"Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle." ~ Helen Schucman
Research psychologist Helen Schucman (1909-1981), an agnostic Jew and professor at Columbia University, took seven years to write A Course in Miracles (ACIM), finishing in 1975.
"To heal is to make happy," she wrote.
Schucman said she was "under special assignment," a channel of Jesus in writing this self-study program, which teaches forgiveness as the road to inner peace and healing. With the help of William Thetford, she created the manuscript by applying love to all difficulties, "its goal for you is happiness and peace."
The Course, with universal spiritual themes, provides a way for each person to find their own internal teacher: "Seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world."
ACIM was published in three volumes as a 478-page text, 622-page workbook, and 88-page manual for teachers. Almost two million copies were sold between 1976 and 2002.
An excerpt from The Course explained: "The goal of the curriculum, regardless of the teacher you choose, is 'Know thyself.'"
In recent years, writer and lecturer Marianne Williamson has kept the message of ACIM alive with the best-selling book, A Return to Love (1992), a celebration of spirit and miracles. The Foundation for Inner Peace continues to publish Schucman's text and spread her words to the world.
More COURSE IN MIRACLES Quotations
Forgiveness is a touch of heaven.