About
OrEd-T-1.1-Principles of Miracles.43-49
43. A major contribution of miracles is releasing man from his sense of isolation, deprivation, and lack.
Miracles are affirmations of Sonship, which is a state of completion and abundance. Whatever is true and real is eternal and cannot change or be changed. The spirit is therefore unalterable because it is already perfect. The mind can elect the level it chooses to serve. The only limit on its choice is, it cannot serve two masters.
If it chooses, the mind becomes a medium by which the spirit creates along the line of its own creation. If the mind does not freely choose to create with spirit, it keeps the creative ability that comes then under the control of tyranny instead of authority. This imprisons the mind for such are the dictates of tyrants. To change my mind means to place it in the service of true Authority.
The miracle is a sign that the mind has chosen to be led by Christ in His service. The abundance of Christ is the natural result of choosing to follow Him. All shallow roots must be uprooted because they are not deep enough to sustain me. The illusion that shallow roots can be deepened and made stable, is one of the distortions that reverses the Golden Rule. As these false foundations are given up, equilibrium is temporarily experienced as unstable. However, nothing is less stable than an orientation that is upside down, including the props that try to hold it up.
44. Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind. As one, this mind goes out to anyone, without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator.
45. The miracle is an expression of inner awareness of Christ, and acceptance of His Atonement. The mind is in a state of grace, and is gracious to the host within and the stranger without. The stranger becomes my brother as he is included.
46. A miracle is never lost. It touches many I do not know, and can produce changes in forces of which I am unaware. That is not my concern. The miracle will always bless me.
The miracles I am not asked to perform still have their value, and they are expressions of my state of grace. The impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures my grace, but only Christ knows where grace can be bestowed. The action part of the miracle should be Christ-controlled, because He is aware of the whole plan.
47. Miracle-mindedness means miracle-readiness. Readiness means that I should always be ready, willing, and able. These are the essentials for "listen, learn, and do." I must be ready to listen, willing to learn and able to do. Only the last is involuntary, because it is the application of miracles which must be Christ-controlled. The other two, which are the voluntary aspects of miracle mindedness, are up to me.
48. Revelation is an experience of unspeakable love. Awe should be reserved for revelation. Awe is not appropriate for miracles, because it is worshipful. It implies that one of a lesser order stands before a greater one. This is the case only when spirit stands before its Creator. Spirits are perfect creations and experience awe only in the Presence of the Creator of perfection.
The miracle is a sign of love among equals. Awe implies inequality. Equals cannot be in awe of one another. It is therefore an inappropriate reaction to Jesus. An older brother is entitled to respect for his greater experience, and obedience for his greater wisdom. It is appropriate to love him because he is a brother, and to be devoted to him, for he is devoted. Everything Jesus has comes from God. There is nothing about Jesus that I cannot have. The difference between us now is Jesus has nothing else. This leaves him in a state of true holiness, which is a potential in me.
"No man comes to the Father except by Jesus" is among the most misunderstood statements in the Bible. It does not mean that Jesus is in any way special or different from me, except in time, which does not exist. Actually, the quotation is more meaningful if it is considered on a vertical instead of a horizontal axis. Seen along the vertical, man stands below Jesus and Jesus stands below God. In the process of "rising up," Jesus is higher. This is because, without Jesus, the distance between God and man would be too great to reach.
Jesus bridges the distance as an elder brother to man on the one hand, and as a Son of God on the other. Jesus' devotion to his brothers has placed him in charge of the Sonship, which will be complete only to the extent that He can share it. This may appear to contradict the statement, "Jesus and and the Father are one," (the original statement was "of one kind"), but there are parts in the statement that acknowledge the Father is greater. The Holy Spirit is the bringer of revelations. Revelations are indirectly inspired by Jesus, because He is close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of his brothers. He can bring down to his brothers more than they can draw down to themselves.
The Holy Spirit is the highest communication medium. The Holy Spirit mediates from above to below, keeping the direct channel from God to man open for revelation. When man returns to his original form of communion with God, the need for miracles is over. Miracles do not involve this type of communion, because they are temporary communication devices. The miracle is reciprocal because it involves equality. Revelation is not reciprocal. It is always from God to man.
