Miracles Principle #15: “Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of time is to enable you to learn how to use time constructively. It is thus a teaching device and a means to an end. Time will cease when it is no longer useful in facilitating learning.” This principle talks about the fundamental goal of CIM, which is to help us spend every hour of our day, all the days of our lives, continually seeing things as Spirit would have us see them.
The third lesson of the Holy Spirit (Chapter 6) is “Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom.” CIM is mind re-training. We are choosing to give up the petty battles of the ego. We are seeking another way of looking at life—the joy of Spirit’s miracle instead of the gloom and doom of the ego’s grievance.
The purpose of time is to teach me there is no time. It is thus a teaching device and a means to an end. Nothing in the world is an end in itself because nothing in the world is real in itself. It is merely a teaching device. But don’t try to deny the world; that’s not what the Course teaches. Rather, our goal is to look at the world differently, through the eyes of the Christ within us all. Everything that occurs, to the extent that it pushes our buttons or upsets us in any way, becomes an opportunity to learn. The world is a classroom. Our individual lives are individual classes we take within the university. This whole path then becomes like a curriculum, and our individual experiences become specific classes we take to undo the guilt we have made specific. This is the purpose of the world, the purpose of time.
Lesson 96: “Salvation comes from my one Self.” Experiencing myself as divided is a universal experience. On one hand, I want to do the CIM practice because I want the peace and freedom it promises. On the other, I resist doing the hourly five-minute remembrances. It seems as if there are two selves in me, one wanting the light, the other holding onto the darkness.
My mind has duped itself into believing the reality of separation, of physical being. To this end, my mind has become the servant of my body, trying to devise ways to make my body comfortable, to pleasure it, to make it last forever, to keep it safe from harm. In doing this, my mind has lost its true function, which is magnifying Spirit. Through CIM, I am rediscovering myself as an extension of God. The Self CIM refers to isn’t something apart from me. It IS me!
You may ask, “What is it I’m waiting to hear as I sit for 5 minutes?” I can’t tell you. No one can. Remember the hologram. Though we are One, there is no One exactly like you-- no One with exactly the gift you bring. You are as unique within the whole as a fingerprint or eyeprint. Relax. Be patient. You will know your message when you hear it.
Lesson 97: “I am spirit.” The One Self that CIM speaks of is spirit. To affirm, “I am sprit,” is to let go of all illusions of a split identity, of a good and bad self, and of all attempts I might make to reconcile the ego self that is bound to a body with the spiritual Self this is unlimited by a body.
CIM doesn’t attempt to unite so-called opposites—the seeming evil of Hitler and the seeming holiness of Mother Teresa. The “nondualism” of CIM affirms unity by declaring that all that seems to be opposed to holiness is illusion.
I love the part of this lesson that says that by doing this practice, “a thousand years or more are saved.” The Course presents itself as a means of saving time as we see it, and clearly teaches that any of us could wake up at any moment we choose. The attitude towards time that’s encouraged by Course is unconcern about it, since it is ultimately part of the illusion.
When we make our effort of 5 minutes for God, Spirit joins all of His strength with us. He takes the little we give and carries it around the world to every open mind. The gifts we give to Him are multiplied by a thousandfold or more. Take that literally or as a figure of speech. It doesn’t natter. The meaning is the same. What we give to Spirit is multiplied and spread to all minds because our minds are all joined.
Lesson 98: “I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation.” How can I say doubts are gone? Of course, doubts are there, and Jesus knows that. He’s only suggesting that in these five minutes I spend with him, I lay them aside—see what it’s like. There is One within me that is always certain, and He is me. I have forgotten that. Today, I will allow myself, however briefly, to identify with His certainty. This is surrender. This is all I’m asked to do. It’s that simple. I just need to stop trying to make it on my own. I just need to let go and let God do His perfect work in and through me.
