This is a pretty awesome section of the clarification of terms. Some important key points made here:

1. "In this world, because the mind is split, the Sons of God appear to be separate. 2 Nor do their minds seem to be joined"

2. "The term "soul" is not used except in direct biblical quotations because of its highly controversial nature. 3 It would, however, be an equivalent of "spirit," with the understanding that, being of God, it is eternal and was never born."

3. "This Will is always unified and therefore has no meaning in this world"

4. "Right-mindedness listens to the Holy Spirit, forgives the world, and through Christ's vision sees the real world in its place. 3 This is the final vision, the last perception, the condition in which God takes the final step Himself. 4 Here time and illusions end together."

5. "Both this world and the real world are illusions because right-mindedness merely overlooks, or forgives, what never happened."

6. "Will is not involved in perception at any level, and has nothing to do with choice."

7. "Consciousness has levels and awareness can shift quite dramatically, but it cannot transcend the perceptual realm."

8. "At its highest it becomes aware of the real world, and can be trained to do so increasingly. 6 Yet the very fact that it has levels and can be trained demonstrates that it cannot reach knowledge."

--&--

C-1.1. The term mind is used to represent the activating agent of spirit, supplying its creative energy. 2 When the term is capitalized it refers to God or Christ (i.e., the Mind of God or the Mind of Christ). 3 Spirit is the Thought of God which He created like Himself. 4 The unified spirit is God's one Son, or Christ.

C-1.2. In this world, because the mind is split, the Sons of God appear to be separate. 2 Nor do their minds seem to be joined. 3 In this illusory state, the concept of an "individual mind" seems to be meaningful. 4 It is therefore described in the course as if it has two parts; spirit and ego.

C-1.3. Spirit is the part that is still in contact with God through the Holy Spirit, Who abides in this part but sees the other part as well. 2 The term "soul" is not used except in direct biblical quotations because of its highly controversial nature. 3 It would, however, be an equivalent of "spirit," with the understanding that, being of God, it is eternal and was never born.

C-1.4. The other part of the mind is entirely illusory and makes only illusions. 2 Spirit retains the potential for creating, but its Will, which is God's, seems to be imprisoned while the mind is not unified. 3 Creation continues unabated because that is the Will of God. 4 This Will is always unified and therefore has no meaning in this world. 5 It has no opposite and no degrees.

C-1.5. The mind can be right or wrong, depending on the voice to which it listens. 2 Right-mindedness listens to the Holy Spirit, forgives the world, and through Christ's vision sees the real world in its place. 3 This is the final vision, the last perception, the condition in which God takes the final step Himself. 4 Here time and illusions end together.

C-1.6. Wrong-mindedness listens to the ego and makes illusions; perceiving sin and justifying anger, and seeing guilt, disease and death as real. 2 Both this world and the real world are illusions because right-mindedness merely overlooks, or forgives, what never happened. 3 Therefore it is not the One-mindedness of the Christ Mind, Whose Will is One with God's.

C-1.7. In this world the only remaining freedom is the freedom of choice; always between two choices or two voices. 2 Will is not involved in perception at any level, and has nothing to do with choice. 3 Consciousness is the receptive mechanism, receiving messages from above or below; from the Holy Spirit or the ego. 4 Consciousness has levels and awareness can shift quite dramatically, but it cannot transcend the perceptual realm. 5 At its highest it becomes aware of the real world, and can be trained to do so increasingly. 6 Yet the very fact that it has levels and can be trained demonstrates that it cannot reach knowledge.

With A Course in Miracles, for most of us the journey starts in darkness. The lessons are designed to gradually lift us up out of the darkness into the light. As we read the text and learn of its instructions, we gradually piece together a clearer picture of what is true and real. Our learning begins to generalize. Things which made no sense before become internally supported and consistent.

Over time you move from the state of an intense focus on the form of the words, the surface layer, to the much deeper messages. You start to see the correlations between passages spread across different chapters. Gradually you get in behind the words and the clear-cut metaphysical basis for the course's expression comes into focus.

At that point you'll start finding yourself becoming more of a authority and more able to base things you express on the truth. As your intimacy with the truth increases you begin to come from it, built upon it, and start to act from the top down. That means you're beginning to shine your light and remember who you are, expressing from the inner awareness of love and from the higher plane of sanity.

Particularly if you look into the metaphysics of God's Kingdom you'll find there not only clarification about the end goal, but also clarification about where it all started. And as you understand better the mechanics of heaven you can really start to grasp the underlying basis for the entire systems of thought - both that of God and that of the ego. Seeing where it all originated and how it progressed and how it is then reversed gives you great perspective.

You're then able to let go of the "bottom up" approach and begin to fulfill your function more from the top down, acting on a basis of guidance and trust, remaining in the light, holding true to what's real, overlooking the lower rungs of the ladder through forgiveness. The mind and perception are stabilized and the root of your being begins to reveal itself.

You can now utilize this intimate knowledge of the underlying immortal Kingdom as a foundation on which ti build. On which to extrapolate. On which to base your expressions. And then once it has all become so much simpler and refined you are able to express in countless ways and words all of this stuff that emanates out from a forgiven mind, from a state of simpler love and wholeness and clarity.

What that essentially means is you have become the truth, aligned yourself with it, are expressing from it. Both through a metaphysical logical basis and through the extension of love and miracles. A mind that has aligned itself with its Creator now possesses the power of authorship, and that means you now speak for God just as the Holy Spirit does. This is where you have become a teacher of God, able now to be a representative of His Word and the light of the world. Heaven's emissary. An ambassador for eternal life. A messenger of peace. And a holy influence.

[NEXT,about-the-acim-book] [BACKGROUNDLEFT,https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0533/6118/0844/files/A-Course-in-Miracles-FIP-2nd-Edition-Hardback-Book3-720p.jpg?v=1614224382] Chapter 1A Course in Miracles: The Book A Course in Miracles is a spiritual curriculum presented in book form, dictated by Jesus Christ and channeled through Helen Schucman. It is a course in: Mind-training and spiritual empowerment Forgiveness, inner peace and invulnerability Miracle-mindedness and the ability to perform miracles ACIM was first published in 1976 and has now sold millions of copies worldwide, in more than 25 languages. "It is crucial to say first that this is a required course." Let's take a closer look.

[SOCIAL] Main Contents Part 1 About the book Part 2 What's inside the book Part 3 ACIM audience and community Part 4 Where you can buy ACIM Part 5 Conclusion

[BOOKMARK,about-the-acim-book] [PREVIOUS,top] [NEXT,whats-inside-acim] Part 1About the Book The ACIM book comprises a theoretical Text, a practical Workbook with 365 lessons, and a Manual for Teachers. The course is: Published by the Foundation for Inner Peace since 1976 A spiritual path and way of finding salvation and inner peace A collection of theory and practice for mind healing and empowerment A masterclass in becoming a miracle worker like Jesus, taught by the master himself Let's take a look at some of the facts about this deeply spiritual and transformative book.

