-
A COURSE IN MIRACLES
Combined Volume
Third Edition
PREFACE
TEXT
WORKBOOK FOR STUDENTS
MANUAL FOR TEACHERS
CLARIFICATION OF TERMS
Supplements:
Psychotherapy: Purpose, Process and Practice
Song of Prayer
FOUNDATION FOR INNER PEACE
Published by the Foundation for Inner Peace
P.O. Box 598, Mill Valley, CA 94942
www.acim.org
Combined Volume (Third Edition) copyrighted 2007 by the
Foundation for A Course in Miracles, www.facim.org
Portions also independently copyrighted
All right reserved. No copyrighted portions or aspects of this
book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, video,
or by any information or retrieval system, without prior written
permission of the Foundation for A Course in Miracles, 41397
Buecking Drive, Temecula, CA 92590, www.facim.org
A Course in Miracles was first published in three volumes in
June, 1976 by the Foundation for Inner Peace
ISBN 978-1-883360-35-1
-
978-1-883360-25-2 Hard cover
ISBN 978-1-883360-24-5 Soft cover & Kindle Version
ISBN 978-1-883360-26-9 Mass Market Paperback
Back Cover
The Combined Volume, Third Edition of A Course in Miracles is
the only edition that contains in one place all of the writings
that Dr. Helen Schucman, its scribe, authorized to be printed. It
is published solely by the Foundation for Inner Peace, the
organization chosen by Dr. Schucman in 1975 for this purpose.
This Combined Volume also includes the Supplements to A Course
in Miracles: Psychology: Purpose, Process and Practice and The Song
of Prayer. These sections are extensions of the Course principles,
which were dictated to Dr. Schucman shortly after she completed A
Course in Miracles.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents: Preface
Table of Contents: Text
Table of Contents: Workbook Lessons 1-120)
Table of Contents: Workbook (Lessons 121-240)
Table of Contents: Workbook (Lessons 241-365)
Table of Contents: Manual for Teachers
Table of Contents: Clarification of Terms
Table of Contents: Psychotherpay
Table of Contents: Song of Prayer
-
PREFACE
How It Came
What It Is
What It Says
A COURSE IN MIRACLES
TEXT
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1.
THE MEANING OF MIRACLES
I. Principles of Miracles
II. Revelation, Time and Miracles
III. Atonement and Miracles
IV. The Escape from Darkness
V. Wholeness and Spirit
VI. The Illusion of Needs
VII. Distortions of Miracle Impulses
Chapter 2.
THE SEPARATION AND THE ATONEMENT
I. The Origins of Separation
II. The Atonement as Defense
III. The Altar of God
IV. Healing as Release from Fear
-
V. The Function of the Miracle Worker
A. Special Principles of Miracle Workers
VI. Fear and Conflict
VII. Cause and Effect
VIII. The Meaning of the Last Judgment
Chapter 3.
THE INNOCENT PERCEPTION
I. Atonement without Sacrifice
II. Miracles as True Perception
III. Perception versus Knowledge
IV. Error and the Ego
V. Beyond Perception
VI. Judgment and the Authority Problem
VII. Creating versus the Self-Image
Chapter 4.
THE ILLUSIONS OF THE EGO
Introduction
I. Right Teaching and Right Learning
II. The Ego and False Autonomy
III. Love without Conflict
IV. This Need Not Be
V. The Ego-Body Illusion
VI. The Rewards of God
VII. Creation and Communication
Chapter 5.
-
HEALING AND WHOLENESS
Introduction
I. The Invitation to the Holy Spirit
II. The Voice for God
III. The Guide to Salvation
IV. Teaching and Healing
V. The Egos Use of Guilt
VI. Time and Eternity
VII. The Decision for God
Chapter 6.
THE LESSONS OF LOVE
Introduction
I. The Message of the Crucifixion
II. The Alternative to Projection
III. The Relinquishment of Attack
IV. The Only Answer
V. The Lessons of the Holy Spirit
A. To Have, Give All to All
B. To Have Peace, Teach Peace to Learn It
C. Be Vigilant Only for God and His Kingdom
Chapter 7.
THE GIFTS OF THE KINGDOM
I. The Last Step
II. The Law of the Kingdom
III. The Reality of the Kingdom
-
IV. Healing as the Recognition of Truth
V. Healing and the Changelessness of Mind
VI. From Vigilance to Peace
VII. The Totality of the Kingdom
VIII. The Unbelievable Belief
IX. The Extension of the Kingdom
X. The Confusion of Pain and Joy
XI. The State of Grace
Chapter 8.
THE JOURNEY BACK
I. The Direction of the Curriculum
II. The Difference between Imprisonment and Freedom
III. The Holy Encounter
IV. The Gift of Freedom
V. The Undivided Will of the Sonship
VI. The Treasure of God
VII. The Body as a Means of Communication
VIII. The Body as Means or End
IX. Healing as Corrected Perception
Chapter 9.
THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE ATONEMENT
I. The Acceptance of Reality
II. The Answer to Prayer
III. The Correction of Error
IV. The Holy Spirits Plan of Forgiveness
-
V. The Unhealed Healer
VI. The Acceptance of Your Brother
VII. The Two Evaluations
VIII. Grandeur versus Grandiosity
Chapter 10.
THE IDOLS OF SICKNESS
Introduction
I. At Home in God
II. The Decision to Forget
III. The God of Sickness
IV. The End of Sickness
V. The Denial of God
Chapter 11.
GOD OR THE EGO
Introduction
I. The Gifts of Fatherhood
II. The Invitation to Healing
III. From Darkness to Light
IV. The Inheritance of Gods Son
V. The Dynamics of the Ego
VI. Waking to Redemption
VII. The Condition of Reality
VIII. The Problem and the Answer
Chapter 12.
THE HOLY SPIRITS CURRICULUM
-
I. The Judgment of the Holy Spirit
II. The Way to Remember God
III. The Investment in Reality
IV. Seeking and Finding
V. The Sane Curriculum
VI. The Vision of Christ
VII. Looking Within
VIII. The Attraction of Love for Love
Chapter 13.
THE GUILTLESS WORLD
Introduction
I. Guiltlessness and Invulnerability
II. The Guiltless Son of God
III. The Fear of Redemption
IV. The Function of Time
V. The Two Emotions
VI. Finding the Present
VII. Attainment of the Real World
VIII. From Perception to Knowledge
IX. The Cloud of Guilt
X. Release from Guilt
XI. The Peace of Heaven
Chapter 14.
TEACHING FOR TRUTH
Introduction
-
I. The Conditions of Learning
II. The Happy Learner
III. The Decision for Guiltlessness
IV. Your Function in the Atonement
V. The Circle of Atonement
VI. The Light of Communication
VII. Sharing Perception with the Holy Spirit
VIII. The Holy Meeting Place
IX. The Reflection of Holiness
X. The Equality of Miracles
XI. The Test of Truth
Chapter 15.
THE HOLY INSTANT
I. The Two Uses of Time
II. The End of Doubt
III. Littleness versus Magnitude
IV. Practicing the Holy Instant
V. The Holy Instant and Special Relationships
VI. The Holy Instant and the Laws of God
VII. The Needless Sacrifice
VIII. The Only Real Relationship
IX. The Holy Instant and the Attraction of God
X. The Time of Rebirth
XI. Christmas as the End of Sacrifice
Chapter 16.
-
THE FORGIVENESS OF ILLUSIONS
I. True Empathy
II. The Power of Holiness
III. The Reward of Teaching
IV. The Illusion and the Reality of Love
V. The Choice for Completion
VI. The Bridge to the Real World
VII. The End of Illusions
Chapter 17.
FORGIVENESS AND THE HOLY RELATIONSHIP
I. Bringing Fantasy to Truth
II. The Forgiven World
III. Shadows of the Past
IV. The Two Pictures
V. The Healed Relationship
VI. Setting the Goal
VII. The Call for Faith
VIII. The Conditions of Peace
Chapter 18.
THE PASSING OF THE DREAM
I. The Substitute Reality
II. The Basis of the Dream
III. Light in the Dream
IV. The Little Willingness
V. The Happy Dream
-
VI. Beyond the Body
VII. I Need Do Nothing
VIII. The Little Garden
IX. The Two Worlds
Chapter 19.
THE ATTAINMENT OF PEACE
I. Healing and Faith
II. Sin versus Error
III. The Unreality of Sin
IV. The Obstacles to Peace
A. The First Obstacle: The Desire to Get Rid of It
i. The Attraction of Guilt
B. The Second Obstacle: The Belief the Body is Valuable for What
It Offers
i. The Attraction of Pain
C. The Third Obstacle: The Attraction of Death
i. The Incorruptible Body
D. The Fourth Obstacle: The Fear of God
i. The Lifting of the Veil
Chapter 20.
THE VISION OF HOLINESS
I. Holy Week
II. The Gift of Lilies
III. Sin as an Adjustment
IV. Entering the Ark
V. Heralds of Eternity
-
VI. The Temple of the Holy Spirit
VII. The Consistency of Means and End
VIII. The Vision of Sinlessness
Chapter 21.
