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Karen Clair A Course in Miracles came to me in 1988 as an answer to a prayer. Even though my life at that time looked great on the outside— because I had all the stuff that I had been told would lead to a happy life (charming husband, education, great job, beautiful home, wonderful children and friends—inside I felt anxious and angry much of the time. I kept hearing this nagging, self-critical voice within me. I found myself one day sitting in a dark bathroom next to the toilet feeling lost and miserable, praying for help. I had a feeling I must be missing something—there had to be more to life than this. That was the prayer that changed everything because it brought the Course to me, even though it took me another three years (and more confusion) before I began my study of it. Since 1993,
I have assisted other students in their study of the Course by
helping them learn to read and understand it for themselves. It
takes time and practice, but it is well worth the effort. The
spiritual ideas and mind training exercises contained within these
three volumes have the power to transform anyone’s life, if they
are put into practice.
When I was introduced to A Course in Miracles in the early 90s, I, like many, felt that it had come into my life at just the right time. What I wasn't prepared for was the amount of resistance I would experience as I tried to understand its messages. At that time, I did not realize I had a Ph.D. in "I already know everything." So for the first few years of my doing the workbook, I read the instructions, but did not bother to follow them, because I already knew everything (remember my Ph.D.). After many years of frustration, humiliation and even exhaustion, I did something very radical—I decided to follow the instructions. And to my sheer amazement, I began to have results. If there is anything I would recommend to new A Course in Miracles students, it would be this:
Kathleen I was diagnosed mentally ill, living on disability, and seriously considering suicide when the Course came into my life. When I began to meditate on the lessons, I was so full of fear that I could hardly close my eyes for more than a few moments. Trying to 'sit still' and 'listen in quiet' was not an easy thing for me to do. Gradually, I began to have little experiences of light coming through the darkness in my mind; tiny moments of peace and joy that motivated me to continue. I began to ask the Spirit within to help me understand what I was reading and how to apply it to my life. With practice, over time, my life transformed. Fear was replaced with happiness and love beyond anything I ever imagined could be possible. Now, when my peace is shaken, I know exactly what to do to get it back. The mind training of the Course works, and it will work the same for you! Begin...and just keep going. You will be so glad you did!
Roger It was no accident that I began my study of A Course in Miracles six months before my son was murdered. Had it not been for Jesus' Word, my life would have ended with my son's. Instead, I am learning to use His Power within me to change my feelings of rage and despair to forgiveness and love. A Course in Miracles can do the same for you!!!
Bonnie & Dumont ("Rusty") Hixson Bonnie and Dumont ("Rusty") Hixson were both the inspiration and the cameramen for these video classes. Bonnie and Rusty both are inspiring examples of those who have heard a call to take a part in the sharing of the Course, and have answered it with dedication and with love. We are all grateful for their joining us in this outreach. We could not be doing this without them.
Jan O'Kelley Jan O'Kelley has always been a spiritual seeker, and when she found the Course back in 1980, she knew she had something...but what? It took many years of study before she caught up with Robert Perry, who was giving an intensive program in 2000 called "This One Year We Give To God." It was there she really learned how to study, apply and share the Course with others. Since then, she started Course Community House in Sedona, married her spiritual partner Timothy Holmes, and sponsored a year's daily study of the Text and Workbook at The Little Garden in Tucson. Jan is grateful for all those who have joined with her in learning and sharing A Course In Miracles. She's now finding herself in an exciting and beautiful synergy of purpose with others who love the Course and want to share it. Check out www.thelittlegarden.org
Timothy Holmes Timothy Holmes says, "Learning to think along the lines A Course In Miracles sets forth, means learning to think with God about who we are and therefore what will be our way of life. Our Course says this is taught and learned in many ways, but above all by a demonstration in your own life of a choice for Love or Forgiveness where there once was fear or hate. Discussing, reading and writing about the Course itself can be helpful in learning to think with God about who we are and our way of life." "I believe each student of the Course can learn of their loving and forgiving Self and its way of life, primarily from the Course itself. Start with the Course itself, look to what others have written about it if you like, but return to the Course so it is your first and last place for understanding and comprehension. "
Nancy I was given a copy of A Course in Miracles in 1992. Stubbornness kept me from actually reading it for the next seven years. It was while in the throes of an emotionally painful phase in my life that my attention could not escape the “dusty blue book” in the corner of my bedroom. I can say with certainty that the best decision I have ever made was when I finally allowed myself to open to “page 1”. After reading just a few words, I was hooked. I have always considered myself to be “the case that even God could not crack” and I can remember early in my practice wondering how the simply-worded lessons (Workbook for Students) could really make a difference. Their miraculous results began to show up in hindsight when I would realize that I wasn’t responding with the usual anger, defensiveness or feeling like a victim - even the recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease hasn’t dimmed the Light in my life in any way. The Course has shown me how to stay connected and aware of that Voice within that continually reminds me that I am perfect and changeless and that nothing can change that. I continue to study Course and I invite students to my home weekly to study with me. I have learned that connected to each and every challenge in my life is a very attainable tool for shifting my focus from the distorted meaning I have assigned to a situation - to actually seeing things from another perspective. I am certain that connected to each and every triumph in my life is the application of such a tool. Since reading A Course in Miracles, I have never seen so clearly, felt so happy or lived so fully. I am profoundly grateful for this. David I was living in my Jeep with my two dogs after a devastating divorce. I was so caught in a thinking loop focused on what I had lost—my wife, my newly constructed home in the woods, my job—that I was unable to make any decisions about my future, with no time for the present. I couldn't think my way out of my situation. I was experiencing shellshock. My only solution was to eat and drink myself unconscious. I am better than I used to be, because by learning about my spiritual reality, I now have more faith in the future than regret over the past. I live now more in the present, because by losing all that I thought gave my life meaning, I'm beginning to find my real Self. I've learned that by changing the way I look at things, the things I look at change. OTHER VOICES OF COURSE STUDENTS>>
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A Course in Miracles - Original Edition
While "a universal theology is impossible...a universal experience”— the experience of love, of forgiveness, of God's presence with and within us—“is not only possible but necessary."
"A human being is part of the whole called the universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of... consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in all its beauty..." Albert Einstein
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