But for the six people gathered in a green-walled classroom on Wednesday evening, the miracles course was less of a demand to see miracles performed in their lives than a chance to learn how to achieve true inner peace — the real miracle, according to all of the attendees.
“Change your way of thinking,” said attendee David Lawler. “That is the miracle.”
The class — held the second and fourth Wednesday of each month — aims to challenge learners to look within and identify things that cause them inner turmoil.
The text, “A Course in Miracles,” by Helen Schucman, helps the class attendees sharpen their focus.
This week, the members read about how their egos can coerce them into acting selfishly.
Lawler said he had a chance to work on his own.
“I cannot stand paint on door hinges,” Lawler said. “I’m known to be anal-retentive. I was painting with my son and he works in broad strokes.”
Eventually, Lawler said he was able to let go of his irritation with paint on the hinges.
He credited his progress to the provocations of the text.
Other people echoed Lawler’s experience.
Martha Fitzgerald said she had recently been frustrated with her husband while at Menards.
She said her husband wanted to do a home project himself, but she wanted to call someone else to fix it for them.
As they searched for the right nuts, bolts and nails for the project, Fitzgerald grew irritable.
But then she thought about what she was studying in the miracles course.
“True love allows someone else to be happy,” Fitzgerald said.
She said she let go of her irritation — gave it up, almost.
“I was standing in the middle of Menards and I just got this peace,” Fitzgerald recounted. “I’ve only experienced that a few times in my life. When we left, I wasn’t worried about people pulling out in front of us or anything like I normally am.”
Wednesday’s class was a mix of testimonials and text study.
The members explained that their book used Christian terminology — Son of God, Holy Spirit — but wasn’t necessarily Christian in nature.
“We’re all the Son of God,” Fitzgerald said. “Son is a collective term for all of us.”
Dee Larche clarified further.
“A lot of different paths will lead you to these same conclusions, whether you study the Bible, or the Qu’ran,” Larche said.
The members said the book told them universal theology was impossible, so the terms in it were made to be accessible to anyone.
They discussed the fruitlessness of worry, the pleasures of peace and referred to the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives.
Larche said her efforts to learn peace and love are on-going.
“The human condition is repetition,” Larche said. “When the Holy Spirit teaches you, he might teach you over and over.”