Contents Section 1 A Course in Miracles Book Section 2 Official ACIM Editions

[BOOKMARK,acim-facts] A Course in Miracles Book Full Title: A Course in Miracles, Combined Volume Abbreviations: "ACIM", "The Course", "Course in Miracles" ISBN: 978-1-883360-24-5 Author: Jesus Christ/Jesus of Nazareth Scribed/Channeled by: Helen Schucman Scribing Began: October 21st, 1965 Edited by: Jesus, Helen Schucman, William Thetford, Kenneth Wapnick Current Edition: 3rd Edition Official Publisher: Foundation for Inner Peace ("FIP") Language: English, plus over 25 translations Pages: 1333 Edited (3rd Edition), Words: ~480,000 Genres: Spirituality, Self-Help, Metaphysics, Psychology, Religion Themes: Forgiveness, mind training, miracles, perception, sickness/death, the body, the world, spiritual awakening, ego/separation from God, inner peace/love, God's Kingdom, Reality/Sanity Copies Sold: Estimated over 3 million worldwide as of 2020

[BOOKMARK,acim-editions] Official ACIM Editions A Course in Miracles First Edition Publishing Date: The 1st Edition was published June 22nd, 1976 by Viking/Penguin Format: Three separate books (Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers) Copyright: 1975 Foundation for Inner Peace Copyright Coverage: This copyright was voided in a court of law due to pre-distribution of the Course prior to copyrighting, placing the First Edition in the public domain Includes: Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers, plus Clarification of Terms is included at the end of the Manual for Teachers Does not include: Preface, Supplements, "The Gifts of God"/Special Messages material A Course in Miracles Second Edition Publishing Date: The 2nd Edition was published in 1992, by Viking and the Foundation for Inner peace Format: Single combined volume Copyright: 1985 Foundation for Inner Peace Copyright Coverage: Changes made since the first edition, including edits, reinstated or removed material, the Preface, and the official reference system Includes: Preface, Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers, Clarification of Terms Does not include: Supplements, "The Gifts of God"/Special Messages material A Course in Miracles Third Edition Publishing Date: The 3rd Edition was published on November 1st 2007, by the Foundation for Inner Peace Format: Single combined volume Copyright: 1985-2007 Foundation for Inner Peace Copyright Coverage: Changes made since the first edition, including edits, reinstated or removed material, the Preface, the official reference system, and the two supplements Includes: Preface, Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers, Clarification of Terms, Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice, The Song of Prayer Does not include: "The Gifts of God"/Special Messages material Physical Book Specs Hardcover Dimensions: 6" Width x 9" Length Hardcover Weight: 2.54 lbs Paperback Dimensions: 5" Width x 8" Length Paperback Weight: 1.65 lbs

[BOOKMARK,whats-inside-acim] [PREVIOUS,about-the-acim-book] [NEXT,acim-audience] Part 2What's inside the Book A Course in Miracles - the Official Foundation for Inner Peace 3rd Edition, combines all the major portions of scribed material into one volume: Preface Text Workbook for Students Manual for Teachers Clarification of Terms Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice The Song of Prayer Let's take a look inside.

Contents Section 1 ACIM Book Cover Section 2 Preface Section 3 Text Section 4 Workbook for Students Section 5 Manual for Teachers clarification"> Section 6 Clarification of Terms Section 7 Psychotherapy Supplement Section 8 The Song of Prayer Supplement Section 9 The Gifts of God Material

