Exploring A Course in Miracles offers in-depth conversations on Course-related topics from Robert and Emily Perry. To learn more about Circle of Atonement offerings for your A Course in Miracles journey, including our Complete and Annotated Edition (CE) of A Course in Miracles and our Course Companions online learning community, please visit www.circleofa.org.
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Marianne Williamson on `The Mystic Jesus'
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For this episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles podcast, Emily Perry interviewed Marianne Williamson on her latest book, The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love. Marianne shares her insights on the "spiritual force" of Jesus and his role in our spiritual journey. If you want a more personal experience of Jesus - beyond dogma and in the realm of unive…
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The Priestess in A Course in Miracles
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In the months before A Course in Miracles started coming through, scribe Helen Schucman had three different Priestess visions that all appear to represent a past life of hers. One of those visions would continue to recur for years and even makes an appearance in the Text and the Workbook of the Course. But who is the Priestess, and why does she mat…
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The Forgotten Material - Upcoming Series Preview
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In this episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles, Robert and Emily Perry focus on two of the most important but little-known writings from Course scribe Helen Schucman: The Gifts of God and the Special Messages. The Gifts of God is Helen Schucman's last authentic scribing, taken down just three years before she died, and contains beautiful teachin…
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From Words to Experience in A Course in Miracles
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In contemporary spirituality, we are told to "go beyond concepts and words" to a more direct connection with God. We are told not to be too "in our heads" because thinking blocks spiritual experience. These are very popular teachings, but how should we view these ideas as students of A Course in Miracles, especially given that the Course is 2,000 p…
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How to Save the World (Sunday Gathering Sermon)
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In this Sunday Gathering sermon, Emily Perry shares tools and principles from nonviolent civil rights protests of the 1950s and 60s and discusses the relevance for students of A Course in Miracles today. From Martin Luther King's teachings to the inspirational stories of civil rights leaders like John Lewis and Carolyn McKinstry, Emily reminds us h…
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In this episode, Robert and Emily discuss the need for wise and experienced spiritual teachers and the call that some feel to be a teacher. They talk about the qualities of a teacher the Course highlights—qualities the Course calls the “deeper characteristics” of the advanced teacher of God—as well as how to cultivate them yourself and look for the…
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Many have come upon the comments about homosexuality after miracle principle 18 in the Complete and Annotated Edition of A Course in Miracles (CE) and have been turned off, thinking this is the same old prejudiced rhetoric. But what do these paragraphs really say? In this episode, Robert and Emily explore that question in detail, discussing the Cou…
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How to Practice A Course in Miracles (i.e. What to DO Each Day)
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When it comes to A Course in Miracles, one thing students are always asking is, “How do I make the Course practical?” A Course in Miracles, however, is full of practical instructions. The Course aims to enclose our day in different forms of practice in order “to make the day as happy for you as God wants it to be” and even to make “the business of …
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Amidst all of life's chaos, we find ourselves hoping that someone up there has got a plan—a plan for our lives, a plan for our world. It's hard to shake this hope, even when we don't believe in God. At the same time, the notion of God's plan comes with a lot of baggage for fear of what it will ask of us. In this episode, Robert and Emily explore th…
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Bonus - Making Relationship Work with A Course in Miracles (Sunday Gathering Sermon)
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We’ve all been in relationships that start out truly harmonious and mutually supportive. You and the other person are committed to the same goals and that feeling of magic connection is there. Next thing you know, it all slowly starts to die or shatters completely. How are we routinely in this place where relationships that begin with so much poten…
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Haven’t we all wondered if we were put on earth for a reason, to accomplish some unknown mission? Perhaps Walt Whitman was right when he said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse”? This notion, however, raises so many questions: Do we even have a purpose or is life merely random? If we do have one, how do we find out wha…
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What lies beyond the conscious mind? Are there higher levels? Are there lower ones? A Course in Miracles says yes to both. It contains a fascinating, extensive picture of the mind in which the levels constantly interact with each other. Right now, they are in conflict, but the Course holds out the promise of the mind becoming an organic whole, in w…
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A Course in Miracles and Nonduality: Are They the Same?
