Aspect I Text/Study: Part 2 – The Course’s Unique Style of Writing
As soon as we try to study the Text, we face a major problem: the Text is not written like anything else in the world. It has a style all its own, a style that disregards some of our culture’s most basic writing conventions. This style can seem maddening at times, yet we will see in this article that there is a definite method to its madness.
Any attempt to fruitfully study the Text should ideally be in harmony with this unique style. Thus, before we can establish a method for studying the Text—which is the topic of Part 3 of this “Text/Study” section—we must gain some sense of the style in which it is written. I will examine three different aspects of this unique style below.
1.Symphonic and holographic rather than linear
A standard textbook is written in a linear fashion. This means that it begins with the more simple and foundational ideas and builds to more complex and sophisticated ideas. This also means that it follows a single train of thought at any given moment.
The Course’s style is dramatically different. As first pointed out by Ken Wapnick, the Course is written symphonically. Like a symphony, the Course introduces themes, sets them aside, then reintroduces them, explores and develops them, and interweaves them with other themes. At any given section in the Course, literally dozens(1)of themes might be active, interweaving with each other in a dizzying profusion of meaning.
I will shortly explore the rich benefits of this symphonic style. First, however, we must acknowledge that this style can easily frustrate and confuse the reader. Because of it, the Text can appear to be a garbled, meandering train of disconnected ideas, a train which has no tracks and so wanders aimlessly and randomly about, and which goes around in endless circles, repeating itself over and over. The result is that reading the Text can be a mind-numbing, sleep-inducing experience. Course students will often report that after reading several pages they have not remembered a single thing they have read. More than one student has asked in bewilderment and frustration, “Why is the Course written in this #@$%&* convoluted way?!”
For many years that question lingered in the back of my mind. I had this nagging suspicion that, had the Course been written differently, it would have been far more effective. I had thought that it was less internally integrated than ordinary writing, by which I mean that a word, sentence or idea seemed to have only a tenuous connection with what came before and after it. The writing rambled more, said things for no apparent reason, was filled with extraneous material and jumped from one sentence to the next without much rhyme or reason—or so it appeared. In fact, my goal as an interpreter seemed to be to dig out the ideas buried in this tangled verbiage and restate them—this time clearly and plainly. This idea, however, aroused a vague mental discomfort, for my plan definitely implied that my restatement of the Course would be more useful than the Course itself. This did not reflect well on my spiritual path.
However, over the years I slowly realized that I could not have been more mistaken about the Course’s writing. I saw that my initial reactions were analogous to the reactions of a dog as he watched a master chef fixing a gourmet meal in the kitchen. That dog would see a series of confusing actions that would seem randomly strung together without reason. He would not understand that he was watching an orchestrated activity leading to a purposeful end. I slowly came to see that the Course’s writing also was a highly orchestrated activity; so highly orchestrated, in fact, that the mind of the author appeared to tower above mine, as a chef’s mind surpasses a dog’s.
I eventually realized that, rather than less, the Course’s writing is far more internally integrated than ordinary writing. I saw that each sentence always connected meaningfully with what came before it, and that often this unverbalized connection added a wealth of new meaning. Further, I began to notice that numerous lines of connection reached out from each sentence, linking it not only with the sentences directly before and after it, but also with sentences in the surrounding pages, in other chapters, and sometimes hundreds of pages away. I saw that each section does not just develop a single theme, but will weave together a myriad of themes, revealing multiple relationships between them. Rather than verbose and padded I saw that in the Course every word and idea fits richly and meaningfully into the larger tapestry. Instead of being disjointed and rambling I realized that the Course’s sentences and paragraphs actually form a dense web of rich interconnectedness.
What form does this interconnectedness take? It takes the form of a key word, a phrase, an image or a specific idea from a previous passage showing up in the current passage. To show how this works I will use Paragraph 8 from “The Witnesses to Sin” (Section VI of Chapter 27), identifying the connections in each sentence:
1.The resurrection of the world awaits your healing and your happiness, that you may demonstrate the healing of the world.
The idea that the resurrection of a dying world awaits your healing was discussed in the previous section (Paragraphs 5-7). The broader theme of healing runs throughout this chapter, which is entitled “The Healing of the Dream.” The power of a witness to “demonstrate” or prove something was a running theme in several sections in Chapter 27 (including I, II, V and VI). As in this sentence, part of that theme was that your health is a witness that demonstrates the world’s right to be healed.
