A Course In Miracles Lesson 91
A Course In Miracles Lesson 91
A Course In Miracles lesson 91 states:
A miracle is an event that brings deep, lasting resolution to a painful situation. A miracle is an inexplicable improvement and an experience of grace. The qualities of a miracle are the same qualities of eternity: whole, well, joyful, empowered, creative, beautiful, peaceful, and right. These qualities are achievable at any time because they are the qualities of the timeless. A miracle is a movement of pure and only good.
This is a course all about the nature and physics of miracles. It teaches the mindset needed to have a painful situations be transformed into a profoundly positive one. Today we have a discussion about the nature of light and we are told that light reveals the miracle.
In this course we are always learning new definitions to a set of vocabulary words that will shift our way of thinking from a painful one to a positive one. The word, “light” used throughout this book is not talking about light from a lamp. In the ACIM teachings, light is not something we register with our physical eyes.
The light being spoken of here occurs first in our minds, which is to say, our imaginations. Our culture has classified the imagination as not real. A Course In Miracles wants us to change that perception and recognize that our imagination is the only real “thing” we ever have. But it is no “thing” at all. It is energy within our awareness, or rather, it is the recognition of the existence of our awareness Itself.
This sensation is very similar to being in a room and then realizing there is another living being in it such as a cat, a mouse, or a tiny insect. The awareness you sense of another living being near by is the same awareness of the energy that you are. Light is recognizing light all the time. That is the quality that light is ascribed in this book. The recognition of life energy.
Light, in the sense being spoken of here, is a form of energy that does not have physical qualities. It is a state of knowing that beyond any of the five senses. Light is an inner knowing, an inner glow of truth. It may feel like the size of a grain of sand but that spark of light is eternally there in you even if you can’t see it right now.
This means that we are being asked to believe in the existence of something we can not physically prove as real. To our current, physically oriented way of thinking, that sounds insane. If we do not see, here, taste, touch or smell something, it is classified as a figment of the imagination. But what is the imagination? Is it not “there” too, being experienced beyond our five senses?
A Course In Miracles Lesson 91 wants us to understand that our physical senses are not reliable sources for accurate information. By their design, they are meant to serve a specific and limited perspective- yours. Trying to validate the non-physical dimension with instruments that only register the physical is like trying to register air as a substance we live in.
We are being asked to question the instruments we use to locate the truth. We are being asked to register a sensation quality within our experience that, in physical terms, is like a seed of light shining out with sensations of peace, wellness, and unlimited creative power. This course is teaching us how to locate the light within.
Finding what is true in this world requires that we pivot our attention away from physical perceptions and develop perceptions of a non-provable nature. To make that pivot we make the decision to do so. That is all. Spending time with the lessons here is the act of choosing to shift attention towards the true nature of reality. The act of engaging the lessons in a consistent way is the expression of interest needed to bring accurate truth into our daily experience.
The physical world is a dream. Believing that the physical world is permanent and stable always leads to disappointment. Deciding that a permanent and stable reality does not exist because we do not ever experience it in our physical bodies is the logic that is similar to the child’s game of peek-a-boo.
If I cover my eyes and can not see you sitting opposite me, have you stopped existing by that tiny gesture? Do I have the power to obliterate you from existence by turning my perception of you away? No, you keep existing regardless of whether or not I register your existence. Just because I can not see you does not mean you are not there.
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
ACIM Lesson 80
Lesson 91 wants us to understand that we have “covered our eyes” by coming into a physical body and now we can not sense the eternal dimension. But that does not mean it is not there.
We do not need to ponder the reasons why we decided to engage a physical experience. We have not made any mistakes by being born and living a life. Where most traditional religions are mistaken is in the belief that the solution to the problem of suffering lies in leaving the physical body. Practices of endurance and denials are very popular in formal religious practices which aim to loosen one’s identification to physical things. But denying the body’s reality is not the path to peace. Refraining from physical engagements as a way of achieving release from suffering actually perpetuates that suffering.
The realization of light and truth does not require sacrifice. The dynamics of sacrifice feel like loss and struggle. Loss and struggle can not ever lead to peace and joy. Denial of physical needs and desires will not achieve wellness. Whatever must fall away on our journey towards clarity will always feel like relief. If there is a sense of loss and sorrow or a sense of a need to endure a perpetual pain, that is not the path towards the qualities of light. Joyful engagement lead to joy.
And on this point it is common for readers question this premise and to present the philosophical examples of joyful activities that result in harm and pain. Doing drugs, or drinking alcohol, for example is not a lasting path towards wellness. Giving over to sexual desires that conflict with social structures and having a wonderful time with someone so often leads to a longer lasting pain. So how are we to understand the idea that joy leads to joy when so often if we follow what feels joyful we end up experiencing pain?
This book is asking us to remember that we do not really have a clear idea of what we want and we do not really recognize danger when we encounter it. What we think will lead to wellness actually keeps us on a wheel of pleasure and pain, round and round.
We want peace. We do not know how to become that peace on our own. We must open to being helped, which means we must realize that our decision making process needs to often be set aside so that a higher source of guidance can come in and help us. We will never be guided against our will.
It is our joy to explore time and space in our physical bodies and we have not made a mistake. We are eternal forces of discovery and the nature of power and peace is what we are discovering now.
New Inner Dialogue to remember throughout the day
We are being asked to believe in an eternal dimension without having any proof of the existence of such a dimension. The reason proof is not possible is because we live in the dimension of time. Time causes all things to begin and end. Time is like a substance, like water, which we enter into and emerge out of.
Experiencing time blocks the awareness of eternity. But that does not mean eternity is not there. Nothing can stop the eternal. It is always there. It means we need to release whatever we are holding onto that is blocking our ability to perceive the miraculous. We can only receive a miracle once we have become capable of perceiving the timeless dimension, which is to say, light.
We are asked to set aside 10 minutes three times today to sit quietly and locate a willingness to let improvement into our life situation. We can not hold our thoughts in a negative tension and expect ease and comfort to result. We can not hold ourselves in darkness and expect to see light. Release the hold on how you think this world works and be open to receiving new information.
Ideas to ponder during your sitting practice include:
My body’s eyes do not see a permanent world. What I see in this room is not permanent.
My inner vision is how I locate a permanent, reliable peace.
The world I see with my eyes is temporary. What I see from within the light in my mind is eternal.
I have a light in my mind. When I turn towards that light, rather than away from it, I connect to an infinite and miraculous power. Connecting to the inner, non-physical dimension found within me brings me strength, power, and joy.
About the Author
Hi, I’m Jess. This blog is an ongoing discussion and practice of A Course In Miracles. All content is based on and cited from the original publication. Learn more about Jess…