The Fifty Miracle Principles of A Course in Miracles®

by Kenneth Wapnick
 

Principle 1

There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not "harder" or "bigger" than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal.

 
While I said that this is not my favorite section, I think that the first principle, really, is a gem. It is one of the most important statements in the whole book, and I think Jesus thinks so too, because it is a principle that occurs over and over again in all three books in many different forms. If we could thoroughly understand what it means, that "there is no order of difficulty in miracles," we would understand everything else in the Course, because that principle contains within it the seed of the entire thought system. That "there is no order of difficulty in miracles" is the same thing as saying that all the problems in the world are really the same -- the seemingly major ones and the seemingly minor ones. There is no difference among them.

This can be thoroughly understood only when you recognize that there is no world out there. If you believe in the reality of the perceptual, physical, or separated world, then you must believe that there are gradations: there are bigger things and there are smaller things. Our entire world, which really is to say the entire world of perception, is based upon orders and differences. We all have concepts of large and small, fat and thin, beautiful and ugly, male and female, night and day, light and darkness, large problems, small problems, and on and on and on. Our idea of colors is also based on that: different wave lengths of light. These are all inherent parts of the ego's world of separation -- that there are differences in this world.

Once we believe that the body is real, we will then believe that there are certain problems that are more critical than others. If a person has a sickness that is "life threatening," then that is a serious problem. If a person has a mild headache, then we say that that is not such a serious problem. There is no one in this world who does not fall into that trap. It also takes the form of asking the Holy Spirit's help for some problems and not others; or believing that He is too busy to bother with our inconsequential and silly problems; or believing that we can take care of this by ourselves. In truth, however, we are afraid of His solution, for that would mean the undoing of the ego.

However, the purpose of studying A Course in Miracles is not to have us feel guilty because we fall into these traps. The whole idea of the Course is to let us know just how insane we are and how insane this thought system is, so we could change our minds about it. You cannot change your mind about something if you do not know it is there. So, the idea of exposing the ego's thought system is not to make us feel even more guilty than we do, or more stupid than we may feel, but to help us realize that, in fact, we do believe this, so we then can change our minds about it. And this first principle really starts us off with a bang.

What this means, then, is that it is just as easy to heal a cancer as it is to heal a mild headache. It is just as easy to heal a threat of nuclear war as it is to heal an argument between two little kids, because they are all the same thing. They all stem from one center point, which is the belief in separation or the belief in guilt. The problems are never out there in the world, but within our minds. The things that we do in this world to alleviate pain are all done on the symptom level, which means they are all done on the level of form, One of the key principles in the Course is the distinction that we are always asked to make between form and content.  A Course in Miracles teaches that there are only two basic contents in the world: God or the ego; love or fear; spirit or the body. There are only two basic perceptions in the world: one is the ego's way of looking at a problem, the other is the Holy Spirit's way of looking at a problem.

What happens is that these contents then come in a myriad number of forms. When we say that the basic content in the ego's world is separation, then it is obvious to us just how many different forms this belief takes. Some things we call negative, like pain, suffering, death, etc. Some we call positive, which usually means that we get what we want, or that people are free from external suffering. But the issue is never the form, which is on the right side of the chart (http://www.miraclestudies.net/50P_Diag1.html); the issue is always the underlying thought, on the left (see diagram).

In Chapter 23 there is a section called "The Laws of Chaos" (text, p. 466; T-23.11) which is a very difficult section and one of the most important ones in the text. "The Laws of Chaos" describes the five laws that comprise the ego's thought system, which actually are the counterpart for the fifty miracle principles. ([Said with a smile] You can tell which side Jesus is on because he gives fifty miracle principles and only five laws of chaos.)

The first law of chaos is the exact counterpart to the first miracle principle. It states that truth is relative and that there is a hierarchy of illusions. Some illusions are worse than others, or some illusions are better than others. This, again, is exactly what we are talking about. Once you believe that certain problems are larger than others, you must believe there are different levels of solution for the different levels of the problem. Certainly, somebody who is in the medical field knows that if there is this symptom, you do "A," and if there is another symptom, you do "B," and if there is a third symptom, you do "A!' and "B," or something else. They are all very specific things that we do to heal or solve the various problems that we believe we have. By the way, the Course makes it very clear that this does not mean that you should not do these various things, but I will elaborate on that later when it comes up with the miracle principles (see discussion of principle #5).

