Ask: What if I get comfort from ACIM but do not always believe it?

I get a lot of comfort from reading A Course in Miracles but I have to admit I have not had some of the spiritual experiences that others say they have. I feel guilty to say this, but I’m not sure I really believe everything I read and frankly I’m not always sure I believe in a God...

            First, I want to point out that the feeling of comfort that you have when you read A Course in Miracles is the Holy Spirit (Teacher of Truth) within you. So that is one spiritual experience that you do have. It’s important to recognize that you do feel the Holy Spirit when you read ACIM so that you can recognize the experience in other contexts as well.
There is never any reason to feel guilty for being honest. In fact, you cannot move forward without first acknowledging to yourself what you are truly experiencing. There are two lies that people commonly perpetrate against themselves on a spiritual path that are huge obstacles to peace. One is thinking that “belief” is all that is required. But “belief” is only a decision to intellectually accept something as true whether or not you have experienced it as true. It’s really a con that you play on yourself. You either experience God (Reality; True Being) as real or you do not. So “believing in” God means nothing. Experiencing God is the goal and leads to true peace.
The other lie that many perpetrate against themselves is blind “faith” in God. But you either trust God or you do not. Pretending to trust God when you do not really do so only increases your fear, stress, and guilt. Trust comes after many, many experiences of God because God is a wholly different experience from the one that you are used to in your identification with a limited body/self. You cannot force trust. You either feel it or you don’t.
Acknowledge your doubts to the Holy Spirit, even if you are not certain It exists. You have nothing to lose being open and willing to experience God. If God turns out not to exist then everything stays the same. You won’t gain anything, but you won’t lose anything, either. And if God turns out to be true then you gain Everything. Even after many experiences of God I often fell into doubt and I’d say, “I don’t know if You exist but I’m willing to experience You if You do.” More important than the words was a feeling of true openness. And always something occurred within me to show me that my True Being is beyond the limited experience of the self.

In time, after many undeniable experiences of God, you will not give power to the doubts. The ego (personal thought system) will never accept that God is real, but it speaks only for itself, never for you. You will know that God is real and release the ego.

>>>>>
Learn about the books The ACIM Mentor Articles, The Plain Language A Course in Miracles, 4 Habits for Inner Peace, and Releasing Guilt for Inner Peace at www.acimmentor.com.
If you have a question the answer to which you think will help others send it to Liz@acimmentor.com and indicate that you want it answered in the ACIM Mentor Newsletter/Blog.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I feel the same way. I feel good inside, I feel hopeful when I read ACIM or and spiritual devotion that say how good God is or how the Holy Spirit is my helper and guider but I never really feel that I experience the lofty stuff in the books and the meditations. For me it is like looking at a great post card of a beach sunset or sundown but never smelling the ocean breeze or the warmth on your face etc. I so wish I could experience how good God is by what is written and how he is for us... but it seems that everyone wanting this goodness is broke,addicted and financially underwater. Its like a life preserver that I never get to latch on to. I so wish I felt differently but that's not how it is.
1:02 PM
will said…
Anonymous,

We feel so alone on this journey. Trying to get God to respond in a way we are familiar with is something we are all going through. Maybe Liz will post a comment on how many years it took for her. With Liz we just see the end product.
7:25 AM
ACIM Mentor said…
As an atheistic teenager I had an awareness of what I called my "inner therapist". In really troubled times (rare)I would turn to It. I did not relate It to "God" because my idea of a god was as a power over and outside of me. And I didn't experience that. I felt this "inner therapist" was an older, wiser, or more advanced me. When I picked up ACIM I recognized this "inner therapist" was the same as the Holy Spirit. ACIM validated what I already felt to be true. But it took me a long time to really grow my awareness of and trust the Holy Spirit. It was 15 years before I reached the tipping point and entered the "period of relinquishment" where I found a willingness to follow only the Holy Spirit.
I think often people are looking for extraordinary experiences when the Holy Spirit is a very ordinary experience. It is you.
10:01 AM
Frank C said…
Thanks for this, Liz.. it is a reflection of some things I've recently experienced on my path. I've been a student of ACIM for 25 yrs. and have been on that same roller-coaster ride that almost all seekers seem to experience. I'm pretty widely read and believe that the Truth comes to us in many ways, so, while recently reading a very inspiring book, I had one of those "Aha" moments: The author proposed that Peace is a DECISION! When you reach a point that you cherish the state of internal peace above all else, you will make the firm decision to not let anything interfere with it, no matter what happens "outside" (or inside)you. This does NOT mean that you are suddenly totally free of doubt and pain, but it does create a state of mind that is very vigilant against anything that might take you out of your peaceful center (connection to God). The Course states that the only useful function that the body has is as a communication device... compare it to a cell phone or GPS unit. If you monitor your internal state at ALL times, you will start to see how your ego mind is constantly trying to sabotage your efforts to be at Peace, to have a direct experience of God (TRUTH). When you find yourself listening to the ego (and the subsequent loss of Peace), you just let it go and ask the HS or Jesus to heal that part of your mind that still fears God and is blocking your awareness of His Love. If you follow this simple formula, you will start to experience a deeper, undeniable connection to the Peace of God. As the Course says, the message of the Course is not that difficult to understand, but it does take constant vigilance to implement (paraphrase).

The best to you all on your journey... remember: you are ALL already HOME... you never left... undo the blocks, and you will KNOW IT!!
7:33 AM
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