ACIM Chapter 1. II. Revelation, Time and Miracles, P 1, 2

ACIM Revelation, Time and Miracles. 1 Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. 2. Revelation is intensely personal and cannot be meaningfully translated.

II. Revelation, Time and Miracles

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1 Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. It reflects the original form of communication between God and His creations, involving the extremely personal sense of creation sometimes sought in physical relationships. Physical closeness cannot achieve it. Miracles, however, are genuinely interpersonal, and result in true closeness to others. Revelation unites you directly with God. Miracles unite you directly with your brother. Neither emanates from consciousness, but both are experienced there. Consciousness is the state that induces action, though it does not inspire it. You are free to believe what you choose, and what you do attests to what you believe.

First, let’s look at revelation. I have had one experience that seems to fit the brief description Jesus gives us. It is not possible for me to share it fully because it didn’t involve words or thoughts. But I can tell you what happened. A friend of mine told me about an experience he had. He felt so much love from God that it left him sitting on the floor sobbing. He said it was so intense he felt like the body could not sustain it for long.

I thought about this and wondered what that would be like. I was told that God loves me, but my ego was also telling me to be afraid of God. One morning while taking my shower, I was considering what it would be like to feel the love of God as my friend did. So, I asked for it. I asked to feel the love of God or as much as I could take. Immediately, it happened!

Words Can’t Describe It

I wish I could convey what that was like in words, but I can’t. It was overwhelming, and like my friend, I had to sit down in the shower and just let it happen. I cried, not out of fear or anything bad, just because I had to. The intensity subsided, but it continued to flow and was unlike anything I had ever experienced.

 At some point, I had the thought that I couldn’t go to work like this, and just like that, it ended. It was like I had turned off the faucet of love. At that time in my life, I was still defended against love, and so I didn’t know how to feel about it. At this point, I would be happy to have the flow, though I don’t know that I could sustain that initial burst of love and still go about my daily business.

The reason I think that is revelation is that it did induce a temporary suspension of doubt and fear. I didn’t care about anything except that love. And if this is how we are meant to communicate with God, I have an inkling now of why it is sometimes referred to as bliss. When I began to study the Course, I only wanted to have a better life, to be a little happier, and to have things go my way. Now, I only want to return to my natural state, to be free of these stories, to return to my Creator.

The Miracle

I laugh at the idea that I could achieve this kind of experience through a physical joining with another human being. But there is something I can do to bring myself closer to others. And I must join with others if I want to remember what I am. The miracle will do this for me, and so I am all about the miracle. As revelation gave me a temporary experience of uniting with God, miracles gave me the experience of uniting with my brothers. It is not the same experience, but it changed my life and put me on the path of awakening.

Revelation is an extraordinary gift, but right now, miracles are more helpful. While revelation unites us with God, miracles unite us with our brother, and uniting with our brothers is the first step to returning home. Home is Wholeness, Oneness, and so cannot be experienced while we still yearn to be separate and unique individuals.

Jesus tells us that both miracles and revelation occur in consciousness, but they do not originate there. Though we experience them within our story, they are inspired from outside the illusion. This reminds me that I cannot cause either revelation or miracles. I can do the work that prepares me to accept them, but I cannot make them happen. Jesus says that we are to perform miracles, and that makes sense because consciousness is where action takes place. The inspiration for that action comes from outside the illusion.

Belief

You are free to believe what you choose, and what you do attests to what you believe. This last sentence is helpful to me as I look for evidence of doubt and fear in my mind. The ego is always pointing to guilt and fear. And in my perfect freedom as God’s Son, I can choose to believe anything I want to believe, and what I believe will manifest as my life.

How handy, right? I don’t have to wonder how my life got into its present state.  It is a reflection of the beliefs I hold in my mind. Why do I act as I do? I act according to my beliefs. This makes the solution clear. Choose different beliefs, and experience a different life. Choose different beliefs and awaken. This is the miracle, this change of mind. What we see and how we feel is the effect of the miracle. Sometimes we are aware of the effect, sometimes not. But it always works.