[BOOKMARK,inside-cover] ACIM Book Cover The cover of A Course in Miracles print editions have traditionally been a dark blue background with metallic gold text. ACIM is available in hard-back, soft-back and paper-back versions, all of which feature a blue and gold coloring, with the inscription "Foundation for Inner Peace" near the bottom of the front cover. When the second edition combined the volumes into a single book, the cover and spine were redesigned. The three main books (text, workbook, manual) are listed on the cover, but not the clarification of terms (which is included at the end of the manual). A small logo of a star (or representing the Holy Spirit) was added to the cover also. In the third edition, more details were added including: "The only complete edition" across the top "Combined volume" below the main title Mention of the Preface, Clarification of Terms and Supplements in the list of contents A further modified logo including the term "ACIM" A medallion detailing the 3rd edition, reading "NEW THIRD EDITION - The only complete course as authorized by its scribe & published by its original publisher." Some of the double lines added in the 2nd edition were reverted back to single lines The font choice differs between each version, with the third edition looking closer to the first [BOOKMARK,inside-preface] Preface The preface was added in the second edition of A Course in Miracles. It provides an introduction to the book, due to requests for one by the course community. The preface contains three sub-sections: How it came What it is What it says Each section briefly describes an aspect of the course, as follows: 1. How it came Written by Helen Schucman, this section briefly describes how Helen Schucman and William (Bill) Thetford were struggling in their professional relationships and felt that "there must be a better way". This willingness to find a better way together, led to the beginning of transmissions from Jesus to Helen, dictating the Course material. 2. What it is Written by Helen Schucman, this section provides a brief overview of the structure of the book, describing the text, workbook and manual for teachers and their purposes. It touches upon the curriculum of the course, the theory of the text, and the practical application of the workbook. 3. What it says Dictated by Jesus, this section begins to present some of the general themes of the course in terms of its theology and message. It begins with the now well-known and very abstract truth: "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God." There is a brief discussion of the difference between the worlds of knowledge and perception, which have given rise to heaven and its opposite. It touches upon the basic idea of how the world appears to change as our perceptions of it change. There is also brief mention of minds joining, special relationships, and the body. It finishes with a brief introduction to the idea of christ vision or true perception, coupled with forgiveness. [BOOKMARK,inside-text] Text The "Text" portion of A Course in Miracles was originally a separate book volume when the first edition was printed. It was later combined into the unified volume in the second edition. The text provides a mostly theoretical, metaphysical and psychological presentation. The text is divided into 31 chapters Each chapter is divided into sub-sections usually spanning a few pages A vast majority of ACIM's theology is presented in the Text, and lays a theoretical foundation for being able to better apply the workbook lessons which follow. As the introduction to the workbook states: "A theoretical foundation such as the text provides is necessary as a framework to make the exercises in this workbook meaningful." This suggests that the text should be read and understood first. Jesus covers a wide range of subjects in the Text ranging from miracles to forgiveness to relationships, from the body to the world, all manner of aspects of perception and mind, and provides extraordinary insight and depth into the functioning of our minds. He also details how we arrived in our present condition, and how we can return home to God. The text is incredibly deep and profound and life changing and provides a metaphysical framework for the workbook and further transformation. [BOOKMARK,inside-workbook] Workbook for Students The ACIM "Workbook", also known as "the lessons", features a lesson for each day of the year. There are in total 365 lessons, all of which include additional descriptive material, meditations and practices. The lessons may involve a few minutes of application and may be repeated a variable number of times throughout the day and as needed. The intention is that you: Read the Text first Study and practice one lesson per day for a year Repeat lessons and take breaks as needed Start at any time and resume at any time In addition to the lessons, the workbook includes an introduction and several additional pieces of material which act as introductions to later sections of the workbook. The workbook also revisits and summarizes earlier lessons in "review" periods to help cement and generalize the learning. The workbook is intended for the development of Christ Vision, which A Course in Miracles refers to as a highly spiritual state of perception, establishing your function of forgiveness, teaching and miracle-working, while also paving the way to returning home to God. As it states: "The workbook is divided into two main sections, the first dealing with the undoing of the way you see now, and the second with the acquisition of true perception."  ... and ... "The purpose of the workbook is to train your mind in a systematic way to a different perception of everyone and everything in the world." [BOOKMARK,inside-manual] Manual for Teachers The manual for teachers recognizes that after a period of learning and transformation, a student may become equipped to teach and help others. While many aspects of the course appear to be a "self study" or experienced in private, other aspects call for providing services to others. Content includes: The nature of "God's teachers" and their characteristics How God's teachers spend their day The way by which individuals may encounter each other in different lengths of relationships and for what purposes The development of trust in God The various stages someone might go through as they "evolve" into a more advanced teacher It also speaks on topics answering some common questions, such as whether reincarnation is real or helpful, the meaning of healing, etc. [BOOKMARK,inside-clarification] Clarification of Terms The clarification of terms in ACIM is a short section attempting to clarify and distinguish what certain terms in the course mean. It provides some extra background and context to put these terms into perspective. Originally this document was called the "Use of terms". The clarification covers these topics: Mind - Spirit The Ego - The Miracle Forgiveness - The face of Christ True Perception - Knowledge Jesus - Christ The Holy Spirit and an Epilogue [BOOKMARK,inside-psychotherapy] Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice A small pamphlet was scribed and later published, titled "Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice". This pamphlet, also referred to as a supplement, can be purchased individually in printed form. It has also now been included in the 3rd Edition as published by FIP. The supplement is presented in such a way as to be of interest to someone in a therapeutic role, such as a psychotherapist, but can be applied to any relationship in which there is an aim to provide help and healing. It has the following sections: The purpose of psychotherapy The process of psychotherapy The limits of psychotherapy The place of religion in psychotherapy The role of the therapist The process of illness The process of healing The definition of healing The ideal patient-therapist relationship The selection of patients Is psychotherapy a profession? The question of payment The psychotherapy pamphlet talks about the various roles of the two individuals, how one helps and teaches and heals the other, and how they might work together for a common goal. It also suggests that psychotherapy is the only therapy due to everything being in the mind. [BOOKMARK,inside-song-of-prayer] The Song of Prayer The Song of Prayer supplement is also available in printed form as a pamphlet, and was also later scribed. It is now included in the FIP 3rd edition. This supplement describes how we are in a constant state of prayer, always asking and always receiving. It describes how the spiritual quality of this prayer ranges from requests which are heavily identified with forms, objects and worldly problems, to a very high form of communication with God which paves the way to communion. The aim of "singing a higher song" spiritually is to raise one's mental giving and receiving to "tune" closer to God. This results in receiving higher spiritual gifts and support as well as a more spiritual outlook. The Song of Prayer is divided into three main sections, a kind of "how to do it" on each of these subjects: Prayer Forgiveness Healing [BOOKMARK,inside-gifts-of-god] The Gifts of God Helen Schucman also published some of her poetry in a book called The Gifts of God. Although the book is described as poetry, it include a portion of material which distinctly appears to be further dictation from Jesus. The material uses iambic pentameter and expresses in the same way as the rest of the ACIM material.  The Gifts of God is named as such because it talks about gifts received from and given to God. The material is not included in any official edition of ACIM, but can be purchased from the ACIM.org website. It includes the following sections: The dream of fear The two gifts The ending of the dream Our gift to God The Father's love

[BOOKMARK,acim-audience] [PREVIOUS,whats-inside-acim] [NEXT,where-to-buy-acim] Part 3ACIM Audience and Community The official editions of A Course in Miracles have sold over 3 million copies worldwide. Along with several unofficial editions, ACIM has spread to a worldwide community of individuals and organizations. Read on to learn more about its audience and reception.

Contents Section 1 Worldwide Audience Section 2 The Universal Curriculum Section 3 Language Translations Section 4 Reception Section 5 ACIM Community

[BOOKMARK,acim-worldwide] Worldwide Audience It is estimated that editions of A Course in Miracles published and sold by the Foundation for Inner peace total near to 3 million copies, as of 2020. But there are also other unofficial editions for sale, and also a variety of freely available editions. The list includes: Official ACIM editions sold by the Foundation for Inner Peace Unofficial ACIM books in print which are available for sale ACIM editions which are given away freely Various other media including audio books, e-books, desktop and mobile apps, online websites, videos etc Websites hosting copies of ACIM material and/or free ACIM pdf files Copies of ACIM which were distributed prior to the first edition It's very difficult to estimate the audience size, but there could be as many as 5-10 million individual readers/listeners of the course. We must also consider that the number of people actively still using or studying the course is likely far less, perhaps less than half. But A course in Miracles still likely has a reach of at least a few million active users. A Course in Miracles has found its way around the world and is now available in almost every country.

[BOOKMARK,acim-curriculum] The Universal Curriculum It's worth mentioning what A Course in Miracles itself might say about its audience. The course teaches that before the world seemed to come into being, all souls lived happily in heaven with God. "The separation" or "fall of man" resulted in the making of the physical universe and its contents. This places every separated soul in a position of needing salvation. God responded to the separation with the creation of the Holy Spirit and the initiation of His Atonement Plan. The goal of the plan is to eventually return everyone back to Heaven, with no exceptions. This means that for all separated individuals, which includes everyone on Earth, there is one Truth to learn (the Truth of God), which is accepted in the Atonement. Therefore the same truth is to be learned by all individuals. This leads to a universal curriculum in which everyone must eventually learn the same truth. However, the path by which an individual comes to that same truth may be unique depending on their current beliefs, yielding an "individualized curriculum" for each person. The plan of The Atonement is to bring about the atonement of each individual, leading to the return of all souls to Heaven. Regardless of what beliefs, religions, opinions, attitudes, states of mind, preferences or conditions any individual is currently experiencing, all individuals are a part of the mandatory curriculum and are learning whatever is necessary to eventually awaken to the reality of God. This means that even those who do not study A Course in Miracles - as given in the book, are still participating in the universal curriculum, no matter their present path or interests, because all roads lead to God. As ACIM says: "It is crucial to say first that this is a required course. Only the time you take it is voluntary. Free will does not mean that you establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect what to take when. It is just because you are not ready to do what you should elect to do that time exists at all." "Their readiness will bring the lesson to them in some form which they can understand and recognize. Some see it suddenly on point of death, and rise to teach it. Others find it in experience that is not of this world, which shows them that the world does not exist because what they behold must be the truth, and yet it clearly contradicts the world. And some will find it in this course, and in the exercises that we do today." Whether or not a person is well suited to gaining from A Course in Miracles, depends on their readiness, baggage, beliefs and history. Some are more willing than others. Some would see the course as a serious danger, even accusing it of being evil. Some would be completely disinterested. And some would never even encounter it in their lifetime. ACIM itself is not for everyone, but the universal curriculum is. ACIM is just one form of the curriculum designed for a particular audience, who will encounter it if that is part of the plan. Others will take different routes on the journey home. For this reason you will naturally see that those who believe things highly contrary to what A Course in Miracles claims, will be most offended or adamant about its wrongful nature, while those who can relate to it and benefit from it, will be more open and ready to receive it. In the big picture, this means that all criticism of the course is really just an interplay of egotism between certain individuals and the course's representation of the truth. which they are not yet willing to be open to. Some may accept parts of it, some may accept parts and recoil and rebound. Others may avoid it entirely. But everyone will go home in the end. If we give due credit to Jesus, author of A Course in Miracles, recognizing his mastery and perfection, and trusting his word, then we can see that reactions agains the course are almost certainly egoic in origin, and faulty at best. Essentially everyone should accept its truth, but many will likely find other paths which lead to the eventual same goal. God guarantees that everyone will return to Him sooner or later, it's just a matter of willingness and their individualized curriculum.

