Miracles Principle #6 and Lessons 33-39

CIM LESSONS 33-39 AND MIRACLES PRINCIPLE #6

Miracles Principle #6: Miracles are natural. When they do not occur, something has gone wrong. Peace, love, joy and abundance are natural expressions of who we really are. When these are not our experience, when we do not experience “miracles” on-going, it’s because we have put something in the way. The primary purpose of CIM is to learn to remove those obstacles to the uninterrupted availability of God’s good.

Lesson 33: “There is another way of looking at the world.” This lesson asserts the power of our minds to choose how we see the world. This is not only a personally empowering concept, but a world-changing realization. As we begin to examine our thoughts, we will be amazed at the number of situations in which the idea of “another way” of looking at it has simply never occurred to us. With some things, such as mothers who kill their children, the idea that we could see them differently may actually be offensive. These are the areas CIM students are called to lovingly re-examine with the help of Spirit.

Lesson 34: “I could see peace instead of this.” The purpose of this lesson is to open our minds to the idea that what we are seeing is not rock solid, immutable reality. This tiny opening paves the way for true Vision. Notice the words are “could see peace” rather than “should see peace,” so do not fall into the ego trap of turning this lesson into a reason for guilt. Peace begins with our thoughts and extends outward from our minds. We have the power to choose thoughts of peace instead of unloving thoughts; therefore, peace is a choice that we make. The lesson asks that we repeat the idea until we feel some sense of relief and so is meant to offer tangible effects.

Lesson 35: “My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.” Since we think our environment is the physical world, our identity seems to be determined by the part we play in this world. Yet, our true environment is not this world but God’s Mind. Your place there is what determines your true identity. The Text tells us we do not understand how lofty the Holy Spirit’s view of us is. (Read Text, Chapter 9, Section VII, The Two Evaluations, and Section VIII, Grandeur Versus Grandiosity, pages175-180). Our limited view of ourselves comes from our attempts to create ourselves; our true grandeur comes from the fact that we are God’s perfect and holy creations.

Lesson 36: “My holiness envelopes everything I see.” The holiness of your mind leads to Holy Sight. In yesterday’s lesson, the focus was on the perceiver. Today the holiness extends to what is perceived. How I see myself affects how I see the world. My holiness envelops the world if I see myself as holy. My “sinfulness” envelops the world if I see myself as sinful. I am holy because God created me that way. The ego always thinks in terms of comparison. My unwillingness to see myself as holy is what keeps me from seeing the world that way.

Lesson 37: “My holiness blesses the world.” This lesson introduces you to your true function. Unless we acknowledge our own holiness, we will not see the holiness in all of God’s creation. You are here to bless and to make no demands. The perfection God created needs no judgment. This blessing involves first acknowledging your own holiness, and then seeing others in its holy light. (Read Text, Chapter 1—Atonement and Miracles, pp.8-11; Chapter 13—Finding the Present, pp. 250-253 and From Perception to Knowledge, p.259, par. 6.)

Lesson 38: “There is nothing my holiness cannot do.” You have dominion over all things in your experience because of Who You Are. The ego will tell you this is called “delusions of grandeur.” But as we’ve been instructed before, it’s not necessary that we believe the lesson. We only need apply it. Even if 90% of my mind is protesting against the idea, if I apply it as asked, something shifts within me. A little faith is generated. Maybe the percentage of belief shifts from ten percent to eleven percent.

Lesson 39: “My holiness is my salvation.” The purpose of this lesson is to get us in touch with our holiness, which is our salvation from the hell of guilt. The opposite of hell is salvation. The opposite of guilt is holiness. The question is: Do I believe guilt is hell? Perhaps it seems that guilt is necessary to keep us from wrongdoing. This notion presumes there is something inherently evil in us that will always do wrong unless it’s punished. Guilt serves no useful function. Guilt is hell. Unloving thoughts are guilty thoughts; they both stem from guilt and produce more of it. Holiness is lovingness. As we realize that unloving thoughts keep us in hell, we will begin to let them go.

Assignment: Miracles Principle #7; Lessons 40-46; Text references as noted.

Practical Application: Put a rubber band around one wrist. Each time you have an unloving thought, gently snap the rubber band. Don’t snap it hard. This isn’t meant to be a punishment. It’s meant to be a reminder: “This is a thought I would not keep. Holy Spirit, help me see this in a different way.” (No bloody wrists Tuesday night, okay?)