2.The holy instant will replace all sin if you but carry its effects with you.
Entering the holy instant was a theme in Sections III, IV and V. Entering it so that you can carry its effects into the world, thus replacing the damage done by sin, was discussed in the previous section (V). Replacing the witnesses to sin was a theme of this current section: “For all sin’s witnesses do His [the Holy Spirit’s] replace” (4:9).
3.And no one will elect to suffer more.
The idea that when you show forth your healing others will not elect to suffer more was specifically mentioned in II.8:7: “Show him your healing, and he will consent no more to suffer.”
4.What better function could you serve than this?
Sections I and II discussed the idea of function. Section I said the function you gave yourself was that of showing your brother a sick, damaged body, as a witness that he sinned against you and so deserves punishment. It said that, in contrast, your real function is the same as what this paragraph says—to show him your healing, which demonstrates that he never sinned and so deserves to be healed. Section II (Paragraphs 10-16) focused heavily on the issue of the function you made to replace your real one.
5.Be healed that you may heal, and suffer not the laws of sin to be applied to you.
“Be healed that you may heal” is similar to the first line of Section V: “The only way to heal is to be healed.” “Suffer not the laws of sin to be applied to you” refers to a discussion earlier in this section about the different forms of suffering applied by the laws of sin.
6.And truth will be revealed to you who chose to let love’s symbols take the place of sin.
To rephrase this sentence: By letting truth’s symbols enter, truth will be revealed to you. A running theme in this chapter has been witnesses or symbols that speak for truth or for illusion. Witnesses to truth were just discussed in Paragraph 3 of this section. Letting love’s symbols take the place of sin was discussed in Paragraphs 5 and 6 of this section. Section III, “Beyond All Symbols,” focused on symbols of truth and also discussed letting the truth enter your mind (be revealed to you) via the holy instant (as in Sentence 2 of this paragraph).
These few sentences, therefore, pull together a multitude of themes from this section and five previous sections, weaving these themes into a single whole. This interweaving may sound rather esoteric, like something only a complete Course fanatic would spot and benefit from. Part 3 of this “Text/Study” section discusses how one can spot more of these connections. For it is not a matter of noticing all of them—indeed, I have become convinced that this is impossible—but of noticing more of them. And anyone can develop a reading habit of watching for such connections. For those who do, generous benefits will follow. And even when you don’t notice the connections, you may still be affected by them, though you won’t know why. Below, I attempt to categorize the benefits of the Course’s symphonic style.
1.The themes grow richer and sink in deeper as they repeat.
Basic to this symphonic style is that themes are repeated again and again. Yet it is not a straight repetition, which would get rather tedious. Instead, each time a theme arises anew, it is discussed in connection with a new set of other themes. As we see how the idea of forgiveness, for instance, relates to time, to the body, to the holy instant, to the miracle, to special relationships, and so on, we understand that idea with ever greater depth. Hence, every time a theme comes round again, new dimensions of meaning are drawn out. The theme expands in clarity, breadth and magnitude, allowing it to penetrate deeper into our minds. This in turn gently prepares us for the next repetition, which will draw us yet deeper into the theme, a depth for which we may not have been ready the last time around. Thus, with each turn of the spiral, we are drawn ever closer to the center of the idea, at which lies a vast wealth of meaning. And at the same time that spiral is turning, our minds are following scores of other spirals inward to the center of scores of other ideas. Our minds are thus progressively drawn closer and closer to the place where all of these themes meet: the unified heart of the Course’s thought system.
2.The interweaving enriches both the specific passages and the larger discussions that it involves.
This interweaving makes for discussions that are saturated with meaning. It does so in at least three ways. First, by referencing a previous passage, the author pulls all of the meaning of that passage into his current passage, making it far more meaningful. Second, the previous passage also takes on more meaning and clarity. Questions it prompted may become answered. Third, these links make the larger discussion more whole and unified, thus making it a more powerful reading experience. A series of dazzling but disconnected truths is not as meaningful as a network of deeply interconnected truths.