REASON AND PERCEPTION
Introduction
I. The Forgotten Song
II. The Responsibility for Sight
III. Faith, Belief and Vision
IV. The Fear to Look Within
V. The Function of Reason
VI. Reason versus Madness
VII. The Last Unanswered Question
VIII. The Inner Shift
Chapter 22.
SALVATION AND THE HOLY RELATIONSHIP
Introduction
I. The Message of the Holy Relationship
II. Your Brothers Sinlessness
III. Reason and the Forms of Error
IV. The Branching of the Road
V. Weakness and Defensiveness
VI. The Light of the Holy Relationship
Chapter 23.
THE WAR AGAINST YOURSELF
-
Introduction
I. The Irreconcilable Beliefs
II. The Laws of Chaos
III. Salvation without Compromise
IV. Above the Battleground
Chapter 24.
THE GOAL OF SPECIALNESS
Introduction
I. Specialness as a Substitute for Love
II. The Treachery of Specialness
III. The Forgiveness of Specialness
IV. Specialness versus Sinlessness
V. The Christ in You
VI. Salvation from Fear
VII. The Meeting Place
Chapter 25.
THE JUSTICE OF GOD
Introduction
I. The Link to Truth
II. The Savior from the Dark
III. Perception and Choice
IV. The Light You Bring
V. The State of Sinlessness
VI. The Special Function
VII. The Rock of Salvation
-
VIII. Justice Returned to Love
IX. The Justice of Heaven
Chapter 26.
THE TRANSITION
I. The Sacrifice of Oneness
II. Many Forms; One Correction
III. The Borderland
IV. Where Sin Has Left
V. The Little Hindrance
VI. The Appointed Friend
VII. The Laws of Healing
VIII. The Immediacy of Salvation
IX. For They Have Come
X. The End of Injustice
Chapter 27.
THE HEALING OF THE DREAM
I. The Picture of Crucifixion
II. The Fear of Healing
III. Beyond All Symbols
IV. The Quiet Answer
V. The Healing Example
VI. The Witnesses to Sin
VII. The Dreamer of the Dream
VIII. The Hero of the Dream
Chapter 28.
-
THE UNDOING OF FEAR
I. The Present Memory
II. Reversing Effect and Cause
III. The Agreement to Join
IV. The Greater Joining
V. The Alternate to Dreams of Fear
VI. The Secret Vows
VII. The Ark of Safety
Chapter 29.
THE AWAKENING
I. The Closing of the Gap
II. The Coming of the Guest
III. Gods Witnesses
IV. Dream Roles
V. The Changeless Dwelling Place
VI. Forgiveness and the End of Time
VII. Seek Not Outside Yourself
VIII. The Anti-Christ
IX. The Forgiving Dream
Chapter 30.
THE NEW BEGINNING
Introduction
I. Rules for Decision
II. Freedom of Will
III. Beyond All Idols
-
IV. The Truth behind Illusions
V. The Only Purpose
VI. The Justification for Forgiveness
VII. The New Interpretation
VIII. Changeless Reality
Chapter 31.
THE FINAL VISION
I. The Simplicity of Salvation
II. Walking with Christ
III. The Self-Accused
IV. The Real Alternative
V. Self-Concept versus Self
VI. Recognizing the Spirit
VII. The Saviors Vision
VIII. Choose Once Again
WORKBOOK FOR STUDENTS
INTRODUCTION
PART I
LESSON 1.
Nothing I see in this room [on this street, from this window, in
this place] means anything.
LESSON 2.
I have given everything I see in this room [on this street, from
this window, in thisplace] all the meaning that it has for me.
-
LESSON 3.
I do not understand anything I see in this room [on this street,
from this window, in this place].
LESSON 4.
These thoughts do not mean anything. They are like the things I
see in this room [on this street, from this window, in this
place].
LESSON 5.
I am never upset for the reason I think.
LESSON 6.
I am upset because I see something that is not there.
LESSON 7.
I see only the past.
LESSON 8.
My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
LESSON 9.
I see nothing as it is now.
LESSON 10.
My thoughts do not mean anything.
LESSON 11.
My meaningless thoughts are showing me a meaningless world.
LESSON 12.
I am upset because I see a meaningless world.
LESSON 13.
A meaningless world engenders fear.
LESSON 14.
God did not create a meaningless world.
-
LESSON 15.
My thoughts are images that I have made.
LESSON 16.
I have no neutral thoughts.
LESSON 17.
I see no neutral things.
LESSON 18.
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my seeing.
LESSON 19.
I am not alone in experiencing the effects of my thoughts.
LESSON 20.
I am determined to see.
LESSON 21.
I am determined to see things differently.
LESSON 22.
What I see is a form of vengeance.
LESSON 23.
I can escape from the world I see by giving up attack
thoughts.
LESSON 24.
I do not perceive my own best interests.
LESSON 25.
I do not know what anything is for.
LESSON 26.
My attack thoughts are attacking my invulnerability.
LESSON 27.
-
Above all else I want to see.
LESSON 28.
Above all else I want to see things differently.
LESSON 29.
God is in everything I see.
LESSON 30.
God is in everything I see because God is in my mind.
LESSON 31.
I am not the victim of the world I see.
LESSON 32.
I have invented the world I see.
LESSON 33.
There is another way of looking at the world.
LESSON 34.
I could see peace instead of this.
LESSON 35.
My mind is part of Gods. I am very holy.
LESSON 36.
My holiness envelops everything I see.
LESSON 37.
My holiness blesses the world.
LESSON 38.
There is nothing my holiness cannot do.
LESSON 39.
My holiness is my salvation.
-
LESSON 40.
I am blessed as a Son of God.
LESSON 41.
God goes with me wherever I go.
LESSON 42.
God is my strength. Vision is His gift.
LESSON 43.
God is my Source. I cannot see apart from Him.
LESSON 44.
God is the light in which I see.
LESSON 45.
God is the Mind with which I think.
LESSON 46.
God is the Love in which I forgive.
LESSON 47.
God is the strength in which I trust.
LESSON 48.
There is nothing to fear.
LESSON 49.
Gods Voice speaks to me all through the day.
LESSON 50.
I am sustained by the Love of God.
REVIEW I
Introduction
LESSON 51.
-
The review for today covers the following ideas:
LESSON 52.
Todays review covers these ideas:
LESSON 53.
Today we will review the following:
LESSON 54.
These are the review ideas for today:
LESSON 55.
Todays review includes the following:
LESSON 56.
Our review for today covers the following:
LESSON 57.
Today let us review these ideas:
LESSON 58.
These ideas are for review today:
LESSON 59.
The following ideas are for review today:
LESSON 60.
These ideas are for todays review:
LESSON 61.
I am the light of the world.
LESSON 62.
Forgiveness is my function as the light of the world.
LESSON 63.
The light of the world brings peace to every mind through my
forgiveness.
-
LESSON 64.
Let me not forget my function.
LESSON 65.
My only function is the one God gave me.
LESSON 66.
My happiness and my function are one.
LESSON 67.
Love created me like itself.
LESSON 68.
Love holds no grievances.
LESSON 69.
My grievances hide the light of the world in me.
LESSON 70.
My salvation comes from me.
LESSON 71.
Only Gods plan for salvation will work.
LESSON 72.
Holding grievances is an attack on Gods plan for salvation.
LESSON 73.
I will there be light.
LESSON 74.
There is no will but Gods.
LESSON 75.
The light has come.
LESSON 76.
-
I am under no laws but Gods.
LESSON 77.
I am entitled to miracles.
LESSON 78.
Let miracles replace all grievances.
LESSON 79.
Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.
LESSON 80.
Let me recognize my problems have been solved.
REVIEW II
Introduction
LESSON 81.
Our ideas for review today are:
LESSON 82.
We will review these ideas today:
LESSON 83.
Today let us review these ideas:
LESSON 84.
These are the ideas for todays review:
LESSON 85.
Todays review will cover these ideas:
LESSON 86.
These ideas are for review today:
LESSON 87.
Our review today will cover these ideas:
-
LESSON 88.
Today we will review these ideas:
LESSON 89.
These are our review ideas for today:
LESSON 90.
For this review we will use these ideas:
LESSON 91.
Miracles are seen in light.
LESSON 92.
Miracles are seen in light, and light and strength are one.
LESSON 93.
Light and joy and peace abide in me.
LESSON 94.
I am as God created me.
LESSON 95.
I am one Self, united with my Creator.
LESSON 96.
Salvation comes from my one Self.
LESSON 97.
I am spirit.
LESSON 98.
I will accept my part in Gods plan for salvation.
LESSON 99.
Salvation is my only function here.
LESSON 100.
-
My part is essential to Gods plan for salvation.
LESSON 101.
Gods Will for me is perfect happiness.
LESSON 102.
I share Gods Will for happiness for me.
LESSON 103.
God, being Love, is also happiness.
LESSON 104.
I seek but what belongs to me in truth.
LESSON 105.
Gods peace and joy are mine.
LESSON 106.
Let me be still and listen to the truth.
LESSON 107.
Truth will correct all errors in my mind.
LESSON 108.
To give and to receive are one in truth.
