The Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics and Choice in A Course in Miracles

Note: This article was originally published in Jon Mundy's Miracles magazine, Nov/Dec, 2013.

There are many principles in A Course in Miracles that run counter-intuitive to our daily experience. For example, the Course tells us we have only one choice, between the ego’s and the Holy Spirit’s thought systems. However, don’t we decide when to get up, what to eat, what career we have, etc.?

Recently I read about the Many Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics, and the light bulb came on. MWI is commonly known as the parallel worlds theory. The theory states that every possible outcome that can happen, does happen. Every time a particle is observed it splits into a parallel universe in which the new idea becomes manifest. Thoughts are observations. For example, say you think, “I’d like to go to Tahiti on vacation. On second thought, I’d rather climb Mt. Everest.” Both of those scenarios manifest, but in separate universes that are unaware of each other. If you go to Tahiti, you don’t know that you climbed Mt. Everest in a parallel universe. This happens ad infinitum with every thought you have.

Is this what Jesus meant in the Bible when he said that committing adultery in one’s heart is the same as doing the deed?

The ramifications are mind-boggling. A Course in Miracles concurs with MWI in some areas, but not others. Like MWI, the Course states,

“All thinking produces form at some level” (T-2.VI.9:14) “You who believe that God is fear made but one substitution. It has taken many forms…It has become so splintered and subdivided and divided again, over and over, that it is now almost impossible to perceive it once was one, and still is what it was” (T-18.I.4:1-3).

Most physics theories, including MWI, insist that matter is the only reality and that mind does not exist. MWI denies the role of consciousness in observation. Rather, the mere act of looking is what causes the particle to separate into two distinct universes. In this theory, the world is deterministic and happening of its own accord. Choice plays no role.

In contrast to MWI, A Course in Miracles states Mind is the only reality and all physical form is illusion. Mind is outside of time and space, looking in.

A Course in Miracles both agrees and disagrees with MWI about the appearance of choice. There is no choice in the physical world, but there is choice in Mind. ACIM states that regarding the physical illusion we have only one choice to make, and even that choice is an illusion. Like MWI, the Course states that we are only looking, not really choosing. The only seeming choice we have is to look at the physical universe with either the perspective of the ego or the Holy Spirit. Since the choice is only about observing, or looking at the cosmos, it is not a choice between physical, tangible objects. Buying a red car or a blue one is a choice between illusions. Every apparent choice in the physical world can only be a choice between illusions, which is not true choice. This confuses the brain, which is convinced that it is making valid choices. However, the brain is part of the illusion too, because it’s part of the body. We are Mind, not bodies, and the brain is a filtering mechanism to shut out awareness of our true Identity as Mind.

“The laws that govern choice you cannot make, no more than you can make alternatives from which to choose. The choosing you can do; indeed, you must. But it is wise to learn the laws you set in motion when you choose, and what alternatives you choose between. We have already stressed there are but two, however many there appear to be. The range is set, and this we cannot change…there is but one choice that must be made…each choice you make brings everything to you or nothing”

(W-133.3:3-5; 4:1-3; 5:3).

The ego world, which is the physical universe, tricks us into believing that we are making choices, that we do have some semblance of control in this chaotic world. “If I can only make the right choices,” the ego reasons, “I will have a happy life.” The ego believes, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” ACIM counters,

“The world of time is the world of illusion. What happened long ago seems to be happening now. Choices made long since appear to be open; yet to be made. As the course emphasizes, you are not free to choose the curriculum, or even the form in which you will learn it” (my bold font) (M-2.3:1-2; 6). “You need to be reminded that you think a thousand choices are confronting you, when there is really only one to make. And even this but seems to be a choice” (W-p.I.138.4:1-2)

The Course is bluntly agreeing with MWI, that we think we are making multiple choices, but we’re really not. However, unlike MWI, A Course in Miracles acknowledges the crucial role of the only choice we think we can make while we think we are in a physical world. ACIM indicates that the physical world is deterministic, while the real world, the mind of love, is free.

MWI states that we can only be aware of one universe at a time. The observation, the looking, brings about the new universe. Similar to MWI, the Course tells us we cannot see both the world of the ego and the real world of the Holy Spirit at the same time.

