Archive of Articles
—Commentary on Course Sections or Passages
The Circle of Atonement is making these thought-provoking and inspiring articles about A Course in Miracles topics available to you online. Most of these articles have appeared in past issues of our newsletter, A Better Way.
For a selection of Circle of Atonement articles translated into Spanish, go to Artículos del Círculo de Expiación en Español.
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- The World as a Dream T-27.VII: by Robert Perry. This is commentary on “The 'Hero' of the Dream” (T-27.VIII), a powerful section which explains that the world we see around us is really just a dream, dreamt out of disowned elements in our own mind. It is only that disowning that makes the figures in this dream seem external.
- Excerpt from reading and commentary for 5.VI "Time and Eternity" T-5.VI: by Robert Perry. This is commentary on the section of the Text which includes Jesus' explanation of "the ego always speaks first," along with his reinterpretation of several Bible verses, and his discussion of the "Higher Court" reversing the ego's decisions—all of these woven together into one discussion.
- "Resign Now as Your Own Teacher" T-12.V: by Robert Perry. An Excerpt from Reading and Commentary for T-12.V, "The Sane Curriculum": This is commentary on a great section in the Text, one that likens us to learning handicapped students who are in no position to design their own curriculum. A powerful argument for the need for a curriculum—i.e., the Course—not designed by us.
- A Course in Cause and Not Effect by Allen Watson. This chapter of the Text is about what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us: to accept His judgment in place of our own. It tells us what we will begin to see when we are finally willing to let go of our interpretations, to stop thinking we understand anyone else's ego, and to allow the interpretation of the Holy Spirit to arise in place of our own. Our goal is to see everyone and everything in the world with different eyes.
- The Doorway to Reality by Allen Watson. This article is a commentary on the first two paragraphs of T-29.IV, "Dream Roles." The message of these paragraphs is that "Dreams are dreams." We can't hold on to some dreams and let the others go; the choice isn't between good and bad dreams, but rather between dreaming and waking up. To recognize that all dreams are just dreams is the doorway to awakening to reality.
- Making Error Real by Allen Watson. What does it mean to “make error real”? Allen demonstrates that the phrase means something very different from what is commonly thought, and discusses the miracle of not reacting to other people's mistakes.
- Misunderstood Passages: Trust Not Your Good Intentions T-18.IV.2: by Allen Watson. Allen discusses the real meaning of the often-misunderstood saying from the Course, “Trust not your good intentions.” He shows that it may mean something nearly opposite to what you might suppose.
- How Does God's Voice Speak to Me Through My Brothers? T-9.II.4-5: by Robert Perry. This article seeks to explain two paragraphs in "The Answer to Prayer" that are perennial puzzlers. They suggest that our prayers are answered by the Holy Spirit speaking through our brothers, and that we therefore should not doubt their words. What on earth does this mean?
- How to Enter Paradise Today T-20.III.9-10: by Allen Watson. Allen examines a passage in the Text that implicitly asks us to place ourselves in the position of the thief on the cross, and to see that person we have been resenting as the Christ, crucified next to us, yet able to take us to Paradise with him.
- How Would Jesus Want Us to Celebrate Christmas? by Robert Perry. We know how tradition wants us to celebrate Christmas, but wouldn't it be wonderful to know how Jesus himself wants us to celebrate his birth?
- Being Truly Helpful T-2.V.18: by Robert Perry. Draws out the meaning of the famous prayer which begins "I am here only to be truly helpful," by looking at its original context. The prayer was initially given to Bill Thetford to use at a conference on rehabilitation.
- The Depth and Intricacy of a Single Paragraph T-20.III.2: by Robert Perry. This article is an in-depth explication of a particular paragraph in the Course, one that speaks of the ego as "the self-appointed mediator" of all relationships--the thing we look to to help us iron out our differences. How good of a job does it do?
- How Holy Is the Smallest Grain of Sand! T-28.IV.9: by Robert Perry. There is a passage in the Course that talks about the holiness of a grain of sand. Yet the Course also teaches that all form is illusion. Deciphering this puzzling passage reveals a view in which life or mind is present within all natural forms.
- "Do You Prefer That You Be Right or Happy?": Does This Line Force Us to Choose Between Rightness and Happiness? T-29.VII.1: by Greg Mackie. This oft-quoted Course line is usually taken to mean that we must give up all desire to be right if we want to be happy. But is this really what it means? This article takes a fresh look at this line within its original context in the Course, a context which reveals that rightness and happiness are not mutually exclusive. Then the article discusses the practical impact of how we interpret this line.
