How to "Do" A Course in Miracles

Many people think A Course in Miracles is difficult to do. It’s not. It’s one of the easiest things in the world once you make a commitment to it.

But many buy the book and then feel completely overwhelmed by the number of pages. Once they do attempt to begin reading, many people feel confused by the message. They have no clue who wrote A Course in Miracles or what it means. They have no idea how to begin or what to do.

In this video, I will go into detail about how to ‘do’ A Course In Miracles:

Download the Video Transcript (or scroll down to read it at the bottom of this page)

 

How Do I  “Do” It?

• Buy a copy of A Course in Miracles. There are online versions, including free versions, and you can certainly go that route, but many people find it helpful to have the actual book.
• Make a one-year commitment to train your mind by doing the workbook lessons. The Workbook Lessons are in the middle of the book, after Chapter 31. Quite a lot of people are unaware there are 365 workbook lessons. You do one lesson a day. It takes one year to complete. To understand how to do the workbook lessons, make sure to read the “Introduction”  which can be found after the Table of Contents for the Workbook Lessons (again, it’s in the middle of the book, so just flip through until you find it). It never ceases to amaze me how many people who have just purchased the book do not understand there are workbook lessons in here, or how to do them. It’s all explained in the Introduction, in simple easy instructions.
• As for completing the rest of A Course in Miracles, find what works for you. You might decide to start with the Text. You may decide to start with the Manual for Teachers. You may decide to read the Song of Prayer or the Psychotherapy Booklet. You may decide a combination of all of these. That part is up to you. Read it at a pace that feels right to you. You probably will need to rearrange your schedule to make time to read it – for example, you may decide to read one chapter a week, or a section a day, or maybe even a chapter a day (but that’s ambitious!).

Watch the video above for the full message. 

I would love to hear from you!

Question: How do YOU do A Course in Miracles? What has your experience been with it? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

 

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Want even more training and encouragement? Here are several ways to begin:

Sign up for the 40-Day Program for Transformation. It’s FREE. Begins on January 15, 2017: https://teachersofgod.leadpages.co/40-day-transformation

Register for a FREE online 2-hour LIVE workshop with Lisa Natoli “One Bold Decision: Change Your Story, Change Your Life” on Saturday, January 14, 2017 from 1pm-3pm. There will be a replay recording available for a few days after for people who are registered: http://teachersofgod.org/webcast

Love the way I teach? Ready to make a one-year commitment to do the workbook lessons and need some additional motivation? Sign up to receive a daily audio for every day of the year for every workbook lesson of A Course in Miracles, with my online course ACIM 365. The price is $149 until January 15, 2017. After that date, the cost is $249: http://programs.teachersofgod.org/p/guide-to-365

And finally, if you have taken the 40-Day Program in the past and love it, please share it with your friends by clicking this link. We have a free gift for everyone who shares this link –  a copy of my Ask and Receive Worksheet: https://www.teachersofgod.org/40-day-promo-video

Like this video? Please share it! Thank you very much!

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FULL TRANSCRIPT:

(The following is the full transcript of this video with Lisa Natoli. Please note that this video, like all our videos, features our teachers speaking unscripted and unedited. Enjoy!)

Hi. Welcome!
I’m Lisa Natoli and the co-founder of the Teachers of God Foundation. I am the author of Gorgeous for God and the creator of the 40 Day Program for Transformation. I thank you so much for being here with me today.

I’d like to talk about the number one question that I receive as a teacher of A Course in Miracles:

“How do I do it?”

People often buy a copy of A Course in Miracles and then have no idea where to start. I really want to talk about that today.

My husband Bill Free and I were talking last night about how each of us individually began our journey with A Course in Miracles. I told him that I hadn’t known of a single person who had heard about A Course in Miracles for five years. I had no clue what this book was. Bill had a completely different experience. He watched videos, movies, joined groups, and researched it. He knew exactly what it was when he began. He knew of the workbook in here. I didn’t even know that. I want to talk about this.

This is the standard copy of the book from the Foundation for Inner Peace. It includes all of the different books inside. I want to show you the different versions of the book that I have here with me.

I actually have the original version from 1975. It was originally published as three books. It is a text with 31 chapters in it. It has a Workbook for Students that include 365 workbook lessons in it. It takes one year to complete. It has a Manual for Teachers. This is the original 1975 addition. They since have changed that.

I got the book in 1992. I did not have a clue what this book was. All I knew is that it was A Course in Miracles and I thought that was really cool.
I thought:

“A Course in MIRACLES! Okay, I could use that.”

I remember opening up the book and at first being completely turned off by the religious terminology.

I personally think the preface is very difficult to understand. I’m sure that other people have a very different perception of it. I did not understand that there was a workbook with 365 lessons inside of this book.

When it said, “Manual for Teachers”, I didn’t understand that I was a teacher.

Personally, I was very confused.

For the first five years, I would open the book randomly. That was from 1992-1996, 1997. I finally met a man in New York City who told me about the workbook.

He said, “There are 365 lessons and you make a one-year commitment to do them. It is a mind training. You train your mind in a systematic way into a different perception of everyone and everything.”