“It is impossible to see two worlds which have no overlap of any kind. Seek for the one; the other disappears. They are the range of choice beyond which your decision cannot go. The real and the unreal are all there are to choose between” (W-p.I.130.5). “Two ways of looking at the world are in your mind, and your perception will reflect the guidance you have chosen” (T-12.VII.5:6).

A Course in Miracles bids us to look at the world with the Holy Spirit, not to make choices to alter things.

“Seek not to change the world,

but choose to change your mind about the world” (T-21.In.1:7).

Miracles are the result of looking with the Holy Spirit. Miracles collapse the laws of time and space because form is simply a projection of the mind and has no independent existence. Miracles pop us into another dimension, a new universe. For example, say you are angry and want to yell at a loved one. One universe spins off in which you yell, and perhaps the relationship is severed, not to be healed for what seems many lifetimes. But if you ask, “Holy Spirit, look at this with me,” you may communicate with your loved one and the relationship may deepen. Whichever eyes you use—ego’s eyes of separation or the Holy Spirit’s eyes of love—will determine the universe you see. ACIM reminds us,

“Miracles are part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness which, when completed, is the Atonement. Atonement works all the time and in all the dimensions of time” (T-1.I.25). Jesus says, “When you perform a miracle, I will arrange both time and space to adjust to it” (T-2.V.A.11: 3). The miracle substitutes for learning that might have taken thousands of years. The miracle shortens time by collapsing it, thus eliminating certain intervals within it (T-1.II.6:7, 9).

The reason we only appear to have one choice between two alternatives is that the ego thought system is time and space. It is an illusory, closed system that was over in that same instant in which we had the tiny mad idea of separation. We are mind, asleep in heaven, observing, or dreaming, a physical cosmos of infinite dimensions. In heaven there is oneness. There is no choice because choice implies separate things to choose between.

After I researched MWI I awoke in the middle of the night with massive anxiety. Then I looked at the fear with the Holy Spirit and was reminded of Lesson 346.

“The peace of God envelops me and I forget all things except His Love.”

I fell back asleep to sweet dreams.

Lorri Coburn, MSW, is the author of Breaking Free: How Forgiveness and A Course in Miracles Can Set You Free. Visit her website, www.lorricoburn.com, to see youtube videos on ACIM. 

Proof of Heaven: A Book Review

Proof of Heaven—do not let the title fool you that this is a Christian tome about streets of gold and pearly gates. Eben Alexander, M.D., a well-respected neurosurgeon, saw many medical cases in which patients claimed to have seen deceased loved ones or heaven. He dismissed them all as chemical processes in the brain—until he had his own near-death experience while in a seven-day coma. Alexander states that while in his coma his neo-cortex was non-functional. The only thing keeping his body alive was his brain stem.

Alexander says he was a Christmas and Easter church-goer, and thought ideas of God were pleasant fantasies. In his coma, however, Alexander experienced angelic beings, and sounds and sights more beautiful than anything on earth. He gives a list of scientific explanations that he used to cite as reasons for these “delusions,” and refutes most of them because his neo-cortex was not functional and it’s the neo-cortex that processes such experiences. He also refutes other scientific versions in an appendix, with medical language that only a physician would understand.

Alexander was in a coma induced by bacterial meningitis, and his recovery was a medical miracle in itself. He should have died and his story alternates chapters between his medical condition that worsened day-by-day, and his concurrent experiences in the other realm.

While on the “other side,” which Alexander states is really a dimension that is right here, he had a female guide who took him on a tour of the universe. He’d always had a fascination with flying, astronomy and physics, and found that while out of body he gained instantaneous knowledge and understanding of how the universe works that would take him years to learn here.  He reports that he did not see any loved ones in the other dimension and had no personal identity as a neurosurgeon who had an earthly family to which he wanted to return. He feels his lack of a sense of personal self allowed him to go deeper into the experience than most others who have near-death experiences. While he thought he had not seen any loved ones, once out of his coma he was given a picture of his birth sister, whom he’d never met because he was adopted and she had died. He was shocked to find that she was the angelic guide who gave him the tour of the universe.  

