A Course in Miracles is the Anti-Virus

[NineHfanbase]

The ego is a thought system programmed into our consciousness. The older we get the more complex the program becomes, becoming harder to undo. 

A Course in Miracles is 365 “lessons” you do for each day for one year. It’s another program that attempts to replace the Ego program. I think most people will get what they are looking for before the 365 days. 

You have to take the lessons seriously if you want serious change. Change is in your hands. You have to want it more than anything else in the world. The lessons will initially feel nice, like you’re doing something you’re supposed to be doing. Then you start to realize the change that is required, it will start to feel like you’re being brainwashed. It’s a terrible place to be. Just remember that is the whole point, is to change your mind completely. Then at some point you will become frustrated from lacking the courage to change and will blame the author, and think she was probably mentally ill. Then you’ll go back to normal life, put the book away. Then you’ll be at rock bottom once again, and realize you have to try something else to get out of this. Why not try the book? What if she’s not crazy? What do I have to lose? Could I get more crazy and unhappy than this? 

[gettoefl]

i asked AI to compare mahamudra and acim, and here is what it concluded:

 

Quote

 

Both Mahamudra and A Course in Miracles (ACIM) present paths to enlightenment, but their approaches and terminologies differ significantly. Here's a comparison and analysis of how they align, particularly focusing on the concept of forgiveness in ACIM:

Mahamudra Path Overview:

The Mahamudra path comprises four stages:

Concentration Meditation: Focus on stabilizing the mind and developing concentration.

Insight into Mind: Shifting focus from external objects to the nature of thoughts and consciousness, recognizing their emptiness.

Yoga of Unelaboration: Deepening the understanding of time and self as constructs, leading to nondual awareness.

Yoga of Nonmeditation: Releasing all efforts and recognizing the ultimate, unchanging reality of pure awareness.

ACIM Path Overview:

ACIM focuses on shifting one's perception from fear to love through the practice of forgiveness. And key elements include:

Recognition of Illusions: Understanding that the world and the ego are illusions.

Forgiveness: A central practice that involves overlooking what the eyes perceive and seeing the divine in its place.

Miracle-Mindedness: Cultivating an attitude that defaults to love and truth rather than fear and illusion.

True Perception: Achieving a state of awareness where one sees beyond the physical to the eternal truth of oneness with God.

Forgiveness in ACIM is akin to Insight in Mahamudra

Forgiveness in ACIM:

Purpose: To dispell the illusion of separation and guilt.

Process: It involves recognizing that all memories and expectations are based on false perceptions of separation. By forgiving, one acknowledges the shared divine essence and lets go of ego-based illusions.

Outcome: Achieving peace and the realization of oneness with all beings and with God.

Insight in Mahamudra:

Purpose: To understand the true nature of thoughts and consciousness as empty and nondual.

Process: This involves meditation practices that observe and deconstruct the mind’s activities, leading to the realization of the inherent emptiness and interconnectedness of all experiences.

Outcome: Attaining a state of nondual awareness where the distinction between self and other dissolves.

Does ACIM Lead to Enlightenment?

Both ACIM and Mahamudra aim for enlightenment, though they describe the path and the state of enlightenment differently.

ACIM:

Enlightenment: Realization of one's oneness with God and the dissolution of the ego’s illusions.

Path: Forgiveness and miracle-mindedness gradually lead to the shift from fear to love, culminating in true perception and oneness.

Mahamudra:

Enlightenment: Direct experience of the nature of mind as empty and luminous, leading to nondual awareness.

Path: Progressive stages of meditation that refine and deepen one's understanding and experience of reality.

In ACIM, forgiveness is a tool to dismantle the ego’s illusions and recognize oneness, similar to how insight in Mahamudra deconstructs the illusion of thoughts and perceptions to reveal their true nature.

Conclusion:

ACIM can indeed take one to enlightenment if practiced deeply and consistently, as its core principles aim to transcend ego-based illusions and realize oneness with God. Similarly, Mahamudra provides a structured path to enlightenment through progressive stages of meditation and insight.

Both paths, while different in approach, ultimately aim for the dissolution of the ego and the realization of a higher, nondual truth. Forgiveness in ACIM is equivalent to the insight practices in Mahamudra, both serving as means to transcend individual illusions and realize a state of enlightened awareness.

