Just last December, I came upon Marianne Williamson’s live lectures on A Course In Miracles (ACIM). She’s been doing them for years though.  I listened to one, and wow, I’m hooked! They last at least two hours. Through listening to them, I became re-interested in ACIM.

ACIM is a universal teaching, not belonging to any particular religion. I first read it about 8 years ago, and I bought it new for 8 dollars at the time. It was a big, little compact hardcover book in the clearance section at Books-A-Million. Being strongly attracted to ACIM again now, I decided to re-read it. However, I’ve since sold the book! So I bought a new one — it was $30!! (I checked Amazon, but thought $20+ was high, based on my previous experience of grabbing it out of the bookstore for a few bucks. And so I went to my fave local bookstore…😩 It’s also free online, but I prefer a physical book.)

Nonetheless, I’m so excited to study it again. It was mind-blowing the first time I read it. I filled the pages with stickies and highlights. The majority of the concepts were brand new to me. It was before I came across Yogananda or any of his teachings. So I feel I’m going back through it with a more open consciousness and a different level of awareness.

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 witness 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 meditate between the two worlds. ~ A Course in Miracles, p. xi

I find it interesting to read “you cannot escape without help”. It immediately makes me think, “Guru!” Having become one with Spirit, a true guru shows the way. One such guru,  Paramahansa Yogananda, teaches a technique to tune in and hear the aum, which is also known as the Holy Spirit or Comforter. Though taught in his Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) Lessons, it’s not a technique specific to SRF. It has been passed down from guru to disciple for ages. The Aum technique is just one way to hear the “Word” or the “Voice.” There’s countless ways, including contemplation, direct revelation by grace, and other forms of meditation. I don’t recall how, if any particular method, ACIM suggests hearing this “Voice”, but I shall soon find out!