Alexander states that our physical existence on earth is like a speck of dust compared to the vast reality of love beyond space and time. The reason we do not recognize true reality is that the brain filters it out of our consciousness. While Alexander used to think that consciousness was solely of the brain, he now knows that the brain has nothing to do with consciousness and our sense of existence goes on beyond the body. Again, he knows this because his neo-cortex, which allows for the organization of personal life information, was not functioning. He now feels that our society, while it has benefitted from technology, needs to regain its lost sense of the mystical. Without knowledge of our oneness with each other and all life, we are prone to random violence, escalating greed, global pollution and lack of purpose and meaning.

Alexander states his scientific mind never allowed him to believe a loving God exists. In fact, he calls the God he experienced “Om,” a feminine presence whose message is that love is all there is. “Om” felt like the primordial creative sound that pulses throughout the universe. This presence is available to everyone and has nothing to do with accepting religious tenets or being a good person. The main messages Alexander received were: all of us are loved and cherished; there is nothing to fear; we can never do anything wrong.

I have read a number of near-death accounts and what I like about Alexander’s is that his description of life beyond the body most closely resembles what is taught in A Course in Miracles (ACIM). ACIM is the only spiritual path that satisfactorily answered my questions about world suffering. Some of the areas in which Proof of Heaven sounds like it’s right from ACIM are:

Ø      The brain does not really think. It filters bits and pieces of information and formulates a story. This is what it decides is reality, all the while true reality lies outside its awareness. Our daily experiences are an illusion. However, love is the true reality and the love we have for our children, spouses, friends, pets, etc. never dies.

Ø      Time does not exist in reality. Time and space are only a function of the dualistic nature in the physical universe.

Ø      We are loved, innocent and there is nothing to fear.

Ø      We must choose love instead of fear because we are allowed to choose what we will experience.

Ø      The false belief in separation from God is the source of all anxiety and problems and the solution for every problem is recognizing that we are one with each other and God.

Ø      Physicality is characterized by defensiveness. There is no loss in Spirit, therefore nothing to defend.

Ø      Alexander described life as being like an egg and the creative aspect of God is the shell around the egg’s contents. However, he felt that while his consciousness was identified with all that is, he could never fully become one with Source. A Course in Miracles  likewise indicates that God is beyond consciousness.  

Proof of Heaven is both enlightening and entertaining and it is a must-read for anyone interested in life beyond the body. It is especially helpful for skeptics with a scientific bent, as it answers commonly-held criticisms scientists hold about consciousness and God.

The Connecticut School Shooting and ACIM

My heart clutched with horror and grief when I heard about the Connecticut school shooting. I ached for the parents who lost their children, but, unable to tolerate that level of pain, I immediately surged forth with rage at political and societal factors I believed caused this tragic incident. I had plans to attend a Christmas gathering the next day and many of the attendees were of a different political persuasion than me. I found myself attacking them in my head. I hope one of your kids gets killed. Then maybe you won’t be so smug in your beliefs.

Appalled, I saw in myself the murderous thought system that A Course in Miracles says abides in all of us. I was no different than the shooter or the people I blamed for their “wrong” beliefs. Rage, boiling from within me, led me to wish death on loved ones! My rage was not caused by what appeared to happen in Connecticut. My rage was not caused by other people’s political agendas. My rage is my own, and I am the one who has to take responsibility for it.

A Course in Miracles tells us to pray to see things differently, so I did. The first words I heard were, “Lorri, there is no world! There is no world! There is no world! (W-132.6:2) (The miracle) looks on devastation and reminds the mind that what it sees is false.” (W-p.II.13.1:3) This calmed me down. Emotions are an ego device, designed to make the world seem real. They work well, for how can the world not be real when it feels so intense? The ego voice argued with the Holy Spirit. But if I don’t feel for the parents, if I don’t take political action to stop escalating gun violence, aren’t I being callous and complacent?

