• DEI & ACIM: Introduction
• The Celestial Speedup
• Seeing My Own Bias
• DEI Education Seeks To Help Us See and Heal Our Biases
• ACIM Wants Us to Heal Our Biases Too
• The Lure of Feeling Good
• Metacognition
• Example 1: The Lens of Individualism
• Example 2: The Lens of Being Able-Bodied
• DEI Helps Us See the Lens We Are Using
• The Barrier of Shame and Guilt
• When We Don’t Address Our Shame and Guilt, We Project It
• Ancient Hatred
• Projection of Shame and Guilt on a Large Scale
• DEI is Not About Making People in White Bodies Feel Guilty
• Projection of Shame and Guilt on a Small Scale
• White Body Patterns that Inflict Harm on Bodies of Color
• DEI and ACIM
• Questions to Wrestle With
• Question 1
• Question 2
• Question 3
• What is Privilege?
• Question 4
• Question 5
• Acknowledgements and Resources

As a dedicated student of A Course in Miracles (ACIM), I’ve found that the path to true healing requires willingness to look at that which the ego would rather hide.

This post is an invitation to do some deep self-inquiry as a student of A Course in Miracles, especially around the topic of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion or DEI. If my discussion of DEI and ACIM arouses strong feelings of opposition in you, I hope you will consider that there is “another way” to see DEI and that you will consider the points I am raising in the spirit of undoing the ego. And if you support DEI programs, I hope this post is helpful and provides another opportunity for reflection. This post is mainly written for students of A Course in Miracles who, like me, are in a White body.*

Let’s lay a foundation.

As Course students, we know we’re dreaming of a world that is separate from God. The world is not real, and we have never left our Loving Source. We know that the body is not who we truly are and that what we dream does not change the Truth in any way, which is the essence of true forgiveness. We recognize that we are here to heal–to remove the blocks to the awareness of Love’s presence:

“Forget not that the healing of God’s Son is all the world is for. That is the only purpose the Holy Spirit sees in it, and thus the only one it has. Until you see the healing of the Son as all you wish to be accomplished by the world, by time and all appearances, you will not know the Father nor yourself.” (ACIM, T-24.VI.4:1-3)

I keep bringing my mind back to this quote, as each day I wake up to news that is really hard to hear.

“…the healing of God’s Son is all the world is for.”

Whether it’s a natural disaster or a senseless man-made one, things right now can feel overwhelming and unbearable. After all, we are in a “celestial speedup.” We are seeing the destructive effects of our ego thoughts at an ultra-rapid pace.

“I soon found I did not have much option in the matter [of scribing ACIM]. I was given a sort of mental “explanation,” though, in the form of a series of related thoughts that crossed my mind in rapid succession and made a reasonably coherent whole. According to this “information” the world situation was worsening to an alarming degree. People all over the world were being called on to help, and were making their individual contributions as part of an overall, prearranged plan. I had apparently agreed to take down A Course in Miracles as it would be given me. The Voice was fulfilling its part in the agreement, as I would fulfill mine. I would be using abilities I had developed very long ago, and which I was not really ready to use again. Because of the acute emergency, however, the usual slow, evolutionary process was being by-passed in what might be described as a “celestial speed-up.” I could sense the urgency that lay behind this “explanation,” whatever I might think about its content. The feeling was conveyed to me that time was running out.” [Emphasis added]

If you’re a student of A Course in Miracles, you’ve been asked to report for duty.

We not only need to express love, see with love, see beyond the form and forgive, but we also need to be willing to LOOK at the ego layers in our mind that do not want to be seen.

I believe that internalized and unexamined racism is a layer of the ego operating system that is keeping this entire dream of separation going.

Until racism is seen as both an ego layer in our minds and baked into the systems in which we live, it will keep operating and causing harm to people in Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies, thus keeping all of us bound to the ego.

You might immediately think “I’m not racist, I love everybody” or “DEI is about making White people feel guilty” (which it is not, I’ll come back to this). But I invite you again, to look at the subtle ways that unconscious bias can play out in our lives. It’s there. And I’ll start by using myself as an example.

Not too far from where I live is a large, rather fancy used car dealership that spans across a county road. The main dealership building and parking lot is on one side of the road, with an additional building and lot on the other side of the road. Employees often have to cross the county road on foot to get from one lot to the other.

When I first moved into the area, I was driving down this county road. Two men, dressed in the dealership attire of a nice shirt tucked into black dress pants, were crossing the road. One man was Black and the other man was Brown. When I saw these men, my immediate, knee-jerk thought was, “Is this a legitimate business?”

Where did that come from?! I caught the thought immediately. Rather than ignore the thought or brush it aside, I owned it. It was in my mind. I took responsibility for it and turned to the Holy Spirit. I knew instantly that such a thought was absurd.

But at that moment in time, I was beholden to my conditioning. I had this automatic thought because of internalized racism and unconscious bias. I’ve been conditioned no less than anyone else to see people of color and automatically assume they are not as qualified as a White person. Here, from “Corinne who is a nice person,” was a racist thought.

I know I’m not the only White spiritual student who has had automatic thoughts like this. It’s not because we’re bad people. It’s because we’ve been conditioned to think this way. Being spiritual does not mean you have healed the cultural conditioning in which you are raised. In fact, being spiritual means it is even more important that we look clearly at our conditioning and biases because of our commitment to healing, “purification” of the mind (ACIM, T-1.I.7:1), and releasing blocks to the awareness of truth.

