Customer Reviews

Complete Story of the Course: The History, the People, and the Controversies Behind "A Course in Miracles"

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With this book Mr. Miller has done something for which Course students will be thankful for generations to come, detailed the unusual and complicated history of "A Course In Miracles." He has also interviewed and profiled the key players in Course commentary: Kenneth Wapnick PhD and Gloria Wapnick (founders of "Foundation for A Course In Miracles"), Marianne Williamson (author of "A Return to Love"), Gerald Jampolsky (author of "Love is Letting Go of Fear"), members and former members of Endeavor Academy are interviewed, and Tara Singh (author of "How to Learn From A Course In Miracles") is mentioned. Though not interviewed, the two Course co-scribes, Helen Schucman and William Thetford, are profiled as well (with a picture of them, the only picture in the book, included).

The Course is not easy to classify. It has Christian themes and terminology, but it's not Christianity. It has the compassion of Buddhism, but it's not Buddhist. It has Hindu-like non-duality, but is not Hindu. It has the Freudian analysis of the ego, yet it's not pure psychoanalysis. It was "channeled," but it's not Edgar Cayce. It is currently embraced mostly by those within the "New Age," but it contains no rituals or crystal gazing, no mention of UFOs or planetary alignment, no aura work, no meditations, no chants, no laying-on-of-hands, no directions for group work, no lessons on the development of psychic powers, and none of the "positive thinking" and prosperity consciousness that is the hallmark of most New Age paths. In fact, since the Course's aim is removing the blocks to the awareness of love's presence, Kenneth Wapnick has commented that the Course could even be termed "negativism" because it encourages its readers to look at, and not deny, the mess they have made of their own lives and minds. What category, then, does the Course fit into? None. It will have to define its own genre. This will be a long time coming; but by writing this book, D. Patrick Miller has aided in creating the category the Course must define for itself.

A fascinating thing about D. Patrick Miller is that while he is a student of the Course, he admits that there are aspects of the Course that he is not completely comfortable with - the Christian language of the Course being one, the exclusive use of male terms to refer to the Divine being another. Mr. Miller has even stated that the Course, and its origin, sometimes just seems "too strange" for him to believe. This frankness adds a dimension of honesty that any reader would appreciate. Mr. Miller is a beautiful writer, and this book not only details the interesting history of the Course and how it was scribed, it also gives a brief introduction to Course theory and metaphysics and how it compares to other religions. One of my favorite sections of this book is the "personal stories" section where "students" (to be a student of the Course simply means you read the three books [recently published as a three-in-one volume]) relate how they found the Course, how it has effected their lives, and how much of the Course theory they accept or reject (some students accept the Course theory completely, some accept only aspects of it, some mix the Course with other spiritual teachings).

As is my usual custom with books that touch me, I wrote to the author to thank him for his work. Mr. Miller kindly replied to my letter and even aided further in my understanding of Course theory. I am very thankful for the aid he gave me, and I am thankful that he wrote this book. I continue to reference "The Complete Story of the Course" from time to time and I am always amazed to find interesting passages that I seemed to have missed before. I always recommend this book to people interested in the Course, either as potential students or people simply curious about the phenomenon.

As a person approaching A Course in Miracles, I wanted to know more about what I was getting into. I had only read and heard positive things about ACIM from its students and reviewers. I looked for a more objective opinion and Miller delivered it.

This book explained in good detail how ACIM came about, the controversies behind it, and its effects on those who study it. There are full accounts of critics of ACIM and why they disagree with or what they despise about the course. I found their opinions helpful, yet was more taken in by the personal accounts of students from all walks of life kinds describing the effects the course has had on their lives.

Also, since Miller is a student of ACIM, I felt that he could accurately represent the ideas behind it. He also admits there are somewhat "Cult-like" divisions (like Endeavor Academy, which he takes accounts from those who lived there rather than experiencing it on his own, can't say I blame him).

The only qualm I have with this book is I would like to see some accounts of students who were into ACIM but shyed away from it for whatever reasons, or how they overcame the difficult terminology.

This book is ideal for those considering studying ACIM, and I believe it states things objectively enough to let you make up your own mind.

My personal word of thanks for D. Patrick Miller's excellent work on the story of the Course. I first read it about three years ago and as a result I have been able to make contact with many Course students and organizations around the world. It also assisted me in dealing with my personal fears of criticism of the Course by allowing me to examine them head on. Mr. Miller is a very professional writer who has done a great job of stepping past his personal thoughts and sharing the thoughts of many (something that not all journalists are known for). I firmly recommend this book to all students of the Course as not only an excellent way to find out about various Course organizations but also as an excellent history book of the Course itself.

May I also mention that I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Miller at the "ACIM Into The New Millennium" conference in San Francisco this past February and I have to say that he is a very approachable, caring, down to earth, humorous man. I fully appreciated the time spent visiting with him personally and attending his workshop. I know that he has an ego just like the rest of us, however, he hides it very well:-).

