A Course in Miracles un curso de milagros is a spiritual work that claims to be a revelation from Jesus Christ. It is popular with those who want to be Christian but reject Biblical doctrine.

A Course in Miracles was supposedly scribed by Helen Schucman between 1965 and 1972 through a process of inner dictation. The voice dictating the material identified itself as Jesus.
What is a Course in Miracles?

A Course in Miracles is a self-study spiritual thought system. It is not a religion, but it uses Christian vocabulary and evokes universal, non-dual spiritual themes. It is divided into three books: The Text which lays out the concepts of the Course; The Workbook for Students, which consists of 365 daily lessons and emphasizes experience rather than belief in a particular theology; and The Manual for Teachers, which provides answers to questions often asked by students. The first edition of A Course in Miracles was published in 1975. The Foundation for A Course in Miracles holds the copyright.

The Course was channeled through Helen Schucman, an atheistic psychologist who had a background in New Thought metaphysics and the occult. She claimed that in 1965, she began experiencing heightened dreams and psychic experiences, culminating in a series of inner visions and a Voice telling her "This is a course in miracles, please take notes." Over the next seven years, she transcribed and wrote A Course in Miracles as a result of this process. Her name does not appear on the book, but she identified the dictation as coming from Jesus.

ACIM teaches that the world we see is an illusion, that God does not know of its existence, and that death is not real. The Course describes its teachings as "psychological" instead of "religious," and stresses that it is not the only path to God - but it may be one of the most effective.

It also teaches that the Bible is not inspired and that it presents a god that has nothing to do with love or healing. In the Course, the God of the Bible is a violent and punitive being that percieves sin directly and reacts to it accordingly. In contrast, the God of A Course in Miracles is a loving being that does not perceive or judge sin, and does not punish it at all.

It is important to understand that despite its radical nature, A Course in Miracles is not a cult. While there are individuals who have used the Course to form closed, authoritarian groups that may appear to be cultish, these tend to be the exceptions rather than the rule. In most cases, the community of people who study the Course is open and accepting of a wide variety of beliefs and practices.
What is a Course in Miracles for?

While the Course is not a religion, it does use Christian terminology. It is ecumenical in nature and emphasizes experience over belief in a theology. The three volume set consists of a Text that lays out the concepts which comprise its thought system; a Workbook for Students composed of 365 daily lessons; and a Manual for Teachers. Its goal is the attainment of happiness, which it defines as a state of being in which every grievance you ever had is washed away and all guilt is forgiven.

The spiritual teachings contained in A Course in Miracles (ACIM) are profound and sweeping in scope, yet they can also be accessible and easy to understand if one makes the commitment to read it. In the thirty-plus years since its publication, it has become a modern spiritual classic. It has also influenced the growing movement of people who call themselves "spiritual but not religious."

Although it is often described as mystical, A Course in Miracles is not difficult to read or understand once you make a commitment to do so. Its words are replete with poetic language and blank verse, and many people compare it to the world's great literature. Its thoughts are profound and encompassing, blending spiritual inspiration with deep psychological understanding of such phenomena as beliefs and defense systems.

It is recommended that you begin with the Text, reading it slowly and carefully. Then, work your way through the daily Workbook lessons, completing one each day. You can do it at your own pace, reading a chapter a week or even a section or page a day if you like.

The last section of the Course, the Manual for Teachers, is primarily designed to prepare and train those who will teach it to others. The primary form of this teaching is through its community of "study groups," in which a more experienced student acts as mentor to a newer one, skillfully guiding them along the curriculum of the Course. A second form of teaching is one-to-one, in which a teacher of the Course goes to a person with health or emotional problems and shines the healing power of forgiveness upon them.
What is a Course in Miracles about?

A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is a self-study spiritual thought system contained within three books. It combines profound spiritual teachings with far-reaching and practical psychological insights. First published in 1976, it has become a modern spiritual classic. It has sold over three million copies, without any advertising, to men and women of all walks of life and from every major religion.

The Course was originally written on the basis of a request made by Helen Schucman, a Columbia University psychologist, in 1965. She had been frustrated by the anger and division that permeated her daily experience, and she made a sincere request to find peace. In response, she began to receive a series of inner messages, including an instruction that read, “This is a course in miracles, please take notes.” Over the next ten years, she dictated the words for the book, which was later published in three volumes.

Although the course makes reference to Jesus Christ, it is not a religious text and does not teach a specific theology. It states that a universal theology is impossible, but it does claim that all paths lead to God in the end. The Course uses Christian terminology, but also evokes non-dual themes of Eastern spirituality.

ACIM is also a psychological text, with its teachings based on the theory that all thoughts, feelings and actions stem from an unawakened mind. This is why the teachings of the Course are so important to those who practice it – they help them to wake up from the dream that is the world around them.

Although ACIM is a self-study curriculum, many students sooner or later join study groups or the handful of accredited churches inspired by it. It has been described as the bible of the "spiritual but not religious" movement, and it has had a significant impact on the way that people view their lives and the world around them. A substantial portion of the Course is devoted to the concept of forgiveness.
What is a Course in Miracles about for me?

A Course in Miracles is a unique, universal spiritual thought system that teaches forgiveness as the path to love and inner peace. It makes a fundamental distinction between the real and the unreal, knowledge and perception, and aims to remove the hindrances that blind us from our own awareness of God's Love. Though primarily a self-study curriculum, ACIM is also very practical, and its daily Workbook lessons are designed to help readers apply the principles it teaches. It could be considered the "esoteric bible" of the burgeoning movement of people who call themselves spiritual but not religious, and its influence is worldwide.

A profound spiritual classic, it has been read and studied by millions of people from all walks of life and from every major faith. Its poetic language has been compared to that of the world's great literature, while its intellectually sophisticated thought system combines spiritual inspiration with deep psychological understanding of such concepts as belief systems and defense mechanisms.

Helen Schucman, who was born a Jew in Russia, became a psychologist at Columbia University and began to have a series of inner visions and heightened dreams that led to the writing of A Course in Miracles. The three volumes were first published in 1976, and since then have been sold without any paid advertising, reaching men and women from all walks of life and from every major religion. The Course is a non-denominational, ecumenical teaching that uses Christian terminology but is universal in its theology and its goal of returning humanity to its true spiritual heritage.