There are certain important concepts in the Course that will never make sense to you if you rely upon the heavily edited FIP editons. THIS version, the CIMS "Original Edition," is the one to buy and study, if you want access to the message as it was delivered. THIS edition pre-dates the extensive, year-and-a-half, editing process that Kenneth Wapnick insisted upon following his arrival on the scene in 1973. THIS edition is in the form that Bill Thetford and Helen Schucman first asked the Association for Research and Enlightenment to publish.

Later edited versions of the Course, including the versions published by the Foundation for Inner Peace, deleted some twenty-five percent of the material contained within the first five chapters of the Text. The version published by FIP has words altered and the meaning of sentences changed.

THIS edition has everything you need for serious study of the Course as it was originally scribed by Bill Thetford and Helen Schucman.

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Product Description

The great classic work, A Course in Miracles, is devoted to teachings about who we are, our relationships to God and with each other, and the actually mental nature of our bodies and the world. There are three constituent parts to the Course: The Text, a Workbook for Students, and the Manual for Teachers. The Text lays out the theoretical foundation for the metaphysical system of the Course. The Workbook contains a series of 365 Lessons to be practiced daily for the purpose of retraining the mind and healing our perception. Finally, the Manual contains information for and about advanced teachers of God. The Course is also about miracles, which students understand to be, in part, a shift in perception to healed vision. But miracles are more than a shift in perception, because the shift has consequences in the world as we see it. The Course is a self study educational program for retraining the mind that is spiritual, rather than religious, in its perspective. Although the Course uses Christian terminology, it expresses a universal experience, and its underlying ontology is reminiscent of ancient refrains, echoing the world's most hallowed traditions.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17521 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-02
• Released on: 2007-02-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1164 pages

About the Author
The story of the Course began when Columbia University research psychologist Dr. William T. Thetford decided he had had enough of the the intensely competitive and negative climate he was experiencing and declared to his colleague, Dr. Helen Shucman, "There must be another way, and I am determined to find it. She agreed to help. What ensued was a dramatic progression of waking dreams for Shucman, which culminated in October of 1965 with her experience of a voice which spoke clearly in her mind, saying, "This is a course in miracles. Please take notes."

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Customer Reviews

An easier-to-grasp version of the Course
Note: This version didn't get as much editing as the one most people know of that is published by The Foundation of Inner Peace (FIP). A lot was edited out of this version for the FIP version.

I've only read the first few chapters of this book, but I can tell you this one is easier to understand. Statements made in the FIP version that never made sense suddenly take on new meaning put in the right context. It feels more down to earth and satisfying.

Some changes: there are 53 Miracle Principles, with a lot more explanation for many of them. There's more talk about Freud. Some of the portions have more explanation. The order is slightly different at the beginning and flows a little better.

There's also explanation as to the different versions of the Course and the entire editing process that took place in an article by Robert Perry in the Index.

Overall, I highly recommend this version over the FIP version, which I've been studying for over ten years. It has helped me see the Course in new ways.

Excelent choice
For students of a Course in Miracles the closer we get to the original text the better. All edition process demands selection and therefore at times ommision, at times slidings of meaning which occassionally improve and often deteriorate the original message.
In a book that claims to have been revealed by Jesus Christ the closer we get to work with the original text the better. Thanks for the effort of bringing to print this edition.

Versioning A Course in Miracles
I already owned this book from the late 80's, but in paperback, and I've always wanted a hardback copy - so my admiration of the book is exposed. I was intrigued to found out that apparently there are differant versions of this book, with more material, and upon reading this copy all is revealed as there is an essay included which gives a detailed exposition of the versioning process. This version is middle ground between the more commonplace version (my first version), and the typewritten text of the initial scribe.

I found the book to more Christian in character, which is I confess not entirely desirable as so many of the concepts are so laden with meaning, but the extra content did give further insight into some of the more esoteric areas of the Course. The essentially mystical or spiritual nature of this work however is undeniable in any version you can lay your hands on. Interestingly enough the book's cover also announces that the work is now in the public domain so you as the owner are free to do with it what you will.

For those who may need a little more help with the whole philosophy of the Course this may be the preferable version - along with the versioning essay alluded to before there is also a glossary of terms, and much more material in explanation of the course itself. All in all I was very happy with my purchase.