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A Course in Miracles is frequently described as a "nondual" path. It's true that both the Course and nonduality teach that everything is ultimately one and separation is an illusion. However, there are significant differences as well, and those differences amount to contrasting worldviews. In this episode, Robert and Emily present a general overvie…
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Students of A Course in Miracles are forever vexed by the question, What is the ego? Is it a real entity or just a belief? Should we love it or condemn it? Does it keep us safe or endanger us? Should we take it seriously or disregard it? How can we tell when it’s speaking to us? And how can we let go of it? In this episode, Robert and Emily draw up…
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What Does and Doesn't Matter According to A Course In Miracles
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Every minute of every day we are faced with the question of what matters and what doesn't. What if we are getting it all wrong? We've been told to put the big rocks in first and not to sweat the small stuff, but what are the big rocks? And what is the small stuff? A Course in Miracles has surprising yet compelling views on this topic. In its teachi…
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We are honored to have Lorna Byrne on this episode. Lorna is an Irish mystic who is the author of the bestselling Angels in My Hair*. She is known the world over for her contact with angels, in which she physically sees them at all times. In this episode, Robert and Emily ask Lorna about angels' role in relation to our spiritual progress, free will…
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In the spiritual field, we tend to grant enormous authority to those who claim to be directly in touch with true reality and who speak with total certainty. But should we? In this episode, Robert and Emily argue that the very nature of perception is that it’s uncertain. No one on earth really knows in the fullest sense of the word. What do we do, t…
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Jesus in A Course In Miracles (Course Preview)
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We often keep the subject of Jesus at arm's length due to the baggage that so many of us carry around him. Yet we would benefit by letting go of this baggage, by forgiving Jesus for the fearful images we put on him. This will allow him to help us in all the ways that he is offering to do. He wants to be our teacher. He wants to be our personal guid…
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Is the Shroud of Turin Proof of Jesus' Resurrection?: An Interview with Joe Marino
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If the Shroud of Turin is authentic, then it is by far the most direct evidence we have of the historical Jesus. It is a burial cloth that, if genuine, is stained with his blood and contains an image apparently projected from his body. But is it authentic? In this episode, Robert and Emily interview Joe Marino, one of the leading authorities on the…
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Join Circle founder Robert Perry and Jan Holden, President of the International Association for Near Death Studies (IANDS), as they explore the profound realm of near-death experiences (NDEs). Through expert insights and firsthand accounts, Robert and Jan discuss common traits of NDEs, what NDEs can tell us about life after death, what happens afte…
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New Allyship and the Principle of Love: An Interview with Holiday Phillips
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In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, coach and organizational development expert Holiday Phillips had a post on performative allyship go viral. Her followers jumped from 1,000 to more than 50,000 overnight, and suddenly Holiday found herself as a voice for social justice during the rise of Black Lives Matter. Now, with a sizable audience and …
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The crucifixion is the main event in Christianity. Christians generally view Jesus' death as a payment for our sins so that God will forgive us and we can go to Heaven. Increasingly, however, this is leading to a "crisis of faith" where many who sincerely love Jesus can't reconcile him with a God who enacts revenge and violence. How could a loving …
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How a Healthy Mind Functions (A Course in Miracles Sunday Gathering Sermon)
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In this message from our recent Sunday Gathering, Circle executive director Emily Perry discusses how we often use the considerable power of our mind to protect our ego (meaning our illusions, our sense of separation, our specialness, and our superiority) - when we should be using the power of our mind to defend our oneness, our shared holiness, an…
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How We Save Each Other (Workshop Preview)
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A Course in Miracles teaches that each one of us is here to be a savior. This is not about having a “savior complex." This is a healthy and fulfilling understanding of our true purpose on earth. But how does the Course define this term? What does it mean when it says we are each other’s savior? And how does the Course’s view differ from trying to “…
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What We've Learned About Forgiveness
