A Course In Miracles:

"The Course" as most students of ACIM refer to it, was first made public in the early 70's. As strange as it may seem to some the entire text was "channeled" through a woman by the name of Helen Schucman. She with the help of William Thetford organized and published the material for the public at large.

Both Schucman and Thetford were Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University's college of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.
As the story goes, neither of them were very spiritually minded, and their professional relationship was described as "strained"

Helen herself reveals that her belief at the time was atheistic and she was not inclined toward mysticism at all.

So Why was Helen "Chosen" as it were to begin to receive this rapid inner dictation from a being who revealed himself to be Jesus. We are told that this work was to be a correction of ideas that had been corrupted over the years.

So whether or not we can buy into the precept or the beginnings of ACIM, I can tell you that the material it contains is both mystical in nature and profoundly life-changing in Practice. I began my studies of this course soon after I joined a twelve step group back on the east coast. This study has lead me to an understanding of what I had been through in my "death of self" that so many addicts and alchoholics experience, to a closer walk with reality, a path that has reavealed itself to be indeed both clearly marked and impossible to follow at the same time.

It is said that we all will take this course some time, the curriculum isn't up to us, only the time we begin our study is up to us.

Within the Preface of the text we find the words:

This Course is a beginning, not an end...No more specific lessons are assigned, for there is no more need of them. Henceforth hear but the Voice for God...He will direct your efforts, telling you exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and When to come to Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certain Word.
(workbook, p. 487)


What it says:

The Course can be summed up in these simple yet profound words,


Nothing real can be threatened
Nothing unreal exists
Herein lies the peace of God.









Peace,

Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi

I am very pleased and grateful to meet with those who read these lines, and my hope is that as we explore ACIM together we may shed a little light on what a miracle is and what it is for.
There are many wonderful teachers of "The Course" and I do not claim to be one of them, but as a friend who has diligently practiced what the course teaches, perhaps I can be of some help as you begin your own exploration.

In the first chapter, there are fifty descriptions of what a miracle is and the nature of miracles. I invite you to read them for yourself, and see what insights you might have, for as an expression of the Divine, your are in touch with all the wisdom, light and love that are the only realities of life, all else is a dream, in a sense.

Let us look at number 26, for I find it quite profound:

26. Miracles represent freedom from fear. "Atoning" means "undoing." The undoing of fear is an essential part of the Atonement value of miracles.

And again in number 33,

33. Miracles honor you because you are lovable. They dispel illusions about yourself and perceive the light in you. They thus atone for your errors by freeing you from your nightmares. By releasing your mind from the imprisonment of your illusions they restore your sanity.

By recognizing your spiritual magnificence, you begin to realize the wonder of your brother as well. This is one of the most profound messages ACIM has, and one that can set your feet on a wondrous path, the path of Love.
Consider this well, for as we shall see, there are only two emotions in this world. Love, and the cry for love. No matter what the appearance people are usually expressing one, or the other.

Peace

Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi

Paladin,

Where does one get the handbook? Go on further with your teaching about this ACIM.

You should be able to order it from any bookstore, or online at Amazon.com
The book is a three part work. It includes the Text, The Workbook, and the Manual for Teachers.
We are going to be discussing all three eventually, but I think I will focus on the Text first as that is what most students have trouble with.
Thanks for your interest Selfless!

Peace

Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi

I got mine at Half.com.
http://search.half.ebay.com/a-course-in-miracles

__________________
InterfaithForums.com-Where your ideas and beliefs count.

Thanks LK, it's always good to find new resources, especially at a bargain price.

In section II of chapter 1 we begin to become aquainted with Revelation, Time and Miracles.

Much of what we read in the Course is poetic and sometimes seemingly cryptic. This section is definitely one of those.

Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. It reflects the original form of communication between God, and His creations, involving the extremely personal sense of creation sometimes sought in physical relationships. Physical closeness cannot achieve it. Miracles, however are genuinely interpersonal, and result in true closeness to to others

What a beautiful idea is expressed in these beginning lines to this section, but how does a miracle do what a revelation does not?

It is often difficult within the body of the text to tell who is speaking. Sometimes we hear the voice of Jesus as he describes himself as an "elder brother" and in charge of the sonship.
Other times it seems as if a commitee is speaking. Those who have had a hard time with mainstream Christianity may have a difficult time here.
If it helps, you can imagine Jesus as a teacher, a person who achieved the Christhood during his lifetime, and acts as a guide as we seek our own perfection, our own christhood. In ACIM it is understood that miracles help us to see the perfection of ourselves and others, that we are all part of what is known as "The Sonship" we are in fact all emanations of the Godhead.

Miracles happen in the space behind your eyes, because when you recieve a revelation from God, which is definitely a cause of awe, your sight changes, and you can see with the vision of christ, you can see your brother for what he truly is; perfect, wholly loveable, wholly loved.

When such a miracle happens, and you change your mind, time collapses, and what should have taken years of growth to reach happens in an instant!


