A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume
by Helen Schucman
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Book Reviews of A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume
Book Review: A Course in awakening and going Home!
Summary: 5 Stars
The ONLY thing that begins to present a God of perfect love and peace and a sane relationship with His creation, with consistency, for me, is A Course in Miracles. Its explanation of the world being a dream has been quintessential for me with a congruity and sensible explanation of the world and what we are experiencing. As it says, "If God created this world he would be cruel." The true relationship of cause and effect are laid out in a manner that helps one to connect the dots for a complete picture which is more vivid over time. Nothing is wasted. All of my journeying and seeking through various religions, the new age, and other self-fulfillment endeavors have come together to make the picture complete.
Just as we dream at night and awake to what is real in the morning, our waking life is also really all a dream. Imagine if we awoke every morning and we couldn't discern what was in our dreams and what was in our waking life. We would all go mad. Both our dreaming and waking experiences are insane. We try to justify our waking life and make it coherent and sensible, but its not, and never will be. That is, until we "begin to see it as it is, and not how we set it up." This dream and our defense of it is futile and insane, and will never amount to anything, except pain, misery and disappointment.
The only answer is to realize this and begin to awaken from it. Freewill is to say: "I was wrong and Jesus, or God, or my Higher Self was right. I don't want to hang onto this nightmare of a dream any longer." We are all the true prodigal son. Our Father never forsook us, never stopped loving us, never judged or condemned us. We only chose to believe that this was true in our nightmare. In fact, he doesn't even think that we left and needed to come back. Because we haven't. Just as we never leave home when we dream at night, we have never left our true Home in Reality. To return to this realization is simple, as simple as awakening from a dream. It is a choice between fear and Love. A choice between Christ vision or the egos vision. However, it is not easy, it must happen slowly for us to uncover the full scope of all these realizations, to see that it is within, and that it is all about self-referral.
As long as we are making this dream real by all of our beliefs, which are expressed in making it all so important and worthy of our judgement, our investments, seeing everything as different and good or bad we cannot wake up. This all would be terrifying to take in all at once. The Course is a gentle, yet uncompromising path in revealing the choice for vision and taking back all of our projections. It works because one can really begin to see, through the classroom of our lives, that we can make a different choice and be at peace. As it is revealed to us that we have been on these insanity cycles, running like hamsters on wheels and all we need to do is jump off! We simply jump off of them one by one and become increasingly more at peace and sane within our minds and how we think and do things.
In this process we begin to see how much the same we all are, seen in many forms, but in essence all the same. We all have a right-mind, a wrong mind, and the ability to choose between them. Our only real choice is to wake up and accept the love and peace within that has always been there. We put the block up in our minds out of fear of having wanted something more than the Everything. We are the only ones that can choose to remove it. But first we have to see it as it is. We cannot make a choice and reverse our decision from believing in what is essentially nothing, until we see that it is "nothing", and that our choice will result in awakening to Everything. And that we are awakening together. In reality "one or the other" has no meaning because we are not separate, we are all one and not separate from God or one another. And it is inevitable that we will all find ourselves back where the journey seemed to begin and then choose to awaken to the Love that we are!
Book Review: Fasten your seatbelt.
Summary: 5 Stars
I had heard this book referenced by many sources and subsequently bought a copy. I looked through the pages but just could not 'get into it'. It sat for almost 10 years before I picked it up again. I must have been "ready" for it because I entered into a very intense study of the book for the next 3 years or so. There were times during the first read where I would throw the book down on the chair and think I was done with it. The truth of the words would coax me back to have another look.
The writing for me was challenging on two points. First, it is written in such a "precise" and meticulous style that I found myself reading whole paragraphs over again. I found the writing to be very intricate, very eloquent, beautiful and well, tough. Some sentences were as long as a paragraph and yet, it seemed to me that if the sentence had been written any different the meaning would have been altered (meticulous).
The second and even more challenging aspect of this work is the effect that the words had on the psyche. The book DOES threaten the ego and the ego will find oh so many ways to stay in control (survival). Hence the occasions I found myself tossing the book. But the truth of the words would work themselves in and I would find myself picking up the book again.
Thus I read the book through twice and then joined a year-long study group which met weekly and we did the 365 lessons daily for a year. As you might imagine, this was quite challenging and even more rewarding. Working as a group allowed us to witness the antics of the ego through each other.
I will not 'dis' any of the negative commentators, as they have a right to their position, but what I will do is offer up that the study of this book had a profoundly positive effect in my life. I can certainly understand that for some, the book will be too threatening to their present beliefs. For me, the concept of "channeling" used to be foreign. And now it seems like many channelers draw from the astral plane and not the spiritual. This is definitely spiritually inspired.
ACIM is one of the most 'influential' books that I've encountered. If you do read this book, you will definitely want to follow it up with 'A Course Of Love' (Perron), which I was introduced to during the ACIM group. ACOL is for the HEART what ACIM was for the MIND. Both books are from the same source and together (in sequence) had the effect of shifting my own awareness and giving me the peace and certainty I had longed for. No more seeking! The ACOL series (3 books) were a softer read and even more sublime.
