Big-Hearted Change

Why Big-Hearted Change Actually Works

By Marcia West | Posted 10/6/20 | Updated 8/5/21

One of the important lessons I've learned in life is to follow my heart-felt guidance in the moment it is given. I've learned that everything works out for me in the best possible way if I don't get carried away analyzing why I have been given certain guidance, or busying my mind by trying to figure out what the end results might be.

When I wrote the book, 4 Essential Steps of Big-Hearted Change for Our New World Rising, this was definitely the case. I was given an actual visual of what the book was to look like, its size, and what to include. But after it was published, I had no interest in promoting the book or even using it as a teaching tool. I just knew that the material that had been intuitively given to me needed to be documented. Consequently, I have given away many more books than I have sold.

My contract with the publisher expires on April 8, 2021. Therefore, the print-on-demand bound paperback edition will only be available for sale until that time. You may find it on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com until then. It is more important to me to make this information accessible to anyone who wants it than to make money from sales. You may download and print out the letter-size pdf free of charge on this page. Many thanks to Chris Dunmire and Creativity Portal for reformatting the book and making it available to you!

I have also discovered that my writing tends to be years ahead of its time. That is simply how things are for a pioneer. It is no longer a source of discouragement for me, but rather a reflection of where I sit in time.

Today, more than four years following the copyright date of Big-Hearted Change, I have finally been given a significant insight as to why this book works so well to assist people through change. The insight came as a result of other books I have been reading for the past eight months. At this time in my life, they are the most relevant, resonant, and truthful books I have read to date. One of the books was first published in 1975. I have had it in my personal library for 15 years. I tried reading it once, but didn't understand it. It is called A Course in Miracles (ACIM), published by the Foundation for Inner Peace.

The other four books are all written by Gary R. Renard. Three of them are a trilogy, beginning with The Disappearance of the Universe. The fourth is entitled, The Lifetimes When Jesus and Buddha Knew Each Other. These four books, published by Hay House, explain what A Course in Miracles is all about with the kind of clarity that, to me, was mind-blowing, bone-rattling, heart-opening truth. They and ACIM take me directly into the peace of God for which I had been searching all my life. Gary Renard's books are fun, funny, practical, easy reads. They answered so many questions for me about life, the Bible, the Holy Trinity, ACIM, and much much more. They made it possible for me to read, understand, and do the essential forgiveness work that is authored by Jesus and guided by the Holy Spirit in ACIM. All this occurred in the same year I received a terminal diagnosis for metastatic breast cancer.

Now that credit has been given where credit is due, I would like to give you my current understanding of why the information and tools provided in Big-Hearted Change actually work. It takes people from a place of turmoil, chaos, indecision and suffering to inner peace, harmony and joy.

A Course in Miracles (ACIM) talks about three minds that we as human beings have:

The wrong (ego) mind
The right (spirit-guided) mind
The mind that chooses which one to use

There is a fourth mind (the One-mindedness of Christ) that would be extremely rare to access in human form. The mind that we typically use here is the ego mind of separation. The ego mind works with our physical senses. It thinks we are separate souls with separate bodies, personalities, functions, special love and hate relationships, likes and dislikes. The ego mind, even if it thinks it is thinking positive thoughts and doing good things in the world, is not based on the unconditional love of God. Rather, it is based on guilty feelings we have because unconsciously we think we have somehow failed God. So it uses this life to hide our guilt by projecting it onto others or by drawing it inward, creating illness, suffering, and eventually death of the body. The ego mind is the "mind" I refer to in Big-Hearted Change. This is not explained in the book because I didn't realize there were three minds when I wrote it.

The second mind talked about in ACIM (the right mind, or spirit-guided mind) is what I refer to as the "heart" in Big-Hearted Change. According to ACIM, God created and sent the Holy Spirit to guide us back into an awareness of God's unconditional love for us, and out of the self-imposed guilt we laid upon ourselves. The seven Tools of Change in Big-Hearted Change are only one way of doing this. There can be any number of ways that the Holy Spirit guides us, so it is important to do what works for you. The Tools of Change are quick, easy, and in the moment. ACIM requires much more dedication and study. It is at least a year-long project. But if you are guided to do it, I highly recommend it! You can certainly use a combination of various methods. You could use the Tools of Change in Big-Hearted Change, for example, to help you use your Spirit-guided mind as you undergo the retraining of your mind into the Spirit-guided mind during your ACIM study.

The third mind is that part of our mind that decides each moment whether it is going to listen to the ego mind or to the spirit-guided mind. It can be as simple as asking the Holy Spirit to guide you. Our default seems to be the ego mind, since that is how most humans think. We are trained to use it from birth. So it takes a conscious choice to decide to use the spirit-guided mind. Simply by asking the Holy Spirit, and/or using the Tools of Change, the Holy Spirit will then use whatever decision, situation, emotion, or circumstance we are undergoing to move us into ever greater love through forgiveness, acceptance, letting go, and spirit-led decision-making. Always remember that God's love for you is total, complete, and unconditional. God's love is not dependent upon your behavior. However, your love for yourself, others, and life, and your happiness here, is dependent upon how much of your guilt you are willing to let go of. We call this forgiveness, even though there is nothing for us to forgive. We are all ONE with God, forever!

About Marcia West

Marcia West, Founder of Bridges of Unity, was a pioneer and leader in the field of unity consciousness. more