LESSON 109.
I rest in God.
LESSON 110.
I am as God created me.
REVIEW III
Introduction
LESSON 111.
For morning and evening review:
-
LESSON 112.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 113.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 114.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 115.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 116.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 117.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 118.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 119.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 120.
For morning and evening review:
LESSON 121.
Forgiveness is the key to happiness.
LESSON 122.
Forgiveness offers everything I want.
LESSON 123.
-
I thank my Father for His gifts to me.
LESSON 124.
Let me remember I am one with God.
LESSON 125.
In quiet I receive Gods Word today.
LESSON 126.
All that I give is given to myself.
LESSON 127.
There is no love but Gods.
LESSON 128.
The world I see holds nothing that I want.
LESSON 129.
Beyond this world there is a world I want.
LESSON 130.
It is impossible to see two worlds.
LESSON 131.
No one can fail who seeks to reach the truth.
LESSON 132.
I loose the world from all I thought it was.
LESSON 133.
I will not value what is valueless.
LESSON 134.
Let me perceive forgiveness as it is.
LESSON 135.
If I defend myself I am attacked.
-
LESSON 136.
Sickness is a defense against the truth.
LESSON 137.
When I am healed I am not healed alone.
LESSON 138.
Heaven is the decision I must make.
LESSON 139.
I will accept Atonement for myself.
LESSON 140.
Only salvation can be said to cure.
REVIEW IV
Introduction
LESSON 141.
My mind holds only what I think with God
LESSON 142.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 143.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 144.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 145.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 146.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 147.
-
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 148.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 149.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 150.
My mind holds only what I think with God.
LESSON 151.
All things are echoes of the Voice for God.
LESSON 152.
The power of decision is my own.
LESSON 153.
In my defenselessness my safety lies.
LESSON 154.
I am among the ministers of God.
LESSON 155.
I will step back and let Him lead the way.
LESSON 156.
I walk with God in perfect holiness.
LESSON 157.
Into His Presence would I enter now.
LESSON 158.
Today I learn to give as I receive.
LESSON 159.
I give the miracles I have received.
-
LESSON 160.
I am at home. Fear is the stranger here.
LESSON 161.
Give me your blessing, holy Son of God.
LESSON 162.
I am as God created me.
LESSON 163.
There is no death. The Son of God is free.
LESSON 164.
Now are we one with Him Who is our Source.
LESSON 165.
Let not my mind deny the Thought of God.
LESSON 166.
I am entrusted with the gifts of God.
LESSON 167.
There is one life, and that I share with God.
LESSON 168.
Your grace is given me. I claim it now.
LESSON 169.
By grace I live. By grace I am released.
LESSON 170.
There is no cruelty in God and none in me.
REVIEW V
Introduction
LESSON 171.
-
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 172.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 173.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 174.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 175.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 176.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 177.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 178.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 179.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
LESSON 180.
God is but Love, and therefore so am I.
Introduction to Lessons 181-200.
LESSON 181.
I trust my brothers, who are one with me.
LESSON 182.
I will be still an instant and go home.
LESSON 183.
-
I call upon Gods Name and on my own.
LESSON 184.
The Name of God is my inheritance.
LESSON 185.
I want the peace of God.
LESSON 186.
Salvation of the world depends on me.
LESSON 187.
I bless the world because I bless myself.
LESSON 188.
The peace of God is shining in me now.
LESSON 189.
I feel the Love of God within me now.
LESSON 190.
I choose the joy of God instead of pain.
LESSON 191.
I am the holy Son of God Himself.
LESSON 192.
I have a function God would have me fill.
LESSON 193.
All things are lessons God would have me learn.
LESSON 194.
I place the future in the Hands of God.
LESSON 195.
Love is the way I walk in gratitude.
-
LESSON 196.
It can be but myself I crucify.
LESSON 197.
It can be but my gratitude I earn.
LESSON 198.
Only my condemnation injures me.
LESSON 199.
I am not a body. I am free.
LESSON 200.
There is no peace except the peace of God.
REVIEW VI
Introduction
LESSON 201.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 202.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 203.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 204.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 205.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 206.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 207.
-
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 208.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 209.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 210.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 211.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 212.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 213.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 214.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 215.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 216.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 217.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 218.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
LESSON 219.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
-
LESSON 220.
I am not a body. I am free. For I am still as God created
me.
PART II
Introduction
1. What Is Forgiveness?
LESSON 221.
Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still.
LESSON 222.
God is with me. I live and move in Him.
LESSON 223.
God is my life. I have no life but His.
LESSON 224.
God is my Father, and He loves His Son.
LESSON 225.
God is my Father, and His Son loves Him.
LESSON 226.
My home awaits me. I will hasten there.
LESSON 227.
This is my holy instant of release.
LESSON 228.
God has condemned me not. No more do I.
LESSON 229.
Love, which created me, is what I am.
LESSON 230.
Now will I seek and find the peace of God.
-
2. What Is Salvation?
LESSON 231.
Father, I will but to remember You.
LESSON 232.
Be in my mind, my Father, through the day.
LESSON 233.
I give my life to God to guide today.
LESSON 234.
Father, today I am Your Son again.
LESSON 235.
God in His mercy wills that I be saved.
LESSON 236.
I rule my mind, which I alone must rule.
LESSON 237.
Now would I be as God created me.
LESSON 238.
On my decision all salvation rests.
LESSON 239.
The glory of my Father is my own.
LESSON 240.
Fear is not justified in any form.
3. What Is the World?
LESSON 241.
-
This holy instant is salvation come.
LESSON 242.
This day is Gods. It is my gift to Him.
LESSON 243.
Today I will judge nothing that occurs.
LESSON 244.
I am in danger nowhere in the world.
LESSON 245.
Your peace is with me, Father. I am safe.
LESSON 246.
To love my Father is to love His Son.
LESSON 247.
Without forgiveness I will still be blind.
LESSON 248.
Whatever suffers is not part of me.
LESSON 249.
Forgiveness ends all suffering and loss.
LESSON 250.
Let me not see myself as limited.
4. What Is Sin?
LESSON 251.
I am in need of nothing but the truth.
LESSON 252.
The Son of God is my Identity.
LESSON 253.
-
My Self is ruler of the universe.
LESSON 254.
Let every voice but Gods be still in me.
LESSON 255.
This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.
LESSON 256.
God is the only goal I have today.
LESSON 257.
Let me remember what my purpose is.
LESSON 258.
Let me remember that my goal is God.
LESSON 259.
Let me remember that there is no sin.
LESSON 260.
Let me remember God created me.
5. What Is the Body?
LESSON 261.
God is my refuge and security.
LESSON 262.
Let me perceive no differences today.
LESSON 263.
My holy vision sees all things as pure.
LESSON 264.
I am surrounded by the Love of God.
LESSON 265.
-
Creations gentleness is all I see.
LESSON 266.
My holy Self abides in you, Gods Son.
LESSON 267.
My heart is beating in the peace of God.
LESSON 268.
Let all things be exactly as they are.
LESSON 269.
My sight goes forth to look upon Christs face.
LESSON 270.
I will not use the bodys eyes today.
6. What Is the Christ?
LESSON 271.
Christs is the vision I will use today.
LESSON 272.
How can illusions satisfy Gods Son?
LESSON 273.
The stillness of the peace of God is mine.
LESSON 274.
Today belongs to love. Let me not fear.
LESSON 275.
Gods healing Voice protects all things today.
LESSON 276.
The Word of God is given me to speak.
LESSON 277.
-
Let me not bind Your Son with laws I made.
LESSON 278.
If I am bound, my Father is not free.
LESSON 279.
Creations freedom promises my own.
LESSON 280.
What limits can I lay upon Gods Son?
7. What Is the Holy Spirit?
LESSON 281.
I can be hurt by nothing but my thoughts.
LESSON 282.
I will not be afraid of love today.
LESSON 283.
My true Identity abides in You.
LESSON 284.
I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt.
LESSON 285.
My holiness shines bright and clear today.
LESSON 286.
The hush of Heaven holds my heart today.
LESSON 287.
You are my goal, my Father. Only You.
LESSON 288.
Let me forget my brothers past today.
LESSON 289.
-
The past is over. It can touch me not.
LESSON 290.
My present happiness is all I see.
8. What Is the Real World?
LESSON 291.
This is a day of stillness and of peace.
LESSON 292.
A happy outcome to all things is sure.
LESSON 293.
All fear is past and only love is here.
LESSON 294.
My body is a wholly neutral thing.
LESSON 295.
The Holy Spirit looks through me today.
LESSON 296.
The Holy Spirit speaks through me today.
LESSON 297.
Forgiveness is the only gift I give.
LESSON 298.
I love You, Father, and I love Your Son.
LESSON 299.
Eternal holiness abides in me.
LESSON 300.
Only an instant does this world endure.
9. What Is the Second Coming?
-
LESSON 301.
And God Himself shall wipe away all tears.
LESSON 302.
Where darkness was I look upon the light.
LESSON 303.
The holy Christ is born in me today.
LESSON 304.
Let not my world obscure the sight of Christ.
LESSON 305.
