Anyone who has picked up a “A Course in Miracles” [ACIM], perhaps just to find out what it is all about , realizes immediately how formidable it is. Just the size is enough to spark fear and trepidation. The Text of the original edition, published by Course in Miracles Society is 617 pages. And that’s just the Text. The Workbook is 431 pages and the Manual For Teachers another 55 pages. Mercy be!And if that weren’t enough to deter the prospective student, after they have opened the book and have read a few sentences, they often remark how the words seem to be arranged in a very different syntax from the usual text book and they can’t seem to make immediate sense of them. And so they quite possibly put the book down.
I was one of those people. It was 1982 and I was working in the Palo Alto Health Food store in California. The other cashier was an ACIM student and had left her book by the register. I noticed the book with the strange title and proceeded to ‘check it out.’ I couldn’t tell by glancing through the book what it was talking about so when she returned, I asked her about it. She seemed embarrassed. She couldn’t tell me what it was about or who had written it and so I dismissed it.
However, I was fortunate. The Course kept crossing my path several times until I finally I said, OK. You have my attention. I’ll read it no matter what it is. And so my journey with the Course began, despite the veil of mystery that surrounded it. That was 1983.
Today there many prospective students inquiring about this book called: “A Course in Miracles.” And we also continue to hear of current students who are just not able to grasp it.
Well help is here! Jon Mundy PhD, one of the earliest Course students, has recently published a book titled, “Living A Course In Miracles: An Essential Guide to the Classic Text.” Jon was actually introduced to the Course by the scribe Helen Schucman and co-scribe Bill Thetford a year before it was published and remained friends with both of them throughout their lives.
Living A Course in Miracles is one of the best answers to the request for a book that explains the principles of ACIM and their application in a way that can be understood and appreciated. Jon Mundy brings to his discussion of these life changing ideas decades of experience as a minister as well as 42 years experience as a University professor of Philosophy and Religion.
In Part I we find the Basic Terms and Concepts; Part II is The Metaphysics Of Miracles and Part III is Living The Course In Miracles: The Practical Application.
When I began to read this book, I started with “The Practical Application,”and then returned to the beginning and read Part I and II only to discover that the beginning material was just as apropos to its Application and equally as engaging.
For example, on page 44 of Chapter 5 in of Part I, we have the section “Stop It.” Some of you may have seen the hilarious Bob Newhart episode Stop It http://bitly.com/BobNewhart_StopIT . Bob Newhart is a counselor who tells this women that he only charges $5 for the first five minutes and guarantees that it won’t last the whole five minutes, and he doesn’t make change. He asks her to tell him about the problem that she wishes him to address. After she tells him her problem he tells her two words, “Stop It.” She says I can’t and he replies, “We don’t go there. Just Stop IT!” Each time she tries to blame it on anything outside of herself and he just keeps telling her we don’t go there. The solution is, quite simply: STOP IT!
Jon adds that, “Correction is not, of course, always so instantaneous but the principle remains the same. Not until I realize that I have a choice and I decide to follow the Voice for God, can I indeed make that decision.”
What brings his book truly alive is how Jon implements these Principles within the full tapestry of his life, using his full repertoire of knowledge and experience as context. The result is a heartfelt and richly expressed journey through the Ideas of this incredible tome that will not only help you understand and implement “A Course in Miracles” but one which you will truly enjoy reading.
Jon Mundy, PhD, the author, is the publisher of “Miracles Magazine” and author of, “Awaken To Your Own Call: A Comprehensive Introduction to A Course in Miracles”; “What is Mysticism?”; “Missouri Mystic”; “Listening To Your Inner Guide” as well as “The Ten Laws of Happiness”. He is Senior Minister Emeritus of Interfaith Fellowship in New York City as well as international lecturer and standup comedian.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reja Janaki Joy Green is one of the founding members of the Course in Miracles Society (CIMS), publisher of A Course in Miracles – Original Edition. Reja has facilitated Course in Miracles study groups since 1983 and is in the 2nd year of the CMC Ministerial program. Currently Reja resides with her loving husband Chris Green in Omaha, NE.http://www.jcim.net/
Other Blog Posts by Reja Janaki Joy Green: What is A Course in Miracles?, Dying to Be Me Book Review Part 2, Dying to Be Me -Book Review (Part One), Healing Relationships through A Course in Miracles, A Course in Miracles - Songs for Healing
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