The sources of A Course in Wonders may be tracked back to the collaboration between two persons, Helen Schucman and William Thetford, both of whom were distinguished psychologists and researchers. The course's inception occurred in the early 1960s when Schucman, who was simply a scientific and research psychologist at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, started to see a series of inner dictations. She identified these dictations as originating from an internal style that identified it self as Jesus Christ. Schucman initially resisted these experiences, but with Thetford's inspiration, she began transcribing the messages she received.
Over a period of eight decades, Schucman transcribed what can become A Course in Wonders, amounting to three volumes: the Text, the Book for Pupils, and the Information for Teachers. The Text sits out the theoretical basis of the program, elaborating on the key ideas and principles. The Book for Pupils contains 365 classes, one a course in miracles each time of the year, designed to steer the reader via a day-to-day training of applying the course's teachings. The Information for Educators offers more advice on how best to realize and show the axioms of A Program in Miracles to others.
One of many key themes of A Program in Wonders is the thought of forgiveness. The class teaches that correct forgiveness is the key to inner peace and awakening to one's heavenly nature. In accordance with their teachings, forgiveness isn't merely a ethical or moral practice but a basic shift in perception. It requires allowing go of judgments, issues, and the belief of crime, and as an alternative, seeing the world and oneself through the lens of enjoy and acceptance. A Class in Wonders stresses that true forgiveness leads to the recognition that we are typical interconnected and that separation from each other is an illusion.
Still another significant part of A Class in Wonders is their metaphysical foundation. The program gifts a dualistic view of reality, unique involving the ego, which shows divorce, concern, and illusions, and the Sacred Nature, which symbolizes love, truth, and religious guidance. It suggests that the confidence is the origin of suffering and struggle, as the Sacred Nature supplies a pathway to therapeutic and awakening. The goal of the course is to help persons transcend the ego's confined perception and arrange with the Sacred Spirit's guidance.