Exploring A Course in Miracles

In the old days, it was “a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Now, we just worry that it’s unsatisfying. A Course in Miracles teaches that it is neither. The Course says that at the foundation of our being we feel an irresistible attraction to God, which it calls “the pull of God.” Join Robert Perry and Emily Bennington for a lively discussion of this important but little-known teaching.

“God” is a word that appears throughout the pages of A Course in Miracles. But how important is it for us to believe in God? Do we have any real evidence that God exists? Is belief in God necessary for making progress on the spiritual journey? In this episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles, Circle founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington discuss these questions as well as what the Course has to say about the nature of God, how He loves us, why the Course isn't strictly a nondual path, and much more.

The Circle Story Project is a collection of real-life stories that exemplify Course principles, ranging from profound experiences and unusual phenomena to more everyday inner shifts. In this bonus episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles, Circle founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington talk with Story Project leader Sue Pearson and editor James Gregory about how the Story Project was formed, how to make a submission, and how stories can be used to share the Course with the world. Sue and James also read one of their favorite stories from the Story Project archives, including a powerful testimony of finding the Course from a traditionally Christian background. You can register to watch these podcast recordings for free on our events page and participate via Zoom. Go to circleofa.org/events for details. #exploringacimpodcast #acim #acourseinmiracles #circleofatonement

What is anger? What causes it? How can we be relieved of it? Is it a force of its own that we can either bottle up or let flow through us? Or is it the result of something we ourselves are freely doing? For answers to these questions and more, you are invited to join Robert Perry and Emily Bennington for an in-depth look at anger as it is discussed in A Course in Miracles.

Katherine Woodward Thomas is the New York Times-bestselling author of Conscious Uncoupling and Calling in the One. Katherine is also a licensed marriage and family therapist and a teacher to students all around the world who want to learn about ending or beginning a significant relationship with love at the center. In this interview, Circle of Atonement Executive Director Emily Bennington interviews Katherine on the overlap between her work and A Course in Miracles.

The time between Palm Sunday and Easter is widely known as ‘Holy Week’. For many raised in Christian traditions, this has been a sacred week which is rich in ritual, meaning, and emotion, all of it building up to the joy of Easter. Course students from other traditions may not have any associations with Holy Week at all. Regardless of your background, wouldn’t it be wonderful to celebrate Holy Week under the umbrella of A Course in Miracles? In this episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles, Circle of Atonement founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington explore how we can celebrate Holy Week in a new way. As the Course says, “Let us not spend this holy week brooding on the crucifixion of God’s Son, but happily in the celebration of his release.” You can register to watch these podcast recordings for free on our events page and participate via Zoom. Go to circleofa.org/events for details.

Course students have long struggled with the fact that the feminine seems entirely absent from the pages of A Course in Miracles. God is “Father.” The Holy Spirit is referred to as “Him.” We are all called “Sons.” Other people are called “brothers.” In this podcast episode, Circle founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington speak about what this means while also highlighting examples of where the feminine does appear in the Course. You can register to watch these podcast recordings for free on our events page and participate via Zoom. Go to circleofa.org/events for details. #exploringacimpodcast #acim #acourseinmiracles #circleofatonement

As the Course community has become aware that far more editing was done in the Course than was previously known, the idea has grown up that all of this editing—done primarily by Helen Schucman—was guided. In other words, just as the dictation was from Jesus, the editing was too. That’s a comforting idea, but we don’t have to speculate about this. We can see literally thousands of editing decisions that Helen made. What story do those decisions tell us? In this podcast episode, Circle founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington will answer the important question “Was Helen’s editing guided?”

We all know healthy boundaries are important. Long before boundaries were celebrated as an essential part of self-care, Robert Frost wrote, “Good fences make good neighbors.” And yet, as Course students, the topic of boundaries brings up many significant questions: How do we reconcile boundaries with the spiritual teaching that we ultimately have no boundaries, that the lines between us are a fiction of the mind? When does an emphasis on setting boundaries get in the way of the supreme value of love and forgiveness? How would the Course advise us to enact a boundary or even to end a relationship? In this podcast, Circle founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington share what the Course has to teach us on this very important topic.

We often think of Christmas as the celebration of Jesus' birth in the world. The Course has its own take, however, one that celebrates a holy birth within all of us. In this episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles, Circle of Atonement founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington share an encapsulation of the Course's Christmas teachings and how we can all apply them to our lives. To listen to other Exploring A Course in Miracles podcasts, visit circleofa.org/podcast.