A Course in Miracles: Based On The Original Handwritten Notes Of Helen Schucman--Complete & Annotated Edition [paperback] Helen Schucman [Jun 17, 2021]

I already know very well, the 3rd edition from the Foundation for Inner Peace. I have also knwon the urtext existed and had glanced at bits of it once. This version, which is closer to being an original before the many revisions into more formal and poetic language, is very interesting. The more I read it, the more different it seems from the 3rd edition. For instance, there are many notes inbetween the lines of the Course. These notes seem to be Helens imbedded notes, most of which seem to be Jesus adding his commentary on what is already his own dictation. There are also 30 essays in the back, that I dont think most ACIM students have ever read. These essays reveal more about Helen and her interactions with Jesus. And there footnotes on almost every page on what bible verses the lines in the Course is referring to. I find this also fascination, given that most students prefer to think of the ACIM as some sort of New Age text, rather than a christian text. The Course itself seems to teach that it is Jesus giving the correct interpretations on a religion that has been misinterpreted because of the ego. In this sense, the Course is "christian" and is correcting misinterpretations on christianity. I find this version to be more grounded in guiding us in this world in how to have miracles in our daily lives. The whole book feels more like a psychology workbook. I think this is good. For anyone thinking about reading the Course, or is struggling with the text, I highly recommend that you flip around to interesting titles and sections that appeal to you. The Course is a complete thought system, and understanding any chunk of it, will have you understand most of it. I think the Course should not be read in order, in fact I have always hated chapter one, and have always thought of it as an awkward chapter, when the real content seems to start in the section of the atonement and the undoing of fear. The Course says to read the book in a certain order, and do the lessons once a day. I completely dont do this. I read multiple lessons in one reading, especially the prayers and affirmations in the workbook. I read different titles and sections. Again, some part are easier to read than others, and the book doesn't necessary start of easy or get harder as you progress. Many sections towards the end of the main text or just as easy to understand as some chapters near the beginning. The more you flip around, the smaller the book will seem to you. I think most student s would benefit from reading the 3rd edition first, as this addition seems to be more of notes and commentary on the Course. since its a Course on the Course, it could technically be deemed as a "meta-course" on A Course In Miracles.

For students of ACIM, one frequent question is “Which edition should I read?”. The “complete and annotated edition” is excellent due to: 1) addition of cameos that help show the principles unfolding in everyday life (mainly specific examples from the lives of Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford); 2) Many useful explanations,elaborations and references in yhe numerous footnotes; 3) Closer adherence to the words as originally transcribed in Helen Schucman’s dictations from Jesus (as contrasted with later editorial decisions to delete sections and change wording). The chief editor brings around 40 years of acim study to the task. The only drawback is the thinness/fragility of the paper. Thicker paper would be hardier. However, the book is already heavy and close the 2000 pages, and a book with “sturdy” paper would probably require a professional weight-lifter to move it. So, can see why the publishers chose parchment-thin paper.

I am grateful to Robert Perry and the team at Circle of Atonement for several reasons. 1. A complete and faithfully restored version of ACIM - The Purple Book - which restores 40,000 words that were left out of the original 1976 publication. It is THE definitive version to get for serious Course students, in my opinion. 2. Robert’s tendency to NOT interpret the Course. When a question arises, he invariably says, “Well, let’s see what the Course says about this…” and doesn’t make stuff up that isn’t word-for-word in the Course. That’s a rare quality in teachers I don’t often see. 3. The wonderful ACIM CE App, which includes the entire book and audiobook for free, but I would highly recommend donating whatever you can to support this magnificent effort. 4. The many great articles you can find on circleofa.org that adds clarity to one’s study of the Course. Whenever I have a question about a point in the Course I don’t understand, I google the question, adding circleofa.org to the search box, and there’s usually a well-thought-out article written on the subject. 5. A great podcast that points out the many mistakes that Course students make, and how to correct these, as well as thought-provoking discussions and Course history that further enriches one’s personal study. 6. The Cameos included in the Purple Book, which provide relatable case studies of how Helen and Bill personally struggled with this material as they were getting it all down on paper. It adds a personal dimension not included in the Blue Book that is incredibly helpful for students, and they are very enjoyable as well. 7. Did I leave anything out? Oh yeah, you guys ROCK! Thank you so much, with much love and gratitude, from a long-time student of the Course. I simply can’t thank you enough for all your hard work.