In summation, I will recommend this book highly to anyone that has a strong desire for truth and is willing to invest a bit of effort. For me it required that. It is not an 'airy-fairy' sort of book but of an extremely pragmatic nature. If the time is right you will enter into a sort of 'relationship' with this work, and for me THAT is the difference.
Book Review: Life Changing
Summary: 5 Stars
For 20 years all attempts to read "A Course in Miracles" bore little fruit. The writing seemed obscure and the concepts vague. Being female I had difficulty thinking of all of us as the "Son of God." A year ago, to my dismay, the book suddenly made sense and became a life changer.
I now believe we have a choice between two parallel "worlds." One is physical and the other spiritual. We can look at the world through ego, the mind of man, or through spirit, the Mind of God. One is external the other internal. Since God truly is all love all knowing and all powerful the concepts of hell, Satan, sin and separation are illusions created by man. "Sin" is a mistake that can be corrected. Everything in the universe is God. Time and space do not exist. In eternity there is nowhere that is not God.
Pain, guilt and fear result when the mind of man views us as separate from God, from each other and all creation. When we identify with the Mind of God we know we were never born and we will never die. When the mind of man identifies with the body there is birth and death. The Mind of God leads to truth, life, love, joy and peace. The mind of man leads to illusion, fear, vengeance, pain and death. Viewing myself as the "Son of God" now feels right for there's no gender in the Mind of God.
Jesus' teaching "Judge not, lest ye be judged...and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" took on new meaning. I now understood why forgiveness is the path to truth, love and peace. When we judge another we judge God and ourselves.
"A Course in Miracles" says right mindedness listens to the Mind of God, merely overlooks and forgives what never happened. Wrong-mindedness listens to the ego and makes illusions. Ego perceives sin, guilt, disease and death as real and justifies anger. Whenever we respond to the ego we experience guilt and fear of punishment. The ego's purpose is fear. The opposite of the mind of man is a miracle. Where we saw evil and darkness we now see light and holiness. The miracle forgives: the ego damns. There is no need for help to enter Heaven for we have never left. We see a kindly world and walk in gentleness.
The introduction to "A Course in Miracles" says it all: "This is a course in miracles. It is a required course. Only the time you take 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. 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."
Book Review: Concerned
Summary: 1 Stars
Concerned that people will see sickness as a spiritual problem, or something to be 'fixed' with the sick person, and blame the sick person - which takes away compassion and care when most needed. Yes, God answers prayers, but sometimes the answer is Wait, and sometimes it is No, not always yes - God loves us always.
Jesus told the apostles that the blind man's blindness was Not due to the man's nor his parents sin, but for the Glory of God.
It is sad that we can not accept sickness as a way to lead us closer to God. That we want to take the Cross out of our lives, even though Jesus says for us to pick up our crosses and follow Him. Where did Jesus take His Cross, to Calvary - ('Father take this cross from Me, but not mine will by yours be done' - 'my soul is sorrowful even unto death' - 'My God, My God, why have you abandoned Me')
being Near Jesus when we are in great suffering, whether physical, emotional or spiritual - is being close to Jesus in the Garden and at Calvary, as Mary and John were. Not easy, but still a very good place to be if we remember Whom we are near, Jesus.
I recommend
The Easter Triduum - Fr. John Corapi (EWTN) - 2 DVDs
Catholic for a Reason III: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mass
Catholic for a Reason II: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God, Second Edition
The Passion & the Death of Jesus Christ
The Passion and The Death of Jesus Christ (The Complete Works of Saint Alphonsus DeLiguori, The Ascetical Works Volume V)
The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to your life
Book Review: In retrospect
Summary: 5 Stars
I first encountered ACIM in 1987. I went through the 365 lessons, then read the text and the section for teachers. I went through the book again, this time more aware of what ACIM teaches. Since then, I have re-read sections until ACIM became clear. It essentially teaches that your ego affects how you perceive your world (or what is happening in your life). It teaches that you are NOT a body, but in reality spirit from God. A yogi would call it "Atman", your real Self (capitalized). The ego is a distortion of who you really are. The ego (body consciousness)thinks you are a body. If you reach the point in your spiritual growth where you can stand aside and watch your mind, then Who is watching?
The Course speaks through Jesus, as He was called when He lived in Palestine. Christians will have a hard time with ACIM, especially if they look at Jesus as their Savior. In reality you are a perfect being. ACIM teaches you there is Oneness, that there is only One Mind, and that all of us are thoughts in God's mind. Vedanta teaches the same thing, called non-dualism. Free your mind from the concept of sin. The only sin is not knowing Who you really are.
ACIM will expand your mind if you stay with it. You need to meditate to quiet your mind. You need to do as the Bible tells you, "Be still and know that I am God." This is not a coffee table book. It requires commitment. The reward is, your life will be full of miracles.
I give it 5 stars because it requires you to do some work on yourself.
(I recently went on line and researched The Course. People analyze it to death. Many people make money writing books about ACIM. You can't find your real Self by reading books. The Course is a starting point. )
One final thought: The Course speaks about forgiveness in a different context than used by Christians. Think about "reality". Reality is that which never changes. Your true Self cannot sin, as your true Self resides in God's mind. Then, in reality You can not sin, or hurt anyone. What the ego does is an illusion, not real. This is a difficult concept. What you really need to do is wake up. That's what the Course teaches you.