“David is a living demonstration of peace and joy. He uncovered
this state of mind, which is accessible to us all, by living what he
teaches in This Moment Is Your Miracle . Although the process of
transcending fear is not always easy, it is simple, and David’ s
explanations and exercises guide you to claim the happiness that
is your birthright. This Moment Is Your Miracle  illuminates the
pathway to complete awakening , so you can experience the deep
peace and everlasting love that dwells within you, in this very
moment.”
—Corinne Zupko, EdS , bestselling author of From Anxiety
to Love
“It is said, ‘By their fruits ye shall know them’; this book is the
harvest of all the teachings that David Hoffmeister has acquire d
during the learning and living of A Course in Miracles . The joy of
David is his trust, his willingne ss to give freely , and his simple
practice of listening to the Holy Spirit and following His
directions. The resulting inspir ation of this book is due to the
experience of direct communion with the Spirit, and consequently
is a blessing to all who want to live a life of forgiveness and
healing.”
—Nick Davis , founder of the first UK-dedicated Miracles
Centre, The Centre for Inner Peace, and the retreat,
September Cottage; author of An Invitation to the
Awakening Heart
“David Hoffmeister is one of the most authentic teachers of A
Course in Miracles . His commitment to the text comes through in
all of his work. I love David ’s gentle teaching style and his
genuine love for life. David walks his talk!”
—Gabrielle Bernstein , #1 New Y ork T imes bestselling
author of The Universe Has Y our Back“‘Imagine if you were motivate d only by love and nothing else?’
asks David Hoffmeister in his new book, packed with detaile d
explanations, practices, prayers,  and recorded meditations. David
unpacks A Course in Miracles in bite-sized pieces about how to
undo the mind and pump up the volume of Holy Spirit. Dive deep
into this book and you will experience your miracle-mindedness
strengthen as you practice the core teachings of A Course in
Miracles . Move over Ego, we are merging into the ‘Glorious
Flow’!”
—Maria Felipe , author of Live Y our Happy , international
speaker of A Course in Miracles , and ordained minister
through Pathways of Light
“I’ve known David for nearly thirty years. There are several folks
who have dedicated themselves to understanding and living the
principle of A Course in Miracles . In the case of David, it’s clear
that his commitm ent is strong, his vision is sharp, and his ability
to teach brilliant. This Moment Is Your Miracle  is a well-written,
comprehensive explanation of some of the most basic,
revolutionary , and transformative concepts in the Course.”
—Jon Mundy , PhD , author of Living A Course in Miracles ,
publisher of Miracles magazine, and executive director of
All Faiths Seminary in New Y ork City , NY
“With his new book, This Moment is Your Miracle , David
Hoffmeister gives the reader a tour de force of spiritu al
knowledge that will result in a major acceleration of their spiritual
path. I’ve known David for many years, and he’s a brillia nt
teacher and writer . This book shows him at his best. I highly
recommend this important work.”
—Gary Renard , the best-selling author of The
Disappearance of the Universe trilogy and The Lifetimes
When Jesus and Buddha Knew Each Other“The journey within is the greatest journey of all. David
Hoffmeister takes us through a journey of self-discovery , inner
truth, healing, and rebirth…. David gives us the tools to face our
fears…. I recommend This Moment Is Your Miracle for anyone
wanting to take the greatest journey of all.”
—Tina Fiorda , coauthor of A Book of Insight
“For both new and seasoned travelers on the path to self-
discovery , this book is filled to the brim with a wealth of
inspiring, practic al material that can lead you straight to the heart
of deep inner peace. These abundant, essential reminders about
the constant and powerful choice for beginning anew are
presented in a bright, masterful, and compelling way. More than
ever, this easy, loving way of living will now feel within reach,
and you can eagerly begin to claim your birthright!”
—Carol Howe , author of Never For get to Laugh
“This Moment Is Your Miracle  brings the luminous love and
transforming clarity contained within A Course in Miracles alive
for a new generation of seekers. With eloquence and grounde d
wisdom, David shows us that miracles are not only possible, but
natural and abundantly available to us all.”
—Miranda MacPherson , author of The W ay of Grace
“David Hoffmeister is a master teacher when it comes to
understanding the profoundly healing spiritual practices in A
Course in Miracles . David shares simple, step-by -step healing
practices that correct the mind and liberate us from the dominio n
of the ego’s false concepts and precepts. A Cours e in Miracles
readers can be deceived into thinking that studying the books will
bring healing, but healing is not an intellectual process, it is a
spiritual awaken ing. With this book, we’re given the practical tips
and tools that bring us to that awakening. This helpful book is amaster ’s guide to practicing A Course in Miracles and living the
teachings moment by moment for true liberation.”
—Jennifer Hadley , spiritual writer , speaker , teacher ,
minister , and counselor; founder of the Power of Love
Ministry
“This Moment Is Your Miracle is a heartwarming and heart-
opening read. It creates a sense  of shelter and safety , navigating
you through practical exercises that show you God within and all
around you. You are invited to trust love. You are shown how to
heal obstacles such as fear and guilt. This book prepares you to
surrender to love. There are clear explanations of how life has
distracted your attention, taking  you from the flow of love. This
book is an invitation to recognize your oneness with God and
with the Holy Spirit. It offers intimacy with pure love, for those
who have the heart for it.”
—Jac O’Keeffe , spiritual teacher , author , and cofounder of
the Association of Professional Spiritual T eachers (APST)Publisher ’s Note
This publication is designed to pr ovide accurate and authoritative information in r egard to the
subject matter cover ed. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in
rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other pr ofessional services. If expert assistance or
counseling is needed, the services of a competent pr ofessional should be sought. Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2019 by David Hof fmeister
Reveal Press
An imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
5674 Shattuck A venue
Oakland, CA 94609
www .newharbinger .com
All quotes from A  Course in Miracles , copyright © 2007 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, P .O. Box 598, Mill V alley , CA 94942-0589, www .acim.or g and info@acim.or g, are used with
permission. I extend my gratitude to the Foundation for Inner Peace for their devotion. Cover design by Amy Shoup
Acquired by R yan Buresh
Edited by Gretel Hakanson
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on fileThis book is dedicated to the group of people I have lived  with for years
who have dedicated their lives to experiencing the truth within: Living
Miracles W orldwide Spiritual Community . I am honored by your
dedication and devotion and touched by your kindness and generosity . There are no words to adequately express my gratitude.Love is completely transpar ent; it’ s an open
book.Contents
Foreword
Introduction: The Ever -Present Miracle of Now
Part I: The Miracle of Moving Thr ough Separation
Chapter 1. Judgment and Knowledge
Chapter 2. Perception
Chapter 3. Fear
Chapter 4. Guilt
Chapter 5. Private Thoughts
Part II: Miracles W ithin
Chapter 6. Finding T rue Guidance
Chapter 7. T rust
Chapter 8. Acceptance
Chapter 9. Peace of Mind
Part III: Miracles in Relationships
Chapter 10. T ransforming Special Relationships
Chapter 1 1. From People Pleasing to T rue Empathy
Chapter 12. Communication
Chapter 13. Collaboration
Chapter 14. Holy RelationshipPart IV : Being the Miracle
Chapter 15. Healing
Chapter 16. For giveness
Chapter 17. Extending from W ithin
Conclusion: Living in Freedom
Gratitude and Acknowledgments
Resources
NotesForeword
It is easy to talk about spiritual ideas, harder to live them. When a
spiritual teacher  comes along who actually walks the talk, all who look
upon that person  are blessed with a rare opportunity to learn, heal, and
grow . David Hof fmeister is such a one. When I discovered David through his Y ouTube videos, I was deeply
impressed by his clarity , authenticity , sense of purpose, and ease. He is
authoritative and consistent. David has devoted his life to proving and
teaching the principles of A Course in Miracles . I have been with the
Course about as long as David has. Still, I encounter fear, resistance, and
ego. David has been a huge inspiration and accelerator to my
advancement in the Course, through his impeccable understanding and,
most important, his model. If you sincerely intend to master A Course in
Miracles or any related spiritual path, David is a guide of the highest
caliber . A Course in Miracles  is a delight to the spirit, but a huge
confrontation to the ego. It pulls the rug out from under the ego’s tricks
and exposes it for the nothingness it is. For that reason, all students of
the Course experience resistance to the program. Many students quit
doing the lessons, and others complain, “I don’t understand the text.”
Yet, the very same students admit, “I know the Course contains truths
that can change my life. I just wish it were easier to apply .”