[BOOKMARK,acim-translations] Language Translations Originally A Course in Miracles was dictated in English, leaning towards American English, since its scribe, Helen Schucman, spoke American English. Jesus delivered the words in the language which its scribes and the later audience were able to understand. The Course has now been translated into more than 25 languages with more languages to follow. The list includes: Afrikaans, Bulgarian, Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish Some translations are of the 2nd Edition of ACIM, while others are the 3rd edition. ACIM is also available in translated languages in e-book format for Kindle etc. Translations of unofficial versions may also be available. TIP: It's possible to freely translate an online ACIM website page, using a translator service such as translate.google.com. Simply choose the source and destination languages, enter the full url of an ACIM website page, and it will provide a link which, when clicked, will take you to a translated version of that website. If you apply this to a website which hosts A Course in Miracles online, you can read the whole course in over 100 languages. Note that the translation may or may not be accurate in capturing the meaning of the words.

[BOOKMARK,acim-reception] Reception "The Course in Miracles" has been generally well received and is respected for its depth, clarity, insight, beauty and transformative power. This is not to say it is popular with everyone. Indeed some groups would consider the book to be evil or wrong, depending on their current belief system. A Course in Miracles uses a somewhat Christian language, and there is some overlap with Christianity in many areas, just as there is also some overlap with Christian Science, Buddhism, Hinduism etc. But there are also areas where it diverges profoundly, often opposing common beliefs. There are subjects in ACIM which are similar to subjects in a variety of religions, such as God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, sin, forgiveness, love, peace, etc. Different people find it more or less relatable depending on their current state of mind and preferences. Some criticism has been made that the course is too long, too wordy, too difficult to understand, too dense, too hard to apply, too hard to relate to etc. Some people do not like the language or how it is written. The course may not be for everyone in its current book form, but for some it is very accessible. Some have accused ACIM of stealing existing or long-held beliefs and theologies present in other doctrines and religions, suggesting that it does not offer anything new. This is partly because there is always some truth in every life path or belief system, so it's natural for there to be some overlap. ACIM doesn't really claim to be 100% unlike anything that has ever been said before, although in some areas it is highly original and groundbreaking. But it does claim to be giving the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Any individual or organization will have to decide for themselves whether ACIM is right for them.

[BOOKMARK,acim-community] ACIM Community The proliferation of A Course in Miracles around the world has naturally led to the formation of various groups and organizations. ACIM is not a religion, it is a spiritual path which you can participate in individually or as a group. And its aim is to restore openness, sharing and communication. However, ACIM itself teaches that those who meet are doing so as part of the "Atonement Plan" and are not at random. It also attempts to restore to every individual their innate perfection and power, leading to every student becoming a "Teacher of God". The Manual for Teachers also demonstrates that it is part of the Atonement Plan that some individuals become "truly helpful" towards those who may be a little behind them. "Miracles are given by those who temporarily have more to those who temporarily have less." "A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service that one soul can render another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as yourself." Various ACIM study groups have sprung up in various communities and countries. Some students meet periodically online or in person to share discussion and application of ACIM principles, to study the material and to share a connection. Indeed ACIM encourages all special relationships to become holy relationships and tells us: "Those who are to meet will meet, because together they have the potential for a holy relationship. They are ready for each other." ACIM students also congregate on all social media platforms including facebook, pinterest, reddit, twitter, youtube, forums etc. There are also groups who meet or participate in courses over "zoom" and through other media, as well as through online radio and podcasts. There have also been movies made about the course and a wide variety of course-related books have been published. The ACIM community is growing. There are A Course in Miracles conferences of various kinds every year, including meetups, workshops, training courses and various other events held periodically by various groups and individuals. Many cities host one or more ACIM study groups. It is also easy to meet and talk with other ACIM students on social media channels. Some ACIM organizations and non-profits have also been established, some of which offer courses, church-like gatherings, and in some cases ordained ministerial training. Phone support, websites and various other forms of interaction have all sprung up to support and build the growing A Course in Miracles community. Ultimately every soul God created is a worthy member of God's Family, whether they are using A Course in Miracles or not.

[BOOKMARK,where-to-buy-acim] [PREVIOUS,acim-audience] [NEXT,bottom] Part 4Where to buy ACIM Most editions of A Course in Miracles are available at Amazon. You can simply search for the book titles. Alternatively, and perhaps of more financial benefit to the publishers, you can also purchase most editions from the publisher's websites. You can also find versions of ACIM in various bookstores. Below we'll take a look at some of the more popular editions.

