A Course In Miracles

2. FAQS ABOUT ACIM

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FAQs Compiled by Sheri Baker

 

Director, The Gary Craig Official EFT™ Training Center (English)

Gary Craig Certified Official EFT™ Master

 

What is A Course in Miracles (ACIM)?

 

To summarize a book containing about half a million words and to do so in only one sentence would be a challenge, to say the least, but here goes: ACIM is a self-study thought system of spiritual psychotherapy whose goal is inner peace, brought about through a process called true forgiveness.

 

How did ACIM come about?

 

ACIM is a channelled book, scribed by Helen Schucman, with support from her colleague, Bill Thetford. For those unfamiliar with channelling, a channelled work is generally considered to be communication from beyond our conscious level of awareness. Both Helen and Bill held PhDs in Psychology and were professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.

 

After experiencing ongoing difficulties in their relationship, and relationships with other colleagues at the Medical Center, one day Bill declared there had to be “a better way” of relating to others. Agreeing with Bill, Helen responded, “I will help you.”

 

This joining together of two people with a common goal set off a series of spiritual experiences for Helen. One day, she “heard” an authoritative voice within her own mind say, “This is a course in miracles. Please take notes.” Asking Bill what she should do, he said, “Why don’t you do what the voice says?” So in 1965, Helen began to write down what she described as an inner dictation, and the end result was a compilation of three books, now known as A Course in Miracles, first published in 1975. The Course has been referred to by many as one of the most important spiritual documents known to humanity. Currently there are more than three million copies of the Course in circulation, translated into 26 languages with more to come.

 

Who is the “voice” of A Course in Miracles?

 

Helen, a self-proclaimed atheist, said that the voice identified himself as Jesus. Although this idea was unsettling to her, Helen never questioned that Jesus was the source of the information. The Course itself says, however, that it is not necessary to believe it is the voice of Jesus to benefit from its content.

 

Said Helen, “It wasn’t my voice. It couldn’t have been because it talked about a whole area with which I am entirely unfamiliar. It’s a process I really would find impossible to explain. I did not know consciously at the beginning of a sentence how it was going to end. It came very easily, rapidly, and smoothly. I could stop at any time or pick up at any time, even in the middle of a sentence. It never occurred to me not to do it (take notes). Out of personal integrity, I really did not interfere with it. It was consistent and read very well.”

 

The dictation of A Course in Miracles was completed in the fall of 1972. Shortly thereafter, Helen and Bill met Ken Wapnick, who held a PhD in Clinical Psychology, and assisted them in getting the manuscript prepared for publishing. Said Ken, “From my point of view, A Course in Miracles is the best integration I have ever seen of psychology and spirituality.”

 

With the help of Judith Skutch, who joined the group in 1975, the Course was printed in its current form soon thereafter.

 

How would you describe the curriculum of A Course in Miracles?

 

The Course consists of three volumes: the Text, Workbook For Students, and Manual for Teachers. The Text contains the basic theory of the Course. The Workbook consists of 365 lessons, one for each day of the year, which provides a practical application of the principles set forth in the Text. The Manual For Teachers answers frequently asked questions about the Course. Two supplements, also scribed by Helen, were published separately from the Course: Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice, plus The Song of Prayer: Prayer, Forgiveness, Healing.

 

How best should I proceed with studying ACIM?

 

There is no one best way to proceed with reading and studying the Course. Some people start by reading the Text to obtain a theoretical foundation. Others prefer starting with the Workbook For Students, which takes at least a year to complete. And then some people like to start with the Manual For Teachers because it provides a relatively brief overview of the Course. Some read all three at the same time.

 

The only specific instruction given by Jesus refers to the Workbook lessons in that “we do not undertake to do more than one set of exercises a day.” (W-In.2:6) It is, however, perfectly okay to repeat lessons, especially if you find them particularly meaningful or difficult to understand.

 

In another guiding principle offered by Jesus in doing the lessons of the Workbook, he says, “Remember only this; you need not believe the ideas, you need not accept them, and you need not even welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required.” (W-In.9:1-5)

 

What A Course in Miracles is NOT

 

ACIM is not a religion and is not for everyone. If it’s your path, you will know it. ACIM is not the only spiritual thought system or only path to God, nor does it claim to be. In fact, it says it is “one of thousands.”

 

From the Manual For Teachers, it says, “This is a manual for a special curriculum, intended for teachers of a special form of the universal course. There are many thousands of other forms, all with the same outcome.” (M-1.4:1-2)

 

Is the world really just a dream?

 

ACIM tells us that the world we see and the life we’re living is a dream, similar to our nighttime dreams. According to ACIM, we had a “tiny, mad idea” that we, as the one Son of God, could be separate from our Creator. This perception of separation is what ACIM refers to as the “detour into fear.” When we had that thought, we fell asleep to the truth of who we are and have been dreaming ever since.

 

In the Text, it says, “You are at home in God, dreaming of exile, but perfectly capable of awakening to reality. Is it your decision to do so? You recognize from your own experience that what you see in dreams you think is real while you are asleep. Yet the instant you waken you realize that everything that seemed to happen in the dream did not happen at all.” (T-1-I.2:3)

 

And in a Biblical equivalent: “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept.” (KJV - Gn 2:21) Nowhere in the Bible does it say Adam woke up, and that would likely be because we have yet to have a collective reawakening.