The book you are holding can help you do exactly that. Here is a
brilliant map of the journey from fear to love. David takes the essential
principles of the Course and breaks them down into easy-to-grasp ideas,
exercises, and steps to help you make the truths work in your life. David
can take you where you want to go because he has walked the path you
and I now walk . He knows where the open road is and where lurk the
pitfalls that may waylay us. Read, learn, open, awaken, and transform. In one of David’ s teachings, he mentions that Mahatma Gandhi
retained his peace of mind even while he was in prison. The reveredleader did some  of his best writing there. The lesson David extracts is
that it is not what our body is doing that makes us happy or miserable,
but where our mind is. Hearing that, I remembered a prisoner I used to
visit. While Ray was in college, he flew into a fit of rage and beat his
girlfriend. A few days later, she died. Ray was conv icted of
manslaughter and sentenced to many years in jail. I met Ray during his
ninth year of incarceration, when he came up for parole for the third
time. “My girlfriend’ s parents are wealthy and politically influential
people,” he told me. “Every year when I come up for parole, they wage
an intensive campaign to ‘keep this vicious killer off the streets.’ So far,
they have been successful, and I have been denied parole.”
I didn’t see a vicious killer before me. To the contrary , the Ray I
knew was a gentle, kind man, penitent for his tragic mistake. He was a
model prisoner , given the highest privileges and appointed manager of
the prison laundry . He was a devoted student of A Course in Miracles . He was peaceful, his heart was open, and he displayed an exemplary
disposition. Ray’ s attitude and that of his girlfriend’ s parents were a great
teaching for me. His body was in prison, but his spirit was soaring. That
couple had all the material amen ities and physical freedom anyone could
desire, but their hearts were consumed with hatred and revenge. Who
was really in prison? After walking the spiritual path for many years, I have observed
two kinds of seminars: One kind teaches us how to get stuff. The other
kind teaches us how to get free. David’ s teachings are among the best of
the latter . When I met David, I told him that I watch his YouTube videos and
read his books before I go to sleep each night. Immersing myself in his
ideas and consci ousness is a soothing, healing way to undo the tangles of
the day and segue into a peace ful night’ s sleep. David’ s teachings can
achieve the same for you, day or night. I count this man as one of the
great blessings in my life. When climbing  a mountain in India, Sherpas (guides) help you
ascend. One Sherpa takes you to a certain altitude, and then anotherSherpa guides you to the next level. So it is with life. We are graced to
have guides show us the way when we feel lost or confuse d. David
Hoffmeister is a Sherpa of immaculate purpose. Trust him. He can show
you the way to the mountaintop. —Alan CohenIntroduction
The Ever-Present Miracle of Now
All we need to do is go within to find the answer of love. There is an answer that is so deep that it can bring truth and healing
to everyone and to this whole world. We have been searching for it
everywhere, except in the only place we could truly find it: within. This moment extends all the way to eternity . It is the now that
extends peacefully and is forever and ever. It is infinite happiness,
without end, without limit. It is untouched by fear, guilt, or suffering of
any kind. It is untouched by anything but love. There is so much
appreciation when experiencing something for the first time. There is no
comparison. For in the ever-unfolding now, we are always brand new. We can just bask in it, fully mer ge with it. There are no past references to
it, for it doesn’ t fit on the timeline. It’s just a happy sense of soaring way
beyond time and space, like an ongoing meditation. This ever-present miracle of now is our doorway within. It is our
doorway Home. It is an experience of something ever-new . It’s a happy
feeling, one that makes you want to sing to the world. It’s very beautiful
and very simple too. It’s having the allowance to merge when you are
watching a flower , a butterfly , or a bird singing in the tree; it’s a
contentment like, “Ah yes, thank you; let me be whole.” This is what
Saint Francis was talking about: just communing. The allowance that
everything is perfect. W e can really allow ourselves to smell the roses. It is through the doorway of the present moment that we are truly
able to hear the deep messages of love coming from within. They are
boundless and eternal, for the voice of the inner guide is always speaking
to us of our true identity and of our oneness with everyone and
everything. But in order to hear it, we need to walk through the doorway
and invite this deeply loving guide into our minds and lives.I first knew about this present moment, where boundless joy
resides, early on. The true drive of my heart, even as a young boy, was to
feel joy and extend love. I remember playing all summer . I loved the
neighborhood creek, which was full of frogs and crawdads. I would just
play, play, play—play my heart out all day. I was truly in the moment,
naturally! Then, as I got older and the world’ s rules and expectations set in, I
bought the bait. I started thinking that I had to learn my way through this
world. However , the more intricate the education and learning, the more
confused and lost I became. I didn’t like the idea of “improving” and the
sound of “makin g a living.” It sounded like pressure, like living to just
survive. That was not inspiring. It felt like the world was set up with an
ever-increasing number of complications. There came a time when I
began to question all this; I questioned how it was all set up. I started seeking the answer when I got into graduate schoo l. I
began to question everything that I believed and everything I had learned
in my ten years of university . Even though I got a couple of degrees, I
soon realized that there was no point in learning more stuff and
developing more special skills. I wanted the answer to something deeper . This was definitely not popular with people in my life. They said, “No,
no, not good, you have no direction; you are going to amount to
nothing.” They would say things like, “Y ou are crazy , get a life.”
So, I would say, “Okay , let’s talk about that. Get a life: Can you be
a little more specific? I actually believe I am going for life. So, would
you tell me what you mean by get a life ?”
They said, “Well, get a life: a girlfriend, a partner ...something. Then
get a house, get a mortgage, get in debt like the rest of us.”
“That is what you mean by get a life? And then what?”
And they said, “And then you grow old, and your hair goes gray .”
“And then what?”
“And then you get sick.”
“And then what?”“And then you die.”
And I said, “Absolutely unacceptable. All I can say is, if that is your
definition of a life, I am not going to get a life. There has to be
something more  than just strugg le and work and suffer and get sick and
die and get educ ated along the way. There has to be a little bit more than
that, a deeper and more fulfillin g experience. And I am going to get the
bottom of it; I am going to get to the bottom of this fishy world, and I am
going to find out what is truly possible.”
When A Cours e in Miracles  finally came along for me in 1986, I
opened it up and almost lost my breath. I felt like a lot of people do: that
it was really , really powerful. Something inside of me said, “Ahhh. …
Support!” It was such a powerful wayshower . It was like a guide. There
was an inner voice urging me, “Keep it up. Don’ t stop now. You are on
the road to truth. You are coming inward with all this deep questioning. Keep going.” The journey that followed can be summed up as a love
affair with God. I never plann ed my life to unfold that way. And I
certainly did not grow up consciously thinking that this was how I
wanted to spend my life. After several years of reading A Course in Miracles,  I began to hear
the voice of the inner guide. This quiet voice was giving me very helpful
and often very specific instructions on where to go, what to say, and
what to do. I no longer had to navigate through this maze of a world on
my own anymore! Listening to and following this voice seemed to
assure my peace  and happiness. My prayer had been answered! I had an
inner guide who was there to answer any question and help me make
every decision. It was an amazing gift and a tremendous relief! Nowadays, I spend most of my time meeting people like you who
are looking for happiness and a deeper sense of purpose in their lives. And time and time again, people all over the world ask me the how
questions: How do I find true peace? How do I find true happine ss? How
do I find the quiet peace, the kind of peace and happiness that will last? I
have taught on six continents and in forty-four countries, and no matter
where I go, people always ask me, How, How , How?And this is what I say: “By unveiling and forgiving your blocks to
love.”
And then they ask: “But how do I forgive? How do I let go of fear? How do I heal and come to peace of mind? Can you give me a practical
formula? Can you give me something that I can use every day?”
