The Holy Spirit is the highest communication medium. Miracles do not involve this type of communication, because they are temporary communication devices. When you return to your original form of communication with God by direct revelation, the need for miracles is over (T-1.I.46:1-3).
The Holy Spirit is in our mind in a real and practical way (T-5.I.3:3). He is our capacity to remember the wholeness of God and manifest holiness in our lives in the world. When we listen to the Holy Spirit, and align our living with His quiet guidance, then we are as near to God as it is possible to be in a lonely dream of the world as the site of God’s death.
The Holy Spirit bridges the gap between the ego’s construction of a false self and world, and the truth of Creation. When we listen to the Holy Spirit, we perceive the lies we tell ourselves – and the lies we sell to others – and become willing to learn what it means to live without falsehood of any kind.
This willingness is holiness, and it is the path to salvation, ours and the world’s.
Joy has no cost. It is your sacred right, and what you pay for is not happiness. Be speeded on your way by honesty, and let not your experiences here deceive in retrospect (T-30.V.9:9-11).
Miracles are effects of listening to – of learning from, of working with – the Holy Spirit. They are shifts in perception which reveal what is true and what is false and allow us to bridge the illusory gap between. In this way, we move from fear to love, and the separation and its effects are naturally undone.
In other words, miracles are the application of the Holy Spirit’s lessons, which are continuously offered. They help us to lean away from the ego’s distortions and misdirections which means we are leaning towards the Holy Spirit’s offering of purification and remembered innocence.
Miracles are temporary because they are fundamentally transitional. They are like waystations and walking sticks for our spiritual journey. Without them we could not travel as happily or readily. But they are not themselves our destination; they are not the summit of the mountain.
Importantly, when we reach the “end” of this journey, we will no longer need miracles. Nobody needs a map of the trail when they’ve reached their destination. When we are home with God, then there are no gaps, and our need for communication – as we understand and practice it in the context of separation – is over.
When the Atonement has been completed, all talents will be shared by all the Sons of God. God is not partial. All His children have His total Love, and all His gifts are freely given to everyone alike (T-1.V.3:1-3).
A Course in Miracles teaches us that knowing God means direct and unmediated connection with the divine. It is a deep and sustainable experiential knowing of our oneness with God and all of Creation. This knowing is not conceptual; it is not contingent on information and belief. When we are standing in a river, we know what flowing water feels like. Knowing the Love of God is like that. You don’t need language at all.
When we remember this form of communication – this direct knowing – then we are no longer in denial about our shared inherent divinity and unity with all of life. Given that, there is no longer any need for the corrective function of the miracle. We’ve left the misperceptions of the ego behind to be fully aligned with the truth as God knows it.
Thus, dialogue with the Holy Spirit and the miracles that arise from that dialogue are invaluable practical tools on our spiritual journey to remembering the oneness that is God’s Love. They help us let go of the ego’s distorted narrative and misguided directives. They remind us that our function is to remember our shared unity with all Creation; they help us manifest that remembrance until “everyone recognizes that he has everything” and “individual contributions to the Sonship” are no longer necessary (T-1.V.2:6).
But they are not themselves God; they are not themselves Love. When their work is over – like any scaffold – they are undone and exist no more. Only God remains.
