A Course in Miracles is a spiritual text describing a non-dualistic path of awakening. Its teachings encourage transformation of the ego mind through forgiveness and the development of trust, honesty, tolerance, gentleness, joy, generosity, and patience. It has been widely regarded as a practical book that helps us to deal with the difficulties of life by helping us recognize that our problems are caused by false beliefs, which can be undone by practicing the lessons in ACIM. The New York Times described it as "an esoteric bible that has gone mainstream." It is now published in nearly twenty languages and a million copies are sold per year. It has been a major influence on the growing number of people who think of themselves as being "spiritual but not religious."

Helen Schucman began transcribing A Course in Miracles (ACIM) in 1965 and continued to transcribe it until 1972. She and the two main editors of ACIM, William Thetford and Kenneth Wapnick, revised and edited the manuscripts several times in the process. The text was originally published in three volumes, including a Workbook for Students and a Manual for Teachers. It was only later that the three volumes were combined into a single volume titled A Course in Miracles, or ACIM.

Although ACIM uses some Christian language and some mystical terminology, it is more aligned with Eastern metaphysics than traditional Western religion. It challenges some basic elements of contemporary Christianity, such as the doctrines of sin and crucifixion. It also suggests that Jesus did not actually suffer or die on the cross, but rather became enlightened and realized that he had never suffered in the first place.

After the initial transcription and A course in miracles editing work was completed, Schucman became less involved in promoting ACIM. Her role was taken over by Thetford and Wapnick, who were also her friends. Wapnick and the other primary editors eventually formed a nonprofit organization called the Foundation for Inner Peace, which now manages the ACIM distribution.

In addition to its own publications, FIP oversees the sale and dissemination of a variety of alternate editions of ACIM. Several of these have gained a following of their own, but none has eclipsed the popularity of the original standard edition of A Course in Miracles. Jon Mundy, a United Methodist minister and longtime ACIM student, discusses this remarkable work and its significance in our lives. This article may be excerpted or reprinted as long as credit is given to the author and a link is provided to this page.