There is nothing more fun to me than giving the how away—and
that is my intent ion with this book. Once you experience it, you feel how
wonderful it is, and then you will want to give it away too. The bottom line of the how is: Make contact with Holy Spirit, with
God, with the Higher Self, whatever you prefer to call it. Once you
connect with Spirit—which I call Holy Spirit—you are in direct contact
with the how, for the Holy Spirit is the how. You are right there in the
moment with the how , experiencing it moving through you. It is in the powe r of this mome nt where the how resides. It is only
now that we are truly able to forgive and move from a fearful state into a
loving one. It is only in this mom ent that we are truly able to experience
the miracle of letting every dark thought and feeling and every pain and
suffering go, shined away by the Holy Spirit. It is only in this moment
that we are truly able to perform  the miracle of forgiveness. The miracle
of this moment is always available, ready to take us beyond the intellect
and back into an experience of pure love and of our true divine nature. Forgiveness—the process of seeing no problems—of fers a doorway
into the intuitive flow of presence and the ability to just ride that
presence like a feather floating on the breeze. Presence with the Holy
Spirit brings us to a place where there are no difficult decision s, for the
Spirit is always out in front of us, showing us the way. There is no
hesitation or doubt, just an increasingly consistent sense of relaxation
and ease. When we have conta ct with Spirit, with our internal teacher ,
and this contact becomes consistent, the ease comes into our life. The primary aim of this book is to help you come into the flow of
the prese nt mom ent where you can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit, the ever-present comforter and guide, is always there in the
quiet depths of your mind, waiting for you to come with your prayers,
with your offerings of forgiveness, and with your requests for guidance.The Holy Spirit is always there to help you let go of what you no longer
want and to help you unwind from your faulty perception of the world—
a fragm ented perception that tells you that you are separate from the
unifying love at your core, the love that you are. If you truly want to experience a lasting sense of peace and
happiness and of love and joy, and want to save time getting there, I
would like to offer you a spirituality that is very practical. In my
experience, it comes down to the formula of 1 percent principle and 99
percent practice. The 1 percent principle must be truly helpful, leading
you out of the illusion of separa tion and not deeper into it. At the end of
the day, focusing much more on the practice of forgiveness rather than
on the theory is the fast track to true peace and happiness. The consistent
practical application of true principle is what makes lasting change. To help you do this, I am going to take you on a journey deep
within. It’s a journey of self-inquiry and self-discovery that makes
change possible . Without going within, studying your own mind, and
taking a good close look at the false thoughts and beliefs you have about
yourself, you cannot find the answers and change you are looking for. Throughout the book, I will use the terms “Holy Spirit” and “ego” as if
they are separate, autonomous powers. This way of communicating
about the two different thought  systems in our mind has a purpose: to
acknowledge that the ego-thought system is separate from God. The ego-
thought system, which is separate from your true Self, come s from a
false belief in fear, guilt, and sacrifice. It is behind every doubt, every
feeling of littleness, and every wish for separation. The Holy Spirit’ s
thought system, on the other hand, is something we are relea rning to
think and operate from, bridging the gap of separation in our
disconnected hearts and minds and allowing us to remember our true
identity as Divine Spirit. The only way out of the ego-thought system is through the doorway
of the moment, this miracle moment that is untouched by any past
association or future anticipatio n. Yet, to live in an experience of the
present moment , we must become aware of and expose our unconscious
beliefs. We need to expose the ego fully, which is nothing more than a
voice of fear and doubt. It is important not to be hard on ourselves when
we fall into the ego’s doubt trap, for here lies our opportunity to raise theego into awareness. And it is only by becoming aware of the ego that it
can be seen for what it is and then forgiven in the light of the Holy
Spirit. We cannot really judge our advances from our retreats. In fact, we
cannot conclude anything as we go through this transformation. So, be
gentle with yourself as you allow the darkness to rise into your
awareness to be released. As you start to release the attack thoughts, grievances, and
judgments that come up, the world will slowly start to light up. You will
start to see more and more loving reflections. And though it may seem
like there is more light in the world, it is really your mind that is filling
with light again. A devoted practice of bringing all your dark thoughts
and feelings to the light will result in revelations of evermore light and
love filling your mind. The exposure of the ego is an ongoing and
necessary process that precede s the complete joining with the Holy
Spirit. With your willingness, this book will help you take the beginning
steps toward this most glorious experience of becoming happy ,
becoming at peace, and finding your true purpose. The Holy Spirit’ s answer to all of the world’ s seeming complexities
and choices is the miracle. In A Cours e in Miracles , the “miracle” is
defined as a change of perception from fear to love. Although there are
steps involved, with practice, all thoughts of conflict and suffering are
easily raised into the Spirit’ s light and released to free the mind to
experience the miracle. The miracle is never out there, in the future. It is
always right here, in the presen t. It’s merely been covered by the doubt
and fear generated by our mistaken belief that we are separate from God. The journey within leads us beyond the intellect and into an
experience of pure love, which is our true nature! In order to experience
that feeling of love consistently , however , we have to go through an
experiential purification and transformation process. And it’s interesting
that the word “course” is in the title because at some point when you’re
reading A Course in Miracles , it begin s to dawn on you that this course
is asking you to unlearn  absolutely everything that is unlike your true
nature. So, instead of “doing” a course and “learning” something new,
your mind is being emptied of everything it has ever learned about itself
and the world, which has nothing to do with who you really are.This is why we need mind training. Mind training is training
ourselves to think with Spirit again, with love again, with God again. Mind trainin g makes the unconscious mind  conscious. I call the
unconscious mind “the unwatched mind,” for it is constantly wandering
and distracting us from rememb ering our true identity . When the mind
wanders into an ego trap, it’s very important to come back to the present
moment and the sense of peace it brings. The practical spiritual  path is a
practice of finding and tapping into the Holy Spirit’ s thought system of
freedom and following it carefully . The practical tools I offer you
throughout this book will support you in finding and establishing this
thought system. Sometimes peop le ask me if they need to love the ego. We can’t
love the ego since the ego is the belief that there is no love. We can’t
love something that is the total denial of love! The ego doesn’ t really
exist since it is just a belief. So, we are not trying to heal or awaken the
ego. That is impossible. Self-improvement does not solve anything. The
Self that God created does not need to be improved; it is already perfect. What you can do is expose your ego beliefs, raise them to the light of the
Holy Spirit, and then watch them disappear . This is how you see that the
ego wasn’ t real, and you can have a good belly laugh at it. Until our belief system is deeply examined, the ego will continue to
have a grip on us. It has control over our roles and responsibiliti es. It has
control over almost everything we do and say. Until we have examined
our mind deeply enough to allow Spirit to use our roles and
responsibilities for a loving purpose, the ego will use them for its own
ends. There is nothing in betwe en: you either let your mind be used by
the Spirit or by the ego. By giving over the roles and responsibilities to
the Holy  Spirit,  they can be repurposed for the Spirit’ s healing  of your
mind. Your career , hobbies, talents, and relationships can all be used in
miraculous ways you never dreamed were possible. I’ve marveled as I
watched all the skills that I had developed be used in comple tely new
and different ways by the Holy Spirit. The practicality of it is amazing. It
is like the unwinding action of turning a screw out of a wall. The ego has
really wound us into this belief system, and that’s why it takes many
gentle turns to come out of it.I am very excited to start this journey with you. When I meet
someone, it is never a fleeting encounter . We are here to truly bless each
other ’s lives, to be of full support to one another . I feel like I am always
meeting my beloved Self. We have a lifelong link; we have a lifelong
connection of awakening to truth together . Even though our bodies seem
to be in different parts of the world, we have a communication link. We
can join together through the power of thought, through the power of
prayer , and through Spirit. It is in our hearts. The result of this journey is profound beyond imagination . In
spiritual practice , like any other  practice, the more you put in, the more
you will get out. Willingness goes a very, very long way! The tools I will
give you can help you see that the sticky and painful aspects of your
everyday life can ultimately be the springboards to a sustained
experience of profound freedom and joy . If you have a strong desire to know your beloved Self, know that
the feeling is mutual and that joining together in this unified purpose is
more profound than you might think. Let’ s begin.Part I
The Miracle of Moving Through
SeparationChapter 1
Judgment and Knowledge
One time I was walking with a friend when she spontaneously burst into
laughter and said, “You have a butterfly on your butt!” I looked back,
and, sure enough, there was a butterfly getting a free lift on my backside. I said, “Okay. Enjoy the ride!” We continued to walk down the road, and
it dawned on me that the butterf ly would be more comfortable riding on
my finger . So, I put my index finger in the air and told my friend that I
was going to call the butterfly to ride on my finger . She was all for it. I
