Archive of Articles
—Walking the Path
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.
For a selection of Circle of Atonement articles translated into Dutch, go to artikelen in het Nederlands.
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- The Course's New Year's Resolution by Robert Perry. In the Course, Jesus actually asks us to join him in making a New Year's resolution. What is this resolution? How can we make next year a truly different year?
- The Urgency of Doing Our Part in Salvation by Greg Mackie. Most students of A Course in Miracles know that the Course tells us to be patient regarding the ultimate outcome of salvation. But it may come as a surprise to learn that the Course also tells us it is urgent that we start doing our part to bring about salvation. To awaken this sense of urgency in us, Greg draws out this theme in the Course material, with a particular emphasis on the "celestial speed-up" — the Holy Spirit's response to the "acute emergency" of our current condition, a speed-up that Jesus told Helen the Course was intended to help facilitate.
- Why I Am a Course Purist by Robert Perry. The term "Course purist" may sound like rigid fundamentalism, but for Robert being a Course purist is reasonable, healthy, freeing, and life-giving. In this article, Robert explains why he is a Course purist and describes the many benefits this approach to the Course has given him.
- A Course in Miracles Revisited by Robert Perry. You may have heard about A Course in Miracles, or even "done" it and moved on, but perhaps it is time to revisit it.
- Getting Started with A Course in Miracles by Greg Mackie. You're an absolute newbie to A Course in Miracles who has just acquired a copy of the book (or has just opened that Course book that has been gathering dust on your bookshelf). You want to begin working with it, to try it out and see if it's something that you want to pursue further. How do you get started?
- Self-Esteem in A Course in Miracles by Robert Perry. So much of what we do is a search for self-esteem, a search to feel better about ourselves. How does A Course in Miracles see self-esteem? Where does it really come from? The answers may surprise you.
- The Rules That Promise You a Happy Day: "My Practice of the Rules for Decision" by Greg Mackie. Greg examines the "Rules for Decision" (T-30.I), describes his experience of practicing them, and shares the benefits this practice has brought to his life.
- Should We "Should" on Ourselves? by Greg Mackie. "Don't 'should' on yourself." It is a truism that we must avoid telling ourselves that we "should" or "shouldn't" do something, lest we make ourselves feel guilty. However, A Course in Miracles "shoulds" on us with abandon, using the word over three hundred times. In this article, Greg shows how we can unload the painful baggage from this loaded word and use it in a Course-inspired way, a way that brings happiness instead of guilt.
- How Could They Do this to Me? by Robert Perry. It is common to blame our parents for everything that is wrong with us. Jesus addressed this very issue with Bill Thetford's relationship to his parents. What did he have to say?
- Feelings in A Course in Miracles by Robert Perry. The Course's perspective on feelings is quite different from popular psychological views in our culture. This article attempts to clarify the differences.
- Make this Year Different: How the Course Would Have Us Approach the New Year by Robert Perry.
- Doing Our Part by Allen Watson. What part does each of us play in the healing of the world? Allen offers some surprising thoughts on the topic.
- 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.
- What We Do Not Know by Allen Watson. The Course is asking us to look from a vantage point so different that it can only be described as entirely outside the universe of space and time. The Course does not want simply to shift our perception a few degrees, it wants to turn it upside down and inside out. One way to begin to understand this is to examine what the Course says we do NOT know.
- How Can We Receive Miracles by Allen Watson. Why don't we experience more miracles in our lives? Is it a misunderstanding of what a miracle is, or are we failing to meet the conditions for miracles? Allen addresses both potential causes in this article.
- Why Do We Judge People? by Allen Watson. Allen demonstrates that the source of our constant judgment of others is our problem with the authority of God in our lives.
- I Do Not Know by Greg Mackie. Greg explains how the simple phrase "I do not know," rather than being a head-in-the-sand approach, can actually bring great peace.
