I presented the ideas in this blog at a while ago in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you’re a student of the Course, I’d love to receive your comments. If you’re new to it, you may find its teachings helpful to your personal growth. It has changed my life!
What is A Course in Miracles? (from Wikipedia)
The book, A Course in Miracles (ACIM), consists of three sections entitled “Text”, “Workbook” and “Manual for Teachers.” Its purpose is to bring about a “spiritual transformation,” In 1965, Helen Schucman began working at a medical center as Bill Thetford’s research associate. When their weekly office meetings became quite contentious, Thetford concluded that “[t]here must be another way.” Schucman believed this interaction triggered a series of visions, dreams, and heightened imagery, along with an “inner voice” that told her: “This is a Course in Miracles, please take notes.” The next day, she explained her “note taking” to Thetford. To her surprise, Thetford encouraged her to continue the process. Schucman said that the writing made her very uncomfortable, though it never seriously occurred to her to stop. The transcription was completed in 1977. ACIM is published by the Foundation for Inner Peace in Novato, CA.
General Principles of ACIM : Gigi’s Ideas (Workbook lesson # in parentheses)
A miracle is a shift in perception. We choose God’s loving thoughts over ego’s fearful thoughts. We can align our minds with either Love or Fear.
Love: God. Spirit. The only reality. Everything that comes from love is good: e.g., peace, service, care.
Fear: The ego. Illusions. The part of the mind that knows only fear: judging, separating, attacking. God did not create the ego. It’s driven by bodily instincts for survival and competition. When people operate out of fear, it’s simply an appeal for help.
Who Am I, Really? “We’re spiritual beings living in a human body.”
I am a beloved child of God. I am spirit. (But I’ve forgotten this.) (114)
I am not a body. I am free, for I am still as God created me. (201)
God is in my mind. My mind holds only what I think with God. (141)
Don’t Trust Ego’s Thoughts
Ego’s voice is the first one and the loudest one we hear. It tells us happiness is not in God; that it’s in worldly people, places & things.
I’m never upset for the reason I think. (5)
I’m upset because I see something that isn’t there. (6)
I see only the past. (7) I have no neutral thoughts. (23)
The world I see holds nothing I want. (128)
“It’s His/Her Fault!”
We’re sinless in God’s Eyes: We love ourselves & others because God does. Fear (ego) separates us from our own spirit AND one another.
When people operate out of fear, it is simply an appeal for help.
What I see is a form of vengeance (attack/defense). (22)
My grievances hide the light of the world. (69)
There’s Only One of Us Here
What we see in another is what we believe about ourselves. As we love and forgive others, we dissolve our sense of separation from God and our fellows. We’re students and teachers to one other.
To give and receive are one in truth. (108)
All that I give is given to myself. (126)
I’m not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts. (18)
How to Escape Ego and Fear
Every time we’re disturbed, we need to reject ego’s negative perceptions and ask God (Love) to help us see things differently. There is no “order of difficulty” to either problems or miracles. They’re all the same: either misperceptions or the truth.
IWant to Be Free of Ego’s Perceptions
I share God’s will for happiness for me. (102)
I am not the victim of the world I see. (31)
The past is over. It can touch me not. (289)
I could see peace instead of this. (34)
I Choose Love over Fear
I am determined to see this differently. (21)
Let miracles replace all grievances. (78)
Let every voice but God’s be still in me. (254)
I rest in God. (109)
Love is the way I walk in gratitude. (195)
Related Prayers
Third Step Prayer: God, I offer myself to Thee – To build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always!
Seventh Step Prayer: My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.
The Activity of God(J. Sig Paulson — Unity Church): The activity of God is the only power at work in my mind, heart, and life. All false beliefs, all negative appearances are dissolved right now by the loving, forgiving action of God. I am whole, strong, and free as God created me to be.
Want to Learn More?
Start with Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love. Then get my friend, Karen Casey’s, two wonderful books, Daily Meditations for Practicing the Course and52 Ways to Live The Course in Miracles. https://www.amazon.com/Karen-Casey/e/B001IGNGO2
Gigi Langer has studied ACIM since 1988. She now attends Course study groups in Michigan and Florida. Langer is a certified facilitator of Gerald Jampolsky’s Attitudinal Healing, a program that helps children and adults struggling with diseases apply the ideas from ACIM. More about Gigi and her books at https://gigilanger.com
Here we talk about LOVE–the 11th and 12th Principles of Attitudinal Healing (AH). “Love is eternal, so there’s no need to fear death.” And, “We can always see ourselves and others as extending Love or calling for help.”