called to it telepathically , “Com e on up. There is a great view here. The
butt is okay , but you’ll like it up here. You can be like a little hood
ornament.” And it did! It flew around, landed on my finger , and stayed
there with its little antennae out. Of course, my friend laugh ed even
harder . It was a fun walk, with the butterfly symbolizing our innocence. Like children, animals respond to defenselessness. When you are
meek, joyful, and innocent, you draw forth many reflections. At our
monastery , the chipmunks come right up our legs. It is like a Saint
Francis moment . Everything we see is innocent. I see this truth in people
and events. I am into not seeing error . I am into seeing innocence
everywhere and in everyone. This is why people and animals, and even
butterflies, want  to be near me. When the mind is whole and not split,
you see only innocence, and you feel happy and loving all the time! The Split
Imagine for a second an awake mind. This mind is used to the
wholeness, sameness, and constancy of Heaven’ s oneness. Suddenly , a
doubt thought seems to arise. Now the mind has two irreconcilable
thought systems —one of love and one of fear. The tension from trying to
hold this split together is intolerable since the two thought systems haveno meeting point and are total opposites of each other . There fore, the
mind attempts to see the split outside instead of within, where it was
conceived. Thus , a world of duality and opposites is made: a place with
opposing views and changing desires. The ego says, “I know how you can alleviate this terrible tension:
just get rid of your feelings of pain and guilt by projecting them  out onto
the world.” This is how pain, fear, doubt, and sorrow became the
common experie nce of this world. This is how the mind made a world of
duality , of up and down, of good and bad, and of right and wrong. The
only reason we seem to experience health and sickness, war and peace,
life and death, and all the variations, degrees, and extremes is simply
judgment. That is the trick of this world. Whenever we judge or
condemn, the mind is projecting, and says, “That person, thing, or
situation out there is at fault.”  It does this to cover the guilt of the
separation from God, which, believe it or not, is at the core of every
conceived problem in this world. It makes the world into a smokescreen
as it thinks it can be free of the guilt by putting it outside, while
believing it is actually within. It is only by believing there is darkness
within that our mind would ever attempt to project it outside. How Good Is Good Enough? Growing up in this world, there is a lot of pressure and high expectations
to do something constructive, develop skills, and gain special knowledge
to develop a life skill for self-suf ficiency . We’re told that it’s important
to get higher and higher degrees and accumulate more and more special
knowledge. This is stressful, and it’ s coming from a strong cultural belief
in perso nal responsibility , whic h has, at its core, a sense of guilt. It’s
built in to the system, and it seems noble and good, yet the pressure for
self-reliance is hurting us. Not many can escape the questions running in the back of our
minds: How good is good enough? Did I do enough? Did I fulfill
obligations? Did I live up to standar ds? The ego sets us up to be forever
stressed-out, always thinking that there is something we could change or
make better . This is rigid learn ed behavior , but another perspective isavailable, a perfectly different and perfectly gentle means and
perspective. A Course in Miracles  says, “In no situation that arises do you
realize the outcome that would make you happy .” Not in some—in none! But you’re not left hanging; the next lesson states, “Everything is for
your own best interests.” Everything! This can feel just as shocking as
the first message. All things work together for good with no exceptions except in the
ego’s judgment. Talk about undoing the analytical mind! Suddenly ,
there’ s no point in trying to analyze or judge anything. What a relief! Our Deepest Problem
The deepest problem that we have is the thinking, the stereotyping, the
breaking-things-apart mechanism. I call this the “I-know” egoic mind. The ego is always fragmented; it made up a fragmented world, and it’s
always categorizing, analyzing, diagnosing, and fixing things. It’s very
much a dysfunctional thought system, based on the myth of separation. In the traditiona l Genesis story , God said to Adam and Eve, “Don’t
eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” But the serpent
lured Eve into taking an apple, and she gave one to Adam . Then,
according to biblical myth, they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. This is the fall from grace—the separation from God after which a lot of
darkness and fear arose in the mind, reflected in the form of wars,
division in religions, and all kinds of insane pursuits. The exercise of
religions is largely an attempt to find a way to return to God’ s love
through ritual and tradition. I would like to propose a different path than ritual and traditio n, a
different story about a God that didn’ t kick anyone out. We can call this
the metaphysical take on the traditional story: let Adam and Eve
represent you and I, and in this story , we never left God. And he never
abandoned us. Here, the “fall” is nothing more than a perceptual
distortion, a vast illusion in which the mind believed  that it pulled offsomething that in reality is impossible: separation from an all-knowing,
all-loving creator . We have very powerful minds that are capable of imagining, or
“thinking up,” this whole univer se. In my revision of Genesis, there was
no apple. We simply asked a question: Could there be anything more
than Heaven or oneness, more than everything? This question was like a
little puff of madness since “more than everything,” more than perfect
love and harmony , is of course completely impossible. Imagine this idea,
this question, or this doubt thought as one of those little white dandelion
puffs blowing across the road. This powerful mind of ours allowed the
thought, this puff, to spread. It was of course a totally ludicrous idea, but
instead of laughing it away with our all-powerful, divine mind,  we took
it seriously . Taking this puff of an idea seriously made us forget the truth
that we have everything and are one with God. We closed ourselves off
and started dreaming we were a tiny part of an impossible world. Many
people ask me how this could happen if our mind is part of God’ s and if
we are divine. The truth is, it didn’t happen apart from our belief, and
there’ s a true knowing or aware ness of this once all our false beliefs are
questioned and released. Into eternity , where all is one, there crept a tiny, mad idea, at
which the Son of God remem bered not to laugh. In his
forgetting did the thought become a serious idea, and
possible of both accomplishmen t and real effects. Together ,
we can laugh them both away , and understand that time
cannot intrude upon eternity . It is a joke to think that time
can come to circumvent eternity , which means there is no
time.…
It is reasonable to ask how the mind could ever have
made the ego. In fact, it is the best question you could ask. There is, however , no point in giving an answer in terms of
the past because  the past does not matter , and history would
not exist if the same errors were not being repeated in the
present.The Answer to a World of Duality
Many mystics call this the world of duality . This is what the story of
Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden builds for us. Adam and Eve
wanted to hide in the Garden,  so they covered themselves and their
“private parts” with fig leaves. They felt guilt and shame for what they
had done. By way of this analogy , at the moment of the fall or
separation, because the guilt feels so awful, the mind projects this guilt
out as the time-space cosmos, which then becomes like a giant fig leaf
under which the mind tries to hide from its creator . The mind wants to
hide what it believes are its private thoughts because it’s terrified of
God’ s love, so it makes a fake identity , the persona. God is pure love and oneness. He has no awareness of separat ion;
thus, He cannot  come into duality. The world of duality is the illusory
hiding place for the sleeping mind that believes it has separated from
God. To this mind, the ego says: “Here is your new home now. Be
content with the body and the world as your new home. We will make up
everything that you seemed to have in oneness. W e will make a new kind
of love with bodies. We will make a new kind of freed om with
movement of bodies. We will make a new kind of happin ess with
pleasures of the senses to take the place of your Home in Heaven. And
God cannot come in and find you here, you will have privacy , and you
can do anything  that you want.” This is how the body became the central
focus for the ego. The ego wants God to bless its new world and give reality to the
fantasy of time and space. There is an anger deep down in the mind
because God cannot do this. God cannot give reality to a projected
dream of form! God is divine love. God knows you only as divine love. This love is abstract light, total joy, constant communication, and peace. It is infinite and perfect. God would not be God if He granted the ego’s
wish to give this world reality . Therefore, all anger is a temper  tantrum
based on a desire for the temporary to be true and real. Ego tries to lure
you to think that you are free in a world of form, but it doesn’ t tell you
that it, the ego, is the ruler . It thinks that as long as you are busy planning
for the future, dreaming of a better form (or lamenting the past), you
won’ t think about God and the oneness that is your true identity . This isshowing you that the ego is a thought system in your mind that doesn’ t
lead you into a true experience of who you are. It only makes sure you
stay preoccupied in the world of form, in time and space. So, once  the mind fell asleep and started to dream of separatio n, it
was like a nightmare at first since God and Heaven were completely
pushed out of awareness. It was a deep sleep of forgetfulness, and there
were suddenly two thought systems instead of one. One was the fear-
based thought system of the ego, the “puff,” and the other was the
thought system of God’ s lovin g answer , the Holy Spirit. The ego’s
thought system, based on the premise that an impossible separation
happened, says, “If you ever go back into your mind, and into that white
light, God will get you and destroy you!” This creates a perpetual
neurotic state that compels the mind to constantly seek for answers and
safety where they can’t be found: in the projected forms of this world. But in the stillness, at the core of our being, the loving answer just keeps
reminding us, “You never left. You never could have separated . God is
not angry at you! Your Father loves you! Your Father will always love
you!”
