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