As you can see in this diagram, the arc that spans across the top of the diagram represents the teachings that we tend to emphasize in A Course in Miracles. We hope that these higher-level truth teachings will help us land on true forgiveness: “There are no bodies!” “There are no victims!” “There is no world!” “God didn’t create racism and so it is not real!” “What I thought happened, didn’t!”

But with these ideas alone, we don’t land on true forgiveness (as shown in the diagram) and are instead led into a bypass. The full freedom of forgiveness remains elusive.

This is because A Course in Miracles also teaches, “Miracles are everyone’s right, but purification is necessary first” (ACIM, T-1.I.7:1). In other words, we need to “purify” our minds of the ego’s thoughts. We don’t do this by ourselves (we need the Holy Spirit) and we don’t have to do it perfectly, but we have to be WILLING TO LOOK at what we’ve made.

The quotes along the line at the bottom of the diagram represent doing the work of LOOKING at our fearful illusory thoughts (with the Holy Spirit). Turning towards the shadow thoughts in our mind helps the purification process unfold.

The quotes along the bottom are:

• “You have nothing to lose by looking open-eyed, for ugliness such as this belongs not in your holy mind.” (ACIM, T-15.VII.3:6)
• “And how else can one dispel illusions except by looking at them directly, without protecting them?” (ACIM, T-11.V.2:2)
• “…the teacher of God is willing to reconsider all his past decisions, if they are causing pain to anyone.” (ACIM, M-4.VIII.1:8)
• “Do not leave any spot of pain hidden from His light, and search your mind carefully for any thoughts you may fear to uncover.” (ACIM, T-13.III.7:5)

If we truly want to arrive at the freedom of forgiveness and the undoing of the ego, we have to LOOK at what we’ve made WITH the Holy Spirit. And that involves looking at and owning our subtle and not-so-subtle biases, looking at our resistance to look, looking at our shame and guilt, and looking at the ways that the systems of the world have been set up to favor certain bodies over other bodies. In the Western culture, White bodies are deemed superior to Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies.

Human beings have a pattern of skipping over discomfort to go straight to a healing or better feeling idea, and we Course students are no exception.

We want to feel good, and we want A Course in Miracles to help us feel good. But when we don’t pause to clearly look at the ego’s operating system (and then bring it to the Holy Spirit) the ego thought system of judgement will find a way to stay intact.

Slowing down and sitting with discomfort is an important part of looking WITH the Holy Spirit.

If you’re noticing an urge to skip what I’m sharing because it doesn’t feel comfortable, I encourage you to stay with me and invite the Holy Spirit to join in.

Let’s begin with exploring our thoughts and how we think based on the culture we are raised in.

Metacognition is the ability to think about our thinking. It is an ability that is unique to human beings on this planet.

In my experience as a Course student, I’ve found that not only do I benefit from watching my thoughts, but I deeply benefit from looking at HOW I think. In other words, what are my patterns of thought? How are my thoughts influenced by the environment in which I live, the culture in which I live, the experiences I’ve had, and the body that I am in?

One of the most powerful practices I’ve been working with is examining the lens through which I am looking as I perceive the illusory world outside of me. As Course students, we know there is an ego lens (wrong-mindedness) or the Holy Spirit’s lens (right-mindedness) through which we can see.

Yet, within the ego lens (which we are ALL subject to while we are in bodies), there are many different ways in which we perceive. It is quite possible for different people to interpret the same event differently and thus see very different worlds. After all, the Course teaches, “Perception is a mirror, not a fact” (ACIM, W-304.1:3). Additionally, the various ego lenses we use can be blind spots, which renders us unaware. Blind spots must be seen in order to be healed.

At the body identity level of form, there are many lenses through which we perceive the world. These lenses aren’t bad, they simply stem from our various identities in the world. The lenses we use may include the lenses of being male, female or non-binary, being raised in a particular religion or no religion, working in a particular profession, being from Western or Eastern cultures or from a certain country, being in a Black, Brown, Indigenous or White body, being part of the LGBTQ+ population or not, being in an able-body or disabled body, having experienced trauma or not, or living with chronic illness or pain, etc.

Our perception is influenced by our lenses, and problems can arise when we don’t see the lenses through which we operate, especially when these lenses result in intentionally or unintentionally maintaining some form of separation.

A very powerful question to ask oneself is, “Through what lens am I perceiving and how is this lens influencing how I perceive?”

And another incredibly powerful question is “Through what lens am I interpreting A Course in Miracles?”

Yes, the lenses we use determine how we interpret A Course in Miracles.

Here are two examples of interpreting A Course in Miracles through lenses we have learned from our culture and upbringing: A lens of individualism, and a lens of ableism.

The purpose of offering these examples is to see how our lenses can influence how we interpret ACIM (Example 1) and how our interpretation affects our behavior towards others (Example 2).

Individualism is part of Western culture. This means we tend to think of ourselves first (what is best for me and my family only, what I need, etc.). The emphasis tends to be on here and now, on “ME”, rather than a focus on “WE.” Individualism does not encourage consideration of how our decisions may impact others, the planet, or those who will be here “seven generations” from now, which is a “principle based on ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois)* philosophy.”