We can’t solve our problems with the same level of thinking that
created them. We can’t find the solution at the level of the problem, at
the level of separation; the answer has to be a higher order thinking that
lifts us up and back into harmony . You cannot approach a solution with
the sleeping mind since this was the mind that believed in the problem in
the first place. You have to rise above the level of the problem, above
where the problem is perceived, to find the answer . You have a
perceptual problem, and as long as you try to make things bette r and fix
things at the level of the ego, you’re not going anywhere. You’re just
spinning your wheels like a hamster going round and round, and there’ s
no progr ess whatsoever . You are more like the scarecrow in The Wizard
of Oz, where all of your straw is scattered all over the road. But when
you let go of compartmentalizing, categorizing, labeling, and ordering
everything, you find yourself coming into peace. You find yourself
identifying with your true Self and not with a separate identity . The
peace that you find is a state of mind in which you perceive that
everything is perfect, it has always been perfect, and nothing has been
out of order . Your mind just needs some training to reach this awareness.Leaping into Spirit’s Perception
The fall from grace, the separation, which is an idea in the mind and not
a point on the timeline, didn’ t leave us forever lost and without an
answer . At the moment of that tiny mad idea—the separation—God gave
an immediate answer . Being all-knowing love, He answered this doubt
thought, this tiny mad idea, this “puff,” with the awareness that this
never happened, that it is impossible. We can call this answer the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be referred to as the still, small voice within
the mind, or the intuition, that guides us. It’s like a presence that we can
sense whenever we get still enough to tune in and listen inwardly . We
need to know this and also become aware of how easily defenses like
judgment, worldly knowledge, denial, and repression are used to dilute
the terror and prevent us from experiencing God’ s answer . We don’t go from analysis and judgment into perfection witho ut a
willingness to say, “Show me Holy Spirit; I need to be shown.” Even in
moments when you’re upset with God, with life, or with the way you
perceive the situations you’re involved in, you need to be willing to
perceive things differently and open up to relying on the Spirit’ s healed
perception. You need help to truly see anoth er world than the one you projected
from your ego’s fear and doubt and worry . You can freely say, “You need
to convince me,” and throw it all back to the Holy Spirit. Ask to be
shown. Let it be a convincing job for the multitude of angels cheering
every time you make a movem ent toward trusting your intuition. That
should catch your attention and turn you toward the miracle in your
mind. You need the Holy Spirit’ s help to see things as they are, to see
clearly without projection, judgment, and interpretation. As soon as the ego judges somebody else as lacking, it always
compares and tells you, “Well, you are not that way; you are beyond
that.” This promotes inequality , division, and separation. You need to ask
the Holy Spirit to start cleaning the filter you are seeing through  because
that truly is the only hope you have of not judging. Once you tap in to
that help, it is delightful. Every moment without a filter is deligh tful. But
if there is a concept or a judgment involved, then it is bette r to justpause, introspect, and become aware of what that filter is. You can
cultivate a willingness to quest ion every value and every concept you
hold. When you catch yourse lf judging or thinking that you know
something, I advise you to exercise what I call, “stop, drop, and roll.”
You first pause your running thoughts and your reactions; you stop! And
second, you exercise your willin gness to drop it. And third, you roll with
the Spirit’ s guidance. When your filter starts clearin g and the more intuitive and less
judging you become, the more you reap the emotional benefits. You can
tell by how you feel: you’re more stable, you’re calmer , and this is how
you know you’re headed in the right direction. This develops into
acceptance and a receptive mind, an open mind, a mind that doesn’ t
“already know .” Then the miracle within can happen. It’s norm al in this world to encourage opinions, but opinions block
the experience of peace. Opinions do not have anything to do with truth
or reality . The “I-don’ t-know” state is humble. In the Zen tradition, it is
called beginner ’s mind. It is a great experience to wake up every  day and
feel like you don’t know anything. It’s a beautiful feeling to not have an
opinion but to be open to be shown.Exercise: Moving from Opinions to Prayer
Spend one day observing the I-know mind and try spending it
without one single opinion. Try it out! Get the flavor of it. As you
go through your day, ask yourself, “Where is my mind when I am
caught up in my opinions, thinking I know something, and how do
I feel when I am open and I do not think I already know the
answers?”
Throughout your day , notice how many times you:
think you know the answer to something
want to know the answer
say or think opinionated statements
make assumptions about someone or something
interrupt a conversation because you think you know better
than someone
do something solely based on past outcomes and past
learning
After your practice day of having no opinions, spend some
time reflecting in your journal. Find a quiet place where you won’t
be distu rbed. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, relax,
and allow your mind to get still for a few minutes. Then, read the
following questions slowly . Reflect and write down your answers. Allow yourself to have an experience of the answer—go  beyond
the intellect. 1. Has my way, my own “knowle dge,” brought me to a state of
consistent peace and happiness? 2. Seeing that my “knowledge” or choices have not yet led me
to a state of consistent peace and happiness, am I willing to
open to the possibility of another way?3. In releasing my I-know mind,  am I willing to trust that there
is a wisdom, a Holy Spirit, within my mind, that has my best
interests and my highest good in His hands? 4. Do I trust that He knows what I need? 5. Can I trust that He knows the prayer (desire) of my heart
and that He will bring to me what is truly most helpful for my
healing and therefore my happiness? If any of your answers to questions two through five is no,
there is a line in A Cour se in Miracles  that can help ease your
mind. It states that if you find resistance strong and dedication
weak, you should not fight yourself. Be gentle with yourself and
give yourself permission to pray for help with any areas or
patterns you’ve noticed. Acknowledgment of where you are is all
that is required. There is no need to try to fix anythin g. Your
contribution is your willingness, nothing more. Prayer is a way to acknowledge the presence of Holy Spirit
as a guide and friend. Prayer is equal with desire since we always
get what we desire in our hearts and minds. You can think of
prayer as your practice of direct connection to your higher power . It doesn ’t matter the method, the technique, what words you use,
or how you pray. What matters is that you stay open to an
experience of inner connection. Surrender in honest
communication and sincerity , while earnestly acknowledging that
which is felt deeply in your heart. The Holy Spirit is the healer . True Knowledge Is Not Knowing Anything
About the World
When you live in a state of nonjudgment, you naturally live in a state of
ultimate freedom and compassion because you accept everyone and
everything regar dless of what happens. To not know anything about the
world of form and to be in a state of not-knowing, opens an experienceof the present moment. The I-don’ t-know mind is the highest  state of
mind, higher than “yes” or “no.” This is essential. This state of mind doesn’ t judge. It doesn’ t interpret: good, bad,
right, wrong. It is close to true knowledge, the knowledge of God. Anything that you think you already know ends up being a block to true
knowing. Anything you have a preconception of would block true
knowing. This is because opinions and preconceptions keep you from an
experience of innocent percep tion. You also miss both the present
moment and the guidance that’s available when you are occup ied with
intellectually “knowing” something or living in autopilot mode. In
believing that you know best and that your knowledge is valuable, you
identify as the opinions that you hold. Your identity becomes  a small
self. All personal interpretations of absolutely everything in all of time
and space and history are wrong minded and erroneous. To hold an
opinion is the same as not knowing who you are and not knowing who
God is. Now you can relax as you are looking to unlearn the habit of
personal judgme nt and interpretation. It’s a relief to know that you don’t
have to carry any judgment or opinion about your identity as a person—
good or bad, spiritual or unspiritual, and so on. You also don’t have to
interpret, judge, or even understand the world, although you can choose
how you perceive it, and this we will get more into later in the book. In
fact, the only way to come back to divine innocence is when you can say ,
“Wow! I have been mistaken about absolutely everything. Not 99.9
percent mistake n. I have been  completely hoodwinked; I have been
completely deceived. I’ve been mistaken about everything!”
This is why you shouldn’ t struggle with the giving up of judgm ent,
because the only awareness that you can come to is that you never , ever
have been capable of it in the first place. You’re truly not capab le of any
judgments. That’ s the good news!Chapter 2
Perception
There’ s never anything inheren tly wrong about what’ s going on in the
world or the way things are unfolding. Whenever you are having a
problem at work, with a relation ship, or anything, you are experiencing a
perceptual problem . The way you are seeing it is the problem. Blaming
the external world, and this includes yourself, is the ego keeping the
illusion of duality going. When you get angry , it is because the ego says,
“Blame this person, or blame that thing.” You can blame your boss,
blame the government, blame your mother , blame your past, or blame
the dog. This is a world in which blame seems to be everywhere—and is
seen as justified. The mind uses blame to avoid looking at the belief in
separation. It blames anything that feels disagreeable to it without taking
responsibility for the split and without accepting the Holy Spirit’ s
healing of the split. But once you see that the anger comes from your
own attack thoughts and grievances, always with the fearful belief of
separation underneath, you can release those thoughts. Instead of trying to define the problem as a specific situation,  the
first thing to do is remind yourself that it is a perceptual problem. Whether it is “I can’t pay my bills,”  “My boyfriend said he would leave
me if I don’t do this,” “It’s been raining for four days straight,  and I’m
going out of my mind waiting for some sun,”  or “The national debt is
ticking higher every day,” you just say, “I have a perceptual problem.”
