CIM Lessons 236-242 and Miracles Principle #35

Miracles Principle #35: “Miracles are expressions of love, but they may not always have observable effects.” One of the traps we fall into with CIM is expecting observable results. If my tumor doesn’t go away, if my wound doesn’t heal, that seems to indicate CIM principles do not work. Not true. One of the major cautions of the Course is: Do not make the error real. We make the error real by believing we have to do something for or against the error. Trying to project a protective circle of light around you or someone else is an example of making the error real, because you’re saying that the person must be protected against the “darkness.” Obviously, you are then making the darkness real. You don’t have to fight against something that’s not real. The protection the Course advocates is protection of the mind—correcting our mistaken thoughts that God’s creations are vulnerable. Does this mean I don’t take an aspirin if I have a headache? It does not. CIM says it’s perfectly fine, in fact it’s advisable to use “magic” (see CIM definition) until such time as you realize Who and What You Are—at which time, all fear and error will be eradicated.

Lesson 236—“I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.” The “secret” of salvation is that “I’m doing this to myself.” There is nothing external attacking me. If that’s true, there’s hope. I can turn things around by taking dominion over my own mind. CIM trains us how to rule our minds. We’ve been letting our kingdom run wild rather than ruling it. We’ve made the problem, and only we can correct it. As the Text says, we’ve reversed cause and effect. We are the cause. We made the effect, but now we think the effect is causing us. Now, if I’m supposed to rule my mind, why does CIM tell me to give my mind to the Holy Spirit for correction? The answer is simple. There are only two alternatives: ego or Spirit. Fear or love. Separation or union. The Holy Spirit is not a foreign power ruling over me. He’s the voice of my own Self, as well as the voice for God. The call to rule my mind is not a call to self-reliance, but rather a call to Self-reliance. My Higher Self “sees” from a higher perspective and always knows exactly the best course for me. When we stop supporting the mind’s illusions, and they fall down into dust, what is left? What’s left is the discovery of what is true about me and the memory of God that follows from it.

Lesson 237—“Now I would be as God created me.” The emphasis of Part II of the Workbook is on true perception. The assumption is that the reader has at least become aware of the ego thought system although that thought system is, as yet, by no means undone. If that were the case, additional lessons wouldn’t be needed. What we’re doing in these last lessons is putting the principles of CIM into practice. The goal is not just to understand the idea and file it away but to be the Son of God—by bringing that truth to my awareness throughout the day and living accordingly. If the altar of God is within me, yet remains largely hidden from my habitual awareness, what I need to do is to “come daily to this holy place,” to form the habit of bringing my mind into the holy instant and remembering the truth of my Self.

Lesson 238—“On my decision all salvation rests.” God created me free to choose—whether to listen to His Voice or not. Salvation thus rests entirely upon my decision. If this is true, God must have a great deal of trust in me. Humankind is generally pictured as weak, vacillating, and downright sinful. This is not God’s estimation of me. Not only does my own salvation (happiness) rest on my decision, but also “all salvation” rests on it because the Sonship is One. In the holy instant, we see with the vision of Christ, our true Self.  It’s by choosing to come repeatedly to the holy instant that the “happy dream” becomes our reality, the final dream before we waken. In this happy dream, “earth is being born again in new perspective.” The illusions of sorrow, pain and death fade away, and God’s Reality, still sparkling in perfection around us, is seen once again.

Lesson 239—“The glory of my Father is my own.” When I see weakness and sin “in those with whom He shares His glory,” I’m seeing it in myself. This is false humility. We all have egos, but we all also share the same glorious Sonship. CIM calls us to spend time each day giving thanks for “the light that shines forever in us.” My judgment of my brother is a mirror. When I see my brother with my Christ eyes, I begin to remember my own glory. My inner healing then bubbles over in a “song of rejoicing,” and that very song calls the world back to its freedom. Nothing is so healing as a person whose face is radiant with joy. It is not that we come to the world teaching a new religion but that we transform it with our joy. We represent a new state of mind. As the Manual puts it, we “stand for the Alternative.” (M-5.III.2:6) We save the world by being saved.

