A Course In Miracles: CHAPTER 1: THE MEANING OF MIRACLES (Summary)
A Course In Miracles
CHAPTER 1
THE MEANING OF MIRACLES
I. Principles of Miracles
Out of the 50 miracle principles, let us review a few that have been specifically selected that seem to represent the essence of what a miracle IS:
Miracle Principle 1: “There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not “harder” or “bigger” than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal.”
Miracle Principle 3: “Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle.”
Miracle Principle 12: “Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent the lower or bodily level of experience, or the higher or spiritual level of experience. One makes the physical, and the other creates the spiritual.”
Miracle Principle 20: “Miracles reawaken the awareness that the spirit, not the body, is the altar of truth. This is the recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle.”
Miracle Principle 25: “Miracles are part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness which, when completed, is the Atonement. Atonement works all the time and in all the dimensions of time.”
Miracle Principle 40: “The Miracle acknowledges everyone as your brother and mine. It is a way of perceiving the universal mark of God.”
Miracle Principle 44: The Miracle is an expression of an inner awareness of Christ and the acceptance of His Atonement.”
In summary, section 1: “Principles of Miracles” is saying:
There is no order of difficulty in miracles because the world we see is not eternal, and therefore not real. Everything in this world is equally unreal and therefore equally eligible for healing through the expression of God’s Love. All expressions of God’s love are maximal because God cannot give love partially. Miracles are natural expressions of God’s Love through us, through our loving thoughts. We can have two types of thoughts: those of the “lower” or bodily level and those of the “higher” or spiritual level, which are those thoughts that represent our union in God’s love. Only these thoughts have the potential to extend miracles. Once you have cleared your inner altar of all thoughts that do not represent unity, you have made space for God’s Presence in your mind, and thus the ability to work miracles is awakened.
Your miracle working abilities are awakened through miracle-mindedness, which stems from true forgiveness. True forgiveness is nothing more than overlooking the bodies that seem to separate us. It is to remember that we are One. Recognizing this Oneness is called the Atonement. It is a miracle to recognize the Oneness we share with one another and God. Conscious acceptance of our Oneness, is the way to perceive the universal mark of God in one another.
Therefore, a miracle is simply the inner awareness of Christ’s presence within all people. It is a miracle to understand that such awareness of unity completes the circle of Atonement. When your mind rests in such a state of miracle-minded thinking, anything is possible in the physical world, for you have then already overcome it, even as Christ Himself did.
II. Revelation, Time and Miracles
“Miracles unite you directly with your brother.” (1:6)
“Revelation induces only experience. Miracles, on the other hand, induce action.” (2:3-2)
“Revelation is literally unspeakable because it is an experience of unspeakable love.” (2:7)
“The miracle minimizes the need for time. In the longitudinal or horizontal plane the recognition of the equality of the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time. However, the miracle entails a sudden shift from horizontal to vertical perception. This introduces an interval from which the giver and receiver both emerge farther along in time than they would otherwise have been. The miracle thus has the unique property of abolishing time to the extent that it renders the interval of time it spans unnecessary.” (6:1-5)
“The miracle substitutes for learning that might have taken thousands of years.” (6:7)
In summary, section 2: “Revelation, Time and Miracles” is saying:
Revelation is the resulting EXPERIENCE of extending miracles. Miracles are the action we take in order to have the experience of “unspeakable love” that defines what revelation is. Time is irrelevant. Miracles abolish the need for time because miraculous thinking actually causes our mind to step out of the horizontal dimension of time entirely and “go vertical.” Horizontal thinking is exactly what it sounds like; our thoughts literally “go sideways” when they rest on the physical world and its horizontal path through time. But if your mind elevates to the level of miracle-mindedness it lifts out of the realm of time itself. Miracles actually erase the time it takes to achieve “vertical” thinking under ordinary circumstances. In order to shift our perception “vertical,” we must see only Light in our brothers, thus saving us “thousands of years” of learning what the truth is.
III. Atonement and Miracles
"As you share my unwillingness to accept error in yourself and others, you must join the great crusade to correct it; listen to my voice, learn to undo error and act to correct it. The power to work miracles belongs to you. I will provide the opportunities to do them, but you must be ready and willing. Doing them will bring conviction in the ability, because conviction comes through accomplishment. The ability is the potential, the achievement is its expression, and the Atonement, which is the natural profession of the children of God, is the purpose." (1.6-10)
"'Lead us not into temptation" means "Recognize your errors and choose to abandon them by following my guidance.'" (4.7)
"The Golden Rule asks you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This means that the perception of both must be accurate. (6.2) You cannot behave appropriately unless you perceive correctly. (6.5) You should look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness of others." (6.7)
In summary, section 3: “Atonement and Miracles” is saying:
“Error” is to mistake anyone for the body they appear to be and forget Who They Are in truth. We are called by Jesus to join Him in seeing others as He does, through the eyes of forgiveness – eyes that see only the Light of God within. Our opportunities to do so are endless. We only need to be willing, and as we practice true forgiveness, we will witness miracles in healing – in healing of relationships as well as physical bodies. This will give us great conviction in our newfound abilities. These abilities are not special; they are our natural way of being. To perform miracles is our purpose in the world.
All we need remember is that we want to be alert as to when we are seeing only errors in one another. Let us not be tempted to see the body above the Light within one another; and if we become mistaken, we must abandon such thoughts immediately, which invites the presence of Jesus.
We cannot behave appropriately towards one another until we see each other correctly. Until then, our actions will remain insane. We need to learn to perceive others through the eyes of our own holiness, and see only theirs.
