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.
Amazon.pl (Poland) Unknown.
Amazon.se (Sweden) Unknown.
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 body is the idea of sin. It is an extension of the idea of being separate. The body cannot become sinless in and of itself, although it can be used for a holy purpose.
"The body is the ego's idol; the belief in sin made flesh and then projected outward." - ACIM
"At no single instant does the body exist at all. It is always remembered or anticipated, but never experienced just now. Only its past and future make it seem real. Time controls it entirely, for sin is never present. " - ACIM
"Christ's vision has one law. It does not look upon a body, and mistake it for the Son whom God created. " - ACIM
The body is always a symbol of being separate from God. It must be imperfect and it must be an illusion. Otherwise, if it were not, it would be possible for the body to have power over the mind and could prevent the Son of God from awakening or healing.
The body itself, in its fullness, must be fundamentally an illusion of separation, and therefore sin. IT MUST BE FALSE. It can't be a truth and it can't have any truth to it. If truth were associated with the body, we'd be totally stuck in the dream.
To say that the body is inherently holy or perfect or anything other than a symbol of sin is to say that God, who is holiness and perfection, is a body. That is a way the ego wants to make God be a body so that it can kill God, just as it makes the Son of God a body in order to kill him.
"Any thought system that confuses God and the body must be insane." - ACIM
At its core, metaphysically, the body is an illusion of sin. It cannot be the central truth of who or what you are. It cannot be holiness. It cannot be wholeness. It cannot be innocence. It can only exist inside of the dream of separation. It cannot enter heaven. It is never present. And it never really exists at all.
We need to learn to recognize that the body is the idea of sin, and then undo it. If we are to undo sin, the body must disappear, being an illusion that we believe is really there as a real sin. You can perceive the body with love or use it with love to give it a holier purpose, in which it can appear to be free from sickness and so on, but it is still a body. It is still an idea and representation of sin, and so long as it remains, the mind cannot be 100% free. This is why Jesus had to disappear his body in order to completely remove its blockage to the awareness of God's presence.
The body is never present. It cannot exist in the now. It does not live. It is always a memory or an idea of the future, with an artificial history and a fabricated illusion of continuation. The body IS the symbol of sin. It is false. It does not exist. It not who or what you are. You do not need it. You are immortal spirit.
"Miracles reawaken the awareness that the spirit, not the body, is the altar of truth. This is the recognition that leads to the healing power of the miracle." - ACIM
The way I see the world, I recognize at least in theory that it was made by mistake. It was made to oppose God's nature, even as an attack on God. It is unnatural and strange and filled with contradictions and conflict. It is inherently limited, problematic, confused and made from ideas of death and sin. Ok, so that's just what it is. A botched mis-creation.
But at the same time, while keeping that squarely in mind, and without using it to judge or condemn the world, I can also recognize that some of the "hell-like bullshit" that we made is not "all that bad". I mean, I just ate some pretty tasty French toast for breakfast. ie, "it's not all bad". The toast isn't heaven and must not substitute for it, but it can be enjoyed for what it is.
I'm finding out, the long hard way, that it's okay to enjoy some of the shit we made. To live a little. Because otherwise if all we do is label the world as a picture of crucifixion and death, our outlook can become a bit bleak.
I see that yes, on the one hand we did make a quite faulty, terrorizing, awkward and very bizarre world, but at the same time, it's possible to find a way to forgive it. To look at it without holding it against itself. It's flawed yes, but if I start labelling it as flawed I'm really accusing it of sin. And then I'll start experiencing it from a vantage point of suffering "from it".
The course seems to point to an attempt to "save" the world, and when we look at what it's being saved from, it's being saved from our accusation of sin. Saved from our projections of faulty meaning that we've given to it. Allowed to just be neutral and "what it is" without attacking or condemning it for being what it is. Without judging it wrongly and only sharing the Holy Spirit's judgement of it.
Yes it's a picture of hell and murder, but if I start holding that against it and using it as a way to condemn it, then I'm going to be dragged down into it. Even the ego knows that it slightly depends on God and accepts SOME good. It doesn't reject goodness entirely, but rather mixes it with evil ideas and confuses them.
Even if we made galaxies and planets and black holes in error, we could look at them from a more loving perspective and appreciate them for what they are, not making them into something they're not. We could be careful not to turn them into idols or something to depend on or artificially value, remembering always to recognize that the world is FALSE. But even a false world can become a forgiven world. And a forgiven world can be appreciated through beautiful vision.
"The real world can ACTUALLY BE PERCEIVED. All that is necessary is a willingness to perceive nothing ELSE. For if you perceive both good AND evil, you are accepting both the false AND the true, AND MAKING NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THEM. The ego sees SOME good, but never ONLY good. That is WHY its perceptions are so variable. It does not reject goodness entirely, for this you could not accept, but it always ADDS something that is NOT real TO the real, thus CONFUSING ILLUSION AND REALITY. For perceptions cannot be partly true. If you believe in truth AND illusion you CANNOT TELL WHICH IS TRUE."
"Each spot HIS (Holy Spirit's) reason touches, grows alive with beauty. And what SEEMED ugly, in the darkness of your LACK of reason, is suddenly released to loveliness. Not even what the Son of God made in insanity, could be without a hidden spark of beauty, that gentleness could release."
"All this beauty will rise to bless your sight, as you look upon the world with forgiving eyes."
"Father, Christ's vision is Your gift to me, and it has power to translate all that the body's eyes behold into the sight of a forgiven world. How glorious and gracious is this world! Yet how much more will I perceive in it than sight can give."