When we study A Course in Miracles through a lens of individualism, we focus on certain Course teachings that emphasize ME and ignore other teachings that focus on WE.

For instance, let’s examine the definition of a miracle often cited by Course students to demonstrate how we could read ACIM through the lens of individualism.

A common definition of a miracle shared by many Course students is that miracles are shifts in perception from fear to love. In other words, a miracle is something I do in MY mind only. Individualism is emphasized when we define a miracle this way. While this definition is true, it is only half the story.

Another definition of a miracle in A Course in Miracles, is that “miracles are expressions of love” (ACIM, T-1.I.35:1; See also ACIM, T-1.I.1:1-4; ACIM, T-1.I.3:1-3; ACIM, T-1.I.9:1-3; ACIM, T-4.IV.11:11).

This definition includes you and another person in the working of a miracle. While you can certainly express love through your mind only, this definition includes expressions of love that move from one person to another (an action of love from one person to another—a smile, expressing kindness, etc.).

Miracles are interpersonal expressions of love that demonstrate we are never healed alone, rather, when anyone is healed, we, as the Sonship are healed TOGETHER. Miracles are a WE healing, not a ME healing.

I like to share my experiences so that we all know we are in this together. Here is my personal journey from Me miracles to We miracles:

For years, I read A Course in Miracles with ONLY the “shift in perception” definition in my mind. I was firmly coming from an individualistic lens, and therefore I completely overlooked the “miracles are expressions of love” definition. This led me to feel quite confused about various sentences in the Course.

For instance, I remember trying to understand the sentence, “Miracles are natural. When they do not occur something has gone wrong” (ACIM, T-1.I.6:1-2).

I would read this and think, “Shifting my perception is natural, when I’m not shifting my perception, something has gone wrong.” This didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

But when I stepped out of an individualistic lens and embraced the interpersonal “miracle as expression of love” definition, bells and whistles went off in my mind. “Expressions of love are natural. When expressions of love do not occur something has gone wrong” (i.e. we are listening to the ego again). Now THAT makes sense!

As I continued reading the Course with this “miracles as expressions of love” definition in mind, I felt like I was getting the Course on a whole new level. The lens of individualism (the “ME” lens), is just one lens and is incomplete without the “WE” lens.

Here is another example of the way our culture and upbringing shape the way we interpret A Course in Miracles and how that, in turn, affects our behavior towards others:

The term “able-bodied” is “used to refer to someone who is healthy and has no illness, injury, or condition that makes it difficult to do the things that other people do” (dictionary.cambridge.org).

I have a friend who is a gifted healer, angel intuitive, and therapist. She embodies groundedness, joy, and love. She is a teacher of A Course in Miracles and is one of the most peaceful and loving people I know. She also was born with cerebral palsy.

One day, my friend was attending A Course in Miracles study group, and a fellow participant said to her, “You know you can heal your cerebral palsy if you change your mind through A Course in Miracles.”

This person also conveyed that having symptoms of cerebral palsy demonstrated a lack of trust in the Holy Spirit. In the words of my friend (shared with permission):

“Because I had a condition of the body, the assumption was being made by the person that the symptoms showing up in my body creating cerebral palsy, must be a sign of lack of trust. Therefore, as a Course student, I was not trusting.

I look at my own experience with cerebral palsy as something very different. I believe I chose to come here in this body, that happens to deal with cerebral palsy, to grow and progress spiritually and to practice loving myself as I am. This means not trying to change myself, but loving myself and being as authentically “me” as I possibly can. This is some of the wisdom I have gleaned from living my experience as long as I have.”

The person who said this to my friend was coming from a lens of ableism.

The definition of Ableism (according to AI) is “discrimination and prejudice against individuals with disabilities, often rooted in the belief that those without disabilities are superior. It can manifest in various ways, including assuming disabled people need to be “fixed,” prioritizing the needs of non-disabled people, and portraying disabled individuals as inferior.”

Through this study group participant’s lens, only bodies that function without conditions or walking aids could fit their definition of being a “healed” body. The lens this person held was very different from how my friend sees herself and her experience in the world.

If we’re not aware of the lenses we are using, we can re-enact harmful patterns. We must become aware of our lenses as a means to “not use my own past learning as the light to guide me now” (ACIM, T-14.XI.6:9). In the words of my friend:

“I am more convinced every day that we have collective healing to do around how we view the body and what it does or doesn’t do. While I certainly have an awareness Cerebral Palsy presents challenges and differences from other humans, I also am aware I’m a soul and have never felt like the real me is disabled. But it’s definitely an invitation for me and all who encounter me to question what we think we know.”

I have also encountered other people who have completely turned away from A Course in Miracles because of comments like the one mentioned above. We can do better.

DEI education seeks to help us recognize the culturally conditioned lenses through which we see each other.

If DEI were focused only on topics such as disability education I don‘t think we would be seeing a backlash in the form of banning and dismantling DEI programs. Because DEI programs seek to remedy the effects of racism through programs that support equity and inclusivity, those who have neither examined nor taken responsibility for their own biases, feel attacked, and seek to abolish DEI. Denial gets used as a way of “healing” feelings of fear and inadequacy. As ACIM says, the ego’s strategy for “healing” is always to “seek and do not find;” to look everywhere, except within, for the source of fear and judgement. These ego tenants guarantee that healing never occurs.

