There are moments when what you’ve studied becomes real—not in theory, but in experience. For me, one of those moments came quite unexpectedly… backstage, in costume, waiting for a cue line in a tap number from Cole Porter’s Anything Goes.
We were seconds away from making our entrance when I was hit with a sudden wave of severe chest pain radiating down my left arm. I was stunned. Every textbook warning sign was flashing: classic symptoms of a heart attack. And I had less than a minute to decide what to do.
But something else flashed into my mind—A Course in Miracles. I was early in my journey with the Course at the time, but I had already been working with the Workbook for Students, and the first two lessons had become deeply familiar:
Lesson 1: “Nothing I see means anything.”
Lesson 2: “I have given everything I see all the meaning that it has for me.”
Standing there in fear, something shifted. I remembered those words. Not as theory. Not as poetic spirituality. But as a tool—an invitation to choose again. I realized that I had given meaning to these symptoms. I had decided, unconsciously and instantly, what they meant: danger, illness, perhaps even death.
But what if that wasn’t true?
With everything in me, I reached for that tiny willingness the Course speaks of. I accepted the idea that I had given these symptoms all the meaning they had for me. I acknowledged that I didn’t know what they meant at all. And then—I released my mind from the meaning I had assigned. I let it go.
What happened next can only be described as miraculous.
The pain vanished. Completely. Instantly. And I went onstage for the dance number without missing a single beat.
No ER visit. No drama. Just movement, music, and joy.
And yes—I was still very much alive.
The Healing Power of One Lesson Fully Understood
Much later, I would come across another line in the Workbook that gave language to what I had experienced:
“One lesson, fully learned, is enough to teach you that all pain is illusion, and in that single lesson is all healing found.”
(W-193.13:3)
This is not metaphor. Not spiritual fluff. This is the Course at its most radical and most real: you are never upset for the reason you think, and the meaning you’ve given to anything can be withdrawn.
Even symptoms that look and feel life-threatening.
Even stories written into the body.
Even fear itself.
The healing wasn’t in the body. The healing was in the mind. The body simply reflected that shift, because it always follows the mind.
Faith Is Not Blind—It’s Verified by Experience
There are many who study the Course, even for years, without living what it teaches. I know—I’ve been there, too. But eventually, the words call you into practice. The Workbook isn’t meant to be admired—it’s meant to be applied.
You may not always see such immediate results. I haven’t always. But when they come, they confirm something sacred:
“Only experience will convince you of the truth, and faith will come as you learn the results of it.”
(T-9.VII.5:3)
So here is my encouragement to you:
When fear strikes—pause.
When pain appears—question it.
When judgment arises—gently lay it down.
And when the ego shouts in panic, whisper the truth from your spirit:
“I do not know what this means.”
“I gave it the meaning it has for me.”
“And I can choose again.”
That is not denial. That is not recklessness. That is the beginning of a healed perception.
Let the Workbook Work in You
The Workbook is not a magic formula. It is a retraining of yor mind. But if you live the lessons—even just one—you will see results. Perhaps not always in disappearing pain or sudden stillness. But always in peace. Always in lightness. Always in love.
“A universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary.”
(C-In.2:5)
That moment backstage gave me more than physical relief. It gave me trust. Trust in something greater than appearances. Trust in the Holy Spirit’s voice. Trust in the promise that truth is always true—and illusions, no matter how convincing, are not.
And that trust has carried me ever since.