I just want to point that out to you. It’s in the middle of the book. I know this might sound very basic to those who are already doing it. My mom just got a copy of the book. She told me over the phone the other day that she really wants to do it now. She’s been listening to me for a long time. She did the 40 Day Program for Transformation and totally loved it. She called me on the phone the other day and she said, “I want to do A Course in Miracles.” I was like, “Really? Oh my God.”

So, she got a copy of the book, called me again, and said,

“Okay, now what?”

I realized that this is the number one question I get asked from people. They come up to me, have the book, and say,

“I have it. What do I do?”

My suggestion is to simply make a commitment to do the workbook lessons. That’s the first thing I suggest because it’s going to take one year. Then you can do whatever else feels comfortable to you. You can start with the text or the Manual for Teachers. There’s additional sections in here. There’s the Clarification of Terms, the Psychotherapy Handbook, and the Song of Prayer.

My suggestion is to begin with the workbook lessons.

I always have to tell people where it is. I have to turn the pages and show them that it’s in the middle of the book, at the end of the 31st chapter. You’re going to turn the pages until you get there. It’s called “Workbook for Students”. It lists all 365 workbook lessons in a table of contents.

As a teacher, I have found that the number one overlooked aspect for people who are struggling with this book is that they did not read the introduction.

I tell people to make a one year commitment to do the workbook lessons and to do one lesson a day. After I tell people to make this commitment, I tell them to read the introduction to the workbook. It tells you exactly how to do it.

It says,

“Don’t try to understand these lessons. They are not understandable.”

Then, you just begin.

Start with Lesson 1 and do exactly what it says. Don’t try to understand it. The next day, wake up in the morning, open up the book, go to the next lesson, and just do what it says. It’s very specific. It tells you exactly how to do it.

 

It’s a mind training. It’s designed to undo the thought system of fear. That’s why I always suggest one year in which you make a 100% commitment.

Don’t just say, “Okay, I’ll do it and I’ll see how it goes.”

I always suggest to make that one year commitment. One year is going to go by and you will have done it.

In my experience, a lot of old baggage such as old fears and doubts starts to come up into your awareness.

You’ll want to say,

“I don’t like this book.”

That was me for years. I had so much resistance to some of the terminology in here, but someone told me something that was so helpful to me. I did not know this for the first five years.

The author is Jesus, the same guy that walked the Earth 2,000 years ago. He is the author of this book. Once I knew that, I was reading it differently.

So many say,

“I don’t understand what this book says. I don’t have a clue.”

If you read it like a letter from Jesus to you, it will be easier for you. I was always trying to understand who the “I” was that’s speaking here and who are they speaking to. I thought that perhaps this was something written for Helen Schucman. She was the one who brought it into time and space. I had difficulty with the concept of this being channeled material.

I thought, “No, this is just a woman who’s trying to get her own message into the world.”

I kept being drawn back to the book. I didn’t know what it was. I kept being curious about it. I kept being interested in it. I kept thinking about who the “I” is and who the “you” is. The “I” who is speaking as the author is Jesus Christ from 2,000 years ago, who walked with those twelve disciples, extended the love of God here on Earth, and created miracles. That’s the same person, and he’s speaking to me.

When he says, “you”, I know he is speaking to me. Jesus is with me.

How you finish the text is up to you. You need to make a commitment to set time aside to read it. You can read a chapter a day, a chapter a week, or a chapter a month. I suggest you start from the beginning and you just go. Maybe you dedicate a half an hour a day to reading. Maybe it’s something you do in the morning when you wake up. What ever way you structure finishing it is up to you.

Then there’s the Manuel for Teachers. To me, that’s an easy read.

Again, I’m just sharing my own perception. It may be different for you. I encourage you to just begin it. Begin it and allow yourself to keep an open mind. Stay curious.

Be like a child. Be like a beginner. Don’t try to understand what it says. Just do it.

At the Teachers of God Foundation, we have so many awesome programs and an amazing community for you. I wish I had that in the five years I did it alone. You don’t have to do it alone anymore. There’s so much online. There are so many amazing organizations and places where you can be inspired.

If you would like additional inspiration, I offer a one year program called ACIM 365. I give a ten minute audio talk for every single workbook lesson, for every single day of the year. It has been very helpful to many people. I don’t do the workbook lessons for you. I really believe that you have to work with your own thought system, vibration, and old ideas. I’m really just guiding and pointing out some of the things I’ve seen in these lessons. These are great reminders everyday of the commitment you have made. If you’re interested in that, it’s available under “courses” on the Teachers of God website. You do it at the pace you want to do it. It’s always there for you.

I’m so excited that you’re starting this. The reason that I’ve dedicated my own life to telling people about this is because of how it transformed my own life. I feel like my purpose now is to get people excited about this book. People feel that it’s complicated and difficult. It is not. It’s one of the easiest things that you can imagine once you open your mind up to a different perception.

Again, read it like a love letter.

Make that your commitment and just go. Have fun.

I look forward to hearing from you and the changes that occur in your life. I love you.

Question: How do YOU do A Course in Miracles? What has your experience been with it? You can leave a comment by clicking here.