We must look at this.

We have to look at what discussions of race bring up in us (White bodies). I have noticed that when the topic of race comes up, defensiveness skyrockets. Anger is aroused. Discussions about race are dismissed as being “divisive.” Or anxiety is aroused, because one may have fears of saying or doing the wrong thing.

Shame and guilt shuts down conversations, destroys relationships, closes our minds, and are intractable barriers to healing. When unconscious guilt gets triggered, watch out. From a Course perspective, I believe the current backlash against DEI programs and all things “woke” is fueled by massive unconscious guilt.

If you’ve ever been called out for saying or doing something hurtful to a person in a Black, Brown or Indigenous body, how did it feel? You likely felt shame, guilt and defensiveness.

I have been called out too. Not too long ago, I used a phrase that I didn’t realize had racist origins (here are two helpful articles about common phrases that have racist connotations: See this article and also this article). The person of color I was in communication with pointed that out. With gratitude, I thanked them for taking the time (and the risk) to give me this feedback. I did not defend myself. I simply thanked this person for the feedback, said I would do better, and our conversation moved on.

While I truly felt grateful that this person felt comfortable enough to call me out and therefore help me, I also felt some shame and guilt creep in. While I felt the urge to explain myself in order to ensure that this person didn’t see me in a negative light, I didn’t act on this. I’ve done enough trauma work (and ACIM work) within myself to be able to sit with my uncomfortable feelings and not be defensive. The person wasn’t attacking me even if I felt put on the spot. They were simply giving me valuable, direct feedback and took a risk in doing so.

Instead of acting on any of my internal processes I simply sat with my discomfort. I waited until later and reached out to a friend in a White body who is also committed to undoing internalized racism and bias in all its forms. It was with her that I processed my feelings of guilt and shame so I could release them and step into a clean slate moving forward.

We know a lot about unconscious guilt as students of A Course in Miracles. According to the Course, guilt is what created the world we are seemingly in. The world was made to be a hiding place from God, to pretend we’re separate and unlike our Loving Source. The Course teaches that this whole world arose to try to convince us that we actually pulled off the separation from God, and we feel terrible guilt about that.

Guilt = I did something bad.

Shame = I am something bad.

While ACIM doesn’t talk directly about shame, in a podcast interview I conducted with the late Dr. Robert Rosenthal (known as “Dr. Bob”), former co-President of the Foundation for Inner Peace, he spoke about how shame research was not in the forefront in the psychology field at the time that Helen Schucman scribed the Course. Helen was instead steeped in Freudian psychology which had a heavy focus on guilt. As Dr. Bob said, “Shame wasn’t really differentiated yet as its own sister emotion [to guilt].”

So the Course doesn’t address shame, although it’s a feeling that often accompanies guilt. We feel like we ARE something bad for separating from God and this wound goes deep. Shame is also “an emotion that hides,” according to Dr. Bob, which means to heal, we need to see it to bring it to the Holy Spirit.

I’ve seen DEI and anti-racism educators get criticized for using “shame tactics” and blamed for this current political backlash due to eliciting shame. But it’s important to understand that there is a difference between actually being shamed (e.g. being told “You are a bad person” or “you are worthless”) versus a person’s shame getting triggered (which can happen simply from learning about the history of the USA or being given feedback).

I believe that making an educator wrong for HOW they deliver a message is a mistake and a judgement. Instead, it is far more helpful to look at what gets elicited IN OURSELVES when we notice discomfort arise or we hear someone highlighting our blind spots or educating about race and racism. Chances are, that person is not actually shaming you, but your shame is instead getting elicited. When we don’t turn towards our shame and guilt to see it clearly (WITH Spirit), the ego will project it.

On a deep level, A Course in Miracles teaches that our guilt about believing we separated from God is so intense that we have no choice but to project it outwards: “The severity of the guilt is so acute that it must be projected” (ACIM, T-5.V.3:11). The Course also teaches that “projection makes perception” (ACIM, T-21.in.1:1) so the projection of guilt literally makes and maintains the world we see.

On the level of form, you can see projection play out in many different ways. Staying with our example of getting called out for saying or doing something unknowingly racist, shame and/or guilt gets triggered. Rather than owning the shame and guilt and sitting with the discomfort, a common response is that we (those of us in White bodies or those in power), project the shame onto the person or groups of people who triggered the shame. The person of color who triggered the shame gets labeled as the “aggressor” and the one who is attacking.

Labeling a person of color as “angry” or “aggressive” is a common racist pattern. On an individual level, it is a microaggression (to understand microaggressions, check out this video likening them to mosquito bites). On a systems level (and also at times on an individual level), it is deadly. Statistically, Black people are more likely to be killed by the police (read more here and here) and have higher negative health outcomes than White people (read more here and here).

The backlash against DEI and the behavior of people in White bodies towards people in Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies can also simply have its roots in hate. A Course in Miracles teaches that we carry an ancient hatred in our minds, which hides our equality and fuels our specialness.

In THE LOVE LENS, we filmed an episode looking at ancient hate and created this diagram using nesting dolls to demonstrate the layers of fear that cover our true equality:

A Course in Miracles teaches us that the Truth of who we are is equal. But we’ve covered that equality with an ancient hate in our efforts to seek specialness. And specialness shows up through caste and racism.

