ACIM blog

I always start from the premise that A Course in Miracles was dictated by Jesus to Helen. There's no doubt about that.
Doubts arise when I begin to read it, and while at first glance it seems sensible and coherent, the more you delve into each phrase and sentence, the more certain concepts don't correspond to the course itself. You realize this because the course fills you with guilt, because it's very difficult to put into practice, based on what the text says. The course itself says you need to experience it. But how can I want to experience guilt? There are many religious institutions that are based on guilt. It certainly works for them, or at least it worked for them, until people got tired of feeling guilty.
The course clearly opposes guilt, even though it can lead you to it.
This is because it was altered. It wasn't Helen or her assistant who did it. The change came later in the editions. And every so often, they continue to edit and change it. It might not work, people might abandon it, or perhaps it's Jesus himself asking you not to read it when you're in this state. Don't confuse the lessons of the course with putting the text into practice.
The associations he makes, at a certain point, leave much to be desired. This is a clear opportunity for you to realize that the man inserted his own words. Perhaps because he thought it was right, perhaps out of jealousy because everyone finds, or rather would find, the solution to their daily problems and, most importantly, would have reached God, or perhaps because he wanted to participate in such an important book. Remember that Jesus said, "This is the gospel I would have liked you to have." Of course, we don't have it, in part.
English isn't a language with many words that can be altered too much, but Spanish does. It had to start somewhere. It's still happening.
Which book should I buy? The one without the supplements is an older edition, and while it has been changed, the changes aren't as significant as in the version with the supplements. There's a book for sale that doesn't have the course's characteristic cross on the cover; don't buy that one. In either case, whether you have one of the two previous versions or not, don't worry, as the corrections will apply to both.
We never had the course exactly as it was taught. While it was known that changes might occur, no one anticipated that the manipulation would be so extensive that people would stop reading it or it would simply become just another self-help book. When in reality, the course itself tells you that you can't help yourself alone.

We've already established the difference between the Real and the unreal; now let's see what happens with that.
The Real is unalterable, unequivocal, and eternal. It is the Truth, not your truth.
The unreal is everything that is alterable, has opposites, and involves judgments, perceptions, and interpretations.
Are you starting to see?
The Course teaches it this way.
…it establishes a clear distinction between the real and the unreal (that which God did not create), between Knowledge and perception.
Knowledge is governed by a single law: The Law of Love, or God.
The world of perception (which is the world you see with your eyes, hear with your ears, etc.), on the other hand, is the world of time, of changes, of beginnings and endings. It is based on interpretations, not on facts.
Why does Jesus say "not on facts"? Because for him, a Fact is something that lacks interpretation; it is eternal. Who does this remind you of? Think, think. That's right! God! God is a Fact. Here, in this world, we have situations, and regarding the same situation, depending on the person, there's an interpretation; but it's their interpretation, and since they believe it to be true, for them it is. And it may not be true for you. And each person defends their belief, that is, their truth.
Are you beginning to understand what Jesus is teaching us through A Course in Miracles?

What does it postulate?
The course can be summarized as follows, as Jesus says:
Nothing real can be threatened.
Nothing unreal exists.
In this lies the Peace of God.
The explanation: What is real is what God created; what is unreal is what He did not create. And it is because of this that He is at peace.
What did God create? He created His children and nothing else. That is why you are the Kingdom of God.
What did He not create, which for Him does not exist? The world as we see it, your body, animals, plants, and everything else you can think of. The course calls this a dream. You are dreaming a dream. You have fallen asleep. The Bible says that Adam entered a deep sleep, but it does not say that he awoke.
Note: In these texts, you will find words written in capital letters that are written in lowercase in the original book. This is because everything related to creation is written in capital letters, and everything related to dreams is written in lowercase.

The introduction to The Healing.
It begins by saying: prayer has helpers and witnesses... Then it says: Witness to forgiveness and helper in prayer, giver of the certainty that you will finally reach the goal, that is healing. But, immediately afterward, it says that its importance should not be overemphasized, for healing is a sign or symbol of the power of forgiveness...
And I won't continue because it's painful.
Forgiveness is Jesus' forgiveness of what you atone for. When it says... shadow of a change: the change is in your thought system due to the Atonement. And healing is the fruit of the Atonement. You were healed of your illness; therefore, the cause was undone by Jesus, and as a result, your mind has been healed, and the effect, which was the illness, disappears.
You realized that this wasn't dictated by Jesus. If you want to see more content on this, I invite you to watch video number 5 of the section "Correcting A Course in Miracles in Videos."

