Last week, I wrote a little notice at the beginning and end of my column, that I would be starting ACIM classes in the next few weeks. Since then, people have asked me what this is all about. The book went on sale in 1976, has been translated into 27 languages, and is distributed globally.
I bought my first book in 1978. It came in three volumes, all hardcover. The TEXT could have been written in ancient Greek. It made no sense, so I read the last book, Manual for Teachers, and started from there.
I have been a student/teacher of ACIM since the early 1980s. I will not be teaching you anything, simply offering you tools to read it and nudging you along to awaken you to what you already know. The awakening must come from you. Otherwise, it is simply knowledge, my own perception, coming from me.
In the forty-some years I have been attempting to live the teachings, the layers get peeled away, and every time I go back to reread the book or do the practices, the book reveals a depth that I was not ready to notice or to “see” until now.
Some background of how the book came to be and how it all started.
The people involved do not fit the ‘norm’ of what one usually considers ‘spiritual,’ and to be quite honest, that is often the case; it is those you least expect that often produce works of great teachings.
A Course In Miracles began with the sudden decision of two people to join in a common goal. Their names are Helen Schucman and William Thetford, Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City.
Their relationship was difficult and often strained, and they were concerned with personal and professional acceptance and status. In general, they had considerable investment in the values of the world.
In Helen’s words, as she is the one who became the scribe: “Psychologist, educator conservative in theory and atheistic in belief, I was working in a prestigious and highly academic setting. And then something that triggered a chain of events I could never have predicted. The head of my department unexpectedly announced that he was tired of the angry and aggressive feelings our attitudes reflected and concluded that ‘there must be another way.’ As if on cue, I agreed to help him find it, Apparently, this Course is the other way.”
Although Helen and Bill’s intention was serious, they had great difficulty in starting out on their joint venture. Bill was a former CIA officer and helped develop the lie detector machine.
Helen, of Jewish ancestry, was a pill popper, a heavy chain smoker, and did not like people that much. She was married but in love with William. This was the 60s. Bill was a tall, handsome man, uncomfortable in his own skin, and had yet to come out of the closet. Things were a bit complicated.
To continue Helen’s first-person account:
“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 give me a kind of rapid inner dictation that I took down in shorthand. 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 very special assignment I had somehow, somewhere, agreed to complete. It represented a truly collaborative venture between Bill and myself and much of its significance, I am sure, lies in that. I would take down what the Voice said and read it to him the next day and he typed it from my dictation. I expect he had his special assignment, too. Without his encouragement and support, I would never have been able to fulfill mine.
The whole process took about seven years, the Text came first, then the Workbook for Students, and finally the Manual for Teachers. Only a few minor changes have been made. Chapter titles and subheadings have been inserted in the Text, and some of the more personal references that occurred at the beginning have been omitted, otherwise, the material is substantially unchanged.”
I remember reading that Helen wanted to check this out to see if it was for real, that she was not delusional or having a psychotic break, so she asked the Voice where she could get the best cut of meat, where she could buy that fur coat she liked at a better-discounted price, etc. So, she took the Voice shopping with her and was amazed at the positive results. “I can be on Oprah. I’m going to be famous. I’m going to make a pile of money.”
The Voice stopped. Helen realized that this was a sacred assignment that she had once agreed to do in another lifetime, another dimension. No one was to benefit financially from this. Therefore, the courses I offer, there is no charge. Just come with an open mind, an open heart, and a willingness for change.
Next week, I will write more about ‘the book’ and the concept of “Teach only Love, the rest is based on fear.”
Thank you for showing your interest in ACIM. More to come next week.
