A Course in Miracles presents a clear picture of the nature of God's reality and His Kingdom of Heaven. Nevertheless, understanding the nature of God continues to prove difficult for many people, including most students of ACIM. Many people have theories about what God and His Creations must be like, how they relate and interact. But too often these theories are incomplete, confusing, or even completely mistaken. This had led to profound levels of confusion and misunderstanding, and a tremendous distortion of the teachings of A Course in Miracles.
In this groundbreaking book, Paul - an ACIM student and teacher with over 20 years experience, casts aside all confusing guesswork and presents a very clear and logical explanation of reality. Using simple logic that's easy to follow, and starting at the very beginning with God Himself, Paul draws astonishingly obvious conclusions which make complete and total sense. The book is structured in such a way that each chapter builds upon the ones before, gradually fleshing out a consistent and clear picture of the ultimate truth.
Many people attempt to find the truth by starting at the bottom and working backwards, reverse-engineering the bigger picture based on small glimpses of insight found in the dark. This is like trying to assemble a puzzle without the picture to reference. In this book we do the complete opposite, starting from the top down and assuming nothing. Step by step you will see that God's inherent nature automatically leads to the creation of His Kingdom, the sharing of everything with his Creations, and the beautiful extension of Himself through co-creation. This puts everything in its proper place, seen in its proper light as the only possible truth.
This book can be also said to be a theory of everything, since it spells out precisely and accurately the true nature of ultimate reality. The logic in the book has been designed to be "bullet proof" and irrefutable, so impeccable and precise that it cannot be argued with. The conclusions drawn are not opinions or interpretation but factual outcomes and consequences. We ask the logic to tell us what must be true, and we listen.
It just so happens, as you will see, that the independent conclusions that we arrive at also happen to completely and perfectly align with the teachings of A Course in Miracles. This validates that A Course in Miracles is logically completely true and is giving us the actual truth about our lives. In turn, this book is further validated because A Course in Miracles, a renowned and deep spiritual text, tells us that the exact same truths are true, and nothing else is true.
If you are done with all the confusion, arguments about whose interpretation is right, the inconsistencies and sense of difficulty trying to unravel the depths of ACIM's teachings, then this is the book for you. Put aside everything you've learned and let's take a fresh and extremely clear look at the truth together. Let's brush off the sea of opinions and cast aside the logical errors which are so prevalent in the thoughts of many. There can only be one truth and this is it.
This book will lay a new foundation in your mind, a background and firm footing, on which to build and draw further conclusions. It will act as a beacon of light in your mind to help you to compare and contrast what is true and what is not. It will sharpen and clarify your grasp of A Course in Miracles profoundly, and will lay to rest untold amounts of wasted time and frustration. If you want to know what Jesus is really telling us about the nature of reality, of God and his creations, and ultimately about yourself, this is the book for you.
The book is 283 pages, and almost 58,000 words. The size of the book is 6" wide by 9" tall. Large print edition is 8.5" x 11" at 297 pages.
This book is available in e-book, paperback and hardcover versions. The book is printed on demand so is always in stock. There is also a second paperback version which is the large print edition, at 50% larger size.
Paperbacks and hardcover are available from Amazon, including country-specific Amazon sites such as amazon.co.uk.
The e-book is available on Kindle via the same amazon sites, through a kindle device or free kindle reader app. A kindle device is not needed - you can install the Amazon Kindle Reader App on your desktop computer, laptop, tablet or phone (PC, Mac, Android, iOS).
You can "look inside" or "read a sample" of the book on the Amazon websites. Note that the Kindle edition sample is longer than the paperback sample.
Most stores include Kindle e-book ($6.99), paperback ($17.99) and hardcover ($25.99). Prices shown here are approximately the regular paperback prices. I typically make only a few dollars from each book sale due to Amazon fees.
Amazon.com (USA) ~$17.99 USD.
Amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)~15.71 UKP.
Amazon.de (Germany) ~18 EUROS.
Amazon.fr (France) ~17.79 EUROS.
Amazon.es (Spain) ~17.49 EUROS.
Amazon.it (Italy) ~17.49 EUROS.
Amazon.nl (Netherlands) ~18.33 EUROS.
Amazon.jp (Japan) ~2916 YEN.
Amazon.com.br (Brazil) Unknown.
Amazon.ca (Canada) ~24.62 CAN.
Amazon.mx (Mexico) ~447.07 PESO?