The only thing that truly heals is undoing the belief that we are separate from God, which is where our problem of guilt comes from. As we will see later on, another way of saying what healing is would be "joining." If we recognize that the only problem that exists is the belief that we are separate, this must mean that the only solution to all other seeming problems is to join.

Another thing that will become apparent as we work with this material if; that A Course in Miracles teaches that the way we define a problem automatically establishes how we resolve the problem. That is why it is very important in working with the Course that you always keep in mind that it recognizes only one problem, and that is the belief that we are separate. If you say that the problem is anything else, then you are automatically saying that the solution will be something else.

Workbook lesson 79 makes the point that there is only one problem, therefore there is only one solution. The one problem is guilt, separation, or holding grievances, and the one solution is a miracle, forgiveness, or joining. This first principle, then, really sets that up: "there is no order of difficulty in miracles." Regardless of what we believe the problem is, all our problems can be solved the exact same way, merely by changing our minds about them.

The Fifty Miracle Principles of A Course in Miracles®

by Kenneth Wapnick
 

Principle 1 continued

 
Q: Sometimes we deny things, and we think we have changed our minds already...

A: As it says right at the end of the text, "Trials are but lessons that you failed to learn presented once again, so where you made a faulty choice before you now can make a better one... " (text, p. 620; T-3l.VIII.3:1). Obviously, most of the time we have not totally undone all our guilt, and there may be relationships that we believe we have healed and resolved and something happens a year later and, bang, all those same feelings just come surging back. Everyone has had that kind of experience.

This does not necessarily mean that we failed when we originally tried to work on it. What it probably means is that we went as far as we could go at that point, and then at some later point we were ready to take another step and heal a deeper layer of guilt. Then an opportunity presents itself and we find ourselves getting angry and upset, feeling hurt and victimized, and that is what tells us that we had not thoroughly let go of this belief, because what happens now is that it becomes projected out onto this person. The ego would tell us that we should believe that we are failures; what the Holy Spirit would tell us is that now we are ready to take another step. That is really the whole thrust of the Course: to help us look at everything that happens in our lives as an opportunity of healing and forgiving something that was deeply buried in us that we did not know was there. And there are no exceptions to that principle.

In fact, where the Course's great power comes from is that it is so consistent and simple in everything it says. It really teaches us only one way to look at everything in the world.

That is the way of A Course in Miracles: that everything that occurs is an opportunity for us to heal our minds, and it does not matter whether we get upset about some terrible event that we are reading about in the newspaper, or we get upset by a trivial thing that happens in our homes or our families, communities, or work situations.

Q: Although there may be no order of difficulty in miracles, we are pretty well convinced that there is anyway. In view of that fact, is it likely that we would need to experience forgiveness with a big issue before we get around to the other ones?

A: We work on whatever it is we can work on. Some people feel just the opposite, that the big ones are too much. So they practice on the little ones: the person who cuts you off on the highway, or someone who does a little annoying thing, or something that your kids may not do around the house that they are supposed to do. Some people find those easier to deal with than the larger issues, and other people feel just the opposite.

Q: Do you have to do all those things?

A: You do not have to, it is just that you would feel better if you do, that is all.

Q: Would the first principle also mean that it would be just as easy to have cancer cured as a cold?

A: Yes, but you can mistake the idea that the problem is the cancer or the cold of the body. That is not the problem. The problem is the thought that led to it, The Course says the only meaning of anything is what it is for. You do not focus on the symptom of the cancer any more than you would focus on the remission of the cancer, because that is not the problem. The cancer may serve a purpose, not only for that particular person, but for the people in that person's life -- family, friends, medical people, etc.

Q: So that "there is no order of difficulty in miracles" never really means the cure of anything, it really means a change in perception.

A: Right, it means a change in mind. We will discuss that over and over again as we go through this.

Q: In line with that, if your thought has caused the cancerous condition and your mind does, in fact, become healed, does it not then be come irrelevant, whether or not the physical cancer is healed?

A: Right. People often use physical healing as a way of proving either their own spiritual or mental health, or the lack of it: "If I am really doing this right, then this tumor will disappear." And again, what it is doing is making this real. When your mind is really healed, it will not be a burning issue for you. It does not mean that the tumor will not disappear. It just means that your investment will not be in having it disappear. Your investment will be in having peace in your mind.

Q: Does not "death" mean that we just lie down and give up the body at the appropriate point?