Lesson 240—“Fear is not justified in any form.” When we’re afraid, we’ve been deceived, because given what we are, a part of God Himself, nothing can ever harm us or cause us loss of any kind. The reality of what we are is never in danger; “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.” All the threats of the world, regardless of their forms, witness to only one thing: our illusion about ourselves. We see ourselves as something vulnerable—a body, a fragile ego that can be snuffed out in an instant. In order for us to come to believe we are something else, we must be willing to learn the unreality the entire world seems to witness to. If we insist on making the world real, today’s statement will never seem true to us. Everything in this world will eventually pass away, and if we try to hold onto it, fear is inevitable. This doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy what is temporary. At the same time, we come to understand it’s not the form; it’s not the touch of the body, which will wither and die, for example, but the content, the love that touch catches and expresses that is our goal.

Salvation/happiness results not in a perfect material world, but in a state in which “eternity has shined away the world, and only Heaven now exists at all.” The nightmare gradually vanishes into the Happy Dream. Then God takes His last step, and the illusion of the world vanishes into the reality of Heaven. 

Lesson 241—“This holy instant is salvation come.” Jesus is using the word “special” in this lesson in the same way as another place in the Text where he says, “All my brothers are special.” Today is special because, in the holy instant, salvation has already come. At any time I want, I can open a window of my mind and receive the real world. I can experience a united world, drawn together by my forgiveness. As yet, my glimpses of this united world are fleeting. There are still barriers blocking my awareness of it. My grievances still hide the light of the world in me. But it’s there, and my forgiveness can release it. Every time I pause to remember, every time I attempt to claim the holy instant, another barrier falls. What better way could I possibly spend my time?

What is the World? The first sentence answers the question: “The world is false perception.” The rest is an explanation of this summary statement. Some who study CIM think it’s not saying that the world is unreal, but that our perception of it is false. Yet here, quite clearly, Jesus is saying that the world and false perception are the same thing. The physical world is an hallucination; we are perceiving something that isn’t there. In my perception, “I” am inside my head, looking out on a world that is not me. And that is not the truth. There is no world outside my mind. “What is projected out, and seems to be external to the mind, is not outside at all.” (T-26.VII.4:9) The world is the mistaken idea of separation in our minds. When our mind no longer cherishes the idea of separation, the world, which represents that idea, will disappear. It’s as if we wondered, “What if we were separate?” and were instantly given a virtual reality tour of what would result. CIM is teaching us to solve the problems of the world at their source—within our minds.

Lesson 242—“This day is God’s. It is my gift to Him.” In a day that’s rushed and over full with things to do, it’s a relief to remember that I need not lead my life alone. I can relax into God’s hands. I may list what needs to be done, but I can let go of all attachment to the outcomes. In each moment, I can trust I’ll know what to do next. Today I resign as my own teacher and settle a bit more deeply into the awareness that I do not know. Knowing that is wisdom. So I release the day into God’s hands, knowing that what will transpire is always what’s best for me. “Best for me” doesn’t necessarily meant I’ll get done all I think I need to do or that everything will work out perfectly (in my eyes) in form. Often, it does mean that; but not always. It means making progress on “the way to God.” Because that’s all that life in this world is for. How can I let go my wants and needs? By remembering that God knows what I think I need, and I don’t even have to ask for those things. If the day doesn’t bring me what I think I want or need, it doesn’t mean God’s not listening or lost my case file or is punishing me. It’s because what I thought I wanted does not serve my highest good. The Holy Spirit is not inconsiderate or forgetful. All that I ever need is to heal my own mind of the thought of separation. And Spirit “will give us everything we need in helping us to find the way to” God.

Assignment: Miracles Principle #36. Lessons 243-249. Text, pp. 581-588, “The Dreamer of the Dream” and “The Hero of the Dream.” Review Lesson 152, “The Power of Decision Is My Own.”

Practical Application: Let your confidence and radiance witness to all who are in fear.