Amazon.com.au (Australia) ~34.32 AUS$.
Amazon.in (India) Unknown.
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Dedication
Author’s Note
Introduction
1. Absolute Truth
2. Aspects of Reality
3. Permanent Perfection
4. Possibility
5. Inclusion and Wholeness
6. Omni-Presence
7. Holographic Reality
8. Unlimited Sharing
9. True Equality
10. The Golden Rule
11. Inclusive Logic
12. Creation Means Sharing
13. The Power to Create
14. God is Alive
15. The Act of Creation
16. Co-Creation in the Kingdom
17. The Premise of God
18. Cause and Effect
19. Permanent Creation
20. Free Will
21. God is the First Cause
22. The Awareness of Knowledge
23. The Vision of God
24. Real Relationships
25. The Machinery of Mind
26. Unlimited Power
27. Joy and Happiness
28. Permanent Peace
29. Unconditional Love
30. Absolute Freedom
31. Worth and Validity
32. Willingness
33. The Freedom to Deny God
34. The Potential for Miscreation
35. The Light of Truth
36. Gratitude
37. Innocence and Holiness
38. The Good and The Positive
39. The Expansion of the Kingdom
40. Giving and Receiving
41. Multiple Wholeness
42. The Attraction of Meaning
43. Symbiotic Relationship
44. Communion and Prayer
45. Every Soul is Christ
46. The Sonship as The One Son
47. The Family of God
48. The Brotherhood of Christ
49. Super-Natural Miraculousness
50. Oneness
51. The Father-Son Relationship
52. God is Greater Than You
53. The Creation of Your Kingdom
54. Independence
55. Immortality
56. The Holy Spirit
57. Angels of God
58. Final Word
"The real world still is but a dream." - section 7 of Chapter 29, section 4 of ACIM.
In the Course, sometimes Jesus uses some terms which SEEM to imply something He did not mean to imply. When he referred to the "real world", He did NOT mean the world is real. And by world here, I'm talking about the physical universe, because every reference to "world" in the Course is referring to the physical universe (the dream of death).
So Jesus referred to the world, seen correctly with "true perception", ie perception without any errors - still perceiving WITHIN the dream, within space and time, but without any delusions ... as the "real world". It is "real" as in, seen WITH TRUTH, the truth OF it is seen correctly. The truth OF it is that it is NOT REAL. The truth of it, is that it is FALSE and untrue. When this is RECOGNIZED with true perception, you are seeing the "real version" of the world. In other words, real as in, what it actually is (unreal) compared to what you thought it was (illusions appearing real).
He uses this terminology because He's comparing it to when you have false perception, where you see this physical world with eyes of hate and judgement, and do not recognize it for what it is. In false perception you see a world of vengeance. You see hate IN the world. When you compare that false view OF the world, with a CORRECT view OF the world, the correct view is seeing "the truth" ABOUT the world... which shows you, in correct recognition, that this world is FALSE and NOT REAL.
The world is still an illusion. A false perception OF an illusion makes it seem real to you, and then you do not recognize it is an illusion, and you think it is the truth. That mistaken perception of the world needs to be corrected in order to see the FORGIVEN WORLD. When the world is seen through forgiving eyes - eyes of truth - those eyes do not see hate and guilt and fear IN the world. It simply sees what is "there", which is... an illusory world. It SEES and recognizes that there is a FALSE WORLD appearing in perception. You might well see God "in it", or see God "about it", or overlook the world to see Christ beyond it. But the world ITSELF is recognized as NOT REAL. The "real world" is actually the NOT REAL WORLD.
Once the world is recognized as not real, ie you are finally able to SEE what this thing IS for what it actually is - a false illusion pretending to be a world - then the purpose of perception and of the world is complete, and THEN YOU WAKE UP FROM THE DREAM, the world disappears, and there is only you with God. NOW you are in reality.
Jesus's use of the term "real world" in the Course has been very confusing for many students, because so many of us rely on the exact specific words Jesus uses and we don't really take it all in proper context of the bigger picture. This creates contradictions. If Jesus really meant the "real world" was actually REALITY, this would go against 99% of the rest of the Course. He ONLY uses this term to describe a correct perception of an UNREAL world - see the "reality" or "truth" of the world, which shows you that it is not really there. It's not a real world at all.
