The Basic Principles of ACIM: There Is No Death

The following is an excerpt from my book, Breaking Free: How Forgiveness and A Course in Miracles Can Set You Free. It will be available in the next few months, as it is under publication.


“There is no death!  What seems so is transition.
This life of mortal breath
Is but a suburb of the life elysian,
Whose portal we call ‘Death.’”

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Death is the central dream from which all illusions stem. Is it not madness to think of life as being born, aging, losing vitality, and dying in the end?  Without the idea of death there is no world. 
All dreams will end with this one.  (M-27.1: 1-2; 6: 3-4)
It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes. Certainly war provokes terror, and fear of death and bodily destruction are at their peak. Soldiers pray for safety and loved ones at home pray for their safe return. Impending death brings to many panic and a sense of aloneness. However, we can connect with a power of love greater than us, which allows us to find our way to peace. Feeling this connection has brought peace to many in the midst of war. There is a sense of gentle calm that things are ok no matter what happens.

One of my clients, John, found peace during the Vietnam War by carrying the Prayer of St. Joseph with him. He carries it with him to this day, grateful for how it helped him. John describes an intriguing incident when his buddy Dan was severely wounded by shrapnel in his leg. Dan went into shock and asked John if the bees were still around. John, puzzled, said, “Bees, what bees?’  “The bees that stung my leg,” Dan replied. John was awed by the power of the mind to trick itself, and feels it saved Dan’s life. John believes a lot of soldiers died of blood loss, for in their terror upon seeing their wounds, blood rushed to the wounded area. Dan’s body, however, believing it had bee stings instead of gaping holes, did not send massive amounts of blood to the area. As John was reading The Disappearance of the Universe he kept recalling Dan’s illusory bee stings. Therefore, the idea that we make all the events in our own dream made sense to him.

Whether the problem is war, as in John and Dan’s case, or something seemingly less serious, the answer is the same. When we remember our oneness with God, the problem will no longer be a problem. When we remember it is a dream, we can no longer be upset with it. The more we remember that we are at home in Heaven now, the more we will experience serenity.


Copyright, 2011, Lorri Coburn