AH is a simplified version of A Course in Miracles, developed by Jerry Jampolsky. In AH groups members apply the principles to almost any difficulty they have. In my recent posts, I summarized the first ten principles:
Principle 11: Love is eternal, so there’s no need to fear death.
To conceptualize this Principle, we go back to Principle number one, “The essence of our being is love and love is eternal.” If we believe that life is eternal, the fear of death can be removed. When we reaffirm our belief system that the love that is our essence goes on and that we simply enter a new form, we can erase the fear of death. To the extent that we can erase the fear of death, we can truly begin to live fully in the present.
Principle 12. We Can Always Perceive Others as Either Extending Love or as Fearful, Giving a Call for Help
This Principle is an extraordinary tool to be able to use in dealing with relationships. If we can keep this in mind as we interact with others, we will be able to mold our interactions in a more desirable way. When we are in a relationship with another person and it is clear that they are extending their love to us, there is usually never any problem. We can receive the feeling of love and support and respond with our love and support. We feel no conflict and things seem to readily get resolved.
If, on the other hand, we feel for whatever reason that we are being attacked, we tend to put up our defenses and either retreat or attack back. The flight or fight response goes into action. It is a conditioned response that we have learned to use to protect ourselves from being hurt. If we can begin to see this person that appears to be attacking us as a person who is coming from fear, we can begin to see a whole new dimension of the dynamics of the situation.
To develop he use of this Principle, as with all the others, we begin by retraining our minds to focus differently. It again means going inside to take responsibility for our own thoughts and not putting the blame on another person for our own reactions in a moment of stress.
We are responsible for our own peace of mind and not that of another person. If we focus on this principle while listening to another, we might recognize that what appears as an attack is actually an expression of fear and a call for help. When we do this, another dynamic begins to happen.
As we become defenseless in the moment, there is a shift in the energy and “the attacker” will feel it. He or she will not continue on with the same sense of urgency with which they began, because our shift in perception will create a space that will enable a new dynamic to occur. This new dynamic will change the pattern and the quality of our relationships.
You can easily find Attitudinal Healing groups by searching in your area. They are helpful for anyone who is struggling with any life situation. Many years ago, I joined my mentor, Jane Stallings, in California to become a facilitator for Attitudinal Healing groups. There, I got to meet Jerry Jampolsky (now deceased). What a wonderful contribution he has made to the world!
My newest book, Love More Now: Facing Life’s Challenges with an Open Heart is available from Amazon HERE or Barnes and Noble HERE.
Get my award-winning book, 50 Ways to Worry Less Now, for only $8.95 at GigiLanger.com/buy (e-book at Amazon)
Thank you for POSTING your REVIEWs on Amazon.
Gigi Langer has been sober 38 years, and holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. Her 50 Ways to Worry Less Now won an Indie Excellence Award in 2019. Gigi worked at Eastern Michigan University for 25 years, and now lives happily in Florida with her husband, Peter and her cat, Easter.
Jerry Jampolsky, one of the early readers of A Course in Miracles, simplified its complex lessons into the 12 Principles of Attitudinal Healing (AH). AH groups have grown into a worldwide service that can be applied to almost any difficulty.
Principle 5. Now Is The only Time There Is: Pain, grief, depression, guilt, and other forms of fear disappear when the mind is focused in loving peace on this instant.
In Teach only Love, Jerry Jampolsky writes: “The present is the only time we can choose between love and fear. When we fret about the past or worry about what to do in the future, we accomplish nothing, and this generates various forms of pain. A mental shift back into the present helps remove the source of misery. “
“I have been impressed with how quickly pain can disappear when we direct our attention outside ourselves in a caring way toward others. This care or joining can be in our willingness to receive love as well as our willingness to give direct help to another.”
“Our present thoughts and choices are the sole determiner of our present experience. In essence, NOW is the only time there is. It is in the NOW that the love energy comes through us. It is in the NOW that we are not judgmental and we can see clearly what is going on. We cannot control the external world. We will never be peaceful if we try to do so. We can, however, learn to control our thoughts. As we change our thoughts from those of getting to those of giving, we will start to notice evident changes in the outside world.”
