In the opening scene of the movie City of Angels, heart surgeon Maggie does everything she can to save her patient’s life, only to “lose” him. She is devastated by this occurrence since she did “everything right.” But in the surgery and in her devastation, she was never alone, for an angel named Seth was there. He was actually there for the patient who was to die, but in the process, he “touched” Maggie’s life and helped her to begin to question her own “strength” and to think that perhaps there was a power greater than herself at work in life…
Author Archives: acim
Vocation of the Center
The vocation of the mind is to join, to heal the thought of separation, and that has been the vocation of Miracle Distribution Center (MDC). Over the last forty-five years, we have provided services, classes, workshops, retreats, and events that have brought a sense of unity to students of A Course in Miracles, but we have done so in a way that transcends the world’s approach of joining…
Healing Our History
As readers of The Holy Encounter know, the Center turned forty-five this year, and we have been running articles about our history. This got me thinking about history in general and how it’s taught.
Back in the old days, when I was in school, our heroes were always so noble and true. For example, Christopher Columbus was the great, daring discoverer of America, and Abraham Lincoln was the saint who emancipated the slaves. Today we have learned that Columbus was not a very nice guy, and he really didn’t discover America. He only sailed as far as Central and South America and never really arrived at what we now call the United States. The only reason we attribute our founding to Columbus, who sailed for Spain, is that we didn’t want to credit John Cabot, who sailed under the English flag…
I, Too, Have a Dream
Monday marked the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, calling once again for the ideals of justice and equality for all. Sixty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, to deliver his masterful “I Have a Dream” speech. It is most remembered for its impassioned vision of a country where we can all walk together in unity.
I recently saw an interview with Clarence B. Jones, a lawyer who helped King write the speech. Jones said he had written a few paragraphs that King did indeed read at the start of the speech, but when the iconic gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted from the crowd…
“Where God is, there you are. Such is the truth.”
Last weekend at our annual Holy Encounter Retreat we had an opportunity to experience this truth. A gathering of dedicated students of A Course in Miracles joined the MDC staff at a location that seems like an oasis in the world; a touch of Heaven in this realm of illusions. This retreat center in Lucerne Valley is filled with beautiful spots for meditation and quiet reflection, well-appointed accommodations, delicious chef-prepared food, and time to enjoy it all. We were prepared for a complete weekend of joining in the truth, but the world tried to intrude…
A Miraculous Collaboration
Forty years ago, in 1983, we at Miracle Distribution Center received a letter from a composer named Steven Halpern. In it, he expressed his desire to combine the words of A Course in Miracles with the peaceful music for which he had become well-known. This letter produced a “miraculous” joining which resulted, a few months later, in a recording entitled You Are Entitled to Miracles. Five hundred copies were duplicated as an experiment to see if anyone would find this collaboration beneficial. Nothing could have prepared us for the enthusiasm which greeted that recording and the six that have followed it…
The Hammock in the Middle
Last month, Norman Lear turned 101 years old. Many know him as the legendary creator, writer, and producer of such iconic television shows as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, The Golden Girls, and so many others. I had the privilege of meeting Norman Lear in 1992 at Marianne Williamson’s 40th birthday party. At that time, he was a spry 70 years young and crowned with his trademark poplin fabric fedora!
Norman Lear said recently that his motto for a long life could be summarized with these words…
The Point of Prayer
We often wonder why prayer doesn’t work. In The Song of Prayer (supplement to A Course in Miracles), we read, “The secret of true prayer is to forget the things you think you need…” (S-I.4:1) and let them go into God’s hands. It goes on to say that as we pray in this fashion, we acknowledge that we would have no gods before God and no love but His. We truly want what God would give us in any situation so that “Thy will be done.”
These ideas give us a little insight into why some of our prayers seem to go unanswered…
Walking With God Through Change
The world is changing, and Miracle Distribution Center has survived for 45 years because we adapted to change. Learning how to weather this world in a way that brings us peace is the essence of the Course. That is why we have the text of A Course in Miracles to guide us and its workbook to practice its life-changing principles.
I have often said that the Course is a manual for teaching us the fundamental principle that Jesus spoke of…
Divine Decisions
The Course spends a great deal of time inviting us to withdraw our belief in what the world shows us and instead allow God’s Voice to guide and direct our lives. This certainly makes sense, considering that for most of us, trusting in the world is a teeter-totter ride at best. Of course, the world and our ego want us to believe that God can’t be trusted or that He isn’t too terribly interested in our lives. If we let it be, the world can be a shining example of failure and despair.
A Course in Miracles says, “There is no limit to the power of a Son of God, but he can limit the expression of his power as much as he chooses.” (T-4.IV.8:2) In this same passage, Jesus goes on to say…