 

[NineHfanbase]

10 hours ago, gettoefl said:

i asked AI to compare mahamudra and acim, and here is what it concluded:

 

 

Interesting. 

[gettoefl]

6 hours ago, NineHfanbase said:

Interesting. 

a synthesis of the two approaches would be:

Let go of each arising thought as an illusion and forever rest in the light-filled awareness of pure love which is what you are

[NineHfanbase]

15 hours ago, gettoefl said:

a synthesis of the two approaches would be:

Let go of each arising thought as an illusion and forever rest in the light-filled awareness of pure love which is what you are

The repetitiveness of the affirmations is  key. Otherwise it is almost guranteed you will sway back to what you know, the ego thought system. The course is literally trying to replace your entire thought system (your mind) with an entirely new one that caters to God, that will pave the way to God realization. It slowly sways you into investing your energy into the new thought system, until you actually start believing it is reality. 
 

The peace that comes with the new thought system is so addicting, that you eventually spend your entire day (literally) just repeating the lesson over and over and over. This will guarantee the new system take over. 
 

it blows my mind how simple it is. Truly amazing. Although the concept of replacing one thought system with another is simple, 2 things MUST happen for this to work. 1) you have to want nothing else except God (otherwise the ego thought system is what you know and what you’re comfortable with, so if you’re not completely over it you will NOT escape it) 2) you have to do the lessons exactly as the course says, and take them seriously. The more you repeat the lesson in your head throughout the day the faster the system take over will happen. 

[NineHfanbase]

Take the lessons seriously. If a lesson says to forgive your enemies, and you’re having trouble doing that because you despise that person, this is your new challenge. Don’t just move on to the next lesson because you don’t feel like forgiving. I sat with the lesson as long as necessary until I can do it. It’s like a back and forth so you’re not just blindly reading lesson after lesson. Participate in it, instead of putting it all in the authors hands. This will make you feel empowered and that you can solve any problem that comes up in your life. 

There is someone at work I despised, who I thought I couldn’t forgive because he was 100% in the wrong and I was justified in hating him. So I sat alone in a room and conjured up all the hate I have for this person. Dwelled in my deepest thoughts, uninterrupted. Felt the pain that came with making someone an enemy. Dwell in the suffering, don’t run away. Your deepest suffering is your biggest lesson, you will be rewarded with knowledge and peace if you just sit with it. It’s like a troll at the gate, you have to deal with it you can’t just walk past.

I later realized my part in the conflict. And it was a big part. I was arrogant, aggressive, overly sensitive. I truly thought I was wronged by him, not realizing I was overreacting to a lot of things. I thought I  was better than everybody and in a subtle way was expecting to be worshipped by them. And if someone even hinted that they had a problem with me, it was like a dagger to the heart. I was ridiculous. He isn’t perfect but the only thing you have control over in this world is yourself. You hear this all the time but when it hits home, how could that point have flown completely over your head? You literally cannot do anything about the way other people act. You will be challenged non stop, there will always be someone you despise and want to murder. What are you going to do about that? Fight everyone who pisses you off? Come up with an endless list of insults that will out-do all insults they can come with up with? Great, then when all is said and done, you come home feeling worst than ever. More angry, more helpless, more sad, anticipating their retaliation the next day and what you’re going to say back. Drowned in negativity. And no one is experiencing that suffering except for you. At some point you get tired of conflict. Why be angry when you can be at peace?
 

You're misunderstanding everything anyway, might as well try something new. 

Edited July 14 by NineHfanbase

[CoolDreamThanks]

Did you already get what forgiveness truly is and how to take it to the end, so it brings enlightenment? 
 

did you get what idols are?  
 
Do you understand temptation and the danger within it?
 

are you aware of what the Holly Spirit really is? 
 

I wonder if you really get acim.
 

 I started practicing it seriously and began experiencing formless heaven.

Edited July 17 by CoolDreamThanks

[Jehovah increases]

On 7/11/2024 at 10:02 AM, NineHfanbase said:

The ego is a thought system programmed into our consciousness. 

 

By whom your consciousness is consciousness.

[BlessedLion]

I’ve had a deep intuition to start this book and I’ll take this as a sign to get it. Cheers

[Jehovah increases]

1 hour ago, Jehovah increases said:

By whom your consciousness is consciousness.

