*This is part of my Monthly Musings series, where each month I share reflections on A Course in Miracles and how we can apply its teachings. While these musings explore spiritual concepts, my practice welcomes anyone seeking support, regardless of their spiritual beliefs or familiarity with the Course.*
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I have a note on my phone with a short list of my favourite ‘go to’ quotes from A Course in Miracles for whenever I need a reminder / pick me up or have a ‘wobble’. One of these is Lesson 76, ‘I am under no laws but God’s.’ (ACIM, W-76).
My initial resistance
This statement seemed so ridiculous to me when I started reading the Course (and for many years afterwards). If you actually read the lesson, it talks about how we created all these ‘laws’ about how the world works, and then try to live according to them, but that actually, we don’t have to believe any of these rules (rules of give and take, needing ‘green pieces of paper’ to sustain ourselves, rules of medicine and rules of science as examples).
Really?! So what, I’m just going to ‘decide’ I don’t need money anymore and I’ll magically be able to have food and a house and live well? Or I’m going to ‘decide’ I don’t believe in the medical model and never get sick again? My ego (in the Course’s terms, this is the fear-based thought system we all have and can use or not use as we choose) was well and truly up in arms and pretty much decided to write the lesson off (and potentially the whole Course) then and there. I imagine if these teachings are new to you, you’ll feel much the same.
I’m not here to try to convince you of anything. In fact, if you’re here at all, it’s because you’re already curious, or maybe you’re reading because you’re considering working with me and you’re trying to decide if we’re a good fit. Either way, we all get to choose what we believe and where we put our energy. This post is just a reflection of my journey with this lesson and how we unconsciously subscribe to a whole world of rules, most of which we are still not aware of.
The rules we live by
Generally, most of us have grown up with baked-in beliefs around scarcity (the idea that resources are finite, so in order to gain, someone else must lose), being a body (subject to decay, illness, disease and death) and cause and effect (past actions create future scenarios). We see these laws play out in our lives day after day, so of course they feel true to us. They also create a version of the world that feels limited and scary, and since we have accepted it as fact long ago, it is all we will see, unless we are open to changing our mind.
This is a great ego play, because whenever we can be controlled by fear, we can be kept separate, and we rarely look inside for healing, or consider the idea that we could join with others and actually experience a different way of living. Instead, we think we need to figure out the rules of the world, and play them correctly in order to ‘win’ at life, even though it means (in our world-view) that someone else must lose, which inevitably creates (often unconscious) guilt.
‘There is a way of living in the world that is not here, although it seems to be. ²You do not change appearance, though you smile more frequently. ³Your forehead is serene; your eyes are quiet.’ (ACIM, W-155.1:1-3)
Gabrielle Bernstein shared that quote at a talk I went to many years ago now. It tends to have a visceral effect on a lot of people. I was no exception. I wanted that. I wanted quiet eyes. I just had no idea how to get them, and certainly when I picked up a copy of the Course to try to figure it out, it was no clearer.
The therapy connection
This idea of the rules of the world creates what therapists would call ‘Learned Helplessness’. This means that we learn that we don’t have agency, that we are at the mercy of these rules, and therefore we can only do so much, then accept our fate. Even those Type A ‘I create my own future’ types still work under the same rules of the world, often working themselves into the ground, or going down rabbit holes of biohacking to keep themselves in good shape. If you take a few moments to think about how you live, it tends to be dictated by a very limiting set of rules about what’s possible.
What God’s laws offer instead
God’s laws tend to turn our worldview completely upside down. God’s laws center around unlimited abundance (not in terms of form necessarily, but in terms of everything you need to be peaceful and happy), unconditional love, unity, wholeness and peace. I understand this might sound completely impossible, but the more I’ve leaned into these teachings, the more I’ve seen this reality show up.
The key here is thinking in terms of constant peace of mind and feeling, rather than attributing feelings to what we see in the world. An example of this would be believing that we can only feel ‘safe’ if we have ‘X’ amount in our bank account, or that we are only worthy of love if we have a partner or a family. Contrary to popular belief, we can feel safe, loved and worthy, regardless of external circumstances. I’m not saying it’s a walk in the park, but it’s definitely worth exploring.
None of this is to suggest you ignore your current experience, nor by-pass it for some ‘spiritual’ ideal. It’s more being open to the possibility that we can alter our internal landscape and perception of things, with more self-compassion, kindness and interconnection, and that this can accelerate our own healing, growth and sense of peace. We can do all this regardless of what seems to be happening in the world. This perspective gives us more agency over our well-being. Feeling that we have more agency over how we feel, invariably helps us feel safer and better in general.
A shift in focus
Somehow in our world, we have made the temporary form (job, money, relationships, ‘stuff’) more important than our eternal state (love, oneness, abundance). Form is external, our state is our perspective and how we feel. We don’t have to link the two, but we often do. Instead of focusing on trying to push against form to change external circumstances, I invite you to remember who you are, and who we all are, and that peace is available to you now. Not in a year’s time. Not when the house is sold or you get that promotion. Right now. I personally have found that when I focus on stepping away from my rules of how I think the world works, I receive miracles in the form of peace of mind…which often, but not always, translates to shifts in the world of form too.
A real-world example
One example, before I leave you with a practice invitation:
People often asked me why / how I moved to Portugal from the UK. It’s a bit of a weird one, because, simply, I woke up one morning and heard a voice telling me to move to a small town I’d passed through once, a few years before, on a weekend road trip.
There’s a bit of a back-story for context. I had been feeling ready to move somewhere for the last couple of years, but somehow, nothing felt like it ‘fit’. I had prayed on it and got the sense I was supposed to wait, then I got ‘the call’.
I was so excited to finally have a place that felt aligned that I immediately set out figuring out logistics and legalities. I also went and spent a month in the town to check I wasn’t about to do something totally crazy (like move countries by yourself in your late thirties because a ‘voice’ told you to). Everything was coming together, and then I hit a block. I couldn’t find an insurer that would cover me as a UK therapist living in Europe. I cannot tell you how many hours I searched and spent calling companies, but it seemed impossible. I reluctantly gave up my dream of moving. This was not easy since it had really felt like the right call, but I decided to put my faith and trust in God and that if it was supposed to happen, God’s laws would align everything for me and if not, there would be another plan. A couple of months later I randomly felt the urge to search for insurance again. I did one quick search and saw the familiar (now purple, because I’d already clicked on them) links to insurers. As I scrolled down there was one new link at the bottom of the page. That was the easiest insurance I’d set up, and I was living in Portugal within five months of that call.
That was a long story, but to me it represents how time and space can seem to shift and move when we trust that we are supported. That link shouldn’t have been there. I’m an excellent researcher. It was an established company. I have no explanation for how it wasn’t there, and then it was, other than God needed me to deepen my trust a bit before I moved. I loosened my beliefs around what needed to happen (I need insurance or I can’t move. I need to move so I need the insurance.) and instead trusted that I was exactly where I needed to be and would be guided to anywhere else I needed to be. That’s exactly what happened.
Practice invitation:
- This week, notice when you feel trapped or limited
- Ask yourself: “What ‘law’ am I believing in right now?”
- Remind yourself: “I am under no laws but God’s. I am under no laws but love’s.”
- Consider: “What would be possible if this limitation wasn’t actually real?”
- Don’t force anything to change, just be curious about what shifts when you remember you’re not actually bound by the world’s limitations
- Notice how this affects your actions and choices throughout the week
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Next month: TBC
What resonates? What questions are coming up for you? I’d love to hear in the comments.
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