Jesus actually does this also in some other places in the course where he uses a terminology that SEEMS contradictory or seems to suggest something He did not intend. To discern this you need quite a bit of experience grasping the metaphysics. For example He said in one place that something can be "perfectly real within time but not in eternity." That can seem to imply that something inside of time - even though the course teaches that time is an illusion - is "real". If you interpret it that way, you will now come to a vast array of further confused conclusions. Jesus is not saying that anything in time is real at all. He is only saying that eternity is real and anything in time is an ILLUSION of reality, and seeing it correctly is seeing the "reality of it" - the truth that it is an illusion, just as above.
The "real world" is not real. There is no real world. This is the central thought the course would attempt to teach. This is the thought which anyone with an ego DOES NOT WANT. The fact is that when you get to True Perception, you WILL and MUST recognize that this thing you've been calling a real world, is JUST an illusion. Nothing more or less. It has no reality to it, no truth to it, it is recognized and registers with you as completely FALSE. You see THROUGH it, with forgiving eyes. You do not buy its illusions, you do not believe in it, you do not think it is really happening. And then it disappears as God scoops you up and you wind up back in REALITY. A reality in which THE WORLD DOES NOT EXIST. Or in a word, "Heaven". Only heaven is real.
"THE WORLD YOU SEE DOES NOT EXIST" (the world you see with your physical eyes does not exist).
"Forgiving dreams have little need to last. They are not made to separate the mind from what it thinks. They do not seek to prove the dream is being dreamed by someone else. And in these dreams a melody is heard that everyone remembers, though he has not heard it since before all time began. Forgiveness, once complete, brings timelessness so close the song of Heaven can be heard, not with the ears, but with the holiness that never left the altar that abides forever deep within the Son of God. And when he hears this song again, he knows he never heard it not. And where is time, when dreams of judgment have been put away?" - ACIM
We have repeatedly stated that the basic concepts referred to throughout the notes are NOT matters of degree. Certain fundamental concepts CANNOT be meaningfully understood in terms of co-existing polarities. It is impossible to conceive of light and darkness, or, everything and nothing, as joint possibilities. They are all true OR all false. It is absolutely essential that you understand completely that behavior is erratic until a firm commitment to one or the other is made.
A firm commitment to darkness or nothingness is impossible. Nobody has ever lived who has not experienced some light and some of everything. This has made everybody really unable to deny truth totally, even if he deceives himself in this connection most of the time. That is why those who live largely in darkness and emptiness never find any lasting solace. (This really answers B's question about whether people return voluntarily.)
Innocence is also not a partial attribute. It is not a real defense UNTIL it is total. When it is partial, it is characterized by the same erratic nature that holds for other two-edged defenses. The partly innocent are apt to be quite stupid at times. It is not until their innocence is a genuine viewpoint which is universal in its application that it becomes wisdom.
Innocent (or true) perception means that you NEVER misperceive, and ALWAYS see truly. More simply, this means that you never see what does not exist in reality. Whenever you lack confidence in what someone else will do, you are attesting to your belief that he is not in his Right Mind. This is hardly a miracle-based frame of reference. It also has the disastrous effect of denying (incorrect use) the essentially creative power of the miracle. The miracle perceives everything AS IT IS. If nothing but the truth exists (and this is really redundant in statement, because what is not true CANNOT exist) Right-Minded seeing cannot see ANYTHING BUT perfection. We have said many times that ONLY what God creates, or what man creates with the same will, has any real existence. This, then, is all that the innocent can see. They do not suffer from the delusions of the Separated ones.
The way to correct all such delusions is to withdraw your faith from them, and invest it ONLY in what is true. To whatever extent you side with false perception in yourself or others, you are validating a basic misperception. You CANNOT validate the invalid. I would suggest that you voluntarily give up all attempts to do so, because they can be only frantic. If you are willing to validate what is true in everything you perceive, you will make it true for you.
Remember that we said that truth overcomes ALL error. This means that if you perceive truly, you are canceling out misperceptions in yourself AND others simultaneously. Because you see them as they were really created and can really create, you offer them your own validation of THEIR truth. This is the real healing which the miracle actively creates.
(Reply to Helen Schucman question: Is this all? The reason why this is so short, despite its extreme importance, is because it is not symbolic. This means that it is not open to more than one interpretation.) This means that it is unequivocal. It also explains the quotation which you have never gotten correctly in complete form before: "But this we know, that when He shall appear (or be perceived) we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as He is pure." Every man DOES have the hope that he can see correctly, because the ability to do so is IN him. Man's ONLY hope IS to see things as they are).