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Forgiveness is part of the human experience and is the Course’s central teaching. But students are often confused about how to understand forgiveness and how to practice it. We at the Circle just finished a 28-Day Forgiveness Challenge, where we thoroughly explored the teaching and did the practice. We came away with such rich learning from these f…
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"Attack is a call for love" is a well-known concept among students of A Course in Miracles. That said, what we tend to think it means is that we attack, but we weren't trying to do any harm - we were just looking for love and it came out the wrong way. In the Course, however, "attack is a call for love" doesn't mean "we attack because we're just lo…
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Martin Luther King and A Course in Miracles
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In this message from our January 14, 2024 Sunday Gathering service, Emily Perry discusses the striking connection between the teaching of Dr. Martin Luther King and A Course in Miracles, and the relevance of this wisdom for our time. Sunday Gatherings are free and open to all! Join through our free community at community.circleofa.org. ____________…
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It can be a dilemma: You need to set a boundary with someone, and yet you don’t want to be unloving. Helen Schucman, the scribe of A Course in Miracles, faced this very situation. A man she had counseled had developed feelings for her, and now she faced the quandary of what to do. She first received guidance and then wrote him a long letter, a lett…
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A Course in Miracles teaches that time is unreal, yet it also speaks of giving a “year” to God. The Text refers to the New Year 11 times, saying, “This is the year for the application of the ideas that have been given you” [CE T-16.II.10:4]. And the Workbook refers to its year 6 times, calling it “the year that we have given God” [CE W-PtII.In.4:3]…
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It's impossible to overstate how completely chained to the past we are - and the damage this does to our mental health, to our relationships, and to our world. There are many different modalities we use to release ourselves from the past; however, A Course in Miracles offers its own way through that Robert and Emily will share in this episode. If y…
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Releasing Old Baggage for the New Year: How to Finally Forgive with A Course in Miracles
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A Course in Miracles reminds us that forgiveness is a cornerstone for personal and spiritual growth. When we forgive, we release ourselves from anger and bitterness, remember the inherent holiness and worth of all beings, and unleash our natural impulse to love. In this bonus webinar replay, Robert and Emily Perry explore the fundamental principles…
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Safety is a central issue for all of us. It’s remarkable how much of our time and energy goes into keeping ourselves safe. The problem, according to A Course in Miracles, is that our attempts to make ourselves safe backfire. The Course describes a process whereby ordinary, “innocent” self-defense ends up causing us to expect attack—and thereby feel…
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In this episode, Robert and Emily Perry explore the profound shift from scarcity to abundance as viewed through the lens of A Course in Miracles. They begin with the conventional understanding of a “scarcity mindset”—that there is not enough to go around—and then contrast that with the Course’s very different view of the “scarcity fallacy.” That fa…
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A Course in Miracles' Vision for Its Future
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In this episode, Robert and Emily discuss the “helper of the world” guidance that Helen Schucman, the scribe of A Course In Miracles, received on December 31, 1975. This guidance is important because precious little of what Helen took down concerned the issue of the Course’s mission and future in the world. This guidance offers its own vision for t…
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What A Course in Miracles Says About Karma
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Karma is, to put it simply, the connection between actions and their consequences. From a spiritual perspective, karmic actions are associated with our current life, but karma has also been tied to past lives and reincarnation. In other words, things that happen in our current life are influenced by past lives that we’re not even aware of. The Comp…
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How to Talk about A Course In Miracles with Friends and Family
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Have you ever been asked about A Course in Miracles by a friend or family member and been completely tied up in knots trying to explain it? In this episode, Robert and Emily talk about how to share the Course without being embarrassed or overly evangelical, and how to respond to concerns from friends and family members who are anti-Course (because …
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What are holy encounters? Why did we choose them as the topic of our first in-person event in five years? And how can they open up a new dimension in your life and your spiritual development? In this episode, Robert and Emily preview this little-known topic, talking about why it's so overlooked and why, surprisingly, it sits at the center of the Co…
