The Course indicates that there is a “Great Awakening” taking place currently in the consciousness of humanity, and that it, the Course, is part of this awakening. This is the awakening from the dream of illusions to the Reality and Truth of our Being. Every communication that helps human beings awaken from the dream of this world is part of the Great Awakening—be it a kind smile or word to a stranger, coworker, friend or family member; a sharing with another of some aspect of Truth and Reality; or an entire awakening teaching like the Course. The Course invites us to join in the Great Awakening through allowing ourselves to be awakened through mastering what might be called the universal curriculum of awakening or the universal Truth curriculum, which all expressions of awakening are part of.
“Through accepting forgiveness and being restored to your original State of Wholeness, you naturally become part of the Atonement yourself, sharing my [Jesus’] unassailable will to heal all lacks of Love wherever these are experienced. This joining of our wills is the Great Awakening of the Divine Family to Its true Being.”
The Course states that it is just one of many versions of the universal Truth curriculum that is at the heart of the Great Awakening. The Course makes it clear that as a specific approach to awakening it is not the only way, but is a way for some people, i.e., for those who find that they resonate with the spiritual-psychological “language” that the Course speaks.
“There is a specific course of instruction in awakening that is provided by the Holy Spirit for every teacher of the Divine [a “teacher of the Divine” being a student of Truth who shares with others the awakening lessons they are learning in order to learn these more profoundly themselves]. The forms of these courses vary greatly. So do the particular teaching aids involved. But the essential content of every course in awakening is the same and never changes. Its central theme is always, ‘The Divine’s Children are guiltless, and in their Innocence is their awakening.’ . . . This (Manual for Teachers) is . . . for a specific course of instruction in awakening, intended for teachers of a specific form of the universal curriculum. There are very many other forms, all with the same outcome.”
The value and justification of this unique version of the universal Truth curriculum that is A Course in Miracles is simply that it presents this curriculum’s teaching in a language that some people will love and therefore be able to master. This indicates that some students of Truth have been waiting for the Course’s version of the universal curriculum of awakening in order to move forward toward their personal awakening from the world of illusions.
The Course also indicates in its first sentences that it is a “required course.” This doesn’t mean that A Course in Miracles specifically is a required course for everyone, but rather that everyone will need at some point to master some version of the universal curriculum of awakening in order to graduate or move on from this dimension of life, just as a required course in a university must be mastered in order to graduate with one’s degree from the university. Eventually the Course makes it clear exactly what graduating from this dimension of life really means. It means the end of all illusions – including those of time and space, of suffering, fear, loss and death – and our return to our true Home and creative Power with and in the Divine.
The way we recognize that a teaching is presenting the universal Truth curriculum is that its central message will be that the Children of the Divine, including all human beings, are “guiltless,” meaning that in their essence they are as perfect and innocent now as they were in the Instant of their creation by the Divine in Eternity, regardless of any apparent experiences they have had or behaviors they have engaged in since that Instant that would indicate otherwise. In other words, our true Essence is as perfect and eternal as our Creator, and cannot by any means be corrupted, any more than the Creator’s Essence could be. Any teaching the central theme of which teaches otherwise would by this definition not be part of the universal Truth curriculum. The aim of any version of the universal curriculum of awakening is to help those who have forgotten their Essence and true Identity to remember It again. “The purpose of mastering this Course is to learn what you are.”
Several of the core principles and premises presented in this Worldview of the Course will be observed to be in common with other versions, ancient and modern, of the universal Truth curriculum, while some aspects may appear to be quite different, even unique. Apparently, such variations between versions of awakening teachings are not important as long as the central theme is as stated above. In fact, regarding uniformity in the universal Truth curriculum, the Course states that “a universal theological belief is impossible, but a universal experience of the Divine is not only possible but necessary. It is this experience toward which the Course is directed. Here alone consistency becomes possible because here alone uncertainty ends.” It may also be noted that aiming to craft a universal theology or cosmology would defeat the purpose of having different versions of the universal Truth curriculum to meet the learning needs of different students. To try to get all students of Truth to agree to a single version of awakening’s curriculum would therefore be counter-productive, as these variations in aspects are part of the unique language that each version of the universal Truth curriculum offers those students who will love and understand the teaching in that language. These variations therefore help all interested students to be able to learn and master the goal of awakening.
What differentiates A Course in Miracles from other versions of the universal curriculum of awakening is:
- its author, Jesus, and the unique perspective he brings to the problem that appears to be the world and how each of us can solve this problem for all time, as he has done;
- its focus on its students learning to perform “miracles” as shifts in time and space to allow awakening lessons to be learned that otherwise would take immeasurably longer to learn, thus helping humanity to awaken from the dream of this world without delay;
- its approach as a timeless spiritual psychology of knowing ourselves and, through this, knowing Reality again, accomplished by means of the totality of the Course’s presentation of the “thought system” of the Holy Spirit in contrast to the thought system of the ego, i.e., of our wounded mind; and,
- its emphasis on engaging and collaborating with our sisters and brothers on the journey of awakening through allowing ourselves to enter into “holy relationships” with them, relationships which are microcosms of our Relationship with the entire “Divine Family” and ultimately with our Creator.
In addition to the current “Great Awakening” of human consciousness that the Course places its teaching within, its author indicates that there is a “Celestial speedup” currently taking place on Earth that has necessitated the Course manifesting in its particular teaching form at this time in humanity’s journey. It appears that there is an urgency to this speedup: “The Celestial speedup has placed some students of awakening in the position where the undermining of their false foundation of understanding and perception [and its replacement by the Truth] must be painful due to the speed with which it needs to take place.” It is entirely possible that the Great Awakening and the Celestial speedup are connected, though this isn’t directly stated in the Course.
The term “Celestial speedup” also indicates that this speedup or acceleration in the need for awakening has come from the Heavenly or Celestial Realm itself. However, no specific details about this “speedup” are provided by the Course. It appears simply that something has happened that has necessitated human beings awakening as quickly as possible at this time, and that the Course is a response to this need. The Course’s emphasis on miracles as learning devices that significantly decrease the time needed for essential awakening learning to take place may in part be in response to the requirements of the Celestial speedup.
“‘Many are called but few are chosen’ should read, ‘All are called but few choose to listen. Therefore, they do not choose correctly.’ The ‘chosen ones’ are merely those who choose correctly sooner. This is the real meaning of the Celestial speedup. Strong wills that learn not to be conflicted can do this now. And then you will find ‘rest for your soul.’ The Divine knows you only in Peace, and this is your Reality.”