A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume 3eCLARIFICATION OF TERMS
Practice Song of Prayer
FOUNDATION FOR INNER PEACE
Published by the Foundation for Inner Peace P.O. Box 598, Mill Valley, CA 94942
www.acim.org
Combined Volume (Third Edition) copyrighted 2007 by the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, www.facim.org Portions also independently copyrighted
All right reserved. No copyrighted portions or aspects of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, video, or by any information or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, 41397 Buecking Drive, Temecula, CA 92590, www.facim.org
A Course in Miracles was first published in three volumes in June, 1976 by the Foundation for Inner Peace
ISBN 978-1-883360-35-1 978-1-883360-25-2 Hard cover ISBN 978-1-883360-24-5 Soft cover & Kindle Version ISBN 978-1-883360-26-9 Mass Market Paperback
Back Cover
The Combined Volume, Third Edition of A Course in Miracles is the only edition that contains in one place all of the writings that Dr. Helen Schucman, its scribe, authorized to be printed. It is published solely by the Foundation for Inner Peace, the organization chosen by Dr. Schucman in 1975 for this purpose. This Combined Volume also includes the Supplements to A Course in Miracles: “Psychology: Purpose, Process and Practice” and “The Song of Prayer.” These sections are extensions of the Course principles, which were dictated to Dr. Schucman shortly after she completed A Course in Miracles.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents: Preface Table of Contents: Text Table of Contents: Workbook Lessons 1-120) Table of Contents: Workbook (Lessons 121-240) Table of Contents: Workbook (Lessons 241-365) Table of Contents: Manual for Teachers Table of Contents: Clarification of Terms Table of Contents: Psychotherpay Table of Contents: Song of Prayer
PREFACE
A COURSE IN MIRACLES
TEXT
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1. THE MEANING OF MIRACLES I. Principles of Miracles II. Revelation, Time and Miracles III. Atonement and Miracles IV. The Escape from Darkness V. Wholeness and Spirit VI. The Illusion of Needs VII. Distortions of Miracle Impulses
Chapter 2. THE SEPARATION AND THE ATONEMENT I. The Origins of Separation II. The Atonement as Defense III. The Altar of God IV. Healing as Release from Fear V. The Function of the Miracle Worker A. Special Principles of Miracle Workers
VI. Fear and Conflict VII. Cause and Effect VIII. The Meaning of the Last Judgment
Chapter 3. THE INNOCENT PERCEPTION I. Atonement without Sacrifice II. Miracles as True Perception III. Perception versus Knowledge IV. Error and the Ego V. Beyond Perception VI. Judgment and the Authority Problem VII. Creating versus the Self-Image
Chapter 4. THE ILLUSIONS OF THE EGO Introduction I. Right Teaching and Right Learning II. The Ego and False Autonomy III. Love without Conflict IV. This Need Not Be V. The Ego-Body Illusion VI. The Rewards of God VII. Creation and Communication
Chapter 5. HEALING AND WHOLENESS Introduction I. The Invitation to the Holy Spirit
II. The Voice for God III. The Guide to Salvation IV. Teaching and Healing V. The Ego’s Use of Guilt VI. Time and Eternity VII. The Decision for God
Chapter 6. THE LESSONS OF LOVE Introduction I. The Message of the Crucifixion II. The Alternative to Projection III. The Relinquishment of Attack IV. The Only Answer V. The Lessons of the Holy Spirit A. To Have, Give All to All B. To Have Peace, Teach Peace to Learn It C. Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom
Chapter 7. THE GIFTS OF THE KINGDOM I. The Last Step II. The Law of the Kingdom III. The Reality of the Kingdom IV. Healing as the Recognition of Truth V. Healing and the Changelessness of Mind VI. From Vigilance to Peace VII. The Totality of the Kingdom VIII. The Unbelievable Belief
IX. The Extension of the Kingdom X. The Confusion of Pain and Joy XI. The State of Grace
Chapter 8. THE JOURNEY BACK I. The Direction of the Curriculum II. The Difference between Imprisonment and Freedom III. The Holy Encounter IV. The Gift of Freedom V. The Undivided Will of the Sonship VI. The Treasure of God VII. The Body as a Means of Communication VIII. The Body as Means or End IX. Healing as Corrected Perception
Chapter 9. THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE ATONEMENT I. The Acceptance of Reality II. The Answer to Prayer III. The Correction of Error IV. The Holy Spirit’s Plan of Forgiveness V. The Unhealed Healer VI. The Acceptance of Your Brother VII. The Two Evaluations VIII. Grandeur versus Grandiosity
Chapter 10.
THE IDOLS OF SICKNESS Introduction I. At Home in God II. The Decision to Forget III. The God of Sickness IV. The End of Sickness V. The Denial of God
Chapter 11. GOD OR THE EGO Introduction I. The Gifts of Fatherhood II. The Invitation to Healing III. From Darkness to Light IV. The Inheritance of God’s Son V. The “Dynamics” of the Ego VI. Waking to Redemption VII. The Condition of Reality VIII. The Problem and the Answer
Chapter 12. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S CURRICULUM I. The Judgment of the Holy Spirit II. The Way to Remember God III. The Investment in Reality IV. Seeking and Finding V. The Sane Curriculum VI. The Vision of Christ VII. Looking Within
VIII. The Attraction of Love for Love
Chapter 13. THE GUILTLESS WORLD Introduction I. Guiltlessness and Invulnerability II. The Guiltless Son of God III. The Fear of Redemption IV. The Function of Time V. The Two Emotions VI. Finding the Present VII. Attainment of the Real World VIII. From Perception to Knowledge IX. The Cloud of Guilt X. Release from Guilt XI. The Peace of Heaven
Chapter 14. TEACHING FOR TRUTH Introduction I. The Conditions of Learning II. The Happy Learner III. The Decision for Guiltlessness IV. Your Function in the Atonement V. The Circle of Atonement VI. The Light of Communication VII. Sharing Perception with the Holy Spirit VIII. The Holy Meeting Place IX. The Reflection of Holiness
X. The Equality of Miracles XI. The Test of Truth
Chapter 15. THE HOLY INSTANT I. The Two Uses of Time II. The End of Doubt III. Littleness versus Magnitude IV. Practicing the Holy Instant V. The Holy Instant and Special Relationships VI. The Holy Instant and the Laws of God VII. The Needless Sacrifice VIII. The Only Real Relationship IX. The Holy Instant and the Attraction of God X. The Time of Rebirth XI. Christmas as the End of Sacrifice
Chapter 16. THE FORGIVENESS OF ILLUSIONS I. True Empathy II. The Power of Holiness III. The Reward of Teaching IV. The Illusion and the Reality of Love V. The Choice for Completion VI. The Bridge to the Real World VII. The End of Illusions
Chapter 17. FORGIVENESS AND THE HOLY
RELATIONSHIP I. Bringing Fantasy to Truth II. The Forgiven World III. Shadows of the Past IV. The Two Pictures V. The Healed Relationship VI. Setting the Goal VII. The Call for Faith VIII. The Conditions of Peace
Chapter 18. THE PASSING OF THE DREAM I. The Substitute Reality II. The Basis of the Dream III. Light in the Dream IV. The Little Willingness V. The Happy Dream VI. Beyond the Body VII. I Need Do Nothing VIII. The Little Garden IX. The Two Worlds
Chapter 19. THE ATTAINMENT OF PEACE I. Healing and Faith II. Sin versus Error III. The Unreality of Sin IV. The Obstacles to Peace A. The First Obstacle: The Desire to Get Rid of It
i. The Attraction of Guilt B. The Second Obstacle: The Belief the Body is Valuable for What It Offers i. The Attraction of Pain C. The Third Obstacle: The Attraction of Death i. The Incorruptible Body D. The Fourth Obstacle: The Fear of God i. The Lifting of the Veil
Chapter 20. THE VISION OF HOLINESS I. Holy Week II. The Gift of Lilies III. Sin as an Adjustment IV. Entering the Ark V. Heralds of Eternity VI. The Temple of the Holy Spirit VII. The Consistency of Means and End VIII. The Vision of Sinlessness
Chapter 21. REASON AND PERCEPTION Introduction I. The Forgotten Song II. The Responsibility for Sight III. Faith, Belief and Vision IV. The Fear to Look Within V. The Function of Reason VI. Reason versus Madness
VII. The Last Unanswered Question VIII. The Inner Shift
Chapter 22. SALVATION AND THE HOLY RELATIONSHIP Introduction I. The Message of the Holy Relationship II. Your Brother’s Sinlessness III. Reason and the Forms of Error IV. The Branching of the Road V. Weakness and Defensiveness VI. The Light of the Holy Relationship
Chapter 23. THE WAR AGAINST YOURSELF Introduction I. The Irreconcilable Beliefs II. The Laws of Chaos III. Salvation without Compromise IV. Above the Battleground
Chapter 24. THE GOAL OF SPECIALNESS Introduction I. Specialness as a Substitute for Love II. The Treachery of Specialness III. The Forgiveness of Specialness IV. Specialness versus Sinlessness V. The Christ in You
VI. Salvation from Fear VII. The Meeting Place
Chapter 25. THE JUSTICE OF GOD Introduction I. The Link to Truth II. The Savior from the Dark III. Perception and Choice IV. The Light You Bring V. The State of Sinlessness VI. The Special Function VII. The Rock of Salvation VIII. Justice Returned to Love IX. The Justice of Heaven
