The beauty and simplicity of A TRAINING COURSE in Miracles (ACIM) really shines through among its major principles: REGULATIONS of Cause and Effect. That is different from regulations of Attraction, a topic which so much has been written about these last few years. ACIM answers not merely why things will be the way they’re with the mind, but also how to implement these mind corrections had a need to change your daily life. What it ultimately comes down to is the choice to improve beliefs while residing in this world, or the decision to correct your brain and return home.
Affirmations are not part of A Course in Miracles because they are not essential and here’s why: There is a “wrong” ego mind, and a “right” ego mind, both which are still part 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 the negative judgments trying to convince you how wonderful it is to live within this negative world. Neither may be the truth of your nature nor what your location is trying to return your brain, according to ACIM.
The Law of Cause and Effect is this: Based on the mind you use as cause, you will notice the corresponding effect. Ideas do not leave their source: You.
Let’s utilize 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) show up. 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 end up back with “poor.” It’s only 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 one to choose between two things within the ego illusion and not to choose out of your 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 your brain allows the Holy Spirit Right Mind to be your cause which affects the you nowadays; however, it generally does not have the consequences you imagine since the ego cannot relate. It returns a portion of the mind to peace and ends senseless worry over rich and poor. It also produces effects in your life here but you will have to choose correction to see them.
Let’s look at how ACIM breaks this all into a simple set of principles based on Cause and Effect. It only has a few components so when understood and used, they are often “mind” correcting!
The Metaphysics:
Remember, according to ACIM, the mind is split by the ego’s judgment that people could be separate, also known as the “tiny mad idea,” or the error that never occurred. This portion of the mind is merely 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, as the mind never left God and still resides at home with Him. There are no “belief” judgments in Love, Oneness, Heaven and Knowledge as everything may be the same, all one, and nothing to trust or judge between.
Instead, it is about changing your internal Teacher or rather, who you are hearing for interpretation of events in this world. The only change is in the choice 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 is no convincing the ego wrong and right mind of another way of thinking. You simply quit what you no more want. We do it all the time with ego stuff; and now we just do it with the ego beliefs themselves.
Forgiveness:
This says everything: Forgiveness is correction of the mind. In ACIM, there is nothing to forgive because no error has happened, i.e., no separation happened. What you are doing is simply returning your brain to God, where it never left, also to its natural state of peace. To achieve that is simply a choice of which side of the split mind to listen to for interpretation of events and turning over 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 placed in the mind by God and every answer will there be waiting for you. Atonement, forgiveness, salvation and True Perception are other words which are synonymous. You have to be willing to utilize the Holy Spirit Right Mind for interpretation of events and do the specific work of giving judgments (beliefs) to the side of your brain, via your choice maker, because you no more want them.
course in miracles It really is that easy and only confusing because of the belief that the only real choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to use the earlier example, rather than understanding relating to this third option being available. The decision for True Perception would be to choose neither ego judgment and relinquish both for correction of the mind. This is exactly what is takes to come back your brain to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is aimed at the decision maker in the mind. The complete point is that you’ve got a selection of which side of the mind to hear and use for interpretation. That is all that ever happened in the first place. It was a choice to listen, believe and choose judgments of the ego that separation happened and the ensuing sin, guilt and fear. Judgments can be dismissed as easily as you dismiss anything else 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 method that you feel keeps them hidden which means you don’t realize they’re judgments.
You do not “feel” in Heaven, Knowledge and Oneness. It really is an event shared by One.
The decision maker may be the mechanism between the two sides of the split mind. It really is neutral, an observer and is something you must employ to watch your brain and the judgments being made by the ego. Once you realize you purchased something from the ego error of the wrong or right mind, you need to be ready to hand them to the perfect solution is, or the correction, of the Holy Spirit Right Mind. It takes care of the rest because the Atonement or solution has already been there. No affirmations are necessary. You are simply quitting that which you no more want. It really is, and certainly can, be that simple.
Form and Content:
The last element of know from A Course in Miracles is form and content. Form is this world and everything in it. In ACIM, form will not matter and is the main “beliefs” to be turned over. However, you use everything in form, along with the judgments in your mind, as the curriculum of what to turn over for correction (forgiveness).
What does matter is content and in ACIM, content is the mind. The mind you’re using for interpretation (perception) of people, places, and things, etc., counts for everything. It is possible to only have one master: (1) the Holy Spirit Right Mind (correction); or, (2) the ego wrong mind (error) and that includes both interpretations of the ego mind.
In conclusion, think about the simplicity of ACIM that is a Course in training your brain how to perceive properly. You must return your brain to peace because the Kingdom of God is peace and you also cannot start to see the doorway from judgment. You merely see peace in peace even though sharing peace with everyone.
All ACIM says is you have the willingness to learn how to do that, study the ideas and put it into practice. The assist you to need will show up; but you, my pal, must do the work of the inward journey back to the mind.
The Law of Cause and Effect may be the form, or mind, you are using for interpretation will undoubtedly 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 start to see the illusion of preference, because no separation occurred, and choose to give it up forever.