A Course in Miracles Explained

Just as the editing was completed, Bill was wondering how the spiritual theory pertaining to healing in the Course could be bridged with traditional medicine. He had read about an intriguing invention in Russia called Kirlian photography, which was a form of high voltage photography which could be used to record non-physical energies around matter, known as the aura in parapsychology. After a sequence of events, Bill found himself in a Kirlian conference, where the introductory talk was given by a 44 year old lecturer named Judith Skutch.

Judy Skutch

Judy was a high-profile pioneer, researcher and educator in the field of parapsychology and the paranormal. She and her husband, Robert Skutch, had founded a non-profit organisation called the ‘Foundation for Parasensory Investigation’, which had hosted personalities such as Israeli psychic Uri Geller and ex-astronaut Edgar Mitchell. Just at the time when Judy was brought into contact with the Course, she was facing an existential crisis of her own. On the surface, her life seemed be full of everything she wanted – a loving husband, two talented children, a challenging and exciting career, and a wide circle of friends and colleagues who sought out her expertise and advice – but there was a void in her which none of these things could fill. She describes:

It was also beginning to cause me physical pain, as I developed a severe peptic ulcer. I well knew the effect the emotions can have on one’s physical well-being, but the knowledge didn’t help the symptoms at all. In fact the knowledge that I was doing this to myself made me feel even more frustrated. I searched and searched for the answers that would help me out of the prison I had built for myself, but nothing seemed to help. All I knew was that with all the different aspects of the work I was doing, there wasn’t one project that didn’t leave me with a feeling that the answers were incomplete – that something was missing. I respected the scientific approach, supported it, and believed it was absolutely necessary, but we were not touching at all on any spiritual aspects, even though we were aware in all of our projects – and especially in the healing projects in which we were involved – that spiritual statements were being made over and over again. (JwD, Pg. 102)

After the conference, Bill had invited the chairman of the conference, Douglas Dean, to come to the University for lunch. Douglas had invited Judy to come along as well, and Judy, although not feeling well, agreed on Douglas’s insistence. Judy had been interested in talking to professionals in the orthodox medical community about holistic approaches to healing, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

As Bill, Helen, Douglas and Judy talked, Judy sensed that neither Bill nor Helen were particularly interested in holistic healing, and she wondered what was the purpose of her being there. She began to sense that there was ‘something on Helen’s mind’ (JwD, Pg. 105) that Helen was not revealing, and could hardly believe herself as she said involuntarily: “You hear an inner voice don’t you?” Upon hearing this, Helen turned white, and said very faintly, “What did you say?”. Bill, seeing that the ‘dam’ had been broken, interrupted by pushing his chair back from the table, and said, “Why don’t we all go back to our office? I think we’d be a lot more comfortable there.”

Judy and Douglas met Ken Wapnick in Bill’s office, and after securing their promises to keep whatever they were to be told confidential, Bill proceeded to tell Judy and Douglas about their clandestine project which they had been involved in over the last 10 years. Judy writes:

The events they described did not seem bizarre to me, and I did not feel these people were strangers. In a way I could not explain, it appeared to me as if I were being reunited with old friends, and what they were telling me seemed very natural, as though it were a continuation of events with which I had already been associated.

The entire scene was beautifully orchestrated. Here I was sitting in a prestigious medical center with people who were clearly credible in their scientific professions. And instead of discussing holistic health practices, I was holding my breath waiting to see a metaphysical document which they had scribed in secret. I asked if I might read the material.

Bill unlocked his filing cabinet and took out seven large black binders, the kind doctoral candidates use to hold their dissertations, and put them on the desk. ‘Here you are,’ he said; ‘fifteen hundred pages. A Course in Miracles.’

I felt electrified. I reached for the binder which contained the Text, and as I opened it my eyes focused on the introduction:

This is a course in miracles. It is a required course.Only the time you take it is voluntary.

When I finished reading that first passage a great sigh of relief well up inside of me as I heard the inner voice proclaim, ‘Here is your map home.’ And I knew absolutely this was the answer to my call for help.(JwD, Pg. 106)

As Judy was leaving, she clarified with Bill as to whether it was to be shared with others – Bill was not against its distribution per se, but did not want it connected in name to either himself or Helen for two main reasons: for their professional reputations, and more importantly, for the Course to stand on its own as a self-study course, and not for it to develop as the basis of a personality cult.

