Identified by the New York Times as an “esoteric bible that has gone mainstream,” A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is one of the most widely read spiritual teachings on the planet. Its alleged authorship and challenging view of Christian tradition have made it popular with people seeking alternative spiritual guidance but troubling to some, especially those in conservative Christian circles. The Course’s ecumenical philosophy and clear claim that it is only one of thousands of spiritual paths that lead to God makes it attractive to many who are “spiritual but not religious.” Its intellectually sophisticated, poetic language and thematic similarities with other great world literature have led some critics to compare it with classic Buddhist and Hindu scripture.
ACIM is divided into three books: the 650-page Text, which lays out the concepts that make up its thought system; the 500-page Workbook for Students, which prescribes a daily transformative discipline; and the 90-page Manual for Teachers, which adds more in-depth insights to the thought system of the Workbook. The Text and the Workbook are meant to be read in parallel, with the Text serving as a foundational basis for the lessons in the Workbook. The course’s underlying philosophy is based on the idea that love is the most fundamental reality and that forgiveness is a process by which the illusion of separateness is undone.
The Course uses Christian terminology but is largely ecumenical in its metaphysics, with more in common with Eastern spirituality than with traditional Western religion. It asserts that the true meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection was not as a sacrifice for sin but rather as a demonstration that it is possible for human beings to experience love, forgiveness and abundance even in the face of evil and suffering. The Course rejects the idea that the physical world reflects truth and teaches that everything in the world can be understood only through a higher level of awareness, called enlightened perception.
A number of the ideas in the Course are evocative and suggestive, making it easy to mistake for mystical poetry. For example, the statement “Your task is not to seek for love but merely to find all of the barriers within yourself that you have built against it” has been misattributed on Internet memes to the mystical poet Rumi. Nonetheless, the Course is a richly poetic and profoundly intellectual work of universal appeal that combines spiritual inspiration with profound understanding of such concepts as belief and defense systems, and perception and identity. Patrick Mullins is a journalist who began writing about spirituality and human potential after a seven-year illness prompted him to embark on a spiritual path. He has studied A course in miracles, the Enneagram system of personality, Jungian depth psychology and shamanism and applied these teachings intensively to his own life. He is the author of several print and e-books. His work has also appeared in Yoga Journal, THE SUN, Elephant Journal online and other magazines and websites.
0 comments: