So, you want to read “A Course In Miracles…”
Five suggestions for understanding this beautiful and mysterious albeit confusing text
Congratulations on your discovery of A Course in Miracles!
I’m guessing that you recently heard about this book and haven’t started reading it yet or you’ve just started and are thoroughly confused. Did you Google it in the hopes of finding answers? That’s what happened the first half dozen times I tried to read A Course in Miracles (referred to as ACIM or the Course from now on).
Here are three reasons why people are confused when they start reading the Course.
First, the writing is cryptic. For example, here is how the Course begins:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
(UHHHH…. WHAT THE $*@& DOES THAT MEAN?!!)
It becomes only marginally less confusing as you read on.
Second, the origin story (told in the Preface) is a bit “out there,” which may make it hard to take the book seriously. More on this later.
Finally, ACIM uses language co-opted from Christianity. Words like “God”, “atonement”, and “forgiveness” do not have the same meaning as when spoken from the Christian pulpit. More on this later too.
Despite these challenges, the Course is well worth the time it takes to understand it. The lessons are deep and profound and can potentially change your life for the better in unimaginable ways.
As you get started with ACIM, here are five suggestions that will help you with your study.
1. Approach ACIM as a course to be studied, not a book to be read
ACIM is unlike any other book I’ve ever seen. I opened it thinking I would start on page one and read three pages a day until I got to the end. I quickly discovered that this approach was not going to work.
First, ACIM is not one book but three separate courses in one binding.
As its title implies, the Course is arranged throughout as a teaching device. It consists of three books: a 669-page Text, a 488-page Workbook for Students, and a 92-page Manual for Teachers.
-Preface, What it is
Second, while the three courses are complementary, each stands alone and may be studied in any order.
The order in which students choose to use the books, and the ways in which they study them, depend on their particular needs and preferences.
-Preface, What it is
Finally, both the Text and the Workbook are written mostly in short, cryptic statements. They can be confusing and at times, even seem nonsensical. It is only through study, reflection, and meditation that the meaning and wisdom of the text and lessons are revealed.
2. Make what you will of the origin story and then set it aside
A Course in Miracles is a book written by Helen Schucman and William Thetford.
Why am I stating the obvious? Because of how the book describes itself in the Preface:
The names of the collaborators in the recording of the Course do not appear on the cover because the Course can and should stand on its own. It is not intended to become the basis for another cult. Its only purpose is to provide a way in which some people will be able to find their own Internal Teacher.
Also, ACIM implies that it is divinely given. Here is how Schucman describes how the book came to her:
Three startling months preceded the actual writing, during which time Bill suggested that I write down the highly symbolic dreams and descriptions of the strange images that were coming to me. 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 shorthand notebook.
- Preface, How It Came.
Perhaps this inspires you or gives rise to ridicule. (The first time I read this I thought, “I’m not reading something written by someone who hears voices.”) Whatever your reaction to how the Course came about, set it aside and commit to continuing.
NOTE: If you feel you cannot get past this origin story — if it prevents you from having an open mind — then perhaps now is not the right time to study the Course. When the time is right, you will know it.
3. Make peace with the Christian languaging
ACIM is written from a Christian frame of reference, meaning it uses a lot of Christian terminology and concepts. This may be problematic for some.
- If you are unfamiliar with Christianity, the concepts and use of Bible texts will be like a foreign language. You may need to supplement your study with resources that explain the religious context.
- If you harbor animosity or resentment towards religion, as many former Christians and atheists do, then words like “Jesus” and “sin” may trigger strong negative emotions. This may prevent or limit your ability to access the deeper meaning of the texts and lessons.
- If you believe that only the Bible is divinely inspired, then you may be tempted to reject the Course outright. For example, ACIM is written in the first person as spoken by a celestial being, which some teachers identify as Jesus. Some may consider this sacrilege.
As a former Fundamentalist Christian, I understand the second and third categories. I occasionally instinctually reject a passage in the Course because it goes against what I was taught to believe most of my life. Other times, the words trigger memories of fear, judgment, and damnation which give rise to a visceral resentment towards religion in general.
Here is my suggestion for handling resistance to the Christian languaging:
- Recognize that a negative response has been triggered.
- This response is your mind/body trying to protect you in some way. Say thank you to your psyche for serving its purpose.
