In this second article in the series on the "miracle" and the "mind," we're going to keep our discussion of spiritual specialness as someone being chosen by God to do His work without recognizing it is actually the ego a course in miracles. In A Course in Miracles (ACIM), many link being a Course teacher of God with being miracle-minded just once we see in several religions with chosen spiritual leaders like a pastors, ministers and priests, etc. In the first article on spiritual specialness, we incorporated a quote by Kenneth Wapnick that, "Love is quiet and will not need to make assertions." Being someone chosen by God to do "god's work" is an assertion of the ego; and it creates the error real. It is a defense against God's Love wherein we don't recognize that we're actually competing with God (and thus everyone).

Mr. Wapnick also has some wonderful passages that get straight to the point with this matter. They are extracted from his two-book set on, "The Message Of A Course In Miracles" which will be filled using what the Course does and does not say. These quotes speak for themselves and do not require reinterpretation:

Spiritual specialness identifies people acting out their egos' specialness, but disguising it as spiritual dress. This frequently comes in the form of believing they have received "special" instructions, "special" favors, or "special" commissions from "special" divine persons such as for instance Jesus or the Holy Spirit, all of which serves to create these folks spiritually different from others and therefore more "special" (Few Choose To Listen, p. 141).

What we're calling "spiritual specialness" appears in the members of nearly all spiritual or religious movements. This usually comes in the form of believing that the group or members have already been singled out by God or the Holy Spirit to do some holy function that will benefit humanity and contribute towards the saving of the world. However, such intrinsic specialness is obviously not the case with the teachings of A Course in Miracles (Few Choose To Listen, p. 144).

Specialness can also be noticed in many different other designs beyond the labels just mentioned. As an example, claiming who we "share the stage" with, i.e., other Course teachers is the same limelight error. We do this due to our enormous repressed fear and guilt; and we do it in place of learning and practicing the Course. This is a course on sameness and one which exemplifies kindness:

This inability to seriously practice A Course in Miracles' kind principles of forgiveness which they study, and sometimes even teach, has perhaps been probably the most serious failing among its students. This book's sequel, "Few Decide to Listen," discusses how students often conceal their thought system of specialness beneath the guise of spiritual counseling or friendship. The lack of simple kindness is, unfortunately, unmistakable to all or any except the Course student making the spiritual pronouncements (All Are Called, p. 306).