Exploring A Course in Miracles

When it comes to  A Course in Miracles , one thing students are always asking is, "How do I make the Course practical?"  A Course in Miracles , however, is full of practical instructions. The Course aims to enclose our day in different forms of practice in order "to make the day as happy for you as God wants it to be" and even to make "the business of the day…holy." In this episode, Robert and Emi...

Amidst all of life's chaos, we find ourselves hoping that someone up there has got a plan—a plan for our lives, a plan for our world. It's hard to shake this hope, even when we don't believe in God. At the same time, the notion of God's plan comes with a lot of baggage for fear of what it will ask of us. In this episode, Robert and Emily explore the concept of God's plan as it appears in  A Course...

We've all been in relationships that start out truly harmonious and mutually supportive. You and the other person are committed to the same goals and that feeling of magic connection is there. Next thing you know, it all slowly starts to die or shatters completely. How are we routinely in this place where relationships that begin with so much potential end so poorly? While there are an infinite nu...

Haven't we all wondered if we were put on earth for a reason, to accomplish some unknown mission? Perhaps Walt Whitman was right when he said, "That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse"? This notion, however, raises so many questions: Do we even have a purpose or is life merely random? If we do have one, how do we find out what it is? How do we prepare for it? And once in it,...

What lies beyond the conscious mind? Are there higher levels? Are there lower ones?  A Course in Miracles says yes to both. It contains a fascinating, extensive picture of the mind in which the levels constantly interact with each other. Right now, they are in conflict, but the Course holds out the promise of the mind becoming an organic whole, in which all of the levels work together in harmony....

A Course in Miracles is frequently described as a "nondual" path. It's true that both the Course and nonduality teach that everything is ultimately one and separation is an illusion. However, there are significant differences as well, and those differences amount to contrasting worldviews. In this episode, Robert and Emily present a general overview the distinctions between nondual teachings and A...

Students of A Course in Miracle s are forever vexed by the question, What is the ego? Is it a real entity or just a belief? Should we love it or condemn it? Does it keep us safe or endanger us? Should we take it seriously or disregard it? How can we tell when it's speaking to us? And how can we let go of it? In this episode, Robert and Emily draw upon their years on the path to speak to the whole...

Every minute of every day we are faced with the question of what matters and what doesn't. What if we are getting it all wrong? We've been told to put the big rocks in first and not to sweat the small stuff, but what are the big rocks? And what is the small stuff?  A Course in Miracles has surprising yet compelling views on this topic. In its teaching, most everything we attend to, worry about, an...

We are honored to have Lorna Byrne on this episode. Lorna is an Irish mystic who is the author of the bestselling  Angels in My Hair* . She is known the world over for her contact with angels, in which she physically sees them at all times. In this episode, Robert and Emily ask Lorna about angels' role in relation to our spiritual progress, free will, fallen angels, angels' help in God's plan, ang...

In the spiritual field, we tend to grant enormous authority to those who claim to be directly in touch with true reality and who speak with total certainty. But should we? In this episode, Robert and Emily argue that the very nature of perception is that it's uncertain. No one on earth really knows in the fullest sense of the word. What do we do, then, when someone steps forward and says they know...

We often keep the subject of Jesus at arm's length due to the baggage that so many of us carry around him. Yet we would benefit by letting go of this baggage, by forgiving Jesus for the fearful images we put on him. This will allow him to help us in all the ways that he is offering to do. He wants to be our teacher. He wants to be our personal guide. And he wants to work through us to carry out hi...

If the Shroud of Turin is authentic, then it is by far the most direct evidence we have of the historical Jesus. It is a burial cloth that, if genuine, is stained with his blood and contains an image apparently projected from his body. But is it authentic? In this episode, Robert and Emily interview Joe Marino, one of the leading authorities on the Shroud in the world.  A Course in Miracles  says...

Join Circle founder Robert Perry and Jan Holden, President of the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS), as they explore the profound realm of near-death experiences (NDEs). Through expert insights and firsthand accounts, Robert and Jan discuss common traits of NDEs, what NDEs can tell us about life after death, what happens after an NDE, why some people who experience NDEs are...

