Mercy and Miracles
It must be 25 years plus since I first came across an article that referenced ‘A Course in Miracles’ (ACIM). I was fascinated with the idea of it and decided to order a copy of the text book however, I found myself bitterly disappointed when it was delivered to me. It seemed like “gobbledygook”. I couldn’t make sense of it and it served as little more than a bookend on my bookshelves for many years.
Then, about 16 years ago, I came across a particular image of Jesus, which had colourful rays coming from the area of the heart — it’s an image that’s known as the ‘Divine Mercy’. I was raised in the Catholic faith, but I hadn’t been practicing that religion for many years. In fact, at that point in my life, I could have been described as an agnostic. My encounter with the image of the Divine Mercy made the hair stand-up on the back of my neck because it felt as if it was seeking my attention and following me. It would pop up in magazines, billboards on the side of the road as I was driving by, and the image appeared numerous times on my computer screen when I was searching online for something totally unrelated.
Sister Faustina then came to my attention — Faustina was a Polish nun whose work sheds light on the mystery of the Divine Mercy. She was canonised on April 30, 2000.
After reading about Faustina’s life and her connection and devotion to the Divine Mercy, it began to dawn on me that something greater than I could possibly understand was happening.
The image of the Divine Mercy touched me deeply and gave me a profound sense of peace and contentment. I also noticed that fear began to lose its grip on me. Since I discovered this image, there’s never been a time that my pleas for help and guidance have been left unanswered. My problems haven’t always been resolved in the way that I might have expected, but the outcome has always been more positive than I could ever have imagined.
When moving into a new home in 2007, I decided to express thanks by placing a large picture of the Divine Mercy on the kitchen wall in my home. I don’t even have words for the agony that this gesture caused my ego — it was like nothing I’d ever experienced before, but I persisted anyway. I placed a lantern under the image and kept a candle burning constantly. At that stage, I didn’t see the connection between ACIM and the image of the Divine Mercy.
There was also a strange experience in 2010 — I’d just started working with a new division in my place of work. On that particular day, I had to attend a training session with the team and a large number of people were in attendance. This was a group of professional people involved in healthcare provision. On the day of the training, the trainer’s computer was causing her problems and she asked if one of the team could give her the loan of a computer. As I had my laptop with me, without hesitation, I offered her the use of it. I was using my personal laptop that day because I was still waiting to be allocated a new work device.
After I’d handed over the laptop, I suddenly felt myself breaking out in a cold sweat because I remembered that the screen saver on it had a picture of the Divine Mercy. My ego was going ballistic — “what will all these new colleagues and boss think when this screen saver pops up on the presentation screen?” “They’ll think you’re some kind of religious freak or a right wing Catholic”.
In fact, nothing could have been further from the truth because I wasn’t religious. It was simply that I loved that image because it had brought me the most amazing level of peace, but I didn’t feel that I could get into that story with a room full of people that I didn’t even know.
Then, my higher-self stepped in and quietly asked me: “what would it feel like, if someone important in your life suddenly decided to deny you in front of this many people?” “It wouldn’t feel good — would it?” That voice of reason helped me to let go of the ego’s incessant muttering and the dreadful self-consciousness that I was experiencing. Interestingly, I believe that it may have been that experience that also paved the way in the years to come for some of my colleagues to reach out to me when all was not well in their lives.
What has the image of Jesus (Divine Mercy) got to do with ACIM?
The highly successful book ‘A Return to Love’ by Marianne Williamson gave me a level of insight into ACIM; however, it wasn’t until December 2015 that all the pieces began to fall into place. At that time, I came across the work of Lisa Natoli with the Teachers of God Foundation in the USA, and she was offering a 40-day programme beginning early in 2016, which was described as: “A commitment you make to yourself — to live in a whole new way for 40 days. It’s a spiritual commitment — a spiritual discipline to know yourself and to know God”
As I recall, I didn’t think much about what the 40-day programme would entail — it just seemed like a good way to start the new year, and so I enrolled. A few days into the course, I was amazed to realise that Lisa Natoli’s teaching was based on ACIM. I was even more surprised to learn of the influence that Jesus reportedly had in the creation of ACIM with Helen Schucman and Wiliam Thetford. The same book that had read like double Dutch to me all those years ago. A goal of ACIM is to train people to listen to God’s voice, the Holy Spirit. I slowly but surely began to realise that the more I listened, the more I heard God’s voice communicating with me. I also came to understand that if the voice I hear is loud and pushy — that’s usually the ego. God’s voice sounds more like a whisper, which is why it’s important in our daily lives to make time for periods of silence, and to practice meditation.