- Practice-Oriented Spirituality: Unleashing the Power of Conscious Commitment by Greg Mackie. Based on a book by prominent sociologist Robert Wuthnow, this article examines three different ways of living the spiritual life: dwelling-oriented spirituality, seeking-oriented spirituality, and practice-oriented spirituality. Embracing the Course as practice-oriented spirituality offers huge benefits because it unleashes the power of conscious commitment—the key to successfully taking hold of the glorious promises of the Course.
- The Course on Childhood. by Robert Perry. "The divinization of childhood is an extremely popular thing these days, yet it simply has no parallel in the Course. In this article, therefore, I would like to explore just how the Course does view childhood."
- How Can We Distinguish Between the Ego and the Holy Spirit? by Allen Watson. An in-depth answer, including practical advice for application, to one of the most perplexing questions for Course students.
- "If You Do It, You Will See That It Works": An Experience of Universal Love by Greg Mackie. Greg shares a dramatic spiritual experience he had during a retreat, "the most powerful spiritual experience of my life." This article describes this experience of universal love for God and His creation, and relates the powerful lessons that it taught.
- Handling Our Fears by Allen Watson. The tough truth the Course sets forth is that we are responsible for our fear. It tells us that fear is not involuntary; it is our responsibility. The good news is that there is a way out of our self-made fear. Allen shows us the way out, drawing mainly on a couple of sections from early in the Text.
- There Is No Salvation in Form by Robert Perry. A look at the many ways we try to find our salvation in some form, rather than in the formless love of God.
- Traditional Monastic Pursuit in the Context of Contemporary Society by Robert Perry. A companion piece to the "How Can A Course in Miracles Accomplish its purpose?" article, showing how the Course advocates the dedication and seriousness of a monk, but in the context of an ordinary, fully engaged (not isolated) lifestyle.
- "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?
- Course-based Parenting, Part 1 by Robert Perry. The author writes, "My hope was that writing this article might help me get a better handle on how to carry out perhaps the most important job of my life."
- Course-based Parenting, Part 2 by Robert Perry. The author writes, "My hope was that writing this article might help me get a better handle on how to carry out perhaps the most important job of my life."
- The Course in My Life by Robert Perry. Robert discusses what the Course has come to mean in his life after twenty years as a student.
- Falling In Love With Everyone by Allen Watson & Greg Mackie. An ever-popular article about seeing in everyone the same beauty we see in a special someone.
- "In My Defenselessness My Safety Lies": Letting Go of Our Defenses Against Our Brothers by Greg Mackie. The Course claims that only defenselessness ensures our safety. But how can we live this teaching? How can we let go of our defenses against our brothers and embrace the radical defenselessness that alone will bring us and the world safety, peace, and salvation?
- Anchoring a Tradition by Robert Perry. How can the Course accomplish the purpose for which it came? If the Course really is Jesus' second appearance, how can we ensure that things don't go awry like they did the first time? In this article, Robert expresses his and the Circle's conviction that the Course needs to eventually be embedded in a tradition, a global support network of students and teachers seeking to walk the Course's path the way that Jesus intended.
- Realizing the Promises of the Course by Robert Perry. We are all on the spiritual path for the sake of the benefits promised, and the Course promises us the biggest benefits imaginable. Yet it also ties those benefits to doing what it asks, something we seem to find nearly impossible. How can we raise ourselves up to follow the Course's instructions and realize its promises?
- The Movie Projector Analogy Revisited by Greg Mackie. In the movie projector analogy, the Course's teaching that we project our thoughts to produce the world we see is compared to the common experience of seeing a movie projected onto a screen. This analogy is often used to minimize the role of behavior in the Course's system, but here, Greg presents a new version that accommodates the Course's teaching on the importance of loving behavior.
- When Your Back Is up against the Wall by Nicola Perry. What do you do when your spiritual journey has been sailing along pleasantly and you are suddenly faced with a gut-wrenching crisis? Nicola's answer, though practical, steers clear of the superficial solutions we tend to reach for in such situations.
