Choosing Between Belief Systems

The problem is never the specific feeling I am having – I am angry, say. Rather, it is the belief system from which the specific feeling reflexively arises. Ultimately, that is where the problem is solved. That is where we will find Saint Paul’s “peace that surpasseth understanding.” In A Course in Miracles, this meansContinue reading “Choosing Between Belief Systems”

Meaning and Inherency: The First Lesson of A Course in Miracles

The first lesson of A Course in Miracles teaches us that meaning is not inherent: it does not reside “in” the dog, or the table, or the stack of books, or the picture of our children laughing at the beach. Nothing that we see – ever – means anything (W-pI.1). And of course we couldContinue reading “Meaning and Inherency: The First Lesson of A Course in Miracles”

Following Jesus in A Course in Miracles

It is a mistake, I think, to approach A Course in Miracles as if it were merely a light-hearted picnic en route to the Gates to Heaven. It is not that an emphasis on inner peace and joy is wrong per se, but that it can distract one from the actual forgiveness inherent in theContinue reading “Following Jesus in A Course in Miracles”

Understanding the Seventh Principle of Miracles

Miracles are everybody’s right, but purification is necessary first (T-1.I.7:1). The seventh principle of A Course in Miracles is both lovely and confounding. It reflects the course’s semantic affinity for Christianity and – I say this carefully and lovingly – the Course’s sometimes maddening habit of being poetic and abstract to the point of convolution.Continue reading “Understanding the Seventh Principle of Miracles”

ACIM and the Face of Jesus

Recently, someone raised a question about the historical Jesus and his relationship to A Course in Miracles. This subject has fascinated me for years; Jesus has held my attention for as long as I can remember. It’s interesting. It’s also important. Yet as I tried to scribble out an answer, no answer came. Or ratherContinue reading “ACIM and the Face of Jesus”

A Course in Miracles: Fear and Love

Fear has been on my mind lately – the undoing of fear, which is healing – and in particular how one looks at this issue from the perspective of A Course in Miracles. Ending fear feels like a practical problem to me – like building a house rather than waxing poetic about the joy ofContinue reading “A Course in Miracles: Fear and Love”