It has helped me heal my life in ways I never thought possible, and it continues to teach me each and every day. I have all the different editions and, without a doubt, the new A Course in Miracles Complete & Annotated Edition, published earlier this year by Circle of Atonement, is the easiest of all the different editions to study and understand. It is based on Helen Schucman’s handwritten notes. • The other editions of A Course in Miracles (ACIM) have been edited to various degrees and the Complete & Annotated Edition gets you back to what was originally in Helen’s notes. It is organized extremely well. • It begins with a 28-page, easy-to-read, Table of Contents. • The page numbering goes through the entire book. It doesn’t start over at the Workbook or Manual for Teachers. This is so helpful, I can’t even begin to tell you! • The Workbook Lessons are formatted so that you can effortlessly glance at the current lesson throughout the day and see the main exercises and applications. Many days, I keep my book open to the lesson to take a quick peak whenever I pass by. I can do this so easily because of the formatting. • The Text contains innumerable, valuable footnotes that help to put it into context with the Bible and other historical references as well as clarify potentially confusing content. • The formatting of both the Manual for Teachers and Clarification of Terms make them extremely user-friendly. These two documents also include countless, useful footnotes. There are a number of introductory sections that are beneficial to the new ACIM student.For, example, the section “What is ‘A Course in Miracles?’” provides a concise and easy-to-follow history of how it came to be, how it is organized, and briefly what it teaches. Appendix I is delightful with its 33 Cameo Essays covering general topics found in ACIM. Written by the editor Robert Perry, these come together to create a book within the book. They bring Helen and William Thetford to life and, to me, make ACIM in its entirety more real. Appendix II presents an exploration of the history of the many ACIM editions and this brings everything into perspective as to why this new edition was necessary and what all went into its creation. Also included is a straightforward and complete glossary. If you are new to ACIM or have struggled to get into it in the past, I would highly recommend you give this new edition a try!

The Circle of Atonement has recently released a fantastic new resource for lovers of A Course in Miracles, an edition based on the original handwritten notes of Helen Schucman. Robert Perry, editor, and Greg Mackie, assistant editor, assembled a team of experts who worked over ten years on this edition. It is truly a labor of love on their part. Masterfully done, it restores some 45,000 words to the second edition published by the Foundation for Inner Peace in 1992 (and republished, with Helen’s supplements, in 2007). I came to know of this edition from Lisa Natoli of the Teachers of God Foundation, a foundation supporting the work of those who love A Course in Miracles. I was surprised when I read that this new edition is the one that she will now use, even though she had earlier felt that the FIP edition was sufficient. On the strength of this recommendation, I purchased the new edition by the Circle of Atonement, billed as a “complete & annotated edition,” and since reading it obsessively for several days, I have become completely enthralled with what I find. First and foremost are the 45,000 restored words to A Course in Miracles. Several chapters in the beginning part of the Text, particularly, were at issue. One’s understanding of miracles as expressions of love will be much enhanced. Throughout the new edition (almost 2,000 pages) there are substantive footnotes on almost every page, well-written, cogent, respectful to the original. In going back to notes of Helen, we can even now see what words Jesus emphasized when he was speaking as an internal voice. These words are faintly underlined, making me feel that I were listening to Jesus himself. Cameo essays are in the back of the volume, cameos that highlight the very personal nature of some of Jesus’s words to Helen and to Bill Thetford. In keeping with Jesus’s professed intentions, the personal words to Helen and Bill were not included in the Course proper, but are described in some detail in 33 cameos. Why this new edition seemed necessary is covered in detail in an appendix. I read this with great interest, and concluded that Robert, Greg, and their team were right: A complete and annotated edition is needed. The new edition is available for $48 from the Circle of Atonement; also available from Amazon. This is simply a fantastic editorial feat. Recommended most enthusiastically by a long-time lover of A Course in Miracles. --- Celia Hales, Ph.D., has studied A Course in Miracles since 1981. She is the author of the long-running, almost-daily, blog entitled, “Miracles Each Day.”

