My favourite spiritual text.

This is the second time I've read ACIM, with those two readings being separated by over 10 years, my brothers suicide and my recent wife's death. I started listening again about 1 week after my Jules died. It was difficult to bring myself to entertain any idea other than grief and misery so this reading has taken me over two months, with many invitations to read (listen) being denied. Each time I accepted though, I was left just a little more healed, or readied for healing.

And Healing is a massive part of this book. It is the same as Forgiveness, which is the same as the Miracle, because it is the healing and forgiveness of the Self (which never 'sinned') through the forgiveness of every living thing that 'ever was'.. coming to know them, us, it, as totally One.

I won't say more because part of the utter delight of ACIM is the gentle, steady and powerful unveling of the concepts that will undo all concepts that keep us from an understanding and union with God, our creator.

I adore this book and thank God We Gave it Ourselves. ;)

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I dare you to listen to this 5 times ,

This will help see the truth, and you will be traveling in love and light.

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Best book I've read in the 43 years on the planet

WOW!!! If this doesn't transform your life and allow the world to LOVE nothing will.
Thank you GOD

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So helpful

Practical Instructions towards peace and happiness.
I find the audio version more easily accessible and a joy to navigate.

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Special beyond words

Powerful, unique, and important beyond words. ( I had to write 9 more words to post 😊 )

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Just wonderful

This is the most important reading you will ever come across so never give up on reading it, This format might be the one that will finally enable you to get this life changing message of hope and forgiveness. I am thankful this texts exists and thankful for its numerous audiobook formats we can choose from. I used this one for my first ‘impatient’ reading of the text and I have another one, slower and with music, for a more contemplative ‘reading’.

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Not for the faint hearted

I have a physical copy of ACIM but the audio of the text I have found easier as I can listen whenever I feel the need.

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A course in how to live our lives

I have listened to the audio through twice now and will continue to do so for many more. There is so much to take in and learn from, yet it is so simple too. It amazes me how many times I have put it on to listen to and it has been the perfect lesson for that moment. Whenever I am in fear I try to do as the course says and choose again. It has helped me to overcome chronic anxiety and build loving relationships with all the people in my life. I am writing this from a hospital bed after an accident where I am constantly reminded that I am not my body and that ours minds are joined when my pain dissolves and love enters.

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Ok

I really struggled with this. There were lots of little pearls of info but also a lot of rambling. I probably need a year of studying this book to get a good grasp on it.

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A problematic text

I loved the book A Course in Miracles (ACIM). I read many chapters in my mid 20’s and had a breakthrough. The idea of choosing to serve either the ego or God made sense to me and at some stage in the reading process God broke through and my ego was silenced. The experience held for a couple of days until the ego slowly snuck back in and took up its position of control again. I was too young and inexperienced to know how to find my way home again.

Since then I have done many different courses and studied many different ideas and I have had at various times those openings again. Choosing again and again to listen to God or our deeper knowing does make a lot of sense and it is the premise which ACIM is largely founded on.

So 40 years later after hearing Eckhart Tolle reading some quotes from the workbook part of ACIM I decided to undertake ACIM again via the audio book. The first thing I noticed was the authoritative nature of the book, it was not a discussion but this was the only way. I was ok with this as the choice between God and ego needs to be very directive, it is not something you can sit on the fence with. The ego will slip back into control in a heartbeat.

I was not so happy with the language in the book. Totally gender based around the male. His kingdom, the sonship, your brothers. I never heard her or she mentioned anywhere. ACIM was written in the late 60’s so maybe we can give a little wiggle room but surprising nonetheless that an inspired book in this time would not get the gender issue sorted. The patriarchal tone of authority and gender positioning however was consistent. I am feeling a little uneasy.

Another component in the book which was also concerning was around the need to become teachers of ACIM. The only way to practice the material was to teach it. We were essentially to become evangelists for what was being proposed. This was to become in essence our inner calling. You are probably aware there is a compendium to ACIM called “Manual for Teachers”

However it was Chapter 96 of ACIM audio book which stopped me in my tracks. The chapter was around your brothers and to see your brothers as you see yourself.