The Holy Spirit reminded me that action in the world, if we are guided to take such action, must be taken from a standpoint of love, not rage. Rage is a cover for fear and fear always stems from the ego thought system. My desire to point out my friends’ political insanity was clearly not coming from love. Our task as students of A Course in Miracles is to choose love over fear consistently. We have to choose Truth over illusion and not waver, because the second we believe in the false world we perceive, we’re in hell. Forgiveness is not callously denying the pain a brother thinks he is experiencing—it’s a blessing of sanity on an insane world. “(Forgiveness) looks on them with quiet eyes, and merely says to them, ‘My brother, what you think is not the truth.’” (W-134.7:5)

A Course in Miracles says there is no cause for the Connecticut shooting, because it is a dream of death being projected from our sick minds. A dream is an illusion. ACIM says the entire world is in our minds. It’s not out there! The only way violence, disease, poverty and injustice are going to stop is by healing our minds, for the mind is the source of the belief in separation. We have invented a world of chaos, murder and suffering because we think we’re separate from God. We think we’re shameful and guilty, but because facing that shame is unbearable, we project it onto others. “Do not forget, however, to deny God will inevitably result in projection, and you will believe that others and not yourself have done this to you.” (T-10.V.2:1)

When we remember God, we know we are the holy Son of God who cannot suffer. I thought I had faced my belief in separation, but there were deeper levels I was still defended against. My rage at the shooting was evidence that I continued to believe I was a body, vulnerable and capable of being attacked. The random shootings in public places left me frightened and feeling bereft without God in this terrible, cruel world. As the Course says, “The world provides no safety. It is rooted in attack.” (W-153.1:2-3) Our only safety is in our relationship with God. Our only peace is in not returning attack for attack, but choosing to forgive. Then we will wake up from our nightmare and be restored to our oneness with each other and God.

As I forgave those who held different opinions, forgave myself, and forgave the entire Connecticut tragedy, the sense of separation lifted. As I continued to pray for guidance and healed perception, I was reminded that the body’s eyes see only the past. (Lesson 7) What appears to be happening in the world is over and done. Every single person that appeared to be killed or peripherally hurt in the Connecticut tragedy is an eternal, holy Child of God. If you want to give a true gift to them, pray in a manner such as: “I see the Christ in You. You are a holy Child of God. You cannot suffer. You are as God created You. You are safe at home in Heaven now.”

This is the Truth of their Being, and of your own. To join in suffering perpetuates the illusion, but to join in Truth is to make whole.

Merry Christ-mass! May the Christ Self be born in your awareness this season.

Love, Lorri

Physical Healing with A Course in Miracles

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/poeticenergynetworkstation/2012/12/06/breaking-free-with-psychotherapist-lorri-coburn

Here is an hour radio episode in which I discuss physical healing with A Course in Miracles. I read from the book Gorgeous for God, by Lisa Natoli, an ACIM teacher who has had a positive influence on my spiritual growth. Her website is www.teachersofgod.org.

We discuss how healing occurs when we release the concept of linear time and move into the NOW. In the present moment you are spirit and you cannot be sick. When you learn to identify with your true identity as spirit, you shift dimensions and move outside of time and space. Miracles happen and you know that you are healed.

Handling Health & Money Problems

Dear Miracle Musings Readers,

Here is a common question from the “Ask Lorri” section of my website, www.lorricoburn.com. Thought I’d pass it on, since so many of us struggle with health and money issues.

Hello, Lorri, Thanks for your mind-opening response to my questions. I have a couple more if you don't mind. The world is an illusion so how does one handle debts, poor health, etc.? We must still find a way to meet our earthly obligations in some way. How does one do this if there is no money to handle day to day living? I ponder things like this and hope you and your experience in acim can shed some light on these matters. Thank you. PS:  Just starting to read your book Breaking Free.  Herman

Hi, Herman,

Your question about handling earthly bills and poor health is a common one. A Course in Miracles tells us our only function is forgiveness, and we have to forgive the belief in death. All forms of lack stem from the belief in death. “Death is the central idea from which all illusions stem.”(Manual for Teachers, #27) “Death is a thought that takes on many forms, often unrecognized. It may appear as sadness, fear, anxiety or doubt; as anger, faithlessness and lack of trust; concern for bodies, envy, and all forms in which the wish to be as you are not may come to tempt you.” (Lesson 163) 