I highly recommend reading the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, who brilliantly names the structure in which we operate as a caste system, with White bodies being on top and Black bodies being on the bottom. In the book, Wilkerson uses a powerful metaphor of inheriting a house with hidden problems in the structure, like a faulty foundation. This metaphor is used to illustrate the systemic issues deeply ingrained in the “unseen skeleton” of American society, highlighting how individuals today are burdened with the legacy of historical injustices and prejudices that were not of their making.

Despite not being responsible for the creation of this flawed system, we ARE responsible for what happens moving forward, and we must confront and address the inherited challenges in order to strive towards reflecting our true equality.

While the shame and guilt of separation from God is deeply unconscious, we see the destructive effects of it pretty much anywhere we look in the world, including in the USA.

Can a nation collectively repress shame and guilt and project it outwards? Yes, it can.

Can a nation have leadership that develops and enacts policies based in hate? Yes, it can.

The history of the USA is horrific, and the urge to deny or erase it is clearly the result of triggered shame and guilt and/or hate. To this day, the United States has never acknowledged that it committed a genocide against Native American people. Haunting pictures remain of the mass slaughter of buffalo by early settlers to hurt the food supply and force Native Americans onto reservations. The bodies of Native American children have been found buried at government boarding schools both in the USA and Canada.

The United States was built on the backs of enslaved Africans, who were brought to a foreign land in horrendous conditions, separated from their families, denied basic human rights, subject to brutal labor conditions and abuse of all kinds at the hands of their enslavers. The treatment of African Americans during the Jim Crow era in the USA was even inspiration for the Nazi regime in Germany. Nazis studied the discriminatory policies of the USA and used it as a blueprint for their own racially motivated laws and actions against Jews.

While I’ve heard the argument that “slavery is over” and this is all in the past, the policies and practices that were enacted against people of color years ago, still have ripple effects today.

For instance, after the Civil War, formerly enslaved Africans were promised “40 acres and a mule” as a form of reparations and a means to secure their economic independence. However, this promise was reneged upon by the US government, depriving the newly emancipated Black population of the opportunity to acquire land and build intergenerational wealth. The denial of this promised land dispossessed Black Americans of a critical foundation for economic stability and advancement, further entrenching the racial wealth gap in the United States. We see the effects of such policies to this day.  This is just one example of policy that enabled White people to have advantages over Black, Brown and Indigenous people.

Dr. Jennifer Mullan, a licensed psychologist, long-term ACIM student, and author of the book, Decolonizing Therapy, highlights how she learned that the first “’affirmative action’ was white affirmative action.”

Dr. Mullan writes:

“I recall being fascinated and astounded that white supremacy had done such a good job socializing Americans that we could not clearly see that white affirmative action existed: The Indian Removal Act; chattel slavery in the antebellum South; 50 acres, 30 shillings, 10 bushels of corn and a musket; Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; The Naturalization Act; the Tuskegee experiment; The Homestead Act; the founding of American gynecology on enslaved African people’s bodies; the Wilmington Massacre; Brown v. Board of Education; the Chinese Massacre of 1871; California Genocide; Ocoee Massacre; and the G.I. Bill, just to name a few.”

All of these policies, practices and events served to advance White people at the expense of Black, Brown and Indigenous people. I encourage you to learn more about each one.

Racism is built into the system in which we live because of such policies of the past, which continue to have effects to this day.

Can the above listed HISTORICAL EVENTS make White people feel shame and guilt? Absolutely. They’re part of our history in the USA. When we don’t look at this history, own it, take responsibility for collectively dreaming it, the shame and guilt stays in place and instead gets projected elsewhere, and onto things like DEI programs. DEI programs don’t exist to make white people feel guilty. DEI programs exist to heal bias and discrimination, and level the playing field so populations who have been historically disadvantaged have the same chances as people who have not faced such barriers.

This Instagram post by @doctora_edith is a fabulous example of not only what DEI seeks to do (give people of color the same chances as White people), but it speak to the painful truth that Women of Color have to work twice as hard than their White counterparts to prove themselves in the workplace. Take a look at the carousel of posts here.

Let’s look more closely at the effects of guilt and shame on a small scale and how it can unintentionally result in repeating patterns of racism.

Coming back to the example of getting called out for doing or saying something unknowingly hurtful surrounding race and racism, we may feel the stab of shame and guilt rise to the surface. The hallmark indication that shame is operating is if we have an immediate need to defend ourselves with a statement like, “I’m a good person!” In other words, “I am a good person” manifesting as a thought, feeling or statement is a “red flag” that our shame and guilt has been triggered.

What we do next with the shame and guilt is the difference between healing vs. not healing, freedom vs. oppression, evolving forward vs. keeping the status quo.

If you can pause, turn towards the shame and guilt (in a safe space with a therapist or trusted friend who is willing to hold space for your feelings), acknowledge the feeling, breathe through it, recognize the present and/or historical trauma that is being activated, and tend to the parts of you that need tending, healing now has a chance to unfold.

Healing needs honesty, transparency, and accountability.

But denying shame and guilt leads to projecting it, which can then manifest in ways that are hurtful and harmful to both you and the other person involved.

While the triggering of shame is not a personal flaw (it’s a human response) and is a call to look within (and engage in our own trauma work), the problem comes in when that shame fuels us to unconsciously (or consciously) re-enact patterns of racism or harm.

