Ever since I went to your workshop for the first time, writing and receiving letters from you had been the greatest source of comfort and support for me. All the time I wanted to write about so many things but at same time I had no idea about what to write except a cry for help. So my letters always ended up with short, kind of matter of fact with what I had been doing. Your letters back to me was exquisite. Just short lines, full of humour, but I could really feel the love, support and all the guidance I needed. It was the perfect example of the true music behind the notes.

Your early departure was a shock to me. I always knew it would be a forgiveness lesson for me, but it was much too soon. However at the same time I really feel your gentle smile in my heart all the time. I know that you haven't really left us.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you Ken. I will love you forever. God bless you.

Ken Wapnick is my most beloved teacher. I love him with my whole heart and soul. I would follow him anywhere he asked me to go. He took me through several seemingly impossible situations to a peace that I didn't think was possible. Without his help, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could not have done it. For my part, I was totally willing, so he had something to work with.

I will miss many things about Ken the person: the plane rides to Temecula, the smell of La Quinta hotel, the Oreo cookies and green tea in the kitchen at break, walking alone down to the Foundation very early Sunday mornings just to be near him. But most of all, I will miss being in his presence. The love that he radiated was unbelievable; it was not of this world. It was truly a gift to have him as my teacher.

What does his death mean? For me, I see him almost literally in front of and a little above me. He is saying, "Nothing here matters. None of it.

Leave it all behind and come to where I am. It will make you so happy."

When I think of being in his presence-that love-I know the only way to have that again is to go to where he is. And so I continue on the journey that I started with him until one day I know that I am not separate from him.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ken. I love you.

Remembering Ken Wapnick

A Teacher of God and of A Course in Miracles, Ken Wapnick was "here only to be truly helpful." (T- 2.V.18:2)

Working ceaselessly in service to Truth, he amassed a truly amazing volume of clear Course teachings, making understandable any passage that might seem puzzling to students. His clear and consistent teachings exposed the working of the ego's thought system. Ken elucidated the profound Course statement "I am never upset for the reason I think" (W-5). No matter what may seem to be the "cause" of my upset (something said or done by another or some seemingly external occurrence); whenever I am upset, it is always because I have chosen in the "now" moment to set aside the Peace of God, the Oneness of the Sonship. I am upset because I have chosen to see myself as separate from my brother (in whatever form he may seem to have taken in that moment).

Ken helped Course students with the daily living of Course principles when interacting with others. He stressed the importance of kindness in all situations. And to help overcome an ego-centric view when relating to others, Ken suggested a concept he called "making it about them"— considering the needs and viewpoint of the seemingly "other" person, rather than acting or reacting from the needs and desires of one's own ego- self Ken always "made it about others," not himself, turning no one away who asked him for help and literally embracing everyone who attended his classes or entered his life.

The first time I met Ken (around 2008), we had traveled to Atlanta to attend his workshop and arrived at the conference hall somewhat early. As I approached the classroom, a man seated near the entrance in deep conversation with several people close to him, arose quickly, upon seeing me, to give me a welcoming hug, as if I were a family member or close friend. As I walked away, I thought—who was that man? And then I realized it was Ken Wapnick, a Teacher of God who left no one out and embraced everyone.

He gave the "last full measure of devotion" to Truth. In the days before his transition, Ken insisted that he was not dying. And, of course, he was not dying and could not die because, as he made so clear in his week-long academy class on "death and dying," the body cannot die since it never lives— and more importantly— he was not the body. Ken's life and teachings rest on the firm foundation of the Course principle:

"Spirit am I, a holy Son of God, free of all limits, safe and healed and whole, free to forgive, and free to save the world." (W-97.7:2)

So, although we feel sad at Ken's passing from our earthly sight, we also feel blessed and uplifted by his loving presence in Spirit that cannot be taken from us. We can feel his love with us (the joint Love of the Sonship) and know that we are one with him in Mind/Spirit, His victory is our victory, and we honor him most by living the Holy Spirit's teaching that he exemplified.

Mini Ken tribute

One thing that delighted me about Ken's teaching style and the academy's he taught was how much fun it all was. I never expected to laugh so much as I listened to Ken talking about making our way back to the memory of God. There were also moments of profound silence and stillness when Ken lectured that were very meaningful. But I remember being so happy to learn that one could talk about non-duality, divine love, unitive consciousness with a matter-of-factness that was unsentimental and schmaltz-free. And that laughter could be a key element of undoing what, at other times, most times, seems so deadly serious. It is a lesson I try and remember as I continue to work the forgiveness process—to laugh more at the tiny mad idea in all the forms I have made real in my life. Thank You Ken!