I would like to focus on the first of these three benefits—that when a passage references another, the meaning of that passage is injected into the current one. For an example, I will use this sentence from “Choose Once Again,” the final section of the Text:
Let us be glad that we can walk the world, and find so many chances to perceive another situation where God’s gift can once again be recognized as ours! (T-31.VIII.9:1)>
This sentence may sound somewhat nondescript and dull, making one wonder why the author felt it worthy of an exclamation point. Another one of those boring, wordy sentences from the Course, we might mutter to ourselves. Yet this one sentence contains a plethora of references to preceding paragraphs, and it is only through these that its real meaning is revealed.
The phrase “so many chances to perceive another situation” by itself sounds vague and rather dry. It actually refers to this section’s teaching about difficult situations. Each difficulty, it says, is a lesson “that you failed to learn presented once again.” (3:1) This repetition gives you “another chance to choose again” (4:2) (notice the occurrence of both “another” and “chance,” which are also in the sentence we are discussing). This idea is beautifully expressed in the image of Christ appearing to us (an image which occurs twice in this section): “In every difficulty, all distress, and each perplexity Christ calls to you and gently says, ‘My brother, choose again.'” (3:2)
“Let us be glad” now takes on a whole new meaning. It means, “Let us be glad about being faced with an apparently sad situation, because it gives us an opportunity for change.” In fact, “let us be glad” has just been used in this exact same sense a few sections before: “Let us be glad that you will see what you believe [which means seeing a world of sin and death], and that it has been given you to change what you believe.”
The phrase “God’s gift” also sounds rather vague. The previous paragraph holds the key. It told us that His gift is the vision of “a different world, so new and clean and fresh….” (8:4) God has already given us this gift, which means we need only recognize it as ours—which explains the phrase “recognized as ours” in our sentence. This paragraph also explains how we recognize it as ours: “To give this gift [to others] is how to make it yours.” (8:6)
The gift idea also shows up two paragraphs earlier. There we were asked to give Jesus “the little gift” (7:1) of choosing again. In exchange for this gift we will receive another of God’s gifts: the infinite gift of “the peace of God.” (7:1) This same sentence also refers to giving God’s gift, saying that we will be given power to bring this peace to everyone who “wanders in the world uncertain, lonely, and in constant fear.” (7:1) This wandering in the world clearly links with the phrase “walk the world” in our sentence.
Finally, the phrase “once again” has occurred three times before in this section. The idea is that no matter how many times we have chosen wrongly and failed to learn the lesson, it will be “presented once again,” so that we can “choose once again.” This time we hopefully will choose right and so learn the lesson that has always waited patiently before us.
Now let us pull all of this meaning into our original sentence and see what we get:
Let us be glad that we can walk the world and see so many people wandering alone and afraid, and experience so many difficult, distressing and trying situations! For we can perceive these difficulties as wonderful opportunities for recognizing God’s gift as ours. In them, the lessons we failed to learn before are presented once again, giving us yet another chance to learn. In them, Christ appears to us in all His glory, asking us to choose once again. If we choose rightly, we will learn the lesson at last and so escape all the pain caused by the faulty lesson we taught ourselves. And we will take our place among the saviors of the world. We will be given a vision of a new and different world, and imbued with power to bring that vision to all those wandering, hurting people. We should be glad that we can give them this vision and set their minds at peace. For only in giving these gifts to them do we realize the gifts belong to us. And God Himself ordained that they be for us. In the end, in exchange for our little gift of choosing again, we will recognize as ours the infinite gift of the peace of God.
This sentence, which at first seemed lackluster, is now revealed to contain a wealth of meaning that is both challenging and uplifting. This is not meaning that I just arbitrarily stuck in this sentence. It is the meaning specifically alluded to by the various words, phrases and ideas of this sentence. Those allusions revealed a meaningful relationship between our sentence and the passages alluded to, rather than a mere surface link that yielded chaos on the idea level. Because of those allusions and the meaningful relationships produced by them, we know that something like the above paragraph was in the author’s mind while he was writing this sentence.
This exercise has hopefully enabled us to concretely see how the Course’s interweaving works, and how powerful it is. Each time our sentence alluded to another passage, the meaning of that previous passage, like water from a pitcher, poured into our sentence. Since there were many such allusions, there were many pitchers emptying into our sentence all at once. As a result, it was immensely filled out and enriched, becoming more profound, more clear, more impactful.