Contents Section 1 Choosing an Edition Section 2 Popular ACIM Editions Section 3 Free Online Editions Section 4 Other Editions

[BOOKMARK,buy-acim-choosing] Choosing an Edition When A Course in Miracles was first scribed, Helen Shucman wrote down the words Jesus dictated into note books, using her own shorthand. Later "The Notes" were typed into plain English with the help of Bill Thetford. This formed an early version commonly referred to as "The Urtext". The urtext was then considered to contain some material which was somewhat personal, various typing errors and so on, so further editing took place. Various material was removed and/or changed, especially in the earlier chapters. Chapters and section headings were inserted and this eventually formed the "Hugh Lynn Cayce" edition, so named due to a version given to the Edgar Cayce foundation and uncovered in the ACIM copyright trial. Some consider this version to be where Helen and Bill had finished editing. Ken Wapnick later arrived and felt the Course needed further editing. More material was removed and changed and cleaned up. This eventually became the Criswell edition, which then become the Official First Edition. The Foundation for Inner Peace published an initial run of 5000 copies of the 1st edition, with the 1975 copyright, in mid 1976. There was then a legal court case in which the copyright of ACIM was brought into question, mainly due to general distribution of course material prior to the 1975 copyright. The copyright was then voided, making the first edition public domain. This then led to further editing, which accomplished a few things: Combining the three separate volumes into a single book Being able to apply a new 1985 copyright covering the edits and the inclusion of the Preface The creation of an official reference system to help identify and locate specific passages Reduction in costs and redesign of the book cover etc This became the official 2nd edition, sold by the Foundation for Inner Peace. In years to follow, a final 3rd edition was published as a result of further edits, including two of the supplements. Meanwhile, relating to events in the court case, the Notes and Urtext were photocopied and leaked on the internet. Also later editions such as the Criswell and first edition were typed and posted online. Efforts by various individuals and organizations resulted, legally or otherwise, in the publishing of the earlier material in book form. Since that time, various editions of ACIM based on available materials have been published in print, and are available for sale. This includes the Original Edition, Urtext Manuscripts, Sparkly Edition and the newer Complete and Annotated Edition. Recommendation If you are newer to the course, I would recommend either the Foundation for Inner Peace 3rd Edition, or the Circle of Atonement Complete and Annotated edition. The Circle of Atonement edition has a lot more material, but it includes material which was edited out by FIP.  This includes many references to souls, discussions about sex and various other matters. The material reads more conversationally than in the FIP edit, but may not be as "clean and to the point" or "sanitized" as the FIP edit. More experienced students may benefit from extra insight gained from the earlier material. The urtext is a popular go-to, since the notes are not easily human readable. But now that the "Complete and annotated edition" and "The complete authentic original edition" are or will be available, which are based on a new translation of the notes, these are fast becoming more popular renditions of Jesus's original dictation.

[BOOKMARK,buy-acim-popular] Popular ACIM Editions Several editions of A Course in Miracles are now available for purchase as physical print books. To follow are the more popular books. Most are available at the publisher's websites, otherwise all are available at Amazon. A Course in Miracles Combined Volume "A Course in Miracles Combined Volume" published by the Foundation for Inner Peace. This is the current official version as published by the original publisher, originally authorized by Helen Schucman. It includes all material except "The Gifts of God", and is quite highly edited. A Course in Miracles Complete and Annotated Edition "A Course in Miracles, Complete and Annotated Edition" published by the Circle of Atonement. This is a modern new edit, combining as much material as possible from The Notes, and some from the urtext. It provides a version as close to the original scribing as possible, but does not include supplements. A Course in Miracles Urtext Manuscripts "A Course in Miracles Urtext Manuscripts" published by Miracles in Action Press. This is a a complete set of all urtext material including all supplements. A new edit based more firmly on the Notes will soon be available, titled "A Course in Miracles - The authentic original edition". A Course in Miracles Original Edition "A Course in Miracles Original Edition" published by the Course in Miracles Society. This is the same as the Hugh Lynn Cayce edition, the final version following editing by Helen and Bill prior to the official FIP versions. This edition also includes some additional material from the urtext, but contains no supplements. A Course in Miracles Sparkly Edition "A Course in Miracles Sparkly Edition" published by the Thetford Foundation is similar to the Original Edition, minus some urtext material, and has some capitalization/punctuation changes. The version is called "Sparkly" due to it sparkly cover. It also contains no supplements. A newer "White Edition" is also available from the Amazon (see separate Book A and Book B)  which has removed various "human influences". There is no index, table of contents, reference system, or section/chapter titles, facilitating a more "immersive" experience.

[BOOKMARK,buy-acim-free] Free Online Editions Most versions of the course are available online with free access. These are usually hosted as a set of web pages on a website, or as a downloadable pdf. One of the most extensive archives of ACIM material available for free is at the Miracles in Action Press website. You can browse based on the edition of the ACIM material, and also by the volume (Text, Workbook etc). Material hosted includes pdf facsimiles, transcribed e-texts, the Urtext Manuscripts book in pdf form, html versions of various editions, and also a concordance. It includes documents on the Notes, Urtext, Hugh Lynn Cayce/Original, Criwsell and FIP editions. The Foundation for Inner Peace has also released a new Web Edition of the course, available for free since March 2021. This is the same 3rd edition previously in print, but provided as a freely accessible website. The website includes a table of contents and a search function, and will later be available in additional languages. The site includes the 3 major volumes, plus the Preface, the Psychotherapy Pamphlet and the Song of Prayer. Donations are welcomed. There are also other websites hosting A Course in Miracles as web pages. A few of the better ones include: a.courseinmiracles.com - hosts the Urtext (does not include preface or supplements) acourseinmiraclesnow.com - hosts the Foundation for Inner peace third edition (no supplements) jcim.net - hosts the Original/Hugh Lynn Cayce edition (Text, Workbook, Manual only) acim.org - hosts the FIP 3rd edition workbook lessons online You can find ACIM online by Googling ACIM online or A Course in Miracles online. Most of the online websites have a search feature built in. TIP: You can also use Google in combination with one of these websites to find content. For example, if you type site:a.courseinmiracles.com forgiveness into Google, you will see Google's search results for the terms you enter, confined to that website. You can also put terms in quotes like site:a.courseinmiracles.com "forgive your brother" for narrower results. Note that Google might not include every single page in their search results. You can also find various editions in PDF form, by Googling ACIM pdf or ACIM urtext pdf etc. Note that these will either be transcribed versions, or might be a collection of facsimiles of photocopied pages, which can be harder to read.

[BOOKMARK,buy-acim-other] Other Editions A well as print books and online versions, ACIM has been published via many types of media. You can experience it in book form, for example as an ebook on a device like Kindle or via Apple Books. You can also experience it as audio recordings in various ways. There are official and unofficial audio book recordings of various versions. You can also find these converted into videos on YouTube, sometimes where a person is visibly reading the book and other times just as audio with pictures. On YouTube there is a wealth of ACIM material including collections of videos from a variety of organizations and individuals, either reading the ACIM books or talking about ACIM topics. There are videos for every workbook lesson from several sources. If you are on social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Reddit etc, you are likely to encounter ACIM quotes and memes and various visual expressions of A Course in Miracles which are socially shared. You can also find ACIM distributed in software app form, with apps for iOs and Android, a well a for desktop PC's (windows). These are available from ACIM.org and others, and on the app stores. It's also worth mentioning again that ACIM has been translated into over 25 languages and a vast majority of these are available at the ACIM.org website, which is the official website of the Foundation for Inner Peace.

[BOOKMARK,bottom] [PREVIOUS,where-to-buy-acim] Part 5Conclusion A Course in Miracles is a truly profound and potentially life changing book. Did you find this page helpful? Did you learn something about A Course in Miracles? Do you have any questions? I'd love to hear from you. Go ahead and let me know in the comments below.

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Jesus says in the course several times that we have a "sole responsibility". This responsibility is to accept the atonement. And this is usually attached to "for ourselves."