All of this needs to be seen and exposed in order to heal.

There are countless ways that patterns of racism and oppression can manifest. While the patterns named below can show up in any relationship, they are particularly destructive when they occur between a person in a White body and a person in a Black, Brown or Indigenous body.

If your shame and guilt has been triggered, whether from being called out or from simply learning about something related to DEI, you may be tempted to project it in the following ways:

1.   DOUBLING DOWN ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE. Instead of getting curious about feedback you’ve been given or authentically trying to see through the other person’s eyes, you instead get really firm in your perspective. This leads to separation between you and the other person, rather than deep listening and holding space for another person’s experience and perspective.
2.  GETTING DEFENSIVE AND PROJECTING BLAME. Instead of sitting with the elicited shame and guilt and breathing through it, anger and defensiveness arises and the other person becomes the target of blame. They become “guilty” so you can be “innocent.” Maintaining your innocence at the expense of the other person’s guilt is a pattern that is often highlighted in A Course in Miracles. Instead, take deep breaths, sit with the discomfort, and remember your innocence as a Child of God who is unlearning as well as learning. Be grateful that someone took a chance to give you feedback.
3.  JUDGING THE OTHER PERSON’S TONE. If you lapse into judging another person for how they give feedback (for instance if you feel they are “too direct” or “too angry”) this can result in you tone policing the other person. Tone policing is a common oppressive pattern of a White body telling a Black or Brown body to change their tone to “be nice” instead of giving the other person the freedom to express themselves however they want to in the moment, without judgment.
4.  CENTERING YOURSELF. This pattern happens when you as the person in the White body directs the conversation to be about yourself, how you see things, and how you feel. You might feel compelled to explain yourself or defend that you’re a good person if you’ve been given feedback. White bodies have been centering ourselves at the expense of Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies throughout history. Instead, it can be helpful to learn how to decenter yourself. Decentering yourself first means intentionally stepping back from your thoughts and feelings and observing them from a detached perspective, while also observing the effect you have on other people. Then you can center the person in the Black, Brown or Indigenous body. Give them space to have the floor and take the lead. Instead of amplifying your own voice, amplify theirs.

While this list is only scratching the surface of harmful patterns, it is also important to note that shame and guilt do not have to be the fuel for any of the above patterns. These patterns can also be fueled by ignorance and/or hate. By understanding that the above patterns cause harm, we can see them clearly and “choose again” so as to not re-enact them.

Remember that whenever a “button” is pressed in you (triggered by DEI or from being given feedback or any trigger for that matter), it is an opportunity to look at what it brings up WITHIN YOU, without making the other person wrong. You may have old belief systems, thought patterns and energetic imprints surrounding worthiness, belonging, being seen, power and control, or shame and guilt that need to be seen to be healed.

When I think of each element of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in relationship to A Course in Miracles, these thoughts come to mind:

Diversity:

Is the Course in Miracles community diverse and proportionately representative of the population as a whole? In my experience, it is a predominantly White community. Potential reasons that this is so, are what I talk about in my Open Letter to the Course Community on Unexamined Racism.

Equity:

Does A Course in Miracles emphasize equity? While the word “equity” does not appear in A Course in Miracles, our EQUALITY with one another is a core teaching of the Course. Equity and equality are two different terms, however, and I encourage you to read and check out this helpful article and tree diagram to see how implementing equity vs. equality practices in this world can have dramatically different outcomes for people from marginalized populations.

Even though A Course in Miracles teaches that we are equal to each other and at One with God, the Course does say that “Equality does not imply equality now” (ACIM, T-1.V.2:5).

While this quote is in the context of our being One with God (and right now we think we are not), it’s easy to think of this quote in terms of the situation of the world. We ultimately ALL have equality with each other. But in this world of duality that functions as a caste system (with White bodies being on top and Black bodies on the bottom), we don’t have equality NOW in the world of form. DEI programs seek to level the playing field (again check out this article and tree diagram to understand how).

When we look at our ultimate reality, we are all created equal. Here are a few direct quotes from A Course in Miracles that not only speak to our equality, but how we need to be vigilant against ideas of competition and domination:

“There is no order of difficulty in miracles because all of God’s Sons are of equal value, and their equality is their oneness.” (ACIM, T-11.VI.10:5) 

“Because God’s equal Sons have everything, they cannot compete. ⁴Yet if they perceive any of their brothers as anything other than their perfect equals, the idea of competition has entered their minds. ⁵Do not underestimate your need to be vigilant against this idea, because all your conflicts come from it.” (ACIM, T-7.III.3:3-5)

“Unless you think that all your brothers have an equal right to miracles with you, you will not claim your right to them because you were unjust to one with equal rights. ²Seek to deny and you will feel denied. ³Seek to deprive, and you have been deprived.” (ACIM, T-25.IX.8:1-3)

“Freedom cannot be learned by tyranny of any kind, and the perfect equality of all God’s Sons cannot be recognized through the dominion of one mind over another. ⁸God’s Sons are equal in will, all being the Will of their Father. ⁹This is the only lesson I came to teach.” (ACIM, T-8.IV.6:7-9)

As these quotes point out, while we are all equal in truth, competition, tyranny, and denial of inherent equality (and therefore human rights) to anyone will keep ALL of us bound to the ego.