Poverty may be spreading and spreading: “I have a perceptual problem.”
I need the rent money in two days, and I don’t know where I’m going to
get it: “I have a perceptual problem .”
Perception is the realm of the five senses. Perceptual problems  are
never real proble ms, although they can point us back to the one problem
of believing in separation. Perception is the realm that we appear to be
in. This was highlighted for me when my sister got married. The day
after the wedding, people from different generations were gatheredwatching TV. It was a comedy special. Because there were so many of
them, I couldn’ t see the TV. All I could see were faces turning red, eyes
shifting around, some embarras sment, some downright humilia tion, and
some outright anger and rage. And then my brother -in-law fell out of his
chair and rolled on the floor laughing. They were all watching the same images, and they were all listening
to the same sound. Yet, they were each seeing something different. They
were having such diverse reactions, and they were giving their own
meaning to those sounds and images. It wasn’ t the images that were
making them laugh and makin g them rage. It was the beliefs in their
minds that they reacted to. We have  it all backward when we think things like You hurt my‐  
feelings,  and If you hadn’ t done what you did, I wouldn’ t be so hurt. So,
you could say that these percep tions in the mind are associations from
the past—memo ries and beliefs. Lesson 2 of A Course in Miracles
teaches that you have given everything you see all the meaning that it
has for you. That’ s all that is happening. Nothing else is ever happening. Our mind is full of past thought s, and these past thoughts are projecting
onto the world. Caught in the Projection
The world perceived through the body’ s eyes and heard through the
body’ s ears is a screen of images. It is just the shadowy reflection of the
attack thoughts in the sleeping mind. Let’s use the analogy of a movie  projector to explore this. Inside  the
projector is a glowing, brilliant, radiant light—a great metapho r for the
Holy Spirit. This brilliant light seems to pass through the film, which is
filled with a lot of dark images. These dark images are like attack
thoughts or ego thoughts. As these thoughts are projected, what seems to
be produced on the screen are shadows. To the sleeping mind, these
shadows appear to have meanin g. However , the only meaning the movie
has is given to it by the mind—a mind that has forgotten that what it sees
is just a movie. It has identified with figures on the screen and thought ofitself as part of the screen, as a person among other persons. The mind
then appears to be caught in the projection, identifying itself as a body . Therefore, we need to bring the darkness—the shadowy thoughts
and beliefs that are playing out on the screen of consciousness—back to
the radiant light within, for this is how they will disappear . This is a way
of facing what is coming up from our unconscious mind. We tend to try
to avoid  a lot of our problems by pushing away what is in our mind. We
are trying to insulate ourselves from our problems and what lies beneath
the surface of our conscious mind. The human condition is often all
about trying to live a certain way or building up “the good, successful
life” to protect something. This something we are trying to protect is
actually a separate self-identity . The ego is terrified of any of our
routines being broken because of this protectionism of the self-concept. It wants  to keep the status quo so we can remain in the dream , in the
projection, and not wake up. When we are asleep in the dream, we can’t
help but believe in what we are perceiving. That is why the Holy Spirit
supports a very gentle awakening. A world is going on in our minds: the world of images and the
thoughts we’re thinking. This is the basis for how we perceive the
external world. The external world and the internal world are the same. They are identical. It doesn’ t matter if somebody is yelling or screaming
at us at work,  whether we’re just at home thinking about when
somebody was yelling and screa ming, or even if we’re not in touch with
what the though ts are. We just know we’re feeling yucky and depressed. I call these past thoughts—thoughts that weren’ t created by God. They
are in there, and the mind has anchored to them; it could be fear, envy ,
jealousy , boredom, or irritation. Knowing this, we can see that we need to clear our perception
because there is no objective world of events, circumstances, and images
separate from our perception and interpretation. The realizatio n is “My
thoughts are images that I have made.” What you perceive is just a
motion picture of what you believe and of your thoughts. So, when you have ego beliefs and harsh attack thoughts, you will
perceive a world of fragmentation. You will perceive victimization. You
can’t help it. Traditional science and biology have taught us that thehuman being is an autonomous creature: the world is outsid e of this
creature, and it is experienced through sight, sound, touch, smell, and
taste. When light goes in throug h the retina, the image gets turned over
in the brain, and then there are brain impulses. But we’ve got it all
backward. It’s more accurate to think of the eyes as projectors rather
than receptors. The eyes are projecting what the mind is thinking and
believing. Because of the filter of consciousness or ego, we sense a
world that is projected through this filter , and therefore we are just
drawing forth witnesses to what we believe and think all the time. We
perceive only that which we believe, and so without attack thoughts in
our mind , we cannot see a world of attack. That’ s why the only solution
is in the mind. The Levels of Mind
I once asked the Holy Spirit for a map of the mind so I could know what
was going on underneath percep tion. I said, “It’s getting a little ethereal
here, give me a picture.” I was shown the image below of the mind and
its layers. Think of the mind as five concentric circles. The inner areas
determine the outer , and altogether , these layers compose our perceptual
experience of the world, our own personal reality . The ego wants you to
think that cause is at the level of perception, the outer layer . This way the
ego would have you think that events are causative. In truth, this is
reversed. The cause is in the center , where desire is, and the effect is on
the outer ring. Everything follows from the desire of our heart. 1. Perception is how you see and interact with the world and
includes even what  you perceive in the world. It includes
everything that the five senses report back to you. 2. Emotions  determine your perceptions. They can be fear -based,
such as guilt, shame, envy , worry , and so forth, or love-based,
such as peace, joy , happiness, freedom, and so forth. 3. Thoughts  determine your emotions. They are the ceaseless,
moment-by-moment train of ideas and images passing through
your mind. They can be Spirit-inspired or ego-driven. 4. Beliefs are the foundation of your thinking. Beliefs are concepts. Examples can be about job roles and career identity or family
identity as father , mother , husband, wife, sister , brother , daughter ,
or son. They can be about roles of friendship, or cultural,
religious, or class roles. They include opinions about the planet,
society , psychology , philosophy , and politics, and beliefs about
food, health, and education. As well, time and space are also
actually only beliefs. All beliefs are ego-based except for one—
forgiveness. 5. Desir e is in the center and determines your beliefs. It is all about
what you seek in the core of your being. Y ou can always only
choose between love or fear , Spirit or ego. W ith the belief in
separation, desire became split. Split desire is egoic, while the
single desire for love is unified and is the desire for Spirit. When our core desire is split in impossible attempts to reconcile
Spirit and ego, purity is lost. The desire in the core of our mind and
being dictates our experiences on the surface of consciousness. Nothing
comes to us unbidden. From a split desire, all the other layer s follow .The belief becomes egoic, the thoughts are attack thoughts, the emotion
is fear, and the perception becomes fragmented and distorted. Fragmented perception includes everything that we see, hear, and touch,
all the different facets of the cosmos, including the people, the events,
and the world of separate objects. This explains why all the differences
of the entire cosmos spring from the desire for something more than the
unified oneness God gives, as if we could get more than everything. But
the power to change our perception rests in the core of our mind. Because of our powerful mind, the prayer or desire of our heart is always
answered. This is something we will explore in depth in the following
chapters. Shifting of Our Core Desire
When we change our minds to be Spirit-inspired rather than ego-driven,
our core desire has changed. It is singular rather than split. This change
permeates all the layers of the mind. This is the miracle that leads to the
following transf ormation: the belief is forgiveness, the thoughts are “real
thoughts,” the emotion is love, and the perception is peace ful, true
perception. With the help of the miracle, the mind is turned right side up,
away from its former upside-down way of being and operating. Enlightenment or healing is a matter of desire. This is a world of
distraction, isola tion, and hiding from the light. If the prayer of your
heart is to expe rience the love and the light, then the symbols or the
means for this can be given or drawn to you quite rapidly . The only proble m in the world is the one in the mind. A clear
understanding of the layers in the mind helps us become aware of the
story—what’ s causing our perception as we trace back all our projections
to the core desir e. In doing so, we can uncover beliefs and assumptions
that we may not have realized were there. The mind will continue to
invest faith in these beliefs until it becomes clear that they don’t offer
what we truly want. When we are willing to question what we believe,
with the Holy Spirit, the results are nothing less than miraculous. All that
is requir ed is a little bit of willingness to begin to see things differently .To expose and let go of old, unhelpful conditioning, we need to go into
the mind step by step through all the layers. Perception and the Movie Projector Metaphor
As we look around, we perceive the gross perceptual world. With sky,
clouds, mountai ns, houses, bodies, trees, and grass, the gross perceptual
world is the “farthest out” from the core, the farthest away from the point
where we are connected to Source or God. Metaphysically , the
perceptual realm  is the projec tion of our state of mind. One of the
deepest teachings I can offer you is that you cannot change the projected
world; you can only change your mind (about the world). To illustrate
this, let’ s return to the analogy of a movie projector and movie screen. Have you ever gone to a movie when there was a glitch in the film? You know that you cannot fix the glitch by trying to fix the screen. When
you try to change things that appear to be external to your own mind or
look to the world for things to change, it is like going up and banging on
the movie screen believing it will change the movie. What you need to
do instead is check out the projector room, which, in this analogy ,
represents what you desire in your core. The external world runs like the film going through the projector
creating overlays. Once you are able to overlook dark thoughts (the
film), the world you see lights up. But when you interpret things as
painful, for example war and conflict, it is the ego’s lens that you are
looking through , and that is what is twisted. It is not about anything “out
there” in and of itself. Before a movie starts, there is just a beautiful, pure white light
reflected on the screen. You can imagine drawing a body on it; now, we
have form overlays. Then the ego names this body as male or female and
puts some skin color on it. Then we can put age in there. Concepts that
come from judgment and interpretation have gotten between the light
source and the screen. And there we have all the problems:  sexism,
racism, ageism, and so on. It seems as if those are big problems in the
world; we hear about them on the news, but it all stems from having a
split desire in the mind.When we can see that all is projected, all the specifics, all the
differences, and also all the preferences, it is clear that what we are now
really going for is an unlearning or a subtraction process. We can think
of it as a process of cleaning the film.