That evening, Judy read the Course for eight hours straight without stopping – mesmerised and certain that the Course was to be the foundation for how she was to live her life from then on. The morning after, Judy called Helen to say how beautiful and inspiring the text was, and asked if Helen or Bill would like to drop by, Judy had a number of questions about the material. Helen was happy to, and said that she was sure Bill would as well if he had the time. In this way, Judy became extremely close to Helen, Bill and Kenneth, as they met almost daily over the next 3 years.

Ken, Helen, Bill, Judy and Bob

Not long after she came into contact with the Course, Judy was scheduled to make a trip to California for work related matters, and also to meet with her doctoral adviser, Dr. Eleanor Criswell. After asking Bill’s permission, she took the material with her to show it to some of her friends whom she knew would be interested. The manuscript remained in their thick black binders, weighed almost twenty pounds, and was unwieldy to say the least. During her flight, she realised that the demand for the manuscript would be significant, and she did not know how she was going to share it with the hundreds who would want a copy.

The publishing of the Course took shape rapidly in an unexpected sequence of events. Eleanor, who owned a small publishing company, suggested to Judy that instead of photocopying the manuscript directly, it could be reduced in size and bound with a paper cover. It would not be a perfect solution, but it would serve the needs for the moment. Unsure what to do, Judy called Bill and Helen, and Bill’s answer was predictable: “Let’s do what the Course keeps telling us to do – Let’s ask.” That evening, all three of them sat quietly and received an affirmative answer, and also a suggestion that a copyright should be obtained. In this way, the stage was set for the first printing of the Course – commonly known as the “Criswell version”.

The Criswell version of the Course

Although a copyright seemed contrary to the spirit of the Course as a universal spiritual teaching, it was done to retain the purity of the text, and to ensure that it would not be distorted and misused. In 2004, in a litigation suit filed by Penguin Books and the Foundation for Inner Peace vs the New Christian Church of Full Endeavor aka Endeavor Academy, this copyright would be voided due to excessive distribution before the copyright was filed.

There was much enthusiasm for the Course in the San Francisco area, and Judy felt it would be helpful if Helen, Bill and Ken would come and speak informally about the Course and answer Course-specific questions that Judy didn’t feel capable of answering. By this time, Bill and Helen were comfortable enough that they wouldn’t meet anybody they knew in San Francisco, and agreed. The demand for the meeting far exceeded expectations, and Helen was touched by the sincerity and enthusiasm of these individuals. By the end of their 4 week stay, Bill and Helen had met over 500 people, and any prior concerns that they had about their privacy was more than made up for by their satisfaction in seeing how the Course had benefited so many people.

During one of their meetings, Judy mentioned that she was having difficulty understanding some of the terminology used in the Course, and wished that it had a glossary. It turned out that Bill, Helen and Ken had discussed this very same issue, but nothing had come of it. At Judy’s suggestion, Helen agreed to try asking the Voice for help. That evening, Helen received the start of ‘Clarification of Terms’, a short section which is usually found after the Manual for Teachers.

By this time, demand for the books was quickly exceeding the rate at which they were being printed – it was evident that the Course needed to be published commercially. With the increased demand also came offers from publishers who expressed their interest. As each proposal came in, the four of them asked for guidance as to whether it was the right decision, but the answer received was always no. Finally, after the Voice said ‘No’ to a group that seemed to fit all the right criteria, they decided to ask ‘Who is supposed to publish the Course?’ Journey without Distance, Pg 117:

They sat in silence. After five minutes neither Judy, Bill nor Ken had received an answer. But Helen had. She said, “I don’t think you’re going to like this.”“What did you hear?” Judy asked.“The answer was that it is to be published by those who have only the Course as their focus, and nothing else.”“That’s ridiculous,” Judy said. “There is no such publisher.”“Yes there is.” Helen said quietly.“Who?” asked Judy.“Who published the paperback copies?”“Eleanor did, but…”“No,” said Helen. “Eleanor printed them; the Foundation published them.”Judy’s mouth dropped open. “The Foundation is supposed to publish the books?”“The Foundation owns the copyright,” Bill interjected.“Yes, but…” Judy was stunned. “You’ve heard how much it will cost. The Foundation has hardly any money.”“Let’s ask where the money’s to come from.” Helen said.As they closed their eyes, Judy clearly heard her internal voice say, “Make the commitment first.”When they opened their eyes Judy asked what the others had heard; no one had heard anything. It was immediately clear to her that she had to make this commitment herself. Mentally calculating her current savings account, she silently pledged the entire amount to help begin this service, and informed the others of her decision.