A: If you mean by "appropriate" that we die when we have completed the lessons that we came to learn, yes. However, we may also change our mind and choose to leave our body before we have completed these lessons. As the Course says: "And no one dies without his own consent" (workbook, p. 274; W-pI.152.1:4).

Q: To what degree does the shared perception of illness of those around us come into play? To what degree does that lock us into that perception, even though our mind is in the process of changing?

A: Within each of us there are always two voices. There is the ego's voice and the Holy Spirit's Voice. Most of the time we are going back and forth. Let us say that I am really practicing what A Course in Miracles is saying, but I am not totally practicing it. I still have some doubts or some fears, and you come along and other people come along and strongly reinforce the ego's way of looking. There is no question that that will strengthen my ego. If I were really firm, if I knew that everything the ego told me was false, then it would not matter how many people, thousands or millions, said something. I would know deep within me that it did not make any difference. But if I am wavering, then my ego will always be on the lookout for those people it can use as witnesses to reinforce its case. But the problem is not the people who are reinforcing it. The problem is that I am unconsciously looking for those witnesses that will prove that my ego is correct. As we all know, you do not have to look very far in the world. If you really want to prove that anger is justified, sickness is terrible, and separation is real, you will find witnesses all around you. As long as we are wavering, there is no question that other people's negative or ego thoughts will strengthen our own. They are not responsible for our own because that is like voodoo, the idea that you can influence someone else. The Course would never teach that, because that then puts the responsibility onto someone else. What A Course in Miracles would say is that other people's thoughts or what happens in the world can reinforce your own ego. But if you are really clear about what you believe, it will have no effect at all. Jesus, of course, would be the ultimate example.

Therefore, it is falling into the ego's trap to believe that smoking causes cancer; guilt does. But if you believe that smoking will hurt you, then you should not smoke. If you are diabetic, and the sickness still is part of your thought system, then not taking insulin would be an unconscious attempt to punish yourself, as would be eating ice cream, etc. In this context, then, taking care of your sick body would be the most loving and forgiving thing you could do.

Q: What does it mean to "hear" the Holy Spirit?

A: To speak of hearing the Holy Spirit is really a metaphor, just as it is to speak of Him as being God's Voice. The Holy Spirit communicates to us through our minds, and He will use any means or vehicle that we can accept. Thus, it can be what we call intuition, imagination, a sudden thought or insight, a dream, a feeling of words or thoughts coming to us that we "hear" and know are not our own. He is not fussy; He will use anything we give Him.

Let us move along, otherwise we will never get past the first line. The second line, of course, is just another way of saying what we have been talking about. To say that there are no "harder" or "bigger" miracles is the same thing as saying there are no harder or bigger problems. Bill Thetford used to say that the first principle could be restated as: There is no order of difficulty in problem solving. All problems are the same and, therefore, all the solutions are the same.

"All expressions of love are maximal." Most of you have probably heard me talk about the two levels that the Course is written on. The first is the metaphysical level, which is really not what we are spending much time on today. The second is the more practical level that contrasts the two ways of looking in the world. But the first level really is the part of the Course that does not have any compromise to it. Something is either all true or it is all false, and there is no in-between. You cannot be a little bit pregnant; you either are or you are not. On the second level, we go back and forth all the time between the ego and the Holy Spirit. But this statement, "all expressions of love are maximal," really is a Level One statement: You cannot have a little bit of love. You either have love or you do not have love, because one of the characteristics of love is that it is total, complete, and there are no exclusions to it, no exceptions. All expressions of love must be maximal, which is another way of saying that there is only one problem in the world. That problem is hatred or fear; and, therefore, there is only one solution for that problem, and that is love. Love does not come from us; it does not come from this world. Love comes from God, through the Holy Spirit Who then inspires us to be what we would call loving.

A Course in Miracles also teaches that no one in this world can be loving, because it says that love without ambivalence is impossible here (text, p. 66; T-4.III.4:6). The very fact that we are here means that we have an ego, which means that we believe in separation. This means we cannot believe in the all-inclusive nature of love. Technically, forgiveness is this world's equivalent of Heaven's love, and love comes to us from God through the Holy Spirit in our minds, Who then inspires all of the loving things that we would do. But here with the use of the word "love" we can see how the Course is certainly not strict in its usage. Very often it will speak of love in terms of what we do here.

Q: What is he speaking of here then? If "all expressions of love are maximal," that would only apply to God's Love.

A: Yes, but God's Love through the Holy Spirit here. In other words, the context of the statement is the miracle. The miracle comes from love. The next principle talks about that.

