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-----Original Message-----
From: M. Lyn Johnson <mlyn81@...>

Kathleen,
there are really no other options.

-----Original Message-----
From: M. Lyn Johnson <mlyn81@...>
To: Disappearance_of_the_Universe@...

Ossie
I agree, there are other ways. I do believe, however, that the
principles of ACIM that get you there are the same principles that
eventually get you there without ACIM. That is, when you can truly
see the real world, then you can go home. The way to the real world
is the path of forgiveness. No other religion teaches that, nor do
they seem to understand that. No matter what you call it, the
beliefs embodied in ACIM are where you will ultimately need to go to
get Home. I believe that is why it says that it is a required
course; that you cannot establish the curriculum; and that you
shouldn't mix it with other paths.

Lyn

**

I have to disagree just a little bit here Lyn.

ACIM is a required course, for those who accept it as their spiritual path. There are many other paths Home and they may choose another way. E.g. Ken often speaks about Mother Theresa, that even though she believed that suffering was a touch from God, there is no reason to say that she was not on her path. When one was in her presence, people felt a sense of peace with her. Who is to say that she was not in the real world the entire time she was here? So I cannot say really speak on the process of awakening of other spiritual paths or that it has to resemble ACIM's theme of forgiveness to be legitimate. There is no way for me to judge that. I can only say that this path works for me, so this is a required course for me.

Excerpt from:

The early scribing was not basically Jesus standing in Helen's ear with a microphone and dictating this. It was much more of a dialog where Jesus would say something, Helen would ask a question, Jesus would answer it. They would go off on a tangent. Sometimes Jesus would reprimand her, gently and lovingly, for going on a tangent as a way of not dealing with this material. Removing those passages, though, left a gap, so that we had to fill that gap with minor words. But it does not read well because of these factors.

The Introduction as we now have it was not part of the original dictation. The Course began with: "This is a course in miracles. Please take notes." And then on to: "The first thing to remember about miracles is that there is no order of difficulty among them." Within a few weeks Helen was complaining to Jesus about this impossible material he was dictating to her, saying to him, "I'm assuming this is an elective course," a clear reference to what happens in universities when there are certain classes that are required of all students. For example, every student has to take a foreign language, math, or science, or history -- whatever. And then there are other courses that are elective -- that a student can elect to take. So she was being a little cute and said, "I assume this is an elective course." And his response was just as cute: "No, it is not an elective course, it is a required course." Then he went on with: "Only the time you take it is voluntary." That is what those next sentences mean in the Introduction.

It was not meant to suggest that everybody in the entire world had to take A Course in Miracles. What was meant was that for Helen and for Bill it was a required course, because this is what they asked for. Remember they asked for another way of relating. Well one could not ask for a better answer to that question -- to have been given a better way of relating to another person: without judgment, condemnation, criticism, attack, etc.


**

So as we read Ken's statement above, ACIM is one's call for healing of the mind which is through the process of forgiveness.

Ken also speaks on other spiritualities including the bible and ACIM


What is the relationship of A Course in Miracles to other spiritual paths, and specifically to the Bible?

This is an extremely important question, because the incorrect understanding of the answer inevitably leads to serious distortion of what A Course in Miracles actually teaches and how it is meant to be practiced. We live in an age where many followers of spiritual paths --
usually grouped together in what is termed the "new age" -- emphasize unity instead of diversity. While this is an admirable spiritual goal, certainly, it does serve to deny the "fact" of our separated world; namely, that we are all different, and that different spiritual paths are thus required. Once this is accepted, then it is clear that different paths will be different. This is clearly obvious on one level, but is frequently obscured by the need to blur differences for the sake of a spurious unity. This does every spiritual path a disservice, and Jesus always made it clear to Helen personally, as well as in A Course in Miracles itself, how different his Course was from other paths. This does not necessarily mean it is better, but it does mean that it is unique.

Near the beginning of the manual for teachers, Jesus says of A Course in Miracles:

This is a manual for a special curriculum, intended for teachers of a special form of the universal course. There are many thousands of other forms, all with the same outcome (M-1.4:1-2).

And we have already examined Jesus' special message to Helen -- "I Need Do Nothing" -- where Jesus contrasts his Course with other spiritualities that emphasize meditation and contemplation.

Therefore, on the one hand, the Course's relationship to other spiritual paths is that it shares the same goal of returning home to God. It is different, however, because its theology and practice are different. Jesus summarizes this relationship in his pithy comment:

A universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not only possible but necessary (C-in.2:5).

As we have already seen, A Course in Miracles is a non-dualistic spirituality, while almost all others are dualistic. Confusing the Course with other spiritual thought systems, saying "the Course is just like ... (fill in your favorite spirituality)" is simply in the end a subtle ego ploy for changing A Course in Miracles so that its teachings will be less threatening. We, of course, have seen in our Western history a notable example of this ego device when the Christian world made Jesus and his teachings into an extension of Judaism and the Old Testament, rather than accepting him and his message as the radical gift it was, independent of all that preceded it. Students of A Course in Miracles should profit from this mistake of the past, and grow into the Course, rather than attempting to scale it down to their own level of understanding.

Another form of this mistake is the common practice of including A Course in Miracles with what Aldous Huxley termed "the perennial philosophy," a catch-all phrase used to embrace the major mystical traditions of the world. Again, this does the Course a profound disservice, because it blurs what is its distinctive contribution to the world's spiritualities: the idea that not only was the physical universe an illusion that God did not create, but that it was also "made as an attack" on Him (W-pII.3.2:1). This profound and sophisticated psychological principle, integrated with a pure non-dualistic metaphysics is what renders A Course in Miracles unique among the spiritual and religious thought systems of the world.

**
So although I do believe ACIM is very unique an unlike any other religious/spiritual thought system , I do not believe it is the only way Home.

But for me it is.

Peace
Ossie


The best defense, as always, is not to attack another's position,
but rather to protect the truth (T-3.I.2).