Lesson 137
When I am healed I am not healed alone.
Currently, in our Walk in Miracles, the focus has been on the term, “healing.” When we talk of healing, we are talking of healing the mind by correcting our misguided thinking and aligning with Sacred Vision. We have been doing this since Lesson 1, however, we are now delving deeper into the subtle places where there is still need for correction. We have experienced the body become much lighter as we have practiced the art of giving, receiving, and releasing. Now, as we heal the mind even further, we notice how powerfully these subtle corrections also translate to the body via the mind-body connection.
We are all familiar with the adage, “Mind Over Matter,” and have all probably used it a time or two to overcome an illness, to complete a project, or to somehow maintain taking care of what is needed. Athletes also use this technique as they push their bodies to go beyond perceived limits. This adage is not just a magic trick we can call on once in a while but it is freely given to us to employ at any time should we put aside our limited way of thinking. Healing is fully embodying “Mind Over Matter” as we align with the Mind that is One with Source, which is our true body form. In this connection do healings and miracles happen in an instant, making us the Way Show-ers for those who still believe in separateness.
“Those who are healed become instruments of healing. Nor does time elapse between the instant the are healed, and the grace of healing it is given them to give” (ACIM Lesson 137 11:1-2).
When Jesus walked this land it is said He performed many miracles and healings. This needs a bit of clarification, as Jesus was the facilitator, the guide, of the healing. The other piece present was one who was ready to be healed so that the process could be complete. In the presence of such a strong, clear energy as Jesus, it is easy to see how miracles and healings could happen. He was a clear channel for the Divine and completely aligned with His purpose. Think about when you have been around a positive, high vibrational person, does that not raise your vibration? If you were in a state of suffering before you met with such a person, did your suffering not miraculously disappear for a brief period while in the presence of a higher vibration? This is an example of how the healing of one, heals another. Jesus was a transcendent being who healed by His example, yet it was, and is, still up to the one in need of healing to claim that healing for herself or himself to make the process complete. Jesus fully remembered and lived the remembrance. His example invites us to do the same.
“It is impossible that anyone be healed alone. In sickness must he be apart and separate. But healing is his own decision to be one again, and to accept his Self with all Its parts intact and unassailed” (ACIM Lesson 137 3:2-4).
Healing is merely the recognition of Truth. The recognition that we are One with God and that we were never separate from Source. Healing, like forgiveness, is remembering that we are the Light of the World.
“To be healed is merely to accept what always was the simple truth, and always will remain exactly as it has forever been” (ACIM Lesson 137 4:4).
In both healing and forgiveness our Vision is restored and can be likened to making the choice between seeing a glass half full or half empty. In restoration, we no longer see a world in which we are lonely souls in search of a savior. Instead, we see a world that merely calls for our Love and reminds us that it is We who are the Saviors, having everything we need inside ourselves, including the power to heal.
“Just as forgiveness shines away all sin and the real world will occupy the place of what you made, so healing must replace the fantasies of sickness which you hold before the simple truth” (ACIM Lesson 137 7:1).
Healing is an example of how inner peace can create world peace. By living a peaceful existence, we show others another way, another possibility, and another way of living and being. Aligning with a mind that is sick only perpetuates separation, giving power over to the body and world. It is this that we correct today.
It is important to note that as we talk about healing it may not come in a manner in which you expect. It may not mean that you are 100% out of pain or that your disease is cured. What healing means is that you experience the beauty of the remembrance that is offered in moments of pain or while living with a dis-ease in the body. You are fully present to the fact that death happens in each moment as cells rise and pass away in the body structure. In healing you become the witness of the magnificence of the body but you do not attach your existence to it. You let the body teach you as you find ease in your dis-ease. You accept what you are is that Mind that encases the body. You witness your body from the One Body. You find that observing this process is much more interesting than that of suffering, thus does the scale become tipped. This sort of experience is a whole new ball game. This experience is healing.
“You but invite you Self to be at home. And can this invitation be refused? Ask the inevitable to occur, and you will never fail” (ACIM Lesson 137 12:2-4).
Our journey with healing is so particular to our soul’s plan. It is hard to say what healing looks like for another. It is especially hard when we want to help another come out of their pain and suffering. The human race is truly compassionate and wants to help our fellow man, yet when it comes to the healing of one’s mind, the one must be ready and willing. Thus, it is not about saving one another it is about allowing each other the space to explore the know-how we have within us to save ourselves. Letting another follow her own path towards healing, no matter how rocky it may appear to look or how painful, is, often, the most loving thing we can do. If we need to aid in action, as we learned in yesterday’s lesson, we will know the time and hour in which we are to do so. We do not leave anyone alone in this manner, we merely let our example of healing speak for itself rather than engaging in a game of control over another’s journey. Our example lets another know, “You Are Capable of More.” Think of your own times of healing, was it not more powerful when you came to a realization yourself and decided to pick yourself up off the floor?
“Today we ask that only truth will occupy our minds; that thought of healing will this day of forth from what is healed to what must yet be healed, aware that they will both occur as one” (ACIM Lesson 137 12:6).
Heal yourself and you heal us all. It is similar to Mettapana (loving kindness) meditation, where after a time of sitting in silence, a meditator is encouraged to spend a few moments sharing in what she has just given herself. In Mettapana the mediator focuses her energy to bless the world; that others may know their divinity, their wisdom, their Oneness, and their way out of suffering. Today, in our practice periods we honor our healing and use it to bless the world, as we See that we are only healing and blessing the One Self. Namaste.