February 2, 2018 I bought the hardcover edition of A Course In Miracles – Complete & Annotated Edition (C&A) from Amazon early in 2017 soon after its launch and, having just completed a 12 month’s study program covering its Text, it seemed to me that it was now appropriate to update my original review of the book. The Complete & Annotated Edition of this spiritual masterpiece is the result of nearly 10 years work by Robert Perry and his team at the Circle of Atonement. Helen Schucman’s original shorthand notes have been studiously translated and checked; dictation previously excluded or edited out has been inserted; editing errors corrected etc. resulting in about 45,000 words being added, compared to the earlier editions. The underlying principle of Perry and his team in creating the C&A Edition, was total fidelity to Helen’s original notes I have been struggling with the Course for over 25 years, mainly due to my own resistance to its teachings and application, but also because I have had great difficulty in understanding the Text, especially the early chapters. For example, Chapter 1, Section 1, the Principles of Miracles, seemed to me to be as unfathomable as Egyptian hieroglyphics. For whatever reasons, much of Helen’s dictation for this section (and for other early chapters) was never published in the earlier editions. This has been rectified in the C&A Edition, and what a difference it has made to my understanding of the Course! Indeed, it is now clear that the Principles of Miracles is absolutely foundational to all else that follows in the Course. As well as the addition of previously excluded material and correction of errors etc. Perry and team have included extensive explanatory Footnotes. I found these very helpful in enhancing my understanding of the Text. Also included are 33 essays (Cameos), primarily about personal messages dictated to Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford (her associate who originally typed up her notes) to assist them with understanding and applying the Course’s teachings. These are fascinating and it is surprising how many obstacles Helen and Bill placed in the way of practising the Course that are similar to those confronting me. So where am I after 12 month’s study of the C&A Edition? It seems to me that my understanding of the Course has increased exponentially. Course Companions (coursecompanions.com), which came into existence around the time the new hardcover edition was published in the USA/UK, has provided me with invaluable support. Perry’s daily commentaries there on the Text and Workbook lessons have enhanced my understanding and practice considerably. Also his weekly recordings with Emily Bennington are invaluable. So, for those of you who are experienced Course students, or for newcomers to A Course In Miracles, I suggest you do yourself a favour and get a copy of the A Course In Miracles - Complete & Annotated Edition. I don’t think you will be disappointed. Five Stars Are Not Enough!

LOVE IT - But I came here to post the COA really and I mean, REALLY needs to make a pocket edition of the workbook because lugging around a 2001 page book can be... Well heavy. Great work COA, It reads better than the FIP! Thanks

This book has changed my life! The footnotes are extremely helpful! Weird the FIP version would take out the entire section on Karma…?? if you want to take the course, get THIS version! 🙏💕

Het is een cursus met theorie, oefeningen en handleiding voor leraren. Het geeft een nieuw inzicht in de werkelijke lessen van Jezus, op een moderne manier gebracht, zonder de veranderingen, misinterpertaties uit hetverleden. Het is de weg naar en moderne vorm van Gnosis, het weten, een weg terug naar het Godelijke, of het Universele Bewustzijn. Omdat het geschreven is in de Chistelijke vorm, was het lastig om de gebruikte termen in voor mij meer universele namen en begrippen te vertalen. Ik kan het boek aanbevelen aan iedereen met een welgemeende interesse in spiritualiteit, maar vooral aan mensen die bewust de stap willen nemen naar een weg van liefde terug naar de zuivere bron. Na lang zoeken is dit boek, deze cursus, en doel en een manier van leven.

I've only just discovered the Course in Miracles, but I'm very happy to have found very quickly that there were large pieces omitted in the original edition, and I have great admiration and gratitude for the work that went into this new edition, which aspires to give the text as close as possible to the original. The cameo essays are a great addition and help in understanding the context of the original text. Thanks!

Mejor que la edición de FIP

I thoroughly recommend anyone who has studied A Course In Miracles, but who hasn't seen this new edition to get this one. There is so much in this edition that was edited out of the FIP editions, and so much more, that the experience is so much richer. The footnotes, the additional cameo articles that show how Helen and Bill put the principles of the Course into practice, and the additional material that has never been published before make this a truly wonderful experience. An extra 45 000 words, that provide much more depth to these incredible teachings. The Circle of Atonement, with Robert Perry as the lead teacher, has provided a wonderful edition of this book. Robert has worked with the Course for around forty years, and his depth of understanding and gentle teaching style makes studying the Course a never ending treasure. For those who have never read the original editions I would also recommend you begin with this. I would give it a million stars if I could!

The materials used for making this book have a quality out of ordinary. The content is, in my opinion, another point of view of the Law of One, but presented from the perspective of Christianity. The book is valuable for a person that comes from a Bible centred religious system. It tries to clarify the Christian fundamental religious concepts, from the point of view of a loving Jesus and a loving God. It explains why the concepts like fear, anger, sin and judgment day, all central to Christian faith (Fear God which is angry with you, because you were born sinful and, if you do not embrace Christ, judgment day will send you to hell) are wrong and impossible if God is loving and we are His children. Interestingly enough the devil which is central to Christianity is never mentioned in the book and is replaced by the Ego. It implies that the evil part of the creation is the result of our Ego free will, that hate fear and anger are all human inventions. The fundamental idea is that God, our Father loves us, He will always love us and the only pain we feel in this life or another is the pain we create for ourselves with our actions, our fears and out thinking. When we awaken and see the truth, that we are the most beloved sons and daughters of God, the pain we impose in our lives will disappear instantly even if it is of physical nature. I did not have the patience to go through the exercises at the end of the book which provide an exercise per day, for an year, which according to some people can change the way we think and feel in this incarnation. The exercises are intended as a way to awaken and see that we live a painful illusion and that the reality is everlasting and painless.