Chapter 26. THE TRANSITION I. The “Sacrifice” of Oneness II. Many Forms; One Correction III. The Borderland IV. Where Sin Has Left V. The Little Hindrance VI. The Appointed Friend VII. The Laws of Healing VIII. The Immediacy of Salvation IX. For They Have Come X. The End of Injustice
Chapter 27. THE HEALING OF THE DREAM I. The Picture of Crucifixion II. The Fear of Healing III. Beyond All Symbols IV. The Quiet Answer V. The Healing Example VI. The Witnesses to Sin VII. The Dreamer of the Dream VIII. The “Hero” of the Dream
Chapter 28. THE UNDOING OF FEAR I. The Present Memory II. Reversing Effect and Cause III. The Agreement to Join IV. The Greater Joining V. The Alternate to Dreams of Fear VI. The Secret Vows VII. The Ark of Safety
Chapter 29. THE AWAKENING I. The Closing of the Gap II. The Coming of the Guest III. God’s Witnesses IV. Dream Roles V. The Changeless Dwelling Place VI. Forgiveness and the End of Time
VII. Seek Not Outside Yourself VIII. The Anti-Christ IX. The Forgiving Dream
Chapter 30. THE NEW BEGINNING Introduction I. Rules for Decision II. Freedom of Will III. Beyond All Idols IV. The Truth behind Illusions V. The Only Purpose VI. The Justification for Forgiveness VII. The New Interpretation VIII. Changeless Reality
Chapter 31. THE FINAL VISION I. The Simplicity of Salvation II. Walking with Christ III. The Self-Accused IV. The Real Alternative V. Self-Concept versus Self VI. Recognizing the Spirit VII. The Savior’s Vision VIII. Choose Once Again
WORKBOOK FOR STUDENTS INTRODUCTION PART I LESSON 1. Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place] means anything. LESSON 2. 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. LESSON 3. I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place]. LESSON 4. These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this place]. LESSON 5. I am never upset for the reason I think. LESSON 6. I am upset because I see something that is not there. LESSON 7. I see only the past. LESSON 8. My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts. LESSON 9. I see nothing as it is now.
LESSON 10. My thoughts do not mean anything. LESSON 11. My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world. LESSON 12. I am upset because I see a meaningless world. LESSON 13. A meaningless world engenders fear. LESSON 14. God did not create a meaningless world. LESSON 15. My thoughts are images that I have made. LESSON 16. I have no neutral thoughts. LESSON 17. I see no neutral things. LESSON 18. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing. LESSON 19. I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts. LESSON 20. I am determined to see. LESSON 21. I am determined to see things differently. LESSON 22.
What I see is a form of vengeance. LESSON 23. I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack thoughts. LESSON 24. I do not perceive my own best interests. LESSON 25. I do not know what anything is for. LESSON 26. My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability. LESSON 27. Above all else I want to see. LESSON 28. Above all else I want to see things differently. LESSON 29. God is in everything I see. LESSON 30. God is in everything I see because God is in my mind. LESSON 31. I am not the victim of the world I see. LESSON 32. I have invented the world I see. LESSON 33. There is another way of looking at the world. LESSON 34. I could see peace instead of this.
LESSON 35. My mind is part of God’s. I am very holy. LESSON 36. My holiness envelops everything I see. LESSON 37. My holiness blesses the world. LESSON 38. There is nothing my holiness cannot do. LESSON 39. My holiness is my salvation. LESSON 40. I am blessed as a Son of God. LESSON 41. God goes with me wherever I go. LESSON 42. God is my strength. Vision is His gift. LESSON 43. God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him. LESSON 44. God is the light in which I see. LESSON 45. God is the Mind with which I think. LESSON 46. God is the Love in which I forgive. LESSON 47. God is the strength in which I trust. LESSON 48. There is nothing to fear.
LESSON 49. God’s Voice speaks to me all through the day. LESSON 50. I am sustained by the Love of God. REVIEW I Introduction LESSON 51. The review for today covers the following ideas: LESSON 52. Today’s review covers these ideas: LESSON 53. Today we will review the following: LESSON 54. These are the review ideas for today: LESSON 55. Today’s review includes the following: LESSON 56. Our review for today covers the following: LESSON 57. Today let us review these ideas: LESSON 58. These ideas are for review today: LESSON 59. The following ideas are for review today: LESSON 60. These ideas are for today’s review: LESSON 61. I am the light of the world.
LESSON 62. Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world. LESSON 63. The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my forgiveness. LESSON 64. Let me not forget my function. LESSON 65. My only function is the one God gave me. LESSON 66. My happiness and my function are one. LESSON 67. Love created me like itself. LESSON 68. Love holds no grievances. LESSON 69. My grievances hide the light of the world in me. LESSON 70. My salvation comes from me. LESSON 71. Only God’s plan for salvation will work. LESSON 72. Holding grievances is an attack on God’s plan for salvation. LESSON 73. I will there be light. LESSON 74.
There is no will but God’s. LESSON 75. The light has come. LESSON 76. I am under no laws but God’s. LESSON 77. I am entitled to miracles. LESSON 78. Let miracles replace all grievances. LESSON 79. Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved. LESSON 80. Let me recognize my problems have been solved. REVIEW II Introduction LESSON 81. Our ideas for review today are: LESSON 82. We will review these ideas today: LESSON 83. Today let us review these ideas: LESSON 84. These are the ideas for today’s review: LESSON 85. Today’s review will cover these ideas: LESSON 86. These ideas are for review today: LESSON 87.
Our review today will cover these ideas: LESSON 88. Today we will review these ideas: LESSON 89. These are our review ideas for today: LESSON 90. For this review we will use these ideas: LESSON 91. Miracles are seen in light. LESSON 92. Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one. LESSON 93. Light and joy and peace abide in me. LESSON 94. I am as God created me. LESSON 95. I am one Self, united with my Creator. LESSON 96. Salvation comes from my one Self. LESSON 97. I am spirit. LESSON 98. I will accept my part in God’s plan for salvation. LESSON 99. Salvation is my only function here. LESSON 100. My part is essential to God’s plan for salvation.
LESSON 101. God’s Will for me is perfect happiness. LESSON 102. I share God’s Will for happiness for me. LESSON 103. God, being Love, is also happiness. LESSON 104. I seek but what belongs to me in truth. LESSON 105. God’s peace and joy are mine. LESSON 106. Let me be still and listen to the truth. LESSON 107. Truth will correct all errors in my mind. LESSON 108. To give and to receive are one in truth. LESSON 109. I rest in God. LESSON 110. I am as God created me. REVIEW III Introduction LESSON 111. For morning and evening review: LESSON 112. For morning and evening review: LESSON 113. For morning and evening review:
LESSON 114. For morning and evening review: LESSON 115. For morning and evening review: LESSON 116. For morning and evening review: LESSON 117. For morning and evening review: LESSON 118. For morning and evening review: LESSON 119. For morning and evening review: LESSON 120. For morning and evening review: LESSON 121. Forgiveness is the key to happiness. LESSON 122. Forgiveness offers everything I want. LESSON 123. I thank my Father for His gifts to me. LESSON 124. Let me remember I am one with God. LESSON 125. In quiet I receive God’s Word today. LESSON 126. All that I give is given to myself. LESSON 127. There is no love but God’s.
LESSON 128. The world I see holds nothing that I want. LESSON 129. Beyond this world there is a world I want. LESSON 130. It is impossible to see two worlds. LESSON 131. No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth. LESSON 132. I loose the world from all I thought it was. LESSON 133. I will not value what is valueless. LESSON 134. Let me perceive forgiveness as it is. LESSON 135. If I defend myself I am attacked. LESSON 136. Sickness is a defense against the truth. LESSON 137. When I am healed I am not healed alone. LESSON 138. Heaven is the decision I must make. LESSON 139. I will accept Atonement for myself. LESSON 140. Only salvation can be said to cure. REVIEW IV Introduction
LESSON 141. My mind holds only what I think with God LESSON 142. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 143. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 144. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 145. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 146. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 147. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 148. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 149. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 150. My mind holds only what I think with God. LESSON 151. All things are echoes of the Voice for God. LESSON 152. The power of decision is my own. LESSON 153. In my defenselessness my safety lies. LESSON 154. I am among the ministers of God.