43. A major contribution of miracles is releasing man from his sense of isolation, deprivation, and lack.
Miracles are affirmations of Sonship, which is a state of completion and abundance. Whatever is true and real is eternal and cannot change or be changed. The spirit is therefore unalterable because it is already perfect. The mind can elect the level it chooses to serve. The only limit on its choice is, it cannot serve two masters.
If it chooses, the mind becomes a medium by which the spirit creates along the line of its own creation. If the mind does not freely choose to create with spirit, it keeps the creative ability that comes then under the control of tyranny instead of authority. This imprisons the mind for such are the dictates of tyrants. To change my mind means to place it in the service of true Authority.
The miracle is a sign that the mind has chosen to be led by Christ in His service. The abundance of Christ is the natural result of choosing to follow Him. All shallow roots must be uprooted because they are not deep enough to sustain me. The illusion that shallow roots can be deepened and made stable, is one of the distortions that reverses the Golden Rule. As these false foundations are given up, equilibrium is temporarily experienced as unstable. However, nothing is less stable than an orientation that is upside down, including the props that try to hold it up.
44. Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind. As one, this mind goes out to anyone, without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator.
45. The miracle is an expression of inner awareness of Christ, and acceptance of His Atonement. The mind is in a state of grace, and is gracious to the host within and the stranger without. The stranger becomes my brother as he is included.
46. A miracle is never lost. It touches many I do not know, and can produce changes in forces of which I am unaware. That is not my concern. The miracle will always bless me.
The miracles I am not asked to perform still have their value, and they are expressions of my state of grace. The impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures my grace, but only Christ knows where grace can be bestowed. The action part of the miracle should be Christ-controlled, because He is aware of the whole plan.
47. Miracle-mindedness means miracle-readiness. Readiness means that I should always be ready, willing, and able. These are the essentials for "listen, learn, and do." I must be ready to listen, willing to learn and able to do. Only the last is involuntary, because it is the application of miracles which must be Christ-controlled. The other two, which are the voluntary aspects of miracle mindedness, are up to me.
48. Revelation is an experience of unspeakable love. Awe should be reserved for revelation. Awe is not appropriate for miracles, because it is worshipful. It implies that one of a lesser order stands before a greater one. This is the case only when spirit stands before its Creator. Spirits are perfect creations and experience awe only in the Presence of the Creator of perfection.
The miracle is a sign of love among equals. Awe implies inequality. Equals cannot be in awe of one another. It is therefore an inappropriate reaction to Jesus. An older brother is entitled to respect for his greater experience, and obedience for his greater wisdom. It is appropriate to love him because he is a brother, and to be devoted to him, for he is devoted. Everything Jesus has comes from God. There is nothing about Jesus that I cannot have. The difference between us now is Jesus has nothing else. This leaves him in a state of true holiness, which is a potential in me.
"No man comes to the Father except by Jesus" is among the most misunderstood statements in the Bible. It does not mean that Jesus is in any way special or different from me, except in time, which does not exist. Actually, the quotation is more meaningful if it is considered on a vertical instead of a horizontal axis. Seen along the vertical, man stands below Jesus and Jesus stands below God. In the process of "rising up," Jesus is higher. This is because, without Jesus, the distance between God and man would be too great to reach.
Jesus bridges the distance as an elder brother to man on the one hand, and as a Son of God on the other. Jesus' devotion to his brothers has placed him in charge of the Sonship, which will be complete only to the extent that He can share it. This may appear to contradict the statement, "Jesus and and the Father are one," (the original statement was "of one kind"), but there are parts in the statement that acknowledge the Father is greater. The Holy Spirit is the bringer of revelations. Revelations are indirectly inspired by Jesus, because He is close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of his brothers. He can bring down to his brothers more than they can draw down to themselves.
The Holy Spirit is the highest communication medium. The Holy Spirit mediates from above to below, keeping the direct channel from God to man open for revelation. When man returns to his original form of communion with God, the need for miracles is over. Miracles do not involve this type of communion, because they are temporary communication devices. The miracle is reciprocal because it involves equality. Revelation is not reciprocal. It is always from God to man.