Exploring A Course in Miracles

Spiritual bypassing is defined as using spiritual truth to sidestep the work of facing issues on a personal, interpersonal, or societal level. This is a topic that has been associated with A Course in Miracles due in part to the Course’s core teaching of unconditional forgiveness as well as the teaching that, no matter what we do to each other here - including the worst of what human beings do to one another, we can never make ourselves guilty on the level of spirit.   The arguments around the Course and spiritual bypassing can initially sound persuasive - and very serious Course students who have been confronted with these ideas have questioned the path or even abandoned it altogether. But for those who also care about making the world a more just and safe place for everyone and who want to keep the Course as our path - where does that leave us? How are we to think about all of this? In this podcast, Circle executive director Emily Bennington Perry answers these questions using a three-stage process in Course of partial innocence, partial wisdom, and true innocence. This bonus episode is taken from a sermon Emily delivered for our Course Companions Community and in it you will learn that what’s really going to create the change that everyone wants to see is not our withdrawal or our anger but our love.

The “holy instant” is a lovely term in A Course in Miracles. Who wouldn’t want to experience a holy instant? Yet unclarity abounds regarding this key aspect of the Course’s path. Join Robert and Emily as they cover a wide range of topics regarding the holy instant, including: What is a holy instant? What are the benefits? How do you know if you are having one? What are examples of holy instants? What do we do to have them? What can go wrong in trying to have them? How do they relate to miracles? What is their importance in the Course? What is their connection with relationships? If you've ever wondered about how to make holy instants a part of your everyday, you won't want to miss this episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles. The Circle of Atonement is a nonprofit sharing the wisdom of A Course in Miracles since 1993. Our mission is to help you achieve a deeper understanding of Course teachings and apply them in everyday life. Our work grows out of our commitment to be as faithful as possible to what A Course in Miracles says, our years of dedication to walking this path ourselves, and our desire to see the Course’s purpose realized in the lives of students and in the world. Learn more at https://circleofa.org/

#spiritualawakening #spiritualpodcasts #spirituality #acourseinmiracles In this episode, Robert and Emily finish their tour through the ten traits of the spiritually advanced from the Manual for Teachers of A Course in Miracles. The final trait is open-mindedness, which the Course says is perhaps the last trait we acquire. That’s because it involves truly opening our minds about who people are. Our judgments have quickly slapped labels on them, but now we leave room to let our inner Teacher reveal to us who they are. And that is how we at last forgive—forgiveness, you could say, being the eleventh trait, the pinnacle to which all this is leading. Robert and Emily also summarize the entire picture presented by the ten traits. What is the overall portrait that they paint? How would someone possessing these traits move through the world? What kind of person, in other words, are we ourselves aiming to become? We hope you enjoy this final episode our six week series. ———————————————————————- We are here to help you with both the theory and application of what A Course In Miracles (ACIM) offers. Since 1993, the Circle’s purpose has been to bring to students and the world the profound and unparalleled wisdom of A Course in Miracles. We are the publisher of the Complete and Annotated Edition of the Course (what we call the "CE"). Our work grows out of our commitment to be as faithful as possible to what A Course in Miracles says, our years of dedication to walking this path ourselves, and our desire to see the Course's purpose realized in the lives of students and in the world. - Learn more about us: https://circleofa.org/  Download the ACIM CE App (100% free) to read, search, or listen to the Course wherever you are in the world: https://acimce.app/  Whether you are new to ACIM or you’ve been a student for many years, join our free community to find a vast collection of resources and loving friends to help you understand and apply Course teachings in everyday life. There is no charge to join and all are welcome with optional to access premier content: https://community.circleofa.org/

We are nearing the end of our tour through the ten traits of the spiritually advanced. This week Robert and Emily talk about patience and faithfulness and, as usual, the Course has unique things to say about both. First, it says that the basis for genuine patience is trust. If we truly trust in the outcome, we can wait with no anxiety whatsoever. In addition, the concept of faithfulness here is not about being faithful to God or others, but about being faithful in applying the Course’s principles to every problem and situation we face. This is so important that it is literally the measure of our spiritual advancement. Please join Robert and Emily as they discuss these two traits and how we can acquire them.

As we continue our tour through the 10 traits of the spiritually advanced from the Manual for Teachers of A Course in Miracles, our episode this week centers on defenselessness and generosity. How can we be defenseless in an attacking world? What does the Course say about the kind of generosity required of someone spiritually advanced? Join Robert and Emily for closer look at this very important Course teaching and how to apply it to our lives. The Circle of Atonement is a nonprofit sharing the wisdom of A Course in Miracles since 1993. Our mission is to help students achieve a deeper understanding of Course teachings and apply them in everyday life. Our work grows out of our commitment to be as faithful as possible to what A Course in Miracles says, our years of dedication to walking this path ourselves, and our desire to see the Course’s purpose realized in the lives of students and in the world. Learn more at https://circleofa.org/

In this episode we cover the fourth and fifth characteristics of the spiritually advanced: gentleness and joy. However much we may admire gentleness, we worry that in a stubborn world it’s simply too weak to get the job done. But could it be that we have underestimated what the Course calls the “limitless the strength of gentleness”? Gentleness is so strong, says the Course, that it can grant us joy. Not as a fleeting emotion, but as a constant state, so constant that it’s one of our character traits. Please join Robert and Emily as they discuss these two traits and how we can acquire them.

This episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles covers honesty and tolerance, the second and third characteristics of the spiritually advanced in the Manual for Teachers. Perhaps we see these as beginner traits, far below the spiritual heights, but the Course grants them a much loftier significance. It speaks of an extreme form of honesty, which it calls “perfect honesty” and which we might call ultra-integrity. Likewise, it speaks of an extreme kind of tolerance, in which we are so tolerant that all things are equally acceptable and everyone is our brother. Please join Robert Perry and Emily Bennington as they discuss these two traits and how we can acquire them.

With this podcast we are embarking on a six-episode series, something we haven’t done before. The series is on the remarkable section in the Course on “What Are the Characteristics of God’s Teachers?” This section lays out ten character traits of the spiritual advanced. What kind of person are we aiming to become on the spiritual path? What kind of character will have as we near the end? That is what this series will attempt to answer. In this episode, we introduce the series and dive into the first characteristic: trust. The section repeatedly emphasizes that all the other traits rest on the foundation of trust. It is essential, therefore, to understand what this trust is. What exactly are we trusting? What does this trust look like? How do we develop it? What kind of life does it produce? Circle founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington address these questions and more.

We often think of goals as being out of keeping with spiritual awakening.  A Course in Miracles, however, believes in the importance of goals.  It encourages the same kind of goal-directed behavior that an Olympic athlete might use, except that now we set and pursue spiritual goals, rather than material ones. The reason is simple: Reaching any sort of destination is a function of how much energy you consistently put in its direction.  And that is what goals are about: deciding you want to get somewhere and putting consistent energy in that direction.  If you are open to being more goal-directed in your pursuit of the ultimate goal, the goal of God, join Robert and Emily as they discuss four principles from A Course in Miracles for setting and pursuing spiritual goals, the only ones that truly matter in life.

This podcast episode features Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D., the first-prize winner of the Bigelow Institute contest for essays on the evidence for survival of physical death. He was the host of the long-running PBS series Thinking Allowed, and is currently the host of the YouTube series New Thinking Allowed. Circle founder Robert Perry and executive director Emily Bennington talk with Jeffrey about evidence for life after death and for the spiritual nature of reality, and what this means for our lives and the future of humanity.