LESSON 155. I will step back and let Him lead the way. LESSON 156. I walk with God in perfect holiness. LESSON 157. Into His Presence would I enter now. LESSON 158. Today I learn to give as I receive. LESSON 159. I give the miracles I have received. LESSON 160. I am at home. Fear is the stranger here. LESSON 161. Give me your blessing, holy Son of God. LESSON 162. I am as God created me. LESSON 163. There is no death. The Son of God is free. LESSON 164. Now are we one with Him Who is our Source. LESSON 165. Let not my mind deny the Thought of God. LESSON 166. I am entrusted with the gifts of God. LESSON 167. There is one life, and that I share with God. LESSON 168. Your grace is given me. I claim it now.
LESSON 169. By grace I live. By grace I am released. LESSON 170. There is no cruelty in God and none in me. REVIEW V Introduction LESSON 171. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 172. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 173. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 174. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 175. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 176. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 177. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 178. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 179. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. LESSON 180. God is but Love, and therefore so am I. Introduction to Lessons 181-200. LESSON 181.
I trust my brothers, who are one with me. LESSON 182. I will be still an instant and go home. LESSON 183. I call upon God’s Name and on my own. LESSON 184. The Name of God is my inheritance. LESSON 185. I want the peace of God. LESSON 186. Salvation of the world depends on me. LESSON 187. I bless the world because I bless myself. LESSON 188. The peace of God is shining in me now. LESSON 189. I feel the Love of God within me now. LESSON 190. I choose the joy of God instead of pain. LESSON 191. I am the holy Son of God Himself. LESSON 192. I have a function God would have me fill. LESSON 193. All things are lessons God would have me learn. LESSON 194. I place the future in the Hands of God. LESSON 195.
Love is the way I walk in gratitude. LESSON 196. It can be but myself I crucify. LESSON 197. It can be but my gratitude I earn. LESSON 198. Only my condemnation injures me. LESSON 199. I am not a body. I am free. LESSON 200. There is no peace except the peace of God. REVIEW VI Introduction LESSON 201. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 202. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 203. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 204. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 205. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me.
LESSON 206. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 207. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 208. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 209. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 210. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 211. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 212. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 213. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 214. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 215.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 216. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 217. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 218. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 219. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. LESSON 220. I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created me. PART II Introduction 1. What Is Forgiveness? LESSON 221. Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still. LESSON 222. God is with me. I live and move in Him. LESSON 223. God is my life. I have no life but His. LESSON 224. God is my Father, and He loves His Son.
LESSON 225. God is my Father, and His Son loves Him. LESSON 226. My home awaits me. I will hasten there. LESSON 227. This is my holy instant of release. LESSON 228. God has condemned me not. No more do I. LESSON 229. Love, which created me, is what I am. LESSON 230. Now will I seek and find the peace of God. 2. What Is Salvation? LESSON 231. Father, I will but to remember You. LESSON 232. Be in my mind, my Father, through the day. LESSON 233. I give my life to God to guide today. LESSON 234. Father, today I am Your Son again. LESSON 235. God in His mercy wills that I be saved. LESSON 236. I rule my mind, which I alone must rule. LESSON 237. Now would I be as God created me. LESSON 238.
On my decision all salvation rests. LESSON 239. The glory of my Father is my own. LESSON 240. Fear is not justified in any form. 3. What Is the World? LESSON 241. This holy instant is salvation come. LESSON 242. This day is God’s. It is my gift to Him. LESSON 243. Today I will judge nothing that occurs. LESSON 244. I am in danger nowhere in the world. LESSON 245. Your peace is with me, Father. I am safe. LESSON 246. To love my Father is to love His Son. LESSON 247. Without forgiveness I will still be blind. LESSON 248. Whatever suffers is not part of me. LESSON 249. Forgiveness ends all suffering and loss. LESSON 250. Let me not see myself as limited. 4. What Is Sin? LESSON 251.
I am in need of nothing but the truth. LESSON 252. The Son of God is my Identity. LESSON 253. My Self is ruler of the universe. LESSON 254. Let every voice but God’s be still in me. LESSON 255. This day I choose to spend in perfect peace. LESSON 256. God is the only goal I have today. LESSON 257. Let me remember what my purpose is. LESSON 258. Let me remember that my goal is God. LESSON 259. Let me remember that there is no sin. LESSON 260. Let me remember God created me. 5. What Is the Body? LESSON 261. God is my refuge and security. LESSON 262. Let me perceive no differences today. LESSON 263. My holy vision sees all things as pure. LESSON 264. I am surrounded by the Love of God.
LESSON 265. Creation’s gentleness is all I see. LESSON 266. My holy Self abides in you, God’s Son. LESSON 267. My heart is beating in the peace of God. LESSON 268. Let all things be exactly as they are. LESSON 269. My sight goes forth to look upon Christ’s face. LESSON 270. I will not use the body’s eyes today. 6. What Is the Christ? LESSON 271. Christ’s is the vision I will use today. LESSON 272. How can illusions satisfy God’s Son? LESSON 273. The stillness of the peace of God is mine. LESSON 274. Today belongs to love. Let me not fear. LESSON 275. God’s healing Voice protects all things today. LESSON 276. The Word of God is given me to speak. LESSON 277. Let me not bind Your Son with laws I made. LESSON 278.
If I am bound, my Father is not free. LESSON 279. Creation’s freedom promises my own. LESSON 280. What limits can I lay upon God’s Son? 7. What Is the Holy Spirit? LESSON 281. I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts. LESSON 282. I will not be afraid of love today. LESSON 283. My true Identity abides in You. LESSON 284. I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt. LESSON 285. My holiness shines bright and clear today. LESSON 286. The hush of Heaven holds my heart today. LESSON 287. You are my goal, my Father. Only You. LESSON 288. Let me forget my brother’s past today. LESSON 289. The past is over. It can touch me not. LESSON 290. My present happiness is all I see. 8. What Is the Real World? LESSON 291.
This is a day of stillness and of peace. LESSON 292. A happy outcome to all things is sure. LESSON 293. All fear is past and only love is here. LESSON 294. My body is a wholly neutral thing. LESSON 295. The Holy Spirit looks through me today. LESSON 296. The Holy Spirit speaks through me today. LESSON 297. Forgiveness is the only gift I give. LESSON 298. I love You, Father, and I love Your Son. LESSON 299. Eternal holiness abides in me. LESSON 300. Only an instant does this world endure. 9. What Is the Second Coming? LESSON 301. And God Himself shall wipe away all tears. LESSON 302. Where darkness was I look upon the light. LESSON 303. The holy Christ is born in me today. LESSON 304. Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.
LESSON 305. There is a peace that Christ bestows on us. LESSON 306. The gift of Christ is all I seek today. LESSON 307. Conflicting wishes cannot be my will. LESSON 308. This instant is the only time there is. LESSON 309. I will not fear to look within today. LESSON 310. In fearlessness and love I spend today. 10. What Is the Last Judgment? LESSON 311. I judge all things as I would have them be. LESSON 312. I see all things as I would have them be. LESSON 313. Now let a new perception come to me. LESSON 314. I seek a future different from the past. LESSON 315. All gifts my brothers give belong to me. LESSON 316. All gifts I give my brothers are my own. LESSON 317. I follow in the way appointed me. LESSON 318.
In me salvation’s means and end are one. LESSON 319. I came for the salvation of the world. LESSON 320. My Father gives all power unto me. 11. What Is Creation? LESSON 321. Father, my freedom is in You alone. LESSON 322. I can give up but what was never real. LESSON 323. I gladly make the “sacrifice” of fear. LESSON 324. I merely follow, for I would not lead. LESSON 325. All things I think I see reflect ideas. LESSON 326. I am forever an Effect of God. LESSON 327. I need but call and You will answer me. LESSON 328. I choose the second place to gain the first. LESSON 329. I have already chosen what You will. LESSON 330. I will not hurt myself again today. 12. What Is the Ego? LESSON 331.