Now realize that the previous passages that this sentence referred to themselves contain references to yet other passages. If we were to pull the meaning from these other passages into our sentence, think how much fuller it would grow then. And, of course, these further passages contain even further references to yet other passages. And on and on it goes. The net effect is that the entire Course is like a system of tributaries, which dumps all of its water into the ocean of the single sentence we just examined. The meaning of that sentence is truly vast, if we see it for what it is. That one sentence contains the meaning of the entire Course. And this is same thing is happening, to one degree or another, with every sentence in the Course.
3.The interweaving shows how one idea connects to others, revealing the wholeness of the system and how the entire system is contained in each idea.
As we just saw, one of the main effects of the Course’s symphonic style is that the whole is subtly infused into each part. Just as this happens with individual passages, so this happens with the Course’s ideas. When an idea is discussed in connection with another, you can see that the first idea implies the second. For instance, if you deeply grasped the Course’s concept of forgiveness, you would see that it implies the unreality of the body, and the unity of minds, and the ego’s fixation on the past, and so on. To say that forgiveness implies these ideas is to say that it contains them. For they are all part of the concept of forgiveness. And since forgiveness implies all of the ideas in the Course, it contains all of them. Inside the single idea of forgiveness is contained the Course entire thought system. And this is true of every idea in the Course. Every one implicitly contains the whole system.
This makes for a system that is extremely unified and whole. The Course regards this unity as very important. The Workbook review sections are dedicated in part to helping us realize the wholeness of the system. The first review says this: “We are now emphasizing the relationships among the first fifty of the ideas we have covered, and the cohesiveness of the thought system to which they are leading you.” (W-pI.RI.In.6:4) Toward this same end, the final three reviews give us a central thought which we practice alongside each of the 20 ideas we review. As we discover that each one of those ideas “but clarifies some aspect of this [central] thought,” (W-pI.RI.In.6:4) we realize that all the review ideas are aspects of this single thought. We see that they are all contained in it. And thus we see the unity of all of them.
In addition to symphonic, then, I like to call the Course’s style of writing holographic.(2) In the Course, just as in a hologram, each part contains the whole. The Workbook, in fact, explicitly claims this holographic quality for its daily thoughts (most of which are brief, ten-syllable sentences). “Each contains the whole curriculum….”(3) As I attempted to show in the preceding two points, this holographic style yields a course in which each passage and each idea is soaked with layer upon layer, web upon web of meaning; in which the boundless meaning of the whole is poured like wine into each and every part.
You can imagine what this holographic and symphonic style can do to one’s reading experience, if one truly appreciates it. Each section and indeed each paragraph becomes a true symphony of meaning. As one notices more and more of the connections between passages, one realizes that each sentence is glowing with an unexpected fullness of meaning. As one also sees new connections between ideas, new and unexpected links are formed in the mind. Meanwhile, new elements, new themes, are constantly being gathered into the music. Thus, the Course’s symphony grows richer with each passing page. And as this symphony expands and deepens, so does the reader’s mind expand and deepen with it. As larger and larger tapestries of connection emerge, one eventually realizes that the meaning disclosed is literally inexhaustible; that at bottom it opens out into a numinous sense beyond the expressible, into transcendental intimations beyond the edge of conceptual thought. The mind has been led to the gates of the eternal through the reading of a book.
2.Seeks to transform rather than just inform
A conventional textbook attempts to inform and instruct, to teach a body of ideas. The Course’s Text attempts this also. Throughout, the Text is trying to teach us a sophisticated and rigorous system of ideas. Yet the author of the Course does not just want to teach our intellects a set of concepts. He wants those concepts to go in so deep that they transform our fundamental mental/emotional outlook. He wants to move our minds, to sway our most basic posture towards reality. He wants to sell us on a new orientation towards everything. This is his idea of “teaching.”
We already saw hints of this in the previous point. The Course’s symphonic writing style means that it is not just a straight presentation of ideas. It is also a work of art. And art is designed to stir people, to affect them on levels deeper than the intellect. In the Course’s hands, art becomes a tool to move the minds of its students toward a new stance toward reality.
Even the design of the Course’s thought system betrays this artistic element. For its abstract and lofty system is not constructed of dry, lifeless terms, but of characters moving through places and events. We have the characters of God, the ego, the Holy Spirit and “you”—the reader. We read of places such as Heaven, the real world, the lawns before the gate of Heaven and the borderland. There are visual images such as the face of Christ, the Great Rays, shadow figures, thorns and lilies; auditory images like the Word of God and the Song of Heaven; and events such as the separation, the tiny tick and the final step.