There is a peace that Christ bestows on us.
LESSON 306.
The gift of Christ is all I seek today.
LESSON 307.
Conflicting wishes cannot be my will.
LESSON 308.
This instant is the only time there is.
LESSON 309.
I will not fear to look within today.
LESSON 310.
In fearlessness and love I spend today.
10. What Is the Last Judgment?
LESSON 311.
I judge all things as I would have them be.
LESSON 312.
I see all things as I would have them be.
-
LESSON 313.
Now let a new perception come to me.
LESSON 314.
I seek a future different from the past.
LESSON 315.
All gifts my brothers give belong to me.
LESSON 316.
All gifts I give my brothers are my own.
LESSON 317.
I follow in the way appointed me.
LESSON 318.
In me salvations means and end are one.
LESSON 319.
I came for the salvation of the world.
LESSON 320.
My Father gives all power unto me.
11. What Is Creation?
LESSON 321.
Father, my freedom is in You alone.
LESSON 322.
I can give up but what was never real.
LESSON 323.
I gladly make the sacrifice of fear.
LESSON 324.
I merely follow, for I would not lead.
-
LESSON 325.
All things I think I see reflect ideas.
LESSON 326.
I am forever an Effect of God.
LESSON 327.
I need but call and You will answer me.
LESSON 328.
I choose the second place to gain the first.
LESSON 329.
I have already chosen what You will.
LESSON 330.
I will not hurt myself again today.
12. What Is the Ego?
LESSON 331.
There is no conflict, for my will is Yours.
LESSON 332.
Fear binds the world. Forgiveness sets it free.
LESSON 333.
Forgiveness ends the dream of conflict here.
LESSON 334.
Today I claim the gifts forgiveness gives.
LESSON 335.
I choose to see my brothers sinlessness.
LESSON 336.
Forgiveness lets me know that minds are joined.
-
LESSON 337.
My sinlessness protects me from all harm.
LESSON 338.
I am affected only by my thoughts.
LESSON 339.
I will receive whatever I request.
LESSON 340.
I can be free of suffering today.
13. What Is a Miracle?
LESSON 341.
I can attack but my own sinlessness,
And it is only that which keeps me safe.
LESSON 342.
I let forgiveness rest upon all things,
For thus forgiveness will be given me.
LESSON 343.
I am not asked to make a sacrifice
To find the mercy and the peace of God.
LESSON 344.
Today I learn the law of love; that what
I give my brother is my gift to me.
LESSON 345.
I offer only miracles today,
For I would have them be returned to me.
LESSON 346.
-
Today the peace of God envelops me,
And I forget all things except His Love.
LESSON 347.
Anger must come from judgment. Judgment is
The weapon I would use against myself,
To keep the miracle away from me.
LESSON 348.
I have no cause for anger or for fear,
For You surround me. And in every need
That I perceive, Your grace suffices me.
LESSON 349.
Today I let Christs vision look upon
All things for me and judge them not, but give
Each one a miracle of love instead.
LESSON 350.
Miracles mirror Gods eternal Love.
To offer them is to remember Him,
And through His memory to save the world.
14. What Am I?
LESSON 351.
My sinless brother is my guide to peace.
My sinful brother is my guide to pain.
And which I choose to see I will behold.
LESSON 352.
Judgment and love are opposites.
-
From one Come all the sorrows of the world.
But from The other comes the
peace of God Himself.
LESSON 353.
My eyes, my tongue, my hands,
my feet today Have but one purpose;
to be given Christ To use to bless
the world with miracles.
LESSON 354.
We stand together, Christ and I, in peace
And certainty of purpose. And in Him
Is His Creator, as He is in me.
LESSON 355.
There is no end to all the peace and joy,
And all the miracles that I will give,
When I accept Gods Word. Why not today?
LESSON 356.
Sickness is but another name for sin.
Healing is but another name for God.
The miracle is thus a call to Him.
LESSON 357.
Truth answers every call we make to God,
Responding first with miracles, and then
Returning unto us to be itself.
LESSON 358.
-
No call to God can be unheard nor left
Unanswered. And of this I can be sure;
His answer is the one I really want.
LESSON 359.
Gods answer is some form of peace. All pain
Is healed; all misery replaced with joy.
All prison doors are opened. And all sin
Is understood as merely a mistake.
LESSON 360.
Peace be to me, the holy Son of God.
Peace to my brother, who is one with me.
Let all the world be blessed with peace through us.
FINAL LESSONS.
Introduction
LESSONS 361 to 365.
This holy instant would I give to You. Be You in charge. For I
would follow You, Certain that Your direction gives me peace.
EPILOGUE
MANUAL FOR TEACHERS
INTRODUCTION
1. WHO ARE GODS TEACHERS?
2. WHO ARE THEIR PUPILS?
3. WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF TEACHING?
-
4. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GODS TEACHERS?
I. Trust
A. Development of Trust
II. Honesty
III. Tolerance
IV. Gentleness
V. Joy
VI. Defenselessness
VII. Generosity
VIII. Patience
IX. Faithfulness
X. Open-Mindedness
5. HOW IS HEALING ACCOMPLISHED?
I. The Perceived Purpose of Sickness
II. The Shift in Perception
III. The Function of the Teacher of God
6. IS HEALING CERTAIN?
7. SHOULD HEALING BE REPEATED?
8. HOW CAN PERCEPTION OF ORDER OF DIFFICULTIES BE AVOIDED?
9. ARE CHANGES REQUIRED IN THE LIFE SITUATION OF GODS
TEACHERS?
10. HOW IS JUDGMENT RELINQUISHED?
11. HOW IS PEACE POSSIBLE IN THIS WORLD?
12. HOW MANY TEACHERS OF GOD ARE NEEDED TO SAVE THE WORLD?
13. WHAT IS THE REAL MEANING OF SACRIFICE?
14. HOW WILL THE WORLD END?
-
15. IS EACH ONE TO BE JUDGED IN THE END?
16. HOW SHOULD THE TEACHER OF GOD SPEND HIS DAY?
17. HOW DO GODS TEACHERS DEAL WITH MAGIC THOUGHTS?
18. HOW IS CORRECTION MADE?
19. WHAT IS JUSTICE?
20. WHAT IS THE PEACE OF GOD?
21. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF WORDS IN HEALING?
22. HOW ARE HEALING AND ATONEMENT RELATED?
23. DOES JESUS HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN HEALING?
24. IS REINCARNATION SO?
25. ARE PSYCHIC POWERS DESIRABLE?
26. CAN GOD BE REACHED DIRECTLY?
27. WHAT IS DEATH?
28. WHAT IS THE RESURRECTION?
29. AS FOR THE REST
CLARIFICATION OF TERMS
INTRODUCTION
1. MINDSPIRIT
2. THE EGOTHE MIRACLE
3. FORGIVENESSTHE FACE OF CHRIST
4. TRUE PERCEPTIONKNOWLEDGE
5. JESUS CHRIST
6. THE HOLY SPIRIT
-
EPILOGUE
SUPPLEMENTS
PSYCHOTHERAPY: PURPOSE, PROCESS, PRACTICE
Introduction
1. THE PURPOSE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
Introduction
2. THE PROCESS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
Introduction
I. The Limits on Psychotherapy
II. The Place of Religion in Psychotherapy
III. The Role of the Psychotherapist
IV. The Process of Illness
V. The Process of Healing
VI. The Definition of Healing
VII. The Ideal Patient-Therapist Relationship
3. THE PRACTICE OF PSYCHOTHERAPY
I. The Selection of Patients
II. Is Psychotherapy a Profession?
III. The Question of Payment
-
SONG OF PRAYER
1. PRAYER
Introduction
I. True Prayer
II. The Ladder of Prayer
III. Praying for Others
IV. Praying with Others
V. The Ladder Ends
2. FORGIVENESS
Introduction
I. Forgiveness of Yourself
II. Forgiveness-to-Destroy
III. Forgiveness-for-Salvation
3. HEALING
Introduction
I. The Cause of Sickness
II. False versus True Healing
III. Separation versus Union
IV. The Holiness of Healing
PREFACE
This Preface was written in 1977, in response to many requests
for a brief introduction to A Course in Miracles. The first two
partsHow It Came; What It IsHelen Schucman wrote herself; the final
partWhat It Sayswas written by the process of inner dictation
described in the Preface.
-
How It Came
A Course in Miracles began with the sudden decision of two
people to join in a common goal. Their names were Helen Schucman
and William Thetford, Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia
Universitys College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. It
does not matter who they were, except that thestory shows that with
God all things are possible. They were anything but spiritual.
Their relationship with each other was difficult and often
strained, and they were concerned with personal and professional
acceptance and status. In general, they had considerable investment
in the values of the world. Their lives were hardly in accord with
anything that the Course advocates. Helen, the one who received the
material, describes herself:
Psychologist, educator, conservative in theory and atheistic in
belief, I was working in a prestigious and highly academic setting.
And then something happened that triggered a chain of events I
could never have predicted. The head of my department unexpectedly
announced that he was tired of the angry and aggressive feelings
our attitudes reflected, and concluded that there must be another
way. As if on cue, I agreed to help him find it. Apparently this
Course is the other way.
