Product Description

"Path of Light" provides a fresh, superb, and penetrating overview of "A Course in Miracles" (ACIM), encompassing what it is, how it was written, what it teaches, and, most of all, how to live it.

Internationally respected Course teacher and author, Robert Perry, has written this enlightening and comprehensive guide for new and experienced Course students, for spiritual seekers who are curious about or open to exploring the Course as a spiritual path, and for those who simply want to incorporate more spirituality into their lives.

"Path of Light" presents the Course as much more than a set of transformative spiritual teachings that simply talk about the goal of inner peace and union with God. It emphasizes the Course as a practical and complete spiritual path that shows us a road we can walk along, one step at a time, in order to actually reach that goal. It explains what must be done to walk this path; it answers the questions that come up at different points along the way; it describes the benefits gained from traveling this road.

Perry writes in a clear, straightforward fashion, and, like a storyteller, he uses simple words to relay the deep truth of the teachings of ACIM.

More challenging than popular "self-help" summaries, yet more practical and engaging than a scholarly analysis, "Path of Light" will provide a new standard of reference on the most remarkable spiritual teaching originating in modern times.

Foreword by Marianne Williamson, author of "A Return to Love"
Preface (Assessing "A Course in Miracles") by Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., author of "Essential Spirituality"

Includes illustrations by Ken Bauer, a Glossary of Course Terms, and an Index.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112308 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
Path of Light is more than a book, it is a blessing. -- Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love

A much-needed and penetrating journey to the core of A Course in Miracles -- Alan Cohen, author of I Had It All the Time

A skillful...presentation from the warm heart and brilliant mind of one of the most respected teachers of the Course. -- Robert Ferre, One Heart, St. Louis, Missouri

A softly illuminated portal that ushers us into the boundless room of light that is A Course in Miracles -- Hugh Prather, author of How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy

Never loses sight of the fact that [the Course] is above all an eminently practical path to awakening. -- Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., author of Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind

From the Author
I belive that there are countless people out there with an unmet spiritual hunger who could find a home in "A Course in Miracles." My hope is that "Path of Light" will enable many of these people to find the Course and to begin walking along its path and experiencing its promises of inner peace, joy, and forgiveness in their lives.

About the Author
Robert Perry is an internationally respected voice in the Course world, teaching extensively throughout North America and abroad. Perry taught at the Miracle Distribution Center in California from 1986 to 1989, and in 1993 founded the Circle of Atonement Teaching and Healing Center in Sedona, Arizona. In addition to contributing scores of articles to various Course publications, he is the author or co-author of nineteen books about the Course, including the popular "An Introduction to 'A Course in Miracles'" which has sold more than 200,000 copies worldwide.

Robert Perry brings to "A Course in Miracles" many years of private study and public teaching. His teaching grows out of his dedication to the Course as his own spiritual path and his desire to help others on their journey along this path.

Marianne Williamson says, "I have always felt that it is Perry who guides the Course student to the next step. He is one of our most brilliant teachers of the Course."

Customer Reviews

ACIM student since 1990
I've never written a book review, but I was very inspired after reading this book.
I have been on a break from studying A Course in Miracles (ACIM) and had no intention of starting the lessons again, because my time is so limited working full time. But the book really helped me find that time. What happened was the Holy Spirit moved into my heart and sent me on the right path. I have been a student of ACIM since 1990. This is the BEST book I have ever read on ACIM. I have started to do the lessons again. I do a lesson each day, and then after doing the lesson I read Path of Light. ACIM has a way of coming into an experience so timely when reading it, that it seems like it was written in that moment, for you in that moment. Path of Light has a way of fitting right into the lesson that I'm on for that day. I know that this book was Divinely guided, and I am so grateful that Mr. Perry wrote it. I just bought another Path of Light book for my stepdaughter. She lives in Ft. Collins Colorado and doesn't have a teacher there to help her. This book will be such a help to her. I wish that I had this book when I first started studying ACIM, it would have speeded up my learning. I'm so thankful to Robert Perry for being such a Light to all the ACIM students.

The ideal companion to 'A Course In Miracles'
Robert Perry is one of the most respected teachers of 'A Course In Miracles'. His previous publications address many aspects of the Course's teachings. In 'Path of Light' he has produced what is arguably his most important work.

The Course has a simple teaching, based on explaining the true meaning and application of forgiveness in our daily lives. This transformative practice will enable us all to reawaken and experience our true Self and relationship with God. This process is not one that is always easy to follow or even accept. To progress requires determination and patience and frequently the support of others.

'Path of Light' is one of the latest support books available. Robert's conversational, but clear and concise, style is ideal for both the beginner and the more serious student. He explains how the Course was received and exactly what it is. He then goes on to explain the the Course's teaching and the role of the Text, Workbbook and Manual for Teachers. A glossary defines the more commonly used terms in the context of the Course. Uniquely, Robert uses diagrams to illustrate the concepts, I found this particularly useful.