This artistic element is further enhanced by the fact that much of the Course is written in iambic pentameter, Shakespearean blank verse. In iambic pentameter each line consists of ten syllables, which are broken up into five “feet” of two syllables each, with the accent on the second syllable of each foot. For example, “I will• not fear • to look • within • today.” (Lesson 309) This adds a lovely cadence to the writing and increases the feeling that (as one student put it) the Course is singing to you. Iambic pentameter begins in Chapter 24 of the Text and continues through the end of the Text in Chapter 31. It then begins sporadically in the early nineties of the Workbook and starting in Lesson 98, continues unbroken for the remainder of the Workbook.
Because the author wants to transform rather than merely inform, his writing performs a much broader range of functions than that of a normal textbook. He seeks to move our minds in every way possible. He pulls every string he can find. He does adopt the guise of a professor, but he also sounds at different times like a therapist, a coach, a poet, a salesman, a friend, a spiritual master and an older brother. The following is a partial list of the many functions the Course’s author seeks to fulfill through his writing.
He tries to convince and persuade, often by using logical arguments: “Only perfect love exists. If there is fear, it produces a state that does not exist.” (T-1.VI.5:7-8)
He makes emotional appeals: “O my brothers, if you only knew the peace that will envelop you and hold you safe and pure and lovely in the Mind of God, you could but rush to meet Him where His altar is.” (C-4.8:1)
He makes promises: “Believe this and you will be free.” (T-1.VI.5:9)
He gives encouragement and confidence. “Go on; clouds cannot stop you….You cannot fail because your will is His.” (W-pI.69.6:5,7:4)
He comforts: “How can you who are so holy suffer? All your past except its beauty is gone, and nothing is left but a blessing.” (T-5.IV.8:1-2)
He blesses us: “How blessed are you who let this gift be given!” (T-22.VI.5:4) “My peace I give you.” (T-13.VII.16:8)
He implores us: “My brothers in salvation, do not fail to hear my voice and listen to my words. I ask for nothing but your own release.” (T-31.VIII.8:1-2) “O let your patient in, for he has come to you from God.” (P-2.VII.9:9)
He breaks into celebration: “The peace of God descends on all the world, and we can see. And we can see!” (M-19.5:12-13)
He sometimes prays directly to God: “I thank You, Father, for these holy ones who are my brothers as they are Your Sons.” (T-31.VIII.10:1)
He often lapses into sheer poetry: “Where stood a cross stands now the risen Christ, and ancient scars are healed within His sight.” (T-26.IX.8:4)
He uses striking images, both beautiful and grotesque: “The room becomes a temple, and the street a stream of stars that brushes lightly past all sickly dreams.” (P-2.VII.8:4) “Can you paint rosy lips upon a skeleton, dress it in loveliness, pet it and pamper it, and make it live?” (T-23.II.18:8)
He asks confrontive rhetorical questions: “And can you be content with an illusion that you are living?” (This line directly follows the above quote about making a skeleton live.)
He instructs us to stop and reflect on what he is saying: “Pause and reflect on this.” (W-pI.155.12:2) “Think but an instant on this: God gave the Sonship to you, to ensure your perfect creation.” (T-15.VIII.4:1)
He exhorts us: “Believe not that you cannot teach His perfect peace. Stand not outside, but join with me within. Fail not the only purpose to which my teaching calls you. Restore to God His Son as He created him, by teaching him his innocence.” (T-14.V.9:7-10)
He gives us direct injunctions to apply his message: “Free your brother here, as I freed you.” (T-19.IV(D).18:1) “Forgive your brother all appearances, that are but ancient lessons you have taught yourself about the sinfulness in you.” (T-31.II.9:1)
Throughout, he addresses us directly and personally: “To you who seem to find this course to be too difficult to learn…” (T-31.IV.7:3) “You who perceive yourself as weak and frail, with futile hopes and devastated dreams, born but to die, to weep and suffer pain, hear this…” (W-pI.191.9:1) Sometimes he addresses us as “brother,” at other times “child”: “Brother, there is no death.” (T-27.II.6:8) “They are but toys, my child, so do not grieve for them.” (T-30.IV.4:6)
He speaks to us so personally that he seems to be inside our minds, privy to our most private
thoughts, our inmost fears and conceits, and our guilty secrets. “Look fairly at whatever makes you give your brother only partial welcome….Is it not always your belief your specialness is limited by your relationship?” (T-24.I.7:8-9 41, T-13.X.13:4-5)
And in complete contrast to a normal author, the Course’s author occasionally speaks about his relationship with the reader: “My faith in you is as strong as all the love I give my Father. My trust in you is without limit, and without the fear that you will hear me not.” “And I will join you there, as long ago I promised and promise still.” (T-19.IV(A).16:4)
This is all happening while the Text is performing its role as a textbook. While the Text is explaining to us its system of ideas, it is also attempting to move us. And this can obscure the clarity of its explanations. Yet even though some clarity is lost, so much more is gained.
