Not long after the Web Edition of A Course In Miracles was released in 2021, fellow Course student Dave Van Dyke & I were working on a (yet unfinished) collaborative book of reflections about ACIM and (via frequent zoom meetings) together wrote and edited a fair amount of material that we thought might be helpful to kindred Course students, and – regardless of whether or not our writing was ever published – it was quite insightful for us to put words together to clarify our own attempts to understand and practice ACIM’s message more deeply. The principle of shared interests seems to help illuminate our minds when we allow the Spirit of collaboration to work through us; this process of writing together helped improve much of the project when we together re-wrote and refined our individual contributions, resulting in much clearer reflections, healing some of our misunderstandings.
During this process, after a year or so, we realized that having a set of clear explanations* and examples for frequently used words and concepts in the Course is an essential foundation for deeper appreciation and application of ACIM’s pure non-dual metaphysics. We decided that this new glossary (now hyperlinked to the online version of the Course which became available early 2021 and with the ability to read relevant Course quotes in full context with just one tap of a link) should precede the rest of our (yet unfinished) book, since so many of the words and phrases in ACIM differ widely if not completely from common and/or Christian biblical usage.
*In grateful deference to Ken Wapnick’s brilliant (as all of his work is) Glossary, I’m using the word “explanations” rather than “definitions”, since Ken has already provided us with his unwavering, steadfast clarity and depth in his glossary. When Dave & I began our glossary project, we pulled the initial terms (but not any of the other content) from Ken’s Glossary. We have not used any of the words (form) from his glossary definitions, but have made an attempt to be faithful to the content of Ken’s lucid, clarifying words. We also added a few terms that aren’t in the FACIM glossary that seem to arise frequently in online Course classes and study groups, as well as a few humorous but relevant “easter egg” links.
While Dave has been focusing on other projects more recently, I completed a “first draft” of our glossary, which is now ready for initial launch. In late 2024, I sent links to a couple of dozen Course colleagues very familiar with Ken’s work, since our goal is to complement the FACIM glossary, and received some excellent feedback, most of which is now incorporated into this glossary.
A few goals and attributes envisioned for this gallery:
- Collaborative: a “shared interest” labor of love
- Dynamic: Since there aren’t any print runs and only minimal efforts are involved in making revisions, I plan to incorporate suggestions regularly to keep the glossary both relevant and helpful
- Interactive and interconnected: This is an online book about an online book; hopefully, this glossary will make
- Freeware: Like the web edition of ACIM, voluntary donations are appreciated but not required.
Since a primary goal for this glossary is to be useful as an online resource, continued feedback is both encouraged and appreciated. I look forward to reading and carefully considering your general feedback (applicable to the entire glossary) and/or specific feedback on individual terms in the glossary.
Thanks! Enjoy!