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The Introduction to A Course in Miracles is only two paragraphs and yet it perfectly sets the stage for all that follows. There is a beauty and wisdom to it that has enchanted seekers since the Course was originally published. But what does it actually mean? Why do students find it so captivating and what can it tell us about the path we're embarki…
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Are you someone who grates at being told what to do? We're all like this to some degree and, if we have a problem with human authorities, how much more will we have a problem with God's authority! For by creating us, God essentially told us what we ARE, which is far more basic than telling us what to do. As an attempted solution, we often push God …
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Rare Audio of Helen Schucman on Scribing A Course in Miracles
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In this episode, Robert and Emily play the one recorded interview of Helen Schucman that we have. In this priceless archival recording, Helen is asked in detail about the process of hearing “the Voice” that dictated to her A Course in Miracles. And she answers with a clear attempt to describe exactly what she experienced, choosing her words careful…
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Interview With Marianne Williamson On Her Presidential Campaign
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Regardless of your political views, the fact that arguably the most well-known teacher of A Course in Miracles is running for president of the United States is big news. In this interview, Emily and Robert Perry talk with Marianne Williamson about the state of her presidential campaign, how her Course practice has helped her in the race, how she ha…
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When God calls, what do you do? In this special episode, we shed light on this age-old question through the story of Emily’s own journey. We follow her from corporate girl to entrepreneur teaching mindful leadership and women’s leadership, to A Course in Miracles author, to executive director of one of the oldest Course organizations. As Robert int…
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All of us cope with grief and loss. We can’t just try to sweep it under the rug. We need to face the reality of the loss. Or do we? A Course in Miracles has a very different approach to grief than the conventional one. It’s not denial, but it does bring to bear a different view of what is real. If you have wondered how to deal with your own grief, …
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When you first pick up A Course in Miracles, you may think, “Oh, this book is supposed to teach me how to do miracles,” and probably assume that means miracles of healing. Students and teachers quickly disabuse you of such notions, but what if your initial thoughts were right? The fact is that extending healing to others is a major focus in the pag…
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We have all been influenced by Jesus to some degree, and yet that influence hasn’t always been benign. But what if history has gotten Jesus wrong? There has been a long tradition of scholarship investigating who the historical Jesus really was. Does it confirm what Christianity has said about him, or does it suggest that he was a very different fig…
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“Soul” has become a controversial word among students of A Course in Miracles. The word was there in the original dictation but was almost entirely edited out by the time the Course was published in 1976. Indeed, it was even mostly edited out in the Complete and Annotated Edition. What’s going on here? In this podcast, Robert and Emily answer a var…
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A fascinating figure crops up in the early dictation of A Course in Miracles: Mrs. Albert. In those early days, Course scribes Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford were being schooled in how to be miracle workers. In the middle of that process, they were told, “Look carefully at Mrs. Albert. She is working miracles every day because she knows who she i…
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How to Have the Ideal Spiritual Day
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We all have the dream of having the ideal spiritual day, but how do we have it? There is a beloved section in A Course in Miracles that gives us a step-by-step answer to this very question. The section is called “Rules for Decision,” and it outlines what it calls “the rules which promise you a happy day.” It tells you exactly what to do in the morn…
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Students of A Course in Miracles typically recognize that the Course’s main teaching is forgiveness. Yet many often assume that this is about forgiving ourselves. Even if we forgive others, don’t we need to forgive ourselves first? Robert and Emily talk about this question in this episode of Exploring A Course in Miracles. Is the Course talking mai…
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Danielle LaPorte is a bestselling author, speaker, and creator of the Heart Centered Leaders Program. Danielle was chosen as a member of Oprah's Super Soul 100, and her podcast "Love, Danielle" is often one of iTunes' Top 10 for wellness. In this interview, Danielle and Emily talk about Danielle's latest book, How to Be Loving, and why Emily consid…
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