A Course in Miracles (also referred to as ACIM or the Course) is a self-study curriculum (spiritual in nature) that sets forth an absolute non-dualistic metaphysics yet integrates (its definition of the principle of) forgiveness emphasizing its practical application in daily living.

There is no author listed on either the cover or the title page of the publication, nor is there a "personal name" listed for author/creator with the United States Library of Congress. However, in the Preface of the Course, under the section entitled "How It Came," there is a first-person account by Helen Schucman who describes in her own words the process by which the material came to fruition. Schucman claimed to have written the material, with the help of William Thetford, based on the dictation of an inner Voice, which voice Schucman identified as Jesus. In the last paragraph of this section, Schucman explains why the names of the collaborators do not appear on the cover.

The most recent copyrighted, published edition of A Course in Miracles is the only edition that contains in one place all of the writings that Schucman authorized to be printed. It is published solely by the Foundation for Inner Peace, the organization chosen by Schucman for this purpose. It consists of preface, text, workbook for students, manual for teachers, including clarification of terms, and two supplements: 1) Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice; and 2) The Song of Prayer (see image and infobox to right).

Judith Skutch Whitson, President and Chairperson of the Foundation for Inner Peace, reports that nearly two million volumes of A Course in Miracles have been published and disseminated worldwide since it first became available for sale in 1976. Additionally, A Course in Miracles has been translated into nineteen different languages with eight new translations underway.

Background

A Course in Miracles is a self-study book of spiritual psychotherapy that was scribed by Helen Schucman between 1965 and 1972 through a process of inner dictation. The book is composed of a 669-page Text, which sets forth the theory, a 488-page Workbook for Students, which sets the theory in motion, and a 92-page Manual for Teachers, which is a short FAQ answering questions commonly asked by students. The Course, as referred to by its students, was first published in 1976 but was later revised to have neater chapter structure and subtitles and was republished in 1992. There are currently over one and a half million copies of the Course in circulation worldwide, and in over 16 different languages.

Contents

• 1 Sourced
  • 1.1 Text
  • 1.2 Workbook for Students
  • 1.3 Manual for Teachers
• 2 External Links
• 3 References

Sourced

Text

• This is a course in miracles. It is a required course.
  • T-in.1:1-2

• There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not 'harder' or 'bigger' than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal.
  • T-1.I.1:1-4

• Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of time is to enable you to learn how to use time constructively. It is thus a teaching device and a means to an end.
  • T-1.I.15:1-3

• Whatever is true is eternal, and cannot change or be changed.
  • T-1.V.5:1

• This is a course in mind training.
  • T-1.VII.4:1

• Forgiveness is the healing of the perception of separation.
  • Text, Chapter 3

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Thu Sep 2 21:14:14 2010