I think this has become one of the most selfishly misinterpreted teachings.

When Jesus mentions this, he ALSO mentions afterwards that once you have accepted atonement, you will now GIVE IT TO OTHERS. Which is not a selfish act. Nor is it exclusive. Nor does it mean you sitting there in isolation having accepted atonement CUT OFF from others, or unable to share it, or unwilling to heal others.

I also think that when he speaks of it being our sole responsibility, he is saying that because we have FREE WILL. Therefore, as the owner of the free will, I have to personally WILL to accept the atonement, and no-one can do this for me. So the responsibility lies SOLELY with me. I have to be willing. That's why it is the ONLY responsibility that lands squarely and solely on MY shoulders and not others. Because I have to exercise my free will. As Jesus says, "no one comes to the atonement except willingly."

Similarly, we have to realize that you cannot RECEIVE atonement WITHOUT giving it, because "atonement is a lesson in sharing." It means that you are aligning yourself with the golden rule and are now identify with your brothers and sharing with them. That in turn means that their interests are now shared with yours and it is your DUTY to fulfill the great crusade to HELP THEM AND HEAL THEM.

"The attraction of light must draw you willingly, and willingness is signified by GIVING."

I think Jesus is pretty clear that he never intended these statements about "sole responsibility" to be interpreted in such a selfish manner, where people THINK it means "I just accept it for myself in isolation and to hell with everyone else." The reason we accept it is SO THAT we become PART OF the atonement (plan) and now have a PROFESSION of atonement, which we do all the time, which involves GIVING TO OTHERS. Solely accept the atonement for yourself SO THAT you can share it!

Jesus's intention was NEVER to suggest that people are to accept atonement for themselves and then HOARD IT and NOT SHARE IT and NOT HELP ANYONE ELSE. In fact, we can interpret it to mean.... I accept atonement for myself because it is my sole responsibility to put myself into a position WHERE I can help others through a service of miracles!

"The sole responsibility of God's teacher is to accept the Atonement for himself. Atonement means correction, or the undoing of errors. When this has been accomplished, the teacher of God becomes a miracle worker by definition."

"The unforgiven HAVE no mercy to bestow upon another. That is why your sole responsibility MUST be to take forgiveness for yourself."

"If the sole responsibility of the miracle-worker is to accept the ATONEMENT, and I assure you that it is, then the responsibility for what is atoned FOR CANNOT be yours."

"The sole responsibility of the miracle worker is to accept Atonement himself. This means that he knows that mind is the only creative level, and that its errors ARE healed by the Atonement. Once he accepts this, HIS mind can only heal. By denying his mind any destructive potential, and reinstating its purely constructive powers, he has placed himself in a position where he can undo the level confusion of others. The message which he then gives to others is the truth that THEIR MINDS are really similarly constructive, and that their own miscreations cannot hurt them."

"The purpose of the Atonement is to restore everything TO you. (That is, to restore the awareness. Later clarification.) You had everything when you were created, just as everyone did." ... "Having been restored to your original state, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself. You now share MY inability to tolerate the lack of love in yourself and in everyone else, and MUST join the GREAT CRUSADE to correct it. The slogan for this Crusade is "Listen, Learn, and DO."

The way Jesus describes the separation from God, there's a huge laundry list of aspects to this "state" that we've entered. The whole entire ego thought system and all its contents, has been given many labels by Jesus. Labels which simultaneously apply to all of it.

He describes the separation as a "detour into fear" for example. He describes that any state where there's even a slight lack of love, as a state of sin. He describes the whole of spacetime as the idea of death, in that "without the idea of death there is no world" - an entire dream of death. He describes that any state less than wholeness will induce sickness and disease.

He also equates sickness with the denial of God. He equates sin with insanity. All forms of unforgiveness ie judgement come into it. All physical sensory states of false perception. Every conceivable form of attack and murder, war and destruction. ALL of it applies to the WHOLE system. Even though it may appear that all these things are *separate things* unrelated to each other.

That means that everything in the ego thought system is a state of fear, death, sickness, judgement, false perception, confusion, insanity, sin, murder, evil, unreality, war, conflict, suffering, denial etc.

What this then tells you about the true nature of fear, is that when you are afraid, you're not just having a small emotion of fear. You're actually "doing the whole system".

You're being entirely ego. And it's a total package deal, in which you are doing all the other aspects of the separation as well. Fear is an attack, fear is denial, fear is conflict, fear is insanity, fear is sin, fear is death, fear is sickness, fear is deception, etc.

If you also consider the split mind, given that Jesus also refers to the separation as a matter of dissociation, going into a dissociated state means one part of your mind is seemingly cut off from the other. This happens in fear. In fear you believe that you are a victim and not a victimizer, that something is happening to you against your will, and you're not the cause of it. It's a state of projection and blame. Fingers are pointed anywhere other than yourself, so that you're totally out of touch with the fact you're threatening yourself.

All special relationships are affected by fear as well. There is mistrust, inequality, and idol worship, all of which inspire a sense of fear that the other person will take away what you lack. Or even the fear that you've given them the right to do something to you. To be special is to be at war, which means to be conflicted, therefore uncertain, therefore afraid. The entire fall of man is a fall into fear - a detour into fear.

(re leaving the garden of eden, being cast out of heaven) "There is, however, considerable clarification of this concept, which must be understood before the real meaning of the "detour into fear" can be fully comprehended. "

We need to understand how and why fear is not just fear on its own, separate from guilt, or separate from death, or separate from sin. We need to RECOGNIZE that ALL the attributes of the ego ALL go together. You can't be participating in one without the other. Fear is actually death. Fear is actually sin. Fear is actually every possible aspect of the ego system rolled into one. Just as death is sin and war is murder and blame is guilt and insanity is judgement.

When you are afraid, you are not "just afraid", helpless and weak and unvinvolved, or cut off from the other ego aspects. You must also be being unloving, attacking, murderous, blameful, judgemental, hurtful, guilty, deceptive, confused, insane, sinful, etc.

Eventually we have to realize that all aspects of the ego system are ONE system, one idea, one problem, one state, calling for one solution. To not be deceived by the idea that you can be participating in only a little part of the system and not the whole thing. All illusions of the separations between these different things are not true. The entire ego, the whole separation idea, is rolled into every part of it. It is all the same.

A Course in Miracles, the book, unfortunately does not contain everything there could ever be said on every subject.

It's important to recognize this. Since there is so much "truth" in the book, or conveyed through its words, many people come to believe that truth is ITS FORM. Ie the specific words it uses is the "entire truth".

This is especially because the course is trying to communicate to us "the whole truth", the exact perfect truth, and nothing but the truth. But if we start to think that the words used, the form of the book, and its limitations, constitutes what the whole truth is, we become obsessed over the specific words.

Then there are debates about what the words say with a quote-war erupting, competition between versions and so on. People will say "where did Jesus say that" or "where does the course say that".. and things will allegedly not be "proven" unless you can find specific words which "say it" in a specific form.

