The beauty and simplicity of A TRAINING COURSE in Miracles (ACIM) really shines through one of its major principles: The Law of Cause and Effect. That is different from regulations of Attraction, a topic on which so much has been discussed these last couple of years. ACIM answers not only why things will be the way they are with the mind, but also how exactly to implement these mind corrections needed to change your life. What it ultimately boils down to may be the choice to improve beliefs while residing in this world, or the decision to correct your brain and return home.
Affirmations are not part of A Course in Miracles as they are not necessary and here’s why: There exists a “wrong” ego mind, and a “right” ego mind, both of which are still part of the same ego side of the split mind. Within the ego mind (error), the incorrect side is all the negative judgments; and the proper side is all of the negative judgments attempting to convince you how wonderful it is to live here in this negative world. Neither is the truth of one’s nature nor what your location is trying to return your mind, 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 do not leave their source: You.
Let’s utilize this example:
Someone is feeling the effects to be “poor,” or lack, nowadays and 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 being an unstable thought system, what 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 the other: (2) poor or rich; and, (3) ego or God. It asks one to choose between two things within the ego illusion and not to choose out from the illusion.
This is as opposed 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 effects you imagine because the ego cannot relate. It returns a portion of your brain 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 see them.
Let’s look at how ACIM breaks this all down into a simple group of principles based on Cause and Effect. It only has a few components and when understood and used, they are often “mind” correcting!
The Metaphysics:
Remember, in accordance with ACIM, your brain is split by the ego’s judgment that people could be separate, generally 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 isn’t about affirmations or changing beliefs, because the mind never left God but still resides aware of Him. There are no “belief” judgments in Love, Oneness, Heaven and Knowledge as everything is the same, all one, and nothing to believe or judge between.
Instead, it is about changing your internal Teacher or rather, who you’re listening to for interpretation of events nowadays. The only change is in the decision between the split mind (error) of the ego or the Holy Spirit Right Mind (correction) as that internal Teacher.
That’s 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 longer want. We take action all the time with ego stuff; and now we just take action with the ego beliefs themselves.
Forgiveness:
This says it all: 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, and to its natural state of peace. To achieve that is simply either which side of the split mind to hear for interpretation of events and turning on the judgments you no longer want to the Holy Spirit Right Mind for correction (forgiveness).
The Holy Spirit may be the solution to the separation put into the mind by God and every answer is there looking forward to you. Atonement, forgiveness, salvation and True Perception are other words that are synonymous. You have 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 choice maker, because you no longer want them.
It really is that easy and only confusing as a result of belief that the only real choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to use the earlier example, rather than understanding concerning this third option being available. The choice 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 the mind to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is aimed at your choice maker in your brain. The whole point is that you’ve got a selection of which side of your brain to hear and use for interpretation. That’s all that ever happened to begin with. It was a choice 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 don’t 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 method that you feel keeps them hidden which 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 may be the mechanism between your two sides of the split mind. It is neutral, an observer and is something you have to employ to watch the mind and the judgments being created by the ego. Once you realize you have used something from the ego error of the wrong or right mind, just be willing to hand them to the perfect solution is, 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 more want. It really is, and certainly can, be that simple.
Form and Content:
The last component to know from A Course in Miracles is form and content. Form is this world and everything in it. acim videos In ACIM, form does not matter and is section of the “beliefs” to be turned over. However, you utilize 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’re using for interpretation (perception) of people, 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 which is a Course in training your mind how exactly to perceive properly. You need to return the mind to peace as the Kingdom of God is peace and you also cannot start to see the doorway from judgment. You only see peace in peace even though sharing peace with everyone.
All ACIM says is you have the willingness to understand how to do this, study the ideas and put it into practice. The assist you to need will show up; but you, my friend, must do the work of this inward journey back into the mind.
REGULATIONS of Cause and Effect is 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 mind 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 once and for all.