Perfectly said, Mark.

People either get it or they don't, it seems.

And the single most powerful variable that moves a person to continue on their lessons through completion is just how much that person was suffering in their life up to the point that The Course was introduced to them.

If there's a way to hide in the illusion of comfort and protection that money seems to offer (yours or that of someone willing to pay your way in the world), then what is being made available is not valued or appreciated as much.

I came up with the idea of "puppy training the mind"... which is how I see what The Course is able to do... very gently shift our awareness without throwing us headlong into awakening... how very scary to open one's eyes to the light, eh? No telling what you might see when you're no longer in the dark.

dave

Mark says it well, I agree with him.

When I did A Course in Miracles it was in the late 70's. I started doing the lessons in the workbook before all the material was even assembled. I was a teenager, my father knew Bill and Helen. Helen was channeling the Course, and Bill was taking it down. Helen was not a ready believer, but the Course started coming to her after she said to herself, "There must be a better way."

While the Course was still being received, some of us started to do the lessons. I would get xeroxed copies of the daily lessons sent to me in Hawaii, where I lived at the time, from my father in Connecticut. The books were not yet complete. I would be sent the early chapters of the text, too, to read while I was doing the daily lessons.

At that time there weren't any groups or workshops, just some people doing the Course. The advice I was given, and which I passed on to others I knew who started doing A Course in Miracles was to do one lesson a day, but if you felt you didn't actually do the lesson as told in the Workbook, then to do it the next day instead of moving on to the next lesson. There is no need to agree with the material, just do it as instructed. If it takes you two or three days till you have completed one lesson that's fine. But do each lesson. In this way it took me a year and a half to complete the Course.

I read from the Textbook as I worked my way through the Workbook. Some people think you should read the Textbook first before starting the Workbook. I understand that is the order in which it was originally channeled. But from what I was told in the early days, and what I believe to be true from experience, is to start with the Workbook lessons. Start to read the Textbook at any time once involved in the lessons. You can even finish up the reading after completing all 365 lessons.

Attending groups is not a requirement. If you like the group experience, fine. It does help some people stay motivated. I attended a few group meetings near the end and after I completed the Course, but my personal opinion is that the groups can be distracting, too many confused opinions. If you want to do A Course in Miracles, you don't need to join a group. Just do it!

I highly recommend A Course in Miracles. It will change your life.

absolutely agree with you...

btw, how was the course introduced to you?