Carol Howe - Never Forget To Laugh: Personal Recollections Of Bill Thetford, Co Scribe Of A Course In Miracles

Never Forget To Laugh

Personal Recollections of Bill Thetford, Co-scribe of

A Course In Miracles

By

Carol M. Howe

Foreword

Many of you will pick up this book because you know Bill Thetford by reputation or as a co-scribe of A Course In Miracles. Others may find it simply because you are meant to do so. Because of her close personal relationship with Bill during his years in California, and her clear and eloquent voice, we know of no better person to offer insight into Bills life than our good friend Carol Howe.My journey (Jerry) with Bill and Carol began in 1978 when she first visited Tiburon in the fall of that year. I was still practicing psychiatry and Bill was new in town. I could tell after the first time all of us were together that he was impressed with her. I was not surprised when he started visiting her in Denver and know that being there was a kind of escape for him. I (Diane) met Carol in 1982 when she was in Tiburon and also recognized that she and Bill had a unique relationship. Little did any of us know at that time all the ways our lives would be intertwined over the years or just where our work would take us.This book is not simply a biography, but a body of work that integrates the facts of Bills life with Course teachings and the personal reflections of more than thirty friends in a way that creates a unique and meaningful experience for the reader. Bill was a man of opposites and contradictions who did not fall neatly into categories. He was also a very private person and in reading Carols account of his life, we discovered many things about him that we did not know despite our close friendship and all the years we spent together. That was a heart-warming experience for us. As those of us who were there in the beginning of ACIM history continue to age, there is a sense of urgency to put our experiences and insights on paper so that others may learn from them. We are grateful Carol has chosen to do so in regard to Bills life.After reading this book, we found it hard to imagine incorporating so many details about Bill into one document. Carol has accurately expressed the impressions and impact that Bill had on the many of us who loved and appreciated him so deeply. In many ways, it is a love story about Bill and his many friends, from comfortable close associates to casual acquaintances, whose insights and experiences with him are included throughout. Its also a love story about Bill and the Course and, finally, about Bill and God.The offering of this book about Bills transformation is a gift for those who choose peace of mind. Many of us feel a need to own our thoughts and attitudes, heal our split minds, and thereby heal the world we see. We take an important step in our journey when we become aware that its only our own thoughts that hurt us and offer forgiveness instead. Bills story is one of giant steps taken through willingness to forgive. Bill was a partner in the original transcription of A Course In Miracles and a true practitioner of its teachings. One of his favorite phrases was celestial amnesia and he suggested we all practice forgetting everything unloving about our past. His continual practice of forgiveness, his kind presence, and wonderful sense of humor all led to his ultimate release.Carols love for Bill and the Course shines deeply in every line she has written here. With this book, she brings a balanced perspective about his life so others can have a better sense of what motivated him. It is a window into his heart and soul, a gift of love she has created for us all. We feel certain that Bill is blessing her with his wit and smiles wherever she goes, with every Course workshop she teaches, and with every word she has written within this book. We are grateful that you, the reader, have chosen to share in this love as well.With boundless love and peace,Jerry Jampolsky, M.D. and Diane Cirincione, Ph.D.

Preface

In a few short years all who knew Bill Thetford personally will have exited the world stage. It would be unconscionable for this first generation of A Course In Miracles students, those who were Bills friends, to leave without recording our collective witnessing of his transformation. Humanity expends much time and treasure seeking any scrap of information about the teachers, philosophers, and avatars who have gone before, lighting the path for us throughout all cultures and ages. Bill was such a light.Drs. William Thetford and Helen Schucman were professors of medical psychology at Columbia Universitys College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, eminent in their field and known for their research into personality theory. The preface to A Course In Miracles states that the scribes names do not matter and, therefore, are not listed on the cover. True though that may be, as the Course continues to become more widely recognized for the life-changing curriculum it proposes, more people are interested in knowing about these two who considered themselves most unlikely candidates for the job.In beginning this project, I originally intended to simply write about my own personal memories and recollections of Bill, perhaps with input from my family and some friends in Denver who also knew and loved him. The writing project took on a life of its own, however, and grew to include recollections from a number of his close friends, as well as input from archival records. In time, even though we are never objective about anyone and see them through our own individual filters, a common view of Bill emergedand what a picture!In some extant publications on ACIM and from information on the Internetsome incomplete or actually incorrectBills role often seems marginalized as the typist or as Helens helper. In most of these accounts, one does not begin to fathom Bills presence, his greatest contribution. As for A Course In Miracles, his gifts were twofold: as Helens unwavering partner and co-scribe and as its most dedicated and accomplished practitioner.The Course lays out a specific plan to liberate our happiness and peace of mind, and Bills commitment to it personified the process of forgiveness. For more than ten years, a number of people had the good fortune of watching a master teacher in the making, as Bills ego steadily dissolved and his gracious presencethe same presence that exists in all of usbecame ever more radiant and unencumbered. My intention is to pay homage to Bill for the gifts he gave us, to provide a more complete portrayal of his life, and to show how his awakening process can illuminate our own. [ ] A Course In Miracles is a self-study course in three parts: a text, a workbook, and a manual for teachers. Its basic hypothesis is that we are conditioned from birth to a limited way of perceiving and our understanding of life is a product of past conditioning. Practicing the workbook lessons undoes our negative, unhelpful, inaccurate view of people, situations, and events, resulting in a different perception of the world. As Course practice proceeds, the fearful ideas we have learned are systematically replaced with an alternative viewpointhappier, more spiritual, and all-encompassing. Later lessons are designed to evoke a direct spiritual experience and greater love for self and others.Next page