A Course in acim Miracles (abbreviated ACIM) began with two Columbia University psychologists, Helen and Bill. They claim to have received the book through a process of inner dictation, which they identify as Jesus' voice.

It's a nonsectarian, universal spiritual teaching that emphasizes forgiveness and love. It consists of a 669-page Text, a 466-page Workbook with 365 daily lessons and a 92-page Manual.
The Text

This acclaimed spiritual guide emphasizes love and forgiveness as the way to universal peace. The "miracles" of the title refer to shifts in perception from fear to love - changes of mind and belief that foster healing and sanctification of relationships. It is based on the Christian faith, but is nonsectarian and universal in its teachings. It is written as a self-study curriculum in three books: the Text, the Workbook for Students, and the Manual for Teachers.

Helen Schuchman had a series of inner experiences including heightened dreams and psychic encounters, culminating in 1965 with the voice saying to her, "This is a course in miracles; please take notes." For the next seven years she scribed, typed and revised the material which ultimately formed the Course. She also taught classes on the material to a small group of students.

The Course uses Christian terminology and references, but it is almost the opposite of Christianity the way it is practiced and offers a very different interpretation. Its metaphysics is closer to Eastern mysticism than to traditional Christianity, and it challenges many elements of the Christian belief system. It is sometimes called the Christian Vedanta.

The Course describes itself as a curriculum for a course in forgiveness, and it states that it is not a religion. Its focus is on letting go of judgment and replacing it with the recognition of the holiness of everyone and everything. It encourages the use of the power of prayer and meditation to heal the world. It envisions a future in which the love of God is the only power and all conflicts will be settled through forgiveness. Described by the New York Times as an "esoteric bible that has gone mainstream," A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is widely acknowledged to be one of the major influences on the emerging trend of people who call themselves “spiritual but not religious.” It offers an explanation of the root cause of this trend and a path to its resolution.
The Workbook

A Course in Miracles focuses on undoing guilt, and teaches that the means to this end is forgiveness. Its emphasis on love's forgiveness - rather than the ego's judgment and attack - makes it unique among all spiritual teachings. The book also helps us to remember who we really are and the truth about everyone else and everything.

The three-volume set consists of the Text, Workbook for Students and Manual for Teachers. The Course was allegedly received as an inner dictation by Columbia University psychologist Helen Schuchman, who identified the voice she heard as Jesus'. It took her seven years to write the Text, Workbook and Teacher's Manual, which were first published in 1976. The Course is not a self-help book to be read quickly and put aside; it requires a lifetime of study and practice. Its profound concepts are presented in a masterful way, and the workbook is filled with practical lessons in healing, forgiveness and love.

Like the Bible, it deals with universal themes - a universal God, the eternal nature of the human soul and the meaning of life. But it differs from the Bible because it is not a religious book, but instead a spiritual and psychological one. Its use of Christian symbols and concepts - such as Christ, Atonement and Heaven - is not to be confused with Christianity the religion.

The central theme of the Course is that you must change your mind and your perception in order to experience an entirely different kind of reality. The change that is required is not merely a shift from the ego's version of reality to the truth; it is a complete rejection of the ego and its ideas.
The Manual for Teachers

The Manual for Teachers is a companion to the Text and Workbook. It presents the ideas of the course in a question-and-answer format. The book contains 365 lessons, one for each day of the year. Each lesson is designed to influence your perceptions and help you move from fear to love. This is a profound spiritual work that demands your commitment and attention.

A Course in Miracles is widely seen as a cornerstone of the "spiritual but not religious" movement (SBNR) that has gained wide acceptance during the last few decades. It is difficult to determine the number of people who have studied ACIM, but it certainly seems to be in the millions. Many have joined study groups and a few have formed churches based on the principles of the Course.

Helen Schucman, a Columbia University psychology professor, claimed that she received the material for A Course in Miracles through a process of inner dictation from Jesus Christ. Although the Course uses Christian terminology, it is nonsectarian and universal in its spiritual teachings. It is also challenging to Western religious tradition, and this has served to make it both popular with those seeking alternative spiritual guidance and troubling to its critics.

The Course is written in a poetic style and utilizes blank verse, which has led some to compare it with literature from the world's great traditions. It is also intellectually sophisticated, and combines spiritual inspiration with deep psychological understanding of phenomena such as belief systems and defense mechanisms. The teachings of A Course in Miracles are not a replacement for any other religion or philosophy, but they do represent a major shift in the way we look at the world.
The Song of Prayer

Described by the New York Times as an "esoteric bible that has gone mainstream," A Course in Miracles is one of the major influences on the growing number of people who think of themselves as spiritual but not religious. The three-volume set is a self-study curriculum that's hard to read but is said to have profoundly changed the lives of thousands of people.

It lays out a whole new way of looking at the world and human experience, and is based on the idea that we are all part of God and are here to remember our true home. The curriculum is divided into three parts: the Text, a comprehensive outline of its thought system; the Workbook, a collection of 365 daily lessons based on practical experience rather than faith in a specific theology; and the Manual for Teachers, which answers questions that arise during study.

Although ACIM uses Christian terms to evoke familiar images and ideas, its metaphysics is closer to Eastern mysticism than to traditional Western religion. It directly challenges some significant elements of contemporary Christianity, including the concept that Jesus suffered and died on the cross to pay for our sins.

The Course also teaches that the "miracles" of healing and forgiveness happen mainly in our minds and beliefs, rather than in the external physical world. A shift in our perception and beliefs from the ego's version of reality to the truth is what the Course calls a miracle.

It's important to note that neither Helen nor Bill claim to be the authors of the course, and they give credit to "the voice" that dictated it to them. The voice is described as being Jesus'.
The Psychotherapy Booklet

This second edition of a bestseller takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the breadth, complexity and fascination of counselling and psychotherapy. Whether you want to learn about the differences between psychodynamic and psychoanalytic theories, compare third wave CBT therapies or understand the concept of transference, this book will give you all the information you need in an accessible format.

The Course in Miracles, also known as ACIM, is a self-study curriculum that presents a spiritual way of life based on contact with the Holy Spirit or "internal teacher." Though it uses Christian terminology and includes references to Jesus Christ and atonement, the Course is not a religion. It blends profound spiritual teachings with modern psychological insights.

First published in 1976, it has become a worldwide phenomenon. In the past decade alone, over a million copies have been sold without any marketing or advertising. A Course in Miracles has been embraced by a wide variety of spiritual writers, from Marianne Williamson and Iyanla Vanzant to Jerry Jampolsky and Ron Roth. It has also been widely used in Unity churches and prisons.

A Course in Miracles is written in three volumes, a 669-page Text, a 466-page Workbook with 365 daily lessons, and a 92-page Teacher's Manual. It was received through a process of inner dictation by Columbia University psychologists Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford, who were joined later by Kenneth Wapnick. Although the scribes used standard typing equipment, no author's name appears on the books. They intended the work to be a manual for a spiritual and psychological therapy. It is a comprehensive textbook of universal principles for changing one's perception of the world. This new edition has been extensively revised and updated to include 15 years of clinical advances in the field.