Acim is an acronym for Age Imperfect. Helen Schucman is credited as the first woman to use the acronym in print. A Course in Miracles, published in 1976, is an interpretation of the Greek words, "age" and "imperfect." According to the dictionary, the phrase means "a man or woman in their prime." In other words, according to Schucman, age is not a qualification for being a miracle worker; it is rather a stepping stone toward it.
The underlying premise of A Course in Miracles is that there are only two basic paths to attaining mystical wisdom: the "ego" path and the "way" path. Helen Schucman maintains that, at the heart of all spirituality, is the desire to know God. And the purpose of this "course in Miracles" is to help you get to know God and to know Him in His aspect as the omnipotent, omniscient "source" of all knowledge. Schucman contends that once you have discovered this aspect of the true nature of God - that He is perfect in all ways and that we must also be like Him to get to know Him - then our personal egos will melt away and our awareness will be raised to the point where we can begin to realize the existence of a higher Self, a higher reason for being, and a higher purpose in life. Thus, the teachings of A Course in Miracles become a path for people seeking self-knowledge and enlightenment.
This is what is commonly referred to as the "academic method," the idea that you can find knowledge and answers to life's questions by studying old texts written years ago by scholars and "experts" who came before us who already knew more than we do now. And when you read the "acim" course, you will not only learn how to develop your personal relationship with God, but how to work within that relationship to increase your spiritual and monetary value in your life. The authors of the "Acim" workbook maintain that through the use of specific "acrobatics," certain "psychic wounds" can be healed. Thus, even if you are an intellectual type who is somewhat skeptical about the supernatural and the power of healing through contact with God, the "Acim" course promises that you can indeed heal physical wounds and develop a higher level of personal relationship with God.
However, the "Acim" course is not all about religion and God. It also has many lessons for living a happy and healthy life. The "Acim" teachings encourage you to take a look at life from a different perspective, to go back to basics, to go back to "who you really are," and to start afresh in every aspect of your life, including your relationships with other people. This book teaches you how to live the life that you were meant to live. If you are skeptical about any of this stuff, you can go back to "Acim" and see what the critics have to say. They will not be impressed.
The authors of the "Acim" book claim that their teachings are based on "medical psychology" and that they are nothing more than plain old-fashioned common sense. Some of the "myths and legends" about acim and Wapnick's methods are simply legends, although it does make me wonder if perhaps there were some false teaching techniques that allowed the "academicisers" to write books filled with junk. Of course, these "academicisers" could also be teaching similar things at Universities and colleges across America. But, the principles described by "Acim" ring true for many people and may even be a cure for some diseases that modern medicine has so far been unable to find cures for.
The "Acim" book was my first exposure to Wapnick's thought system, and I must say that it did impress me, though I admit that it took me a while to get used to it. The book takes you through all the fundamentals of Acim and its related systems and shows you how you can create your own "Acim miracle" through a very simple set of steps. For someone like me, who has never built a brick wall or picked up a tool hammer in his life, this set of simple instructions was quite remarkable. I believe that with the proper teaching from a qualified teacher, it is possible to impart these principles into the minds of most people, and thus make miracles become a normal part of life.
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