In September 1965, Helen had the feeling that she was about to do something very unusual. Helen had begun to keep a diary by this time, and Bill urged her write down whatever occurred to her. One evening, The Voice began to give her definite instructions. From Journey without Distance, Pg. 54:
She panicked, and immediately telephoned Bill. “You know that inner Voice – it won’t leave me alone!”
“What is it saying?’ Bill asked.
“It keeps saying, ‘This is a course in miracles. Please take notes.’ What am I going to do?” she pleaded.
Calmly and supportively Bill said, “Why don’t you take the notes? Take them down in that shorthand you use.”
“But, Bil,” Helen persisted, “what if it’s gibberish? Then I’ll know I’m crazy”
“Helen, let me tell you something,” he said, ignoring her remark. “Since our Rochester trip I’ve been doing some reading, which I haven’t shared with you because you’re so antagonistic to the whole subject. But there have been numbers of people – some of them very well-known people – who have had creative inspiration come through them in a mystical way. Einstein claimed to get information this way; and certainly the great playwrights and what about all the mystical poets!”
“I’m not a mystical poet,” she protested. “I’m a psychologist, and I don’t know that I believe in this.”
“Well, since you can’t make it go away, why don’t you take it down and bring it into the office early – before the staff arrives – and we’ll go over it together.”
“And if it’s gibberish?”
“We’ll tear it up, and no one will ever know.”
“Promise, Bill?”
“Promise.”
And in this way, on that September evening in 1965, Helen took down in shorthand, the introduction of what was to become the spiritual document known as A Course in Miracles.
The next morning, Helen was in a panic – she did not understand what was going on, and she certainly did not know what to do about it. Bill calmed her down and asked her to dictate to him what she had taken down. Bill, although not understanding much at this stage, saw that Helen was in a great deal of inner turmoil about not wanting to co-operate with the Voice; he suggested to Helen that she should just take it down and see if that was less disturbing to her than continuing to fight it.
Helen’s notebooks
She was not an a trance state, and it was not automatic writing. She was fully conscious during the process, and she could start and stop the Voice at any time. She described to Bill about ‘hearing’ the Voice:
“It’s hard to describe. It can’t be a hallucination, really, because the Voice does not come from outside. It’s all internal. There’s no actual sound, and the words come mentally but very clearly. It’s a kind of inner dictation you might say.” Journey without Distance, Pg. 56
Throughout the dictation process, which would last over the next 7 years, Helen would be frightened and reluctant, and yet entranced by the beauty of the language and impressed by its coherency. As Bill examined the material, he realised that if it were to be taken seriously, meant a radical way of looking at the world and it would involve a ‘mind shift of tremendous proportions’. (JwD, Pg. 58) He had no doubt, however, that this was the answer for his asking for ‘a better way’, and was committed to keeping an open-mind at the very least. In his continuing self-education in the fields of philosophy, spirituality and metaphysics, he found that the teachings of the Course were consistent with some of the most profound ideas in eastern and western philosophy. In particular, he saw that the content of the Course was a non-dualistic teaching, much like the Vedanta as found in the ancient texts of the Upanishads. This, coupled with the fact that the language of the Course was Christian, led him to realise that the Course could be described as ‘a form of Christian Vedanta’.
The Upanishads
Also, one of the first books about psychic phenomena that Bill had read was about the life of Edgar Cayce, and he felt that Helen’s apprehension with the paranormal could be lessened by contacting an expert in this field – Hugh Lynn Cayce (Edgar Cayce’s son) of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, the non-profit organisation started by Edgar Cayce. If anything, Bill was interested to find out what Hugh Lynn thought of the Course. After much resistance from Helen, a meeting was set up, and Hugh Lynn was remarkably impressed with the Course – stating that parts of the Course were consistent with the more spiritual portions of his father’s trance readings. Hugh Lynn empathised with her feelings of being overwhelmed, and his support seemed to comfort Helen somewhat.
