The beauty and simplicity of A TRAINING COURSE in Miracles (ACIM) really shines through among its major principles: The Law of Cause and Effect. This is different from the Law of Attraction, a topic on which so much has been written about these last couple of years. ACIM answers not only why things are the way they are with the mind, but additionally how exactly to implement these mind corrections had a need to change your life. What it ultimately comes down to may be 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 TRAINING COURSE in Miracles as they are not essential and here’s why: You will find a “wrong” ego mind, and a “right” ego mind, both which are still the main same ego side of the split mind. Within the ego mind (error), the incorrect side is all the negative judgments; and the right side is all the negative judgments attempting 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 brain, according to ACIM.
The Law of Cause and Effect is this: Based on the mind you use as cause, you will see the corresponding effect. Ideas do not leave their source: You.
Let’s use this example:
Someone is feeling the effects of being “poor,” or lack, in this world and really wants to change their beliefs to now have “rich” (abundance, prosperity, money) arrive. Both “poor” and “rich” are judgments of the ego using 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 end up back with “poor.” It’s just a question of “when.”
a course in miracles videos The ego’s choice system is: (1) one or another: (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 your brain (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 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. In addition, it produces effects that you experienced 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 can be “mind” correcting!
The Metaphysics:
Remember, according to ACIM, your brain is split by the ego’s judgment that we could be separate, also called 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 aware of 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 all about changing your internal Teacher or rather, who you are listening to 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.
This is where the ease of use is evident in ACIM because there’s no convincing the ego wrong and right mind of another way of thinking. You simply give up what you no more 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, 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 achieve that is simply either which side of the split mind to listen to for interpretation of events and turning over the judgments you no longer 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 waiting for you. Atonement, forgiveness, salvation and True Perception are other words that are synonymous. You have to be willing to use 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 simple and only confusing as a result of belief that the only choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to utilize 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 the mind. This is what is takes to return the mind to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is targeted at your choice maker in the mind. The complete point is that you have a selection of which side of the mind to hear and use for interpretation. That’s all that ever happened in the first place. It was a selection to pay attention, 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 other things you do not want because they’re not real.
Two things stop you from relinquishing judgments: (1) your attachment in their mind as being true and real; and, (2) not acknowledging how you feel keeps them hidden so you don’t realize they are 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 is neutral, an observer and is something you have to employ to watch your brain and the judgments being created by the ego. When 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 solution, or the correction, of the Holy Spirit Right Mind. It takes care of the rest as the Atonement or solution has already been there. No affirmations are essential. You are simply giving up that which you no longer want. It is, and certainly can, be so easy.
Form and Content:
The last component to know from A Course in Miracles is form and content. Form is this world and everything inside it. In ACIM, form does not matter and is portion of the “beliefs” to be turned over. However, you use everything in form, together with the judgments in your mind, because 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 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 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 exactly to perceive properly. You need to return your brain to peace because 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 then put it into practice. The assist you to need will arrive; but you, my friend, must do the task of this inward journey back to the mind.
REGULATIONS of Cause and Effect may be the form, or mind, you’re using for interpretation will undoubtedly be your effect in this world. It will affect you in different ways by returning your brain back to back again to peace where you eventually see the illusion of choice, because no separation occurred, and elect to give it up once and for all.