There is no conflict, for my will is Yours. LESSON 332. Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free. LESSON 333. Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here. LESSON 334. Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives. LESSON 335. I choose to see my brother’s sinlessness. LESSON 336. Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined. LESSON 337. My sinlessness protects me from all harm. LESSON 338. I am affected only by my thoughts. LESSON 339. I will receive whatever I request. LESSON 340. I can be free of suffering today. 13. What Is a Miracle? LESSON 341. I can attack but my own sinlessness, And it is only that which keeps me safe. LESSON 342. I let forgiveness rest upon all things, For thus forgiveness will be given me. LESSON 343. I am not asked to make a sacrifice
To find the mercy and the peace of God. LESSON 344. Today I learn the law of love; that what I give my brother is my gift to me. LESSON 345. I offer only miracles today, For I would have them be returned to me. LESSON 346. Today the peace of God envelops me, And I forget all things except His Love. LESSON 347. Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is The weapon I would use against myself, To keep the miracle away from me. LESSON 348. I have no cause for anger or for fear, For You surround me. And in every need That I perceive, Your grace suffices me. LESSON 349. Today I let Christ’s vision look upon All things for me and judge them not, but give Each one a miracle of love instead. LESSON 350. Miracles mirror God’s eternal Love. To offer them is to remember Him, And through His memory to save the world. 14. What Am I? LESSON 351.
My sinless brother is my guide to peace. My sinful brother is my guide to pain. And which I choose to see I will behold. LESSON 352. Judgment and love are opposites. From one Come all the sorrows of the world. But from The other comes the peace of God Himself. LESSON 353. My eyes, my tongue, my hands, my feet today Have but one purpose; to be given Christ To use to bless the world with miracles. LESSON 354. We stand together, Christ and I, in peace And certainty of purpose. And in Him Is His Creator, as He is in me. LESSON 355. There is no end to all the peace and joy, And all the miracles that I will give, When I accept God’s Word. Why not today? LESSON 356. Sickness is but another name for sin. Healing is but another name for God. The miracle is thus a call to Him. LESSON 357. Truth answers every call we make to God, Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself. LESSON 358. No call to God can be unheard nor left Unanswered. And of this I can be sure; His answer is the one I really want. LESSON 359. God’s answer is some form of peace. All pain Is healed; all misery replaced with joy. All prison doors are opened. And all sin Is understood as merely a mistake. LESSON 360. Peace be to me, the holy Son of God. Peace to my brother, who is one with me. Let all the world be blessed with peace through us. FINAL LESSONS. Introduction LESSONS 361 to 365. This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I would follow You, Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
EPILOGUE
2. WHO ARE THEIR PUPILS?
3. WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF TEACHING?
4. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S TEACHERS? I. Trust A. Development of Trust II. Honesty III. Tolerance IV. Gentleness V. Joy VI. Defenselessness VII. Generosity VIII. Patience IX. Faithfulness X. Open-Mindedness
5. HOW IS HEALING ACCOMPLISHED? I. The Perceived Purpose of Sickness II. The Shift in Perception III. The Function of the Teacher of God
6. IS HEALING CERTAIN?
8. HOW CAN PERCEPTION OF ORDER OF DIFFICULTIES BE AVOIDED?
9. ARE CHANGES REQUIRED IN THE LIFE SITUATION OF GOD’S TEACHERS?
10. HOW IS JUDGMENT RELINQUISHED?
11. HOW IS PEACE POSSIBLE IN THIS WORLD?
12. HOW MANY TEACHERS OF GOD ARE NEEDED TO SAVE THE WORLD?
13. WHAT IS THE REAL MEANING OF SACRIFICE?
14. HOW WILL THE WORLD END?
15. IS EACH ONE TO BE JUDGED IN THE END?
16. HOW SHOULD THE TEACHER OF GOD SPEND HIS DAY?
17. HOW DO GOD’S TEACHERS DEAL WITH MAGIC THOUGHTS?
18. HOW IS CORRECTION MADE?
19. WHAT IS JUSTICE?
21. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF WORDS IN HEALING?
22. HOW ARE HEALING AND ATONEMENT
RELATED?
24. IS REINCARNATION SO?
26. CAN GOD BE REACHED DIRECTLY?
27. WHAT IS DEATH?
CLARIFICATION OF TERMS
3. FORGIVENESS–THE FACE OF CHRIST
4. TRUE PERCEPTION–KNOWLEDGE
1. THE PURPOSE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY Introduction
2. THE PROCESS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY Introduction I. The Limits on Psychotherapy II. The Place of Religion in Psychotherapy III. The Role of the Psychotherapist IV. The Process of Illness V. The Process of Healing VI. The Definition of Healing VII. The Ideal Patient-Therapist Relationship
3. THE PRACTICE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY I. The Selection of Patients II. Is Psychotherapy a Profession? III. The Question of Payment
SONG OF PRAYER
1. PRAYER
Introduction I. True Prayer II. The Ladder of Prayer III. Praying for Others IV. Praying with Others V. The Ladder Ends
2. FORGIVENESS Introduction I. Forgiveness of Yourself II. Forgiveness-to-Destroy III. Forgiveness-for-Salvation
3. HEALING Introduction I. The Cause of Sickness II. False versus True Healing III. Separation versus Union IV. The Holiness of Healing
PREFACE
This Preface was written in 1977, in response to many requests for a brief introduction to A Course in Miracles®. The first two parts–How It Came; What It Is–Helen Schucman wrote herself; the final part–What It Says–was written by the process of inner dictation described in the Preface.
How It Came
A Course in Miracles began with the sudden decision of two people to join in a common goal. Their names were Helen Schucman and William Thetford, Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. It does not matter who they were, except that the story shows that with God all things are possible. They were anything but spiritual. Their relationship with each other 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. Their lives were hardly in accord with anything that the Course advocates. Helen, the one who received the material, describes herself:
Psychologist, educator, conservative in
theory and atheistic in belief, I was working in a prestigious and highly academic setting. And then something happened 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 their intention was serious, they had great difficulty in starting out on their joint venture. But they had given the Holy Spirit the “little willingness” that, as the Course itself was to emphasize again and again, is sufficient to enable Him to use any situation for His purposes and provide it with His power. 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 be giving me a kind of rapid, inner dictation which I took down in a shorthand notebook. 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 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.
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.
What It Is
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. 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. The curriculum the Course proposes is carefully conceived and is explained, step by step, at both the theoretical and practical levels. It emphasizes application rather than theory, and experience rather than theology. It specifically states that “a universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary” (Manual, p. 77). Although Christian in statement, the Course deals with universal spiritual themes. It emphasizes that it is but one version of the universal curriculum. There are many others, this
one differing from them only in form. They all lead to God in the end. The Text is largely theoretical, and sets forth the concepts on which the Course’s thought system is based. Its ideas contain the foundation for the Workbook’s lessons. Without the practical application the Workbook provides, the Text would remain largely a series of abstractions which would hardly suffice to bring about the thought reversal at which the Course aims. The Workbook includes 365 lessons, one for each day of the year. It is not necessary, however, to do the lessons at that tempo, and one might want to remain with a particularly appealing lesson for more than one day. The instructions urge only that not more than one lesson a day should be attempted. The practical nature of the Workbook is underscored by the introduction to its lessons, which emphasizes experience through application rather than a prior commitment to a spiritual goal:
Some of the ideas the workbook presents you will find hard to believe, and others may seem to be quite startling. This does not matter. You are merely asked to apply the ideas as you are directed to do. You are not asked to judge them at all. You are asked only to use them. It is their use that will give them
meaning to you, and will show you that they are true. Remember only this; you need not believe the ideas, you need not accept them, and you need not even welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required (Workbook, p. 2).
Finally, the Manual for Teachers, which is written in question and answer form, provides answers to some of the more likely questions a student might ask. It also includes a clarification of a number of the terms the Course uses, explaining them within the theoretical framework of the Text. The Course makes no claim to finality, nor are the Workbook lessons intended to bring the student’s learning to completion. At the end, the reader is left in the hands of his or her own Internal Teacher, Who will direct all subsequent learning as He sees fit. While the Course is comprehensive in scope, truth cannot be limited to any finite form, as is clearly recognized in the statement at the end of the Workbook:
This Course is a beginning, not an end…No
more specific lessons are assigned, for there is no more need of them. Henceforth, hear but the Voice for God…He will direct your efforts, telling you exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certain Word (Workbook, p. 487).
