ACIM Daily Lesson 345. I offer only miracles today, for I would have them be returned to me.
I offer only miracles today, for I would have them be returned to me.
Photo by John Gardiner of Whangarei, New Zealand
Lesson 345
I offer only miracles today, for I would have them be returned to me.
1. Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son. ²And every one I give returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal. ³Even here, it takes a form which can be recognized and seen to work. ⁴The miracles I give are given back in just the form I need to help me with the problems I perceive. ⁵Father, in Heaven it is different, for there, there are no needs. ⁶But here on earth, the miracle is closer to Your gifts than any other gift that I can give. ⁷Then let me give this gift alone today, which, born of true forgiveness, lights the way that I must travel to remember You.
2. Peace to all seeking hearts today. ²The light has come to offer miracles to bless the tired world. ³It will find rest today, for we will offer what we have received.
How is it that I give and receive miracles?
First, I need to ask what a miracle is. A miracle is a change of mind that brings me from fear to love. Here is an example. Someone I know is about to take a financial leap that may not work out. I see some pitfalls, and my first thought is to warn her about them. But she didn’t ask for my opinion and really, all she wants is for me to celebrate her decision. So that is what I do.
I can do that because I have stopped believing my fear thoughts about her. In forgiving those fear thoughts, the miracle corrects my thinking. I would notice a fear thought about her or anyone I know, and I would ask the Holy Spirit to look at it with me. Then I would relinquish it to Him, and He would heal my mind. That healing is a miracle. Now I can offer my friend a miracle that takes the form of allowing her story to unfold without judging it. She needs my support and my faith, and so I give it to her, and that is how I give the miracle I received.
That miracle will come back to me because I gave it. For instance, it might come back as money showing up just when I need it. Or it might take the form of a loving expression from someone when I am feeling down. Or maybe the next time I am stuck in my own ego story, the solution quickly becomes evident to me. The form of the miracle changes according to the need. The source of the miracle is the Love of God, and it takes whatever appearance is needed.
How do I offer miracles today?
I know the miracle is love, but from this lesson, I see that love takes form in the world so that it can be recognized and seen to work. So, each person who comes into my life in any way receives my unconditional love. That is the miracle. The form depends on the needs as perceived by the recipient.
Yesterday, my daughter wanted me to come to see her. So, I put aside my plans and did that because I could tell she perceived a need for company. While there, my granddaughter perceived a need for a playmate, and so I met that need.
Then, my daughter discovered that her babysitter couldn’t make it today, and she knew I had students this morning, so she asked her mother-in-law. I looked around and realized she needed help getting her house straightened out and so I helped her do that. All those things I did was love taking a form that could be recognized and seen to work. All were expressions of love.
When I have a challenge, I ask for a miracle.
Sometimes, mostly, that involves a change of mind. I am helped to see a situation differently, or I express a sincere desire for healing my mind, and forgiveness happens. It’s a miracle. Sometimes I need something in form. I have a problem with a gas leak on my stove, and I was uncertain what to do about it. I asked and received inspiration.
When I am sick, which is something that happened to me recently, my request is twofold. I ask what it is for, and I forgive the errors in my mind. I also expect that the form of sickness, the projection of wrong-minded thinking, will fade away as quickly as possible.
For a while, I misunderstood the Course when it came to sickness. I felt like I was a failure as a Course student if I got sick. Now, I have let that interpretation go because it doesn’t make sense. I am not the body that is sick, I am the awareness of the sick body. My part is to forgive the beliefs that cause sickness, and the sick body reminds me of my purpose.
But while I still had that attitude of being guilty of being sick, I didn’t know what to do with it. When I went to the doctor, I would project my guilt and discomfort onto him. He was the symbol that I was guilty and a failure. And not surprisingly, I seemed to have bad luck with doctors. They were not helpful to me. Now it feels strange that I didn’t see this sooner, but we see our errors when we are ready and not before.
At some point, my mind shifted some.
This happened because I continued to do my forgiveness work, and as a result, I saw my error. I asked for healing, and I began to see doctors as my dear brothers who wanted only to help me. I saw them as my partners. Doing the forgiveness work is my part of the partnership, and they would work on this body as their part. An amazing thing happened. From that point onward, I encountered the most helpful and kind doctors. The miracle was my change of mind; the outward expression of that miracle was the change in doctors.
First, in every case, whether it be physical, emotional, or having to do with relationships or financial difficulties – first, the mind must be addressed. There is something that needs the miracle of forgiveness. That is the real miracle. Then, I have every expectation of the form the error took being corrected as well.
Regina’s Tips
Our special theme says, “Each lily of forgiveness offers all the world the silent miracle of love.”
