Alpha Fish Moves in A Course In Miracles

For Taco Bout Books Tuesdays this week, I want to share a quote from a book I’ve been reading called A Course In Miracles. 

I’ve got a bunch of thoughts about the origin story behind A Course In Miracles.  It’s said to be channeled.  Some might find that problematic.  Some might find that intriguing. I’ll dive headfirst into how I feel about channeling in a later blog post, but for now, I’ll say I’m open to the idea that maybe all creativity is channeled to some degree. 

I want to say A Course in Miracles is denser than an alligator cheesecake.  The only way I’m able to get through this book is slowly and one chapter at a time.  I have a book club buddy, Donny. We meet once a week and talk about what we’ve read.  

This week I want to taco bout a quote from the book that’s continued to move me since I read it: “To forgive is to overlook.”

Dayum. 

So at first, I was confused.  To overlook seems passive, as if it doesn’t require effort.  But the way A Course In Miracles explains the idea, to overlook means to literally look over the ego and see the light inside the person you need to forgive.  And that’s not passive at all. That takes active compassion.  

To overlook means to love above the error and see the god within a person. That takes courage.  To notice a person’s shine when all you initially saw was their error takes patience and compassion.

And that’s super chill.  Forgiveness isn’t always seen as a powerful act in our culture.  Forgiveness is often seen as a beta move only used by fish who can’t stop smiling.  But A Course in Miracles reframes forgiveness as a power move.  And that’s hella chill.