- Traveling Lightly by Nicola Perry. We all want to travel lightly through life, yet most of us feel weighed down wit a series of heavy, seemingly unshakable burdens. Nicola offers counsel on how we can learn to travel lightly without resorting to denial.
- Why Won't God Just Zap Me into Enlightenment? by Allen Watson. Allen explains how God's refusal to just zap us into enlightenment is actually an expression of His Love, rather than proof that He is cruel.
- The Promise of a Miraculous Life by Robert Perry. The Course is not just promising us the occasional miracle. It’s really beckoning us into a life which is itself an ongoing miracle, the life lived by history’s great saints. Are we up for it?
- How Long Until I Am Out of Here? by Robert Perry. This article deals with a question that is a source of anxiety and confusion for many students of the Course: How long will it take us to fully awaken from the dream? How long will it take us to leave illusions behind for good and return to our Heavenly home? In this article, Robert offers his own views on this question, based on his reading of the Course. The answer in a nutshell: We could awaken at any moment, but it will likely be a very long time before we choose to do so.
- 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.
- How Literally Do We Take the Course? by Robert Perry. It is common to read the Course as mostly metaphorical. Yet is that how the Course expects us to read it?
- Memorize? Are You Kidding?! by Allen Watson. Allen presents an enthusiastic encouragement for students to memorize passages from the Course, giving several benefits that come from memorization, and offering what he refers to as "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Memorization": a memorization technique that works for anyone. It isn't easy, but the method works if you do the work.
- Using Proper ACIM References by Allen Watson.
Workbook Practice, Prayer, Meditation
- "These Words Dispel the Night" by Robert Perry. As Course in Miracles students, we have an ambivalent relationship with words. This is a truly unfortunate state of affairs, for repeating words is the Course's main practice, a practice on which it is resting the achievement of its goals for us. In this article, Robert explores the "why," "how," and "when" of the Course's practice of repeating words, drawing extensively from the Workbook's voluminous instructions on this practice. He hopes this will be the beginning of an ongoing discussion on this crucial topic. The goal the Course has set for us depends on it.
- God's Blessing Shines upon Me from Within My Heart W-pI.207: by Robert Perry. This is a guided meditation for Lesson 207 from our 2008 Workbook recordings. Many thanks to Mary Anne Buchowski of Course Oasis in Ottawa, Canada for transcribing this.
- 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.
- 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.
- Open Mind Meditation: The Practice of the Final Step by Robert Perry. Meditation is a key practice in A Course in Miracles. In this article, Robert presents the third of three meditation techniques found in the Workbook: what he calls "Open Mind Meditation," the technique we are meant to practice nearly every day for the entire second half of the Workbook. Robert gives how-to instructions for this technique, and explains its significance as a practice of what the Course calls the "final step."
- 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.
- Willingness to Practice Every Step by Allen Watson. Based on this passage, "The speed by which [the goal of the Course] can be reached depends on this one thing alone; your willingness to practice every step" (T-30.In.1:3), Allen shows why diligent spiritual practice is essential for every Course student. He shows how a disciplined spiritual practice is consistent with the Course's teaching about needing to do nothing, and its claim to be "easy."
- Practice Tip: Early Evening Quiet Time by Greg Mackie. Evening quiet time is one of the staples of Course practice, but many of us find ourselves too tired to do it. What can we do to overcome our lethargy and make our evening quiet time the rewarding experience Jesus intends it to be? Greg offers an answer to this question that has worked for him, an answer based on Section 16 of the Manual for Teachers.
- 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.
- "Course-Sanctioned" Excuses to Not Practice the Lessons by Robert Perry. Might it not be more spiritual to not do the lessons according to the Workbook’s rigid, pre-planned structure? Robert explores two lessons that address the spiritual-sounding excuses we give for not doing our Workbook practice.