Introduction to Forgiveness.
It begins by saying that forgiveness gives wings to prayer so that its ascent is easy and its progress swift. This isn't the case. If you want to give the phrase some meaning, you could say: Belief in prayer gives it wings.
Your brother in the plan of salvation, that's true. Everything else is meaningless and confuses you; (in truth, they were the ones who were confused).
Then it says: Behold the greatest help that God commanded to be with you until you reach Him. And with that comes the end of illusions. All this is the Atonement, which is Jesus' forgiveness of your illusions.
Then it says the next title: Forgiving Yourself.
What forgiveness is the introduction talking about? And this last title is talking about forgiving myself, therefore the introduction to the topic is incoherent. I believe it if Jesus is incoherent; if there's one thing you can be sure of, it's that Jesus is completely consistent.
If you wish, you can refer to the section; correcting ACIM in the videos. It is video number 4.

We begin with: The Song of Prayer. Prayer, Forgiveness, Healing—these last two are the subheadings.
Then it says, "An Expansion of the Principles of A Course in Miracles."
I don't know which principles it refers to, whether the 50 principles of Chapter 1 or the concepts of ACIM. Jesus wouldn't make such a grammatical error. Jesus did speak of the principles of miracles and used that name when dictating the 50 principles of miracles.
Now let's move on to the introduction of Prayer.
The text says, "Prayer is the greatest gift with which God blessed His Son when He created Him." Actually, it is the Extension of His Love that is the greatest gift with which God blessed His Son when He created Him. When we were created by God, prayer didn't exist. What are they talking about?
And Jesus taught prayer; the prayer of forgiveness, which is the Lord's Prayer. In creation, why would we need prayer? What comes after is all empty rhetoric. Except for the part that says harmony is perpetual... (remember I told you they took a handful of concepts from the text and mixed everything up).
Then it says: and in this way creation extends. How are they talking to me about this? Creation extends by His Children sharing the same Thoughts of their Father. In eternity there is no prayer. Why would there be? God doesn't have an ego, and neither do we, along with Him. These guys didn't understand anything, and on top of that, they were teaching. But as a tango in Argentina says: a donkey is no different from a great professor.
Then it says: Prayer must now be the means by which the Son of God abandons his separate goals and interests. First, "son" is lowercase since it says separate goals. And second, Atonement is the means by which the Son of God abandons his separate goals and interests and turns in holy joy to the Truth (not the truth as it's written) of Union with his Father and with himself. Then it says that prayer is the gift that God gives you. In reality, it is the Atonement that is the gift God gives us.
Then comes a title that says: True Prayer.
It begins by saying that prayer is a path offered by the Holy Spirit to reach God. It is not simply a request or a supplication. First, the path is the Atonement, and second, the Lord's Prayer consists of seven petitions. Let's review them:
-Hallowed be Thy Name,
-Thy Kingdom come,
-Thy will be done,
-Give us this day our daily bread,
-Forgive us our trespasses,
-Lead us not into temptation,
-But deliver us from evil.
7 petitions.
And as Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing, in this case, what they did.

