A Course in Miracles has captured the minds and hearts of millions, bringing inner peace where fear shop acim and blame once reigned. Its universal message is unsurpassed in its power to heal.

In A Course in Miracles Made Easy, ACIM student and teacher Alan Cohen takes the big picture ideas of this powerful spiritual text and makes them understandable and relatable. This unique reader-friendly guide will serve longtime students of the Course as well as those seeking to acquaint themselves with it.
What is a Course in Miracles?

Since its publication in 1976, A Course in Miracles (ACIM) has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. Its healing principles and practical spiritual teachings have helped countless individuals create lives of love, peace, and prosperity. Yet its lofty language and cryptic ideas can make it difficult for even dedicated students to understand and apply its lessons.

The ACIM curriculum consists of three books: the Text, which lays out the concepts that form the thought system of the Course; the Workbook for Students, comprised of 365 daily lessons that emphasize experiential rather than doctrinal learning; and the Manual for Teachers, which provides answers to questions often asked by students. While the Course uses Christian terminology and evokes many universal, non-dual spiritual themes, it is not a religion; it clearly states that it is but one of many thousands of spiritual paths that all lead to God.

Despite its esoteric, almost secretive nature, ACIM has quietly become a Bible of sorts for the so-called “spiritual but not religious” movement that is changing our social and religous landscape. While no one tracks ACIM's "membership," it is easily in the millions worldwide.

In this premier online program, author and teacher Alan Cohen introduces you to the big-picture themes of the Course and helps you decipher its most difficult and controversial passages. This user-friendly Rosetta stone will render the mystical text accessible and relatable, enabling you to experience its transformational power in your own life.

Whether you want to heal your relationships, overcome fear and anxiety, find greater prosperity, or simply awaken to the love that is your true nature, A Course in Miracles Made Easy will guide you to practical solutions that are guaranteed to work for you. This is the essential companion to the Course, for newcomers as well as long-time students. A Course in Miracles is the most influential book to date from the emerging spirituality of our times.
What is the Atonement?

A Course in Miracles (ACIM) is a spiritual textbook that teaches forgiveness as the key to healing and release from the illusion of separation. It combines spiritual inspiration and intellectual sophistication with a deep understanding of such psychological phenomena as the nature of belief systems, defenses, and perception. Its language is poetic and written in blank verse, and its thought system has led many to compare it with the world’s great literature.

The Course emphasizes that the path to God is not a journey through time but a return to the memory of Who we really are. While ACIM does include references to biblical events, it does not require that anyone accept any particular religious doctrine. In fact, the author, Helen Schucman, was a self-professed atheist until 1965 when she began to experience a series of inner visions and heightened dreams that culminated in an encounter with an inner voice that told her to write down what she had heard.

Rather than attempting to explain the ego’s role in the separation, the Course teaches that it never happened and aims at teaching us to forgive the false idea that it did. To accomplish this task, the course utilizes a number of different types of teaching techniques including thought reversal and mind training, the goal being to change our beliefs, perceptions, and ultimately our identity from the ego’s story of reality to the truth.

One of the most important metaphysics in this process is the Atonement. The Atonement is the Holy Spirit’s plan of correction that will undo the ego and heal the belief in separation. In his Glossary-Index for A Course in Miracles, Ken Wapnick explains that the Atonement is not something that is done to us; it is our acceptance of it that allows healing to occur.

The word Atonement means “at-one-ment,” or “a joining together.” The purpose of the Atonement is to help you realize that a true union with God is possible and that the separation that seems to have occurred never actually happened. This will be accomplished by a series of miracles, the first being the realization that what your body’s eyes report is not true.
What is the Jesus in a Course in Miracles?

Although it is not explicitly stated in the text, it is understood by most students of A Course in Miracles that Jesus is the “Messenger” or “voice” of the Course. He is referenced more than nine hundred times in the book’s pages and is called by many names, including Himself, Our Father, Whom, Himself, Counselor, Appointed Friend, and Voice for God. But what does this Jesus represent and why does the Course place so much emphasis on Him?

Helen Schucman, who was a research psychologist and professor of medical psychology at Columbia University, began to channel A Course in Miracles through a process she described as “inner dictation.” Her experience was that the voice which dictated the work identified itself as Jesus. The work was transcribed and typed over the course of seven years, and is now contained in the textbook and workbook of A Course in Miracles.

Kenneth Wapnick, the editor of the work and founder of the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, explains that the purpose of A Course in Miracles is to teach that our real identity is one of the Christ’s or Sonship’s. This is a teaching that is shared by all the members of the Sonship and is therefore universal. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the only Son of God and that He alone suffered and died for man’s sins, and that is not taught in A Course in Miracles.

Some students have been confused by the fact that in the manual for teachers, there are three sections on Jesus where he is spoken of in the third person. According to Wapnick, this shift in person was made for stylistic reasons only and was not intended to imply that there was another voice dictating the Course in addition to Jesus’.

For most of its life, A Course in Miracles was a secret teaching that was kept private and not widely circulated. However, in recent years it has become a major influence on the growing number of people who identify as “spiritual but not religious.” It is now being used in churches and by individuals to help them deal with painful relationships and heal their spiritual wounds. It is also being used to promote New Age beliefs and occult practices, which threatens traditional Christianity. As a result, it is important for Christians to be knowledgeable about A Course in Miracles so they can recognize its teachings and protect themselves from being deceived.
What is the Unconditional Love?

Unconditional love, also known as compassionate or agape love, is a type of loving-kindness that is often associated with familial love. It involves a deep acceptance of others as they are without judging them or holding expectations of what they should do or be like.

This kind of love can also be extended to strangers and even nonhuman animals. It’s a powerful force that can bring people together and help them to experience peace and happiness in their lives. However, it’s important to remember that unconditional love is not the same as indifference or apathy. Indifference is a feeling that comes and goes, but unconditional love is a choice that you make to be in a relationship with someone.

While unconditional love is a beautiful concept, it’s not always easy to practice in relationships. In fact, it can be quite challenging because it requires us to let go of our need to control and protect ourselves from the hurtful actions of others. In addition, it can be difficult to love someone unconditionally if they are not reciprocating your feelings of loving-kindness and compassion.

When you love unconditionally, it means that you are willing to see a person through their mistakes and missteps, not just when they are acting kindly and showing you appreciation. It also means that you are willing to forgive them even if they have done something wrong. This type of love is not easy to demonstrate, but it’s important to know that it’s possible to overcome the obstacles and enjoy a life of unconditional love.

In addition, the act of unconditionally loving another may actually benefit you in a physical way as well. A 2009 study found that the same part of the brain that lights up when you show romantic and maternal love also lights up when you give love to others unconditionally.

If you’re struggling to love unconditionally, it might be helpful to seek professional support. A therapist can teach you how to break free from negative patterns and learn how to love yourself and others more effectively.