By admin 
It’s a curious thing to be a student of A Course in Miracles. One day you’re floating in the awareness that nothing real can be threatened, and the next day you’re sneezing, limping, or staring at a suspicious bump on your nose thinking, But this isn’t real… right?
And then comes the dilemma:
Should I heal the illusion?
Or should I just “forgive” it until it politely goes away?
Some Course students become heroic martyrs of metaphysics,
“I won’t take medicine, that’s for the body!”
Others panic the moment they catch a bit of flu.
Both, of course, are still believing the body has the power to do anything on its own.
The Course never says we should ignore pain.
It says: “The body is merely a mechanism for learning, until learning is complete.”
Which means it’s not the enemy…it’s a classroom.
When the chalk squeaks, you don’t blame the chalkboard; you just keep learning.
One teacher once said, “If in a next incarnation you want to be a veterinarian…you’ll have to dream of sick animals first.
Because how else could Love learn to heal within the illusion, except by meeting what seems to need healing?
Now and then, someone insists that a “true” spiritual student shouldn’t bother with the body.
But that’s like saying a surgeon shouldn’t hold a scalpel, or a beautician shouldn’t touch the skin, because both involve the body, and the body isn’t real.
Try telling that to someone halfway through a haircut or a heart operation!
Even the Master Teacher once had his cataracts removed, and I’m quite sure he didn’t think light had failed him.
The real question isn’t whether we take care of the body, but WHY.
Do we do it out of fear : “I might die, I must fix this!”
or out of kindness, remembering that a peaceful mind deserves a comfortable vehicle while it’s still dreaming?
The Course says: “The mind makes this decision, as it makes all decisions.”
So if the mind decides to use aspirin, surgery, massage, or even a yoga class as a classroom in forgiveness…that’s perfectly fine.
Just don’t give the aspirin, the doctor, or the exercise mat the power to heal.
It’s not the pill, the hand, or the pose…it’s the peace behind it.
In truth, the only Healer is the mind that remembers its Wholeness.
Everything else is props in the dream, some are soft pillows, others are alarm clocks.
Use them gently. Smile when you use them.
Let’s stop making spirituality a punishment and healing a sin.
If your body hurts, take care of it with love and while you do, whisper inwardly,
“This isn’t who I am, but I choose to be kind to the puppet while the Puppeteer wakes up.”
After all, if we truly believed fixing the body was wrong, we should also stop cutting our hair, brushing our teeth, or putting on clothes.
(Though I doubt Heaven would mind, your neighbors might.)
So yes, take care of yourself.
Go to the doctor if needed.
Do your stretches, your surgery, your skincare, if that brings peace.
And when the body finally stops sneezing, smile and say,
“Ah… a forgiven illusion.”
Take care of the shadow kindly,
but remember it’s not you.
Heal with laughter, love, and mercy,
and watch the Light shine through.
With love and light,
G.