So many of us have spiritual longings and progressive ideals that have not been fulfilled in our church. And so we seek. We often bounce around from church to church. We explore mindfulness, meditation, self-help, and countless other things. We may have lost track of how many books and seminars we have taken in.
If you have been searching, looking for inner peace and healing, wanting to ditch the guilt and fear, yet also wanting to remain centered on Jesus and God, you may consider exploring A Course in Miracles.
What is A Course in Miracles?
A Course in Miracles is a modern spiritual path in which we heal our perception through forgiveness and extend that healing to others through expressions of love. In 1965, Helen Schucman, an agnostic Jewish psychologist at Columbia University, began hearing an inner voice, which over seven years dictated to her a three-volume book consisting of a Text, Workbook, and Manual for Teachers. Its teachings were entirely unfamiliar to her—and deeply challenging. Yet, in spite of her resistance, something in her knew these teachings were true. And that has been the experience of countless students since the Course’s publication in 1976.
What the Course can contribute to your spiritual life
Because A Course in Miracles was authored by an inner voice, originated outside Christian circles, and (by historical accident) came be associated with the New Age, it looks suspect in the eyes of many Christians. Yet for anyone who is willing to explore it with an open mind, the Course contains immense spiritual and psychological treasures. For example:
Jesus in the Course is the radical wisdom teacher we know from the Sermon on the Mount. He asks us to leave behind old assumptions and follow him to a new vision of God, others, and ourselves, trusting him to patiently guide us every step of the way.
God in the Course is so unconditionally loving that He does not need to forgive us, because He never condemned us in the first place. When He created us, He placed in us His Own holiness, which we can never tarnish. And this is what He sees in us even now.
Forgiveness. The Course teaches us to heal ourselves and our relationships through forgiveness. Its many forgiveness exercises embody a unique approach, in which letting go of resentment is a natural act of honoring the other person’s reality as God created them.
Miracles in the Course are primarily “expressions of love,” acts of everyday kindness in which we are prompted to give love to someone in just the form they need. Through these caring encounters, the Course says we receive “gifts beyond the worth of anything on earth.”
The Holy Spirit. The Course teaches that the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in our minds and in our world, trying to lift everything up to God. His main role is to guide us into a transformed perception of the world, in which we see all things shining with divine radiance.
Prayer. The Course teaches us to pray, not for better circumstances in our lives, but for the things that move us forward on our spiritual journey: the experience of God, the hearing of His Voice, peace of mind, help with forgiveness, and healing for others.
Guidance. Our sight is too limited to effectively steer us through life’s obstacle course. The Course therefore instructs us in how to still our minds and hear the Holy Spirit in us, and how to tell real guidance apart from our own thoughts and desires.
These are just a few of the scores of vital topics on which A Course in Miracles conveys new wisdom and practical instruction. Others include meditation, relationships, perception, the ego, our true nature, and many more.
An egoless path
The Course is often associated with the supreme focus on the self that is so prevalent in spirituality and self-help. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Its path is an egoless one, in which we humbly follow the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and lovingly devote ourselves to the welfare of others, learning to unite with both by gradually thinning the walls of our ego.
The question of authorship
Perhaps the most controversial thing about A Course in Miracles is the inner voice that authored it claimed to be Jesus. And yet, millions of Christians feel they receive answers in prayer from Jesus every day. He often vividly appears in near-death experiences. Great Christian works by figures such as Julian of Norwich and St. Catherine of Siena claim to include direct communications from him. Is it so impossible, then, that he could speak to a New York psychologist in the 1960s? Though the Course’s authorship can never be proven, many students of the Course have the experience of simply recognizing his voice.
More Christian than you would expect
A Course in Miracles is the spiritual and intellectual adventure of a lifetime. It will stretch you in every way. It will challenge your most basic assumptions about life. Yet it could lead to real breakthroughs in your spiritual and psychological journey. And you may find that it is far more Christian—and far more valuable to your own spiritual development—than you would ever have guessed.
Who we are
Here at the Circle of Atonement, we have been making the Course understandable and doable for over thirty years. We are known for bridging the distance between exacting faithfulness to its words and the practical needs of living its path. In the process, we have slowly realized that we do not really fit with the community that has grown up around the Course. We are therefore reaching out to those who, like us, are open to new horizons yet also want to retain the best of Christian values.
Want to learn more?
If you are curious to learn more about the Course’s teachings, you are invited to receive our free booklet, “Anchored in Light: A Seven-Day Companion for Spiritual Recentering in Turbulent Times.” We are living through unprecedented times, and we need all the anchoring in God that we can get. If you want more of that anchoring and are open to something new, our free booklet is available at our website.