A part of A Course in Miracles that I have felt very drawn to is the section called “How Is Healing Accomplished?” (ACIM, M-5) I have found little written about this section, and I have always been surprised that more ACIM teachers do not focus on it. Some ACIM students might believe that the Course does not support physical healing since the body is not real, but I think an important part of ACIM is to support healing on all levels: mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical.

Since 1990, when I became a student and teacher of ACIM, I have constantly returned to this section whenever I, or anyone else, has a negative feeling in their body that was disturbing their peace of mind. In my course, Choosing Freedom: The Way Out of all Pain and Suffering and the Way into Who You Really Are, I use this section as part of a process for freeing anyone from the illusion of illness.

When I work with a student, I ask them to go deeply through eight questions about the condition. In 90% of cases, the condition totally disappears, working on the student’s mind. Perhaps it disappears because I believe that it will disappear, and the student and I join in the purpose of fully releasing the meaning the condition has for us. I have had people in my counseling or training sessions who were extremely sick with conditions that had existed for years. They are able to clear the condition in the class and are amazed it can happen so quickly and easily by clearing the mind. These conditions include prostate cancer, allergies, colon problems, urinary tract conditions, environmental illness, inability to conceive, and breast cancer. ACIM says: There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not “harder” or “bigger” than another. (ACIM, T-1.I.1:1-2) I have found this to be so when I practice clearing physical or emotional conditions with the knowledge of “The Perceived Purpose of Sickness” (ACIM, M-5.I) and “The Shift in Perception” sections. (ACIM, M-5.II) 

“The Perceived Purpose of Sickness” teaches that we must understand why we created the illusion of sickness? What is the pay-off? Why do we want to hold on to it and keep it in our lives? What does it stand for or prove to us about ourselves (what belief does it reinforce or prove)? What is the benefit of not letting it go or healing it? Who would we blame if we never healed? Does it mean that having this condition makes us the creator of our lives and that we have usurped God’s throne? What would it mean to us if we healed ourselves personally and were our own doctor?

In the next section: One need but say, “There is no gain at all to me in this,” and he is healed. (ACIM, M-5.II.1:2) In other words, I have gone through all the benefits in my mind that this sickness or condition has given me, forgiving myself for making up and believing in these thoughts and forgiving anyone else I think is involved in the illness. It also means that I am reminding myself of spiritual truths and feeding them to myself, that none of these beliefs I made up are true and that I do not need to live in this fantasy or illusion, which is at the core of the physical condition.

 

This journey without distance is perfectly described in the book by Dr. Gary Holz with Robbie Holz, Journey to the Heart: Secrets of Aboriginal Healing. Gary went through multiple sclerosis and healed himself in a process with Aboriginals in Australia, going through every benefit and reason he wanted to be numb and feel nothing in his life, thereby creating MS. When you can feel deeply, taste your reasons for creating the condition, and go through the emotion of the condition, you are on your way to releasing it. Gary Holtz went on to share this process with people worldwide.

When we have hidden a thought, a feeling, or belief in our body, it becomes a sickness. Generally, this is a secret to the person, and when they divulge it to themselves or others, it no longer has a hold over them. Therefore, since I can choose to kill myself with my belief or feeling that I will not release or forgive, I get to be the creator of my own life or death.

The sickness represents the drama we were going through during our emotional challenge, and we felt we could not deal with or go through and release it. Therefore, we stored it in our body as a secret to ourselves, hidden thoughts we would not want to admit about the sickness. Mostly, it is guilt that stops us from accepting these hidden thoughts and thus releasing them.

ACIM says that we cannot be sick unless we think, feel, or believe we are separate from someone. We must forgive the person, persons, or incident we are blaming and thereby release ourselves. As we know, forgiveness is a gift to ourselves. I am only ever forgiving myself for what I think, feel, or believe. I am clearing feelings of worthlessness about myself and forgiving myself for believing in them. In general, I am clearing that I am worthless, not good enough, or that no one loves me, sees me, or wants me. This secret is only released if I am willing to go through all aspects of the purpose of the sickness.

Of course, today, the ego-mind is geared to taking prescription pills instead of being willing to look at the process deeply and clear whatever ego story (or maybe the entire ego life story) the pain or sickness represents. Hence, we never see that it is not the truth of who we are. Of course, it would take time, energy, and effort to do this process and look deeply at the thoughts, feelings, or beliefs that created the meaning and what it says about them, like “no one cares about me because I am not valuable enough to be loved.” Therefore, most people’s egos convince them that they do not have that time or energy and that the simplest way is to take pills or have surgery.

Sometimes, the pills or the operation are the “special agents” to help release the process and bring it to a conclusion, and this happens after the forgiveness in the person’s mind has occurred. Other times, pills are an escape from dealing with a condition of the mind, so the illness re-manifests in another place in the body.

It takes great courage, fortitude, and persistence to heal something in your body through your mind, and your commitment to the process must be 100%. It is easier to do with a holy relationship partner who understands the healing process and fully supports it, knowing that the illusionary sickness is not true and not who you really are. We need another person to remind us of who we truly are when we believe a little t truth (ego) about ourselves or someone else. And the remembrance of who we really are is essential to healing or releasing the condition. 

Seeing what the sickness or condition is for, the part it plays in the person’s life, and its meaning when they first felt or created the sickness is part of the healing for the person. Therefore, as part of their process of clearing their condition, I ask them the following questions I received as the essence of “How Is Healing Accomplished?” (ACIM, M-5) in the Manual for Teachers, the third section of the ACIM book.

1) When did this sickness begin? What was happening in your life, and what were your feelings in the months or years preceding the condition?

​2) What is the value, pay-off, or benefit of your sickness?

3) How does this choice for weakness give you strength? (How does it give you a sense of control or make you feel more powerful? How does it make you think you are better than God?)

4) What (with this insane conviction) does healing stand for?

5) Would you like to be your own physician and heal yourself, with your mind releasing the condition? What would be your purpose for living or healing? Why would you want to die or not heal?

6) Who would you blame, or want to be sorry, if you died or stayed sick?

7) What do you feel guilty about?

 8) What do guilt, sickness, pain, disaster, and suffering mean now? 

 If the sickness has no purpose now, it can leave. 

You can practice this process yourself. When someone has answered the questions in my classes and private sessions, they stand up in front of us with their arms straight out like an airplane, fully grounded, sinking their feet into the floor, holding their head up high, and standing erect. Then, in a full declaration in conviction and power, they say several times:

“I declare that I have no need for [name the condition exactly] in any shape or form or effect in my mind, body, and spirit! I declare that I have no need or want for [the condition] and any of its forms anymore! I declare all guilt, resentment, and punishment are released from my mind! I fully release the condition now and establish myself as fully healed on all levels.”

This process is very exciting and fulfilling for me when the person gets to the Truth of their condition and the Truth of who they really are.

 

© Sandy Levey-Lunden, Revised June 2022. SandyLevey.com  (360) 527-2796 Pacific. onpurpose@sandylevey.com