So in acim it is not about affirmations or changing beliefs, because the mind never left God and still resides at home with Him. There are no “belief” judgments in Love, Oneness, Heaven and Knowledge as everything is the same, all one, and nothing to believe or judge between.
Instead, it is all about changing your internal Teacher or rather, who you are listening to for interpretation of events in this world. The only change is in the choice between the split mind (error) of the ego or the Holy Spirit Right Mind (correction) as that internal Teacher.
This is where the ease of use is evident in ACIM because there’s no convincing the ego wrong and right mind of another way of thinking. You simply give up what you no longer want. We do it all the time with ego stuff; and now we just do it with the ego beliefs themselves.
Forgiveness:
This says it all: Forgiveness is correction of the mind. In ACIM, there is nothing to forgive because no error has happened, i.e., no separation happened. What you are doing is simply returning your mind to God, where it never left, and to its natural state of peace. To do that is simply a choice of which side of the split mind to listen to for interpretation of events and turning over the judgments you no longer want to the Holy Spirit Right Mind for correction (forgiveness).
The Holy Spirit is the solution to the separation placed in the mind by God and every answer is there waiting for you. Atonement, forgiveness, salvation and True Perception are other words that are synonymous. You have to be willing to use the Holy Spirit Right Mind for interpretation of events and do the actual work of giving judgments (beliefs) to this side of the mind, via your decision maker, because you no longer want them.
It really is that simple and only confusing because of the belief that the only choice is between ego judgments of “poor” and “rich,” to use the earlier example, and not understanding about this third option being available. The choice for True Perception is to choose neither ego judgment and relinquish both for correction of the mind. This is what is takes to return the mind to God.
Decision Maker:
ACIM is aimed at the decision maker in the mind. The whole point is that you have a choice of which side of the mind to listen to and use for interpretation. That is all that ever happened to begin with. It was a choice to listen, believe and choose judgments of the ego that separation happened and the ensuing sin, guilt and fear. Judgments can be dismissed as easily as you dismiss anything else you do not want because they are not real.
Two things stop you from relinquishing judgments: (1) your attachment to them as being true and real; and, (2) not acknowledging how you feel keeps them hidden so you don’t realize they are judgments.
You don’t “feel” in Heaven, Knowledge and Oneness. It is an experience shared by One.
The decision maker is the mechanism between the two sides of the split mind. It is neutral, an observer and is something you have to employ to watch the mind and the judgments being made by the ego. When you realize you have used something from the ego error of the wrong or right mind, just be willing to hand them to the solution, or the correction, of the Holy Spirit Right Mind. It takes care of the rest as the Atonement or solution is already there. No affirmations are necessary. You are simply giving up that which you no longer want. It is, and certainly can, be that easy.