Day 2
"There Must Be Another Way"
A Course in Miracles came to the world in a truly remarkable way. In essence, it is the story of two people who were struggling with a very conventional question--how do we get along?--and were surprised to receive a very unconventional answer from above.
Helen Schucman (1909-1981) and William Thetford (1923-1988) were respected psychologists at the top of their field working at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. Helen and Bill had a close but extremely difficult relationship. In June of 1965, after years of conflict with each other and within their department, Bill made an impassioned speech to Helen. “There must be another way of living in harmony rather than discord,” he said, “and I am determined to find it.”
Helen, clearly moved by Bill's words, surprised him by emphatically agreeing to help. It was a rare moment of joining for them, which they knew was significant at the time, but which had repercussions far beyond what they could have imagined. Little did they know that this would be the catalyst for A Course in Miracles.
Shortly afterwards, Helen, a self-professed “militant atheist,” began having a series of inner visions, heightened dreams, and psychic experiences. She had visions of past lives shared with Bill, stretching back into ancient times. In some of her visions, the figure of Jesus showed up. And increasingly, she began seeing images of a mysterious black book. In one vision, it was delivered by a stork. In another, it was discovered in a treasure chest.
These experiences culminated on the morning of October 21, 1965, when Helen heard an inner voice say to her “This is a course in miracles, please take notes.” This same voice told her that she had agreed to take down the Course as her contribution to a larger plan to restore humanity’s forward spiritual progress.
Thus began seven years of “scribing” A Course in Miracles. Helen would write down the words of the inner voice in shorthand notebooks and would later dictate what she had written to Bill, who would type it up. They kept all of this secret, fearing it would end their careers. In addition, Helen had great personal difficulty with the process. She sometimes refused to take dictation and often argued with the Course’s teaching. In the end, however, she did her utmost to faithfully record what she was hearing.
Despite Helen’s skepticism, the Course clearly commanded great respect from her. In her autobiography she wrote of “the particular combination of certainty, wisdom, gentleness, clarity and patience that characterized the Voice.” She and Bill considered the Course a sacred trust that they had been charged with, and Helen ultimately came to refer to it as her life’s work. Who was the voice that dictated A Course in Miracles to Helen? That will be the subject of our message tomorrow.
See you then,
Robert Perry
Founder
Circle of Atonement
Reminder:
This content is for registered participants of Getting to Know A Course in Miracles, a free 14-day guided journey from The Circle of Atonement. You are welcome to invite any friends to register for the series at no charge by sharing the following link: circleofa.org/events.
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