Casey - 52 ways to live the Course in miracles: cultivate a simpler, slower, more love-filled life

This edition first published in 2016 by Conari Press, an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:

65 Parker Street, Suite 7

Newburyport, MA 01950

www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2016 by Karen Casey

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-57324-684-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Casey, Karen.

Title: 52 ways to live the Course in miracles : cultivate a simpler, slower, more love-filled life / Karen Casey, PhD.

Other titles: Fifty two ways to live the Course in miracles

Description: Newburyport, MA : Conari Press, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016019826 | ISBN 9781573246842 (5.5 8.5 tp : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Course in miracles. | Spiritual life. | Meditations. |

Casey,

Karen.

Classification: LCC BP605.C68 .C373 2016 | DDC 299/.93--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019826

Cover design by Jim Warner

Cover photograph Light at the End diephosiMore / Getty Images

Interior by Frame25 Productions

Typeset in Minion Pro

Printed in Canada

MAR

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I want to dedicate this book, first and foremost, to my husband Joe, who has been traveling this path with me for nearly forty years. We have been course students for more than thirty of those years, and he is my most loving teacher, on a daily basis.

I also want to dedicate it to all the fellow travelers who walk with us on this most inspired journey. Every day I thank the Holy Spirit for Helen Schucman's willingness to be the scribe. Had she said no or ignored the call Jesus made to her, we'd all have suffered until someone else said, I will.

And to all of my friends who sit with us in our home every Monday, reading and sharing our thoughts on the message Jesus has sent us, I say, Thank you. You have made the journey so much more meaningful.

And last, I want to acknowledge all those individuals who have read my first book on the course, Daily Meditations for Practicing the Course, and continue to reach out to me on a daily basis. We are students, one and all. And I thank you for walking this journey with me.

Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.
Herein lies the peace of God.

The impact A Course in Miracles has had on my life is nearly immeasurable. I was first introduced to the course in 1981. I was five years sober at the time and hung on to Alcoholics Anonymous like my life depended on it. Which, of course, it did. But I was also yearning for something more, something that might quiet my near-constant anxiety.

I was one of those people who, from my first introduction to AA in 1976, went to multiple meetings a week. But I still longed to feel the quiet, secure connection to a higher power that so many of my friends quite obviously had. I simply had not found that connection to be very sustainable. At a meeting and while with friends at the meeting following the meeting, I'd be quite content. Then I'd go home. What I had been feeling seemed to flee the moment I walked through the door of my own apartment.

And that dis-ease, which took me to the brink of suicide more than once, subsequently hounded me into writing my first book, Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations For Women, which has been followed by more than two dozen other books over the last thirty-four years. While in the act of writing, God, as I understand God, always shows up. But I have had long dry spells of not sitting in the quiet of my study listening to the inner voice and writing all that I hear. During those dry spells my frantic mind searches for solace. For connection. Historically, I did not, and often still don't, even with more than forty years sober, feel the presence of God when I'm not at a meeting or writing.

Some would no doubt say, But how lucky you are. Your anguish has made you a published writer. And while that is true, the emptiness I have so often felt becomes nearly intolerable. And scary. For decades I prayed for more than the flimsy connection I occasionally felt to a power outside of myself. And then a sister-in-law sent me A Course in Miracles.

It was a three-book set at that time, and I had no idea which book to read first. I picked up the text and read the introduction about how the course came to be. That comforted me, but when I tried to read the text that followed, I felt overwhelmed. Even though I had a PhD I couldn't, with ease, grasp the spiritual message. It seemed unnecessarily complicated. I was looking for a fix that could quiet my troubled mind. And heart.

I chose to tackle the workbook first. It wasn't really much easier, but the lessons, one for each day of the year, gave me a structureone not dissimilar from the daily meditation book I had been writing at that time. The workbook felt doable. So my journey with A Course in Miracles began, and it has never ceased. In fact, I can say with certainty that my commitment to the study of A Course in Miracles will continue until that day when my journey in this illusion has ended.

I love A Course in Miracles. It offers me a moment-by-moment reprieve from my ego so long as I turn to the quieter inner voice for my next thought. As the course tells us, the ego always speaks first; it is loudest and it is always wrong. The Holy Spirit never leaves one's mind, but it waits to be sought out for the next best response to any situation we are confronted with. What a quiet blessing the Holy Spirit is. Never pushy, but always present. It has walked me through myriad difficult situations. It will continue to be the loyal companion that promises peace instead of this, whatever this is.

Writing a book of essays about the course, suggesting how one can practice it for personal benefit, is so pleasurable. Every word I write is a constant reminder of how to cultivate greater peace in my own life. What could be better than that? Nothing comes to mind, frankly.

My intent is to take you on a journey through fifty-two simple ideas, offering you not only an explanation of the idea but also proof of how helpful and practical each idea really is through sharing some of my own experiences. I have also created an affirmation for each entry that will nurture you and strengthen your peace of mind. And what more can any of us really desire than a peace-filled mind?

My life has gradually been changed by the course. Little by little, day by day, I have become quieter. I have grown in my trust that there is a kinder, softer way to live. I am able to appreciate the many encounters I have every day, knowing that each one of them has come because of a lesson I have sought. And best of all, with the help of the course, I am able to feel nurtured by lesson after lesson because the Holy Spirit is translating it for me. Helping you translate your experiences is the intention of this book. Helping you enjoy greater peace is my heart's sole desire.

There isn't one perfect way to read and utilize this book. You may want to review the many essay titles and read them according to what strikes your fancy. Some of you will want to read it from cover to cover immediately. Many will want to take the book in smaller doses so that you can actually practice incorporating the ideas in your daily encounters. Whatever makes sense to you makes sense! It's about you making the changes in your perspective, and thus your behavior, that will guarantee greater peace moment by moment.