course, the
A three-volume book which constitutes a spiritual path. Its title, A Course in Miracles, could be rephrased as: an educational program in awakening to God through accepting and extending the healing of perception (see miracles). The Course’s many references to itself contain the following main themes:
- The purpose of the Course is to teach us to remember who we are, to escape fear and attain complete peace of mind, to bring us to the state of perfect healing immediately preceding the reawakening to knowledge and Heaven (see final step). It does this not by changing our outer lives or by indulging us in the play of ideas and philosophical speculation, but by training our minds, by leading us to the complete reversal of our thinking (see M-24.4:1).
- The Course is workable and effective. It is simple, direct, perfectly clear, easy and consistent (see T-20.VII.1:3). It asks almost nothing and offers everything. It can be learned, can be learned immediately and cannot fail.
- We think it does not work, is not specific enough (see T-11.VIII.5:1-4), asks the sacrifice of all we hold dear and is too difficult to learn. This appears to be true only because our egos are fighting the Course, interpreting against it, trying to discredit it, not doing what it says. We are afraid of the Course because it will work, because it offers happiness, guiltlessness, love, God. These things are our deepest fears, yet they are also our deepest desires. If we will just do what the Course says, we will see that it works and become motivated to follow it all the way.
See cirriculum, “God’s Son is guiltless,” thought system. See T-In, C-In.