This-Moment-is-Your-Miracle_by_David_Hoffmeister.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        “David is a living demonstration of peace and joy. He uncovered
this state of mind, which is accessible to us all, by living what he
teaches in This Moment Is Your Miracle. Although the process of
transcending fear is not always easy, it is simple, and David’ s
explanations and exercises guide you to claim the happiness that
is your birthright. This Moment Is Your Miracle  illuminates the
pathway to complete awakening, so you can experience the deep
peace and everlasting love that dwells within you, in this very
moment. ”
—Corinne Zupko, EdS, bestselling author of From Anxiety
to Love
“It is said, ‘By their fruits ye shall know them’; this book is the
harvest of all the teachings that David Hoffmeister has acquire d
during the learning and living of A Course in Miracles. The joy of
David is his trust, his willingne ss to give freely, and his simple
practice of listening to the Holy Spirit and following His
directions. The resulting inspir ation of this book is due to the
experience of direct communion with the Spirit, and consequently
is a blessing to all who want to live a life of forgiveness and
healing. ”
—Nick Davis, founder of the first UK-dedicated Miracles
Centre, The Centre for Inner Peace, and the retreat,
September Cottage; author of An Invitation to the
Awakening Heart
“David Hoffmeister is one of the most authentic teachers of A
Course in Miracles. His commitment to the text comes through in
all of his work. I love David ’s gentle teaching style and his
genuine love for life. David walks his talk. ”
—Gabrielle Bernstein, #1 New Y ork T imes bestselling
author of The Universe Has Y our Back“‘Imagine if you were motivate d only by love and nothing else. ’
asks David Hoffmeister in his new book, packed with detaile d
explanations, practices, prayers,  and recorded meditations. David
unpacks A Course in Miracles in bite-sized pieces about how to
undo the mind and pump up the volume of Holy Spirit. Dive deep
into this book and you will experience your miracle-mindedness
strengthen as you practice the core teachings of A Course in
Miracles. Move over Ego, we are merging into the ‘Glorious
Flow’. ”
—Maria Felipe, author of Live Y our Happy, international
speaker of A Course in Miracles, and ordained minister
through Pathways of Light
“I’ve known David for nearly thirty years. There are several folks
who have dedicated themselves to understanding and living the
principle of A Course in Miracles. In the case of David, it’s clear
that his commitm ent is strong, his vision is sharp, and his ability
to teach brilliant. This Moment Is Your Miracle  is a well-written,
comprehensive explanation of some of the most basic,
revolutionary, and transformative concepts in the Course. ”
—Jon Mundy, PhD, author of Living A Course in Miracles,
publisher of Miracles magazine, and executive director of
All Faiths Seminary in New Y ork City, NY
“With his new book, This Moment is Your Miracle, David
Hoffmeister gives the reader a tour de force of spiritu al
knowledge that will result in a major acceleration of their spiritual
path. I’ve known David for many years, and he’s a brillia nt
teacher and writer. This book shows him at his best. I highly
recommend this important work. ”
—Gary Renard, the best-selling author of The
Disappearance of the Universe trilogy and The Lifetimes
When Jesus and Buddha Knew Each Other“The journey within is the greatest journey of all. David
Hoffmeister takes us through a journey of self-discovery, inner
truth, healing, and rebirth…. David gives us the tools to face our
fears…. I recommend This Moment Is Your Miracle for anyone
wanting to take the greatest journey of all. ”
—Tina Fiorda, coauthor of A Book of Insight
“For both new and seasoned travelers on the path to self-
discovery, this book is filled to the brim with a wealth of
inspiring, practic al material that can lead you straight to the heart
of deep inner peace. These abundant, essential reminders about
the constant and powerful choice for beginning anew are
presented in a bright, masterful, and compelling way. More than
ever, this easy, loving way of living will now feel within reach,
and you can eagerly begin to claim your birthright. ”
—Carol Howe, author of Never For get to Laugh
“This Moment Is Your Miracle  brings the luminous love and
transforming clarity contained within A Course in Miracles alive
for a new generation of seekers. With eloquence and grounde d
wisdom, David shows us that miracles are not only possible, but
natural and abundantly available to us all. ”
—Miranda MacPherson, author of The W ay of Grace
“David Hoffmeister is a master teacher when it comes to
understanding the profoundly healing spiritual practices in A
Course in Miracles. David shares simple, step-by -step healing
practices that correct the mind and liberate us from the dominio n
of the ego’s false concepts and precepts. A Cours e in Miracles
readers can be deceived into thinking that studying the books will
bring healing, but healing is not an intellectual process, it is a
spiritual awaken ing. With this book, we’re given the practical tips
and tools that bring us to that awakening. This helpful book is amaster ’s guide to practicing A Course in Miracles and living the
teachings moment by moment for true liberation. ”
—Jennifer Hadley, spiritual writer, speaker, teacher,
minister, and counselor; founder of the Power of Love
Ministry
“This Moment Is Your Miracle is a heartwarming and heart-
opening read. It creates a sense  of shelter and safety, navigating
you through practical exercises that show you God within and all
around you. You are invited to trust love. You are shown how to
heal obstacles such as fear and guilt. This book prepares you to
surrender to love. There are clear explanations of how life has
distracted your attention, taking  you from the flow of love. This
book is an invitation to recognize your oneness with God and
with the Holy Spirit. It offers intimacy with pure love, for those
who have the heart for it. ”
—Jac O’Keeffe, spiritual teacher, author, and cofounder of
the Association of Professional Spiritual T eachers (APST)Publisher ’s Note
This publication is designed to pr ovide accurate and authoritative information in r egard to the
subject matter cover ed. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in
rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other pr ofessional services. If expert assistance or
counseling is needed, the services of a competent pr ofessional should be sought. Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books
Copyright © 2019 by David Hof fmeister
Reveal Press
An imprint of New Harbinger Publications, Inc. 5674 Shattuck A venue
Oakland, CA 94609
www. newharbinger. com
All quotes from A  Course in Miracles, copyright © 2007 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, P. O. Box 598, Mill V alley, CA 94942-0589, www. acim. or g and info@acim. or g, are used with
permission. I extend my gratitude to the Foundation for Inner Peace for their devotion. Cover design by Amy Shoup
Acquired by R yan Buresh
Edited by Gretel Hakanson
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on fileThis book is dedicated to the group of people I have lived  with for years
who have dedicated their lives to experiencing the truth within: Living
Miracles W orldwide Spiritual Community. I am honored by your
dedication and devotion and touched by your kindness and generosity. There are no words to adequately express my gratitude. Love is completely transpar ent; it’ s an open
book. Contents
Foreword
Introduction: The Ever -Present Miracle of Now
Part I: The Miracle of Moving Thr ough Separation
Chapter 1. Judgment and Knowledge
Chapter 2. Perception
Chapter 3. Fear
Chapter 4. Guilt
Chapter 5. Private Thoughts
Part II: Miracles W ithin
Chapter 6. Finding T rue Guidance
Chapter 7. T rust
Chapter 8. Acceptance
Chapter 9. Peace of Mind
Part III: Miracles in Relationships
Chapter 10. T ransforming Special Relationships
Chapter 1 1. From People Pleasing to T rue Empathy
Chapter 12. Communication
Chapter 13. Collaboration
Chapter 14. Holy RelationshipPart IV : Being the Miracle
Chapter 15. Healing
Chapter 16. For giveness
Chapter 17. Extending from W ithin
Conclusion: Living in Freedom
Gratitude and Acknowledgments
Resources
NotesForeword
It is easy to talk about spiritual ideas, harder to live them. When a
spiritual teacher  comes along who actually walks the talk, all who look
upon that person  are blessed with a rare opportunity to learn, heal, and
grow. David Hof fmeister is such a one. When I discovered David through his Y ouTube videos, I was deeply