Over those 40 days, I felt as if I had woken-up from a long sleep. It was a phenomenal experience that totally changed my perception about so many areas of my life; and interestingly, this change in perception is what the Course means by a ‘miracle.’
Since that awakening, I’ve been making a conscious effort to begin every day by asking the Divine Mercy to guide me in ‘all’ areas of my life, and to help me to see His plan for me each and every day. I feel the need to mention an important caveat here, and that is how crucial it is to apply this principle (asking for guidance) in all affairs.
I have found that it’s incredibly easy to be selective about what aspects of my life I’d like God’s help, and then to give the ego free rein with everything else — but, in my experience, it doesn’t work that way. I could have saved myself significant misery and time by simply asking for God’s guidance in ‘every area’ of my life. In fact, unfortunately for me, I needed to become physically very unwell to learn that lesson.
As I go about my daily business, I make a conscious effort to see the Divine in everyone and everything. I also clearly state the miracles I would like to see unfold; and then, most importantly — I resist all temptation to meddle in the process or the outcome. I’m getting better at not meddling, but I’m still a work in progress in that respect. In times gone by I’d ask or pray for something but was then unable or unwilling to relinquish my attempts to control the situation. I find that I need to constantly remind myself that the ego’s plan is ‘always’ in opposition to God’s plan.
As stated in Lesson 71, p. 122 of ‘A Course in Miracles’ workbook for students:
‘the ego’s plan for salvation centres around holding grievances.’
The simple way to deal with all grievances is to unearth them and bring them into the light — without judgement of self or others. It’s really that simple.
It’s been helpful for me to develop a gratitude list, and to remember, in as far as possible, that whatever we place our focus on tends to grow. If our focus is negative or positive — we’re likely to get more of the same. It’s been my experience time and time again that thoughts have a direct impact on the quality of my reality.
When something negative comes into my mind, I have a choice. I can give the negative thoughts my undivided attention and see them flourish and grow before my eyes, or, I can make a conscious decision to let go of them.
Imagine having a sink that’s full of dirty water, now see yourself removing the plug from the plug-hole and observe that, when there’s no container, the dirty water seeps away. In my experience, that’s the easiest way to let go of negative thoughts — don’t contain them.
An example of the wisdom that’s evident in ACIM — Lesson 71 ‘Only God’s plan for salvation will work’ from ACIM textbook for students. After working as a Psychotherapist for years, I’ve seen ample evidence of the havoc that can be caused by the ego. As a flawed human being, I’m equally aware of the ego’s determination to generate grievances rather than relinquish its control or permit love and peace. This particular lesson highlights that the ‘ego’s plan for salvation centres around holding grievances’, which is the opposite of God’s plan.
It’s helpful to always watch myself like a hawk, noticing times when the ego is in charge, and learning to differentiate between the ‘voice of the ego’ and the ‘voice of God’. It’s also worthwhile to be diligent about blessing everything with love because what’s blessed, multiplies. One of the most wonderful aspects of ACIM for me is the permission that it gives me as a human being, to let go of the notion of guilt. It refers to ‘errors’ in perception. The beauty of errors in perception is that they can be corrected.
Some time ago, I came across a video clip of the actor Jim Carrey being interviewed. As he was walking around the garden he said to the reporter: “This is where I hang out with Buddha and Krishna…Jesus.” The reporter asked him: “Are you a Buddhist?” He replied:
“I’m a Buddhist, I’m a Muslim, I’m a Christian… It all comes down to the same thing — you’re either in a loving place or you’re in an unloving place”
As a OneSpirit Minister I feel as if I’ve now come full circle. I know that although there is just one river, there are many wells from which people can find direction, peace, hope and nourishment. I’m profoundly grateful that I’m in a loving place in my life, and that, whenever I lose my way, I’m well able, through my absolute faith in God’s guidance, to find my way back. The wisdom in the numerous lessons in ACIM has brought unbelievable change in my life. As the saying goes “when the pupil is ready the master will appear.”
Caroline Lennon is a OneSpirit minister based in Ireland, and believes with every fibre of her being that there is no such thing in life as a “hopeless case”. You can discover more about her life and ministry on our Register of OneSpirit Interfaith Ministers here.