Inclusion:

Is the Course in Miracles community truly inclusive? Before we examine that question, it is first important to acknowledge a deeper issue with the word “inclusion” itself.

I once heard Ruby Sales, an African-American social justice activist, scholar, and public theologian, say in an interview that the word “inclusion” implies that it is White people at the head of the table who are making an effort to “include” non-White people, rather than People of Color being in those leadership positions.

But simply rearranging who sits at the table doesn’t address the systems that placed White people there in the first place. As my friend, freedom Cartwright, put it, “the nature of ‘inclusion’ is antithetical to the nature of reality.” Reality doesn’t need to “include” anyone because equality simply is.

For predominantly White ACIM communities, perhaps the invitation isn’t to just strive to be “inclusive,” but to commit to the inner work of healing internalized racism, bias and judgment in all its forms and to encourage our communities to do the same.

Rather than dismiss racism as something “of the world,” we can look at how we might be complicit in participating in systems that favor some bodies (White bodies) over other bodies (Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies).

We can also amplify the voices of Course students of Color by inviting diverse speakers to our platforms, we can share images that reflect the historical reality of a dark-skinned Jesus (because Jesus was not White), and we can ensure conferences and events represent the diversity that we say we value.

For ACIM communities that value diversity, equity and inclusion, the work begins within. Without that inner transformation, even our best efforts risk becoming performative.

QUESTION 1: BEING A STUDENT OF A COURSE IN MIRACLES, WHAT ARE YOUR BELIEFS SURROUNDING TAKING ACTION IN THE WORLD?

Throughout my years as a Course student, I’ve seen many posts online about not getting involved in the world and using Course-influenced ideas to justify not doing so: “I need do nothing.” “It’s all an illusion.” “We’re not bodies anyway.” “That’s someone else’s dream… not mine, so I’m not getting involved.”

If we are seeing through an individualistic lens (e.g. “this is MY dream and it’s peaceful so I am not affected”), we likely won’t interpret another’s plight as anything we should care about. “It doesn’t affect ME, so I don’t have to do anything.”

This can lead us to developing an additional “I-shouldn’t-get-involved-in-the-world-as-a-Course-student” lens, thus leading us down a path of being silent in the face of others’ oppression.

And this could repeat a pattern of racism—silence from the “good people.”

As stated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his Letter from a Birmingham jail:

“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”

It is important that we look at the subtle ways in which we might use Course ideas to ESCAPE from the world rather than take steps of ACTION in the world. We may use spiritual ideas to tune out the world rather than being miracle workers IN the world.

Here are three examples of Course teachings that are often used to justify “doing nothing” in the world:

“Seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world” (ACIM, T-21.in.1:7)

“To the ego’s dark glass you need but say, “I will not look there because I know these images are not true.” (ACIM, T-4.IV.9:2)

“I need do nothing.” (ACIM, T-18.VII.5:7)

But A Course in Miracles also has teachings about taking action in the world. For instance, we must bring our learning into upsetting situations rather than into what is already calm and quiet. We are encouraged to NOT make a “haven of isolation” for ourselves:

“You will need your learning most in situations that appear to be upsetting, rather than in those that already seem to be calm and quiet. The purpose of your learning is to enable you to bring the quiet with you, and to heal distress and turmoil. This is not done by avoiding them and seeking a haven of isolation for yourself.” (ACIM, W-rI.in.4:3-5)

We’re also clearly told that from a quiet center where you “need do nothing” you’ll be sent on “busy doings:”

“Yet there will always be this place of rest to which you can return. And you will be more aware of this quiet center of the storm than all its raging activity. This quiet center, in which you do nothing, will remain with you, giving you rest in the midst of every busy doing on which you are sent.” (ACIM, T-18.VII.8:1-3) (emphasis added)

It is my personal belief that we are to remember the truth while staying open to the ways the Holy Spirit can move us to take action in the world. If we believe we are not supposed to get involved in the world, we’re tying the Holy Spirit’s hands.

As Jesus says in the Course, “I will provide the opportunities to do [miracles], but you must be ready and willing” (ACIM, T-1.III.1:8).

QUESTION 2: WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO SPEND YOUR NEXT LIFETIME IN A BODY OF A DIFFERENT RACE?

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine ourselves in the experience of a brother or sister that appears to be a different race than us. The inability to imagine can lead to apathy or a lack of empathy. Consider how you would feel coming back in your next lifetime in the body of a different race. Answer the following:

• White Bodies: ​You return in a Black body. Given what you know (and what you don’t know) about racism and caste, how would it feel to be in the lower caste? What arises for you? Write about it.
• Black, Brown and Indigenous Bodies:​ You return in a White body. Given everything you know about racism and caste, how would it feel to be in the upper caste? What arises for you? Write about it.

Note: This question has been adapted from THE LOVE LENS Personal Mind Inventory assessment.

QUESTION 3: IS MY DECISION FROM GUIDANCE OR IS IT FROM PRIVILEGE?

When you determine that you’re “not guided” to do something in the world, look closely and ask yourself, “Is this truly guidance? Or am I being complacent because of the comfort of one of my privileges? Or could it be a mixture of both?”

In A Course in Miracles, we are constantly encouraged to ask for guidance and guidance may tell us to act or not act. But the guidance we receive may be influenced by the lenses we use (e.g. an individualistic lens) or the comfort that comes from the privileges we have.