What It Says
Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God. This is how A Course in Miracles begins. It makes a fundamental distinction between the real and the unreal; between knowledge and perception. Knowledge is truth, under one law, the law of love or God. Truth is unalterable, eternal and unambiguous. It can be unrecognized, but it cannot be changed. It applies to everything that God created, and only what He created is real. It is beyond learning because it is beyond time and process. It has no opposite; no beginning and no end. It merely is. The world of perception, on the other hand, is the world of time, of change, of beginnings and endings. It is based on interpretation, not on facts. It is the world of birth and death, founded
on the belief in scarcity, loss, separation and death. It is learned rather than given, selective in its perceptual emphases, unstable in its functioning, and inaccurate in its interpretations. From knowledge and perception respectively, two distinct thought systems arise which are opposite in every respect. In the realm of knowledge no thoughts exist apart from God, because God and His Creation share one Will. The world of perception, however, is made by the belief in opposites and separate wills, in perpetual conflict with each other and with God. What perception sees and hears appears to be real because it permits into awareness only what conforms to the wishes of the perceiver. This leads to a world of illusions, a world which needs constant defense precisely because it is not real. When you have been caught in the world of perception you are caught in a dream. You cannot escape without help, because everything your senses show merely witnesses to the reality of the dream. God has provided the Answer, the only Way out, the true Helper. It is the function of His Voice, His Holy Spirit, to mediate between the two worlds. He can do this because, while on the one hand He knows the truth, on the other He also recognizes our illusions, but without believing in them. It is the Holy Spirit’s goal to help us escape
from the dream world by teaching us how to reverse our thinking and unlearn our mistakes. Forgiveness is the Holy Spirit’s great learning aid in bringing this thought reversal about. However, the Course has its own definition of what forgiveness really is just as it defines the world in its own way. The world we see merely reflects our own internal frame of reference–the dominant ideas, wishes and emotions in our minds. “Projection makes perception” (Text, p. 445). We look inside first, decide the kind of world we want to see and then project that world outside, making it the truth as we see it. We make it true by our interpretations of what it is we are seeing. If we are using perception to justify our own mistakes–our anger, our impulses to attack, our lack of love in whatever form it may take–we will see a world of evil, destruction, malice, envy and despair. All this we must learn to forgive, not because we are being “good” and “charitable,” but because what we are seeing is not true. We have distorted the world by our twisted defenses, and are therefore seeing what is not there. As we learn to recognize our perceptual errors, we also learn to look past them or “forgive.” At the same time we are forgiving ourselves, looking past our distorted self-concepts to the Self That God created in us and as us.
Sin is defined as “lack of love” (Text, p. 11). Since love is all there is, sin in the sight of the Holy Spirit is a mistake to be corrected, rather than an evil to be punished. Our sense of inadequacy, weakness and incompletion comes from the strong investment in the “scarcity principle” that governs the whole world of illusions. From that point of view, we seek in others what we feel is wanting in ourselves. We “love” another in order to get something ourselves. That, in fact, is what passes for love in the dream world. There can be no greater mistake than that, for love is incapable of asking for anything. Only minds can really join, and whom God has joined no man can put asunder (Text, p. 356). It is, however, only at the level of Christ Mind that true union is possible, and has, in fact, never been lost. The “little I” seeks to enhance itself by external approval, external possessions and external “love.” The Self That God created needs nothing. It is forever complete, safe, loved and loving. It seeks to share rather than to get; to extend rather than project. It has no needs and wants to join with others out of their mutual awareness of abundance. The special relationships of the world are destructive, selfish and childishly egocentric. Yet, if given to the Holy Spirit, these relationships can
become the holiest things on earth–the miracles that point the way to the return to Heaven. The world uses its special relationships as a final weapon of exclusion and a demonstration of separateness. The Holy Spirit transforms them into perfect lessons in forgiveness and in awakening from the dream. Each one is an opportunity to let perceptions be healed and errors corrected. Each one is another chance to forgive oneself by forgiving the other. And each one becomes still another invitation to the Holy Spirit and to the remembrance of God. Perception is a function of the body, and therefore represents a limit on awareness. Perception sees through the body’s eyes and hears through the body’s ears. It evokes the limited responses which the body makes. The body appears to be largely self-motivated and independent, yet it actually responds only to the intentions of the mind. If the mind wants to use it for attack in any form, it becomes prey to sickness, age and decay. If the mind accepts the Holy Spirit’s purpose for it instead, it becomes a useful way of communicating with others, invulnerable as long as it is needed, and to be gently laid by when its use is over. Of itself it is neutral, as is everything in the world of perception. Whether it is used for the goals of the ego or the Holy Spirit depends
entirely on what the mind wants. The opposite of seeing through the body’s eyes is the vision of Christ, which reflects strength rather than weakness, unity rather than separation, and love rather than fear. The opposite of hearing through the body’s ears is communication through the Voice for God, the Holy Spirit, which abides in each of us. His Voice seems distant and difficult to hear because the ego, which speaks for the little, separated self, seems to be much louder. This is actually reversed. The Holy Spirit speaks with unmistakable clarity and overwhelming appeal. No one who does not choose to identify with the body could possibly be deaf to His messages of release and hope, nor could he fail to accept joyously the vision of Christ in glad exchange for his miserable picture of himself. Christ’s vision is the Holy Spirit’s gift, God’s alternative to the illusion of separation and to the belief in the reality of sin, guilt and death. It is the one correction for all errors of perception; the reconciliation of the seeming opposites on which this world is based. Its kindly light shows all things from another point of view, reflecting the thought system that arises from knowledge and making return to God not only possible but inevitable. What was regarded as injustice done to one by someone else now becomes a call for help
and for union. Sin, sickness and attack are seen as misperceptions calling for remedy through gentleness and love. Defenses are laid down because where there is no attack there is no need for them. Our brothers’ needs become our own, because they are taking the journey with us as we go to God. Without us they would lose their way. Without them we could never find our own. Forgiveness is unknown in Heaven, where the need for it would be inconceivable. However, in this world, forgiveness is a necessary correction for all the mistakes that we have made. To offer forgiveness is the only way for us to have it, for it reflects the law of Heaven that giving and receiving are the same. Heaven is the natural state of all the Sons of God as He created them. Such is their reality forever. It has not changed because it has been forgotten. Forgiveness is the means by which we will remember. Through forgiveness the thinking of the world is reversed. The forgiven world becomes the gate of Heaven, because by its mercy we can at last forgive ourselves. Holding no one prisoner to guilt, we become free. Acknowledging Christ in all our brothers, we recognize His Presence in ourselves. Forgetting all our misperceptions, and with nothing from the past to hold us back, we can remember God. Beyond this, learning cannot
go. When we are ready, God Himself will take the final step in our return to Him.
A Course in Miracles
TEXT
INTRODUCTION
T-in.1. This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the awareness of love’s presence, which is your natural inheritance. The opposite of love is fear, but what is all-encompassing can have no opposite. T-in.2. This course can therefore be summed up very simply in this way:
Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
Chapter 1. THE MEANING OF MIRACLES
I. Principles of Miracles
T-1.I.1. There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not “harder” or “bigger” than another. They are all the same. All expressions of love are maximal. T-1.I.2. Miracles as such do not matter. The only thing that matters is their Source, which is far beyond evaluation. T-1.I.3. Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle. T-1.I.4. All miracles mean life, and God is the Giver of life. His Voice will direct you very specifically. You will be told all you need to know. T-1.I.5. Miracles are habits, and should be involuntary. They should not be under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles can be misguided. T-1.I.6. Miracles are natural. When they do not occur something has gone wrong. T-1.I.7. Miracles are everyone’s right, but purification is necessary first. T-1.I.8. Miracles are healing because they supply a lack; they are performed by those who
temporarily have more for those who temporarily have less. T-1.I.9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love, which are always miraculous in the true sense, the exchange reverses the physical laws. They bring more love both to the giver and the receiver. T-1.I.10. The use of miracles as spectacles to induce belief is a misunderstanding of their purpose. T-1.I.11. Prayer is the medium of miracles. It is a means of communication of the created with the Creator. Through prayer love is received, and through miracles love is expressed. T-1.I.12. Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent the lower or bodily level of experience, or the higher or spiritual level of experience. One makes the physical, and the other creates the spiritual. T-1.I.13. Miracles are both beginnings and endings, and so they alter the temporal order. They are always affirmations of rebirth, which seem to go back but really go forward. They undo the past in the present, and thus release the future. T-1.I.14. Miracles bear witness to truth. They are convincing because they arise from conviction. Without conviction they deteriorate into magic,
which is mindless and therefore destructive; or rather, the uncreative use of mind. T-1.I.15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of time is to enable you to learn how to use time constructively. It is thus a teaching device and a means to an end. Time will cease when it is no longer useful in facilitating learning. T-1.I.16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating it is as blessed to give as to receive. They simultaneously increase the strength of the giver and supply strength to the receiver. T-1.I.17. Miracles transcend the body. They are sudden shifts into invisibility, away from the bodily level. That is why they heal. T-1.I.18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service you can render to another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself. You recognize your own and your neighbor’s worth simultaneously. T-1.I.19. Miracles make minds osne in God. They depend on cooperation because the Sonship is the sum of all that God created. Miracles therefore reflect the laws of eternity, not of time. T-1.I.20. Miracles reawaken the awareness that the spirit, not the body, is the altar of truth. This is the recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle. T-1.I.21. Miracles are natural signs of forgiveness.