impressed by his clarity, authenticity, sense of purpose, and ease. He is
authoritative and consistent. David has devoted his life to proving and
teaching the principles of A Course in Miracles. I have been with the
Course about as long as David has. Still, I encounter fear, resistance, and
ego. David has been a huge inspiration and accelerator to my
advancement in the Course, through his impeccable understanding and,
most important, his model. If you sincerely intend to master A Course in
Miracles or any related spiritual path, David is a guide of the highest
caliber. A Course in Miracles  is a delight to the spirit, but a huge
confrontation to the ego. It pulls the rug out from under the ego’s tricks
and exposes it for the nothingness it is. For that reason, all students of
the Course experience resistance to the program. Many students quit
doing the lessons, and others complain, “I don’t understand the text. ”
Yet, the very same students admit, “I know the Course contains truths
that can change my life. I just wish it were easier to apply. ”
The book you are holding can help you do exactly that. Here is a
brilliant map of the journey from fear to love. David takes the essential
principles of the Course and breaks them down into easy-to-grasp ideas,
exercises, and steps to help you make the truths work in your life. David
can take you where you want to go because he has walked the path you
and I now walk. He knows where the open road is and where lurk the
pitfalls that may waylay us. Read, learn, open, awaken, and transform. In one of David’ s teachings, he mentions that Mahatma Gandhi
retained his peace of mind even while he was in prison. The reveredleader did some  of his best writing there. The lesson David extracts is
that it is not what our body is doing that makes us happy or miserable,
but where our mind is. Hearing that, I remembered a prisoner I used to
visit. While Ray was in college, he flew into a fit of rage and beat his
girlfriend. A few days later, she died. Ray was conv icted of
manslaughter and sentenced to many years in jail. I met Ray during his
ninth year of incarceration, when he came up for parole for the third
time. “My girlfriend’ s parents are wealthy and politically influential
people,” he told me. “Every year when I come up for parole, they wage
an intensive campaign to ‘keep this vicious killer off the streets. ’ So far,
they have been successful, and I have been denied parole. ”
I didn’t see a vicious killer before me. To the contrary, the Ray I
knew was a gentle, kind man, penitent for his tragic mistake. He was a
model prisoner, given the highest privileges and appointed manager of
the prison laundry. He was a devoted student of A Course in Miracles. He was peaceful, his heart was open, and he displayed an exemplary
disposition. Ray’ s attitude and that of his girlfriend’ s parents were a great
teaching for me. His body was in prison, but his spirit was soaring. That
couple had all the material amen ities and physical freedom anyone could
desire, but their hearts were consumed with hatred and revenge. Who
was really in prison. After walking the spiritual path for many years, I have observed
two kinds of seminars: One kind teaches us how to get stuff. The other
kind teaches us how to get free. David’ s teachings are among the best of
the latter. When I met David, I told him that I watch his YouTube videos and
read his books before I go to sleep each night. Immersing myself in his
ideas and consci ousness is a soothing, healing way to undo the tangles of
the day and segue into a peace ful night’ s sleep. David’ s teachings can
achieve the same for you, day or night. I count this man as one of the
great blessings in my life. When climbing  a mountain in India, Sherpas (guides) help you
ascend. One Sherpa takes you to a certain altitude, and then anotherSherpa guides you to the next level. So it is with life. We are graced to
have guides show us the way when we feel lost or confuse d. David
Hoffmeister is a Sherpa of immaculate purpose. Trust him. He can show
you the way to the mountaintop. —Alan CohenIntroduction
The Ever-Present Miracle of Now
All we need to do is go within to find the answer of love. There is an answer that is so deep that it can bring truth and healing
to everyone and to this whole world. We have been searching for it
everywhere, except in the only place we could truly find it: within. This moment extends all the way to eternity. It is the now that
extends peacefully and is forever and ever. It is infinite happiness,
without end, without limit. It is untouched by fear, guilt, or suffering of
any kind. It is untouched by anything but love. There is so much
appreciation when experiencing something for the first time. There is no
comparison. For in the ever-unfolding now, we are always brand new. We can just bask in it, fully mer ge with it. There are no past references to
it, for it doesn’ t fit on the timeline. It’s just a happy sense of soaring way
beyond time and space, like an ongoing meditation. This ever-present miracle of now is our doorway within. It is our
doorway Home. It is an experience of something ever-new. It’s a happy
feeling, one that makes you want to sing to the world. It’s very beautiful
and very simple too. It’s having the allowance to merge when you are
watching a flower, a butterfly, or a bird singing in the tree; it’s a
contentment like, “Ah yes, thank you; let me be whole. ” This is what
Saint Francis was talking about: just communing. The allowance that
everything is perfect. W e can really allow ourselves to smell the roses. It is through the doorway of the present moment that we are truly
able to hear the deep messages of love coming from within. They are
boundless and eternal, for the voice of the inner guide is always speaking
to us of our true identity and of our oneness with everyone and
everything. But in order to hear it, we need to walk through the doorway
and invite this deeply loving guide into our minds and lives. I first knew about this present moment, where boundless joy
resides, early on. The true drive of my heart, even as a young boy, was to
feel joy and extend love. I remember playing all summer. I loved the
neighborhood creek, which was full of frogs and crawdads. I would just
play, play, play—play my heart out all day. I was truly in the moment,
naturally. Then, as I got older and the world’ s rules and expectations set in, I
bought the bait. I started thinking that I had to learn my way through this
world. However, the more intricate the education and learning, the more
confused and lost I became. I didn’t like the idea of “improving” and the
sound of “makin g a living. ” It sounded like pressure, like living to just
survive. That was not inspiring. It felt like the world was set up with an
ever-increasing number of complications. There came a time when I
began to question all this; I questioned how it was all set up. I started seeking the answer when I got into graduate schoo l. I
began to question everything that I believed and everything I had learned
in my ten years of university. Even though I got a couple of degrees, I
soon realized that there was no point in learning more stuff and
developing more special skills. I wanted the answer to something deeper. This was definitely not popular with people in my life. They said, “No,
no, not good, you have no direction; you are going to amount to
nothing. ” They would say things like, “Y ou are crazy, get a life. ”
So, I would say, “Okay, let’s talk about that. Get a life: Can you be
a little more specific. I actually believe I am going for life. So, would
you tell me what you mean by get a life. ”
They said, “Well, get a life: a girlfriend, a partner. something. Then
get a house, get a mortgage, get in debt like the rest of us. ”
“That is what you mean by get a life. And then what. ”
And they said, “And then you grow old, and your hair goes gray. ”
“And then what. ”
“And then you get sick.
Corinne Zupko
Who has written a foreword for David Hoffmeister's book, "This Moment Is Your Miracle"?
To help readers learn how to forgive and heal, and to experience the miracle of forgiveness.
What is the main focus of the book "This Moment Is Your Miracle"?
The book is about the importance of forgiveness and the need to let go of fear and guilt.
What is the main message of the book "This Moment Is Your Miracle"?
The author's intention is to provide a practical guide to help readers experience the miracle of forgiveness and healing.
What is the author's intention with the book?
The book explores the idea that we are not separate from God and that we can experience the miracle of forgiveness and healing.
What is the main theme of the book?