We have forgotten that we’re the holy Son of God who cannot possibly die. We have become afraid and projected an illusion in which we appear as bodies that can die. We think we can get sick, lose our homes, lose our loved ones, etc. However, when we forgive our illusions, miracles occur. We are guided by the Holy Spirit to do whatever it takes to pay our bills, protect our health, etc. “The Holy Spirit will answer every specific problem as long as you believe that problems are specific.” (Ch. 11, Sec. VII) This may not look like the ego expects. We may not get as much money as we want or our health may not improve as fast as we want. But we can be sure that if we’re asking for help to forgive, we will get what we need to awaken. The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to use our illusions to help us return our minds to God. We are already home with God, but we don’t know it. If we knew it, we wouldn’t have a care in the world.

Most of us put the cart before the horse. We want to get enough money, improve our health, or improve our relationships, and then we’ll trust God. When we turn that around and decide to forgive first, everything falls in place. A Course in Miracles is continually re-minding us that the only way out of our problems is forgiveness. We made the problems up, so we can’t fix them. Plus, they’re not real, so our attempts to fix them are keeping us stuck in the illusion. When we choose forgiveness, over and over and over, we discover the happiness we were looking for in perfect health or wealth.

A practical way to approach your bills and health is to pray, “Holy Spirit, help me to forgive my illusions. Help me to see things differently. Help me to release the beliefs in lack and separation from my Source.” The workbook lessons systematically train your mind to forgive. Forgiveness, when it becomes a habit, is the key to happiness (Lesson 121).

Thanks for reading Breaking Free. I’m sure it will help you understand what ACIM teaches.

Blessings,

Lorri

Am I Making the World Up?

Here is a question that came from the “Ask Lorri” page of my website, www.lorricoburn.com

Hi, Lorri - My question is about the world around me. Is it a group illusion or is it completely something that I have made up? What I am most concerned about is other people. I am fairly new to the Course, but not all the concepts it teaches. Is the Course saying that everything is in my head, including other people? For example did I make you up? Did I make up my wife? Or, is ACIM simply saying my perception is falsely colored by my illusory experience and I am not seeing others as they really are? The rub I have is that if I am indeed making this all up I am doing a poor job of it, yet at the same time am pretty creative as I have written every screen play and painted every piece of art within the confines of my head. As you can see, I am a little confused. Thanks!

Hi, Ryan, Thanks for writing. This is a great question, and I can tell you have some background in metaphysical concepts.

You ask, “Is everything in my head and did I make you up and did I make up my wife?” Yes. You are also making up the body/personality construct called “Ryan,” with which you are temporarily identified. In the Oneness, there are no bodies and there is no physical form at all. Once there is form, there is two-ness, not oneness. There are two things, a subject and an object. So in ultimate Truth, there is only Love/God/Oneness/Mind, whatever label you want to give It.

Since Love/God/Oneness/Mind is All There Is, We are It. When Jesus said in the Bible, “I and the Father are One,” this is what he meant. He says it in A Course in Miracles more directly and more often, because now we are ready to hear it. Two thousand years ago they crucified him for telling the Truth, but now more and more of us are awakening to our true Identity as the Christ.

The Workbook lessons of the Course train your mind to accept this Identity. There are a number of them that speak directly to this, and most speak indirectly of it. For example, Lesson 191: I am the Holy Son of God Himself; Lesson 252: The Son of God is my Identity; Lesson 96: Salvation Comes from my One Self; and I Am as God Created Me, which is Lessons 94, 110, and 162. It is the only Workbook lesson that is repeated. It then is repeated in the reviews, so it is mentioned 144 times in the Course. “I Am as God Created Me” means you are the Christ. You are the Self, capital “S.”

Your identity as Ryan is a false projection from the mind. You are the Mind of God, but have chosen to project the idea of yourself into an illusory world and an illusory body. There is nothing outside of your Mind. When you do the Workbook lessons, and when you forgive every single thing, this Truth starts dawning on you. At first you get glimpses, then it becomes more consistent, until finally your True Identity becomes a permanent state in your awareness.

Your other question: Is ACIM simply saying my perception is falsely colored by my illusory experience and I am not seeing others as they really are?