This book was extremely helpful in finding out exactly what the Course is all about.

When someone asked me last week what I thought of "A Course in Miracles", I realzied that although I had heard the name for years I knew *nothing* of what it was, where it came from, or what it taught.

Mr. Miller's book did a good job of explaining what the Course is, and the gist of it's message. In the course of this, he convinced me that Helen Schuckman had a genuine spiritual experience -- something I was prepared to doubt, before.

I am not a "seeker" -- I have an active & fulfilling spiritual life, that does not include the Course. And I have neither the time nor desire to read The Course as a primary text, simply to learn *about* it.

Because of this, I found Mr. Miller's book invaluable.

"The Complete Story of The Course" provides a readable overview of the teachings of The Course in Miracles, its origins and history, and the varied points of view of many of the principal players within the Course community. The book's presentation of opposing viewpoints is fair and without rancor. As a student of the Course, the author's bias is apparent but not overbearing. The testimonials of Course students reveal a broad spectrum of backgrounds and approaches and are refreshingly honest. This book meets the needs of those new to the Course or anyone curious about this controversial spiritual phenomenon. It is a "must-read" for Course students.

Skeptics and believers alike will find solid value in D. Patrick Miller's "The Complete Story of the Course - The History, The People, and The Controversies Behind A Course in Miracles®", a first class report on what is certainly one of the most influential and provocative teachings in contemporary spirituality.

Miller, a veteran journalist and author of "A Little Book of Forgiveness", provides a comprehensive and balanced account of the teaching's history and evolution, including an overview of the Course itself, plus original interviews with Marianne Williamson and other important Course leaders and participants.

There are nice sections on the Course and psychotherapy and "The Voices of Students", a kind of in-their-own-words approach to some of the Course's mystery and appeal. Most compelling, though, is Miller's own ruminations about the Course and its effect on his own existence, a fine essay in its own right that will hit home with many readers and possibly nudge the curious another step closer to learning even more. Highly recommended.

This book was extremely helpful in finding out exactly what the Course is all about.

When someone asked me last week what I thought of "A Course in Miracles", I realzied that although I had heard the name for years I knew *nothing* of what it was, where it came from, or what it taught.

Mr. Miller's book did a good job of explaining what the Course is, and the gist of it's message. In the course of this, he convinced me that Helen Schuckman had a genuine spiritual experience -- something I was prepared to doubt, before.

I am not a "seeker" -- I have an active & fulfilling spiritual life, that does not include the Course. And I have neither the time nor desire to read The Course as a primary text, simply to learn *about* it.

Because of this, I found Mr. Miller's book invaluable.

This is a wonderful book, extremely well written by an informed, and talented author. He answers all the pertinent questions from history to heresy. If you're interested in the Course, read this book. If you've tried and failed to get through the Course, read this book. And if you think you're NOT interested in the Course, then by all means, read this book!

(I am adding this note a couple of years after the initial review. When I first wrote this I was unfamiliar with Mr. Miler.)

D. Patrick Miller is the guy who published Gary Renard's The End of the Universe, which I believe to be a remarkably successful fiction and a real disservice to spiritual seekers. A Course in Miracles is a book. Given that it's simply a book and far from an easy read, anyone can present their interpretation.

If you have a fresh coloring book you can fill it in with whatever you want. You don't even have to stay in the lines. The book can't defend itself. That doesn't make your 'contribution' to it either Art or Truth.

Having said that, let me go on to say that this is still a fine book, with good writing and good reportage. But don't do as I did and take this honest book as evidence of sincerity in regard to the author's involvement with anything beyond these two covers.

This book does a good job of orienting an ACIM student to most that has been written about it minus Gary Renard's two books. For me it was a little boring at first simply because I had previously read Ken Wapnick's "Absence from Felicity" which in my opinion IS the complete story of ACIM. Mr. Miller starts with ACIM "light" material and progresses to the more intense material to include the Wapnick material. I enjoyed the critiques of ACIM. Specifically Needleman's reference to jumping into an inner transformative spiritual practice before one experiences an outer spiritual practice...."You could compare the esoteric core of a religion to a very pure, high-octane fuel. Put it into a Volkswagen, and the car will go like hell for a mile before it blows apart." What I really took away from this book was located in chapter 6. Roger Walsh's & Frances Vaughan's analysis of the world's great religions and what they have in common with ACIM. This part of the book offers what I consider great wisdom. Finally it just continues to fascinate me to read about the ruthless ACIM haters from the fundamental Christians. They are the ones who fear ACIM most. It is ironic that the one they worship as the Son of God is the same one who wrote ACIM. They fear a Divine thought system of forgiveness and that is exactly why He was crucified over two thousand years ago.

Regrettably, we purchased a brand new copy of a book from 'ourbookloft' showing as new. It is not new by any stretch of the imagination. The cover is 'dog earred' and dirty. We bought this book as a gift. Buyer beware of this seller. I gave it one star because at least the title is correct.