One of the most empowering teachings in A Course in Miracles is also among the most liberating: You can choose again. No matter what has happened. No matter what you’ve said or thought or done. No matter how far off course you feel. At any moment, you can pause, take a breath, and say to Spirit, “I choose again.”
This simple idea is at the heart of all transformation. Because the ego tells us the past is fixed—and therefore so are we. It says, You’ve already messed it up. You’ve already said the wrong thing, believed the wrong thought, made the wrong move. Now you’re stuck. And the guilt that follows locks us into repeating patterns. We spiral, we dwell, we punish ourselves, believing there is no way out but to suffer.
But the Course offers a different message: you are never stuck.
The Holy Spirit does not dwell on the past. He lives only in the present. And in this very moment, you can change your mind. That’s all it takes. The Course says,
“The power of decision is your own.”
That means healing is not about fixing the past. It’s about choosing again now. Choosing a better thought. A more loving response. A gentler path. A wiser way of seeing.
Sometimes the most courageous spiritual act is simply stopping mid-thought and saying, “Wait. That’s not the direction I want to go. Spirit, help me choose again.”
I’ve used this phrase more times than I can count. In arguments. In grief. In anxiety. In judgment. In moments when my mind was racing toward fear or attack, and I could feel myself slipping into an old pattern. Sometimes, the choice came quickly. Other times, I had to sit in silence and breathe through my resistance. But the shift always came—because the willingness was there.
One of the greatest lies the ego tells is that we have no choice. That we are at the mercy of circumstances, emotions, or conditioning. But that’s never true. The mind is always choosing—even when it’s choosing unconsciously. And every moment offers us another chance to choose differently.
The Course reminds us that:
“I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts.”
But giving them up doesn’t mean we push them away or shame ourselves for having them. It means we acknowledge them without judgment and offer them to Spirit.
You can say:
“I feel angry, but I don’t want to stay in anger. I choose peace.”
“I feel afraid, but I know that fear is not the truth. I choose love.”
“I feel unworthy, but I remember that I am still as God created me. I choose again.”
This kind of inner honesty creates space for a miracle.
Choosing again is not about denial. It’s about redirection. The Holy Spirit doesn’t ask you to pretend everything is fine. He asks you to bring your thoughts to Him so He can help you see them differently.
You don’t need to do the work of healing alone. You just need to become willing.
The ego often wants us to double down when we’re in error—to defend the thought, justify the reaction, explain the behavior. It fears vulnerability and sees changing your mind as weakness. But true strength lies in the ability to stop mid-step, admit the mistake, and begin again.
You are not the sum of your past reactions. You are not doomed to repeat the same patterns forever. Every breath is a new beginning. Every moment is an open door.
When you say, “I choose again,” you are not just changing a thought—you are realigning with your Source. You are stepping out of the illusion of separation and back into union. You are returning to the Self that has never left you, the light that has never gone out.
This shift doesn’t require dramatic transformation. It can be incredibly simple.
Instead of lashing out, you choose to pause.
Instead of blaming, you choose to bless.
Instead of judging yourself, you choose compassion.
Instead of fear, you choose love.
And every time you do, the world you see begins to change—not because the world changed, but because you did.
The Course teaches:
“The world you see is but a judgment on yourself.”
So when you change your judgment, the world becomes gentler, kinder, more peaceful—not because everyone else has changed, but because your lens has.
One of the most beautiful things about this teaching is that it gives you your power back. You are not a victim of the world. You are not a prisoner of your past. You are not bound by any identity you’ve outgrown.
You are a chooser. And that choice is always available.
So what does it look like in daily life to live this way?
- When you make a mistake, don’t spiral. Say, “I choose again.”
- When you feel overwhelmed, pause and ask for help. Then say, “I choose peace.”
- When you fall into an old fear pattern, catch it with compassion. Whisper, “I choose love instead.”
- When you judge another person, offer a silent blessing: “I choose to see them through the eyes of Christ.”
These small shifts accumulate. They become your new default. They train your mind to look for light instead of darkness. And eventually, choosing again doesn’t feel like work—it feels like coming home.
You are not expected to be perfect. You are only invited to be willing.
Willing to see. Willing to shift. Willing to try again.
And again.
And again.
Because love never runs out of chances.
And neither do you.
