The consistency of the spiritual mind: There is no order of difficulty in miracles
As a Course student I don't find this concept 'easy' or take it 'lightly' (though we shouldn't ever forget to laugh).
1. There is no order of difficulty in miracles.² One is not “harder” or “bigger” than another.³ They are all the same.⁴ All expressions of love are maximal. (ACIM, T-1.I.1:1-4)
Ken Wapnick reminds us that this is the very first principle (1). This principle is important to Jesus hence why he starts the Course with it and the whole Course can be explained within this principle. He says the equality of miracles is important because the only way a world of seeming differences isn't actually easier or harder, is if it's not real.
As a Course student who has knowledge of Muslim spiritual practices I like explaining how to see a practice within the Course's light. Ken says the importance of the first miracle principle, is it's teaching that nothing we see in this world of gradation in color and form and feeling, is real. Well Muslims actually have a life long practice of that.
The practice of Thikr, or the constant repetition of the phrase: There is no God But God requires that when we are living life, no matter what we are experiencing, God's name or the shahada are repeated on our heart. The name, the Shahada, doesn't change, ever. Even when we experience: a fall, a fight with a loved one, a fight with a total stranger, a life threatening disease, a child's tantrums demanding candy, any physical calamity, a sneeze or we are in the midst of bombs over our heads and war. We are always consistently reminding ourselves, our heart, with the truth of the Shahada. Only God exists and Only He is Real. This consistency of the spiritual practice of Thikr throughout all our life is for it to pay off when we take our final breath, and we remember the consistency of nothing, including our small selves we live within now, will last.
To the Course's thought system, we could use any one of the 365 lessons in the workbook for a day, a year, a life time. It's the same concept. Each and every one of them is equal --though, honestly I totally have my favorites so I'm just NOT there yet ;). What I find awesome in my own work is that Muslims actually repeat a phrase through out our lives reminding us that which we see and experience isn't real, and Coursers do the same.
Coursers start with the affirmation, There is no order of difficulty in miracles. The implications are the Shahada, God is real, everything else shall pass. So if there was a phrase to repeat (other then the 365 we got) what would it be? Well, luckily, the principle ends with this "casual" comment: All expressions of love are maximal. Based on that I would ask can we be consistently loving in every moment (Tornado in front of our eyes or a tooth ache)? Ask anyone I live around, I'm just not there yet, but I do ask the Holy Spirit to get me there. That's the best we can do. We cannot get there on our own. We ask for His Help. No need to pile on the guilt. Just admit we need help and that's why we are here to start.