- My Journey with Post-Workbook Practice by Greg Mackie. So, you've been through the Workbook several times, and you are wondering what kind of spiritual practice to follow now? Greg Mackie shares from his own experience, and from the Course's own recommendations for post-Workbook practice.
- "If You Do It, You Will See That It Works": An Experience of Universal Love by Greg Mackie. Greg shares a dramatic spiritual experience he had during a retreat, "the most powerful spiritual experience of my life." This article describes this experience of universal love for God and His creation, and relates the powerful lessons that it taught.
- My Journey with the Workbook by Robert Perry. This article chronicles Robert’s relationship with the Workbook from 1981 to 1996, showing how initially empty and yet how ultimately life-changing the Workbook can be.
- How Do We Forgive? A Composite Forgiveness Exercise by Robert Perry. Robert locates the pattern at the heart of six Workbook lessons aimed at helping us forgive another, and then builds a lengthy forgiveness exercise based on this pattern.
- 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.
- From Monkey Mind to the Mind of God. Our Real Thoughts and How We Can Find Them by Greg Mackie. The Course criticizes our current thoughts but then rather than disparaging thought altogether, urges us to find our real thoughts. What are these real thoughts? How exactly can we make contact with them?
- Here I Am Lord by Robert Perry. In this article Robert looks at Jesus giving Bill Thetford the prayer "Here I am, Lord," and shows how this prayer was specifically designed to counteract Bill's particular defenses, with intended miraculous results.
- 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.
- How Does A Course in Miracles Regard the Lord's Prayer? by Robert Perry. Especially for those of us who grew up in church, this question is relevant. Should we continue to use the Lord's Prayer, discard it, or reinterpret it?
- When Should You Take Your Morning Quiet Time? by Robert Perry. Spending quiet time with God each morning is an essential part of the training program of the Workbook. But with our hectic schedules it can be hard to know when the idea time is. What does the Workbook say about this?
- Gentle Firmness: A Potent Antidote to Our Resistance to Practice by Greg Mackie. How can we deal with our resistance to practice in a way that is firm without battling the resistance, and gentle without caving in to the resistance? Find out how applying a little "gentle firmness" can make your practice come alive.
- Meditation in A Course in Miracles by Robert Perry. Does the Course teach meditation? This article answers with a strong "yes," and then talks about where in the Course it is taught, what the method is, and how we can practice it.
- The Practice of Mental Vigilance by Allen Watson. Discusses the crucial and helpful practice of "watching" our thoughts, as taught in the Course.
- This Is as Every Day Should Be: How to Have the Ideal Day by Robert Perry. We all long to have a happy day. Surprisingly, the Course contains a massive amount of instruction on how we can have a perfectly happy day.
- Tips on Practice: Reading Aloud and Expanded Prayers by Allen Watson. A brief exploration of two powerful techniques for making our Course practice come alive: reading the lesson aloud, and turning what we read into a spoken prayer.
- Twelve Remedies for the Wandering Mind by Robert Perry. Have you ever sat down to meditate and found your mind so choked with uncontrollable thoughts that your mediation felt like a waste of time? Here are twelve remedies from the Course for dealing with those distracting thoughts.
- What Does It Mean to Give Miracles to Others? by Allen Watson. The Course tells us to "offer miracles." How many of us are doing so? What does it mean to offer a miracle?
- Extension to Others Is Energizing by Greg Mackie. Many of us think that helping our brothers is draining, especially when it takes us out of our normal routines. According to the Course, though, devotion to our brothers is the way out of fatigue and into the boundless energy of inspiration. In this article, Greg shares a personal experience that helped him to see the truth of this teaching.
- This Is My True Church by Robert Perry. Are we supposed to actually go out and help people, or does that go against the nature of the Course? To answer that question, this article draws on specific examples where the author of the Course told Helen and Bill how to apply his teachings in real-life situations.