ACIM is saying there is no world, period. This is the central thought the course attempts to teach. (Lesson 132). However, this is quite scary to the ego, so until our minds are ready to accept this we are led gently down the path of the right-minded perception of the world. This perception shows a world forgiven, innocent and illusory. We are aware that we are dreaming it all up. In this awareness, we see beyond bodies to the one Christ Self in each of us. There is one ego dream, and one Christ Self. The Course trains us to see all the apparent fragments as One. If you see someone as a body, you are not seeing him as he truly is. He is the Christ. In Lesson 158 we are told that Christ vision has one law—it sees no one as a body.

The idea that your perception is falsely colored by your illusory experience is partially correct, but A Course in Miracles takes that concept all the way. Not one single thing in form is true. There is no ego thought system. That is just a concept to help us understand. There is no dream. That is another concept. There is no individual self. Again, the only thing that’s real is God/Love/Mind/Oneness.

However, this is not death or nihilism, as the ego would define it. When we let go of the individual self, we move into a Love so grand and beautiful that we can’t describe it here. We are giving up nothing (the small self) for everything. We are not losing anything. You, your wife, and all your loved ones are thoughts in the Mind of God. They are thoughts of Love, and they are never lost. You are never lost. You are eternal Spirit, forever connected to the All.

It’s as if there’s a big pie, and the small self is one piece. You are exchanging your single piece for the whole pie. 

Your other question: Is it a group illusion?

Yes. There is one ego thought system as a whole. The ego does a poor job of everything. You personally are not making up the ego script, as that was a false idea that made up the dream world. It was over long ago, but in reality never happened. Part of the ego script is a dream figure called Ryan. If Ryan stays blind and doesn’t choose love or the Holy Spirit, Ryan is a robot. He is a puppet in the dream. Once Ryan asks for a new perception, asks the Holy Spirit to replace fear with love, Ryan is free. This is where Ryan slowly gains an understanding that he is the Christ, not a body.

Your responsibility is to choose Truth, to choose the Holy Spirit over the ego, or to choose love over fear. Only you can do this, and each seeming individual person has to do this for himself. Once he chooses rightly, he sees there never was a choice, because his mind has returned to choiceless Oneness. But until that time, it appears there is a choice, and it is one that has to be made if we are to awaken. We will not awaken if we try to make the world of form real, while simply saying bodies are unreal. Many people want to make the cosmos real, while stating we are spiritual beings within the universe. The Course tells us we are spiritual beings that are home with God, not in a universe of form. Part of awakening is realizing you’re not here. You are not in time and space because time and space are the ego thought system.

The Course says it’s all or nothing. You cannot keep one piece of it falsely, because you see either Truth or illusion. The two thought systems are completely incompatible. If you’re holding onto any bit of illusion, you’re in ego.

There is one answer to the ego’s thought system, which is the Holy Spirit’s right-minded perception, which is that the entire ego/world of form is unreal. The One Son of God appeared to fragment into billions of sons. There is only One Son, therefore it is a group illusion. At the same time, your particular identity as Ryan has to make the choice to return to your True Identity. As you become aware that you are not separate from anyone or anything, you will see that every person/thing is yourself. Lesson 60, which is a review of Lesson 48, “There is nothing to Fear,” states, “How safe the world will look to me when I can see it. It will not look anything like what I imagine I see now. Everyone and everything will lean toward me to bless me. I will recognize in everyone my dearest Friend.” Note that this verse says, “when I can see it.” We do not see truly with the body’s eyes. The body can only see other bodies and the world of illusion. Christ vision, which is outside time and space, sees Oneness. “Friend” is capitalized because it refers to the one Christ Self. When you wake up, you will see that everyone and everything is the Christ/God/Love/Mind. There is nothing else. When you see this, you will stop attacking and judging “other people,” because there are no other people. It is a beautiful experience. 

Everyone needs to ask the Holy Spirit for his own guidance. There are many different teachers of the Course, and there are different interpretations. For you, the perfect one is your own inner voice. What outside teachers say needs to be weighed against your inner guidance. A Course in Miracles tells us the curriculum is highly individualized, so the specific teachings and tools you need to get back home will be provided for you. In that light, take what I say if it works for you, or leave it if it doesn’t.