Although their intention was serious, they had great difficulty
in starting out on their joint venture. But they had given the Holy
Spirit the little willingness that, as the Course itself was to
emphasize again and again, is sufficient to enable Himto use any
situation for His purposes and provide it with His power.
To continue Helens first-person account:
Three startling months preceded the actual writing, during which
time Bill suggested that I write down the highly symbolic dreams
and descriptions of the strange images that were coming to me.
Although I had grown more accustomed to the unexpected by that
time, I was still very surprised when I wrote, This is a course in
miracles. That was my introduction to the Voice. It made no sound,
but seemed to be giving me a kind of rapid, inner dictation which I
took down in ashorthand notebook. The writing was never automatic.
It could be interrupted at any time and later picked up again. It
made me very uncomfortable, but it never seriously occurred to me
to stop. It seemed to be a special assignment I had somehow,
somewhere agreed to complete. It represented a truly collaborative
venture between Bill and myself, and much of its significance, I am
sure, lies in that. I would take down what the Voice said and read
it to him the next day, and he typed it from my dictation. I expect
he had his special assignment, too. Without his encouragement and
support I would never have been able to fulfill mine. The whole
process took about seven years. The Text came first, then the
Workbook for Students, and finally the Manual for Teachers. Only a
few minor changes have been made. Chapter titles and subheadings
have been inserted in the Text, and some of the more personal
references that occurred at the beginning have been omitted.
Otherwise the material is substantially unchanged.
The names of the collaborators in the recording of the Course do
not appear on the cover because the Course can and should stand on
its own. It is not intended
-
to become the basis for another cult. Its only purpose is to
provide a way in whichsome people will be able to find their own
Internal Teacher.
What It Is
As its title implies, the Course is arranged throughout as a
teaching device. It consists of three books: a 669-page Text, a
488-page Workbook for Students, anda 92-page Manual for Teachers.
The order in which students choose to use the books, and the ways
in which they study them, depend on their particular needs and
preferences.
The curriculum the Course proposes is carefully conceived and is
explained, step by step, at both the theoretical and practical
levels. It emphasizes application rather than theory, and
experience rather than theology. It specifically states thata
universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience is not
only possiblebut necessary (Manual, p. 77). Although Christian in
statement, the Course deals with universal spiritual themes. It
emphasizes that it is but one version of the universal curriculum.
There are many others, this one differing from them only in form.
They all lead to God in the end.
The Text is largely theoretical, and sets forth the concepts on
which the Courses thought system is based. Its ideas contain the
foundation for the Workbooks lessons. Without the practical
application the Workbook provides, the Text would remain largely a
series of abstractions which would hardly suffice to bring about
the thought reversal at which the Course aims.
The Workbook includes 365 lessons, one for each day of the year.
It is not necessary, however, to do the lessons at that tempo, and
one might want to remain with a particularly appealing lesson for
more than one day. The instructions urge only that not more than
one lesson a day should be attempted. The practical nature of the
Workbook is underscored by the introduction to its lessons, which
emphasizes experience through application rather than a prior
commitment to a spiritual goal:
Some of the ideas the workbook presents you will find hard to
believe, and others may seem to be quite startling. This does not
matter. You are merely asked to apply the ideas as you are directed
to do. You are not asked to judge them at all. You are asked only
to use them. It is their use that will give them meaning to you,and
will show you that they are true.
Remember only this; you need not believe the ideas, you need not
accept them, and you need not even welcome them. Some of them you
may actively resist. None of this will matter, or decrease their
efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying
the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever yourreactions to the
ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required
(Workbook, p. 2).
Finally, the Manual for Teachers, which is written in question
and answer form, provides answers to some of the more likely
questions a student might ask. It also includes a clarification of
a number of the terms the Course uses, explaining
-
them within the theoretical framework of the Text.
The Course makes no claim to finality, nor are the Workbook
lessons intended to bring the students learning to completion. At
the end, the reader is left in the hands of his or her own Internal
Teacher, Who will direct all subsequent learning as He sees fit.
While the Course is comprehensive in scope, truth cannot be limited
to any finite form, as is clearly recognized in the statement at
the end of the Workbook:
This Course is a beginning, not an endNo more specific lessons
are assigned, for there is no more need of them. Henceforth, hear
but the Voice for GodHe will direct your efforts, telling you
exactly what to do, how to direct your mind, and when to come to
Him in silence, asking for His sure direction and His certainWord
(Workbook, p. 487).
What It Says
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
This is how A Course in Miracles begins. It makes a fundamental
distinction between the real and the unreal; between knowledge and
perception. Knowledge is truth, under one law, the law of love or
God. Truth is unalterable, eternal and unambiguous. It can be
unrecognized, but it cannot be changed. It applies to everything
that God created, and only what He created is real. It is beyond
learning because it is beyond time and process. It has no opposite;
no beginning and no end. It merely is.
The world of perception, on the other hand, is the world of
time, of change, of beginnings and endings. It is based on
interpretation, not on facts. It is the world of birth and death,
founded on the belief in scarcity, loss, separation and death. It
is learned rather than given, selective in its perceptual emphases,
unstable in its functioning, and inaccurate in its
interpretations.
From knowledge and perception respectively, two distinct thought
systems arise which are opposite in every respect. In the realm of
knowledge no thoughts exist apart from God, because God and His
Creation share one Will. The world of perception, however, is made
by the belief in opposites and separate wills, in perpetual
conflict with each other and with God. What perception sees and
hears appears to be real because it permits into awareness only
what conforms to the wishes of the perceiver. This leads to a world
of illusions, a world which needs constant defense precisely
because it is not real.
When you have been caught in the world of perception you are
caught in a dream. You cannot escape without help, because
everything your senses show merely witnesses to the reality of the
dream. God has provided the Answer, the only Way out, the true
Helper. It is the function of His Voice, His Holy Spirit, to
-
mediate between the two worlds. He can do this because, while on
the one hand He knows the truth, on the other He also recognizes
our illusions, but without believing in them. It is the Holy
Spirits goal to help us escape from the dream world by teaching us
how to reverse our thinking and unlearn our mistakes. Forgiveness
is the Holy Spirits great learning aid in bringing this thought
reversalabout. However, the Course has its own definition of what
forgiveness really is just as it defines the world in its own
way.
The world we see merely reflects our own internal frame of
referencethe dominant ideas, wishes and emotions in our minds.
Projection makes perception (Text, p. 445). We look inside first,
decide the kind of world we want to see and then project that world
outside, making it the truth as we see it. We make it true by our
interpretations of what it is we are seeing. If we are using
perception to justify our own mistakesour anger, our impulses to
attack, our lack of love in whatever form it may takewe will see a
world of evil, destruction, malice, envy and despair. All this we
must learn to forgive, not because we are being good and
charitable, but because what we are seeing is not true. We have
distorted the world by our twisted defenses, and are therefore
seeing what isnot there. As we learn to recognize our perceptual
errors, we also learn to look past them or forgive. At the same
time we are forgiving ourselves, looking past our distorted
self-concepts to the Self That God created in us and as us.
Sin is defined as lack of love (Text, p. 11). Since love is all
there is, sin in the sight of the Holy Spirit is a mistake to be
corrected, rather than an evil to be punished. Our sense of
inadequacy, weakness and incompletion comes from the strong
investment in the scarcity principle that governs the whole world
of illusions. From that point of view, we seek in others what we
feel is wanting in ourselves. We love another in order to get
something ourselves. That, in fact, is what passes for love in the
dream world. There can be no greater mistake than that, for love is
incapable of asking for anything.
Only minds can really join, and whom God has joined no man can
put asunder (Text, p. 356). It is, however, only at the level of
Christ Mind that true union is possible, and has, in fact, never
been lost. The little I seeks to enhance itself by external
approval, external possessions and external love. The Self That God
created needs nothing. It is forever complete, safe, loved and
loving. It seeks to share rather than to get; to extend rather than
project. It has no needs and wantsto join with others out of their
mutual awareness of abundance.
The special relationships of the world are destructive, selfish
and childishly egocentric. Yet, if given to the Holy Spirit, these
relationships can become the holiest things on earththe miracles
that point the way to the return to Heaven. The world uses its
special relationships as a final weapon of exclusion and a
demonstration of separateness. The Holy Spirit transforms them into
perfect lessons in forgiveness and in awakening from the dream.
Each one is an opportunity to let perceptions be healed and errors
corrected. Each one is another chance to forgive oneself by
forgiving the other. And each one becomes still another invitation
to the Holy Spirit and to the remembrance of God.
Perception is a function of the body, and therefore represents a
limit on
-
awareness. Perception sees through the bodys eyes and hears
through the bodysears. It evokes the limited responses which the
body makes. The body appears to be largely self-motivated and
independent, yet it actually responds only to the intentions of the
mind. If the mind wants to use it for attack in any form, it
becomes prey to sickness, age and decay. If the mind accepts the
Holy Spirits purpose for it instead, it becomes a useful way of
communicating with others, invulnerable as long as it is needed,
and to be gently laid by when its use is over. Of itself it is
neutral, as is everything in the world of perception. Whether it is
used for the goals of the ego or the Holy Spirit depends entirely
on what the mind wants.
