ACIM Text Made Simple
Chapter 1, Section I: Principles of Miracles

Read Chapter 1, Section I (pages 3-6).

How does the Course define a miracle?

In essence a miracle, as defined by the Course, is a correction in our perception. A miracle is a gift of transformed perception from the Holy Spirit. When we are willing, the Holy Spirit brings us a change in the way we are thinking. The Holy Spirit helps us see beyond our false perceptions of separation to our eternal oneness with perfect Love, which is always our only Reality. The Holy Spirit helps us see beyond the guilt we see in others and ourselves to everyone's innate innocence. As we are willing to still the ego mind and receive miracles — corrections in our perceptions — from the Holy Spirit, we are returned to the awareness of our eternal Reality.

The Holy Spirit knows that every perception held within the ego thought system of separation is equally untrue. That is why the first sentence in this section says, "There is no order of difficulty in miracles." (1:1) The goal of the Course is to help us recognize the falsity of our perceptions of individuality, differences and change. The Course teaches us that there is no past. There is no future. There is only the eternal present in the one Mind of God. God is eternal and therefore does not change. Because we are God's extension, we cannot change into something that God did not create.

We do not accept Holy Spirit's transformed perception (or miracles) when we are still unwilling to acknowledge the falsity of what we perceive. We may still want our world of separate bodies to appear to be real. We may not want to accept that everything we perceive with the body's senses is false. We may resist remembering that the body is simply a false idea made up by the ego thought system to make separation appear to be real.

A key objective of A Course in Miracles is to help us increase our willingness to let go of our false ideas that the separation really happened. With this increased willingness, miracles (or changes in the way we see the world) come naturally. That is why the book is called "A Course in Miracles" or a course in the correction of our false ideas of being separate and alone. As we allow our mind to be changed by the Holy Spirit, the way we perceive the world changes. The Course tells us many times that we are choosing either the thought system of the ego or the Holy Spirit and which we identify with determines our experience.

The following is an excerpt from Pathways of Light course 901: Introduction to Miracles Practice.

What are key themes found in miracles principles?

1. Miracles are expressions of truth, or extensions of Love. (See principles 1, 3, 9, 11, 35 and 36.)

2. Miracles free us from fear and restore us to the awareness of Reality. (See principles 4, 14, 26, 28, 36 and 42.)

3. Miracles correct our perceptions and bring us what we need to heal our mind and restore sanity. (See principles 4, 7, 8, 17, 23, 29, 33, 34, 36, 37, 42 and 49)

4. Miracles naturally belong to us because of What we are. (See principles 5, 6, 7, 24, 31, 33 and 35.)

5. Miracles reverse physical laws and alter the need for time. (See principles 9, 13, 15, 19, 24, 25, 32, 45, 47 and 48.)

6. Miracles make our perceptions holy and show us that, because we are joined, the giver and the receiver are the same. (See principles 9, 16, 18, 32, 40, 41 and 45.)

7. Miracles are thoughts that are teaching devices which help reestablish our communication or communion with God. (See principles 11, 12, 16, 19 and 46.)

8. Miracles undo false thinking, or illusions, by transcending the body and bringing us spiritual sight. (See principles 12, 13, 14, 17, 20, 22, 29, 30, 33, 34, 37, 41 and 43.)

9. Through miracles, we learn to extend forgiveness. As we forgive, or see past our illusions of separation, we become aware of the truth of oneness. (See principles 21, 25, and 27.)

10. Miracles come from the Holy Spirit, Who shows us the difference between truth and illusions, bringing us Christ's vision. (See principles 38, 39, 44, 46 and 50.)

How do we apply miracles principles in our lives?

In miracles principle #4 we are told His voice (the Holy Spirit) will direct us very specifically and in #5 it says miracles should be involuntary. Here we are being taught that we need to learn to follow the direction of our inner Teacher if we are to experience miracles. When we identify with the ego, we don't have the means to produce miracles because miracles are the undoing of the ego. Thus it is essential that we develop the habit of bringing all our thoughts of differences to the Holy Spirit and letting Him judge all things on our behalf.

Principle #7 says that "purification is necessary first." This does not mean that we have to be totally free of all thoughts of separation. It does mean that we must be willing to relinquish our thoughts and turn them over to the Holy Spirit in order to open our minds to the miracle. We may be able to open our minds only briefly to the Holy Spirit's interpretation, but in that moment, the miracle can occur. We may then revert to our habitual judgments, but the miracle is retained in our memory and we do not return completely to the old identification with the ego's thought system of separation. Each time we allow a miracle, we loosen the chains of the ego with which we have bound ourselves.

The practice of accepting miracles is letting the Holy Spirit purify our thoughts. The following message from Pathways of Light course 901: Introduction to Miracles Practice expands on this important lesson in receiving a correction in what our physical senses report to us:

The Holy Spirit, which is the Voice for God, brings us a whole new way of seeing. Miracles practice is allowing ourselves to see through the Holy Spirit's eyes. Seeing through the Holy Spirit's eyes comes with willingness, intention and focus. The Holy Spirit sees the truth. The Holy Spirit sees perfection. The Holy Spirit sees past the form of individuality to the one Light that is present eternally.

As we learn to place our faith in the Holy Spirit and accept the miracles He gives, we see only Love. We feel only Love. We find only Love. This consistency with seeing that only Love is real comes with practice.

Allowing our false perceptions to be turned upside down takes a willingness to not decide what anything means on our own. If we think we know what anything means based on our experiences from the past, we will not be open to the practice of seeing through the Holy Spirit's eyes. It is only through the Holy Spirit's eyes that we can know the truth.

This is practice that takes a determination to commit to seeing only the Truth. It takes a decision to be consistent in handing over our perceptions to the Holy Spirit so they can be purified of believing in separation. With consistent practice, receiving miracles, or true perception, becomes an automatic habit. We free ourselves from the tangled web of the ego's lies.

Separation was never real. Separation is hell. Only with the Holy Spirit -- the Spirit of Wholeness -- can we see clearly. Only our willingness to see through the Holy Spirit's eyes can bring us the deep peace found in God's Love. All is one. Nothing else is real. The practice of allowing the miracle of correction to occur in our mind helps us know that this is true.

For more information about course 901: Introduction to Miracles Practice, click here.

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