Miracle-Minded Government? Really?
In the 1970s, Helen Schucman, a Jewish, atheist, professor of Medical Psychology at Columbia University, began hearing a “voice.” At first, it frightened her, and she was resistant. Then with the encouragement and support of a colleague, William Thetford, she let down her defenses and started listening. The voice said, “This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary.”
Seven years later, A Course in Miracles was published. It consists of a text, a workbook for students with 365 lessons, and a teacher’s manual. Today, the Course has helped millions of people find inner peace and improve their lives by adopting a new thought-system – a thought-system of love rather than fear. It is also believed by many to be a direct channeling of Jesus.
One of the candidates for President of the United States in 2020, Marianne Williamson, is well-versed in A Course in Miracles (ACIM). She has written books about it and lectured on it for many years. The question many ask now is, how might ACIM apply in government – a system currently ruled by fear and divisiveness and finger-pointing and defensiveness. Is it possible to lead from a foundation of love rather than ego?
I believe so. As a management consultant, teacher of ACIM, and transformational leader, I have witnessed countless “miracles” in the business world – shifts in perception and behavior that lead to astonishing results. Today, these occurrences are sometimes referred to as paradigm shifts, innovations, or synchronicities – outcomes that seem to come out of nowhere at just the right time. Seldom do people refer to them as miracles. That’s something people talk about in church or synagogue or temple.
Yet while people may privately believe in miracles on Sunday, they find it difficult to recognize them in their own lives. Stress has taken over and countless people live with fear, anxiety, and quiet desperation. The time is now for “miracle-minded management,” a shift in thinking from fear to love, in business and in government. How long can we go on fighting with people on our own team? How long can we survive with an us-them mentality and an attack and defend approach? Our current management system, or paradigm, in business and in government is driven by the ego thought system. This means it is fear-based and dualistic. It doesn’t understand true inspiration and love. The ego sees everything and everyone as separate, unique, special and independent. It worships heroes and idols, including itself. It compares one thing to another, judging right and wrong, good and bad, us and them. It feeds on criticism, judgment and condemnation. It competes with “the other side” and promises to protect us from attack by using attack on “the enemy.”
Step back and think about this. The ego thought system is the root cause of all shame, guilt, grief, fear, lust, anger and pride. Whenever we are worried or stressed, you can bet it is the ego behind it all. These negative projections of the mind are simply a reflection of a fear-based mindset. The problem is we have become so accustomed to this habitual way of thinking as human beings, calling it human nature, we have lost sight of an alternative - miracle minded management.
ACIM teaches us to shift our basis from fear to love. This leads to miracles, where we see the world in an entirely new way, a peaceful way, with beautiful harmony and contrast. People who used to annoy us are now seen with empathy and compassion, as teachers of patience. Negative outcomes are viewed as blessings in disguise. Drama no longer attracts our attention. Inner peace leads to outer peace and we no longer feel afraid or stressed. We feel positive, eager, enthusiastic and inspired.
I do believe that with miracle-minded leadership we can pull together as one powerful global force by aligning with the one powerful force that already exists. Rather than resist it, deny it, challenge it or doubt it, we can join it with a common mission, a mission of authentic peace, despite our human differences. ACIM teaches us that we are not separate. We are all connected, energetically and spiritually. We are not unique and special because we are all unique and special, making no one more special than anyone else. We are all children of God – and beyond our human personas we are eternal spirits, extending from one common source.
ACIM has indeed changed my life and empowered me in ways beyond my imagination. I was getting in my own way and I didn’t even realize it. In retrospect, I was going through life with the breaks on, trying desperately to find my own way. Then I learned to “let go and let flow.” As counterintuitive and weak as this may seem, I surrendered the ego to a far more intelligent thought system, and this has made a massive difference. Can this work in government? That depends. No leader can do this for you and no leader can do it alone. The best any world leader can do is lead by example and demonstrate what sacred love, genuine peace and authentic power look like. Consider this. World peace cannot be accomplished if you are not at peace. Peace is not an external affair. It is an internal state of mind. No wonder ACIM is a required course. Sooner or later, we will all return to where we came from.
John J. Murphy is a global business consultant, speaker, spiritual mystic, "zentrepreneur,” and award-winning author. He is Founder (1988) and CEO of Venture Management Consultants, Inc., a firm specializing in creating lean, high performance work environments.
As a business consultant, Murphy has delivered services to some of the world’s leading organizations, including ADP, AlliedSignal (Honeywell), BMW, Chase, the CIA, GE, GM, GSK, Hilton, Lockheed Martin, Merck, the Michigan State Senate, Perrigo, Prudential, Raytheon, Spectrum Health, Target Stores, Teva, and the US Navy. As an educator and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Murphy has trained thousands of people from over 50 countries, including Fortune 500 executives, project leaders, military leaders, managers, and black belts. He has mentored dozens of project teams in Organizational Development, Operational Excellence, Business Process Innovation and Lean Six Sigma applications. As a speaker, Murphy has delivered keynotes and seminars worldwide. A critically-acclaimed authority on peak performance, transformational leadership and healthy mind-body-spirit, Murphy is a best-selling author who has published 19 books and appeared on over 400 radio and television stations and his work has been featured in over 50 newspapers nationwide.
Murphy is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (BBA Finance) and the University of Michigan’s Human Resource Executive Program. He is also a former quarterback for Notre Dame.
Connect with John J. Murphy on Facebook @Author.John.J.Murphy, Twitter @sageleader, LinkedIn @johnjmurphymystic, YouTube @AuthorJohnJMurphy, Instagram @jjmurphy13 and visit www.johnjmurphy.org.
Miracle-Minded Manager: A Modern Day Parable about How to Apply A Course in Miracles in Business releases on October 22, 2019 in paperback and e-Book.