Through miracles you accept God’s forgiveness by extending it to others. T-1.I.22. Miracles are associated with fear only because of the belief that darkness can hide. You believe that what your physical eyes cannot see does not exist. This leads to a denial of spiritual sight. T-1.I.23. Miracles rearrange perception and place all levels in true perspective. This is healing because sickness comes from confusing the levels. T-1.I.24. Miracles enable you to heal the sick and raise the dead because you made sickness and death yourself, and can therefore abolish both. You are a miracle, capable of creating in the likeness of your Creator. Everything else is your own nightmare, and does not exist. Only the creations of light are real. T-1.I.25. Miracles are part of an interlocking chain of forgiveness which, when completed, is the Atonement. Atonement works all the time and in all the dimensions of time. T-1.I.26. Miracles represent freedom from fear. “Atoning” means “undoing.” The undoing of fear is an essential part of the Atonement value of miracles. T-1.I.27. A miracle is a universal blessing from God through me to all my brothers. It is the
privilege of the forgiven to forgive. T-1.I.28. Miracles are a way of earning release from fear. Revelation induces a state in which fear has already been abolished. Miracles are thus a means and revelation is an end. T-1.I.29. Miracles praise God through you. They praise Him by honoring His creations, affirming their perfection. They heal because they deny body-identification and affirm spirit- identification. T-1.I.30. By recognizing spirit, miracles adjust the levels of perception and show them in proper alignment. This places spirit at the center, where it can communicate directly. T-1.I.31. Miracles should inspire gratitude, not awe. You should thank God for what you really are. The children of God are holy and the miracle honors their holiness, which can be hidden but never lost. T-1.I.32. I inspire all miracles, which are really intercessions. They intercede for your holiness and make your perceptions holy. By placing you beyond the physical laws they raise you into the sphere of celestial order. In this order you are perfect. T-1.I.33. Miracles honor you because you are lovable. They dispel illusions about yourself and perceive the light in you. They thus atone for your
errors by freeing you from your nightmares. By releasing your mind from the imprisonment of your illusions, they restore your sanity. T-1.I.34. Miracles restore the mind to its fullness. By atoning for lack they establish perfect protection. The spirit’s strength leaves no room for intrusions. T-1.I.35. Miracles are expressions of love, but they may not always have observable effects. T-1.I.36. Miracles are examples of right thinking, aligning your perceptions with truth as God created it. T-1.I.37. A miracle is a correction introduced into false thinking by me. It acts as a catalyst, breaking up erroneous perception and reorganizing it properly. This places you under the Atonement principle, where perception is healed. Until this has occurred, knowledge of the Divine Order is impossible. T-1.I.38. The Holy Spirit is the mechanism of miracles. He recognizes both God’s creations and your illusions. He separates the true from the false by His ability to perceive totally rather than selectively. T-1.I.39. The miracle dissolves error because the Holy Spirit identifies error as false or unreal. This is the same as saying that by perceiving light, darkness automatically disappears.
T-1.I.40. The miracle acknowledges everyone as your brother and mine. It is a way of perceiving the universal mark of God. T-1.I.41. Wholeness is the perceptual content of miracles. They thus correct, or atone for, the faulty perception of lack. T-1.I.42. A major contribution of miracles is their strength in releasing you from your false sense of isolation, deprivation and lack. T-1.I.43. Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind, or a state of miracle-readiness. T-1.I.44. The miracle is an expression of an inner awareness of Christ and the acceptance of His Atonement. T-1.I.45. A miracle is never lost. It may touch many people you have not even met, and produce undreamed of changes in situations of which you are not even aware. T-1.I.46. The Holy Spirit is the highest communication medium. Miracles do not involve this type of communication, because they are temporary communication devices. When you return to your original form of communication with God by direct revelation, the need for miracles is over. T-1.I.47. The miracle is a learning device that lessens the need for time. It establishes an out-of- pattern time interval not under the usual laws of
time. In this sense it is timeless. T-1.I.48. The miracle is the only device at your immediate disposal for controlling time. Only revelation transcends it, having nothing to do with time at all. T-1.I.49. The miracle makes no distinction among degrees of misperception. It is a device for perception correction, effective quite apart from either the degree or the direction of the error. This is its true indiscriminateness. T-1.I.50. The miracle compares what you have made with creation, accepting what is in accord with it as true, and rejecting what is out of accord as false.
II. Revelation, Time and Miracles
T-1.II.1. Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension of doubt and fear. It reflects the original form of communication between God and His creations, involving the extremely personal sense of creation sometimes sought in physical relationships. Physical closeness cannot achieve it. Miracles, however, are genuinely interpersonal, and result in true closeness to others. Revelation unites you directly with God. Miracles unite you directly with your brother. Neither emanates from consciousness,
but both are experienced there. Consciousness is the state that induces action, though it does not inspire it. You are free to believe what you choose, and what you do attests to what you believe. T-1.II.2. Revelation is intensely personal and cannot be meaningfully translated. That is why any attempt to describe it in words is impossible. Revelation induces only experience. Miracles, on the other hand, induce action. They are more useful now because of their interpersonal nature. In this phase of learning, working miracles is important because freedom from fear cannot be thrust upon you. Revelation is literally unspeakable because it is an experience of unspeakable love. T-1.II.3. Awe should be reserved for revelation, to which it is perfectly and correctly applicable. It is not appropriate for miracles because a state of awe is worshipful, implying that one of a lesser order stands before his Creator. You are a perfect creation, and should experience awe only in the Presence of the Creator of perfection. The miracle is therefore a sign of love among equals. Equals should not be in awe of one another because awe implies inequality. It is therefore an inappropriate reaction to me. An elder brother is entitled to respect for his greater experience, and obedience for his greater wisdom. He is also entitled to love
because he is a brother, and to devotion if he is devoted. It is only my devotion that entitles me to yours. There is nothing about me that you cannot attain. I have nothing that does not come from God. The difference between us now is that I have nothing else. This leaves me in a state which is only potential in you. T-1.II.4. “No man cometh unto the Father but by me” does not mean that I am in any way separate or different from you except in time, and time does not really exist. The statement is more meaningful in terms of a vertical rather than a horizontal axis. You stand below me and I stand below God. In the process of “rising up,” I am higher because without me the distance between God and man would be too great for you to encompass. I bridge the distance as an elder brother to you on the one hand, and as a Son of God on the other. My devotion to my brothers has placed me in charge of the Sonship, which I render complete because I share it. This may appear to contradict the statement “I and my Father are one,” but there are two parts to the statement in recognition that the Father is greater. T-1.II.5. Revelations are indirectly inspired by me because I am close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of my brothers. I can
thus bring down to them more than they can draw down to themselves. The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower communication, keeping the direct channel from God to you open for revelation. Revelation is not reciprocal. It proceeds from God to you, but not from you to God. T-1.II.6. The miracle minimizes the need for time. In the longitudinal or horizontal plane the recognition of the equality of the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time. However, the miracle entails a sudden shift from horizontal to vertical perception. This introduces an interval from which the giver and receiver both emerge farther along in time than they would otherwise have been. The miracle thus has the unique property of abolishing time to the extent that it renders the interval of time it spans unnecessary. There is no relationship between the time a miracle takes and the time it covers. The miracle substitutes for learning that might have taken thousands of years. It does so by the underlying recognition of perfect equality of giver and receiver on which the miracle rests. The miracle shortens time by collapsing it, thus eliminating certain intervals within it. It does this, however, within the larger temporal sequence.