Privilege is an advantage one has because of membership in a social group. There are many types of privilege, and every individual has a different makeup of privileges. I’ll use myself as an example.

I live in a relatively safe area, not in a warzone (I have geographical privilege).

While I have a busy schedule, I have time to pursue my interests and take time for myself (this is my time privilege).

I am heterosexual and cisgender, so I do not fear discrimination for being married to a man or for identifying as female (this is my heterosexual and cisgender privilege).

I’m a White female. If I were to go shopping at the mall, buy a bunch of new things, and then on my drive home get stopped by a police officer, that police officer would never ask to see the receipts for my shopping bags out of suspicion that I engaged in shoplifting (this is my racial privilege being in a White body).

This example is based on a true story of one of my dear friends, a Black woman who is a successful psychologist, makes good money and like all of us, occasionally goes shopping. Yes, a police officer stopped her and demanded to see her receipts for her purchases. This type of racial profiling would not happen to me due to my White body privilege.

There are many other types of privilege, including socioeconomic privilege (if you have wealth), clean water privilege (if you have access to clean water), food privilege (if you have food security and have access to healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables), parental/family privilege (if you have a supportive parents who can help you emotionally and financially), etc. You can read about other types of privilege here.

We can use our privilege to help dismantle the systemic forces that keep groups of people oppressed. Or we can use our privilege to be complacent and stay comfortable.

So next time you notice yourself saying you “don’t feel guided” to address systemic racism, oppression or other forms of discrimination, I encourage you to wrestle with the question, “Is this decision from guidance or is it from my complacency and comfort of a privilege?”

If we don’t examine this question closely, we may mistakenly think we’re “not guided” to get involved in the world when in actuality, we are simply retreating into our privilege or just wanting to ignore an issue because it doesn’t directly affect us.

QUESTION 4: HOW TEACHABLE AM I?

I’m asking this question with a bit of humor, but is your understanding and interpretation of A Course in Miracles whole, complete, and perfect?

If you answered, YES, it is possible that what you think you know about the Course could actually be blocking you from experiencing the Course more deeply in your life.

I’ve found it to be a powerful practice to question everything I think I know. To release it all. To hold onto nothing. To doubt my perspective. To approach the Course with a beginner’s mind, repeatedly. And to stay wholly open-minded so what I don’t know can be revealed to me. After all, as the popular expression goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

DEI presents a lifelong opportunity to learn, to unlearn, to release ego layers, and to heal a system that was set up to favor White bodies over Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies. By learning from and supporting DEI educators and communities working for change, we will unlearn old ways and step into the new.

A Course in Miracles says, “Be willing to be taught.” (ACIM, W-126.10:3)

By staying teachable, you allow the Holy Spirit to use you in ways you never considered.

QUESTION 5: WHAT TRAUMA AM I CARRYING THAT I HAVEN’T FULLY ADDRESSED? WHAT SHAME AND GUILT PATTERNS DO I CARRY? WHAT ARE MY “STICKY” AREAS THAT HAVEN’T BEEN HEALED THROUGH MY ACIM WORK?

Whichever question is most relevant for you, I encourage you to take an honest inventory as to the ways in which you still struggle and lapse into old patterns of thinking and behavior, despite your work with A Course in Miracles.

As we discussed, DEI work can bring up shame and guilt. To have effective conversations about race and racism, it’s imperative that we (people in White bodies) do our own trauma work so as to not lay our unhealed reactions on our brothers and sisters in Black, Brown and Indigenous bodies.

It is my personal belief that if we decide we want to heal with A Course in Miracles ONLY, we’re tying the Holy Spirit’s hands. The Holy Spirit can guide us to the exact interventions we may need (which may be outside of the Course), in order to expose the ego and heal.

I have been greatly helped by the work of Dr. Gabor Mate, author of many books on trauma. You can check out a recent interview with him here.

I am also a huge fan of body-based treatment approaches like EMDR (Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Somatic Experiencing. My friend, freedom Cartwright, taught me that the ego hides trauma in the body (because the body is in the mind). So working with the body means we’re not giving the ego a place to hide.

For the better part of the last 4-5 years, I’ve been meeting weekly with my dear friends, Pastor Yolanda Batts and freedom Cartwright, both co-hosts of THE LOVE LENS, to talk about race and to support each other in life. Their spiritual and life wisdom is unparalleled. Some of the ideas I shared here have been born out of our conversations, including the diagrams, ideas about the celestial speedup, trauma, learning about Ruby Sales (thanks freedom!), and even the link to the recent Dr. Gabor Mate episode (thanks PY!). And thank you to freedom, for her edits and input on this post.

As I mentioned, I’m not an anti-racism educator. I encourage you to listen to Black, Brown and Indigenous voices whose perspectives are different from your own. Here are some resources and people to follow:

• 5 calls app: A helpful app to conveniently call your legislators
• Resmaa Menakem
• Dr. Jennifer Mullan
• Dr. Christena Cleveland
• Nova Reid
• Racial Equity Insights
• Raven Reveals
• Find additional resources at the bottom of my Open Letter

As always, I’d love to hear your takeaways from this post. Feel free to leave me a comment below.

*Please note I am capitalizing the terms Black, White, Brown and Indigenous per these two helpful articles (click here and here).