II. Revelation, Time and Miracles P 2

² Revelation is intensely personal and cannot be meaningfully translated. That is why any attempt to describe it in words is impossible. Revelation induces only experience. Miracles, on the other hand, induce action. They are more useful now because of their interpersonal nature. In this phase of learning, working miracles is important because freedom from fear cannot be thrust upon you. Revelation is literally unspeakable because it is an experience of unspeakable love.

In this paragraph, Jesus is reinforcing what he said before. Revelation is personal and can’t be shared. I was able to share the fact of my revelation but not the experience of it. Miracles, though, induce action. And Jesus tells us this is important. In the previous paragraph, Jesus tells us that miracles are actions and that they make us closer to our brothers. This paragraph emphasizes another benefit. In performing miracles, we get used to the idea that we are free from fear.

He says this freedom cannot be thrust upon us. You would think that we would be thrilled to be free of fear, but evidently not. I certainly experienced fear of freedom from fear in my life even after I began to study the Course. How do I know? Because I still experienced fear. Fear is no more real than pain, so why do I feel it? Even now, after all these years, I still have fear sometimes.

Forgive and Release

The difference now is that I know where the fear comes from, and I know I don’t have to believe it. I might read about a child dying, and I remember how fragile these bodies are. There is a thought that this could as easily happen to my granddaughter, and fear runs through me. I identify that thought as an ego device to keep me focused on the story rather than on the truth of who we all are.

I forgive and let go, and as the thought blinks out, the fear is gone as well. No matter how often this happens to me, I still feel a thrill of amazement at the miracle. One time several years ago, my son had a procedure that went wrong. I talked about this in Principle of Miracles 50. He was in such excruciating pain that he literally could not talk. We didn’t know if there was permanent damage or if this would pass.  I was in such fear for him that I couldn’t think outside the ego mind, which was frozen in fear.

After a while, as I asked the Holy Spirit for help, my mind began to clear, and I could hear the Voice for God. I went back and forth for a few days as I got sucked into the ego voice of fear. When I was momentarily free of fear, the ego whispered shame to me that I would be happy when my son was endangered. As if my lapse in fear was going to result in his becoming worse. The ego wants us to believe that fear protects us.

This Can’t Be True

I remembered this could not be true and listened again to Spirit. I sent a message to some friends asking for their prayerful support. Messages were returned, and the blessing was that not one of them said anything about how sad or scary this was. Each message was a message of truth. God bless my friends.

During those few days, I had to remain vigilant for the truth. It had been a long time since I had gone through something like this, where I was overwhelmed with doubt and fear. I was reminded to be compassionate when others are confused and afraid. The truth is simple, but when the ego has your attention, it doesn’t always feel simple.

Some True Things

Once I returned to sanity, I remembered some true things.

• There is nothing outside my mind, and that includes my son and his injury.
• I am not sick and cannot die, but I can confuse myself with things that do, and that is true for my son as well.
• I remember that my son and I are not two separate beings; we are one. When I am afraid for my son, I am, in my mind, separating us. If I am ok, but my son is not, that means we are separate.
• When I think my son needs to be healed, I am, at that moment, an unhealed healer. As I am healed, I withdraw my projection and ask that my mind be healed of the belief in pain and suffering so that I can be truly helpful.
• My Spirit provides exactly what I need to support me. I trust my Spirit, and this is equally true for my son.
• No matter what seems to be happening or how much proof I have to the contrary, nothing is happening. Both My son and I are safe in God. We are dreaming of fear and pain, and that is all.

The Way to the Miracle

This is the way to the miracle. I hear the Voice for God, and I heed that voice rather than the ego. I remember the truth for my son while he may not be able to do so, just as my friends did for me. And I ask that my mind be healed of whatever it is that is causing the situation with my son. It is my understanding that I am responsible for everything in my life, including my thoughts about my son. I wait in happy anticipation to see how the miracle will show up in our story.

This miracle of a healed mind made it possible for me to help. It brought me closer to him and closer to my friends who helped me. It proved to me that it is safe not to be afraid. I saw that this is possible to change my mind regardless of the circumstances. And so, the next time I needed this lesson, it came more easily and more quickly.

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