Love, the Body, and ACIM

In my years with A Course in Miracles, I’ve met countless students. Many of them were young, searching, and sometimes downright confused about one thing: What am I still allowed to feel, want, or do if I want to be “spiritual”?

I remember a retreat where a group of young people were almost afraid to fall in love. Not because they didn’t feel love, but because they had picked up somewhere that falling in love was automatically a special relationship.

“And special relationships,” they had learned, “are dangerous, because they keep you stuck in the ego.”

So they walked around like monk-in-training versions of themselves, carefully averting their eyes from every smile or curly lock. If someone wanted to say “I love you,” it felt like committing a spiritual crime: I love your body, I love your smile, I love your touch… oops.

And young women who wanted a child?

Some felt almost guilty. Because “You are not a body, you are free” had been translated in their minds as: bringing a new body into the world is wrong. As if Spirit would say: “No, no, no new babies please …we’re trying to forget about bodies.”

So where does it go wrong?

The Course never says you have to deny the body.

It simply says you must not mistake yourself for it.

You are not your body, but you can still use it as a communication device for love. And yes, that can be through words, hugs, a look, and even through sexuality.

I once heard a teacher call sexuality “glorious communication.” Why not? It’s a form in which love can be expressed.

But, as with any form, it’s about why you’re doing it. Are you trying to get something, or are you letting it be used to give and remember love?

Some experienced (master) teachers tell young students: Go out into the world. Live your ego. Make mistakes. Fall down. Get back up. And come back when you’re ready.

Not because “being spiritual” is an exclusive club you can only join after you’ve partied it out ….but because theory without lived experience often stays in the head.

You can’t expose the ego without first seeing it in action.

A story from life:

A young student once told me:

“I don’t want a relationship because I don’t want to get attached.”

But when he fell in love anyway, he discovered that the relationship confronted him with his fears, jealousy, and desire to control. Only then could he choose: do I let the ego drive, or do I let this relationship be a classroom for love?

That’s the point: the relationship is not the problem. The purpose you give it is.

And what about sexuality?

Reverend Kenneth Price’s article on homosexuality makes an important point: our orientation, desires, and intimacy are not obstacles to God…they’re material for Spirit to work with.

Whether you’re gay, straight, bi, asexual, or something else: in Truth, it doesn’t matter. The form is different, but the invitation is the same: bring every thought, feeling, and longing to the Light without judgment.

In short:

-Denying the body is not forgiveness…it’s denial of experience.

-Intimacy, in any form, can be a channel for love when given to Spirit.

-Special relationships are not forbidden territory…they’re training grounds for holy relationships.

-“You are not a body” means your identity lies beyond the body, but you can still use the body with joy.

So yes… say “I love you.”

Hug, dance, kiss and if you want to, have a baby.

Not because the body defines you, but because love is free to flow in whatever form fits you.

And who knows, maybe your smile, your touch, or your “I love you” is exactly the miracle someone needs today.

With love and Light,