The sources of A Class in Wonders may be tracked back once again to the effort between two persons, Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford, both of whom were distinguished psychologists and researchers. The course's inception occurred in the early 1960s when Schucman, who was a medical and research psychologist at Columbia University's School of Physicians and Surgeons, started to experience some inner dictations. She defined these dictations as via an internal voice that identified itself as Jesus Christ. Schucman originally resisted these experiences, but with Thetford's support, she started transcribing the communications she received.
Over a period of seven years, Schucman transcribed what can become A Program in Wonders, amounting to three amounts: the Text, the Workbook for Students, and the Guide for Teachers. The Text lies out the theoretical base of the class, elaborating on the core methods and principles. The Book for Pupils includes 365 instructions, one for each time of the entire year, designed to guide the reader through a daily exercise of using the course's teachings. The Handbook for Educators gives further advice on the best way to realize and show the axioms of A Course in Wonders to others.
One of many key themes of A Program in Miracles is the thought of forgiveness. The class teaches that true forgiveness is the main element to inner peace and awareness to one's divine nature. In accordance with their teachings, forgiveness isn't simply a moral or ethical practice but a simple shift in perception. It requires rely completely on god go of judgments, issues, and the perception of crime, and instead, viewing the world and oneself through the contact of love and acceptance. A Course in Wonders stresses that correct forgiveness leads to the acceptance that people are interconnected and that separation from one another is definitely an illusion.
Still another significant part of A Program in Wonders is its metaphysical foundation. The class gift ideas a dualistic view of reality, unique between the ego, which represents divorce, anxiety, and illusions, and the Holy Soul, which symbolizes love, reality, and religious guidance. It suggests that the pride is the source of suffering and struggle, while the Sacred Spirit provides a pathway to therapeutic and awakening. The goal of the course is to simply help persons transcend the ego's restricted perspective and arrange with the Sacred Spirit's guidance.