The scribing of the Course began with the words "This is a course in miracles, please take notes." But just what is a miracle? Most of us come to the Course with preconceptions of what a miracle is, perhaps from what we learned in our religious upbringing, or from the everyday use of the term. Without clarity on how Jesus is using the concept, a great deal of misunderstanding and confusion is likely to arise for the student of his course. Kenneth's teaching has often focused on clarifying the Course's definition of the miracle, with a few programs where the miracle has been the primary theme. We would like to suggest two of those titles for this month.

What is commonly called a miracle is a form of magic from the Course's perspective, with a focus on bringing about changes in the world and in the body so that we may experience peace, love, happiness, and release from pain. Viewing the world and the body as an illusory dream, the Course's radical position is that everything that we do to bring about change within the dream is magic. We are attempting to use illusions to change the illusion. The miracle in contrast, as the Course uses the term, is focused simply on recognizing our need to change the teacher in our mind, from the teacher of guilt and attack to the Teacher of innocence and forgiveness, if we wish to experience genuine peace, love, and happiness. Whether anything changes in the world and with our body is irrelevant, for that is not the miracle's purpose. In this brief program, Kenneth explores the Course's essential distinction between these two concepts: magic assures that we will continue to sleep and dream; the miracle leads us towards awakening. Kenneth also reminds us that the Course is a gentle path, teaching us to learn to forgive ourselves and others for our continuing dependence on magic rather than the miracle to solve our problems and meet our needs.