In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, coach and organizational development expert Holiday Phillips had a post on performative allyship go viral. Her followers jumped from 1,000 to more than 50,000 overnight, and suddenly Holiday found herself as a voice for social justice during the rise of Black Lives Matter. Now, with a sizable audience and "influencer" status, Holiday discovered that her m...

The crucifixion is the main event in Christianity. Christians generally view Jesus' death as a payment for our sins so that God will forgive us and we can go to Heaven. Increasingly, however, this is leading to a "crisis of faith" where many who sincerely love Jesus can't reconcile him with a God who enacts revenge and violence.  How could a loving God murder His own Son?  Not surprisingly, A Cour...

In this message from a Sunday Gathering, Circle executive director Emily Perry discusses how we often use the considerable power of our mind to protect our ego (meaning our illusions, our sense of separation, our specialness, and our superiority) - when we should be using the power of our mind to defend our oneness, our shared holiness, and our equality instead. Sunday Gatherings take place on the...

A Course in Miracles teaches that each one of us is here to be a savior. This is not about having a "savior complex." This is a healthy and fulfilling understanding of our true purpose on earth. But how does the Course define this term? What does it mean when it says we are each other's savior? And how does the Course's view differ from trying to "rescue" or "fix" someone? In this episode, Robert...

Forgiveness is part of the human experience and is the Course's central teaching. But students are often confused about how to understand forgiveness and how to practice it. We at the Circle just finished a 28-Day Forgiveness Challenge, where we thoroughly explored the teaching and did the practice. We came away with such rich learning from these four weeks, both personally and from the group expe...

"Attack is a call for love" is a well-known concept among students of A Course in Miracles . That said, what we tend to think it means is that we attack, but we weren't trying to do any harm - we were just looking for love and it came out the wrong way. In the Course, however, "attack is a call for love" doesn't mean "we attack because we're just looking for love" - it means something very differe...

In this message from our January 14, 2024 Sunday Gathering service, Emily Perry discusses the striking connection between the teaching of Dr. Martin Luther King and A Course in Miracles , and the relevance of this wisdom for our time. Sunday Gatherings take place on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month. ___________________________ Since 1993, our purpose has been to help with both the theory and p...

It can be a dilemma: You need to set a boundary with someone, and yet you don't want to be unloving. Helen Schucman, the scribe of  A Course in Miracles , faced this very situation. A man she had counseled had developed feelings for her, and now she faced the quandary of what to do. She first received guidance and then wrote him a long letter, a letter which appears to have been inspired from a hi...

A Course in Miracles teaches that time is unreal, yet it also speaks of giving a "year" to God. The Text refers to the New Year 11 times, saying, "This is the year for the application of the ideas that have been given you" [CE T-16.II.10:4] . And the Workbook refers to its year 6 times, calling it "the year that we have given God" [CE W-PtII.In.4:3] . In this episode, Robert and Emily will explore...

It's impossible to overstate how completely chained to the past we are - and the damage this does to our mental health, to our relationships, and to our world. There are many different modalities we use to release ourselves from the past; however, A Course in Miracles offers its own way through that Robert and Emily will share in this episode. If you are someone who feels bound by the past, if you...

A Course in Miracles  reminds us that forgiveness is a cornerstone for personal and spiritual growth. When we forgive, we release ourselves from anger and bitterness, remember the inherent holiness and worth of all beings, and unleash our natural impulse to love. In this bonus webinar replay, Robert and Emily Perry explore the fundamental principles of A  Course in Miracles'  approach to "miraculo...

Safety is a central issue for all of us. It's remarkable how much of our time and energy goes into keeping ourselves safe. The problem, according to A Course in Miracles , is that our attempts to make ourselves safe backfire. The Course describes a process whereby ordinary, "innocent" self-defense ends up causing us to expect attack—and thereby feel unsafe. And it lays out a way to safety that wou...