Suggestions for Living in the Present
“If we stay in the present, we are best able to deal with anything that comes our way. If we are someplace else, it is not possible to make decisions. 1) Fear of Future. “How simple it is to acknowledge that we are not in a position to see the outcome of anything, and that all the worry in the world cannot control the future. Simplicity lies in putting effort before results.” 2) Fear of Past. If we analyze the cause of each of our mistakes, we are living in a past that can’t be changed. “How simple it is to resign as our own teacher–to turn quickly from the past, because the present is where our life is taking place.” 3) Judging is not Love: “We are not responding to this instant if we are judging any aspect of it. The ego looks around for something to criticize, for shortcomings and weaknesses, usually in the past. Love looks upon the world peacefully and accepts; it searches for any sign of light and strength.”
More About Attitudinal Healing
You can easily find Attitudinal Healing groups by searching in your area. They are helpful for anyone who is struggling with any life situation. Many years ago, I joined my mentor, Jane Stallings, in California to become a facilitator for Attitudinal Healing groups. There, I got to meet Jerry Jampolsky (now deceased). What a wonderful contribution he has made to the world!
Love More Now: Facing Life’s Challenges with an Open Heart is now available from Amazon HERE or Barnes and Noble HERE. PAPERBACK ($9.99) E-BOOK ($4.99) These low prices last through April, so get your copy now! Thank you for helping readers find Love More Nowby POSTING a REVIEW on Amazon.
Gigi Langer has been sober 37 years, and holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. Her 50 Ways to Worry Less Now won an Indie Excellence Award in 2019. Gigi worked at Eastern Michigan University for 25 years, and now lives happily in Florida with her husband, Peter and her cat, Easter.
Jerry Jampolsky, one of the early readers of A Course in Miracles, simplified its complex lessons into the 12 Principles of Attitudinal Healing (AH). AH groups have grown into a worldwide service that can be applied to almost any difficulty. Today we talk about the process of forgiving, described in the sixth principle.
Principle 6. We Can Learn to Love Ourselves and Others by Forgiving Rather than Judging
In Teach only Love, Jerry Jampolsky writes: “Forgiveness is the way to true health and happiness. When we choose to see everyone as a teacher of forgiveness, each moment gives us an opportunity for happiness, peace, and love.”
The AH Review Principles Booklet states: “Whenever we make a judgment on another person, we make a judgment on ourselves. Forgiving, in the Attitudinal Healing sense, does not mean condoning or agreeing with another’s behavior or setting ourselves apart and choosing to forgive someone because we feel they did something wrong. It merely means that forgiveness is a vehicle to clarify our misperceptions.
Simply stated, FORGIVENESS IS LETTING GO–choosing not to hang on to a belief that will cause us inner turmoil. In the sense of self, it is up to us to forgive ourselves first by taking responsibility for loving ourselves enough to no longer suffer and to become self-fulfilled.
Using an “attack” as an example, there is a concept in the Course in Miracles that helps us to look at another person not as attacking us, but as either asking for help or needing love. In relationships, this is often a most difficult principle to grasp, because our ego mind says that we are being attacked. The fact, however, is that there are no true realities, only perceptions.
A perception is something that, with focus and willingness, our minds are able to change. If we learn to see ourselves as the essence of love, we will have no need to defend ourselves and we can look at the other person in a different light. If we can start to realize that it is only in the places that we feel unconfident or lacking in some way that we can ‘have our buttons pushed.’
When we feel OK about ourselves, there is less of a problem with how another person is behaving. Again, it is only our own perceptions that make us feel that we are being attacked. We have the choice to fill up with the powerful love energy so that we are able to not even have to defend ourselves.
More About Attitudinal Healing
You can easily find Attitudinal Healing groups by searching in your area. They are helpful for anyone who is struggling with any life situation. Many years ago, I joined my mentor, Jane Stallings, in California to become a facilitator for Attitudinal Healing groups. There, I got to meet Jerry Jampolsky (now deceased). What a wonderful contribution he has made to the world!
Love More Now: Facing Life’s Challenges with an Open Heart is now available from Amazon HERE or Barnes and Noble HERE. PAPERBACK ($9.99) E-BOOK ($4.99) These low prices are temporary, so get your copy now! Thank you for helping readers find Love More Nowby POSTING a REVIEW on Amazon.
Gigi Langer has been sober 37 years, and holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. Her 50 Ways to Worry Less Now won an Indie Excellence Award in 2019. Gigi worked at Eastern Michigan University for 25 years, and now lives happily in Florida with her husband, Peter and her cat, Easter.
