About Miracle Studies Australia
Miracle Studies Australia’s goal is to provide information and other resources for students of A Course in Miracles, particularly to those living in Australia.
My (James) internet activities on behalf of the Course began in 1995, organising one of the world’s first internet mailing lists for discussion of the Course followed by additional mailing lists (led by Allan Watson) providing lesson commentaries and discussion. After a few years of hosting mailing lists it became apparent that a more structured resource was needed.
Hosting of a site on the “webcentral” hosting service in 2000 saw the web publication of MiracleLink newsletters from Bill & Pam MacDonald (see links page for their own site), transcripts from café talks given by Linda and James as well as our own newsletter, “The Branching of the Road” (see links on sidebar.) The other main reason for hosting a site was to provide an active register of Course study groups. This service was originally started by Bill and Pam MacDonald when they handled the ditribution of the Course books in Australia. Each copy of the Course had a little note with their details and an invitation to let them know of study groups. Once Penguin began distribution, this avenue disappeared.
By 2002 it became apparent that the need to host a mailing list was no more. Many other lists and newsgroups had emerged and the administration was beginning to take its toll. Unfortunately egos are egos are egos, whether they identify themselves as Course students or not. The Course community was getting embroiled in the copyright wars and discussions were often swamped by opposing views. The lists were no longer a “safe” place for simple Course enquiires and help.
In 2005 we switched hosting services and obtained the “miracle-studies.net” and “miracle-studies.net.au” domains and were able to set up the site you are now viewing. This site is now based on a popular blogging software called WordPress which has simplified maintenance considerably.
We hope the site is a bit easier to navigate and would welcome ideas and thoughts for how to make it better.
We would also like you to tell us of any study groups you run or know of so that we can continue this service for the community.