The opposite of seeing through the bodys eyes is the vision of
Christ, which reflects strength rather than weakness, unity rather
than separation, and love rather than fear. The opposite of hearing
through the bodys ears is communication through the Voice for God,
the Holy Spirit, which abides in each of us. His Voice seems
distant and difficult to hear because the ego, which speaksfor the
little, separated self, seems to be much louder. This is actually
reversed. The Holy Spirit speaks with unmistakable clarity and
overwhelming appeal. No one who does not choose to identify with
the body could possibly be deaf to His messages of release and
hope, nor could he fail to accept joyously the vision of Christ in
glad exchange for his miserable picture of himself.
Christs vision is the Holy Spirits gift, Gods alternative to the
illusion of separation and to the belief in the reality of sin,
guilt and death. It is the one correction for all errors of
perception; the reconciliation of the seeming opposites on which
this world is based. Its kindly light shows all things from another
point of view, reflecting the thought system that arises from
knowledge and making return to God not only possible but
inevitable. What was regarded as injustice done to one by someone
else now becomes a call for help and for union. Sin, sickness and
attack are seen as misperceptions calling for remedy through
gentleness and love. Defenses are laid down because where there is
no attack there is no need for them. Our brothers needs become our
own, because they aretaking the journey with us as we go to God.
Without us they would lose their way.Without them we could never
find our own.
Forgiveness is unknown in Heaven, where the need for it would be
inconceivable. However, in this world, forgiveness is a necessary
correction for all the mistakes that we have made. To offer
forgiveness is the only way for us to have it, for it reflects the
law of Heaven that giving and receiving are the same. Heaven is the
natural state of all the Sons of God as He created them. Such is
their reality forever. It has not changed because it has been
forgotten.
Forgiveness is the means by which we will remember. Through
forgiveness the thinking of the world is reversed. The forgiven
world becomes the gate of Heaven, because by its mercy we can at
last forgive ourselves. Holding no one prisoner to guilt, we become
free. Acknowledging Christ in all our brothers, we recognize His
Presence in ourselves. Forgetting all our misperceptions, and with
nothing from the past to hold us back, we can remember God. Beyond
this, learning cannot go.When we are ready, God Himself will take
the final step in our return to Him.
-
A Course in Miracles
TEXT
INTRODUCTION
T-in.1. This is a course in miracles. It is a required course.
Only the time you takeit is voluntary. Free will does not mean that
you can establish the curriculum. It means only that you can elect
what you want to take at a given time. The course does not aim at
teaching the meaning of love, for that is beyond what can be
taught. It does aim, however, at removing the blocks to the
awareness of loves presence, which is your natural inheritance. The
opposite of love is fear, but whatis all-encompassing can have no
opposite.
T-in.2. This course can therefore be summed up very simply in
this way:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.
Chapter 1.
THE MEANING OF MIRACLES
I. Principles of Miracles
T-1.I.1. There is no order of difficulty in miracles. One is not
harder or bigger than another. They are all the same. All
expressions of love are maximal.
T-1.I.2. Miracles as such do not matter. The only thing that
matters is their Source, which is far beyond evaluation.
T-1.I.3. Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The
real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense
everything that comes from love is a miracle.
T-1.I.4. All miracles mean life, and God is the Giver of life.
His Voice will direct you very specifically. You will be told all
you need to know.
T-1.I.5. Miracles are habits, and should be involuntary. They
should not be under
-
conscious control. Consciously selected miracles can be
misguided.
T-1.I.6. Miracles are natural. When they do not occur something
has gone wrong.
T-1.I.7. Miracles are everyones right, but purification is
necessary first.
T-1.I.8. Miracles are healing because they supply a lack; they
are performed by those who temporarily have more for those who
temporarily have less.
T-1.I.9. Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions
of love, which are always miraculous in the true sense, the
exchange reverses the physical laws. They bring more love both to
the giver and the receiver.
T-1.I.10. The use of miracles as spectacles to induce belief is
a misunderstanding of their purpose.
T-1.I.11. Prayer is the medium of miracles. It is a means of
communication of the created with the Creator. Through prayer love
is received, and through miracles love is expressed.
T-1.I.12. Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent the
lower or bodily level of experience, or the higher or spiritual
level of experience. One makes the physical, and the other creates
the spiritual.
T-1.I.13. Miracles are both beginnings and endings, and so they
alter the temporal order. They are always affirmations of rebirth,
which seem to go back but really go forward. They undo the past in
the present, and thus release the future.
T-1.I.14. Miracles bear witness to truth. They are convincing
because they arise from conviction. Without conviction they
deteriorate into magic, which is mindless and therefore
destructive; or rather, the uncreative use of mind.
T-1.I.15. Each day should be devoted to miracles. The purpose of
time is to enable you to learn how to use time constructively. It
is thus a teaching device and a means to an end. Time will cease
when it is no longer useful in facilitating learning.
T-1.I.16. Miracles are teaching devices for demonstrating it is
as blessed to give as to receive. They simultaneously increase the
strength of the giver and supply strength to the receiver.
T-1.I.17. Miracles transcend the body. They are sudden shifts
into invisibility, away from the bodily level. That is why they
heal.
T-1.I.18. A miracle is a service. It is the maximal service you
can render to another. It is a way of loving your neighbor as
yourself. You recognize your own and your neighbors worth
simultaneously.
T-1.I.19. Miracles make minds osne in God. They depend on
cooperation because
-
the Sonship is the sum of all that God created. Miracles
therefore reflect the laws of eternity, not of time.
T-1.I.20. Miracles reawaken the awareness that the spirit, not
the body, is the altar of truth. This is the recognition that leads
to the healing power of the miracle.
T-1.I.21. Miracles are natural signs of forgiveness. Through
miracles you accept Gods forgiveness by extending it to others.
T-1.I.22. Miracles are associated with fear only because of the
belief that darkness can hide. You believe that what your physical
eyes cannot see does not exist. This leads to a denial of spiritual
sight.
T-1.I.23. Miracles rearrange perception and place all levels in
true perspective. This is healing because sickness comes from
confusing the levels.
T-1.I.24. Miracles enable you to heal the sick and raise the
dead because you made sickness and death yourself, and can
therefore abolish both. You are a miracle, capable of creating in
the likeness of your Creator. Everything else is your own
nightmare, and does not exist. Only the creations of light are
real.
T-1.I.25. Miracles are part of an interlocking chain of
forgiveness which, when completed, is the Atonement. Atonement
works all the time and in all the dimensions of time.
T-1.I.26. Miracles represent freedom from fear. Atoning means
undoing. The undoing of fear is an essential part of the Atonement
value of miracles.
T-1.I.27. A miracle is a universal blessing from God through me
to all my brothers. It is the privilege of the forgiven to
forgive.
T-1.I.28. Miracles are a way of earning release from fear.
Revelation induces a state in which fear has already been
abolished. Miracles are thus a means and revelation is an end.
T-1.I.29. Miracles praise God through you. They praise Him by
honoring His creations, affirming their perfection. They heal
because they deny body-identification and affirm
spirit-identification.
T-1.I.30. By recognizing spirit, miracles adjust the levels of
perception and show them in proper alignment. This places spirit at
the center, where it can communicate directly.
T-1.I.31. Miracles should inspire gratitude, not awe. You should
thank God for what you really are. The children of God are holy and
the miracle honors their holiness, which can be hidden but never
lost.
T-1.I.32. I inspire all miracles, which are really
intercessions. They intercede for your holiness and make your
perceptions holy. By placing you beyond the
-
physical laws they raise you into the sphere of celestial order.
In this order you are perfect.
T-1.I.33. Miracles honor you because you are lovable. They
dispel illusions about yourself and perceive the light in you. They
thus atone for your errors by freeing you from your nightmares. By
releasing your mind from the imprisonment of yourillusions, they
restore your sanity.
T-1.I.34. Miracles restore the mind to its fullness. By atoning
for lack they establish perfect protection. The spirits strength
leaves no room for intrusions.
T-1.I.35. Miracles are expressions of love, but they may not
always have observable effects.
T-1.I.36. Miracles are examples of right thinking, aligning your
perceptions with truth as God created it.
T-1.I.37. A miracle is a correction introduced into false
thinking by me. It acts as a catalyst, breaking up erroneous
perception and reorganizing it properly. This places you under the
Atonement principle, where perception is healed. Until this has
occurred, knowledge of the Divine Order is impossible.
T-1.I.38. The Holy Spirit is the mechanism of miracles. He
recognizes both Gods creations and your illusions. He separates the
true from the false by His ability toperceive totally rather than
selectively.
T-1.I.39. The miracle dissolves error because the Holy Spirit
identifies error as false or unreal. This is the same as saying
that by perceiving light, darkness automatically disappears.
T-1.I.40. The miracle acknowledges everyone as your brother and
mine. It is a way of perceiving the universal mark of God.
T-1.I.41. Wholeness is the perceptual content of miracles. They
thus correct, or atone for, the faulty perception of lack.