- 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 Social Vision of A Course in Miracles by Robert Perry. The Course depicts an ideal way for people to live together in the world, a way which reverses the ills of this world, and which will ultimately transform human society. It could never be legislated, for it rests entirely on a profound inner shift. It has to start with one or two people who have had this inner shift, and then spread out from there.
- Are Miracles Only in Our Minds? by Robert Perry. Robert responds to a reader who claims that miracles occur only in our minds and that "any discussion of extending help or healing to people who are suffering 'out there' merely perpetuates separation [since] there is no 'out there.'"
- Helping Others in the World Makes the Error Real: Does the Course Really Say This? by Greg Mackie. It is a truism in Course circles that placing an emphasis on helping others "out there" makes the error real. After all, "Seek not to change the world." But does the Course really have such a dim view of helping others in the world? Does it ever really say that doing so "makes the error real"? The answer, in a word, is no.
- Does Behavior Matter? A New Vision of the Importance of Loving Behavior by Greg Mackie. This article discusses the role of loving behavior in the Course's program. Contrary to the common view that behavior has no role whatsoever to play in the Course's system, this article claims that loving behavior plays a vital and necessary role in extending love to others.
- Loving, Our Sacred Trust by Allen Watson. Our purpose is to live every moment, every day, with every person, extending only love.
- The Teacher/Pupil Relationship by Robert Perry.
- A Healing Experience, Part II: Eve's Story In "A Healing Experience," Nicola told the story of a profound healing session with a woman she called Eve. In this article, we hear Eve's side of the story, both of the session itself and what happened to the medical condition that prompted her to come to Nicola for healing.
- Healing Workshop Meditations by Nicola Perry. Here are two meditations that Nicola gave participants of a Circle workshop on spiritual healing. The first is entitled “Exercise in Opening Your Mind to the Holy Spirit's Love,” and the second, “Healing Meditation.”
- A Simple Healing Prayer by Nicola Perry. We all feel drawn to praying for others at one time or another. Yet how can we do so in a way that is in keeping with the Course? Nicola offers step-by-step instructions in how to pray for another as an expression of Course principles.
- Jesus, Healing and Miracles: The Promise of Course-Based Healing by Nicola Perry. The Course promises that we can do miracles like Jesus did, yet how can we reconcile that with the Course’s teaching that the body is an illusion? Is there a way to see the healing of the body as a tool for the awakening of the mind?
- A Healing Experience by Nicola Perry. A fascinating account of a transformative session of Course-based healing.
- 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.
- The Role of the Healer in ACIM by Robert Perry. What the "Manual for Teachers" says about healers.
- A Basic Outline of Course-based Psychotherapy by Robert Perry. What exactly is Course-based psychotherapy? What does a Course-based therapist do to bring about healing? What elements of the therapist's work are the elements that actually accomplish the healing? In this article, Robert presents an overview of the psychotherapeutic process as described in the Course supplement Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process, and Practice.
- Twenty Anti-Healing Thoughts by Robert Perry. If we are going to learn how to be truly helpful to others, we must first learn that helpfulness is not a matter of behavior, but of thought; actually, a matter of getting rid of all the thoughts that stand in the way of real helfpulness. This article examines twenty such thoughts.
- This Is a Course for Miracle Workers: Please Clock In by Greg Mackie. Why did Jesus dictate A Course in Miracles? The answer is right in its title: to train us to become miracle workers, people who extend miracles of true perception to others in thought, word, and deed. Drawing from the early dictation (including the Urtext), Greg presents the Course as a vocational training manual for the joyous full-time job of miracle worker.
- A Course in Miracles as a Spiritual Path by Robert Perry. We can divide the Course into two aspects: its teaching, and what we do with that teaching, how we live it. This article is a brief overview of that second aspect: what it means to walk the path of the Course.
- The Course and Other Paths by Robert Perry. "Should A Course in Miracles be my one and only spiritual path?" How do we answer such a question? This article wades into these delicate waters and attempts to provide help.
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