I remember my brother got into this so-called book of miracles. years ago I asked him if it was worth reading and the answer was each to their own and have fun. 

Edited July 18 by Jehovah increases

[gettoefl]

13 hours ago, BlessedLion said:

I’ve had a deep intuition to start this book and I’ll take this as a sign to get it. Cheers

i recommend the book, the disappearence of the universe, as a way to dip your toes in, the book goes above and beyond acim but gives enough detail to see if the course will resonate or not

the course itself will take several years to study but this book is a good taster and takes just weeks and is wildly entertaining

it is so good in fact they made it into a trilogy and there is another instalment i hear coming this fall

[Brittany]

On 7/11/2024 at 11:43 AM, gettoefl said:

i asked AI to compare mahamudra and acim, and here is what it concluded:

 

 

Here is also a video that compares the two very well.

Robert and Emily Perry's recent work in the Circle of Atonement is good stuff. They are deep, thorough thinkers but yet very open minded and loving.

 

[NineHfanbase]

On 2024-07-17 at 5:33 PM, CoolDreamThanks said:

Did you already get what forgiveness truly is and how to take it to the end, so it brings enlightenment? 
 

did you get what idols are?  
 
Do you understand temptation and the danger within it?
 

are you aware of what the Holly Spirit really is? 
 

I wonder if you really get acim.
 

 I started practicing it seriously and began experiencing formless heaven.

I have not experienced enlightenment through the course yet. I experienced enlightenment some years ago through sheer luck and, though it was brief, it was complete. I almost immediately got sucked back into ego thought system.

I think the experience of enlightenment is too amazing a thing, and the ego too comfortable and advanced nowadays, for it to be permanent if it happens by  sheer luck. The mind is too smart yet more desperate than ever. Imagine the weak little power hungry ego, desperate for love, experiencing something as incredible as that, and not making an identity of it? I believe that’s too rare, especially for people who are seeking enlightenment. It’s very difficult not to get carried away and make an identity as the enlightened master or second coming of Christ.

This is where the course comes in. It wants to replace the ego system FIRST and completely. It’s practical. It has to take care of the ego before you get to enlightenment because that’s the only way it will last. Although im not there yet, I know I will be. This does not feel the same as the time I experienced Enlightenment. Every day I understand more, I become more loving, more peaceful. Every day I cringe more at my old self. Every day I wake up happier. This time I’m controlling my journey to get there by understanding what is happening, instead of getting thrusted into it and being so dazzled and awe struck that I don’t even know what to do besides sit there with my mouth open and think all my problems have been  solved, only to get sucked back in, at the lowest point of my life. But I needed to experience it to know it was real, and to know that these glimpses of it by accident or through drugs will likely not last.
 

You have to get the ego out of the way. It has too much momentum, it’s smarter than you could ever imagine, every single person in the world is supporting it, everywhere you look are its cheerleaders. That’s why you have to want God more than anything for the course to work.

 

good luck Everyone. Don’t think you know what the course will do for you. It will work in ways you won’t imagine and suddenly one day you will see the rhythm. Just worry about the lessons, do them as she says. Be objective and impartial. Dont make it a sad story or a hero story. Dont treat anyone in your life differently. You don’t have to behave different or isolate yourself. Just stay focused and remember what you want. If you truly believe an ego wish will make you happy, then go do it. Suffering will bring you back to the course. It is useless to torture yourself with should I, should I not. That same suffering will be transformed into the motivation, energy, and will to do the course. And so nothing is ever lost. 
 

it will be fun at first, then painful, then great, then agonizing pain, then amazing. Basically the reverse of the ego system, which is high then crash. Once you get to amazing nothing much bothers you after that. 
 

Edited July 20 by NineHfanbase

[BlessedLion]

So I started this book and honestly I’m getting a weird vibe from it. Feels a bit brainwash, cult like. 
 

Don’t get me wrong I have a wildly open mind and got massive value from Conversations with God series. But this just feels a bit intense. Maybe that’s a good thing though, after all, who feels threatened?

[CoolDreamThanks]

6 hours ago, BlessedLion said:

So I started this book and honestly I’m getting a weird vibe from it. Feels a bit brainwash, cult like. 
 