III. Atonement and Miracles
T-1.III.1. I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I undertook to begin. When you offer a miracle to any of my brothers, you do it to yourself and me. The reason you come before me is that I do not need miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end in case you fail temporarily. My part in the Atonement is the cancelling out of all errors that you could not otherwise correct. When you have been restored to the recognition of your original state, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself. As you share my unwillingness to accept error in yourself and others, you must join the great crusade to correct it; listen to my voice, learn to undo error and act to correct it. The power to work miracles belongs to you. I will provide the opportunities to do them, but you must be ready and willing. Doing them will bring conviction in the ability, because conviction comes through accomplishment. The ability is the potential, the achievement is its expression, and the Atonement, which is the natural profession of the children of God, is the purpose. T-1.III.2. “Heaven and earth shall pass away” means that they will not continue to exist as separate states. My word, which is the
resurrection and the life, shall not pass away because life is eternal. You are the work of God, and His work is wholly lovable and wholly loving. This is how a man must think of himself in his heart, because this is what he is. T-1.III.3. The forgiven are the means of the Atonement. Being filled with spirit, they forgive in return. Those who are released must join in releasing their brothers, for this is the plan of the Atonement. Miracles are the way in which minds that serve the Holy Spirit unite with me for the salvation or release of all of God’s creations. T-1.III.4. I am the only one who can perform miracles indiscriminately, because I am the Atonement. You have a role in the Atonement which I will dictate to you. Ask me which miracles you should perform. This spares you needless effort, because you will be acting under direct communication. The impersonal nature of the miracle is an essential ingredient, because it enables me to direct its application, and under my guidance miracles lead to the highly personal experience of revelation. A guide does not control but he does direct, leaving it up to you to follow. “Lead us not into temptation” means “Recognize your errors and choose to abandon them by following my guidance.” T-1.III.5. Error cannot really threaten truth,
which can always withstand it. Only the error is actually vulnerable. You are free to establish your kingdom where you see fit, but the right choice is inevitable if you remember this:
Spirit is in a state of grace forever. Your reality is only spirit. Therefore you are in a state of grace forever.
Atonement undoes all errors in this respect, and thus uproots the source of fear. Whenever you experience God’s reassurances as threat, it is always because you are defending misplaced or misdirected loyalty. When you project this to others you imprison them, but only to the extent to which you reinforce errors they have already made. This makes them vulnerable to the distortions of others, since their own perception of themselves is distorted. The miracle worker can only bless them, and this undoes their distortions and frees them from prison. T-1.III.6. You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you behave. The Golden Rule asks you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This means that the perception of both must be accurate. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate behavior. You cannot behave appropriately unless you perceive correctly. Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one family, as you perceive both so
you will do to both. You should look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness of others. T-1.III.7. Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. By being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the awareness of the miracle worker himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the Atonement itself is one, uniting all creations with their Creator. As an expression of what you truly are, the miracle places the mind in a state of grace. The mind then naturally welcomes the Host within and the stranger without. When you bring in the stranger, he becomes your brother. T-1.III.8. That the miracle may have effects on your brothers that you may not recognize is not your concern. The miracle will always bless you. Miracles you are not asked to perform have not lost their value. They are still expressions of your own state of grace, but the action aspect of the miracle should be controlled by me because of my complete awareness of the whole plan. The impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures your grace, but only I am in a position to know where they can be bestowed. T-1.III.9. Miracles are selective only in the sense that they are directed towards those who can use them for themselves. Since this makes it
inevitable that they will extend them to others, a strong chain of Atonement is welded. However, this selectivity takes no account of the magnitude of the miracle itself, because the concept of size exists on a plane that is itself unreal. Since the miracle aims at restoring the awareness of reality, it would not be useful if it were bound by laws that govern the error it aims to correct.
IV. The Escape from Darkness
T-1.IV.1. The escape from darkness involves two stages: First, the recognition that darkness cannot hide. This step usually entails fear. Second, the recognition that there is nothing you want to hide even if you could. This step brings escape from fear. When you have become willing to hide nothing, you will not only be willing to enter into communion but will also understand peace and joy. T-1.IV.2. Holiness can never be really hidden in darkness, but you can deceive yourself about it. This deception makes you fearful because you realize in your heart it is a deception, and you exert enormous efforts to establish its reality. The miracle sets reality where it belongs. Reality belongs only to spirit, and the miracle acknowledges only truth. It thus dispels illusions
about yourself, and puts you in communion with yourself and God. The miracle joins in the Atonement by placing the mind in the service of the Holy Spirit. This establishes the proper function of the mind and corrects its errors, which are merely lacks of love. Your mind can be possessed by illusions, but spirit is eternally free. If a mind perceives without love, it perceives an empty shell and is unaware of the spirit within. But the Atonement restores spirit to its proper place. The mind that serves spirit is invulnerable. T-1.IV.3. Darkness is lack of light as sin is lack of love. It has no unique properties of its own. It is an example of the “scarcity” belief, from which only error can proceed. Truth is always abundant. Those who perceive and acknowledge that they have everything have no needs of any kind. The purpose of the Atonement is to restore everything to you; or rather, to restore it to your awareness. You were given everything when you were created, just as everyone was. T-1.IV.4. The emptiness engendered by fear must be replaced by forgiveness. That is what the Bible means by “There is no death,” and why I could demonstrate that death does not exist. I came to fulfill the law by reinterpreting it. The law itself, if properly understood, offers only protection. It is those who have not yet changed their minds who
brought the “hell-fire” concept into it. I assure you that I will witness for anyone who lets me, and to whatever extent he permits it. Your witnessing demonstrates your belief, and thus strengthens it. Those who witness for me are expressing, through their miracles, that they have abandoned the belief in deprivation in favor of the abundance they have learned belongs to them.
V. Wholeness and Spirit
T-1.V.1. The miracle is much like the body in that both are learning aids for facilitating a state in which they become unnecessary. When spirit’s original state of direct communication is reached, neither the body nor the miracle serves any purpose. While you believe you are in a body, however, you can choose between loveless and miraculous channels of expression. You can make an empty shell, but you cannot express nothing at all. You can wait, delay, paralyze yourself, or reduce your creativity almost to nothing. But you cannot abolish it. You can destroy your medium of communication, but not your potential. You did not create yourself. T-1.V.2. The basic decision of the miracle-minded is not to wait on time any longer than is necessary. Time can waste as well as be wasted.
The miracle worker, therefore, accepts the time- control factor gladly. He recognizes that every collapse of time brings everyone closer to the ultimate release from time, in which the Son and the Father are One. Equality does not imply equality now. When everyone recognizes that he has everything, individual contributions to the Sonship will no longer be necessary. T-1.V.3. When the Atonement has been completed, all talents will be shared by all the Sons of God. God is not partial. All His children have His total Love, and all His gifts are freely given to everyone alike. “Except ye become as little children” means that unless you fully recognize your complete dependence on God, you cannot know the real power of the Son in his true relationship with the Father. The specialness of God’s Sons does not stem from exclusion but from inclusion. All my brothers are special. If they believe they are deprived of anything, their perception becomes distorted. When this occurs the whole family of God, or the Sonship, is impaired in its relationships. T-1.V.4. Ultimately, every member of the family of God must return. The miracle calls him to return because it blesses and honors him, even though he may be absent in spirit. “God is not mocked” is not a warning but a reassurance. God would be
mocked if any of His creations lacked holiness. The creation is whole, and the mark of wholeness is holiness. Miracles are affirmations of Sonship, which is a state of completion and abundance. T-1.V.5. Whatever is true is eternal, and cannot change or be changed. Spirit is therefore unalterable because it is already perfect, but the mind can elect what it chooses to serve. The only limit put on its choice is that it cannot serve two masters. If it elects to do so, the mind can become the medium by which spirit creates along the line of its own creation. If it does not freely elect to do so, it retains its creative potential but places itself under tyrannous rather than Authoritative control. As a result it imprisons, because such are the dictates of tyrants. To change your mind means to place it at the disposal of true Authority. T-1.V.6. The miracle is a sign that the mind has chosen to be led by me in Christ’s service. The abundance of Christ is the natural result of choosing to follow Him. All shallow roots must be uprooted, because they are not deep enough to sustain you. The illusion that shallow roots can be deepened, and thus made to hold, is one of the distortions on which the reverse of the Golden Rule rests. As these false underpinnings are given up, the equilibrium is temporarily experienced as unstable. However, nothing is less stable than an
upside-down orientation. Nor can anything that holds it upside down be conducive to increased stability.