Lesson 99: “Salvation is my only function here.” Remember that CIM defines salvation as happiness. Separation, pain, grief, and death are not God’s Will for me. Such a belief stems from a subconscious fear that God is punishing me. Sometimes I’ve agreed that I deserve punishment. Sometimes I’ve denied I deserved it and accused Him of being unfair. Most often, I’ve simply been bewildered, wondering what I did to deserve my pain. Sure, I must have done something, but I’m at a loss as to what it might be. I’ve dissociated myself from the shame of “running away from Home.” I’ve forgotten this was a choice I made and that I’m free to choose again.
What lends my pain such sharpness is the underlying thought that He Whom my heart loves uncontrollably has not only turned His back on me but actively seeks vengeance. Because I believe my pain is His will, I can’t even take it to Him for comfort. Instead, I flee from Him. If I but let down my unwarranted defenses against God, I find the doorway to my release. God is not angry. Remember the story of the Prodigal. God is overjoyed at the prospect of my choosing to go Home.
Lesson 100: “My part is essential in God’s plan for salvation.” My part is God’s plan for salvation (happiness) is to be happy. A good affirmation for today would be, “My joy heals.” I teach through my happiness. Nothing has to change for this to happen, because happiness does not depend on anything outside my mind.
Sometimes, I mistakenly think my happiness enables the errors of others. If someone is being cruel, and I continue to be happy, I seem to condone his cruelty. However, to be upset by cruelty doesn’t heal it. It makes it seem real. It’s far more healing to see cruelty as a cry for love. Within that “cruel” person is a longing he shares with me—an overpowering longing for God. My happiness in the face of cruelty teaches that the grounds for cruelty don’t exist. It doesn’t attack the symptoms of the cruelty; it undoes cruelty at its source. That source is fear. Fear that I’m not worthy. My job today is to release myself and everyone else from the heavy burden of thinking I’m more powerful than God—that I have defiled the eternal perfection God created me to be.
My job today is to be happy. I am essential to God’s plan because my smile is the healing light of the world.
Lesson 101: “God’s will for me is perfect happiness.” In CIM, salvation and happiness are synonymous. How starkly this contrasts with the common view of salvation—that I must pay for my sins. The notion of paying for sins is imbedded in my consciousness. One of the most subtle ways I know this is true is that I feel guilty when I’m happy. When a friend or family member is upset, I feel obligated to join them in their misery. Somehow it just doesn’t feel right or safe to be “too happy.”
Thinking, “This is too good to last” is also a symptom of this syndrome. The idea that I could be happy all the time seems ridiculous. Misery is a part of living, right? Wrong. Misery’s a choice. There is no need for penance because there is no sin. Instantly, the ego says, “If there’s no price to pay, sinners will go wild! Punishment is necessary to control evil!” Amazingly, what I learn when I refuse to participate in the ego’s game of sin and punishment is that it quietly fades away. Because everyone’s natural function and desire is to love and be loved. It is only in the face of perceived threat that the thought of attack emerges.
Lesson 102: “I share God’s Will for happiness for me.” The Self within me is always happy because God created it happy. So in these exercises, I’m not trying to “make myself happy” but rather to reach a preexistent happiness. Unfortunately, I still believe in the values of suffering. The lesson doesn’t expect us to be totally free of these beliefs at this point. But deep inside, I do at least question this belief. I don’t want to suffer. Yet, if I do, I realize I’ve chosen it on some level and have seen some value to me in that suffering. The message of this lesson in this regard is that pain is purposeless and without power to accomplish anything.
Unhappiness is my excuse for being less loving than God. How can I open my heart to you when I am unhappy? By being happy, I enable myself to wholly love.
Assignment: Lessons 103-109; Miracles Principle # 16; Text, pp. 272-274, “The Happy Learner.”
Practical Application: This week, pay attention to the message you are sending, both to yourself and others, through your facial and bodily expressions. Take a moment through out the day to inventory your body. Remind yourself to turn up the corners of your mouth. Studies have proven that the simple act of upturning the corners of our mouth releases healing endorphins, natural painkillers and mood elevators. When you notice your shoulders are slumped, pull them back. When your hands are clenched into fists, open them. If you’re leaning forward in an aggressive stance, fall back. No eye rolling. No sucking teeth. ;--D
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