T-1.I.42. A major contribution of miracles is their strength in
releasing you from your false sense of isolation, deprivation and
lack.
T-1.I.43. Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind, or a
state of miracle-readiness.
T-1.I.44. The miracle is an expression of an inner awareness of
Christ and the acceptance of His Atonement.
T-1.I.45. A miracle is never lost. It may touch many people you
have not even met, and produce undreamed of changes in situations
of which you are not even aware.
T-1.I.46. The Holy Spirit is the highest communication medium.
Miracles do not
-
involve this type of communication, because they are temporary
communication devices. When you return to your original form of
communication with God by direct revelation, the need for miracles
is over.
T-1.I.47. The miracle is a learning device that lessens the need
for time. It establishes an out-of-pattern time interval not under
the usual laws of time. In this sense it is timeless.
T-1.I.48. The miracle is the only device at your immediate
disposal for controlling time. Only revelation transcends it,
having nothing to do with time at all.
T-1.I.49. The miracle makes no distinction among degrees of
misperception. It is a device for perception correction, effective
quite apart from either the degree or the direction of the error.
This is its true indiscriminateness.
T-1.I.50. The miracle compares what you have made with creation,
accepting what is in accord with it as true, and rejecting what is
out of accord as false.
II. Revelation, Time and Miracles
T-1.II.1. Revelation induces complete but temporary suspension
of doubt and fear. It reflects the original form of communication
between God and His creations, involving the extremely personal
sense of creation sometimes sought inphysical relationships.
Physical closeness cannot achieve it. Miracles, however, are
genuinely interpersonal, and result in true closeness to others.
Revelation unites you directly with God. Miracles unite you
directly with your brother. Neither emanates from consciousness,
but both are experienced there. Consciousness is the state that
induces action, though it does not inspire it. You are free to
believe what you choose, and what you do attests to what you
believe.
T-1.II.2. Revelation is intensely personal and cannot be
meaningfully translated. That is why any attempt to describe it in
words is impossible. Revelation induces only experience. Miracles,
on the other hand, induce action. They are more usefulnow because
of their interpersonal nature. In this phase of learning, working
miracles is important because freedom from fear cannot be thrust
upon you. Revelation is literally unspeakable because it is an
experience of unspeakable love.
T-1.II.3. Awe should be reserved for revelation, to which it is
perfectly and correctly applicable. It is not appropriate for
miracles because a state of awe is worshipful, implying that one of
a lesser order stands before his Creator. You are a perfect
creation, and should experience awe only in the Presence of the
Creator of perfection. The miracle is therefore a sign of love
among equals. Equals should not be in awe of one another because
awe implies inequality. It is therefore an inappropriate reaction
to me. An elder brother is entitled to respect for his
greaterexperience, and obedience for his greater wisdom. He is also
entitled to love because he is a brother, and to devotion if he is
devoted. It is only my devotion that entitles me to yours. There is
nothing about me that you cannot attain. I have nothing that does
not come from God. The difference between us now is thatI have
nothing else. This leaves me in a state which is only potential in
you.
-
T-1.II.4. No man cometh unto the Father but by me does not mean
that I am in any way separate or different from you except in time,
and time does not really exist. The statement is more meaningful in
terms of a vertical rather than a horizontal axis. You stand below
me and I stand below God. In the process of rising up, I am higher
because without me the distance between God and man would be too
great for you to encompass. I bridge the distance as an elder
brotherto you on the one hand, and as a Son of God on the other. My
devotion to my brothers has placed me in charge of the Sonship,
which I render complete because I share it. This may appear to
contradict the statement I and my Father are one, but there are two
parts to the statement in recognition that the Father is
greater.
T-1.II.5. Revelations are indirectly inspired by me because I am
close to the Holy Spirit, and alert to the revelation-readiness of
my brothers. I can thus bring downto them more than they can draw
down to themselves. The Holy Spirit mediates higher to lower
communication, keeping the direct channel from God to you open for
revelation. Revelation is not reciprocal. It proceeds from God to
you, but not from you to God.
T-1.II.6. The miracle minimizes the need for time. In the
longitudinal or horizontalplane the recognition of the equality of
the members of the Sonship appears to involve almost endless time.
However, the miracle entails a sudden shift from horizontal to
vertical perception. This introduces an interval from which the
giver and receiver both emerge farther along in time than they
would otherwise have been. The miracle thus has the unique property
of abolishing time to the extent that it renders the interval of
time it spans unnecessary. There is no relationship between the
time a miracle takes and the time it covers. The miracle
substitutes for learning that might have taken thousands of years.
It does so by the underlying recognition of perfect equality of
giver and receiver on which the miracle rests. The miracle shortens
time by collapsing it, thus eliminating certain intervals within
it. It does this, however, within the larger temporal sequence.
III. Atonement and Miracles
T-1.III.1. I am in charge of the process of Atonement, which I
undertook to begin. When you offer a miracle to any of my brothers,
you do it to yourself and me. The reason you come before me is that
I do not need miracles for my own Atonement, but I stand at the end
in case you fail temporarily. My part in the Atonement is the
cancelling out of all errors that you could not otherwise correct.
When you have been restored to the recognition of your original
state, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself. As you
share my unwillingness to accept error in yourself and others, you
must join the great crusade to correct it; listen to my voice,
learn to undo error and act to correct it. The power to work
miracles belongs to you. I will provide the opportunities to do
them, but you must be readyand willing. Doing them will bring
conviction in the ability, because conviction comes through
accomplishment. The ability is the potential, the achievement is
its expression, and the Atonement, which is the natural profession
of the childrenof God, is the purpose.
-
T-1.III.2. Heaven and earth shall pass away means that they will
not continue toexist as separate states. My word, which is the
resurrection and the life, shall notpass away because life is
eternal. You are the work of God, and His work is wholly lovable
and wholly loving. This is how a man must think of himself in his
heart, because this is what he is.
T-1.III.3. The forgiven are the means of the Atonement. Being
filled with spirit, they forgive in return. Those who are released
must join in releasing their brothers, for this is the plan of the
Atonement. Miracles are the way in which minds that serve the Holy
Spirit unite with me for the salvation or release of all ofGods
creations.
T-1.III.4. I am the only one who can perform miracles
indiscriminately, because I am the Atonement. You have a role in
the Atonement which I will dictate to you. Ask me which miracles
you should perform. This spares you needless effort, because you
will be acting under direct communication. The impersonal nature
ofthe miracle is an essential ingredient, because it enables me to
direct its application, and under my guidance miracles lead to the
highly personal experience of revelation. A guide does not control
but he does direct, leaving it up to you to follow. Lead us not
into temptation means Recognize your errors and choose to abandon
them by following my guidance.
T-1.III.5. Error cannot really threaten truth, which can always
withstand it. Only the error is actually vulnerable. You are free
to establish your kingdom where yousee fit, but the right choice is
inevitable if you remember this:
Spirit is in a state of grace forever.
Your reality is only spirit.
Therefore you are in a state of grace forever.
Atonement undoes all errors in this respect, and thus uproots
the source of fear. Whenever you experience Gods reassurances as
threat, it is always because you are defending misplaced or
misdirected loyalty. When you project this to others you imprison
them, but only to the extent to which you reinforce errors they
havealready made. This makes them vulnerable to the distortions of
others, since their own perception of themselves is distorted. The
miracle worker can only blessthem, and this undoes their
distortions and frees them from prison.
T-1.III.6. You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive
so shall you behave. The Golden Rule asks you to do unto others as
you would have them do unto you. This means that the perception of
both must be accurate. The Golden Rule is the rule for appropriate
behavior. You cannot behave appropriately unlessyou perceive
correctly. Since you and your neighbor are equal members of one
family, as you perceive both so you will do to both. You should
look out from the perception of your own holiness to the holiness
of others.
T-1.III.7. Miracles arise from a mind that is ready for them. By
being united this mind goes out to everyone, even without the
awareness of the miracle worker
-
himself. The impersonal nature of miracles is because the
Atonement itself is one,uniting all creations with their Creator.
As an expression of what you truly are, the miracle places the mind
in a state of grace. The mind then naturally welcomes the Host
within and the stranger without. When you bring in the stranger, he
becomes your brother.
T-1.III.8. That the miracle may have effects on your brothers
that you may not recognize is not your concern. The miracle will
always bless you. Miracles you arenot asked to perform have not
lost their value. They are still expressions of your own state of
grace, but the action aspect of the miracle should be controlled by
me because of my complete awareness of the whole plan. The
impersonal nature of miracle-mindedness ensures your grace, but
only I am in a position to know where they can be bestowed.
T-1.III.9. Miracles are selective only in the sense that they
are directed towards those who can use them for themselves. Since
this makes it inevitable that they will extend them to others, a
strong chain of Atonement is welded. However, this selectivity
takes no account of the magnitude of the miracle itself, because
the concept of size exists on a plane that is itself unreal. Since
the miracle aims at restoring the awareness of reality, it would
not be useful if it were bound by laws that govern the error it
aims to correct.
