November/December 2002
Feature Articles
Holistic Health Q & A
by Dr. Carol Anne Bates
The role of the liver in Oriental Medicine.
The connection between the liver and depression. How acupuncture can help.
What is... the Organic Movement?
by Robert Roman
Final part of a three-part article
detailing the author's personal experiences and the growth of the organic
movement.
UnCommon Sense!
by David Findlay
Iraq?
Articles on the theme "Miracles"
A State of Consciousness
by Rev. Susan R. Griffin
The real "reality" in which
miracles are part of everyday experience.
A Personal Course in Miracles
by Lisa Raphael
Miracles and the Big Picture. Co-creating
with the Creation.
Are Miracles Miraculous?
by Charles Larsen
A psychotherapist's attempt to define
the word "miracle."
An Everyday Experience
by Rev. LeRoy Zemke
The realm of miracles and how to get
there.
A Miracle?
by Dave Hunt
The "miraculous" effect of
changes in perception.
What Happened?
by Dr. Audrey Craft Davis
A first-hand account of two miraculous
events.
The Miracle of Life
by AnneMarie Dyer
Letting go of a personal perspective
and opening one's eyes to the miraculous possibilities of life.
Sharing the Miracle
by Rev. Pat Cross
Some personal miracles and some reflections
on the nature of miracles.
A Miracle?
by Dave Hunt
It seems like a miracle that I no longer hate Uncle Charlie. He was the mean, alcoholic, child abuser in my family. And for 40 years I saw him as the cause of all the problems in my life.
Uncle Charlie gave me ulcers, headaches and nightmares. When I had trouble in relationships I knew it was Uncle Charlie who had started me off wrong. Back when I drank booze or used drugs to quell my feelings, I would point my finger at Uncle Charlie as the reason. I couldn't help it, I said. Uncle Charlie had twisted my little brain. If I had not been abused I wouldn't be so dysfunctional, I told myself.
Then an amazing thing happened. It was like a miracle! Instead of cursing his memory each time his face appeared in my thoughts I began to feel compassion for the old guy. I didn't think that would ever happen!
And I don't know just how it came about. I had gone to a therapist and told how Uncle Charlie had hurt me. I read self-help books. I joined a 12-step group. All of it was helpful. Then I read in the book entitled, A Course in Miracles, where it suggests if you want to be free of the hatred in your heart, you can ask God for a miraculous change in perception. Well, I didn't believe much in miracles and I sure didn't think a change in perception would make a difference. But when I was having a particularly long string of bad luck, I prayed a little prayer. "Okay, God," I said, "I can't do it on my own. But I'm willing to see Uncle Charlie differently if you can make it happen."
My change in perception came slowly. For example, there was a family reunion where someone began talking about Uncle Charlie. The story was that his drunken father had beaten him many times when he was a boy. An old timer said Charlie was always trying to drink away his feelings. Afterward, I began to reflect on Uncle Charlie's life. He was still a boy in the depression years of the thirties when he quit school in the eighth grade and went to work. Later, he was divorced four times. I began to see that Uncle Charlie was a sad, confused person who didn't know how to deal with people, how to live peacefully in this world. I could see how he was obviously projecting his own unhealed anger onto others. Gradually my heart began to soften.
Meantime, I had an insight: oh no! I began to see that I, too, had for many years been projecting my anger onto others! It was true that Uncle Charlie had died many years ago. And yes, he had abused me when I was seven years old. But do you see how I abused him for the next 40 years? And further, it had become my life-long habit to blame Charlie and others when anything happened to me. I am not condoning what Uncle Charlie did. There is no excuse for his bad behavior. Nor mine.
But my change in perception was certain. There was nothing magical about it although it seemed like it. The dynamic is that if we are willing to let go of our old beliefs about a situation, very often we can begin to see it differently. At times we can do this by simply changing our thoughts. But some of us are haunted by ancient grievances that won't seem to go away. And these are the ones that we might want God to help with. We can deal with the small bugaboos of our lives. But for the really painful issues in our past, maybe a miracle is needed.
Marianne Williamson, in her book, A Return To Love, says, "When you become willing to receive a miraculous change in perception, the process is twofold: One, recognize your old pattern or your dysfunctional behavior, and two, ask God to take it away." Can you see how I applied this to my anger at Uncle Charlie?
Students in my classes tell of miraculous changes in perception all the time. "I hated my brother for taking more than his share of Mother's estate." And then, months later, the same person says, "I asked for a miracle and now I am finally at peace with my brother."
Another one with a common thread: "For years I was angry at my father for not giving me enough positive attention when I was a child. The miracle is that I now see my father was giving me as much as he could at that time. Today, I choose to remember only the good things about him."
When a life-long bitterness finally goes away it is indeed a miracle for us. Changes in perception such as these turn inner grief into inner peace. Instead of seeing the world through eyes of fear, with a little help we can instead see the world with eyes of love.
Dave Hunt has been leading A Course in Miracles study groups in Clearwater FL for more than 10 years. (727) 463-5211 www.miraclescenter.com
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