A Course in Miracles a course in miracles is a self-study spiritual thought system with a theoretical foundation ("the text") and 365 daily lessons ("the workbook"). It emphasizes experience over belief in a theology.

This profound teaching has grown into a movement in our time, gaining popularity with those who are "spiritual but not religious" (SBNR). It has also inspired numerous books on spirituality and healing.
Spirituality

Whether you are seeking spirituality or simply looking for a better way to live, a course in miracles teachings may be right for you. While this course is not a religion, it has inspired many people to seek spiritual truth. Its teachings offer a way to release the ego’s limiting beliefs and to find peace of mind. This can be achieved by following the daily workbook lessons, which are a form of spiritual psychotherapy.

The Course teaches that you are not separate from the oneness of love, and it is your job to uncover this truth. It also teaches you to forgive all the false beliefs that keep you from recognizing the true reality of God’s love. Its goal is to help you undo the illusion of separation and lead you back to Heaven.

It is a spiritual path and, like all paths, it can be difficult to understand. The Course has not been designed to be easily comprehensible, but it does provide tools that can help you learn and practice its principles. These tools include a daily lesson, a new interpretation of each lesson, and a list of practices that will help you apply the lessons to your life.

You can join an online class or attend a live seminary to learn more about this philosophy and its application in your life. The class is led by Diane Berke, who has been a student of the Course for over 25 years. She is the founder of One Spirit Learning Alliance and One Spirit Interfaith Seminary. The class includes daily readings from A Course in Miracles, and a recorded one-hour teleconference.

While the Course does use some Christian terminology, it is based more on Eastern metaphysics and human potential psychology than on traditional Christianity. Its chief goal is to encourage the student to accept psychic guidance, which it calls the Holy Spirit. It also challenges some major elements of contemporary Christianity, such as its doctrines of sin and the crucifixion.

While the Course is not a new religion, it does claim to be the only one that leads to salvation. It argues that truth is subjective and can only be understood through experience. It is important to understand that this process will be painful and confusing, but it is the only way to reach enlightenment.
Psychology

One of the most fascinating aspects about A Course in Miracles is its deep integration into a number of concepts that are not typically associated with spirituality. These include guilt, forgiveness, and true perception. It also incorporates a depth psychology that is considerably Freudian in character, with a vast unconscious that has been repressed and keeps its contents hidden using defense mechanisms.

The Course teaches that the cause of all sickness is deep-seated guilt that a person believes to be his or her own ego. This guilt leads to identification with the ego, which causes people to attack other people and treat them as objects rather than individuals. Over time, this identifier crystallizes into a hardened belief that one is a sinner and deserving of punishment.

Forgiveness is the antidote to this deep-rooted guilt and the resulting attack, restoring a person\'s identity as the eternally innocent Self. Once forgiveness is complete, people experience a life of peace and happiness. This peace and happiness are not related to the condition of the body but to the state of the mind. In fact, the Course teaches that miracles are often associated with healing the body, but this only occurs as an automatic consequence of healing the mind.

The miracle is not a magical energy that flows from the healer to the patient, but it is a transfer of truth from the giver\'s mind to the receiver\'s. This is what makes the healer a miracle worker. The Course also states that the only responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept the Atonement (or true perception) for himself, which will then engineer the rest.

The Course consists of three parts: the Text, the Workbook for Students, and the Manual for Teachers. The first part lays out the Course\'s theoretical foundation, while the second provides 365 daily lessons that are designed to train the mind of the student along the lines set forth in the Text. The third part, the Manual for Teachers, explains some of the questions that may arise and clarifies terms. Two supplements, Psychotherapy and The Song of Prayer, add further application to the Course\'s teachings.
History

The Course in Miracles is a self-study curriculum that presents a spiritual way of life. It combines Christian terminology with Eastern mysticism, perennial philosophy, and modern psychological insights. It has become a movement in its own right, as evidenced by the New York Times describing it as “an esoteric bible that has gone mainstream.” However, some confusion exists about its origin and how to approach its teachings.

In 1965, Helen Schucman began to experience a process of inner dictation from what she called a voice that identified itself as Jesus. He instructed her to scribe the Course, which would eventually consist of three volumes. It was published in 1976 by the Foundation for Inner Peace. Since that time, it has been sold to millions of people around the world.

Some controversy exists over how the Course was edited and published. In particular, some people believe that the original notes were written in a more authentically Jesus-oriented style than the final version. Others argue that there was editorial corruption, and that the final version is not faithful to the original dictation.

Whatever the truth may be, the most important point is that we should not judge other students or teachers of ACIM or the Course itself. It is impossible to understand the Course in its pure form if we view it through a lens of separation and form. It is only by recognizing the truth of Oneness that we can fully understand its message.

Ultimately, it is up to each of us to decide whether or not we want the Course in its true form in our lives. It is a book of instructions for healing that addresses the error of separation. If we choose to follow the instructions, we will find peace.

David Hoffmeister is a teacher of A Course in Miracles who speaks from the Awakened Mind, with deep Presence and clarity. He teaches from the Text and Workbook each day, and also offers profound commentary on them. His teachings are available in both video and audio formats. His work is a beautiful gift from the Spirit that will help you on your spiritual journey.
Religion

While A Course in Miracles has been one of the most influential guides to a new kind of spirituality, it is not really a religion. It has no particular sect of followers, and it does not teach any form of prayer or worship. Its teachings, however, can be applied to any faith. Nevertheless, it does incorporate a profoundly sophisticated psychological principle with a pure non-dualistic metaphysics that make it unique among the world’s spiritual thought systems.

The Course began with two Columbia University psychologists who were having trouble working together because of their differences. Helen Schucman started to have highly symbolic dreams and experiences, and she encouraged her colleague to transcribe them so they could be understood. As she did so, a voice began to give her rapid inner dictation that she took down in shorthand. This voice identified itself as the “Christ.” The Course was first published in 1976 and has since been distributed without cost or promotion to men and women from every walk of life and from most of the world’s religious traditions.

Despite its distinctively Christian terminology, the course teaches that there is no need to feel guilt because sin does not exist. It explains that the problems that man faces are the result of his separation from God, which is an illusion. This separation, it says, is the cause of all pain and suffering.

It also teaches that there are no absolutes; truth is subjective and depends upon the individual’s experience. For example, the Course states that "only what is loving is true," and that fear is an unloving emotion. This view of reality is not biblical, and it is a dangerously self-defeating one.

It is common for critics of A Course in Miracles to lump it into the category of “perennial philosophy,” a phrase used to include most of the major mystical traditions of the world. This does a great disservice to the Course, because it obscures the fact that it is truly different from all other spiritual systems. The Course is a deeply Christian and Freudian expression of the perennial problem of the separated or divided self, and it envisions a solution.