Journey Beyond Words (Miracles Studies Book) [Paperback]

Brent A. Haskell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 362 pages
• Publisher: Devorss & Co (Txp) (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875166954
• ISBN-13: 978-0875166957
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who like their ACIM straight-up, no chaser!, July 11, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Durham, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey Beyond Words (Miracles Studies Book) (Paperback)

Subtitled "A Companion to The Workbook of The Course," JBW distills the lessons of the Course's Workbook section down to their purest essences and presents them in a series of chapters that parallel the "daily" format of the Workbook.

Combining about 6 to 8 lessons of the Workbook into sections with such headings as: "Holiness," "Happiness," "Oneness," "The Kingdom of God," and "The Ego," etc., Journey Beyond Words condenses the somewhat discursive approach of A Course In Miracles into sharp, focused sentences that does away with, what many students of the Course consider to be the, at times, opaque, almost baroque, language of the original, dictated work.

As stated in the Introduction, the purpose of JBW is to get the sincere students of the Course past the idea that they are are to "learn" anything, especially in the analytical, academic sense, but rather to experience for themselves the Truth and Reality that the words of the Course can only hint at, or at best, point to. "Lived," not "learned," is the rallying cry and the leitmotif of the entire work.

As a text, this is Advaita (non-duality) at its top-notch, comparable to the "best" of Ramana, Nisargadatta, the Yoga Vashistha, etc. Pure, non-dual Reality (God) comes through every chapter and page. An exhilarating, liberating experience awaits those who seek to move beyond mere arid and intellectual categories and concepts and plunge into the "living water" of Jesus' revelation.

Speaking of Jesus, the one potential stumbling block here for Course students may be the fact that the "voice" of Journey Beyond Words identifies himself as Jeshua and the implication, of course, is that this is the very same personality (i.e., Jesus) who dictated the original Course to Helen Schucman, beginning in 1965.

Whether or not this is actually the case is left, of course, to the reader to decide for herself. But since, ! in fact, the whole purpose of both ACIM as well as JBW, is to get beyond all dualities and distinctions, particularly "specialness" ( a very key concept in both sets of material) of any kind, then I think it will only be the quibblers, the fundamentalists, and the Course In Miracles gurus and "big names" who may take issue with Jesus/Jeshua since JBW will probably threaten their own "specialness" as "official" interpreters of the Course to their often struggling, "dualistic" students.

I submit that if and when the Journey Beyond Words is actually completed (i.e., experientially, of course, and not merely conceptually), then any and all questions as to who "really wrote" either or both of these two completely enlivening and enlightening books, will be dissolved in the pure Oneness of That which (alone!) is.

One final note: I don't think the Journey Beyond Words should be approached before the reader is confident in his understanding of what the Course In Miracles is all about, i.e., Sonship with God. I may be off here, but I feel that to do otherwise might short-circuit the impact that the Journey Beyond Words can have on the sincere student of the Course and also may cause the reader to miss out on the richness of the original work (ACIM), as contrasted with the razor-sharp penetration of the Journey's "beyond" words.

Yes, 5 stars indeed!

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Words, January 7, 2002

By 

Gregory Y. Ball "spiritman" (Brunswick, ME USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Journey Beyond Words (Miracles Studies Book) (Paperback)

Since this book was initially intended to be a study guide for "A Course In Miracles", there is a tendency think that to buy this book would require an involvment with the Course. On the cover it is clearly labled as "A Companion to The Workbook of The Course" and is also designated as "A Miracles Studies Book". As a result I feel that this book has not yet reached a wide enough audience. This book and one that came after "The Other Voice" are more than just adjuncts to the Course.
The speaker of these teachings, Jeshua (Jesus), uses the word "extension" to denote the difference between the true Creation of God and the world that we experience, which he says comes from projection, an activity of the ego, and therefore not true creation. Extension is God's expression of His Love. The word informs us of the profoundly important fact that True Creation can in no way be anything that is outside of God. All creation must be simply God extending Him/Herself. That means that if all True Creation is simply God, and God is omnipotent and omnipresent, then all True Creation must be the extension of That. And God's Will, by definition, must be perfect, so there can be NO will in Creation that is separate or opposed to That Will. Think about the implications of that. Then get this book.
My life and intention has been irreversibly changed by this material. It is more than just a clarification of previous material. I believe that it can be thought of as an "extension" of the Course, in the larger meaning of that word. It is the profound Love of the Course extended in Love. The words are very clear and straightforward and easy to understand from the point of view of language, but these lessons live up to the title, "Journey Beyond Words". It may be 1,000 years or more before we can really begin to understand everything that is trying to come through here, but I strongly suggest that if you live with these words, rather than just read them, your journey to perfect joy and peace, where death is merely a transition, will be much more direct. There are many paths to that, but I feel that this is perhaps the most profound. The importance of this book and all of the words of Jeshua cannot, in my estimation, be overstated.

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ACIM in everyday, understandable language, June 26, 2000

By 

Sara K. Dubel (Houston,TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Journey Beyond Words (Miracles Studies Book) (Paperback)

My friend Fifi and I have been students of ACIM for several years. She stumbled across JBW and let me borrow it. She is usually very generous with her books but would NOT allow me to highlight this one. So I ordered my own through Amazon.com. After being "in my head" for so long with ACIM, JBW is like a breath of fresh air. Brent Haskell has brought a down to earthness to the Course and everything now seems so refreshingly simple with examples of practical application that bring about instant..."Ahas" and lots and lots of laughter. This is a brilliant work on ACIM and I heartily recommend it.