The Forty-Eighth Principle of A Course in Miracles

The miracle is the only device at your immediate disposal for controlling time. Only revelation transcends it, having nothing to do with time at all (T-1.I.48:1-2).

The forty-eighth miracle principle extends the previous one, by making clear that miracles are not in any way subject to the constraints of time. They are interventions in and on time, reflecting our nature as creative Children of God who are not bound by fear but rather are liberated by love. Time is in our hands (M-1.4:9).

The ego insists on time as a fundament of separation. The past is gone, which means its negative impact on the present cannot be undone. We are trapped. To the ego, the future is pure potential. So long as we study the past, and focus on improving our self, then the future might be the release we are looking for.

But on that view, the future never arrives. Release never happens. The brokenness of the past goes on eternally, forever keeping us from the peace of knowing ourselves as loving creators in Creation.

This is not salvation. It is hell.

Miracles are the means by which we see through this illusory trap and realize actual salvation. Miracles are shifts in perception from fear to love and restore to awareness our creativity, which only exists in the present moment. Thus, miracles are the only devices available to us for controlling – for not being trapped in – time.

The changes that the miracle brings forth are instantaneous. Our interior psychology moves instantly from a rigid belief system that insists we are bodies under constant threat and are solely responsible for our safety to one that understands nothing real can be threatened and nothing unreal exists (T-in.2:2-3). In this way, miracles collapse time. What might have taken decades to learn – centuries even – occurs in a moment. All that is required is our willingness to become responsible for healing.

The only thing that transcends the miracle is revelation, which the Course suggests is direct communication with God.

Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. It reflects the original form of communication between God and His creations, involving the extremely personal sense of creation sometimes sought in physical relationships (T-1.II.1:1-2).

Revelation unites us directly with God (T-1.II.1:5). But miracles “are genuinely interpersonal, and result in true closeness to others,” e.g., with our brothers and sisters (T-1.II.1:4, 6).

Salvation is about relationship; it is about connection. It is not about God or Love – they take care of themselves and are beyond either confusion or the undoing of confusion. Salvation is about about creating sites of learning with one another. Miracles facilitate this creation and this learning. They enable holy relationship.

Time often feels like a harsh master, a tyrant grinding down our days into a pointless journey to the grave. The miracle teaches us that we are wrong about this because we are confused about what we are in truth. Time is a tool that can be used for good or ill, according to the intention the mind sets for it. When we are willing to be in relationship with the Holy Spirit, then release from guilt is the intention we set for time. It exists to help us remember we are one with God.

When we remember our oneness with God – when we realize that that is our reality – then time naturally ends because learning is over. Miracles have no other function.