The Fifty Miracle Principles of A Course in Miracles®
by Kenneth Wapnick
 
 

Principle 2

Miracles as such do not matter. The only thing that matters is their Source,
Which is far beyond evaluation.

The fact that "Source" is capitalized, of course, tells us that this is God, and God is present in our mind, in our split mind, through the Holy Spirit. What is important here also is to realize that miracles do not matter, because miracles are part of the same illusory world that the ego is. If the miracle is a correction, then it is a correction for an illusory thought, which also makes a miracle an illusion. It is needed only in a world of illusion. As we said earlier, you do not need a miracle in Heaven. You do not need forgiveness in Heaven. You need forgiveness or a miracle only in a place where you believe in sin, suffering, sacrifice, separation, etc.

The only thing that truly matters is God, or the creation of God, which is spirit, which is the Christ in us. In this world, however, miracles do matter, because that is the correction that enables us to remember eventually who we really are. The Course also speaks of forgiveness as an illusion. At one point it says it is the final illusion (workbook, p. 369; W-pI.198.3). What makes it different from all the other illusions in the world is that forgiveness is the end of illusion. All the other illusions here really breed illusions, so that they strengthen the illusion that we are separate or that attack is real and justified. Forgiveness is an illusion that teaches us that there are no illusions.

Q: If you say that we cannot obtain complete love in this life, how do we relate to Jesus?

A: Well, let me qualify that. I think there are very, very few exceptions, such as Jesus, who is the greatest symbol of God's Love. Furthermore, there are some people who have totally transcended their egos, and who stay around a while to help other people do that. They are what in the East are called avatars or bodhisattvas: people who have thoroughly transcended their ego yet remain, holding on to just a sliver of it so they can stay here in the body. They are no longer here to learn lessons. But as the Course implies at one point, this is such a rare occurrence that it does not pay to talk about it (manual, p. 61; M-26.2,3).

Q: What are our creations?

A: "Creations" is one of those technical words that the Course uses but does not really explain. What they refer to is the process of creation that we share with God. One of the basic attributes of spirit is that it is always extending itself. This is not a process that occurs in time or space, which is why it is so hard for us to conceive of it. God's extension of Himself --as spirit, He is always extending Himself -- is what is called creation. We are the result of that, not we as we identify ourselves sitting here in this room, but the "we" that is the Christ that is all of us. Each of us is a part of that Christ which is an extension of God and, since Christ is part of God, He also shares in the basic attributes of God. One of those attributes is extension, so Christ also extends Himself. What Christ extends is what the Course calls "creations." Creations are really the extensions of us in our true state. Again, what makes it so difficult is that this process has no counterpart or referent to anything in this world. When the Course uses the word "create," as it will in one of these miracle principles, it does not refer to having a creative thought, to creating a work of art or anything like that -- not that the Course would be against anything like that, it simply uses the word differently. "Create" is a word that A Course in Miracles always uses just to denote what spirit does. If you want to think along the lines of the traditional idea of the Trinity, the Second Person of the Trinity would consist not only of Christ, of which each of us is a part, but also the extensions of Christ, which are our creations.

Q: The Course seems to promise that our creations are waiting for us. Is that so?

A: Like a cheering squad. You are rushing home, and there they are on the sidelines, cheering you home. That is a metaphor, of course, the idea being that our own wholeness is continually calling to us to remember who we are.

In the last part of the second principle -- that the Source is far beyond evaluation -- "evaluation" is a word that belongs to this world. We are always evaluating, and the fact that we are evaluating something is, obviously, a process of judgment; it is a process of perception. If you are talking about evaluation, you are talking about an evaluator who evaluates something or someone else. So you are talking about separation: subject and object. Obviously, the whole process of evaluation has relevance only to the world of perception, which is not the world of God. God is beyond all evaluation because He is beyond judgment; He is beyond form; He is beyond separation; He is beyond perception. The miracle only matters to the extent that it teaches us that nothing here matters. Once we learn that lesson, then the use for the miracle is over. It is what the Course teaches about time: its only purpose is to teach us that there is no time (see discussion of principle #16). You can say the same thing about the world or the body: The only purpose that the world or the body has is to teach us that there is no world or body, but we cannot learn that without being here in the body. That is why A Course in Miracles very clearly teaches us that we should not deny our physical experiences here, or deny our body (text, p. 20; T-2.IV.3:8-11). It only says we should look at them differently.