Regina points out that others may not notice our miracles. That is why the Course refers to them as silent miracles of love. I have experienced many of these shifts, and even when the shift was significant, most people didn’t know it happened and still don’t. My family certainly doesn’t. Some of my students and fellow Course friends are beginning to notice something has happened, but while my inner environment is very different, outwardly, it is not particularly noticeable.
Regina also says this: This means that we cannot look outside ourselves for evidence of a miracle or for understanding of what has occurred. The miracle is ours to behold as it has been revealed to us while also knowing a miracle could never belong to us alone.
And yet, while the miracle of a healed mind is not always noticeable, at times, I do see the miracle take form in a way that is clearly seen. I’ve seen that many times in my life. But Regina is wise to remind us that its outward effects are not our concern. Forgiveness is our only function. I appreciate the outward effects when they show up, but I don’t try to create them or direct them. My concern is always the healing of the mind.
Here is something else Regina says.
…we receive whatever we give. As today’s workbook lesson says:
Father, a miracle reflects Your gifts to me, Your Son. And every one I give returns to me, reminding me the law of love is universal.
As we live from the unaffected Self, we become unaffected. In this way, we transcend (or overcome) the world. This can be reflected in how we see a situation, and it can be reflected in the situation itself. A situation can change as a result of our way of being. However, it is never for us to decide that a situation must change because by deciding that is so, we have also decided that we are affected by that situation. By that very decision, we have judged instead of abiding as unaffected.
Regina goes on to talk about this. She points out that we are talking about thoughts and feelings. I might very well decide to change a situation, but that does not mean I think I am affecting my Self, and that’s why I want to change it. My Self, my true Self, not my ego self, is unaffected by the world and its happenings.
As I learn to live from that Self instead of the reactive self of the ego, I can love a situation while, at the same time, changing the situation. Think of love taking the form of acceptance in this case. I love that I had a gas leak in my house, but I would always do something to stop the leak. This means I accepted the situation as it was.
Here is what that looks like for me.
I woke up earlier this week thinking I smelled gas in my house, and sure enough, I had a serious gas leak. If I were acting from the ego, I would have been afraid and upset, and I would wish that this was not happening. I might let my upset and confusion slow down any action I would take, and, in my uncertainty, I would have trouble deciding what to do. I would have been worried about the cost, and that might have affected my decision.
But that’s not what happened. I noticed the leak, and for a moment, I had the typical ego reaction in that I didn’t know what to do and that made me uneasy. But then sanity kicked in, and I was OK with the situation. I accepted it and loved it just as it was. I thought of a couple of options and chose one.
It took a couple of days to get everything done, but I wasn’t upset, and once I got things going, I just let it all unfold. I had a couple of moments during those several days when I reacted briefly, but then I would go back to loving it all. Instead of being a major upset in my life, it was just a blip on the screen. That’s the difference between living as the ego and living as closely as I can at this time as the unaffected Self.
Past Entry
Peace to all seeking hearts today. The light has come to offer miracles to bless the tired world. It will find rest today, for we will offer what we have received.
I offer miracles when I love; that is when I see only the truth of the situation or the person in spite of what seems to be happening. If I do not immediately see the truth, I am willing to see it, and so it is a gift to me. Someone seems to attack me, and I feel attacked, perhaps dreaming of ways to defend myself and return the attack. Because I want to offer only miracles today, I notice what I am doing, and I ask the Holy Spirit to help me see differently.
As a result of a sincere desire to be corrected, I have no desire to defend or attack. I feel grateful to the brother who helped me see the mistaken thought in my mind. His anger was merely his call for help, and I have no desire other than to give as I received. I want him to be healed because he is part of me, and my wholeness is dependent on his wholeness.
Miracles may take different forms, but they are always the result of forgiveness.
I forgive the world I see and allow it to be the world it truly is. This is a miracle. It is the only miracle. But while I think the world is outside me, and I think I am in it and have problems and things to do, the miracle will take the form most needed.
I ran into a person who I have failed to call friend and felt a pang of regret that I did not see her coming so I could avoid her. This calls for a miracle. I ask Holy Spirit to help me see differently because I am willing to be wrong about this woman. I am willing to be wrong about my need to avoid her. The miracle takes the form of perfect words coming from my mouth that teach her she is valuable and teaches me that love is always possible and always beautiful. I feel so much gratitude that I was blessed in this way. The miracle came through me, not from me, and it required nothing of me other than my willingness.
Contemplation 2025
To enjoy the Pathways of Light Insights on ACIM Lesson 345 click here.
If you found this content helpful, please share on social media so more people can read and learn.