Words themselves are not meaning. They are symbols, carriers of meaning, and there are many ways to say the same thing. In the course Jesus does the best He can, but he's working with a language based on limitation. He can only put a certain amount of words into the book and only a certain amount is said on given subjects. But even moreso, the MEANING that he intended is sometimes lost or not seen at all if a person focuses solely on the form of the words.

Meaning is always deeper than the words. If you are a course student who is always trying to find out what the words explicitly say as in, the exact words used, as if this gives you the meaning of the course, then you will become limited right along with those limiting words.

There are parts of the Course which Jesus later "clarified" necessarily, such as in the clarification for terms. He even said some things later in the "notes to helen" about how He made his body disappear, which was not mentioned anywhere else in the course and those who have not read it would likely come to some other conclusions about how the dream is overcome.

Jesus did NOT speak at "great length" on every topic, and some topics he barely even touched on, giving us precious few words representing colossal subjects, such as the definition of very large terms like "world" and what exactly the real world is or is not, and what he exactly means by the world being "translated" into heaven, and so on. Or what he means by a "universe". There are many many areas of the course where we really could've used a Q&A session to really get into the details of these things and become much clearer about them. This lack of clarity results in a lot of debate and arguments and speculation.

It is not possible to make accurate conclusions based on this limited material at times. You can't just point to some quoted piece of text and say, that's what the course says, or means, or teaches. The meaning is beyond the words. And I've seen plenty of people putting their own meaning onto the verbatim quotes and claiming that this is what the quote "clearly says and means". .but it doesn't.

Don't be deceived that the FORM of the course holds all of the truth in it. It is just a set of symbols trying to point to an experience or meaning that runs deeper. Learning what the truth is and what the course really means or intends, requires you to generalize the learning. You have to take something Jesus said over here and something he said over there and make sense of how it fits together. And in that area, you will find a lot of people disagreeing.

At some point we are to leave the course behind and go to God with empty hands. That's because the course itself is a MEANS to get there, not the end. Don't put the course on a pedestal and worship its glorious words or the idol worship of anyone who wrote or edited it. That's not what it is FOR or about. Beware of the FORM.

"Nothing so blinding as sight of form."

What we really need to do is learn the core truth and how to apply it and work with it to produce miracles and healing and awakening. And to develop TRUST in Holy Spirit and Jesus as our teachers and to let go of the ego.

A Course in Miracles, the book, unfortunately does not contain everything there could ever be said on every subject.

It's important to recognize this. Since there is so much "truth" in the book, or conveyed through its words, many people come to believe that truth is ITS FORM. Ie the specific words it uses is the "entire truth".

This is especially because the course is trying to communicate to us "the whole truth", the exact perfect truth, and nothing but the truth. But if we start to think that the words used, the form of the book, and its limitations, constitutes what the whole truth is, we become obsessed over the specific words.

Then there are debates about what the words say with a quote-war erupting, competition between versions and so on. People will say "where did Jesus say that" or "where does the course say that".. and things will allegedly not be "proven" unless you can find specific words which "say it" in a specific form.

Words themselves are not meaning. They are symbols, carriers of meaning, and there are many ways to say the same thing. In the course Jesus does the best He can, but he's working with a language based on limitation. He can only put a certain amount of words into the book and only a certain amount is said on given subjects. But even moreso, the MEANING that he intended is sometimes lost or not seen at all if a person focuses solely on the form of the words.

Meaning is always deeper than the words. If you are a course student who is always trying to find out what the words explicitly say as in, the exact words used, as if this gives you the meaning of the course, then you will become limited right along with those limiting words.

There are parts of the Course which Jesus later "clarified" necessarily, such as in the clarification for terms. He even said some things later in the "notes to helen" about how He made his body disappear, which was not mentioned anywhere else in the course and those who have not read it would likely come to some other conclusions about how the dream is overcome.

Jesus did NOT speak at "great length" on every topic, and some topics he barely even touched on, giving us precious few words representing colossal subjects, such as the definition of very large terms like "world" and what exactly the real world is or is not, and what he exactly means by the world being "translated" into heaven, and so on. Or what he means by a "universe". There are many many areas of the course where we really could've used a Q&A session to really get into the details of these things and become much clearer about them. This lack of clarity results in a lot of debate and arguments and speculation.

It is not possible to make accurate conclusions based on this limited material at times. You can't just point to some quoted piece of text and say, that's what the course says, or means, or teaches. The meaning is beyond the words. And I've seen plenty of people putting their own meaning onto the verbatim quotes and claiming that this is what the quote "clearly says and means". .but it doesn't.

Don't be deceived that the FORM of the course holds all of the truth in it. It is just a set of symbols trying to point to an experience or meaning that runs deeper. Learning what the truth is and what the course really means or intends, requires you to generalize the learning. You have to take something Jesus said over here and something he said over there and make sense of how it fits together. And in that area, you will find a lot of people disagreeing.

At some point we are to leave the course behind and go to God with empty hands. That's because the course itself is a MEANS to get there, not the end. Don't put the course on a pedestal and worship its glorious words or the idol worship of anyone who wrote or edited it. That's not what it is FOR or about. Beware of the FORM.

"Nothing so blinding as sight of form."

What we really need to do is learn the core truth and how to apply it and work with it to produce miracles and healing and awakening. And to develop TRUST in Holy Spirit and Jesus as our teachers and to let go of the ego.

When you're first starting to apply A Course in Miracle's idea of forgiveness, it begins with where you're at and what kind of a perception you have.

Most people will be starting out with a mind that is quite strongly convinced that everything external is real, that there are many very distinctly separate problems, that other people are very wrong and are the cause of all their problems.

With that way of perceiving, as you start learning to apply forgiveness it can be quite difficult. The idea that you've even been scapegoating at all is something of a revelation, or that blame is an attempt to project guilt, or that the person who is upset and accusing someone is actually the person who has the problem and not the person they're blaming.

Attempting to forgive when your mind is spending most of its time in that kind of a way of believing/looking at the world, seems like a big challenge and a big mess. It's hard to even remember the basics and harder still sometimes to get your mind out of the basic belief that you've been victimized by someone.

Taking back some sense of the projecting you've been doing at first appears to be the vast majority of what you "do" to forgive, because it at least is taking some steps to recognize that there may be more going on here than meets the eye. Appearances may not necessarily be true, and its possible there is another explanation for why it *seems* like someone else is guilty.

You can potentially spend some years just in that mode alone, learning each time you forgive that what you perceive happening has an explanation that's got something to do with you. That maybe you have some kind of perceptual or distorting problem going on in your mind which is changing how you see things. So then it seems that you go to town on your perception and learning to correct it.