As a Course student of over 20 years I have read many related books that have tried to explain the ACIM's overall concepts; this one is the best.

Mike Tolley

Path of Light: Stepping into Peace with A Course in Miracles
A COURSE IN MIRACLES is a three-volume set of books concerning what could be termed spiritual psychotherapy. Volume One is the Text; Volume Two is the Workbook for Students; Volume Three is the Manual for Teachers. The books were published in 1976 and have since sold over a million sets; the three volumes are now sold in a combined volume, printed on bible-thin paper. The Course does not have any official spokesman, and to be a "student" of the Course simply means you read the books.

I became a student of A COURSE IN MIRACLES in 1997 when I was 21-years-old. That is merely seven years of study. Therefore, I must humbly admit to being a mere beginner on this path, or perhaps an advanced beginner. Not that there are any truly official guidelines with which we use to gauge our level as a student of the Course, I am just trying to emphasize that there are many aspects of A COURSE IN MIRACLES that I do not yet grasp. Therefore, I sometimes wonder if I am qualified to give my opinion on books about Course interpretation. But I suppose that if I state my opinion lucidly, all the while emphasizing that it is only my opinion and no more important than anyone else's, then there is no harm done in writing this review.

To back up a bit, I think perhaps I should qualify the phrase "Course interpretation." A COURE IN MIRACLES is not exactly an easy book to read or understand. For starters, the language is highly sophisticated, with much of the Course being written in Shakespearian Iambic Pentameter. There are passages, particularly in the Text, where the Course can seem impenetrable. Style aside, the Course makes many seemingly outrageous claims, such as the statement that the world we see is not real and was not made by God but made by the ego as an attack on God. Further, the Course mixes in many familiar terms found in Christianity and Freudian analysis, though such terms are often used in radically new ways. To top it off, the Course makes the astonishing claim of having Jesus Christ as its source. Needless to say, this can be quite confusing. Many authors have come forward with many, many books explaining how to interpret and relate to these teachings. I refer to works of such authors as "Course interpretation."

One of the most influential authors to offer their interpretation of A COURSE IN MIRACLES is Robert Perry. Mr. Perry became a student of the Course in 1981. He taught at the Miracle Distribution Center (a workshop center and clearing house for books on Course interpretation) from 1986 to 1989. In 1993 he founded the Circle of Atonement in beautiful Sedona, Arizona. Perry has authored several books about the Course, and has lectured internationally. PATH OF LIGHT is his latest book.

Due to the intensely personal nature of spirituality, there is always a risk in reviewing books on spirituality. This is because if I, for example, say that such-n-such a book didn't resonate with me or that the author expressed opinions with which I do not agree, it may appear that I am discounting the spiritual experience of those who do agree with the author and who appreciate the book. It can come across as me pointing my finger and saying, "Your spiritual experience is invalid!" Needless to say, such a statement would be highly offensive. That's why I strive to emphasize that I am NOT saying any such thing in this review. I have no right to comment on the validity of another's experience. I can, however, comment on my own experience.

I believe Robert Perry is heartfelt in what he writes, he is a good writer, and I am thankful that I read PATH OF LIGHT because I like to know what the influential voices in Course interpretation have to offer. (Roger Walsh's preface to PATH OF LIGHT was quite a pleasure to read.) But I must humbly confess that there are several points that Robert Perry makes with which I do not agree. For example, my opinion is that the most profound statement in the Course is that the world is not real and was not created by God. In line with this, it is my opinion that the Course does not present any guidelines for behavior within the world, but guidelines on how to perceive the world. Robert Perry, on the other hand, seems to direct a lot of PATH OF LIGHT toward our experience in this world and how the Course can improve our experience in this world, occasionally - in my opinion - taking portions of the Course out of context to back up his points. For example, Mr. Perry comments on the passage in the Course that says that when the individual Course student is healed the whole world is healed with them, seemingly indicating that physical and/or spiritual healing can occur across the globe in something of a chain-reaction among people who have never met. That may be the case, I don't know. But I do believe that this is not the level on which the Course is written. I believe that on a deeper level this statement about healing the world is merely a symbol, a reminder that the world is only in the mind, or, in the words of the Course, "There is no world!" (There are many such symbolic passages in the Course that I do not believe are meant to be taken literally. For example, there are passages in the Course that refer to God as crying.) The healing the Course refers to is only on the level of the mind, because the Course says that the level of the mind is the only level capable of healing. All the pain we experience on a physical level is merely an effect of a much deeper cause: our decision within the mind to be separate from God. I didn't really see these deeper aspects of the Course highlighted by Mr. Perry in PATH OF LIGHT.

I certainly agree with Mr. Perry in regard to the Course's importance and revolutionary nature, but I feel that he doesn't fully convey that revolutionary nature. Does this mean I believe I am destined for heaven and Robert Perry isn't? Of course not! My understanding of the Course says that we are all destined for heaven. In fact, we never left.

Andrew Michael Parodi