“Atonement heals with certainty, and cures all sickness. For the mind which understands that sickness can be nothing but a dream is not deceived by forms the dream may take. Sickness where guilt is absent cannot come, for it is but another form of guilt. Atonement does not heal the sick, for that is not a cure. It takes away the guilt that makes the sickness possible. And that is cure indeed…” ACIM, Workbook page 270, Lesson 140.

The Course tells us that all sickness comes from the mind that believes in separation from God. Sickness of the physical body is just another aspect of the illusion – it is just a dream of sickness, which is caused by the original guilt we felt at the time of the separation when the mind split into two. When we awaken from the dream we will be cured. That is why this lesson states, “Atonement heals with certainty, and cures all sickness…. ”

The Truth is all we need to heal our minds. “….The mind that brings illusions to the truth is really changed. There is no change but this…. ” W271. Turning to the Holy Spirit and asking Him to heal our minds is the way to become whole, i.e., to heal our split minds. “By healing you learn of wholeness, and by learning of wholeness you learn to remember God. ” T118.

Healing is equated with happiness in ACIM and with the union of two minds. “Healing is a thought by which two minds perceive their oneness and become glad. This gladness calls to every part of the Sonship to rejoice with them, and lets God go out into them and through them. Only the healed mind can experience revelation with lasting effect, because revelation is an experience of pure joy…. ” T73.

Section IV in Chapter 7 is entitled Healing as the Recognition of Truth. In this section it is explained that healing does not come directly from God, because in His eyes we are already perfectly healed and holy. It comes instead from the Holy Spirit, Who is the Voice for God. “The ego always seeks to divide and separate. The Holy Spirit always seeks to unify and heal. As you heal you are healed, because the Holy Spirit sees no order of difficulty in healing. Healing is the way to undo the belief in differences, being the only way of perceiving the Sonship as one… ” T118. This last phrase shows how non-duality is such an important part of the teachings of ACIM.

When we really appreciate the fact that we are united with each other and with God, we will be healed. This will undo the original error of the separation and return us to our original state. In fact, the concept of non-duality, which we come across so frequently in the Course, is a belief that is widespread in the Far East. The Indian sages who preach non-duality believe there is only one Creator and nothing else has any reality. Thus, they see humanity as being part of this one creator. Similarly in ACIM, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven, because that is where the laws of God operate truly, and they can operate only truly because they are the laws of truth. But seek this only, because you can find nothing else. There is nothing else. God is All in all in a very literal sense. All being is in Him Who is all Being. You are therefore in Him since your being is His. Healing is a way of forgetting the sense of danger the ego has induced in you, by not recognising its existence in your brother. This strengthens the Holy Spirit in both of you, because it is a refusal to acknowledge fear. Love needs only this invitation. ” T119.

Jesus refers to our healing methods as “magic”, which he says will have no lasting effect because they don’t awaken us from the dream. Speaking of a patient who has recovered from a sickness, he says, “He is not healed. He merely had a dream that he was sick, and in the dream he found a magic formula to make him well. Yet he has not awakened from the dream, and so his mind remains exactly as it was before. He has not seen the light that would awaken him and end the dream…. ” W270.

This passage is particularly interesting because so many of us are trying to heal ourselves these days. We may seek the help of orthodox medical practitioners or alternative healing practitioners. We may eat a very healthy diet with all the necessary super foods and vitamin and mineral supplements. We may exercise regularly, quit smoking, cut back on alcohol and get enough fresh air and sleep. But if we don’t awaken from the dream of life in the illusory world of the ego, we will never become fully healed and whole, because we haven’t found the source of healing, which is in our minds. To be healed and whole we must become aware of our true Identity; aware that we never really left heaven in the first place. It is all an illusion!

This does not mean that we shouldn’t try to use “magic” methods of healing, but it means that we also need to use our minds to lead us to the truth; and we also need to call upon the Holy Spirit or our guru or guide and ask for direction and for the way of remembering our unity with God. And, perhaps above all, we need to be forgiving to each other. This is the way ACIM teaches us to remember God. We forgive others because we know they are part of us and are part of God. In forgiving others in this manner we are saying goodbye to the ego and awakening from its dreams of separation.

We really only have two options. “….One either sleeps or awakens. There is nothing in between. ” W270. If we sleep we will continue to believe that our illusory world is real; and we will never be healed. If we awaken, i.e., remember we are united with God, then we automatically become whole. “Only salvation can be said to cure.”