I call upon God’s Name and on my own.
In A Course in Miracles the statement “God’s Name is holy but no holier than ours” (W-pI.183.1:1) conveys the idea that we, as God’s creations, share the same divine essence and holiness as God. This concept emphasizes the interconnectedness and unity between God and us, upending the notion that we are separate from our Creator or somehow inherently unworthy of Creation.
By asserting that our name is as holy as God’s, the lesson invites us to recognize our true spiritual nature, effectively igniting and sustaining the divine spark within us. This light – however dim, however apparently unstable – allows us to overcome feelings of guilt and unworthiness because it makes clear that the foundation for those experiences is an illusion. By embracing our inherent holiness and worthiness in God’s eyes, we reclaim our rightful home in Creation.
In this context, the lesson promotes the familiar shift in perspective from seeing ourselves as separate, limited beings to recognizing our oneness with God and all of creation. This is literally what a miracle is. By acknowledging our shared holiness with God, we can cultivate a deeper sense of love, compassion, and forgiveness towards ourselves and others. This taste of grace fosters spiritual openness and transformation. We want to be healed, and therefore we are.
Practically, the lesson urges us to repeat God’s Name, ever remembering that it is our name as well. When we do this, we reinforce our awareness of our shared oneness with God. Giving attention to unity in this way enhances inner peace. How can we suffer indefinitely when salvation is as near as a cherished utterance?
Critically, this spoken practice – this embodied remembrance – undoes the ego. Recitation of God’s Name literally brings the cosmos to silence.
The Universe consists of nothing but the Son of God, who calls upon His Father. And his Father’s Voice gives answer in his Father’s holy Name. In this eternal, still relationship, in which communications far transcends all words, and yet exceeds in depth and height whatever words could possibly convey, is peace eternal (W-pI.183.11:4-6).
In nondual Christian traditions like A Course in Miracles, the emphasis is on the direct experience of God’s presence in order to remember our unity with the divine. We are less concerned with adherence to dogma or doctrine. We aren’t trying to impress anyone, we are trying to remember who and what we are in truth.
When we repeat God’s name, we undo the part of our brain that relies on order and logic, and allow a deeper sense of relationship to emerge, one that transcends perceived barriers between themselves, others, and the divine and thus allows us to experience the nondual nature of reality.
