ACIM Chapter 12. VII.  Looking Within, P 1, 2

ACIM Chapter 12. VII.  Looking Within, P 1, 2

VII. Looking Within, P 1

¹ Miracles demonstrate that learning has occurred under the right guidance, for learning is invisible and what has been learned can be recognized only by its results. Its generalization is demonstrated as you use it in more and more situations. You will recognize that you have learned there is no order of difficulty in miracles when you apply them to all situations. There is no situation to which miracles do not apply, and by applying them to all situations you will gain the real world. For in this holy perception you will be made whole, and the Atonement will radiate from your acceptance of it for yourself to everyone the Holy Spirit sends you for your blessing. In every child of God His blessing lies, and in your blessing of the children of God is His blessing to you.

The first thing I always have to do when reading about miracles is to separate in my mind the difference between a miracle and a demonstration of a miracle or the physical manifestation of a miracle. For instance, I had been working on my mind regarding body size. I wanted this body to be smaller. I wanted to turn around, look into the mirror, and see a smaller me. Now, that would be a miracle, right?

No. That would simply be the physical manifestation of a miracle.

The miracle would be the change in the mind that allowed a change in the world. Here is the miracle I am really looking for. I want to look in the mirror and see a body I use for only one purpose: to be the communication device the Holy Spirit needs. I want to see a body that is used only to light the world with love and innocence. Now, that would be a miracle, and one I expect!

When I reach my expectations and use this body only as the vehicle for extending love, will it be a skinny body? How about a pretty body while we are at it? A healthy body, an energetic body? I have noticed a shift in my thoughts about the body as I continue practicing miracle-minded thinking. I notice that there is still some ego desire to use the body for ego purposes, but there is a greater desire to relinquish the body to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said that he would take the body and the ego if we wanted him to. He will do this so that we can see their unimportance. This is what I want more than I want to be smaller or prettier or anything else and to be free of these ego “wantings.” I want to be free of all that stands between me and my God. I want to be free of this veil that hides the light I am from my own awareness and keeps me from being the light of the world.

This is the miracle I want.

I want to be single-minded in all things, to know only one desire, one purpose, one function. From this miracle, all others will flow. I don’t know how this will manifest within the world, and I am ready, perhaps fully ready, to disregard all ego desires for a particular manifestation. Sacrifice is never asked of me but how that occurs is not something I need to even think about.

I am ready for this, not because I think I am guilty for what the ego mind wants, but because the ego desires distract me from what truly matters to me. As I fully release the body and the ego to Jesus, I become free of anxiety about them. What happens at that point is not my business, and I discover that I am losing interest in directing the miracle. I will for the miracle of a changed mind and allow its manifestation in whatever way it unfolds. And amen to that!

2 VII. Looking Within, P 2

² Everyone in the world must play his part in its redemption, in order to recognize that the world has been redeemed. You cannot see the invisible. Yet if you see its effects you know it must be there. By perceiving what it does, you recognize its being. And by what it does, you learn what it is. You cannot see your strengths, but you gain confidence in their existence as they enable you to act. And the results of your actions you can see.

I must play my part in the redemption of the world. My part is essential. I think of it as a vast tapestry that encompasses all of the world. My part in weaving this tapestry is very tiny, but if I don’t do it, there will be a hole in the tapestry. So that I must do it is not in question. But what is my part? My part is to accept the Atonement for myself.

In this story of Myron, I look at the situations that make up life here, recognize that they represent beliefs in my mind, and then allow the mistaken beliefs to be healed. It sounds simple enough, and it is, but there are times when it has felt hard. In fact, there were times when I didn’t understand it and times when it felt like I couldn’t do it.

But when my faith in myself faltered, I believed in Jesus.

I believe he gave us the Course as a way to understand and as a carefully planned system to help us accept the Atonement. So, I kept going. I kept trying to accept the Atonement and trusted that it was working even when I felt inadequate to the task. I didn’t see my own strength and had trouble believing in it.

Over time, though, I have experienced the healing that Jesus promised in the Course. Even though it is not complete yet, I see from the results I have experienced so far that it will be done as he said it would be. So, I am gaining certainty in my strength even though that strength is not always apparent. I am gaining certainty because the healing of my mind is the effect of that strength and so, it convinces me that what I cannot always see is, indeed, there.

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