Hugh Lynn Cayce
Helen had no doubt that the voice was Jesus – the Course was dictated in the first person, and it speaks about the Crucifixion, the Apostles, and Judas in no uncertain terms. It offers corrections and alternatives to orthodox Christian teachings, and one point, both Helen and Bill were significantly affected by this alternative to the Lord’s Prayer when it was brought forth:
Forgive us our illusions, Father, and help us to accept our true relationship with You, in which there are no illusions, and where none can ever enter. Our holiness is Yours. What can there be in us that needs forgiveness when Yours is perfect? The sleep of forgetfulness is the only unwillingness to remember your forgiveness and Your Love. Let us not wander unto temptation, for the temptation of the Son of God is not Your Will. And let us receive only what You have given, and accept but this into the minds which you have created and which You love. Amen. (ACIM, T-16.VII.12)
Helen had no idea how long the Course was going to go on for, and two months into the dictation, Helen asked the Voice how long the Text would be. The answer she received was that the Text would be completed when she heard the final ‘Amen’. It was an unsatisfying answer to her, to say the least, and she responded by refusing to transcribe for three days. During those three days, she could not sleep and was highly irritable. It was only when she finally relented and picked up her notebook to continue that these symptoms stopped.
Bill can be said to be the first student of the Course – he tried to use the principles of the Course in dealing with all of his relationships. Although the external circumstances did not change – the department was still underfunded and there was no end to his bureaucratic problems, relationships between staff members at the hospital improved dramatically – there was significantly more cooperation and less competition. Bill had no doubt that this was due to his determination to see things differently, as per the teachings of the Course.
In September 1968, Helen finally heard and transcribed the final ‘Amen’. Both Bill and Helen were unsure as to what to do with the completed manuscript, which they secured in black binders, locked in a filling cabinet. By this time, Helen had developed a great deal of respect for the Voice, and asked it for further instructions. To her relief, the message was that ‘there was nothing to be done for the time being’. Helen was reluctant to show the material to anyone, as was Bill, for fear of ruining their academic reputations.
Two weeks later, the Voice informed Helen that there was going to be a workbook in addition to the text. Her initial response was ambivalent, for although she admitted to Bill that she had missed her function, she did not know how long the workbook would go on for. It turned out that her resistance to the scribing of the workbook was much less than with the text, owing to the piece-meal format and the relatively more straight-forward language of the workbook. There were also changes taking place in Helen’s attitudes – near the end of the workbook, Helen ‘almost stopped complaining altogether about the intrusion of the Voice into her life’. (JwD, Pg. 76)
When the workbook was finished, Bill felt that something needed to be done to make the text more readable – there were no chapter and sub-chapter headings at this point. Helen asked the Voice if this was something that should be done, and the answer was a definite yes. Thus Bill and Helen started on this task, which was nearly as time-consuming as the scribing – together, they read slowly through the text, ‘feeling and asking’ (JwD, Pg. 78) where the natural breaks might occur.
In April 1972, while the sub-chapter headings were still being worked on, Helen announced with an air of resignation that the Voice had returned the night before, and told her that there was to be a Manual for Teachers. As with the Text and the Workbook, she had no idea what to expect with regard to its content and its length. Although Bill was not looking forward to months or perhaps even years of typing the material, he was glad to see a change in Helen with this announcement – she had no signs of panic which she had exhibited before. Bill felt that this in itself was a miracle, and attributed it to Helen’s working with the Course material.
The Manual for Teachers turned out to be a manageable 77 type-written pages long, and in September 1972, A Course in Miracles was finally complete. The next, and final editing of the Course would involve a young psychologist called Kenneth Wapnick, who had plans on becoming a Trappist monk…
Continue in Origins & Evolution:
Part 3 – Final editing of A Course in Miracles: 1972 – 1975
On behalf of Spirit, I say, you are very welcome! Love, Ken - 
Ken -
Hi Kenneth.
Link to Part 3 is broken. Thought you might like to know.
Blessings,
Wes
Immediate-Results
Thanks Wes.
Now fixed.
Blessings
Ken