Don’t get me wrong I have a wildly open mind and got massive value from Conversations with God series. But this just feels a bit intense. Maybe that’s a good thing though, after all, who feels threatened?

@BlessedLion It's definitely not for everyone. It's deeply intellectual and full of metaphors and analogies.

It's also holographic; within every chapter, there is the whole Course, but in different words.

It's also written in a weird format, starting with the 50 principles of miracles, which you can't understand unless you have first done the course.

In the end, it says the same thing Ramana Maharshi does, but with many more nuances and in a difficult-to-digest language. 

Whenever the Course uses words like Holly Spirit, Voice of God, Miracle, and Forgiveness - it's all the same thing - stillness and silence, or as Ramana would call it - Self-enquiry.

Many people, including me, don't like the format - how it takes 1333 pages to say the same thing repeatedly in difficult language.

It came through a deeply intellectual psychologist who also liked Shakespeare, so the Course was written in the Iambic Pentameter, a style of poetry Shakespeare used.  

Ken Wapnick, the person Jesus assigned to teach the course, is extremely intellectual and deeply involved in concepts. Interestingly, the Course says its whole point is to bring us beyond concepts.

So yeah, it's for a certain type of person, mostly those who are interested in concepts and intellectualizing. 

David Hoffmeister, one of the most popular ACIM teachers, attended university for 10 years, so he naturally liked the course because it was so intellectual.

Ramana Maharshi is the complete opposite of that - he says in one minute what the Course takes 100 hours. The message is the same, though.

Oh, by the way, I know that within Conversations in God, God supposedly says that the same Source wrote ACIM and CwG, but to the trained eye, they are completely different.

CwG focuses so much on manifestation and living the good life, while ACIM is about escaping from the dream and doesn't mention manifestation at all.

In fact, ACIM says that you have to let go of all the idols you have made in the dream to return home to God. 

I think CwG is just the same new-age message that Abraham and Bashar teach, while ACIM aligns with the true mystics of the ages, like Ramana Maharshi.

Edited July 22 by CoolDreamThanks

[Salvijus]

7 hours ago, CoolDreamThanks said:

CwG focuses so much on manifestation and living the good life, while ACIM is about escaping from the dream and doesn't mention manifestation at all.

https://acim.org/acim/chapter-30/rules-for-decision/en/s/334

This chapter is actually about manifestation but it's not easily obvious and also because acim is difficult to understand in general. It's so cleverly written that someone who does not understand the principles of manifestation in depth would not be able to pick up on it.

The clue lies in the question "what kind of day do I want today" and acting upon it. The basis of manifestion, law of attraction, Bashar's formula, tapping into the heart and Christ conciousness, tapping into the holy spirit's guidence, living in alignment with your true will, choosing love over fear, etc. 

 

Edited July 22 by Salvijus

[CoolDreamThanks]

@Salvijus brother, how can I listen to anything you say when you don't even know that life is a dream, which is the main metaphysical concept the Course attempts to teach? Jesus literally says - you are hallucinating. Those people you see - they are completely unreal. 

Regarding manifestation - Ken Wapnick, the man Jesus appointed to teach the Course, clearly says that Jesus does not attempt to teach you how to improve your dream, but only how to escape it. He literally says that this dream will never become Heaven on earth, which is what Bashar teaches.

So you know better than Ken Wapnick, right? You studied the Course more than 30 years, more than him, so you interpretation is correct?

You say life is not a dream, so you know better than ACIM, Ramana, Nisragadata, Ananda Ma, Leo, and many other mistics.

For me, your words carry as much power within them as a single strand of a dandelion fluff. 

Let's not discuss metaphysics with one another ever again, we are in completely different worlds. 

[cjoseph90]

yeah i agree its a good book, i need to revist it, read it a while ago. very practical too

[Emotionalmosquito]

On 7/10/2024 at 9:02 PM, NineHfanbase said:

Change is in your hands. You have to want it more than anything else in the world.

That’s the problem I have with all of self improvement work. I can’t get anywhere because I don’t want it badly enough. I want to want it but I don’t anymore. How do you make yourself want something you don’t want?

[Salvijus]

1 hour ago, CoolDreamThanks said:

Let's not discuss metaphysics with one another ever again, we are in completely different worlds. 

🙏