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’re with the mind, but also how to implement these mind corrections needed to change your daily life. What it ultimately comes down to may be the choice to improve beliefs while residing in this world, or the decision to correct the mind and return home.
Affirmations are not part 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 wrong 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 one’s nature nor what your location is trying to return your mind, according to ACIM.
REGULATIONS 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 to be “poor,” or lack, nowadays and 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 which can only produce ego effect. Ego being an unstable thought system, what you choose as “rich” will eventually go and you find yourself back with “poor.” It’s only 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 one to choose between a couple of things within the ego illusion rather than to choose out of your illusion.
This is in contrast to choosing correction of the mind (forgiveness) where both “poor” and “rich” 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 generally does not have the consequences you imagine because the ego cannot relate. acim 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 down into a simple group of principles predicated on Cause and Effect. It only includes a few components and when understood and used, they might be “mind” correcting!
The Metaphysics:
Remember, in accordance with 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 portion of the mind is simply hidden in darkness because 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 is not about affirmations or changing beliefs, because 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 believe or judge between.
Instead, it is all about changing your internal Teacher or rather, who you’re hearing for interpretation of events in this world. The only change is in the decision between your split mind (error) of the ego or the Holy Spirit Right Mind (correction) as that internal Teacher.
This is where the simplicity is evident in ACIM because there is no convincing the ego wrong and right mind of another way of thinking. You simply give up what you no more want. We take action 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 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 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 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 use 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 choice maker, because you no longer want them.
It really is that easy and only confusing because of the belief that the only choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to use the earlier example, rather than understanding about this third option being available. The choice 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 come back your brain to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is aimed at your choice maker in your brain. The whole point is that you have a choice 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 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 are 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 so 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 may be the mechanism between the two sides of the split mind. It really is neutral, an observer and is something you have to 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, you need to be ready to hand them to the answer, or the correction, of the Holy Spirit Right Mind. It requires care of the others as the Atonement or solution has already been there. No affirmations are necessary. You are simply quitting that which you no longer want. It really is, and certainly can, be so easy.
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 part of the “beliefs” to be turned over. However, you utilize everything in form, together with the judgments in your mind, because the curriculum of what to start for correction (forgiveness).
What does matter is content and in ACIM, content is the mind. The mind you’re using for interpretation (perception) of individuals, 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 the mind to peace because the Kingdom of God is peace and you also cannot start to see the doorway from judgment. You only 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 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 into the mind.
The Law of Cause and Effect may be the form, or mind, you are using for interpretation will undoubtedly be your effect nowadays. It will affect you in different ways by returning your mind back to back again to peace where you eventually see the illusion of choice, because no separation occurred, and elect to give it up forever.
