How to rise above problems through the wisdom of A Course in Miracles

By Raveena Nash

Article First Paragraph:

Extract from Chapter 16: Working in a school one comes across many pupils who suffer from low self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence. They are children who don’t excel in what everybody else seems to excel in; they may be dyslexic and have difficulty with reading and spelling; or they may struggle with reading comprehension or with mathematics; they may be clumsy and have poor co-ordination and handwriting difficulties; they may be autistic and appear to live in a world of their own; or they may be children suffering from neglect or some other form of child abuse. What they all have in common is a feeling of being inferior to or different from their peers. This situation, which occurs in most schools, can also be found in the work-place. Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way. It is a product of the values imposed upon us by the ego. The list of things that can put us down is a long one; getting the sack, failing in exams at school, not passing our driving test, not being in a relationship, etc., are just a few examples. Yet, if we remember who we truly are, holy sons of God, we would realize that there is no need to suffer from low self-esteem no matter what is going on in our lives. It doesn’t matter if we “fail” at all the things that are considered important and worth valuing in this world – they are all illusions! It doesn’t matter if I can’t read very well, if I don’t go to university, if I don’t have a wonderful career, if I don’t have a family, etc. It doesn’t matter if we have no one to go on holiday with, or if we spend Christmas day alone, or if we have the most menial of jobs. Education, careers, making a lot of money, relationships, etc., are things that are only important to the ego. We have a much loftier goal, which is the salvation of the world, and the way to achieve that is to travel along the road of love and forgiveness…. Which lessons can we use to help us remember our true worth? We could start with Lesson 35: “My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy.” This is an extremely powerful and empowering statement. Lesson 35 goes on to explain: “It is difficult for anyone who thinks he is in this world to believe this of himself. Yet the reason he thinks he is in this world is because he does not believe it.” We don’t really believe that we are part of God. We see ourselves as separate, individual bodies, and we believe we need to compete with or, at least, keep up with other bodies. So, if other people have a good education, we believe we should. If everyone is able to buy their own home, we believe we should. Yet our true worth is not dependent on our qualifications or bank balance or the property we own. Our true worth depends on what is in our hearts and, above all, it comes from being part of God’s Mind. We can’t fail at anything if we are really one with God…..

About Article:

Certain Workbook Lessons from A Course in Miracles can be used to help overcome problems such as anger, guilt, resentment, fear of ill health, anxiety, low self-esteem, and much more. Raveena Nash offers practical advice and guidance to help the spiritual seeker take steps towards awakening.