In 1987, I began surrendering my belief that I already knew what there was to know. I began asking why I felt such a gaping void in my heart that nothing I had tried seemed able to fill it. I questioned why I had to endure the painful experiences that I had in my life. Was there a lesson in them all? What is the real meaning of love and forgiveness? And why does life hurt so much?

     As a child, I was introduced to many religions as my mother searched to understand the truth about God, as well as her purpose in life. This was a blessing, for it gave me the opportunity to experience several different spiritual doctrines and practices. It also allowed me to observe that the search within all religions was, in fact, a search for a relationship with God. It seems that we have all felt at times as though something were missing—as though there were a void that nothing in the physical world could fill. That thing is our awareness of, and conscious connection to, our Creator.

     Through learning this lesson, I was able to more clearly comprehend who I was—the holy, innocent, perfect child of God. From that identity, I would learn that my purpose on earth was to do God’s Will, which is to think and act only through love.

     My awakening to this truth became quickened one day in the early 1990s while I was watching an Oprah Winfrey program. For years, I had felt victimized, a prisoner, entrapped within life’s struggles. At that particular point in my life, I had endured a tremendous amount of emotional and psychological suffering that had been mystically softened by miracles. In their wake, the miracles left transformative ways of thinking and feeling that would change my life for months to come. What exactly was behind these transformative thoughts and outlooks that had the power to set me free? This is what I had to discover. I had learned that if I was pushed far enough psychologically, some divine power buried deep within me would emerge. I was both starving and searching to become engaged with this power—only this time I hungered for it not through desperation, but instead through inspiration.

     On the show, Oprah introduced the author of a book that she claimed was, at that point, the best book she had ever read. My whole being became animated with an unexplained joy as my body felt weightless; my spirit seemed to be celebrating a long-awaited marker towards my awakening. On that very day, I purchased Marianne Williamson’s book, A Return to Love, which was the catalyst that launched me firmly on my journey towards freedom. I simply devoured it line by line and page by page. In this, her first book, Marianne shared her reflections on another book, A Course in Miracles. She reflected on, and explained how, its principles and theories had transformed her life and restored to her a sense of peace she had not been able to attain in any other way.

     I extracted the teachings of A Course in Miracles (“ACIM” or “the Course”) from Marianne’s book and passionately began living them. Eighteen months later, I would purchase my own copy of the Course and make the same discovery that Marianne had made. The reading and living of its teachings caused an awakening within me that continues today. Since that day, I have learned, practiced, and taught its teachings, discovering, along with thousands of others, that the Course has the power to restore perfect peace of mind.

     Helen Schucman and William Thetford, Professors of Medical Psychology at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, scribed ACIM. Although Helen and William were the scribes, the author is the spirit of Jesus Christ, who, the Course teaches, was the embodiment of a fully actualized Christ Mind, which, we’re taught, is the Son of God. The Son of God is the collective of all people referred to as “the Sonship.”

     Through the Course, we are encouraged to explore the idea that the Christ Mind is within us all and is revealed to be the actual place where all is one. These teachings touched my life so deeply, and continue to do so today, that I committed to make it my life’s work to learn and demonstrate them with each person and every event in my life. Strangely for me, these teachings seemed somehow to be remembered rather than learned.

     This book is dedicated to the purpose of making the reader aware of the blocks that we have placed before our awareness of love’s presence, in addition to the guidelines that I call Universal Truths, such as: Thou shalt not kill; love thy neighbor as thyself; to defend is to attack; as you think so shall you be; and, both giving and receiving imply having. These truths are not meant to conflict with any other spiritual doctrines, but rather to enlighten the perception of the reader to better understand the goal of all religions. I believe that goal to be love and forgiveness. With the theories outlined in this book, you will be able to draw from the knowledge within your own being—to help guide you on your sacred spiritual path. The majority of the ideas and principles offered in this book are derived from the above-mentioned book, A Course in Miracles—a self-study course dedicated to the psychological retraining of the way we think. A Course in Miracles is published by The Foundation for Inner Peace. It is not a religion. In my opinion, the goal of A Course in Miracles is to relinquish fear, guilt, and judgment from the human mind, which will prompt the releasing of a perceived state of separation. This releasing causes the mind to return to its natural state—the state from which it originated and that, in fact, it never left. That state is an all-encompassing love. Therefore, it becomes clear that to identify ourselves with the Christ Consciousness is to accept our natural state of being.

     Throughout my study of the Course, I realized that if I wanted answers, I needed to first ask. This realization changed my life. When we think we know, we are not teachable. Our mind is closed to considering other possibilities. But when we are willing to ask for understanding about the mystery of life, answers always follow. Subsequently, we become open to ideas that may have been previously unquestioned and unexplored. With an open mind, and what felt like a love-starved heart, I asked.

You can purchase Rediscovering Your Authentic Self - MP3 format from our partner iAmplify. Click the link below for more information or to purchase the Audio Book in MP3 format.

Click here to buy Rediscovering Your Authentic Self: Applying A Course in Miracles to Everyday Life