Speaking without foundation, while a common occurrence, at least in this country, is not my case. I never speak without foundation, nor do I make assumptions; that would go against certain convictions of mine.
In the introduction to the purpose of psychotherapy, you already realize that it wasn't dictated to Helen by Jesus through internal dictation.
The text says: Psychotherapy is the only form of therapy that exists. "Exists" is lowercase. In our dreams, there are many therapies, such as Reiki, yoga, family constellations, and many more.
Then it says that the mind can become ill; in reality, the mind is divided and chooses which voice to listen to. Of course, if you need therapy, you listened to the ego. Then it says that it's the only thing that can be healed; that's incorrect. The mind can and should be corrected.
Next, it says that psychotherapy is necessary for the individual to begin questioning their reality. A fundamental error that Jesus would not make. In reality, the Son of God begins to question his reality and therefore seeks help.
Then the text says: “…he can begin to open his mind without professional help, but it is always some change in his way of perceiving interpersonal relationships that will allow him to do so.” The question is: What will allow him to do so? Opening his mind? It's not at all clear. These people didn't understand anything about the course.
Jesus teaches you about Atonement, and it doesn't always have to do with interpersonal relationships. You can have self-generated patterns stemming from a situation in which no other person is involved.
Now, if they want me to believe that all these "HORRORS"—the word "error" doesn't even begin to cover it—were dictated by Jesus, they're wrong.
The last sentence is true. Remember, they extracted a handful of ideas from the text and then made a complete mess of them.
Everyone has the right, or not, I don't know, to write whatever they want. But to claim it was dictated by Jesus and even include dates is intolerable. And we're only in the introduction. I have the text in Spanish. The translation was done by two people with the help of 15. And nobody noticed. What were they thinking?
Let me tell you more: in my old book, the text says: "In this lies the peace of God." In the one I have now, it says: "In this resides the peace of God." I invite you to look up the meaning of both words, and you'll notice that the correct one is "lies" and not "resides."
And as Al Pacino said in his magnificent speech in the movie Scent of a Woman: "I'm just getting started" when they ask him if he's finished yet.

In my opinion, they don't belong to Helen and weren't dictated to her.
If they weren't dictated to Helen, it's more than obvious that Jesus didn't dictate them. A good piece of advice is not to give advice, and I dare to give you some: don't read it. It's completely harmful to the reader. What they did was take a couple of concepts from the text and put them in a book they wrote, resulting in a book they made you believe was dictated to Helen, when in reality it was written by a couple of people who tried to appropriate concepts they didn't even understand. And today, there are people who continue to teach these inappropriate concepts. Concepts that don't belong to the thinking of the Holy Spirit and Jesus.
The supplement, in all its parts, mixes ideas belonging to the realm of God and the ego. In the end, they themselves projected their way of thinking and their view of the Course onto that writing, and obviously, they are the same ones who changed the text. But since Jesus puts an end to your false creations, their end has come.
I'll give you two examples that will suffice. In one section, it refers to the children of God with a lowercase "g" as individuals, a word Jesus didn't use in the text. It also says that to be a teacher of God, you don't need to believe in God. The one who doesn't need to believe in God is the person who atones. The teacher of God not only believes in God, but God is a FACT. Something else very striking is that the word "atone" is never used. It speaks of forgiveness, prayer, healing, and, where is the Atonement?
The error isn't major, but it does need correction. For now, and only for now, don't follow the concepts presented in the supplements. Follow the text and nothing else. Although the text was also changed, it wasn't in the way the supplements describe it. The strangest thing is that it was first sold separately and then included in the text. Therefore, you have in your hands a modified version of A Course in Miracles along with the supplements, which were written, and worse, conceived by man.
The Course is the other path; the supplements are not. They are egocentric ideas mixed with the ideas of Jesus. Nothing good comes from that.
The Course doesn't talk about as many forms of forgiveness as the supplement. Why would Jesus do something like that? There is only one kind of forgiveness, the true one, which is to overlook something, and the false forgiveness that comes from the ego. He never talks about forgiving to destroy or anything like that. Yet there are innocent teachers who write books and quote him. As Jesus says, all it takes is a little sound thinking on the part of people to realize that the supplements are a big lie. They will realize this when they read it.
Even with the changes they made to the text, you can feel guilty. What the supplements say will only make you feel worse.
At the beginning, there is an explanation about the supplements and their teaching line. Completely tailored by the writers.
None of it is true. Don't waste your time reading something useless, and I would even say perverse. And the perversity comes from the ego.
May God forgive them, for they know not what they have done.

First, I'll tell you what the text says, and then the correction. The period at the beginning is what the text says. The dash is the correction.
Miracles are thoughts. Thoughts can represent the lower or physical level of experience; or the higher or spiritual level of experience. One gives rise to the physical, the other creates the spiritual.
Miracles are not thoughts, as the text says. If it's a thought of Jesus, it creates the spiritual. That's false; yes, it leads you to a right mind. The Spirit is already in grace with God. What needs correction is your mind, not your Spirit.
Miracles arise from a miraculous state of mind or a state of being ready for them.
False. While the miracle worker is asked to be in a right mind for a MOMENT, it's obvious that only Jesus can accomplish this.
An elder brother deserves respect.
The word "elder" is superfluous. In Creation, there are no concepts of greater and lesser. Just as there are no new and old souls. Creation is one, or if you prefer, it was one.
Three examples at the beginning serve as a basis for you to see that it was changed. It is my wish that you have the Course in Miracles that Jesus wants you to read.
Now you can read the words that Helen heard:
This is A Course in Miracles...

