The Answer to Every Problem — A Course in Miracles reminds us that the answer to every problem is given once we recognize what the problem really is. “Everyone in this world seems to have his own special problems. Yet they are all the same, and must be recognized as one if the one solution that solves them all is to be accepted. Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else? Even if he is given the answer, he cannot see its relevance. That is the position in which you find yourself now. You have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is. If you could recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer because you would see its relevance.” (ACIM, W-pI.79.)
Atonement
What Is Forgiveness?
What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is about overlooking the seeming problem entirely. The Holy Spirit doesn’t want us to try to figure out what the problem is, He wants us to release this belief in separation and overlook the problem entirely to the light of the Atonement. That is what the Holy Spirit’s function is, to overlook the error and see only the correction.
How Did the Separation Happen?
How did the separation happen? This is a very common question for students of A Course in Miracles, but it is also a question that has no answer. To ask the question implies the questioner’s belief in the separation from God. The ego is the one asking the question. An experience will come to end all doubting, to end all questions. An experience that separation from God is impossible, and has actually never happened.
Follow Your Internal Teacher
Be willing to listen to and follow your Internal Teacher, the Holy Spirit, and you will be led as gently as if you were being carried down a quiet path in summer. Jesus, who was a devoted follower of the Holy Spirit, accepted the Atonement for himself and then became the leader in charge of the Atonement. He tells us, “if you will be a miracle worker for me, I will organize time and space for you.” That means you don’t have to do “this and that” first. If you are willing and ready, you are being called now.
Trust the Holy Spirit’s Voice
The Course goes far beyond an intellectual endeavor. It is a course in relinquishing every concept that we have ever held and opening to a deep trust that Spirit will guide and lead us. We can’t trust our past learning, our opinions, or our past experience, for these were made by the ego. Nor can we trust Newtonian empirical research, which is also an egoic projection based on the belief in an external world. Yet we can trust the Holy Spirit, Who will lovingly unwind our mind from every self-concept and limiting belief we ever held. By choosing to hear and follow His Voice alone, we will gradually awaken to Love’s Presence and be happy.
Our Divine Life Insurance Policy
Accepting the Atonement for ourselves is the ultimate insurance policy. The Atonement is the perfect solution to the belief in separation. It will always bring us to safety. It will always bless us and lead us towards God’s Will for us, which is perfect happiness. Whenever the ego appears to tempt or threaten us, we don’t need to try to change or fix anything in the world. All we can do is change our mind about the world.
Letting Go of Situational Thinking
You have what seem to be mounds of memories of past situations. You try to use these memory fragments to gain understanding. For example, if you have a conversation with a family member that you find upsetting, you might think back on it later and wonder: What was going on there? Why did I feel so upset? When you use this kind of situational thinking to try to understand a feeling, you are using the ego’s framework of linear time. Through the ACIM daily lessons you are trained to remember that time is already over. You do not have to believe that one thing happens after another in your experience. There is a different way to experience being.
ACIM and Raising Children
Every symbol and image that you see with the body’s eyes is a reflection. When you look at a child, you can see the child as a mirror of your mind. Any grievances and limits you see in the child are within your own mind. If you are practicing ACIM and raising children, you see what is taking place in your thoughts. As children go through grade school and into high school, you can look at your own beliefs about authority, normalcy, education and success.
How to Be Free of People-Pleasing
The ego’s identity is very shaky! It is constantly searching for approval from the world. Notice when you are tempted to use people-pleasing in order to feel liked, or feel good about yourself. The only way that you can be free of people-pleasing is to get down to your underlying beliefs and assumptions. These beliefs are underneath the stream of thoughts that happen on the surface of your everyday life. You get a lot of opportunities on a daily basis to let the Spirit help you navigate your mind and the world that is projected from your mind!