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 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 additionally how to implement these mind corrections needed to change your life. acim What it ultimately boils 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 section of A Course in Miracles because they are not necessary and here’s why: There exists 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 wrong side is all of the negative judgments; and the proper side is all of the negative judgments trying to convince you how wonderful it really is to live here in this negative world. Neither is 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: According to the actually 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 of being “poor,” or lack, nowadays and really wants to change their beliefs to will 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 find yourself back with “poor.” It’s just a question of “when.”
The ego’s choice system is: (1) one or another: (2) poor or rich; and, (3) ego or God. It asks you to choose between two 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” do not exist. A choice for correction of the mind allows the Holy Spirit Right Mind to be your cause which affects the you in this world; however, it does not have the consequences you imagine because the ego cannot relate. It returns a portion 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 experience 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 may be “mind” correcting!
The Metaphysics:
Remember, according to ACIM, your brain 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 part of the mind is simply hidden in darkness because it banished itself from Knowledge (Heaven and Oneness) whenever 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 but still resides at home with Him. You can find no “belief” judgments in Love, Oneness, Heaven and Knowledge as everything may be 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 nowadays. 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 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 longer want. We take action 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 the mind. 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 brain to God, where it never left, and 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 so long as desire to the Holy Spirit Right Mind for correction (forgiveness).
The Holy Spirit may be the solution to the separation put into your brain by God and every answer will there be looking forward to you. Atonement, forgiveness, salvation and True Perception are other words which 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 longer want them.
It really is that simple and only confusing due to the belief that the only real choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to utilize 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 return your brain to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is aimed 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 to begin with. 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 anything else you do not want because they’re not real.
Two things stop you from relinquishing judgments: (1) your attachment to them as being true and real; and, (2) not acknowledging the way you feel keeps them hidden and that means you don’t realize they’re judgments.
You don’t “feel” in Heaven, Knowledge and Oneness. It is an experience shared by One.
The decision maker is the mechanism between your two sides of the split mind. It is neutral, an observer and is something you must employ to watch the mind and the judgments being created by the ego. When you realize you have used something from the ego error of the incorrect or right mind, just be ready to hand them to the solution, or the correction, of the Holy Spirit Right Mind. It takes care of the rest because the Atonement or solution is already there. No affirmations are necessary. You are simply giving up that which you no longer want. It is, and certainly can, be that easy.
Form and Content:
The last component to know from the Course in Miracles is form and content. Form is this world and everything in it. In ACIM, form will not matter and is area of the “beliefs” to be turned over. However, you use everything in form, combined with the judgments in your thoughts, because 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 individuals, 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 that is a Course in training your mind how exactly to perceive properly. You must return your brain to peace because the Kingdom of God is peace and you cannot see the doorway from judgment. You merely see peace in peace and while 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 help you need will arrive; but you, my friend, must do the task of this inward journey back to the mind.
The Law 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 other ways by returning your brain back to back again to peace where you eventually start to see the illusion of choice, because no separation occurred, and elect to give it up forever.