) the Holy Spirit Right Mind (correction); or, (2) the ego wrong mind (error) and which includes both interpretations of the ego mind.
In conclusion, think about the simplicity of ACIM which is a Course in training your brain how exactly to perceive properly. You need to return the mind to peace as the Kingdom of God is peace and you also cannot see the doorway from judgment. You only see peace in peace even though sharing peace with everyone.
All ACIM says is you have the willingness to understand how to do this, study the ideas and put it into practice. The help you need will show up; but you, my friend, must do the work of this inward journey back into the mind.
The Law of Cause and Effect may be the form, or mind, you are using for interpretation will be your effect in this world. It’ll affect you in other ways by returning your mind back to back to peace where you eventually see the illusion of preference, because no separation occurred, and elect to give it up once and for all.