3.Fills familiar terms with new meaning
There is yet another way in which the Course’s style differs from conventional writing: its use of terms. Normally, authors choose their terms according to two usual methods.
One method, of course, is to use familiar terms to communicate familiar meaning. Using time-honored terms allows other to readily connect with what you are trying to say. It also allows them to situate your message in a particular context, a context which will hopefully turn around and lend credibility to your message. For instance, using Christian terms allows your message to rest on whatever authority Christianity has with your audience. If it has no such authority, you had better not use its terms.
The other method is the direct opposite. If you have a new idea you will want to invent a new term for it. This has the important effect of identifying your idea as truly new, setting it apart from what has gone before. And if your new term is a catchy one, it can be an effective vehicle that helps your new idea catch on.
The Course has taken a third road, one that is drastically different from the above two. The Course wants to express new meanings. But it refuses to invent new words (though it does invent a number of new terms by combining words; e.g. “holy instant” and “special relationship”). Instead, it takes familiar terms—often ancient terms laden with centuries of tradition, connotation and nuance—and then fills these terms with new meaning. Given this new meaning, the Course’s use of these terms is not an implied approval of their conventional meaning—meaning which has in many cases fostered great suffering in the world. Instead, it is often a pointed rejection of their usual meaning and a sharp criticism of the contexts in which that meaning was formed.
This filling of familiar forms with new meaning and purpose is a favorite device of the Course. This, after all, is exactly what it has done with the idea of a course. It has borrowed the form of an educational course, with text, workbook and teacher’s manual, and then used it to do what no standard course would do: teach us miracles and awaken us to God. By using this device, the Course’s design is mirroring its own teaching. For this is exactly what it teaches us that the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit takes all the forms and abilities we made, and gives them a new purpose and meaning.
Yet giving familiar words a new meaning produces a very confusing situation for the reader. This method has confounded everyone who has picked up A Course in Miracles. We see a familiar term on the page and expect it to carry its traditional meaning. We see the word “Christ” and expect it to refer to Jesus of Nazareth as God’s only begotten Son. We see the word “miracle” and assume that it refers to the magical transformation of sick bodies and difficult situations.
The Course’s terminology not only produces confusion, but also anger and aversion. Many who have left traditional Christianity read the Course’s Christian terms and are turned off. Feminists read the Course’s masculine terms and conclude that the Course is sexist. Christians read familiar terms and are at first drawn in, but then are repulsed when they sense a decidedly non-traditional meaning.
Why, then, would the Course adopt this method, when it was sure to cause rampant confusion and bad feelings? Was it simply a bad idea? The truth, I believe, is that this method actually carries a powerful positive effect, which makes it worth all the turmoil it causes. For this use of terms is actually a potent method of mind change.
For instance, by using the familiar term, “Son of God,” the Course taps into the complex and emotionally-laden world of meaning, lodged deep in our minds, around that term. In this case, it is for many a world of painful meaning. For this term traditionally refers to the idea that God has only one Son, Jesus, and that the rest of us can at best only achieve the status of adopted sons. This leaves us feeling cast outside the inner circle of God’s Love. The term, “Son of God,” is a well-worn trigger for all this. Simply by using the term, the Course accesses these buried ideas and emotional scars.
Yet the Course has filled this term with new meaning. The term now refers to the idea that we are all Sons of God; indeed, that we are all equal facets of a single transcendental Son of God, beyond time, space and form, and that we each receive all of God’s infinite Love. As we become aware of the new meaning of this term, a psychological transformation begins.