There are three people in my life I implicitly trust regarding spiritual matters. These three act in accordance with what they say. There is an internal alignment of thought, word, and deed. Over the last 2S years or so, Ken has exemplified this way of being for me. He is truly instrumental as a guide, helping me move towards that experience of the Light within. He is that light bearer humbly standing on a street corner at night, silently beckoning. All the words a person may say are meaningless if they do not live those words. It is who they are that matters. Ken is this principle. He is the Love which is reflected in Jesus' Course. Yes, he was very good at explaining principles and helping students, but his living example is what will continue to resonate in my heart. He serves as an example to all of us, gently reminding us, "There is another way."

There is a picture of Ken in my cubicle in Boston. When I feel tempted to grasp my ego's hand again and look through a darkened glass on the world, I look at his smile and remember his message, be kind.

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." Dalai Lama XIV

Om shanti, shanti, shanti

The deepest peace to you

Of my remembrances of Ken over the past 24 years, this one is my most treasured.

In the fall of 2012 I asked Ken "What do you really hear me saying?" His answer was: "You are afraid to take the next step and you are terrified of life without Benny" (my husband of 60 years).

Then he added "I will help you."

Later I wrote asking, "Who is the Ken who will help me?"

The following was his reply: "As for the Ken who will help you, who else could be but the Self that we both share? But you knew that, silly. You were just testing me."

With deepest gratitude,

Allison Hughes

Dear Gloria and FACIM staff,

Thank you for inviting our personal tributes in honor of our treasured friend and humble, loving teacher Kenneth Wapnick.

To teach is to demonstrate, and Kenneth was among the finest demonstrations of love in this world. I am grateful for having him as my teacher and friend, even if it was only for a brief two years.

His energetic, and sometimes even frisky vitality was irresistible; love poured, extended, lived through him. We students couldn't help but grin as we'd feel him impishly sneak from behind and deliver a smacker in surprise. We were enamored; he brought us with him from the ego domain, reminding us where we are supposed to be. We were like moths to a flame.

So this is what love looks like. To our dear love: it is you who straightened our path! You who brought us nearer our One True Self. Even in our mistakes you were kind, showing us that it is in our mistakes that we can find our innocence and learn, and grow and "see" and that seeing is not done with our eyes. And mostly, because you forgave them.

Love never changes. It stays the same. Thank you, Kenneth, for reminding us every day, every moment that forgiveness is an earthly form of love. Thank you for remembering for us and teaching us to remember too, what we are in truth.

With utmost gratitude and love,

Years ago, when the Foundation was still in upstate New York, my wife and I stopped by the old FACIM location. That was the first time I met Ken, for just a few minutes. I told him I worked at a Catholic school founded by an order dedicated to Mary. He said to me then something which took years to understand, "Jesus and Mary, really two symbols for the same reality." So when I read and re-read the last Lighthouse essays, I appreciate that like the Course, he led me in spirals, revisiting old lessons with new insights.

In the years that followed I attended a few workshops in Temecula and wrote him every other month or so. In his responses he taught me to call him "friend." He saw that I needed to do that before I recognized it myself. And slowly I recognized that any advice he ever gave me was just a rewording of something in the Course.

I know what it feels like here in St. Louis to know Ken is not with us as he was. I cannot imagine what it feels like there. He was such a good friend and so much fun. If there was anyone who ever taught me not to take myself so seriously by smiling at it all, it was Ken. I'm pretty grateful for that lesson, learning not to make the mistake real. As I look back over his notes and remember his comments, my tears turn to smiles. Every day I hear him say, "Keep it simple, Jim." Okay, then, Ken—thanks for all. That should be simple enough.

What an egoless presence,
still shining in my mind.

Thank you Ken.

When I was first introduced to the Course, I knew it was mine though, really, I had no idea what it said. Enter Kenneth Wapnick and the Foundation for A Course in Miracles in Roscoe, New York. Here it was explained to me. I went to New York, I visited California. I listened to tapes and CDs. Slowly I got it. And, yes, it was still mine, even as I grasped exactly what it says. Then Ken's teaching seemed to become more practical: he told us how to do it. This is how you practice this course in your daily life. This is how you forgive. "Yes, I hear what you are saying, Ken. Thanks for the information and I am so glad to know what to do. I'll do it tomorrow."

Well, tomorrow finally became today. I did practice periodically. Now it is different. There was something about his form disappearing that felt like a kick out of the womb directly to adulthood. Now. Now, I must do this. The presence of this teacher, this guide is not at my side anymore and it is time to do this. No fooling around. I'm left without a visible crutch and I must now stand with an invisible pillar beside me. "The time is now and we will carry this forward, Ken, with your continued thoughts. We will practice. We will forgive each instant and then forgive again, trusting this process you helped us understand. And we will do it with gratitude and a light spirit. That is what we will do. Thank you."