I'd love to imagine the look of surprise on your face when you read "clarifications" about the course; thinking it doesn't need clarifying, one could say that it could often be taught or explained. But using the word "corrections" is another matter entirely. What would you really think if I told you that you don't have the course in your hands exactly as it was dictated? Two things could be happening: one is that it's impossible, and the other is that it might be true, since the course often becomes incomprehensible and even incoherent in certain aspects.
Many people stop reading it because they feel a lot of guilt for not being able to put the text into practice, even though they can do the lessons perfectly.
Let me tell you what happened. Helen wrote it exactly as it was dictated, and her assistant transcribed it exactly as Helen gave it to her. Then ego got in the way and changed it. It became a book that exhausts you, and often, if you try to explain it, it leaves both the book's instructors and students without a solid foundation. This is due to the changes that were made to words, sentences, and phrases. If you stop to think about it, Jesus would never have wanted to dictate a book like this.
There are many words that should be capitalized but are written in lowercase. There are phrases that are impossible for us to put into practice, starting from the Principles of the Course as well as the preface.
Dwelling on the error would be a mistake, so it is being corrected. You will notice how the book changes and everything becomes more engaging. And, of course, you now have the foundation to maintain your position without having to say, "The Course says so, not me."
Jesus did not dictate the Course in chapters, nor did he give the text titles or subtitles, let alone numbers. If he had wanted to, and if that had been his will, he would have added chapters, titles, subtitles, and numbers, but he didn't. Some people did. And, obviously, they did it wrong.
Good advice is not to give advice, but I dare to give you one. Read the text without considering anything that man added. And if you can, go to the corrections, and you will find the genuine book just as Jesus dictated it.
It shouldn't surprise you, since they did the same with the Bible. Everything is changed according to personal interests. The Bible cannot be corrected; you will have noticed that there are many versions, and the messages differ greatly from some to others. And in some, they don't differ so much.
ACIM can be clarified and corrected. I invite you to discover this and feel the relief of not having guilt for not being able to do something that Jesus asks of you—something that he doesn't really ask of you. You were led to believe, as usual, that he was asking something impossible. That's not the case. Jesus knows very well what you are capable of and what you will be capable of. He leads you by the hand. Without demands or guilt, but with will and joy. Which is why he dictated it. Only for your happiness.

To believe something is true without knowing it directly or without it being proven or demonstrated.
That's the dictionary definition, but the course goes further. Let me explain. According to the course, belief implies acceptance of its existence. That's why you can believe what no one else thinks is true. For you, it's true because you created it. (T1) And it adds: to believe is to accept and also to side with what you accept. Believing is not being gullible, but accepting and appreciating. (T9)
You have to question all your beliefs, not only because you created them but because they may come from someone else and you accept them. The problem is that for that person it may or may not be true, but they want it to be true for you. Does this sound familiar to you, like journalism? Religions? Or whatever. Practice doubting every belief you've ever held. The question is: Is this true? Who says so? When you form a belief based on something that isn't true, your way of thinking and acting will be incorrect. I don't need to give you examples. Very often, the world tries to make you believe its story. This is because they have interests, and someone has to satisfy them.
Question every belief, and even those you question with a little critical thinking, don't forget that when there is doubt, there is no doubt.
José Omar Gastaldi

Feelings, moods, situations, inner dialogue, and so many other things we go through. Often we don't understand what's happening or what's going on; yet they happen. Asking yourself why won't help.
If you feel sad, tell yourself: this doesn't have to be this way.
If you feel tired of fighting, tell yourself: this doesn't have to be this way.
If you feel the world is conspiring against you, remember: this doesn't have to be this way.
If you lack the strength to keep going, just say: this doesn't have to be this way.
If you feel your life is a wave of things that are harming you, and you're an honest, responsible person, say: this doesn't have to be this way.
If you're being treated badly, this doesn't have to be this way.
If you think you're being manipulated, this doesn't have to be this way.
If you feel powerless, this doesn't have to be this way.
There are surely many more. It's just a guide to help you start noticing that there's another way.
José Omar Gastaldi