After a while, because learning becomes generalized, and because correction of the mind becomes permanent, you gradually learn to form a clearer picture. You gradually peel away your conviction that problems are about other people. Each time each individual problem is forgiven, even if the forgiveness is not complete in its undoing (and early on it usually isn't), each example of you teaching yourself that there is a different way to look starts to turn into an overall different way of looking. It's like building a new way of perceiving one block at a time.

So eventually it's like, you've seen the same trick presented to you by the ego over and over again, and each time you've applied some kind of forgiveness, even if its a very sloppy inaccurate forgiveness riddled with mistakes, you gradually become clearer about what the truth is. And this gives you a firmer footing in the truth. You become less susceptible to being tricked by the *illusion* that there are many separate problems, or that the problems that show up are unlike each other.

Gradually it sinks in that "this" problem is actually pretty much the same scenario as "that" problem and you start to *transcend* the surface appearances. You at least begin to chisel away at the more obvious distractions and illusions, tending to fall mainly for the subtler ones or those that you didn't really tackle before. But you're still making progress and your mind is gradually learning to see *all* problems differently.

So with time, pretty soon you are not so easy to fool. You've seen the trick one too many times and have learned how it is not the truth. So it's kind of then like, you will notice the trick quicker and catch yourself and not fall into the trap so easily.

Also what happens over time then is you go "deeper" into your truth, which means your mind is waking up and you're examining and sorting out true from false at subtler or more abstract levels. Your refinement of "how" to forgive continues and you just keep collecting more and more insights. As you develop the right minded thought system and open up to Holy Spirit's truth, gradually it builds upon itself and lightbulbs go off more and more often. Things click together more and make more sense, and you get this sense that you are "getting it" with aha moments.

Some years later perhaps you might notice that you're no longer really fooled by the major surface appearances of problems and issues, but instead are operating at a much deeper level of forgiveness. What needs still to be undone are more fundamental beliefs, core values, major perceptual errors, profound beliefs about the basic nature of what is real or not real, etc.

When shit happens, most of it will not stick. The part that continues to stick continues to show you ways that you need to refine your grasp of the truth. But your forgiveness in general, the activity of what you need to do to correct your mind, dwells more often in the realm of what's going on within yourself. Having taken back a lot of your power and responsibility and owned up more to your part in what you experience, it becomes more a matter of just continually owning up to the truth rather than having to deal with lots of projections or blame or being heavily lost in stories and dramas.

It becomes more about what you are doing to yourself, what's happening in your own mind, recognizing that you've been inside your own private world and so have others, and also the growing awareness that intellectualizing the course does not lead to love. And yet, growing within you will also be an ever stronger sense that love, as simple as it sounds, is the key to everything. It is the truth that you want, it is the experience you want to have, it is what you want to share, and it becomes ever clear that simply love is the answer you've been homing in on this whole time.

It's all just a long process of refinement and clarification and chiseling away at beliefs in separation until your mind is returning to an awareness of wholeness and a truly forgiving attitude. Just being love.

"The world was made as "a natural grand division," or a projecting outward of God."

First of all, the use of "OR" here means there are two ways of saying this. A natural grand division is the same thing as a "projecting outward". Which is the same thing also as extension and creation. When God projected outward from Himself he Created "the world". This is the world of heaven, having nothing to do with the physical universe.

"That is why everything that He created is like Him."

So we know that everything God creates is LIKE Him. Like a copy. "Heaven and Earth are opposites in every way" - so we know God did not create Earth.

"Projection, as undertaken by God, is very similar to the kind of inner radiance which the Children of the Father inherit from Him. It is important to note that the term "project outward" necessarily implies that the real source of projection is internal. This is as true of the Son as of the Father."

The clarification here is that what God is, internally, is "distinct" in a NATURAL way, from the "projecting out" (creating) that God performs. His CREATION, is "naturally divided" from Him. This reflects in the idea that God is the FATHER, and His Creation is HIS SON. He is Cause, His creation is Effect.

This is considered a NATURAL division. Because it is natural, it is not alien, it is not an attack, it is not ego, it is not separation, it is not a dream, it is not artificial, it is NATURAL and normal and healthy.

All of God's children (plural - many) inherit this same ability to create which is the ability to radiate outward from their being, to create things which are NATURALLY DIVIDED from themselves, in terms of the relationship of cause to effect. All children are CAUSE of their Creations, which are their effects.

The natural division between Father and Son tells us Father creates the Son, but the Son does not create the father. If there was no "division", the Son would indeed create the father. The Son is INCAPABLE of doing that, because He is the EFFECT of the Father, so He is "divided off" from being able to BE the "Cause of God'. But he Himself inherits Fatherhood abilities, meaning He can "father" (create) His own creations.

To create His own creations he MUST be given free will. God is freedom and God only creates that which is free. If the Father has even ONE Son, that son MUST have FREEDOM. A free will. Bestowing complete freedom upon the Son is basically a MIRACLE, because in a way it means the Son is DISTINCT in His own ability/independence/individuality to Will either WITH the father or to try to will against Him. FREEDOM gives Him that "right" or ability.

"The world, in the original connotation of the term, included both the proper creation of man by God and the proper creation by man in his right mind. The latter required the endowment of man by God with free will because all loving creation is freely given. Nothing in these statements implies any sort of level involvement or in fact anything except one continuous line of creation in which all aspects are of the same order."

There is nothing UNNATURAL about these divisions. Effect is not cause. However God creates so fully and so freely and gives so unconditionally that He gives ALL of His abilities to His Son, endowing Him with both FREEDOM and the ability to CREATE FREELY. As the quote says, this is all in one continuous LINE OF CREATION, in that, the SonS (plural) and THEIR creations (and the creations of their creations etc) are all one simultaneous timeless eternal creation. It has all always been.

That there are NATURAL DIVISIONS, particularly between cause and effect or Father and Son, doesn't necessarily mean that there is anything blocking the Son from being completely equal to and "one with" the Father. There is no "difference" that comes between them. But they are still distinct. They are as close to each other as close can be, to the point where they practically disappear into each other. But they are still divided! Like, they can HUG!

An UNNATURAL division, is what the course refers to as SEPARATION. An unnatural division is unhealthy and incorrect and is an error. It's an artificial division that isn't supposed to be inherent to the nature of Creation. It is a wall, a block, a barricade which attempts to cut off some portion of Creation and keep it in the dark. This is the ego's separations. Divisions in heaven do not keep anyone from SHARING with each other. Ego separations BLOCK SHARING. Every ILLUSION of multiplicity, every ego form of attack, every wall or block or unnatural separation, these are UNNATURAL. This is not the same thing as a NATURAL division.

Heaven has NATURAL divisions. There is a kind of hierarchy of cause and effect: God > Many Sons > Son's Creations > Creations of Son's Creations etc.

Even the idea of God having ONE Son suggests a hierarchy: God > Son. Yet the ego would say, noooooo... can't have heirarchies or any concept of separations or multitudes in Heaven. YES YOU CAN. And they are NATURAL, meaning they are not WRONG to be there, and they are not attacks, and they are not ego.