A Course in Miracles is a self-study spiritual thought system that presents a path to universal love and peace. Its three-volume curriculum consists of a 669-page Text, a 448-page Workbook for Students, and a 92-page Manual for Teachers. It teaches that the way to freedom from guilt is through forgiveness of others, and that the purpose of life is remembering God. The Course's teachings draw on a variety of sources, including Western religious philosophy and Eastern mysticism, and are infused with modern psychological insights.
Its primary method is a process of inner dictation, which Schucman claims was received from an entity she identified as Jesus Christ. In the course's view, the world is not what it seems, but rather, it reflects true reality as perceived by a divinely inspired "internal teacher." The true world, as seen by this internal teacher, is one of unity, love and abundance. The world as we perceive it, on the other hand, consists only of a series of perceptual errors that can be A course in miracles corrected by forgiveness. The ego's desire for power and control is also a mistake to be corrected by the forgiveness of guilt.
The goal of the course is to help you recognize your unified identity with God, and thus experience the eternal happiness and peace that is your birthright. This is accomplished through the daily practice of forgiveness and service to others. Miracles are natural expressions of love, and as such, they may or may not have observable physical effects.
In order to achieve this state of being, you must remember that nothing can separate you from God, including your own erroneous beliefs and choices. Forgiveness is therefore the only way to correct them. This correction is the miracle of atonement, or the removal of the error that you are separate from God.
This Course has a growing following in many different parts of the world, and is well known among those who are practitioners of attitudinal healing and those interested in New Age thought. It has also become popular in some churches, especially among those who subscribe to the teachings of Unity. Its popularity and public awareness has been given a considerable boost by the works of Jerry Jampolsky, Marianne Williamson and Iyanla Vanzant, and by a number of books on attitudinal healing.
In the early 1990s, a controversy arose concerning the intellectual property rights to this book. In an effort to protect its profits, the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP), which holds the current copyright on ACIM, began to take steps to prevent unauthorized use of its material. In 1996, a spiritual community was threatened with lawsuit for publishing a book on ACIM without the permission of FIP. To counter this, a group of individuals formed the Foundation for A Course in Miracles Society (now called the Center for Attitudinal Healing and ACIM). This group has been granted a license by FIP to publish its own version of the textbook, and is authorized to teach the material.
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