Fast-forward to 2007. I was in a nearby library when I stumbled on an audio book called Secrets of the Immortal: Advanced Teachings from a Course in Miracles.I'd again be lying if I said I'd any revelation from this audio book, not because its content wasn't sufficient, but because I downloaded it to my computer and never paid attention to it. Again, I went back to reading my others spiritual texts, now I'd advanced to the like of Ken Wilber & Sri Ramana Maharshi, definitely much harder to pretend to understand what they were saying in conversation, but I tried.  acim audio

Twelve months later, in 2008, for whatever reason, I looked at my copy of A Course in Miracles and made the resolution that I was going to finally read it, and not just read it, but realize it! Well, I can say that this time I stuck with it, for probably the most part. I remembered the audio book I'd ripped to my library the prior year, so I uploaded it to my trusty iPod and started hearing it on various commutes. Secrets of the Immortal actually broke the Course down in a comprehensive, yet user-friendly way that I really could work with.

About 50 % way through the audio book I realized I didn't even know who I was listening too (damn bootlegged copies), so I went back to the computer and found out it was Gary Renard. That name really meant nothing if you ask me at the time, nor did any of the other Course teachers like Kenneth Wapnick or Marianne Williamson, as this is simply not an especially sought after spiritual path. Not because it's a strict discipline, or there is dogma attached with it. If anything, it's the complete opposite of that.

After completing Gary's audio book, I moved on to the very first of his two books published by Hay House, titled The Disappearance of the Universe.I picked up DU (as it's often described by it's readers) and was literally engulfed from the moment I started. Not merely achieved it continue steadily to break down the Course in a way that I possibly could understand, but it addittionally mentioned many contemporary issues, and how they may be seen differently through the Course. I finished DU in about weekly and acquired a copy of Your Immortal Reality.

Your Immortal Reality really solidified my faith in Gary's teachings as after I finished it, I had absolutely no problem reading and understanding A Course in Miracles.That's not to imply I don't need to sit with, and contemplate lots of its passages from time to time, but without Gary's work, my copy of A Course in Miracles would be collecting dust on the bookshelf. So precisely what in the hell is A Course in Miracles? Read on and discover! (*Note- I wish to reiterate that while A Course in Miracles is my very own, personal spiritual path, I, in no way, need to promote, or endorse it significantly more than any other spiritual tradition, a lot of which have been wonderful catalysts on my spiritual path, and I still draw from to this day.)TIS: So let's just get directly into it...According to A Course In Miracles (also referred to as ACIM), the interview you and I are doing right now's an illusion. Would you explain that for anyone unfamiliar with ACIM's teaching?

GR: Sure. People can think of the universe of time and space to be a projection. Those who have read my books understand that I prefer to go to the movies, and an example I like to make is this, I go into the movie theater and I are interested to be real. The lights decrease and my attention is diverted to the screen. As I start to focus on the screen, I may get sucked to the story, possibly becoming emotional, as well as speaking with the screen. So I forget that there's certainly not anything happening there, that it's a trick, an illusion, a sleight of hand. The American Indians use to state, "behold, the truly amazing mystery ".Well the Course says "behold, the truly amazing mystery", but it addittionally says "behold, the truly amazing projection ".It's actually a projection coming from a projector, that will be hidden. When you're in a movie theatre, you're not supposed to look at the projector, you're designed to forget about it and give attention to the screen, and that's what folks are doing here too. They're focusing on the screen that people call life, and they believe it's reality, but whilst the Hindu's, Buddhist's & ACIM says, it's actually an illusion. The Course further refines that idea into this being like a dream that individuals will awaken from, and it's that awakening that is very same of enlightenment. It's what Buddha meant when he explained "I am awake ".He'd actually awoken form the whole dream of time and space.

So let's say I'm in the movie theatre and I want to change what's on the screen, not in a temporary way, but permanently. An easy method where I really can have something happen that could work. If I wanted to alter that which was on that screen, it wouldn't do me a lot of good to go up and fool around with it. I would have to remember that there's a projector which can be hidden in the trunk, that I'm not supposed to think about that. Well, if I really want to change what's on the screen in a permanent way, then not only would I've to consider that there's a projector, I would also need to think it is, and change what's in it.

Now if I were to accomplish this, I would be dealing with the cause, rather than the effect. I would be from a position of power because I'd be doing something that may work permanently instead of only temporarily. It would give me real power because I will be coping with the cause, and not the effect, that is what the Course teaches, which can be it is a class in cause, and not effect. It also says "seek not to alter the world, seek rather to improve your brain about the planet ".That's because whenever you visit your brain, you're likely to where in actuality the projector is hidden, where this universe of time and space is coming from. What we're seeing is coming from a projector that is actually hidden in the unconscious mind. I'm not just discussing a person unconscious mind, which many people call the subconscious. I'm speaking about the unconscious mind all of us share. There's really only one of us sharing this unconscious mind and that's where the universe of time and space is coming from.

So think of it as being like a movie that you're watching. The Course says you're revealing mentally that that has already gone by. So it's already over as far as the Course is worried, and we're just watching it. We feel however, that we're actually inside it, and the way out, is to change what's in the mind based on the Course. It's a different kind of forgiveness than a lot of people consider however, which we'll get into. What exactly that does, is it undoes this thing that I'll call the "ego ".You are able to consider the ego as being the thought of separation, the indisputable fact that we've taken with this individual identity and personal existence that is somehow separate from its source.