The beauty and simplicity of A Course in Miracles (ACIM) really shines through one of its major principles: REGULATIONS of Cause and Effect. a course in miracles online This is different from the Law of Attraction, a subject on which so much has been discussed 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 needed to change your daily life. What it ultimately boils down to is the choice to change 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 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 area 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 proper side is all of the negative judgments attempting to convince you how wonderful it is to live within this negative world. Neither may be the truth of one’s nature nor where you are 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 usually do not leave their source: You.
Let’s utilize this example:
Someone is feeling the effects of being “poor,” or lack, in this world and wants to change their beliefs to will 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 as an unstable thought system, everything you choose as “rich” will eventually go and you also find yourself 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 a couple of things within the ego illusion and not to choose out of your illusion.
This is in contrast to choosing correction of the mind (forgiveness) where both “poor” and “rich” usually do not exist. A choice 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 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 that you experienced here but you will need to choose correction to experience them.
Let’s look at how ACIM breaks this all into a simple set of principles based on Cause and Effect. It only includes a few components and when understood and used, they can be “mind” correcting!
The Metaphysics:
Remember, according to ACIM, the mind 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 part of the mind is merely hidden in darkness since it banished itself from Knowledge (Heaven and Oneness) when we forgot to laugh off what cannot be true. It didn’t, however, separate.
So in ACIM it isn’t about affirmations or changing beliefs, because the mind never left God but still resides at home with Him. There are no “belief” judgments in Love, Oneness, Heaven and Knowledge as everything is 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 real change is in the choice between your split mind (error) of the ego or the Holy Spirit Right Mind (correction) as that internal Teacher.
That’s where the simplicity is evident in ACIM because there’s no convincing the ego wrong and right mind of another thought process. You simply give up what you no longer want. We do it all the time with ego stuff; and now we just take action with the ego beliefs themselves.
Forgiveness:
This says it all: Forgiveness is correction of your brain. 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 do that is simply a choice of which side of the split mind to listen to for interpretation of events and turning on the judgments you no longer desire to the Holy Spirit Right Mind for correction (forgiveness).
The Holy Spirit is the treatment for the separation placed in the mind by God and every answer is there looking forward to you. Atonement, forgiveness, salvation and True Perception are other words that are synonymous. You need 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 your brain, via your decision maker, because you no more want them.
It really is that easy and only confusing due to belief that the only real choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to use the earlier example, rather than understanding concerning this third option being available. The decision for True Perception would be to choose neither ego judgment and relinquish both for correction of your brain. This is exactly what is takes to return the mind to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is aimed at the decision maker in the mind. The complete point is that you have a selection of which side of the mind to listen to and use for interpretation. That’s 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 could 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 in their mind 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 don’t “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 really is neutral, an observer and is something you must employ to watch the mind and the judgments being created by the ego. Once 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 perfect solution is, or the correction, of the Holy Spirit Right Mind. It requires care of the rest because the Atonement or solution is already there. No affirmations are essential. You are simply giving up 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 inside it. In ACIM, form will not matter and is the main “beliefs” to be turned over. However, you utilize everything in form, along with the judgments in your thoughts, as the curriculum of what things to start for correction (forgiveness).
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 to perceive properly. You must return the mind to peace as the Kingdom of God is peace and you cannot start to 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 learn how to do that, study the ideas and put it into practice. The assist you to need will arrive; but you, my friend, must do the work of this inward journey back into the mind.
REGULATIONS of Cause and Effect may be the form, or mind, you are using for interpretation will undoubtedly be your effect in this world. It will affect you in other ways by returning your mind back to back again to peace where you eventually see the illusion of preference, because no separation occurred, and elect to give it up forever.