A Course in Miracles Used Book

A Course in Miracles is an intellectually sophisticated thought system that combines spiritual inspiration with deep psychological understanding of such issues as perception, belief and defense systems. The Original Edition's conversational tone invites students a course in miracles podcast into an engaging dialogue with the Author and has resulted in even advanced students finding fresh clarity and deeper understanding.

Text

A Course in Miracles is a self-study spiritual thought system that combines profound spiritual teachings with far-reaching psychological insights. First published in 1976, this remarkable work has already changed the lives of millions around the world. The original edition of A Course in Miracles includes the Text, Workbook for Students and Manual for Teachers.

The Text is a 622-page textbook that provides an introduction to the Course's central ideas. The Workbook is a set of 365 lessons that are intended to help change your perceptions. The Manual for Teachers is written in question-and-answer form to provide answers to likely questions and provides clarification of a number of terms used throughout the Course. Also included in the Combined Volume are two valuable Supplements: Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice and Song of Prayer.

Despite being an atheist earlier in life, Helen Schucman, a clinical and research psychologist and tenured associate professor of medical psychology at Columbia University, began to experience visionary experiences and hear an inner voice. This voice told her to take notes, which she did, and eventually received the material that would become A Course in Miracles, consisting of a Text, a Workbook and a Manual. The course is said to be channeled by Jesus through a nonphysical medium, and it teaches that the way to universal love and peace is through undoing guilt through forgiving others.

Although the language of A Course in Miracles is that of traditional Christianity, it teaches a universal spirituality and emphasizes that the course is only one version of an unlimited curriculum. It also makes it clear that the curriculum cannot be taught in a linear fashion, but must be experienced in a koinonia-like way.

A significant controversy is the question of whether or not the Course is copyrighted, and this issue has been brought to the courts. Nevertheless, the Course remains a worldwide phenomenon, and its influence continues to grow. Regardless of the legal outcome, the Original Edition of A Course in Miracles, featuring the text as it was originally received and presented by Schucman and Thetford, is the edition most beloved by advanced students of the Course. The conversational tone of this edition invites the reader into a dialogue with the Course's Author and even those familiar with later versions often find new clarity and deeper understanding when reading this book.

Workbook

The Workbook included in this course in miracles used book is designed to help students apply the teachings of the Text to their daily lives. It contains 365 lessons, one for each day of the year. Each lesson offers an opportunity to practice forgiveness and change your perception of the world. The lessons are practical and easy to follow. The only prerequisite is a willingness to question all of your beliefs about the nature of reality.

This edition is based on the URTEXT (a reproduction of the scribes’ notes prior to further editing). It includes a number of paragraphs that are not in the original edition, but there are only minor changes in wording and punctuation. It also contains some material not found in the HLC manuscript, which is a later version of the original scribes’ notes that underwent further editing.

Helen Schucman, a clinical and research psychologist at Columbia University, received A Course in Miracles through a process of inner dictation that she identified as coming from Jesus. The book teaches that the separation from God did not occur and that we are all part of one loving family. Although the Course uses Christian symbols, it is not a religion and its universal spiritual teachings are applicable to people from every faith.

Some of the ideas in the Course may be difficult to accept and some you may even actively resist. That does not make them any less true or valuable, however. The Course combines spiritual inspiration with deep psychological understanding of such phenomena as the beliefs and defense systems that hold us back.

While the author of A Course in Miracles is unknown, there are two competing theories. One is that the Course was a product of Helen’s mind and her desire to be healed, while the other is that the words are from the collective minds of all members of the Sonship of God, including Jesus. A recent lawsuit has raised the possibility that this long-standing issue will finally be decided by the courts. If it is, the outcome could have a profound impact on how the Course is interpreted and studied in the future.

Manual for Teachers

A Course in Miracles is a nonsectarian spiritual guide that teaches the way to universal love and peace is through undoing guilt by forgiving others. It describes miracles as shifts in perception from fear to love that foster healing and sanctification of relationships. The acclaimed work of spiritual teachings, whose three-part approach includes an explanation of the course's theory, exercises and a manual in question-and-answer format, has been translated into more than 20 languages. This Original Edition, restored by Schucman and Thetford, features a conversational tone that invites the novice student into dialogue with the author of the book. Even advanced students of the Course often find that their study of the Original Edition offers new clarity and understanding.

The first two volumes of the Course are modelled after a college course, with a Text to be read and studied, a Workbook to be practiced and its lessons performed, and a Manual for Teachers to instruct those who want to teach it. The last volume doesn't follow this pattern and seemed to be added later, but it does seem to fulfil its purpose, since in seven sections it depicts a teacher of the Course (the "teacher of God," as described in M-2.5:5-12) as a kind of miracle healer or forgiveness healer, going to people who are sick, projecting their own mental illness onto them, and then offering them the healing power of forgiveness.

The Teacher of God goes to both those who are mentally ill and those who are physically ill, and he shows them that they have been making their own sickness by thinking that they have a disease, and he helps them see the truth about themselves. In doing so, he is really showing them that they need not be afraid of death because it is not real. He is also reaffirming the fact that they are loved by God and that they are his sons. This is a very powerful lesson and it seems to be the one that most Westerners need to hear. It is also a very logical one and it fits well with the rest of the teachings of the Course.

Supplements

Originally transcribed through inner dictation by Helen Schucman, clinical and research psychologist at Columbia University, A Course in Miracles has been translated into 27 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. The three-volume set consists of a Text, Workbook for Students, and Manual for Teachers, which contain a curriculum designed to help the student undo guilt by learning to forgive others. The Course is presented as a universal spiritual teaching and emphasizes experiential rather than theoretical study. It is non-denominational and teaches that love is the only reality.

The course presents the principle that Jesus, as the embodiment of the Love of God in our world, remained with us in time and space to teach a message of forgiveness. The course also assumes that the ego is a threat to the truth, and that the only way to escape it is to learn to release attachments to form. This is done by recognizing that all things are really one and thus changing the belief in separation.

Although the Course is written in Christian language, it is not a religion. It teaches that the path to forgiveness is not through religious practice, but through loving others and making them holy. The Course has been used by people from all walks of life and all major faiths. Its goal is to restore the memory of God's Love, which is present everywhere and is accessible to everyone.

In addition to the original manuscripts of the Course, there are several supplemental materials that can be purchased separately or as part of the complete book. These include Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice and the Song of Prayer. Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practise explains how the principles of A Course in Miracles can be applied to the field of psychotherapy. It is written primarily for professional therapists, but it will be of interest to anyone who wants to learn how to apply the Course's teachings in their lives.

This Combined Volume contains all of the writings that the scribes, Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford, authorized for publication. It is the only edition that includes two valuable Supplements to the Course, Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Pracise and the Song of Prayer. This is the version that is used in thousands of A Course in Miracles study groups around the world.