Now each time we read the term, “Son of God,” the old meaning is accessed and directly encounters the new meaning. Darkness and light meet face to face. The result is that each time we come across the term in the Course, a little of the old meaning gets shined away, to be replaced by the new. For the new meaning simply feels more attractive, compelling and true; and the Course uses the term so repeatedly and with such certainty that its new meaning is all the term really means. Eventually, a complete replacement occurs. Where there was an old coagulated mass of dark thoughts and bruised feelings, now there is nothing but a bright star of radiant thought and joyous feeling. The Course has not only erased the old meaning, even the term that triggered that meaning has been absorbed into the new system. Now that term only triggers the new meaning. All trace of the old meaning has vanished.
With many terms the Course does something a little different. It retains the term’s basic meaning, but immensely deepens it and broadens its application, making it into a comprehensive teaching. For instance, by “insanity,” we normally mean a break with socially-constructed reality and a retreat into a private world. The Course means by “insanity” a break with divine reality and a retreat into a separate mind. This has dramatic implications, as can be seen in this passage:
[Being] unsure of what you really are…is the depth of madness. Yet it is the universal question of the world. What does this mean except the world is mad? Why share its madness in the sad belief that what is universal here is true? (W-pI.139.6:2-5)
This new definition of insanity means that everything in the physical universe is insane; that the universe itself is the very picture of insanity. As we slowly associate this new meaning with the word “insanity,” our perception of our world changes. Before, we assumed that what is universal in this world must be true. Indeed, breaking with the social consensus was the definition of insanity—the threat of which kept us tied to that consensus. Now, we begin to consider that the consensus itself might be insane. And this allows our thinking to detach from the world’s most fundamental assumptions and soar into places it never could have gone before.
Reading the Course, then, involves learning a new language. This is very different than learning a foreign language. For a foreign language uses different words to express what is essentially the same world of meaning—the egoic world of meaning. In contrast, the Course uses the same words to express a different world of meaning, meaning that is ego-dispelling. The ideas in this new world frequently have no English equivalent, and often no equivalent in any language. For this reason, a few Course glossaries and dictionaries have been published, among which are Ken Wapnick’s Glossary-Index for A Course in Miracles and my A Course Glossary: 158 Definitions from A Course in Miracles.
Learning this new language, though difficult, is genuinely worth it. As our words become slowly cleansed of their old egoic meaning and filled with a new ego-dispelling meaning, this also happens in our minds. The dark meaning that has kept us bound is pushed out of the house of our minds, just as it was pushed out of our words, and replaced with pure light. And that is the goal of A Course in Miracles.
Conclusion
The Course’s style does make for difficult reading, especially at first. Each of the three elements of style that we examined in this article get in the way of a straightforward presentation of concepts. Yet we discovered that each one was not just a case of poor and careless writing, but had a carefully planned purpose. All of the methods we explored are designed to give the Course’s words and ideas greater transformative impact on our thinking, greater ability to enter and deeply affect our minds. So complete is the author’s focus on this one thing that he is willing to risk the initial boredom, confusion and ire of his readers, if in the end he can turn their minds right-side up again. In his single-minded drive to liberate our minds he has developed an original style that is a unique tool of mind change.
That this intent to change our minds is embodied in the Course’s writing means one very important thing: Just reading the Course is transformative—that is, if one’s reading is in harmony with its style, rather than confounded by that style. Part 3 of this “Text/Study” section discusses how to read the Course. The techniques explored there are specifically tailored to fit the Course’s strange and confounding, but ultimately profound and transformative style.
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(1) I come up with this rather large number based on considering a repeating key term (such as “dream,” or “healing”) to be a theme. A given section will have dozens of such repeating terms, each one representing a specific world of thought, one that is often somewhat specific to that section and surrounding ones. One could count the number of themes instead by counting the composite themes developed using those key terms. This would yield a minimum number of half a dozen to perhaps a dozen themes per section.
(2) Workbook, p. 321; W-pI.RV.In.4:2 14. I am indebted to a member of Allen Watson’s New Jersey study group for this use of the word “holographic.”
(3) Workbook, p. 376; W-pI.RVI.In.2:2. This passage claims that the twenty lessons from 181-200 contain the entire curriculum. However, I think it is very safe to apply this to all the lessons, in that there is nothing particularly unusual about those twenty lessons.
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[Please note: ACIM passages quoted in this article reference the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) Edition.]
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