A Course in Miracles is a spiritual thought system that teaches forgiveness. It uses
un curso de milagros Christian terminology, but the curriculum is non-dual and evokes universal spiritual themes.
It began with Helen Schucman and William Thetford, two Columbia University psychology professors. They were tired of anger and division in their department and underwent a process of inner dictation, hearing an voice say “This is a course in miracles, please take notes.”
Study of the Text
A Course in Miracles is a self-study system of “spiritual psychology.” It is not an organized religion but instead teaches that the way to universal love and peace—or remembering God—is through undoing guilt by forgiving others. Its teachings are conveyed through three books: the Text, which lays out its thought system; the Workbook for Students, which guides you in applying its principles to your daily life; and the Manual for Teachers, which provides answers to questions commonly asked about the Course.
The Course’s language is Christian, but it emphasizes that it is only one version of a universal spiritual curriculum and that there are "many thousands" of ways to reach the same goal. It focuses on healing relationships and making them holy, and on eliminating the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, which is the natural inheritance of all people.
This class, taught by Jennifer Feiereisel, is designed to focus on total comprehension of the Course's teachings. It uses passages and clues from all 3 parts of the Course (Text, Workbook Lessons, and Manual for Teachers) to help you see new connections and insights.
It introduces the basic concepts of literary study and allows you to apply them accurately to a wide range of literary and non-literary texts. It also gives you a vocabulary in which to discuss literary concepts and ideas, including narrative voice and structure, poetic rhythm and form, and the relationship of a text on the page to its performance on stage.
Kenneth Wapnick is a clinical psycholo-gist and was a longtime associate of Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford, the Columbia University psychologists who received the inner dictation that became A Course in Miracles. He is the cofounder of the Foundation for Inner Peace, the publisher of A Course in Miracles, and has lectured worldwide on its teachings. He has been a personal mentor for many people who have studied the Course, and he has helped them to bring its teachings into their lives and into their professions.
Study of the Workbook
A Course in Miracles combines profound spiritual teachings with practical psychology. It was first published in 1976 and has become a modern spiritual classic, with over one million copies sold worldwide. It teaches that there is no separation between the spiritual and the physical worlds, that love is your natural inheritance, and that forgiveness is the path to freedom.
The Course's curriculum is carefully conceived on both the theoretical and practical levels, with an emphasis on application over theory. It is designed to lead you through a series of experiences that will help you to recognize your own inner guidance, which the Course calls your Internal Teacher. It does not teach a particular religion, and while it is Christian in statement, it emphasizes that it is but one version of a universal spiritual curriculum.
While the Course is primarily a teaching text, it also includes a workbook for students. Book 1 of the Course, the Text, sets forth the concepts upon which the Course's thought system is based. The purpose of Book 2, the Workbook for Students, is to provide practical applications of these concepts. Without the workbook, the Course would remain a series of abstractions that could not possibly bring about the experience of change in perception that it promises.
You may find some of the ideas in the Workbook difficult to believe, or even startling. However, you are asked not to judge them. You are merely to apply them as you are guided, and in this way you will gain experience that proves them true to you. Then you will realize that you have not chosen the concepts, but they have chosen you.
The Workbook for Students is divided into 365 lessons, one for each day of the year. In addition to these lessons, the workbook contains a number of short essays and reviews to help you make sense of the content. It also contains answers to many of the questions that might arise as you work through the lessons, and clarifies a few terms that appear ambiguous in the Text.
Study of the Manual for Teachers
One of the questions that many students of A Course in Miracles have is about the Manual for Teachers. In workshops and seminars, the discussion of this book is usually some variation on the idea that it is intended to provide answers to questions that students might have. This interpretation, however, does not really follow from the title of the book itself: “A Course in Miracles – Manual for Teachers.” The book is titled this because it is designed to instruct teachers in how to teach the Course.
The book begins with a brief summary of some of the principles that are taught in the text and workbook. It is then followed by a series of questions and answers that are intended to clarify the various aspects of the teachings of the Course. Finally, the section entitled “Forming a Teacher’s Decision” is included. This discusses how a teacher makes the decision to accept his role in the process of forgiveness.
Throughout the manual, the teacher is instructed to guide his pupil “towards forgiveness.” He is to remind his pupil that what he thinks he wants is peace, and that this can only be found by complete forgiveness of self and others. He is also to guide him in his study and practice of the Course, making sure that he is firmly established in the principles it teaches.
While the Course uses Christian terminology, it is clearly stated that it is but one of many thousands of spiritual paths which lead to God. It emphasizes that its curriculum is at the experiential level and not at the theoretical or doctrinal level.
ACIM classes offered by the Foundation’s Center are specifically designed to help students of A Course in Miracles deepen their understanding of its thought system, both conceptually and experientially. The classes break down difficult concepts through topical and subject matter studies, and use passages and clues from all three of the Course’s books – the Text, Workbook Lessons, and Manual for Teachers – to facilitate comprehension. In addition, the classes are facilitated in a quiet and meditative environment which supports the student’s time of reflection, wherein he or she may further integrate these teachings into his or her daily life.
Practice of Forgiveness
The practice of forgiveness is central to ACIM. It is the means by which you undo the illusion of separation that binds you. The Course emphasizes forgiveness as the only way to true freedom and healing. This uncompromising approach can be quite radical, particularly when you are facing what appears to be lifelong issues such as addictions and limiting beliefs.
A Course in Miracles is not a religion, but rather a self-study spiritual thought system that can help you find consistent peace and happiness. It is composed of three books: the Text, which lays out the concepts that comprise its teachings; the Workbook for Students, which is a set of daily lessons that emphasize experiential learning over belief in a particular theology; and the Manual for Teachers, which is designed to teach you how to share the Course’s principles with others.
The ego is the voice in your head that believes that what you see, think, and feel is real. It convinces you that the world is a place to hide from God, and it tries to keep God out by making the Son of God mindless. The ego also convinces you that your problems are caused by other people, places and things in this world.
Forgiveness is the process of letting go of the ego’s view of reality and replacing it with the reality that you are a part of an unlimited energy that is love, compassion and forgiveness. You need not believe this in order to forgive, but you must decide to do so if you are going to move beyond the illusion of separation.
Bharata Wingham is a long-time student of A Course in Miracles and an experienced Laugha Yoga teacher. He shares his knowledge of how the Course aligns with Yoga philosophy, and what he has learned about the power of forgiveness and laughter.
A Course in Miracles (abbreviated as ACIM) is a non-denominational Christian spiritual thought system that emphasizes forgiveness. It was compiled in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Helen Schucman, a medical psychologist, and Bill Thetford, a professor of educational psychology at Columbia University. The Course has since been published in over 25 languages.
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