The Risk
A Course in Miracles Online Version for ACIM Students
Submitted by DONKEY » Wed 26-Oct-2022, 02:58Subject Area: Software Engineering | 2 member ratings |
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WHAT IS THE GOAL OF STUDYING THE COURSE?
A student might reasonably ask, “What will I get out of this course if I decide to stick with it? It seems like a big commitment.” The Course offers some answers to this question. “Knowledge is not the motivation for learning this course. Peace is.” (Text, Chapter 8, Section I, paragraph 1:1-2) “Forget not that the motivation for this course is the attainment and the keeping of the state of peace.
Given this state the mind is quiet, and the condition in which God is remembered is attained.” (Text, Chapter 24, Introduction, paragraph 1:1-2) So one of the gifts of the Course is a mind that is less prone to fear and increasingly calm and peaceful, no matter what else may be going on in your life. Who would not welcome a mind that is at peace?
Note the last sentence of the above quote: “the mind is quiet, and the condition in which God is remembered is attained.” The primary goal of the Course is to help us remove from our minds all the “blocks to the awareness of love’s presence” (Text, Introduction, paragraph 1:7)— blocks that keep us from knowing our oneness with God, Who is Love. We remain one with God because that’s how we were created, but we have forgotten and lost our way in a world of our own making, where we seem to be separate from each other and apart from God.
We will not find true happiness until we have remembered our shared Home in God. It is in remembering our oneness with God that we reclaim our true Identity. All our searching in this ever-changing world is due to a sense that something is missing and we want desperately to reclaim it. What we seek are not the goals the world sets forth, but our true Self, what the Course calls the Son of God or the Christ. A Course in Miracles is a guidebook for finding our way back to the remembrance of God and our true, eternal Self, which is forever one with God.
Course and many students have benefited from their teaching, especially at the beginning of their study when there is so much new to be learned. However, the Course is essentially self-study. There is no “official” teacher training for ACIM. No person or organization can lay claim to that role. The Course states that anyone who has completed the Workbook can be called a “teacher.”
But it also says we are all both teachers and students. We are equals as brothers and sisters. Another thing to keep in mind is that while many know the Course and its words well and consider themselves teachers, there is no guarantee that they understand or practice it consistently. Some may claim authority—that only their understanding of the Course is the correct one and that others are wrong. Some commingle the Course’s message with other spiritual teachings, which risks muddying the waters.
This can be especially confusing for new students. Therefore, if you’re drawn to a particular teacher, by all means, learn all you can from them. But remember that when it comes to A Course in Miracles there are no experts, gurus or saints. We are all both students and teachers—we teach and learn from everything we do or say—and the Course itself holds all the answers we need.
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