Originally published in 1976, A Course In Miracles (ACIM) is one of the most widely read spiritual texts available today. It has been embraced by millions worldwide and has helped fuel the “spiritual but not religious” movement that has grown in the last few decades, especially in America and Western Europe. It is also an important part of the New Age literature and has been influential in the work of such teachers as Eckhart Tolle, Wayne Dyer, Gabrielle Bernstein, and others. Despite its wide popularity, ACIM is often misunderstood and is difficult to grasp for those who are not already familiar with it.

The Course, sometimes called the Text, Workbook, and Manual for Teachers, is an intellectual and experiential system of spirituality that uses both an introspective and a transformative practice. Its 650-page Text provides the philosophical basis of the teaching, while the Workbook has 365 daily meditations prescribing a transformative discipline, and the Manual for Teachers offers insights useful to advanced students.

Its no-authority approach means Acim that no one person is identified as the author, although some readers have claimed that the voice which dictated the Course to Helen Schucman was Jesus Christ. Its metaphysics, while using Christian terminology, is more aligned with Eastern mysticism than traditional Christianity, and its view of Jesus is very different from the traditional understanding. It does not believe that Jesus suffered and died for the sins of humanity, but rather that he was the manifestation of love in our world, and that everyone has the potential to become aware of this.

Despite its esoteric language, the book is practical and focuses on healing relationships. Its lessons provide a step-by-step process by which to apply the teachings and shift perceptions about the illusory nature of our reality, and how to relate to it differently.

While some people take the Course as a literal religion, there are many more who have experienced profound changes in their lives through its principles and practices. The Course teaches that we are all connected to each other and to the Source, and that the goal of our life is to become fully awakened in this knowledge.

PATRICK MILLER is a writer who has studied and applied spiritual teachings and disciplines extensively for the past thirty years, including A Course In Miracles, the Enneagram system of personality, Jungian depth psychology, shamanism, and other related fields. He is the author of a dozen print books, four eBooks and has written hundreds of articles for magazines and online media. He is also an active practitioner of ACIM and has written about the results of his personal experience with the teachings. He is the founder of Fearless Books and Literary Services. He lives in New York City.