ACIM Chapter 2. V. A. Special Principles of Miracle Workers P 13, 14. Never confuse right- and wrong-mindedness.
A. Special Principles of Miracle Workers P 13, 14
A. Special Principles of Miracle Workers P 13
13 (3) Never confuse right- and wrong-mindedness. Responding to any form of error with anything except a desire to heal is an expression of this confusion.
Jesus is clear on this. First, he tells us never to confuse right and wrong-mindedness, which means we probably always do that. So then he tells us how we know when we make that mistake. If we respond to any form of error with anything except a desire to heal, we know that we have confused right- and wrong-mindedness.
My grandson is wandering around the house looking for his phone. He is afraid he has lost it and is upset. He asks me for help, then gets annoyed if I ask him questions about it. My first thought is that he asked for help and interrupted my morning meditation to do so. Now that I am trying to help, he gets short with me. I feel stressed about this and worry that he lost it, and now it will have to be replaced. I feel resentment. This is wrong-mindedness.
I reconsider and ask Spirit to help me see this differently, and I feel peaceful about the whole thing. I hear him rummaging around as he looks. And I sense his fear and frustration in the sharp way he moves things and the hopelessness he feels in the deep sighs. Just a moment ago, I felt like getting up and looking with him. I wanted to fix this situation and make things right for him. Now I don’t.
I Remembered the Truth
I suggest he go to bed and sleep. Later he may find it. I know that he will find it, or he won’t. Either way is perfect. This is right-mindedness. My calmness and certainty are healing. I remember the truth that we are always exactly where we need to be. I remember that whatever problem we have has the potential to wake us up if we are ready for that or move us a little closer to awakening if that is what we are ready for.
No bad or good things are going on in our lives, just potential. What will we do with it? Will we use it to escape the illusion or go deeper into it? How exciting each moment is as we make this decision, over and over. My grandson does not know this. He thinks that his world revolves around finding his phone. Momentarily I agreed with him, but I remembered something. I remembered who we are and what we are doing here. I remembered our purpose. This is right-minded thinking, and this is healing.
A. Special Principles of Miracle Workers, P 14
14 (4) The miracle is always a denial of this error and an affirmation of the truth. Only right-mindedness can correct in a way that has any real effect. Pragmatically, what has no real effect has no real existence. Its effect, then, is emptiness. Being without substantial content, it lends itself to projection.
Here is something I wrote about 7 years ago when I was looking at this paragraph.
I feel very disorganized with my new house being half unpacked and contractors working all around me. I don’t know where anything is, and I will put something down and be unable to remember where I put it because there is not yet a place for everything. For instance, when I received the invitation for the Mardi Gras Ball, I put it somewhere but later couldn’t remember where. Normally, I would know exactly where it was, but with everything in disarray, there was just no telling where I put it. I had to look all over the place until I found it.
My home life is out of order and harder to keep up with, and my work has also changed. I recently started sharing duties with another person, which is good, but now I have to get used to doing things differently. After working at the same job, with the same duties for over 16 years, suddenly, I have to figure out a new way to do things. I feel ungrounded and vaguely anxious because I am concerned that things are not getting done in a timely manner.
Obsessing
I began to notice that my mind was obsessing about where I put something and whether I could find it. And I worried whether I saw a particular customer and whether it was time to return. Worry thoughts would go round and round in my mind, which is not peaceful. So, I asked for help with the mind chatter and the worry, and the thought I was given is that I can allow Spirit to be in charge.
I can ask that my day be guided by Spirit. I felt relaxed when I thought of this because I have done this often enough that I know it works and that it is, all around, a better choice. It is a good practice to ask Spirit for guidance rather than allowing ego to run the show. I am always listening to either my ego or Holy Spirit. Why deliberately choose to listen to ego when I could so easily choose Spirit?
This is what I am doing now. I made my schedule for work Monday, asking for guidance. I follow that general plan but leave my mind open for guidance during the day. When worrying thoughts about work come into my mind, it is easier to let them go. This is so because I know I am not making plans on my own.
Asking for Help
When I realized Tuesday morning that I didn’t know where some things were that I needed to pack to go out of town, I relaxed and asked for help. What I didn’t find, I decided I didn’t need, or I could use something else instead. I remembered what happens, finding what I need, leaving on time, organizing my work day, all of this is what I do. It is not my purpose.
Remembering not to make plans on my own, letting go of the obsessive mind chatter, extending love wherever I go, stepping back, and putting Spirit in charge… this is my purpose. Often during the day, I ask, “What would you have me do now?” This is so much more effective and peaceful than making decisions on my own and then worrying that I am forgetting something. And this is how I go from wrong-minded to right-minded thinking, from stress to peace. This is how I accept the Atonement for myself. I allow my thinking to be corrected, and the resultant peace is a miracle.
Before I asked for help, I was anxious and worried about things, so my mind was clouded. Jesus says that only right-minded thinking actually corrects. At first, I was trying to fix the world. Nothing was actually being fixed when I tried to fix my anxiety by obsessively worrying and organizing things differently.
Open to Correction
I was temporarily making a difference, but the real error went untouched, so the anxiety returned. The effects of my efforts were not real, so nothing was actually done. I was busy, so it looked like something was happening, but not really. Jesus says that without substantial content, the situation lends itself to projection. I had never noticed this before, but now, looking back on it, I see how true that is.
I notice that the anxiety in my mind was projected as a stiff neck and a headache. When my efforts to relieve the anxiety with more ineffective rearranging of the situation didn’t really work, I began to project blame. I felt like the contractor was not working fast enough and that I was not getting the support at work I needed.
Going from worry, anxiety, headaches, and being angry and resentful with the people around me to being peaceful and happy with only a change of mind is a miracle. I didn’t affect the change; I only desired it. My desire for peace was stronger than my desire to be in charge. I wanted to remember my purpose. Because I truly wanted this, my mind was healed, and I returned to right-minded thinking, which facilitates the miracle.
In other words, I didn’t make myself stop my wrong-minded thinking; I just wanted to stop, and this desire invited the Holy Spirit to undo what I had done. I am always amazed that I choose to allow myself to get caught up in wrong-minded thinking. Everything seems complicated and out of control. Then when I change my mind, it is so simple and effortless. It all just turns on a dime. From crazy to sane, just like that. ~smile~
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