20.04.06
Where to begin?
Posted in Questions and Answers at 11:43 pm by miracles 
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I have recently become aware of ‘A Course in Miracles’ and am interested in partaking. I just don’t know where to begin! Can you please assist me.
Thank you so much in advance!
Probably the first place to start is with the book itself. The Course consists of three books, the Text, a Workbook for Students and a Manual for Teachers, bound together in a single volume. If you have not yet seen the Course it might be a good idea to try your local library to see if they have a copy. That way you can begin to get acquainted with it, its language and terminology and perhaps a glimpse of what it entails before going out and getting your own copy. Although you can probably get second hand copies and the lower price paperback form, most booksellers seem to carry the standard printing at anywhere from $50 to $100!. An example of our tyranny of distance.
If you need an excellent summary of what the Course is, then check out the What it says section of the preface. You can read this on line at the web site of the original publishers of the Course, the Foundation for Inner Peace.
It is also a good idea to ask yourself what you think you want to get out of the Course. By being as clear as you can be with this, what the Course may offer will also become a little clearer. However please understand that any ideas you have or form at this time will change and be replaced by others. The Course is a course in mind training and promises to challenge every value you now hold, both the ones you are conscious of, as well as, and more importantly, those you are not.
Ok, enough of the preliminaries. You have got a copy of the book, and after looking through it have decided to give it a try.
How do you start?
How do you partake?
Just start reading.
The Course has been described as a self-study spiritual text, and to a certain extent it is. All you need is the book and the willingness to give it a go by reading (and studying) the Text and doing the one-year workbook programme. You do not need to join any groups and there are no formal classes to attend or gatherings to participate in. There is however help available if you have questions or get a bit confused from time to time about what it is actually saying. There may be a study group in an area not far from where you live that you could visit. There are also many articles and books written about the Course both on this web site and many others, as well as in the spiritual/new age type bookshops. But all these things are just potential supports for simply reading the thing and doing its lessons. You will find resistance rising in you from time to time should you take it on. Don’t worry, as that is an integral part of doing it!
It also doesn’t matter where you start. You can begin by reading the Manual for Teachers and then start the lessons of the Workbook before even opening the Text. What matters is that you actually take the first step. Dive in and drink of what it may offer you.
If questions arise in this process you can always drop us a line, post another question or even call us up.