VI. The Illusion of Needs
T-1.VI.1. You who want peace can find it only by complete forgiveness. No learning is acquired by anyone unless he wants to learn it and believes in some way that he needs it. While lack does not exist in the creation of God, it is very apparent in what you have made. It is, in fact, the essential difference between them. Lack implies that you would be better off in a state somehow different from the one you are in. Until the “separation,” which is the meaning of the “fall,” nothing was lacking. There were no needs at all. Needs arise only when you deprive yourself. You act according to the particular order of needs you establish. This, in turn, depends on your perception of what you are. T-1.VI.2. A sense of separation from God is the only lack you really need correct. This sense of separation would never have arisen if you had not distorted your perception of truth, and had thus perceived yourself as lacking. The idea of order of needs arose because, having made this fundamental error, you had already fragmented
yourself into levels with different needs. As you integrate you become one, and your needs become one accordingly. Unified needs lead to unified action, because this produces a lack of conflict. T-1.VI.3. The idea of orders of need, which follows from the original error that one can be separated from God, requires correction at its own level before the error of perceiving levels at all can be corrected. You cannot behave effectively while you function on different levels. However, while you do, correction must be introduced vertically from the bottom up. This is because you think you live in space, where concepts such as “up” and “down” are meaningful. Ultimately, space is as meaningless as time. Both are merely beliefs. T-1.VI.4. The real purpose of this world is to use it to correct your unbelief. You can never control the effects of fear yourself, because you made fear, and you believe in what you made. In attitude, then, though not in content, you resemble your Creator, Who has perfect faith in His creations because He created them. Belief produces the acceptance of existence. That is why you can believe what no one else thinks is true. It is true for you because it was made by you. T-1.VI.5. All aspects of fear are untrue because they do not exist at the creative level, and
therefore do not exist at all. To whatever extent you are willing to submit your beliefs to this test, to that extent are your perceptions corrected. In sorting out the false from the true, the miracle proceeds along these lines:
Perfect love casts out fear. If fear exists, Then there is not perfect love. But: Only perfect love exists. If there is fear, It produces a state that does not exist.
Believe this and you will be free. Only God can establish this solution, and this faith is His gift.
VII. Distortions of Miracle Impulses
T-1.VII.1. Your distorted perceptions produce a dense cover over miracle impulses, making it hard for them to reach your own awareness. The confusion of miracle impulses with physical impulses is a major perceptual distortion. Physical impulses are misdirected miracle impulses. All real pleasure comes from doing God’s Will. This is because not doing it is a denial of Self. Denial of Self results in illusions, while correction of the error brings release from it. Do not deceive yourself into believing that you can relate in peace
to God or to your brothers with anything external. T-1.VII.2. Child of God, you were created to create the good, the beautiful and the holy. Do not forget this. The Love of God, for a little while, must still be expressed through one body to another, because vision is still so dim. You can use your body best to help you enlarge your perception so you can achieve real vision, of which the physical eye is incapable. Learning to do this is the body’s only true usefulness. T-1.VII.3. Fantasy is a distorted form of vision. Fantasies of any kind are distortions, because they always involve twisting perception into unreality. Actions that stem from distortions are literally the reactions of those who know not what they do. Fantasy is an attempt to control reality according to false needs. Twist reality in any way and you are perceiving destructively. Fantasies are a means of making false associations and attempting to obtain pleasure from them. But although you can perceive false associations, you can never make them real except to yourself. You believe in what you make. If you offer miracles, you will be equally strong in your belief in them. The strength of your conviction will then sustain the belief of the miracle receiver. Fantasies become totally unnecessary as the wholly satisfying nature of reality becomes apparent to
both giver and receiver. Reality is “lost” through usurpation, which produces tyranny. As long as a single “slave” remains to walk the earth, your release is not complete. Complete restoration of the Sonship is the only goal of the miracle- minded. T-1.VII.4. This is a course in mind training. All learning involves attention and study at some level. Some of the later parts of the course rest too heavily on these earlier sections not to require their careful study. You will also need them for preparation. Without this, you may become much too fearful of what is to come to make constructive use of it. However, as you study these earlier sections, you will begin to see some of the implications that will be amplified later on. T-1.VII.5. A solid foundation is necessary because of the confusion between fear and awe to which I have already referred, and which is often made. I have said that awe is inappropriate in connection with the Sons of God, because you should not experience awe in the presence of your equals. However, it was also emphasized that awe is proper in the Presence of your Creator. I have been careful to clarify my role in the Atonement without either over- or understating it. I am also trying to do the same with yours. I have stressed that awe is not an appropriate reaction to me
because of our inherent equality. Some of the later steps in this course, however, involve a more direct approach to God Himself. It would be unwise to start on these steps without careful preparation, or awe will be confused with fear, and the experience will be more traumatic than beatific. Healing is of God in the end. The means are being carefully explained to you. Revelation may occasionally reveal the end to you, but to reach it the means are needed.
Chapter 2. THE SEPARATION AND THE ATONEMENT
I. The Origins of Separation
T-2.I.1. To extend is a fundamental aspect of God which He gave to His Son. In the creation, God extended Himself to His creations and imbued them with the same loving Will to create. You have not only been fully created, but have also been created perfect. There is no emptiness in you. Because of your likeness to your Creator you are creative. No child of God can lose this ability because it is inherent in what he is, but he can use it inappropriately by projecting. The inappropriate use of extension, or projection, occurs when you believe that some emptiness or lack exists in you, and that you can fill it with your own ideas instead of truth. This process involves the following steps: First, you believe that what God created can be changed by your own mind. Second, you believe that what is perfect can be rendered imperfect or lacking. Third, you believe that you can distort the creations of God, including yourself. Fourth, you believe that you can create yourself, and that the direction of your own creation is up to you. T-2.I.2. These related distortions represent a
picture of what actually occurred in the separation, or the “detour into fear.” None of this existed before the separation, nor does it actually exist now. Everything God created is like Him. Extension, as undertaken by God, is similar to the inner radiance that the children of the Father inherit from Him. Its real source is internal. This is as true of the Son as of the Father. In this sense the creation includes both the creation of the Son by God, and the Son’s creations when his mind is healed. This requires God’s endowment of the Son with free will, because all loving creation is freely given in one continuous line, in which all aspects are of the same order. T-2.I.3. The Garden of Eden, or the pre- separation condition, was a state of mind in which nothing was needed. When Adam listened to the “lies of the serpent,” all he heard was untruth. You do not have to continue to believe what is not true unless you choose to do so. All that can literally disappear in the twinkling of an eye because it is merely a misperception. What is seen in dreams seems to be very real. Yet the Bible says that a deep sleep fell upon Adam, and nowhere is there reference to his waking up. The world has not yet experienced any comprehensive reawakening or rebirth. Such a rebirth is impossible as long as you continue to project or
miscreate. It still remains within you, however, to extend as God extended His Spirit to you. In reality this is your only choice, because your free will was given you for your joy in creating the perfect. T-2.I.4. All fear is ultimately reducible to the basic misperception that you have the ability to usurp the power of God. Of course, you neither can nor have been able to do this. Here is the real basis for your escape from fear. The escape is brought about by your acceptance of the Atonement, which enables you to realize that your errors never really occurred. Only after the deep sleep fell upon Adam could he experience nightmares. If a light is suddenly turned on while someone is dreaming a fearful dream, he may initially interpret the light itself as part of his dream and be afraid of it. However, when he awakens, the light is correctly perceived as the release from the dream, which is then no longer accorded reality. This release does not depend on illusions. The knowledge that illuminates not only sets you free, but also shows you clearly that you are free. T-2.I.5. Whatever lies you may believe are of no concern to the miracle, which can heal any of them with equal ease. It makes no distinctions among misperceptions. Its sole concern is to distinguish between truth on the one hand, and
error on the other. Some miracles may seem to be of greater magnitude than others. But remember the first principle in this course; there is no order of difficulty in miracles. In reality you are perfectly unaffected by all expressions of lack of love. These can be from yourself and others, from yourself to others, or from others to you. Peace is an attribute in you. You cannot find it outside. Illness is some form of external searching. Health is inner peace. It enables you to remain unshaken by lack of love from without and capable, through your acceptance of miracles, of correcting the conditions proceeding from lack of love in others.
II. The Atonement as Defense
T-2.II.1. You can do anything I ask. I have asked you to perform miracles, and have made it clear that miracles are natural, corrective, healing and universal. There is nothing they cannot do, but they cannot be performed in the spirit of doubt or fear. When you are afraid of anything, you are acknowledging its power to hurt you. Remember that where your heart is, there is your treasure also. You believe in what you value. If you are afraid, you are valuing wrongly. Your understanding will then inevitably value wrongly, and by endowing all thoughts with equal power
will inevitably destroy peace. That is why the Bible speaks of “the peace of God which passeth understanding.” This peace is totally incapable of being shaken by errors of any kind. It denies the ability of anything not of God to affect you. This is the proper use of denial. It is not used to hide anything, but to correct error. It brings all error into the light, and since error and darkness are the same, it corrects error automatically. T-2.II.2. True denial is a powerful protective device. You can and should deny any belief that error can hurt you. This kind of denial is not a concealment but a correction. Your right mind depends on it. Denial of error is a strong defense of truth, but denial of truth results in miscreation, the projections of the ego. In the service of the right mind the denial of error frees the mind, and re-establishes the freedom of the will. When the will is really free it cannot miscreate, because it recognizes only truth. T-2.II.3. You can defend truth as well as error. The