- If a Brother Asks You for Something Outrageous T-12.III, The Investment in Real: by Robert Perry. In a passage which has frustrated many a student, the Course says, "If your brothers ask you for something "outrageous," do it because it does not matter." Does this mean that we are supposed to become doormats? What does it mean?
- What to Do When Your Joy Is Gone T-5.VII.5-6: by Allen Watson. The Course promises us that we can live in pure joy all the time, but what can we do when we aren't feeling joyous? This article presents a step-by-step process, taken from the last two paragraphs of T-5.VII, for what to do when your joy is gone.
- The Therapist and the Theologian T-9.V, The Unhealed Healer: by Robert Perry. In "The Unhealed Healer," the Course paints a portrait of a traditional theologian and a Freudian psychotherapist. Despite their differences, both have fallen into the ego's plan for forgiveness in their attempts to heal those who come to them.
- Life Is but a Dream T-29.IX, The Forgiving Dream: by Robert Perry. We may believe that this life is a dream. Yet how can it be, when things so often act against our wishes, seemingly proving that they have an independent will and are not mere figures in our dream? This article offers a lengthy and mind-expanding answer, based on the section in the Text entitled "The Forgiving Dream."
- Fear and Conflict T-2.VI.5-6: by Robert Perry. What do you do when your impulses are split between the baser and nobler elements in you? Do you continually act only on your nobler impulses? Do you switch back and forth, so that the baser gets some gratification? Or is there a third option?
- Do We Really Live by the Laws of Chaos? T-23.II, The Laws of Chaos: by Robert Perry. "The Laws of Chaos" is one of the most difficult and provocative sections in the Course. It details five laws that it says we live by. But do we? This article attempts to get us in touch with the fact that we do.
- Summary and Commentary on "I Need do Nothing" T-18.VII: by Robert Perry. This article summarizes the important but easily misunderstood section "I Need Do Nothing," discussing what exactly it means to do nothing (it may not be what you think).
- What Does it Mean to Do Nothing? A Commentary on T-18.VII T-18.VII: by Robert Perry. "I Need Do Nothing" is such a gem of a section. This article summarizes its profound message in terms of three ways of living: the way of the world, the pursuit of holiness, and "I need do nothing."
- The Process of Changing Thoughts W-PII.284: by Allen Watson. Course students often wonder how we can awaken to God just by repeating words from the Workbook. In this article, drawing from a passage in Lesson 284, Allen takes us through the Course's process of changing thoughts, a process in which dwelling on the Course's ideas enables them to penetrate deeper and deeper into our minds, until they become a part of us and our lives are completely transformed.
- Difficult Passages: Think Not You Made the World? W-pI.184.8: by Robert Perry. There is a very puzzling passage in the Course which says, "Think not you made the world"—puzzling because the rest of the Course so clearly says that we did make the world. What does this passage mean?
- How Do We Spend Our Days After the Workbook? by Robert Perry. If you are a student of A Course in Miracles and have completed the Workbook, what do you do afterward? The epilogue to the Workbook gives the impression that you just sail along under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. However, we receive a much more specific picture of what to do after the Workbook in Section 16 of the Manual for Teachers, "How Should the Teacher of God Spend His Day?" The general rules laid out in this section provide a great snapshot of how Jesus sees more mature students living his course.
- The Hidden Power of IMIF Decisions W-pI.136: by Robert Perry. Have you ever wondered why we don't change faster? Why we seem so stuck in our patterns? This article presents an answer from Lesson 136, one that probably never occurred to us.
- Let Us Pray by Robert Perry. What do we do with the prayers in the second part of the Workbook? We don't, for God's sake, actually pray them, do we? Robert relates his experience with them in this article, originally printed in On Course magazine.
- How Long, O Son of God by Robert Perry. This article draws out the meaning in Jesus' haunting question in the Workbook, “How long, O Son of God?” which neatly reverses the biblical cry, “How long, O Lord?”
- Discerning the Valuable From the Valueless Lesson 133: by Robert Perry. When we make decisions, how can we know what is truly valuable, and when we are taking hold of the valueless? This article explains the somewhat puzzling list of criteria from Lesson 133.
- Come and Let Me Look on You: Commentary on Workbook Lesson 247 by Robert Perry. In having us say to our brothers "Come and let me look on you," Jesus is drawing upon a familiar cultural image, and then taking it in a totally unexpected direction.
- Stages of Practice Review I: by Allen Watson. After reading the Course, many people assume that enlightenment is supposed to be some kind of instantaneous transformation. Lines such as, “Enlightenment is but a recognition, not a change at all” or “Why wait for Heaven?” (both from Lesson 188) seem to support this idea. In this article Allen shows that the Course also presents a clear picture of a gradual progression in spiritual attainment.