Early the next morning, the phone rang, and it was Reed Erickson, a wealthy philanthropist who had founded the Erickson Education Foundation. Eric had only briefly met Judy through a common friend two years ago, and Judy was slightly puzzled as she picked up the phone. It turned out that Eric had obtained a copy of the Course a few months ago, through their common friend, and his life had changed dramatically. He was taken by the beauty of the language, the truth of the ideas and the practicality of the lessons, and he was already studying the Course with a group of friends. He urged that the Course be published properly, with a hard cover edition with the ‘respect it deserved’ (JwD, Pg. 119) Judy told him that she and her associates had reached the same conclusion yesterday, but there was no money to publish a hard cover version.

“You don’t understand, Judy,” Eric replied. “I am calling to tell you that I was guided to sell a piece of property recently, and with the proceeds I want to underwrite the first hard cover edition of five thousand sets of A Course in Miracles. It must be done properly and as soon as possible.”(JwD, Pg. 119)

Needless to say, Judy was both ecstatic and stunned, and immediately called Helen and Bill to share the good news. “You see, Judy,” Bill said, quoting the first miracle principle, “there really is no order of difficulty in miracles.” At a subsequent meeting, Helen strongly felt that the Foundation should change its name, now that its focus was on the publishing A Course in Miracles, “Parasensory Investigation,” she said, “is misleading and inappropriate to the focus of the Course.” (JwD, Pg. 119)

None of the others had considered this before, but now that Helen mentioned it, they all knew she was right – the next obvious step was to ask what the new name should be. The next day, an image came to Helen – a wrought iron entrance gate which had a plaque on it. Only that the plaque read, “Foundation for … Peace”, and Helen could not make out the missing word in illegible writing. The Course was about peace, but what exactly what kind? That afternoon, as they met to discuss this, Helen mentioned, “The purpose of the Course, is to help you find inner peace.” Immediately, the words “inner peace” struck them at the same time. It was clear that the new name was to be the “Foundation for Inner Peace”. The Foundation remains the publisher of ACIM to this day.

The exposure of the Course took off exponentially. When the first hard cover copies were ready, over 200 copies were sent as gifts to people all over the United States from Eric Reed, many of them leaders in their field. Jim Bolen, editor of Psychic Magazine (one of the more reputable publications of its type at that time, which sadly no longer exists), having recognised the positive effect the Course was having on his life and others, was keen on doing a feature article about the Course. Although Helen liked Jim, she was resistant to the idea – she was receiving guidance:

“I heard that the Course is not to be associated in any way with anything psychic. Its thrust is spiritual, metaphysical and psychological, and should not be confused with the psychic.” (JwD, Pg. 123)

Judy and Jim were both disappointed, but Judy had received a negative answer herself. Unbeknownst to them, the article was to be, but waiting for the form to change…

Meanwhile, Hugh Lynn Cayce was one of the recipients of the gift set, and called to express his gratitude, saying it was one of the most important metaphysical documents he had ever seen. He also requested that he would like to carry the books in his Association’s bookstore, which turned out to be the first retail placement of the Course.

The Foundation began to receive letters from people who had been working with the Course – there were inspirational, deeply emotional accounts of people whose lives had been dramatically changed, there were letters of gratitude and thanks, and there were requests for more information about the Course. Although they came from all walks of life and across socio-economic divides, there was a predominance of psychologists, educators and the spiritually-aware. Helen’s reaction to the increased exposure was mixed – although she drew a great deal of satisfaction from seeing the Course benefit so many, she could not rid herself of the fear of someone she knew discovering she was the scribe. Her name was only be connected with the Course in print after her death in 1981.

One afternoon, Jim Bolen rang Judy – brimming with enthusiasm, he told her how the Course had helped him ‘open up to so many new ideas that he had been previously afraid of’ (JwD, Pg. 125), and was toying with the idea of expanding the scope of the magazine beyond the psychic. To reflect this, he had decided to rename the magazine ‘New Realities’. Not long after, the first public article about the Course by columnist and writer Brian Van der Horst was published in the very first issue of ‘New Realities’. In addition, the magazine featured an interview with Judy.

As expected, when the magazine hit the newsstands, the Course experienced another surge in exposure, and orders were being received outside the US, from Australia, India and South Africa.