- See yourself setting those feelings and thoughts off to the side and out of the way. They are not needed at this moment.
- Pause in silence until you feel the resistance melt away.
- Set an intention to be open and receptive before starting.
Sometimes I have to mull over a text for a few days before a Christian reference begins to make sense and other times, new insights reveal themselves in a flash. Regardless of how it happens, I love how the Course shines new light on centuries-old, narrowly accepted interpretations.
4. Assume that words don’t mean what you think they mean
Communication is complicated. Words mean different things to different people. Words come with baggage. It’s not unusual that I will say one thing and the hearer infers something completely different.
There are three words that are the foundation of ACIM: LOVE, FEAR, and MIRACLES. These words have many different meanings and how you define them can completely change the meaning of the text. Here is how I have come to understand what these words mean in the Course.
NOTE: When I use a word according to its ACIM definition, I write it in all capital letters.
LOVE
If you ask a hundred people to define love, you may get a hundred different answers. Descriptions usually involve emotions, feelings, or a commitment of some kind. LOVE, as used in ACIM, is none of these things.
LOVE describes the state of being in which everything is at its highest and best existence. This includes not only people but all living things, the planet, the galaxy, the universe, all time and space everywhere.
Imagine a 1000-piece puzzle where all the pieces must be in the right place to form the beautiful, cohesive picture that the artist intended. Conceptually, LOVE is like a cosmic, multi-dimensional puzzle with an infinite number of pieces. Each piece is placed exactly where it should be and forms the PERFECT picture as the CREATOR intended.
FEAR
Just as darkness is the absence of light, so FEAR is what remains in the absence of LOVE. FEAR exists only in the physical realm; it does not exist in the spiritual realm. It is the source of the feelings and thoughts that drives our behaviors.
It’s easy to see how strong feelings such as hate, anger, and greed are an absence of LOVE. However, prosperity, happiness, and even love also come from FEAR when they are the result of or lead to selfishness or harm.
Just thinking about doing something harmful, even if I don’t act on it, means I am in FEAR. When I view other people as “less than” or “different” from me, that is FEAR. When I choose neglect over self-care (e.g. skip working out to binge-watch Netflix instead), I am choosing FEAR.
There are no degrees of FEAR. One thought, feeling, or action is neither more nor less harmful than another; they all come from the same place.
In the cosmic puzzle analogy, FEAR is our human attempt to force a piece where it doesn’t belong.
MIRACLE
Remember: FEAR is what remains in the absence of LOVE. At any given moment, we are either in the light (LOVE) or darkness (FEAR). There is no in-between. The transformation that happens when we move from FEAR to LOVE is a MIRACLE.
For example, if I am in FEAR, I view people of a different race as a stereotype or with fear and judgment. When my perception shifts to LOVE, I move out of the physical and into the spiritual realm where there is no such thing as “other”. In the spiritual realm, I only experience connection with kindred spirits.
Every time we make that shift in perception from FEAR to LOVE, we have experienced a MIRACLE. It’s that simple.
5. Trust the process
To learn a complex or difficult skill, you must start at the beginning.
Do you want to learn how to paint portraits? First, you practice drawing basic shapes like circles, squares, and triangles. Want to rock out like Jon Batiste? It begins with learning that a circle and line on the page means you press the white key in the middle of the keyboard. To master a complex skill, you must have faith that what begins as disparate pieces of information will eventually lead to the Mona Lisa or Rhapsody in Blue.
Understanding the Course happens in the same way. For example:
- Lesson 1 of the Course Workbook simply states, “Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything.” It provides instructions on how to do the exercise but no rationale for doing so.
- Lesson 2 is equally confusing: “I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] all the meaning that it has for me.”
- It is not until Lesson 3 that an explanation for why you are repeating these phrases is given, and it’s a short explanation at that.
- Some lessons provide more explanations than others; many offer none. However, they all build on each other. It may take a few days and you may need to study several passages before it all comes together.
Nothing worthwhile is easy. Commit to studying the text because it is hard. Trust the process and the mysteries of the Course will be revealed.
At the time of this writing, I have been studying the Course for two months. I grappled and struggled with it for several days before I started to understand it. Now I am continually astounded by its depth and mystery and how it applies perfectly to my life today.
What has your experience been with the Course? What suggestions would you give to someone who has picked up ACIM for the first time? I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions, or suggestions in the Comments section.