I hope this helps. You may need to read and re-read it. That’s what I did with the teachings I received from David Hoffmeister, www.teacherofteachers.net. I got confused often, then the light came on.

Let me know if you need further clarification.

Blessings,

Lorri

Does the Holy Spirit Act in the World?

Question about ACIM: Hi Lorri, In Acim it is said that God did not create this world and God does not even know about this world and that Holy Spirit does not operate within this dream to help us improve it. How then can those miracles be explained which occur when \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"normal\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" religious people (not students of acim) pray for something and really unbelievable things occur as a result when God has answered their prayers. And in Bible it is also said that we must pray and ask if we want to get something. If God does not know about this world how are these then to explain? They could not come from our mind because we do could not even imagine beforehand what might happen.

Soile

Dear Soile,

Thanks for writing. You mention that in ACIM it says God does not know of this world and the Holy Spirit does not operate in the world. There are passages in ACIM that could be interpreted this way, but there are many passages that suggest that God does know of this world and the Holy Spirit does take action in the world.

There are different schools of thought about the interpretation of ACIM. The school of thought noted in your question could be called “pure non-duality.” It can be understood most simply by the idea “God is, and nothing else exists.” God is Oneness, and in Oneness there can be no other thing. For God to know of anything outside Itself, there would have to be two things. This would then be duality, rather than non-duality.

There is another school of thought called “qualified non-duality.” This idea suggests God is in everything, and everything is interconnected, therefore it is all One. It’s all one energy or substance, and we are one with each other. We just appear separate. This thought system believes that God is in form, while the pure non-duality system cites the passage, “God knows not form.” (T-30.III.4:5)

Duality is the idea that people are on earth and God is somewhere out there, separated from us. Duality is the condition of opposite states, such as light and dark, male and female, heaven and hell.

A Course in Miracles is written on all three levels, so whatever a person believes about God, he can find an answer in the Course. Often when we start studying the Course we believe we are individuals, separated from God, and we pray to God/Goddess for help. As we progress on our spiritual journey, we come to understand God is within us, and we are part of God. We no longer pray to someone out there, but we access God within. Further along in our understanding, many people grasp the concept that there is nothing but God, and we are It. This is an abstract concept that usually only comes when we have sufficiently cleared away ego blocks to its awareness. At this point we realize the ego, bodies, and the physical world do not, and have never, existed. The only prayer is one of joy and gratitude for eternal union with Love. We know we have no needs, for we are the Christ Self which is completely whole and home with God.

In the meantime, while we think we are separate individuals with separate bodies, A Course in Miracles suggests we pray to the Holy Spirit for our specific needs. Jesus, in writing the Course, knew that we do not believe we are whole. If we did, we’d have no need for help. The Course states, “His Voice (the Holy Spirit’s) will direct you very specifically. You will be told all you need to know.” (T-1.I.4) “The Holy Spirit will answer every specific problem as long as you believe that problems are specific. His answer is both many and one, as long as you believe that the one is many.” (T-11.VIII.5:5-6) Note that this answers both in duality and non-duality. It says as long as we think we’re people who have needs, we’ll be answered specifically. But it also suggests that when we awaken, we’ll realize we have no needs, for the One is not separated into many parts.

The Holy Spirit’s specific answers are what give us miracles, whether someone is an ACIM student or of another religious persuasion. The Holy Spirit is really your Higher Self, your inner connection to God. When you tap into that, miracles happen. It does not matter what religious rules you follow. If you believe in God’s love and help, you will receive them. The important thing is to believe.

A Course in Miracles states that miracles remain at the level of perception, where they are needed. What that means is when we think we are separate from God, we need miracles to help us get home. However, there is no world outside of our mind, therefore in truth, there is no world for the Holy Spirit to help us with. That's why some teachings emphasize that the Holy Spirit does not take action in the world. When we know that we are the mind of God, outside of time and space, we need nothing. Perception and miracles happen in the world of form. Yet God is formless, changeless and eternal. This is pure non-duality, and this is outside of time and space.  

I hope this answers your question. Feel free to contact me again if you need clarification. Don’t worry if this is confusing. It took me years to grasp these concepts, and I still get confused at times.

Blessings,

Lorri