A Course in Miracles (also referred to as ACIM or "the Course") is a book considered by its students to be their "spiritual path". According to psychologist Helen Schucman, she and psychologist William Thetford "scribed" the book by means of a process coming from a divine source through a form which Schucman referred to as "inner dictation". Schucman said the source of her channeling was Jesus Christ.
The teachings of the Course have been compared to the fundamental premises of Eastern religion. However, it utilizes traditional Christian terminology. J. Gordon Melton notes that it has been most popular among those who have been disillusioned by organized Christianity. . Melton and Wouter Hanegraaff have called it the most obvious choice for the single text that is "sacred scripture" in the New Age movement. Since it first became available for sale in 1976, over 1.5 million copies have sold worldwide in sixteen different languages. " "
The Third Edition of A Course in Miracles is the only edition that contains in one place all of the writings that Dr. Helen Schucman, its Scribe, authorized to be printed. It is published solely by The Foundation for Inner Peace, the not-for-profit organization chosen by Dr. Schucman for this purpose.
