where did a course in miracles come from
written by Helen Schucman
title: A Course in Miracles text: a curriculum to bring about what it calls a "spiritual transformation," consisting of three sections entitled the "Text", "Workbook for Students," and "Manual for Teachers". Written, or transcribed, from 1965 to 1972, some distribution occurred via photocopies before a hardcover edition was published in 1976 by the Foundation for Inner Peace. The copyright and trademarks, which had been held by two foundations, were revoked in 2004 after lengthy litigation because the earliest versions had been circulated without a copyright notice. Throughout the 1980s annual sales of the book steadily increased each year; however the largest growth in sales occurred in title: A Course in Miracles text: 1992 after Marianne Williamson discussed the book on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", with more than two million volumes sold. The book has been called everything from "New Age psychobabble" to "a Satanic seduction" to "The New Age Bible". "A Course in Miracles" was written as a collaborative venture between Schucman and William ('Bill') Thetford. In 1958 Schucman began her professional career at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City as Thetford's research associate. In the spring of 1965, at a time when their weekly office meetings had become so contentious that they both dreaded them, Thetford suggested to Schucman that title: A Course in Miracles text: A Course in Miracles A Course in Miracles (also referred to as ACIM or the Course) is a 1976 book containing a curriculum which claims to assist its readers in achieving spiritual transformation. The underlying premise of the work is the teaching that the greatest "miracle" that one may achieve in one's life is the act of simply gaining a full "awareness of love's presence" in one's own life. The book was written, or "scribed," by Helen Schucman, who claimed that it had been dictated to her word for word via "inner dictation" which came from Jesus. The Course contains title: A Course in Miracles text: continue the process. He also offered to assist her in typing out her notes as she read them to him. The transcription the next day repeated itself regularly for many years to come. In 1972, the dictation of the three main sections of the Course was completed, with some additional minor dictation coming after that point. Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a Roman Catholic priest who had studied under Thetford and worked with Schucman, arranged an introduction of Kenneth Wapnick to Schucman and Thetford in November 1972. Groeschel was given a copy of the "ACIM" manuscript in 1973 and testified that he title: A Course in Miracles text: "[t]here must be another way". Schucman believed that this interaction acted as a stimulus, triggering a series of inner experiences that were understood by her as visions, dreams, and heightened imagery, along with an "inner voice" which she identified as Jesus. She said that on October 21, 1965, an "inner voice" told her: "This is a Course in Miracles, please take notes." Schucman said that the writing made her very uncomfortable, though it never seriously occurred to her to stop. The next day, she explained the events of her "note taking" to Thetford. To her surprise, Thetford encouraged her to