"Suppose a brother insists on having you do something you think you do not want to do, his very insistence should tell you that he believes salvation lies in it, if you insist on refusing and experience a quick response of opposition you are believing that your salvation lies in not doing it. You then are making the same mistake he is and making his error real to both of you"

….

"Whenever you become angry with a brother for whatever reason you are believing the ego is to be saved and to be saved by attack. If he attacks you are agreeing with this belief and if you attack you are reinforcing it. Remember that those who attack are poor; their poverty asks for gifts not for further impoverishment. You who could help them are surely acting destructively if you accept their poverty as yours. If you had not invested as they had it would never occur to you to overlook their need. Recognize what does not matter and if your brothers ask you for something outrageous do it because it does not matter, refuse and your opposition establishes that it does matter to you. It is only you therefore that has made the request outrageous and every request of a brother is for you. Why would you insist in denying him, for to do so is to deny yourself and impoverish both."


Don’t challenge your brother but allow him to do what he wants as any challenge to your brother is really just a projection of your own separation. This position had been hinted at dozens of times in ACIM but only at this point was it so clearly articulated.

I could not go on. It did not make sense and felt dangerous. The book is christian based and apparently inspired by a person by the name of jesus. We are all aware of how Jesus responded when he found people selling and buying goods in the temple.

John 2:13–16. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

He was angry and made this very clear. He did not continue to allow them to sell goods in the temple. If I followed the position in ACIM, it would mean that no matter what I was experiencing from a brother (or sister) I would allow it to occur. This includes rape, torture, deprivation etc.. But I will say more about this in a moment.

As I mentioned I dearly loved this book in my 20’s and so it was somewhat of a quandary for me. I decided to do some further research and see if anyone else had reservations. The book was a collaboration between William Thetford and Helen Shucman between the years 1965 and 1972.

I read the reviews on Amazon 85% five star, 3% one star. I headed to the one star. Has anyone experienced a similar difficulty with this book ?

And there it was in a one star review:

From 1971 to 1978 William Thetford, along with David Saunders, headed the CIA mind control Project MKULTRA (Subproject 130: Personality Theory (Project MKUltra, also called the CIA mind control program, is the code name given to a program of experiments on human subjects that were designed and undertaken by the United States Central Intelligence Agency).

I looked up MKULTRA and as I read what it was about I felt physically sick.

Project MKUltra (or MK-Ultra) was the code name of an illegal human experimentation program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The experiments were intended to develop procedures and identify drugs such as LSD that could be used in interrogations to weaken individuals and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture. MKUltra used numerous methods to manipulate its subjects' mental states and brain functions, such as the covert administration of high doses of psychoactive drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, electroshocks,[4] hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, and verbal and sexual abuse, in addition to other forms of torture.

So Thetford who for 7 years (1971 to 1978) immersed himself in ACIM and its focus of love with the uprising of joy as the guiding light in 1971 commences work with the CIA, ACIM gets published 4 years later in 1975.

At the very least you would have to have some significant questions about what is happening here and while I caution against conspiracy theories I think it is ok to be open to the idea that ACIM may ultimately have been at least for Thetford an experiment in mind control. Consider two of the recurring basic premises: to allow your brother to do anything he wants (aka US Government) and go forth and spread this teaching to the world as this is the only way you will learn the true meaning of ACIM (brainwash as many people as you can). The best counter argument I have read to this position is by Joe R. Jesseph, Ph.D. titled

Regarding Conspiracy Rumors about Dr. William Thetford, the CIA and A Course in Miracles.

I will leave it to the reader to come to their own conclusions or further questions. However I would say there is no dispute between either position that Thetford was working for the CIA conducting Personality Theory experiments under MK-ULTRA at the same time the A Course in Miracles book was published in 1975.

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