ACIM Atonement and Miracles Paragraph 6 You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you behave. Paragraph 7 Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. Paragraph 8 That the miracle may have effects on your brothers that you may not recognize is not your concern.
III. Atonement and Miracles P 6, 7, 8
ACIM III Atonement and Miracles, 6
6 You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you behave. 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. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot behave appropriately unless you perceive correctly. Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one family, as you perceive both so you will do to both. You should look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness of others.
I used to wonder about the Golden Rule. Back in the day (before the Course), I would think about treating others like I treated myself and knew that could not be what Jesus had in mind. I had very low self-esteem and was depressed more than not. This led to a lot of self-destructive behavior. I didn’t think that Jesus meant for me to treat others the way I treated myself or the way I thought I should be treated.
Strangely enough, it never occurred to me that I should question how I felt about myself. My behavior toward myself seemed appropriate to me because of how badly I felt about myself. I behaved badly because I didn’t think much of myself, and then I used the bad behavior to prove that I wasn’t worth much. This circular thinking is very typical of the ego, but at the time, I didn’t know anything about that.
I Had the Desire to do Better
I did recognize that my behavior toward others was often inappropriate in that it was not kind and loving. But I just didn’t know what to do about it. I tried to be a good person but often failed in my eyes to meet that goal. This just provided me with further proof that I was a bad person. At that time, I didn’t know that I would perceive others in the same way I perceived myself and that I would behave according to my perceptions.
Perhaps it was my innate desire to do better with the people in my life that opened my mind just a little so that some light could get in. When I was ready, A Course in Miracles showed up in my life, and I embraced it. Looking back on it, I see that this full and immediate acceptance of the Course was a miracle. I didn’t think of the desire to be a better person as a prayer, but of course, it was. That prayer was answered through A Course in Miracles.
My prayer was to be a better person, to treat others better, to be happier, and to behave better, and eventually, all of these prayers were answered. I learned that these ideals were not the ultimate goal but were the effects of reaching that goal. As I embraced my holiness, I saw that all else was given to me. Considering the state of my mind when I started, the very idea that I could see myself as holy, the miracle of it all, is absolutely amazing.
I Learned How the Golden Rule Works
The Golden Rule says that whatever I wish others would do to me, that is what I should do to them. If my mind is centered on ego, I will think very little of myself and will think I deserve very little from others. What I think is what I experience, so I will be as badly treated as I think I deserve. Being badly treated, I will both defend through attack and so treat others badly, and will at the same time have my original premise reinforced.
If I am badly treated, I believe I must deserve that treatment. When it becomes overwhelming, I project it outward onto others. I see them as the cause of my misery, completely forgetting that the whole cycle began with me. Now that we are back to me let’s look at the way to break the cycle. As we go back to the central idea from yesterday, we find our answer.
Spirit is in a state of grace forever.
Your reality is only spirit.
Therefore you are in a state of grace forever.
I Questioned my Holiness
I am in a state of grace forever. And so, I am very holy. From a perspective of unworthiness, I saw proof of unworthiness everywhere I looked. From this new perspective of holiness, I look out at the world and see holiness. The miracle is not that everyone suddenly became holy but that I suddenly recognized my own holiness and so was able to recognize the holiness of everyone else. Could it have always been that simple? Apparently so.
The ego is constantly waging a war against my holiness, trying to convince me otherwise and pull me back to the dark side, but I am not interested, or at least I am not convinced. I do respond to the seeming proof of my guilt once in a while, but those occasions are rare and becoming more so all the time. I just don’t believe it anymore, so it can’t hold my attention for long.
The more certain I am of my holiness, the more certain I am of yours. Would I ever consider treating your holy self badly? Would I consider treating my holy self badly? Absolutely not! So, if my behavior is not appropriate to our state of holiness, then I must have slipped back into the ego briefly and am temporarily confused about our identities, so don’t take it personally. It is obviously not about you but about me. You haven’t changed. You are holy now and forever. I just forgot, for the moment, who I was. ~smile~
ACIM III Atonement and Miracles, P 7,8
7 Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. By being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator. As an expression of what you truly are, the miracle places the mind in a state of grace. The mind then naturally welcomes the Host within and the stranger without. When you bring in the stranger, he becomes your brother.
ACIM III Atonement and Miracles, P 8
That the miracle may have effects on your brothers that you may not recognize is not your concern. The miracle will always bless you. Miracles you are not asked to perform have not lost their value. They are still expressions of your own state of grace, but the action aspect of the miracle should be controlled by me because of my complete awareness of the whole plan. The impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures your grace, but only I am in a position to know where they can be bestowed.
Let’s Review
These paragraphs feel like a review for the most part.
Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. We become ready for them through our forgiveness work. In forgiving, we allow our minds to be purified. We allow the Holy Spirit to undo all we have done, leaving us in our natural state of holiness. From our holiness, the miracle blesses our holy brothers.
By being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. I must admit that when I think about performing miracles, I think of people I think should have them. This is absolutely not my job. My job is to allow my mind to be healed so that it can be used in the performance of miracles. Miracles are for everyone ready for them and will reach their target because there is only one mind. No one is special. I also do not need to know that I have done anything, nor what that might look like, or to whom it would have been directed. My job is to be miracle ready and to trust.
The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator. Through the Atonement (or the Undoing) we return to our true nature. We let go of all belief in separation and see ourselves as one Whole with each other and our Father. This Oneness is the reason miracles are impersonal. As one whole self with no separation, there is also no specialness. No one person is more deserving or needier. At the same time that a separate brother is awakening, the entire Sonship benefits from that awakening. And that is the goal.
I Am In a State of Grace Forever
As an expression of what you truly are, the miracle places the mind in a state of grace. The mind then naturally welcomes the Host within and the stranger without. When you bring in the stranger, he becomes your brother. Well, ok. I love everything about this. I ask for the miracle that places my mind in a state of grace. And I gladly relinquish all I thought I wanted instead. As I let go and let my mind be healed, I welcome the Host (the Holy Spirit) and step aside so that He can do this work through me.
Also, I welcome the stranger. I welcome him home to the place I find myself. I welcome him to comfort and support, and peace. As I welcome him as my brother, he is no longer a stranger. My friend has a daily process in which he asks the Holy Spirit to take him to God. He also brings a friend, whoever happens to be on his mind at the time. I hope he brings me some time, too. This is a place of miracles.
What I Learned from Paragraph 8
8. That the miracle may have effects on your brothers that you may not recognize is not your concern. The miracle will always bless you. What a great arrangement. I give my mind for purification, and from this healed place, I welcome the Holy Spirit to bless any of my brothers with a miracle. I don’t care who is chosen or why. Nor do I care how the miracle is manifested. I don’t need to see proof or care about proof. It couldn’t get any easier than this, but it just got better. Whatever is done through me is a blessing to me.
Miracles you are not asked to perform have not lost their value. They are still expressions of your own state of grace, but the action aspect of the miracle should be controlled by me because of my complete awareness of the whole plan. The impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures your grace, but only I am in a position to know where they can be bestowed.
So now I know that I can perform miracles indiscriminately because a healed mind is in a state of grace and so naturally expresses itself as love. And I also know why it is better to allow Jesus to be in charge of the action aspect of miracles. He knows the whole plan; he knows who is ready to accept the miracle and how one miracle links to the next.
Another thought that occurs to me is that in allowing myself to be guided, I am reinforcing the idea in my own mind that miracles are impersonal. Actually, everything is impersonal. I know this is true, but as I become involved in my story of Myron, I tend to forget it.
From my blog at Pathways of Light
To read what I wrote about being a miracle worker, CLICK HERE.