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Three reasons why A Course In Miracles is hard to read.

Three reasons why A Course In Miracles is hard to read.

I find there are three reasons why A Course In Miracles is hard to read.

1. The book is written in a stilted and poetic voice.
2. The book uses Christian terminology that can be alienating to modern readers.
3. The actual lessons are a new logic that challenges our current way of seeing the world.

The Formal Language

The Formal Language:
One reason why A Course In Miracles is hard to read is because the heightened poetic language found in this book can often sound a bit like Shakespeare and cause mental fatigue. The sentence structure often forces the reader to pause and ponder the meaning of statements. This formal structure is a deliberate tactic by the author to shift the readers mind out of its usual cycle of thinking and into a slower, deeper thought process. Slowing down our thoughts enable difficult concepts to be conveyed. Like putting on a certain piece of clothing to tell the brain we are entering a professional environment, the formal language tells our brains to get ready for less casual thinking. 

The Religious Language

A second reason A Course In Miracles is hard to read is because of the Judeo-Christian terminology.  Religious words like “son of God” and “salvation” can be a real stumbling block for people like me who do not engage in practicing institutionalized religion. Hearing outdated and gender-specific language has on several occasions caused so much irritation in me that I wanted to throw the book across the room. If we can refrain from tearing up the book and push through, however, we actually become part of a movement that seeks to restore religious words to their original spiritual purposes.
The archaic religious language is actually a subtle history lesson in the evolution of human thinking which were in the process of evolving and expanding.  Exact translations of ancient texts often read as offensive because the modern reader has moved beyond that old world view.  While old translations excluded the feminine principle, these translations hope to bridge the distance and focus mainly on the intent of the outdated metaphors.  The history of the religious phrases and the actual dictionary definitions are fascinating to discover. Looking up definitions can really help reading A Course In Miracles.  In an effort to make the daily teachings easier to understand, I set out here to clarify what is meant by each religious term used. Clarifying exactly what is meant by the words “God,” “forgiveness”, “salvation,” and many other stumbling block phrases, I will bring the teaching into a more effective, non-religious reading experience.

The New Logic

But even if we overcome the challenging poetic and religious language, the book can still be challenging to finish is because the lessons are a new form of logic, like higher math, that take determination to grasp. In fact, our frustration with archaic language is actually a subtle expression of our misguided ego, which is identifying with conditions that A Course In Miracles seeks to free us from. When we begin this course, we soon learn that there is a part of our minds that do not want to learn any new logic. There is a part of our minds that are conditioned to argue, question, doubt, and attack the concepts presented here. This is why A Course In Miracles is hard to read. But with a little effort and a bit of updated translation, the teachings are quite understandable.  Despite the challenging language, A Course In Miracles is actually one of the most accessible spiritual texts available thus far. It is much easier to read than most other ancient works such as the Upanishads or even the Bible.

Why read the book at all?

What’s the big deal about it? What is it really offering?  The answer to these questions can only be found on the other side of having read the book.  I only know from personal experience that this work holds a real power to help relieve pain in your life in a long-lasting way. Hopefully, with a bit of help reading A Course In Miracles, you can discover the same relief for yourself. I hope you give the book a try! And I hope you visit this library of posts often to receive daily help reading A Course In Miracles whenever you may need it.

About The Author

About The Author

Hi, I’m Jess.  This blog is an ongoing discussion and practice of A Course In Miracles. All content is based on and cited from the original publication.  Learn more about Jess…

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