Although written in Christian language and style, A Course in Miracles clearly embodies the perennial wisdom found at the core of all the world's great religions. Because of this universal nature, its significance and appeal transcend traditional boundaries and extend to all who seek answers to the deepest questions of human existence. Some Buddhists have said that the Course echos the words of the Buddha; yogis have remarked that it expresses the wisdom of Vedanta; and psychologists have found that it offers insights comparable to some of the best contemporary thinking about phenomena such as perception, belief, and identity.
The Course was written down by two psychologists, doctors Helen Schucman and William Thetford, who were both on the faculty of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Beginning in 1965, Helen had a series of symbolic dreams and imagery experiences that culminated in hearing an inner Voice that began dictating the Course. She was both a psychologist and educator, conservative in theory and atheistic in belief, and was surprised and disconcerted by these events. Since she felt she was the scribe, not the author of this material, she therefore chose to remain anonymous. In her own words Helen said:
Three startling months preceeded the actual writing . . . . Although I had grown more accustomed to the unexpected by that time, I was still very surprised when I wrote, "This is A Course in Miracles . . ." That was my introduction to the Voice. It made no sound, but seemed to be giving me a kind of rapid, inner dictation which I took down in a short-hand notebook. The writing was never automatic. It could be interrupted at any time and later picked up again. It made me very uncomfortable, but it never seriously occurred to me to stop. It seemed to be a special assignment I had somehow, somewhere agreed to complete. It represented a truly collaborative venture between my friend [William Thetford] and myself, and much of its significance, I am sure, lies in that. . . . The whole process took about six years.
The Course was first published in 1976 and consists of three volumes. The first is a text that lays out the underlying thought system; the second a workbook with 365 lessons, one for each day of the year; and the third a teacher's manual desighed to clarify terms and facilitate the teaching-learning process.
The language of the Course is traditional in its use of Christian terminology and masculine pronouns. Some non-Christians have therefore found that it can be more easily understood when terms such as "salvation" and "Son of God" are translated, for example, as "enlightenment" and "Child of God." . . . The languahe of the Course is exceptionally poetic and contains a wealth of succinct, powerful, and moving aphorisms that readily stand by themselves as potent capsules of wisdom. [pp. 7-8]
A Cource in Miracles offers us a path of awakening. Like all such paths, the Course suggests that our usual perception, awareness, and sense of identity are clouded and distorted. It therefore offers us a means of correcting these distortions so that we may see ourselves and the world more clearly. This transformation of perception is what the Course means by a "miracle." [p. 11]
The source of all our experience is the mind. The true nature of the mind, says the Course, is limitless transcendent awareness and creative power. However, our mistaken thoughts and beliefs, which direct the mind's activiy, have distorted and constricted it. Consequently we must change our thoughts and beliefs in order to correct our perception and to restore the mind to its full potential. [p. 21]
The Course suggests that the world and time are creations of mind and part of our dreams and illusions. When we forget this we lose awareness of our true identity and see ourselves as limited to bodies in the temporal world. Yet we are free to seek beyong the world and time for the eternal and the changeless -- already present, as the Course emphasixes, in this and every moment. [p. 37]
To relinquish identification with the ego and the body is to awaken to our true identity, says the Course. This true identity has remained as it always was -- pure spirit -- forever changeless, peaceful, and at one with God, awaiting only our recognition. [p. 51]
If we are to escape "the bondage of illusions" and recognize our true identity, we must overcome the obstacles that keep us from awakening. Anger and attack, defensiveness and guilt, fear and judment are among these. The Course suggests that we create these obstacles out of false beliefs of unworthiness, inadequacy, and vulnerability. To relinguish them we must be willing to examine both obstacles and beliefs in the light of clear awareness, through which their illusory nature can be recognized. Only then can we experience the joy which is our natural condition. [p. 57]
Only when the mind is at peace can it be freed of illusions and opened to the liberating influence of love, joy, and the memory of God that lie deep within us. In this experience we regain our sanity, Self, and salvation. [p. 85]
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Gifts of Abundance
• Your Peace Is With Me, Beloved One
• Dwelling in Peace
• The Peace of God
• You Are My Goal, Beloved One
• Be In My Mind, Beloved One
• Stepping Out of Time and Resting Your Mind
• Resting in the Presence of the Beloved
• In the Stillness and Silence of This Present Moment
• The Beauty and Challenge of Being Present in the Moment
• Today I Will Be Still
• I Need Do Nothing . . . I Am Open to the Living Light
• Aligning With the Living Light
• An Expression of Humility
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