Until recently many ACIM students and teachers were unaware a course in miracles podcast that there are different versions of A Course in Miracles. This article will explore the differences between these various editions.
In early 2000 an earlier version of the Course, called the Urtext, became available online. This showed that the original Course underwent much more editing than anyone had realized.
The Original Edition
In 1965, Columbia University psychologist Helen Schucman began to experience a series of visionary experiences that she related to an inner voice. This voice spoke of God and of a spiritual community of love and forgiveness. Over the next seven years, she received the material for a 622-page textbook called A Course in Miracles. This book has profoundly changed the lives of millions of people from all walks of life and every major religion. It is written as a self-study system of “spiritual psychology” in three volumes: The Text, the Workbook for Students, and the Manual for Teachers.
Despite significant edits by the scribes, this version is a close approximation of what was originally received from the Voice. It contains the original emphasis of words as well as many footnotes to clarify difficult passages, identify unclear pronouns, define psychological terms, point out allusions to things in our general culture, and list course and bible references. Thirty-three cameo essays contain guidance from the Voice to the scribes, which was considered too personal to include in the Course proper.
This edition restores the original sequence of the first four chapters of the Text, which were rearranged and cut in the FIP and UR versions. It also reinstates some material that was removed from the UR version, such as the deeper discussion of the principles of forgiveness. It is also smaller and easier to read than the UR text, making it the ideal choice for anyone who wants to study the course on a regular basis.
Unlike the other two editions, this one does not have the additional material that was added to the UR version. However, it includes some of the additional material that was included in the FIP version. These include the additional chapters in the Text and the explanation of the “spiritual physics” section in the Workbook for Students. In addition, the omission of the introduction in the UFRT is restored to its original place in this edition. Besides the re-inserted content, this edition retains the earlier formatting of chapter titles and sections in the Text. It is also much easier to read than the UFRT and the FIP.
The Sparkle Edition
A new version of the course in miracles is available that restores some of the material that was removed from the original edition. It also adds some missing content and makes the book easier to read by eliminating confusing numbers. It is called the Sparkle Edition and is also known as the Thetford edition or the Hugh Lynn Cayce (HLC) edition. The text is still in the original style of dictation, with caps and hyphenations as well as the use of parenthesis, but it is much easier to read than the FIP version of the course.
It was compiled by Helen Schucman and her co-scribe Bill Thetford after the original dictation was completed. They were instructed by Jesus to decide what was included and excluded from the Course, and they made these decisions in accordance with their collaborative function. This included removing personal material from the scribe’s initial draft of the course. This was done because the scribes believed that the material they received was intended only for them and not for the general public.
The Sparkle Edition consists of the Text, Workbook for Students and Manual for Teachers. It also contains the Psychotherapy Pamphlet and the Song of Prayer. This version was released in the early years of the 21st century and is not as widely available as the Original or FIP editions.
There are several different versions of the Sparkle Edition that differ in how much material is included. Some of these differences include how many chapters are in the Text, how long the Preface is and the number of paragraphs in each section. There are also differences in the layout of the pages and some of the formatting.
The Sparkle Edition was published in Australia after the UR text, which is also known as the Thetford Edition, came to light in the late 1990s. The purpose of this version is to make the earliest edit of ACIM freely available. Inner guidance indicated that this version would make the message of the Course accessible to people regardless of financial or social circumstances.
The Foundation for Inner Peace Edition
The Foundation for Inner Peace Edition of the course in miracles is the version most people around the world are familiar with. It was published in 1976, and it is the blue book that most of us have in our homes. It is also the edition most people are taught to use for study groups.
This edition contains all of the material in the original manuscript that was found in 1999, except for a few minor corrections. The book consists of the Text from the HLC Edition, combined with the nearly untouched Workbook and Manual that were also found. The Sparkly/Sparkle/Thetford Edition is also available as an ebook.
It is a great way to compare the different versions of the Course in Miracles, and it will be helpful for anyone who wants to understand how this all came to be. It is a fascinating story, and there is much more to the story than many people realize.
The Course in Miracles is a contemporary spiritual classic, and many people around the world have experienced profound truths in the words of the Course. This has been because it teaches them about something they had never heard before, but somewhere inside they had always known. However, it has not been an easy path to follow.
In the early 1980s, Dr. Helen Schucman, a clinical and research psychologist, and William Thetford, a professor of medical psychology, began to receive inner dictation which they recognized as coming from Jesus. This led them to create a document that would become the spiritual classic we know as A Course in Miracles.
During the process of editing for publication, over forty-five thousand words were removed from the text. This is not to say that the remaining material was less important, but it does make the original teachings easier to access and understand.
When Ken Wapnick discovered the existence of the HLC manuscript, he knew that this was part of his function in this life to make the ACIM teachings more accessible to the general public. He felt that it was important to have the most authentic possible edition of the Course in Miracles, so he asked Ted Poppe to edit it. This is the edition that we now offer on this website.
The Pocket Edition
Originally published in 1976, A Course in Miracles has become one of the most influential spiritual classics of our time. Its unique combination of profound spiritual teachings and far-reaching psychological insights has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. As it has become a contemporary spiritual classic, some readers have recognized truths in its words that they had never heard before, but that somehow seemed to be inside them all along.
A Course in Miracles is a self-study system of'spiritual psychology' that teaches the universal principles of forgiveness and love. Its uniqueness lies in its teaching that the only problem in the world is our own mind - and therefore our own problems can be solved by a change of thinking. The Course consists of three Books: the Text, the Workbook and the Manual.
The Course was first scribed by Helen Schucman over the course of eight years in her spare time. The final editing was done by Bill Thetford. Some of the original material was edited out, including explanations about sex, homosexuality and relationships. It was probably done to make the material less controversial.
In the process of editing the Course for publication, some forty-five thousand words were deleted from the Text. This included the removal of the first four chapters of the book, which were reduced to a fifth of their original wording. The original wording of these early chapters has been restored in the Pocket Edition.
The Pocket Edition contains the entire Text portion of the ACIM. It is the companion volume to the popular ACIM Pocket Edition Workbook/Manual, and is designed to go everywhere with you. This pocket-size book is 8" x 5' and less than 1" thick, so it will fit in your backpack, briefcase or even your purse. It is made for rough treatment, being printed on a paper that resists spots and staining.
This version of the Course is based on a combination of the HLC* version discovered in the ARE Library in 1999, with the almost-untouched Thetford edition of the Manual and Workbook. As such, it is a more complete version of the Course than either of the Sparkly or Thetford Editions, but not as comprehensive as the Complete and Annotated Edition.