Resources

The Program of A Course in Miracles

A Course in Miracles is “an organized, well-structured, and carefully planned program” [CE T-12.IV.7:1], and the three volumes of the Course represent three important aspects of this program. Each aspect is designed to further our learning of the ideas taught in the Course, assuring that we will progress along its path. We follow the Course’s program as we: study the ideas, use/apply the ideas, and then extend/teach the ideas to others.

One: study the ideas

The “Text” is the 1st volume, where we are introduced to its unique, valuable, and healing ideas. For some these ideas will be new and might even seem strange. Therefore, the Course will require careful study so they can grasp the meaning of its words and understand how the ideas relate.

Some of the terms used in the Course will seem familiar, such as: Atonement, forgiveness, Holy Spirit, ego, defenses, Son of God, and miracles. We might think we know what these and other words mean, only to find ourselves confused by how they are used in the Course. This confusion is to be expected and will more than likely occur often in the beginning.

There is the old and familiar meaning we give to certain words (the meaning that we bring with us to our study of the Course). Then there is the new, often surprising meaning we find in those words (the meaning that comes from the pages of the Course). As we study the Course, the old and new meanings will meet and often collide in our minds, causing the aforementioned confusion. As we continue to read and study the words of the Course while keeping the new meaning in mind, our confusion gives way to clarity and we find ourselves understanding those words like never before. Gradually, the old meaning is replaced by the new–bringing new life to old, stale language and imbuing the words with their healing effect.

Two: use or apply the ideas

The Course also has a “Workbook for Students” (the 2nd volume) that consists of 365 lessons which instruct students in the application and use if its ideas, for “the ideas are mighty forces, to be used and not held idly by” [CE T-16.II.10:4]. Let’s consider forgiveness as an example of how we might progress from studying an idea in the Course to using/applying the idea in our day-to-day lives.

We begin our study of the Course with our own preconceived idea of forgiveness. As we read the Text of the Course, we learn about its radically different approach to forgiveness. The contrast between these ideas of forgiveness becomes a decision we will eventually have to make. The promise of the Course’s approach and the ineffectiveness of “forgiveness as usual” make it an easy decision. We decide to learn the kind of forgiveness taught in the Course.

We start to apply miraculous forgiveness in the ways the Course instructs. The Workbook for Students is the primary place we find specific applications of forgiveness, but we also find practice instructions sprinkled throughout the Text. Each one emphasizes different aspects of forgiveness, but all of them cover the same basic process. Applying and using forgiveness in these ways in our daily lives helps it take root in our minds. It is becoming a natural and permanent part of our way of being.

Three: extend / teach the ideas

Finally, the “Manual for Teachers” is the 3rd volume specifically focused on those who are ready to embrace the role of miracle worker or teacher–to fulfill their function of extending and teaching to others the ideas they have been studying and applying. However, the function of extension is not limited to formal teachers. As we read in the Course:

“To teach is to demonstrate. There are only two thought systems, and you demonstrate that you believe one or the other is true all the time. From your demonstrations others learn and so do you. The question is not whether you will teach, for in that there is no choice.” [CE M-In.2:1-4]

“To teach is to demonstrate,” and all of us are teaching, all of the time. We might not realize it, but with everything we do or say we are teaching one of two thought systems (either the ego’s or the Holy Spirit’s). And, since teaching is learning, it is through extending and teaching the thought system of the Holy Spirit to others that our learning of it increases. Also, it is the extension of healing to others that reinforces our own healing.

At the Center for Miraculous Living we know the value of

1. In-depth study of the Course’s ideas
2. Daily use and application of those ideas, and
3. The extension/teaching of the ideas to others.

We provide a number of resources designed to support you in all three of these aspects of the Course’s program.