page_title: A Course in Miracles
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: A Course in Miracles / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Seattle Kenneth Wapnick in front of Seattle Unity, Seattle, Washington. Note that this is a crop of the picture found here. If a more experienced editor thinks a different crop ratio would be preferable, they may kindly refer to the original photograph.
context_page_description: A Course in Miracles is a 1976 book by Helen Schucman. The underlying premise is that the greatest "miracle" is the act of simply gaining a full "awareness of love's presence" in one's own life. Schucman claimed that the book had been dictated to her, word for word, via "inner dictation" from Jesus.
  The Course consists of three sections: the "Text", "Workbook for Students," and "Manual for Teachers". Written 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 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". According to Olav Hammer, the psychiatrist and bestselling author Gerald G.
context_section_description: 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 "[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 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, introduced Kenneth Wapnick to Schucman and Thetford in November 1972. Groeschel was given a copy of the ACIM manuscript in 1973 and was instructed by Schucman not to distribute the manuscript; however, with Schucman's permission, he made it available to Wapnick. Wapnick reviewed the draft and discussed with Schucman and Thetford, further revisions that he felt were needed to publish the book. Thetford made a few further editorial decisions about the "Principles of Miracles" section, and soon afterwards opted to withdraw from direct involvement. Wapnick and Schucman deleted personal material apparently directed only to Schucman and Thetford, created chapter and section headings, and corrected various inconsistencies in paragraph structure, punctuation, and capitalization. The editing process was completed by February 1975. Wapnick subsequently became a teacher of ACIM, a co-founder and president of the Foundation for A Course in Miracles (FACIM), and a director and executive committee member of the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP).
caption: Kenneth Wapnick helped edit the book and founded the Foundation for A Course in Miracles
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