IV. The Escape from Darkness
“The escape from darkness involves two stages: First, the recognition that darkness cannot hide. This step usually entails fear. Second, the recognition that there is nothing you want to hide even if you could. This step brings escape from fear. When you have become willing to hide nothing, you will not only be willing to enter into communion but will also understand peace and joy.” (1:1-5)
“Holiness can never be really hidden in darkness, but you can deceive yourself about it. This deception makes you fearful because you realize in your heart it is a deception, and you exert enormous efforts to establish its reality.” (2:1-2)
“Darkness is lack of light as sin is lack of love.” (3.1)
“The emptiness engendered by fear must be replaced by forgiveness.” (4.1)
“Those who witness for me are expressing, through their miracles, that they have abandoned the belief in deprivation in favor of the abundance they have learned belongs to them.” (4:8)
In summary, section 4: “The Escape from Darkness” is saying:
“Darkness” is the mind that is unaware of its own holiness and its union in holiness and love with all other minds. First, we must recognize that we cannot hide from such union and love by simply forgetting about it. This will entail some fear, as we suddenly feel guilty for attempting to hide from God. We will move into peace as we accept there is nothing about God from which we would wish to hide from in the first place. This is accomplished through forgiveness. Forgiveness replaces the hatred you once held for all those whom you thought were separate from you, for forgiveness is the inner recognition they actually belong to you in Spirit. Only in darkness could you mistake your brother for an enemy and try to destroy one who is a part of you. In light, you can see Who They Are, your dearest Friend.
V. Wholeness and Spirit
“The basic decision of the miracle-minded is not to wait on time any longer than is necessary.” (2:1)
“Ultimately, every member of the family of God must return.” (4:1)
“Whatever is true is eternal, and cannot change or be changed. Spirit is therefore unalterable because it is already perfect, but the mind can elect what it chooses to serve.” (5:1)
“The miracle is a sign that the mind has chosen to be led by me in Christ’s service.” (6:1)
In summary, section 5: “Wholeness and Spirit” is saying:
The miracle-minded person has decided to “go vertical” in their thinking, to no longer believe in what the world shows them. It is to acknowledge that only what is eternal is true about everyone. The body is a false identity to be overlooked and thus forgiven. This thinking is the path that sets us on our return to God. We have thus decided to allow Him to lead our minds and thoughts and place them in service to Christ.
VI. The Illusion of Needs
"You who want peace can find it only by complete forgiveness." (1.1)
"Until the 'separation,' which is the meaning of the 'fall,' nothing was lacking. There were no needs at all." (1.6-7)
"A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need correct." (2.1)
"The idea of orders of need, which follows from the original error that one can be separated from God, requires correction at its own level before the error of perceiving levels at all can be corrected." (3)
"The purpose of this world is to use it to correct your unbelief. You can never control the effects of your fear yourself, because you made fear, and you believe in what you made." (4.1-2)
“To whatever extent you are willing to submit your beliefs to this test, to that extent are your perceptions corrected. In sorting out the false from the true, the miracle proceeds along these lines:
Perfect love casts out fear.
If fear exists,
Then there is not perfect love.
But:
Only perfect love exists.
If there is fear,
It produces a state that does not exist.
Believe this and you will be free." (5.1-9)
In summary, section 6: “The Illusion of Needs” is saying:
We have an illusion that we need things in this world. However, our only real need is to correct the error in thinking that brought about the existence of this world to begin with: the thought that it is possible for us to be separated from God. This thought needs to be corrected before any other correction is possible. In order to do this, we must submit everything we think we understand to this one simple test: Do we feel fear or love in association with it? Is there a possibility of loss of some kind? Perfect love can never be lost or stolen. If there is fear, we are associating our mind with a false reality and therefore it does not exist in the first place. There is nothing to lose! Only perfect love exists and this is the thought that frees us from all forms of fear.
VII. Distortions of Miracle Impulses
“The confusion of miracle impulses with physical impulses is a major perceptual distortion.” (1:2)
“Do not deceive yourself into believing that you can relate in peace to God or to your brothers with anything external.” (1:7)
“You can use your body best to help you enlarge your perception so you can achieve real vision of which the physical eye in incapable. Learning to do this is the body’s only true usefulness.” (2:4-5)
“Fantasy is an attempt to control reality according to false needs.” (3:6)
“Fantasies are a means of making false associations and attempting to obtain pleasure from them. But although you can perceive false associations, you can never make them real except to yourself. You believe in what you make. If you offer only miracles, you will be equally strong in your belief in them.” (3:6-9)
“Complete restoration of the Sonship is the only goal of the miracle-minded.” (3:14)
“The means are being carefully explained to you.” (5:10)
In summary, section 7: “Distortions of Miracle Impulses” is saying:
Deep down inside, beneath our conscious awareness, is our desire to be one with God. This is our heart’s desire. We must not confuse the desires of the body – our “body impulses” – as a means for fulfilling our deep seeded desire for oneness with God. It is a fantasy to attempt to use the body as replacement for what only the awareness of oneness can restore.
The body is the fantasy of separation we set between God and us. While we still relate to it as our identity, we are not at peace with God. The gains of this world we seem to use it for can never be real, for the body is not Who We Are. The only true use for the body is for forgiveness, which is to see no one as a body. To see in this way is a miracle. It is to extend our corrected perception, which the physical eye cannot see. Having bodily fantasies is to create more illusions of false needs. Fantasies about worldly goals are attempts to simply be more comfortable here within the illusion, rather than trying to heal it. The only goal one should have is the acceptance of our Oneness – not to strengthen the idea of our separation through believing bodies are our true identity. Our only goal in coming here is to restore God’s Sonship to wholeness. The means to do this are being given to us through specific instruction in this course.
This concludes CHAPTER 1: THE MEANING OF MIRACLES
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