Non-Duality vs Duality in ACIM
Dearest J,
After really digging into understand Kenneth Wapnick’s view of the “non-duality” of A Course in Miracles after reading his book, “A Course in Miracles and Christianity: A Dialogue” (where he debates with a Catholic Priest the contrasts of both texts. Basically, Wapnick repeatedly explains that WE have created the world, and the Course is non-dual and that’s why it cannot be coincided with the Bible.
However, after watching the Circle of Atonement and Miracles of Mind talk about non-duality, and they see it a totally different way.
The reason this is such an important topic is because this is really the CRUX of the issues between Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian circles vs. ACIM.
To be more specific, the arguments I’ve been seeing in “New Age to Jesus” FB groups led by Dorreen Virtue — you have people literally throwing and burning their copies of ACIM because of these very reasons. They take on the same ideas that Kenneth Wapnick spoke of, and making a point that ACIM is a demonic text for that purpose.
I’m beginning to realize that Kenneth Wapnick’s perspective on the Course is PERHAPS not what the Course really said itself. Which is crazy, because he might have totally effected the way the Course has been perceived for decades, including one of the reasons I had my religious trauma experience.
Please watch the videos below for a little more context:
The reason this issue is so important for me, is because I had an issue in the past where I felt, being a Course student, that my body was just “floating”, and nothing mattered.
If I was a body, after all, and this is a non-dual reality, and nothing is real, and we’re all one … then I concluded that (and this was solidified after reading Eckhart Tolle’s books) that nothing is real. And I felt this lightness, or maybe a lack of ground, like I was a floating ghost in a way. And nothing mattered. I had entered into a state that I’m still trying to process my way out of … which is that nothing is real, everything is an illusion, consequences don’t matter in the larger scheme of things so why should I care.
And this is what I thought was great in these interviews, that the entire POINT is to not ignore the “correction” … essentially, this in Christianity would be a form of “repentence”. One of the first miracle principles actually talks about there needing to be “purification first”.
Last night, I also watched an interview on Marianne Williamson where she also spoke of this. Which is very DIFFERENT than the laissez-faire, almost “passive” or dangerous side — which ends in DENIAL of reality (which is what Tom spoke of in the above video).
Therefore this is Christian in a way … God gives you GIFTS which are your fruits … and they lead to helping others, not running from reality. It’s coming INTO reality with God as authority, not you as God. And that my friends, is a huge difference.
