In my Optimal EFT course, I periodically heard reference made to “A Course in Miracles”.  I became curious and decided to look it up – especially as I was in the middle of writing The Third Alternative and constantly checking into things that might help me and others on our spiritual path.  I discovered that The Course came to Helen Schucman, a psychologist and proclaimed atheist, in a series of dreams.  The “author” of the Course was said to be Jesus. 

I attempted to read the Text (the Course is basically divided up into Text, Workbook for Students, and Manual for Teachers), but like many others before me, I didn’t get very far.  But I was drawn to it, and since I have learned to follow my intuitive hunches, I decided to read a couple of books about ACIM, one of which suggested going through the lessons.  At this point, a couple of my friends in the UK were also interested, and we started studying together.  We would read one lesson per day (it is not recommended to do more than this) and watch Tina Spalding’s channeled message, as well as read the text on occasion, which slowly started to make more sense. 

I confess, since I am Jewish, it did feel a little odd at the beginning to be studying a book that comes from Jesus and uses Christian terminology, but I understand this is the case with Christians as well, due to whatever issues they have encountered with their own religion in the past.  However, as I came to understand the meaning of the words, I saw that they were not as we have commonly come to understand them.  For example, the word Christ is not a last name, as I had thought, but rather a state of consciousness. 

This, indeed, has been quite a shift for me because, Jesus had no role to play in my education or upbringing.  For whatever reason, Judaism wanted nothing to do with his teachings.  But according to the Course, we are all Sons (and Daughters) of God – Jesus simply attained Christ consciousness, and is now helping his brothers and sisters to do the same.  And his teachings are transformative.  To be honest, it seems to me to be a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.  A pity, as I feel so many people could benefit from his teachings.  My friends and I all noticed a shift towards greater awareness of our thoughts, the ability to choose loving thoughts more often, and simply more peace.  It’s a good place to be.

When I first saw this quote from A Course in Miracles, it jumped off the page at me.  Like many people, I would find myself feeling fearful about various things – for instance, flying.  After all, our untrained thoughts are always coming up with worst-case scenarios and we buy into it, thinking that we have to protect ourselves from what’s “out there” or that we’d better expect the worst and only hope for the best. 

But according to quantum physics, there is no “out there” out there. Furthermore, when I think about it, is this really living?  If we think something is out of our comfort zone, we may imagine some negative ramifications as a result and so avoid doing it – even for things as simple as visiting a new place, taking a different route somewhere or trying a new activity.  But then we don’t get to experience the new place, or encounter something of interest or significance on the new route.  If I act on my fear of flying, I will not be able to go certain places or experience in person the relationships or things I would find there. 

My world would necessarily become contracted whether I liked it or not.  Is this really being alive?  I don’t think so.  Recently, I encountered two different Uber drivers whose company I quite enjoyed on the short drive to and from my home and who exemplify the idea of being alive by choosing to do what you love.  Both of them spoke about how they enjoy travelling to other countries to explore the sights or see for themselves an interesting historical place they had heard about.  I think it’s ideal that they were able to spontaneously visit someplace they wanted.  If we are not doing what we really love, are we really living? 

I feel like we are meant to live our lives pursuing our interests with passion so we can share them with the world.  How can we do that if we are sleepwalking, merely doing what we’ve been conditioned to – working long, hard hours at a pursuit that doesn’t light us up, just to have a small respite in return.  How can we shine our beautiful light if it is shrouded in fear?  No, the more I contemplate this particular quote, the more I feel it is so important to shake ourselves out of our slumber and go and live the best lives we possibly can so everyone can benefit.