- How Did Sin Give the Body Eyes? Part II Section 4: by Robert Perry. The first paragraph of "What Is Sin" makes the strange statement that "sin gave the body eyes." This statement at first seems to make no sense, yet it turns out to be part of a profound, and challenging, view of the purpose of the physical world.
- Name of God Meditation Lesson 183: by Robert Perry. This article details an extremely effective meditation technique that is primarily taught in Workbook Lesson 183, one which has affinities with Catholic Centering Prayer and with the mystical classic The Cloud of Unknowing.
- Let Me Behold My Savior Lesson 78: by Robert Perry. Course students are often confused about how to forgive. Yet the Workbook offers many exercises in which we pick a person and then forgive that person. This article walks us through one of the Course's key forgiveness exercises, which is found in Workbook Lesson 78.
- "All My Sorrows End in Your Embrace" Lesson 317: by Robert Perry. Robert attempts to draw out the beauty in the moving prayer that is found in Lesson 317.
- "Be in My Mind, My Father: An Appreciation of the Prayer for Lesson 232" by Robert Perry. Robert draws out the meaning in this beautiful prayer, in which we speak intimately to God of spending an entire day with Him, from the moment of waking through the evening and even into our sleep.
- My Salvation Comes from Me Lesson 70: by Allen Watson. My problems lie solely within my mind, and only I can do anything about them.
- Seeing the Meaning in the Idea for the Day Lesson 264: by Robert Perry. Repeating the idea for the day is a staple of Workbook practice, but what good will that repetition do if the idea means nothing to us? This article, using Lesson 264 as an example, shows us how to draw out the meaning of the idea for the day, and thus make our practicing of that idea more powerful and more effective.
- The Ocean of Your Mind Review IV Introduction: by Robert Perry. Shows how the Course depicts our true mind as like an ocean, whose majesty remains unaffected by all that flotsam we throw into it.
- Ten character traits of the spiritually advanced by Robert Perry. Answers the question: What kind of person are we trying to become on this path? An exposition of the ten characteristics of God's teachers from the Manual. Taken from the final chapter of Robert's book Path of Light: Stepping into Peace with A Course in Miracles.
- God Is Love and Life Is Eternal: Applying Section 27 of the Manual to the Asian Tsunami Disaster by Greg Mackie. The death and destruction spawned by the earthquake and tsunami in Asia has shocked and saddened the entire world. For those with religious inclinations, it has once again brought up an age-old question: How can we reconcile such tragic death and destruction with a loving Creator? Section 27 of the Manual ("What Is Death?") offers a radical and liberating answer: We can’t, and we shouldn’t try. This is truly joyous news, for if death and destruction are not of God (and are not even real), then we need not be afraid of Him and can trust Him completely. God is only Love, and life is eternal.
- Accept No Compromise in Which Death Plays a Part M-27, What Is Death?: by Greg Mackie. Because death is pure illusion and totally incompatible with a loving God, the Course instructs teachers of God to totally deny the reality of death. Yet because death seems so real to us, most of us make various compromises with it, in an attempt to reconcile the apparent reality of death with a God of Love. This article examines the Course's view of death as presented in Section 27 of the Manual for Teachers ("What is Death"), describes some of the compromises we make with death, and offers suggestions for how we can let those compromises go.
- How Jesus Helps by Allen Watson. How Jesus, in A Course in Miracles,offers to help us yet a little more if we accept his presence in our lives.
- The Role of the Healer in ACIM by Robert Perry. What the "Manual for Teachers" says about healers.
- What is the Manual for Teachers? by Robert Perry. A Course in Miracles has three distinct volumes. The Text is for studying the thought system. The Workbook is for doing the lessons. The Manual is for… what? Is it just a summary of Course principles in question-and-answer format, or is it something more?
- His Recognition of Us M-23.5: by Robert Perry. Our world has seen in Jesus, perhaps more than in any other, a sublime beauty, a perfection, a ray of light, a source of hope. This article by Robert Perry, published in an earlier edition of A Better Way, is based on a passage in the Course in which Jesus says that he sees in us all those things we have seen in him.
- A Summary of the Ladder of Prayer: Based on The Song of Prayer, Chapter 1 by Robert Perry. The Song of Prayer contains an extended presentation of "the ladder of prayer," which is really a ladder of spiritual development. Trying to understand this ladder, however, is easier said than done. This article attempts to tease out the ladder's overall structure and present it in simple terms.
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