IV. The Escape from Darkness
T-1.IV.1. The escape from darkness involves two stages: First,
the recognition that darkness cannot hide. This step usually
entails fear. Second, the recognition that there is nothing you
want to hide even if you could. This step brings escape from fear.
When you have become willing to hide nothing, you will not only be
willing to enter into communion but will also understand peace and
joy.
T-1.IV.2. Holiness can never be really hidden in darkness, but
you can deceive yourself about it. This deception makes you fearful
because you realize in your heart it is a deception, and you exert
enormous efforts to establish its reality. Themiracle sets reality
where it belongs. Reality belongs only to spirit, and the miracle
acknowledges only truth. It thus dispels illusions about yourself,
and puts you in communion with yourself and God. The miracle joins
in the Atonement by placing the mind in the service of the Holy
Spirit. This establishes the proper function of the mind and
corrects its errors, which are merely lacks of love. Your mind can
be possessed by illusions, but spirit is eternally free. If a mind
perceives without love, it perceives an empty shell and is unaware
of the spirit within. But the Atonement restores spirit to its
proper place. The mind that serves spirit is invulnerable.
T-1.IV.3. Darkness is lack of light as sin is lack of love. It
has no unique properties of its own. It is an example of the
scarcity belief, from which only error can proceed. Truth is always
abundant. Those who perceive and acknowledge that they have
everything have no needs of any kind. The purpose ofthe Atonement
is to restore everything to you; or rather, to restore it to your
awareness. You were given everything when you were created, just as
everyone was.
-
T-1.IV.4. The emptiness engendered by fear must be replaced by
forgiveness. Thatis what the Bible means by There is no death, and
why I could demonstrate thatdeath does not exist. I came to fulfill
the law by reinterpreting it. The law itself, if properly
understood, offers only protection. It is those who have not yet
changed their minds who brought the hell-fire concept into it. I
assure you that I will witness for anyone who lets me, and to
whatever extent he permits it. Your witnessing demonstrates your
belief, and thus strengthens it. Those who witness for me are
expressing, through their miracles, that they have abandoned the
belief in deprivation in favor of the abundance they have learned
belongs to them.
V. Wholeness and Spirit
T-1.V.1. The miracle is much like the body in that both are
learning aids for facilitating a state in which they become
unnecessary. When spirits original stateof direct communication is
reached, neither the body nor the miracle serves any purpose. While
you believe you are in a body, however, you can choose between
loveless and miraculous channels of expression. You can make an
empty shell, but you cannot express nothing at all. You can wait,
delay, paralyze yourself, or reduce your creativity almost to
nothing. But you cannot abolish it. You can destroy your medium of
communication, but not your potential. You did not create
yourself.
T-1.V.2. The basic decision of the miracle-minded is not to wait
on time any longer than is necessary. Time can waste as well as be
wasted. The miracle worker, therefore, accepts the time-control
factor gladly. He recognizes that every collapse of time brings
everyone closer to the ultimate release from time, in whichthe Son
and the Father are One. Equality does not imply equality now. When
everyone recognizes that he has everything, individual
contributions to the Sonship will no longer be necessary.
T-1.V.3. When the Atonement has been completed, all talents will
be shared by allthe Sons of God. God is not partial. All His
children have His total Love, and all His gifts are freely given to
everyone alike. Except ye become as little children means that
unless you fully recognize your complete dependence on God, you
cannot know the real power of the Son in his true relationship with
the Father. The specialness of Gods Sons does not stem from
exclusion but from inclusion. All my brothers are special. If they
believe they are deprived of anything, their perception becomes
distorted. When this occurs the whole family of God, or the
Sonship, is impaired in its relationships.
T-1.V.4. Ultimately, every member of the family of God must
return. The miracle calls him to return because it blesses and
honors him, even though he may be absent in spirit. God is not
mocked is not a warning but a reassurance. God would be mocked if
any of His creations lacked holiness. The creation is whole, and
the mark of wholeness is holiness. Miracles are affirmations of
Sonship, which is a state of completion and abundance.
T-1.V.5. Whatever is true is eternal, and cannot change or be
changed. Spirit is therefore unalterable because it is already
perfect, but the mind can elect what it
-
chooses to serve. The only limit put on its choice is that it
cannot serve two masters. If it elects to do so, the mind can
become the medium by which spirit creates along the line of its own
creation. If it does not freely elect to do so, it retains its
creative potential but places itself under tyrannous rather than
Authoritative control. As a result it imprisons, because such are
the dictates of tyrants. To change your mind means to place it at
the disposal of true Authority.
T-1.V.6. The miracle is a sign that the mind has chosen to be
led by me in Christs service. The abundance of Christ is the
natural result of choosing to follow Him. All shallow roots must be
uprooted, because they are not deep enough to sustain you. The
illusion that shallow roots can be deepened, and thusmade to hold,
is one of the distortions on which the reverse of the Golden Rule
rests. As these false underpinnings are given up, the equilibrium
is temporarily experienced as unstable. However, nothing is less
stable than an upside-down orientation. Nor can anything that holds
it upside down be conducive to increased stability.
VI. The Illusion of Needs
T-1.VI.1. You who want peace can find it only by complete
forgiveness. No learning is acquired by anyone unless he wants to
learn it and believes in some way that he needs it. While lack does
not exist in the creation of God, it is very apparent in what you
have made. It is, in fact, the essential difference between them.
Lack implies that you would be better off in a state somehow
different fromthe one you are in. Until the separation, which is
the meaning of the fall, nothing was lacking. There were no needs
at all. Needs arise only when you deprive yourself. You act
according to the particular order of needs you establish. This, in
turn, depends on your perception of what you are.
T-1.VI.2. A sense of separation from God is the only lack you
really need correct. This sense of separation would never have
arisen if you had not distorted your perception of truth, and had
thus perceived yourself as lacking. The idea of order of needs
arose because, having made this fundamental error, you had already
fragmented yourself into levels with different needs. As you
integrate you become one, and your needs become one accordingly.
Unified needs lead to unified action, because this produces a lack
of conflict.
T-1.VI.3. The idea of orders of need, which follows from the
original error that onecan be separated from God, requires
correction at its own level before the error of perceiving levels
at all can be corrected. You cannot behave effectively while you
function on different levels. However, while you do, correction
must be introducedvertically from the bottom up. This is because
you think you live in space, where concepts such as up and down are
meaningful. Ultimately, space is as meaningless as time. Both are
merely beliefs.
T-1.VI.4. The real purpose of this world is to use it to correct
your unbelief. You can never control the effects of fear yourself,
because you made fear, and you believe in what you made. In
attitude, then, though not in content, you resemble your Creator,
Who has perfect faith in His creations because He created them.
Belief produces the acceptance of existence. That is why you can
believe what no
-
one else thinks is true. It is true for you because it was made
by you.
T-1.VI.5. All aspects of fear are untrue because they do not
exist at the creative level, and therefore do not exist at all. To
whatever extent you are willing to submit your beliefs to this
test, to that extent are your perceptions corrected. In sorting out
the false from the true, the miracle proceeds along these
lines:
Perfect love casts out fear.
If fear exists,
Then there is not perfect love.
But:
Only perfect love exists.
If there is fear,
It produces a state that does not exist.
Believe this and you will be free. Only God can establish this
solution, and this faith is His gift.
VII. Distortions of Miracle Impulses
T-1.VII.1. Your distorted perceptions produce a dense cover over
miracle impulses, making it hard for them to reach your own
awareness. The confusion ofmiracle impulses with physical impulses
is a major perceptual distortion. Physical impulses are misdirected
miracle impulses. All real pleasure comes from doing Gods Will.
This is because not doing it is a denial of Self. Denial of Self
results in illusions, while correction of the error brings release
from it. Do not deceive yourself into believing that you can relate
in peace to God or to your brothers with anything external.
T-1.VII.2. Child of God, you were created to create the good,
the beautiful and theholy. Do not forget this. The Love of God, for
a little while, must still be expressedthrough one body to another,
because vision is still so dim. You can use your body best to help
you enlarge your perception so you can achieve real vision, of
which the physical eye is incapable. Learning to do this is the
bodys only true usefulness.
T-1.VII.3. Fantasy is a distorted form of vision. Fantasies of
any kind are distortions, because they always involve twisting
perception into unreality. Actions that stem from distortions are
literally the reactions of those who know not what they do. Fantasy
is an attempt to control reality according to false needs. Twist
reality in any way and you are perceiving destructively. Fantasies
are a means of making false associations and attempting to obtain
pleasure from them. But although you can perceive false
associations, you can never make them real except to yourself. You
believe in what you make. If you offer miracles,
-
you will be equally strong in your belief in them. The strength
of your conviction will then sustain the belief of the miracle
receiver. Fantasies become totally unnecessary as the wholly
satisfying nature of reality becomes apparent to both giver and
receiver. Reality is lost through usurpation, which produces
tyranny. As long as a single slave remains to walk the earth, your
release is not complete. Complete restoration of the Sonship is the
only goal of the miracle-minded.
T-1.VII.4. This is a course in mind training. All learning
involves attention and study at some level. Some of the later parts
of the course rest too heavily on theseearlier sections not to
require their careful study. You will also need them