A Course in Miracles
A Course in Miracles is a spiritual thought system. It describes a different vision of the world, in which peace is possible, and forgiveness is the way to reach it.
The book contains three parts: the Text, the Workbook for Students, and the Manual for Teachers. This article will focus on the first two, as they are where the Course’s thought system first enters the mind of a student.
The Text
A Course in Miracles is a spiritual thought system. It consists of three books: the Text lays out its concepts; the Workbook for Students, with 365 daily lessons that emphasize experience over belief in a theology; and the Manual for Teachers, which answers questions often asked about the Course. It is not a religion; it does not claim to be the only way or even the best way, and it clearly states that all paths lead to God in the end. It uses Christian terminology, but it also evokes universal, non-dual spiritual themes, including Eastern spirituality.
Its focus is the undoing of the illusion of separation, and it emphasizes forgiveness as the means to do so. It teaches that love is the natural inheritance of every person, and that fear is the only thing that can stand in its way. It teaches that the path to God is not a journey through the world, but a reawakening to the knowledge of where we are always and what we are forever.
A Course in Miracles was dictated to Helen Schucman, a Columbia University psychologist, by a process she called "inner dictation." She completed the book over seven years starting in 1965, and it was published in 1976. Its author is not named, though he or she reveals a course in miracles himself as Jesus (the Christ). The Course uses Christian symbols, but it offers a completely different meaning to them than the way they are usually used. It is both spiritual and psychological, and it has attracted many followers who find that it helps them to heal relationships, release past hurts, and experience peace. It is one of the most influential spiritual texts in modern times.
The Workbook
The Workbook is a step-by-step, daily practice course that helps you apply the lessons from the Text of A Course in Miracles. It provides practical insights for applying the principles of forgiveness in your everyday life, and is a perfect complement to our free ACIM Q&As and Daily Lesson Insights. The Workbook is also a valuable resource for ACIM study groups.
In 1965, Helen Schucman, a Columbia University psychologist, began to have a series of inner experiences that culminated in an encounter with an omnipresent voice which said, "This is a course in miracles, and it will teach you how to forgive." The three-volume set was received through a process of inner dictation over the course of seven years and was completed in 1972. It was published by the Foundation for Inner Peace and has since sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.
The book teaches that the true purpose of the universe is to lead us to remember our true selves in God and thus release our attachment to the illusion of separation. Its goal is to bring about the change in perception necessary for finding happiness, love and freedom. Forgiveness is the means by which the journey to God is accomplished, and the Course focuses on learning how to forgive at every level of our experience.
While the Course uses Christian terminology and refers to itself as a spiritual teaching rather than a religion, it is ecumenical in its orientation and emphasizes that there are thousands of paths to God which are all valid. It also states that its purpose is not to replace any existing religious beliefs, but rather to correct them.
When the Workbook was first published in 1976, it caused a sensational response amongst readers. It was often argued against, but it was also granted tremendous authority by many and became a modern spiritual classic. Many who have studied the Course have reported that they have experienced enlightenment as a result of its teachings. If you have yet to experience this, it is recommended that you remain open to the possibility and keep practicing!
The Manual for Teachers
As the spiritual bible of the “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) movement, A Course in Miracles has had an extraordinary impact on people around the world. While it is generally considered to be nonsectarian, its Christian symbolism has made it a central text for many Christians as well. Often referred to as ACIM, this self-study curriculum has become an integral part of the lives of millions of people in every major religion and in those who are agnostic or atheist.
The Manual for Teachers, while it can be read by any student of the Course, is primarily written to those who have already chosen to be teachers and who will extend the Course’s thought system to others. It addresses two ways that this can be done.
First, it discusses the role of a teacher as a healer. This is a very important topic, because it shows that the role of teacher is not just about teaching, but also about healing. It is this healing function that the teacher will play that will allow the light of God to enter the minds of his pupils and heal them.
It then moves to discuss the role of a teacher as a mentor or guide. This is a very significant point, because the idea is that a teacher will choose certain pupils and then guide them in their learning of the Course, just as an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor guides his or her alcoholic sponsor. The idea is that these special pupils are assigned to this person by the Holy Spirit, and they have been waiting all of time for this moment to come.
As the manual ends, it explains that this is not to be taken literally and that there are many thousands of other forms of being a teacher in the universe. However, this is not meant to discourage any potential teacher, because the most important thing is simply to be open to this opportunity. All that is required is an acceptance of the call to teach and an unceasing determination to be a channel for love.
The World of Knowledge
The Course is a self-study spiritual thought system that emphasizes forgiveness as the road to inner peace and the remembrance of truth. It offers a new perspective on the world and on life that transcends any specific religion, while maintaining an ecumenical approach that draws from a variety of intellectual traditions including the teachings of Plato and Neoplatonism as well as the higher teachings of Gnosticism. It is a non-dualistic text that denies the existence of separate, opposing wills in the universe and insists on one universal truth: love is all there is.
The first section of the Course, the Text, consists of a collection of thoughts that form the foundation for the ideas that are taught in the second book, the Workbook. This is a theoretical part of the book, and it sets forth a series of concepts that must be understood in order to bring about the thought reversal for which the Course was intended. The daily lessons in the Workbook help to bring these ideas into practical application, and without them, the Course would remain a set of abstract principles with no real value.
For those who are willing to step out of the mind’s egocentric world and to recognize their own innocence, there is a world of knowledge that is available to them. This is a world of unity, love, sinlessness and abundance. It is a world of reality that is made up of God’s thoughts, which are loving, constant and timeless. The world of perception, by contrast, is a world of division, conflict and scarcity, which is the result of choosing to believe in opposites and separate wills.
When the Course was first published in 1976, it immediately had a profound impact on thousands of people. It changed the lives of those who read it, and for many of them, it became their spiritual bible. It was a text that they took seriously and believed in completely, even though it challenged all of their beliefs about what is true. The fact that it came from two Columbia University psychologists who were deeply troubled by their own conflicts and the divisions of the world around them makes the Course especially compelling.