Peace


Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi

Section III Chapter 1

Atonement and Miracles

In the last lesson we touched briefly on the idea of atonement, or as some have said at-one-ment, which is very accurate because this is the result of the miracle.
Fortunately for the miracle worker, Christ stands ready to direct the efforts at atonement, and as you cooperate with even a little willingness you in fact become part of that atonement. Let's think about that for a moment. As you become restored in mind, that is you become unwilling to accept error as part of you or part of others you become part of the atonement process naturally. Imagine, the state of grace, and gratitude that fills the consciousness of the individual blessed to be a part of the healing process for minds that are steeped in belief that hurts them, that has held them prisoner for so long. This is the position we find ourselves in as we heal, that we in turn help others to heal as well.
From page 10 of the text:

Spirit is in a state of grace forever.
Your reality is only spirit
Therefore you are in a state of grace forever


Peace

Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi

Section IV The Escape from Darkness

In this section we see that darkness and sin are both illusions of the mind, a mind that has yet to change! To demonstrate this, just walk into any dark room and turn on a light. Where does the darkness go once the light is lit?

We often keep fear and darkness hid within us, at least we think we do. It takes tremendous psychic energy to maintain this self deception and exhausts us over the long haul. When we become aware of the uselessness of hiding anything and readily bring even those things we are most ashamed of into the light there is a peace that knows no bounds

There is never any "scarcity" of truth, as the book says:

Darkness is lack of light, as sin is lack of love. It has no unique properties of its own. It is an example of the "scarcity" belief from which only error can proceed

The atonement restores to our awareness the fact that we were given all we need when we were created. There is abundance for us always, and the idea of lack or limitation is, again, an illusion

Peace

Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi

Section V Wholeness and Spirit

This section tells us about the drive that Spirit has toward being expressed. Once wholeness is reached, once we realize our oneness with all that is, the body, and miracles themselves become unnecessary.
We cannot stop Spirit from expressing itself through us and as us, even if we shut down, we would still be expressing, communicating somehow, someway.
Oh, it is possible to express something negative if we should choose to, it is always our choice as to what we channel.

the text reminds us that we have the ability to change our minds at any time, and re-member, that is to become a member again of our own wholeness:

Ultimately, every member of the family of God must return. The miracle calls him to return because it blesses and honors him, even though he may be absent in spirit. "God is not mocked" is not a warning but a reassurance. God would be mocked if any of His creations lacked holiness. The creation is whole, and the mark of wholeness is holiness. Miracles are affirmations of Sonship, which is a state of completion and abundance.

Therefore, be of good cheer. All we need, all we aspire to, all that we hunger for is already there, waiting for us to return, to heed the call of a forgotten song so ancient that to listen to it fully would bring our memories back, and we would realize that we never left our Fathers house, except in our minds.

Peace

Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi

Section VI, The Illusion of Needs


The first line in this section sums up the entire Course, if only we have the ability and courage to employ it:

You who want peace can find it only by complete forgiveness.

So how does this relate to our needs? Think but a moment about what complete forgiveness entails. If we forgive even our erroneous thinking, if we forgive what we thought we have done all is restored to us. Being in need is merely forgetting that we already have what we need. The illusion of lack stems from our belief that Lack or Limitation can exist.

We have had many thousands of years to develop a consciousness of fear, lack and limitation but the ideas in the text call to us to forgive these errors in thinking and embrace what is truly ours:

Untill the "separation" which is the meaning of the "fall," nothing was lacking. There were no needs at all. Needs arise only when you deprive yourself.

And again we are reminded that:

A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need correct.


Back in the late forties to the early seventies a man by the name of Abraham Maslow an expert in human motivation listed what he called a
"Hierarchy of needs" and showed them as existing on a pyramid. Physical needs came first, such as food, shelter and so on, then safety, acceptance all the way up to self actualization.

What the Course says is that these perceived needs can be corrected, but they need to be corrected from the bottom up! As fantastic as it sounds, when we focus on remembering our connection to the Divine, these needs become fulfilled and we can focus on the higher needs, untill these are fulfilled and trancended.

This was what Christ taught when he encouraged us to "consider the lillies of the field" and to "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all things shall be added unto you"

The course tells us about belief in fear, lack and limitation in this manner:

All aspects of fear are untrue because they do not exist at the creative level, and therefore do not exist at all. To whatever extent you are willing to submit your beliefs to this test, to that extent are your perceptions corrected. In sorting out the false from the true, the miracle proceeds along these lines:

Perfect love casts out fear
If fear exists
Then there is not perfect love
BUT:
Only perfect love exists.
If there is fear
It produces a state that does not exist.


If we practice this idea, even with a tiny bit of willingness, great changes come into our lives. Imagine, a life free of fear, anxiety, lack or limitation. To the degree that you are willing to realize the truth of this statement will it be manifest unto you.


Peace

Mark

__________________
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and the whole world will be blind and toothless-M.K. Ghandi